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Dave Roberts said multiple times in recent days that Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell looks like a man “on a mission.”

Based on what happened Tuesday night, the veteran skipper might have actually been underselling it.

In his latest return from a long-term injury with the Dodgers, Snell quickly began making up for lost time with a six-inning, one-run gem against the Kansas City Royals in the Dodgers’ 5-4 walk-off win.

By striking out 10 batters and allowing only three hits, he offered a resounding reminder of his two-time Cy Young Award-winning skillset.

“With the talent that he has, that’s what can happen,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Added Snell himself, with a confident head nod: “I like where I’m at.”

Indeed, in the kind of outing he hopes will kickstart a dominant finish to his second season with the Dodgers, Snell showed no signs of rust, apprehension or lack of faith in his stuff.

He began the evening looking almost untouchable, retiring each of his first 10 batters including seven via strikeout. 

He gave up a run in the fourth (which only came after a broken-bat single, seeing-eye grounder and sacrifice fly) but stranded a couple of runners in scoring position later in that inning, then another at third base with no outs in the fifth.

And from there, he put a promising final touch on his 84-pitch performance, surpassing Roberts’ soft pregame limit of five innings for his return start by returning for sixth and retiring the side in order.

“Coming into this, I was going to go six,” Snell said. “I told Dave that. We were texting and I just told him, ‘I’m going six.'”

Still, he later added, “To be able to do that for six innings and feel like I had more left, I’m excited about that.”

It wasn’t only himself he impressed with immediate return to form, either.

“That’s the Snell that we’re used to seeing,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “And hopefully we have him for the next two, three months, for the long run, and look forward to playing behind him again.” 

Staying healthy for any long runs, of course, has been a challenge for the 33-year-old pitcher ever since he signed a $182 million contract with the Dodgers two offseasons ago.

In his first spring with the team, he developed a shoulder injury that would plague him throughout the 2025 regular season, limiting him to just 11 starts. And though he returned in time to play a key role in the playoffs –– making five starts, three of them gems, plus a relief appearance in Game 7 of the World Series –– his shoulder issue lingered into the start of this year, delaying his season debut until May 9.

“Last year, obviously he wasn’t completely healthy,” Roberts said, “as we found out later.”

More troubles arose immediately after that three-inning, five-run start against the Atlanta Braves earlier this year.

Snell experienced arm pain that led to a diagnosis of loose bodies in his elbow. He underwent a surgical procedure on May 19 (using the revolutionary and less-invasive NanoNeedle technique) that forced him to endure another elongated rehab process. He faced growing scrutiny over all the time he continued to miss.

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This go around, however, Snell came back feeling healthy and refreshed.

Even leading up to Tuesday, Roberts said he had noticed his “swagger” and that he “looks a little taller.”

The surgery, Snell recently explained, had alleviated not only his elbow discomfort, but also his ongoing shoulder pains as well as numbness in his fingers. 

His stuff, he felt during his recovery, was in as good of a spot as it had been in years, leaving him increasingly anxious for his activation from the injured list.

“I was more calm than I thought I was going to be, so that was good,” he said, later adding: “I think the biggest thing was just being aggressive, be in the zone, attack.”

That’s what Snell did from the moment he toed the rubber, striking out the side in the first inning with a clinical 13-pitch sequence.

He immediately had command of his fastball, dotting it at the top of the zone and to either side of his plate.

He used three different pitches to put batters away, snapping off a full-count changeup to Nick Loftin, a 98 mph heater that blew away Bobby Witt Jr., and a late-breaking, dirt-biting curveball that Jac Caglianone helplessly swung through.

“I know how good my stuff is, so I didn’t want to just be nibbling,” Snell said. “To strike out the side was good, but it’s just keeping the pace, keeping the velo where I need it to be, feeling strong. Those things matter a lot to me.”

Snell succeeded there as well, maintaining effeciency and effectiveness for the rest of the night.

None of the three hits he allowed came on hard contact (the third, a leadoff double in the fifth from Tyler Tolbert, was a blooper down the right-field line). None of the four times the Royals took an at-bat with a runner in scoring position could they find a way to solve him.

“I think I saw what everyone saw,” Roberts said. “Just going after guys, being on the attack.”

In the end, it added up to nothing short of an all-around masterclass; one that might have (once again) been a long time in the making, but could foreshadow a flurry of similar performances from Snell as he catapults himself back into the Dodgers’ season.

“I thought tonight everything was pretty easy, it really was,” Roberts added. “Just the finishing of his pitches. He didn’t seem like he was searching for feel, delivery, and he was very external.”

“And, yeah, the 10 punch[outs],” he later quipped, as if he’d almost forgotten. “So really electric stuff tonight.”

The Dodgers are counting on more to come.

For the first seven innings, it certainly seemed like the White Sox (61-57) channeled the Pope in the series opener, mashing three solo home runs for three of their four runs in front of a 40,000-person crowd, all wearing Pope hats.

Unfortunately, the Chicago bullpen wasn’t as blessed, and wound up blowing the save in the top of the eighth, allowing the Reds (57-61) to come all the way back and steal the game in the top of the 10th, 5-4.

Righthander Sean Burke looked as good as ever, and outside of a solo home run given up to Eugenio Suárez, he was completely under control, only surrendering one run on three hits while striking out eight along the way. Burke put together three true 1-2-3 innings in his seven innings of work: the first, third and fourth (he technically recorded four outs in the third, with Héctor Rodríguez reaching on a dropped-third strike). In fact, Edgar Quero was just as devoured by Burke’s knuckle curve that dove out of the zone to the ground as Rodríguez, who completely whiffed. The pitch was so far out of the strike zone that it didn’t even appear in the MLB Gameday feed:

Offensively, the South Siders were looking great early in the game, blasting three solo home runs and an RBI double to go up four runs, 4-0.

The White Sox were averaging a long ball an inning through two, beginning with Brenton Doyle smashing a first-pitch, leadoff home run in the first, and Edgar Quero following it up with one of his own in the bottom of the second, giving Burke and Chicago a pair of insurance runs early in the game.

The Good Guys took an inning off of the moon shots in the third, but Miguel Vargas picked it right back up in the fourth, driving the third Sox bomb of the day over the left-field fence, 3-0:

The fun didn’t stop there, though. Randal Grichuk ripped his 15th double of the season to restart a rally, and advanced to third on a ground ball from Braden Montgomery to put himself in scoring position. With two outs, Quero was bailed out on an 0-2 count by getting hit by a pitch, and Sam Antonacci legged out a two-bagger to score the fourth run of the game for the South Siders, 4-0.

Burke had cruised through the first four, and didn’t allow a hit until Eugenio Suárez took him deep on a solo shot in the fifth. He otherwise retired the next three batters in order, not letting the blemish to his outing get to him in the slightest. Suárez seemed to have Burke’s number tonight, however, as he smoked a double in the seventh, sending Sean with a parting gift before his day was over. Once again Burke remained calm and in control, striking out the final two batters he faced to complete his excellent performance, seemingly on the hook for a win with a three-run lead going into the eighth.

The issue, however, is that the bats shut down for the rest of the game, and the Chicago bullpen apparently did not want to take Burke’s unhittable cue. Lefthander Bryan Hudson came in to relieve the starter in the top of the eighth, and he had a rare, weak outing where the batters were just all over him. Hudson gave up three straight singles before being taken out of the game, after Elly Da La Cruz mashed the third hit while driving in Cincy’s second run of the game to cut the White Sox lead in half, 4-2.

Ideally Hudson would have lasted way longer than three batters, but he was getting dinked and doinked enought that Will Venable made the call to the bullpen early, bringing Grant Taylor in to manage what we hoped would be the final two innings of a win on the South Side. Taylor was able to get Sal Stewart to fly out for the first out of the inning, but he walked JJ Bleday to load the bases up and raise everyone’s heart rate. The Bleday walk didn’t end up coming back to bite them on the scoreboard, but Tyler Stephenson was able to poke a base hit out to right, scoring two runs to tie the game up at four. Thankfully, Munetaka Murakami made the wise decision to cut Braden Montgomery’s on-line throw headed home and fired to second behind Bleday to catch him off of second base for a clutch second out, before Suárez flew out to end the inning.

All three runs were charged to Hudson, though Grant Taylor wound up with the blown save.

The White Sox were brutally flat at the plate for the rest of the game, with only Murakami getting a hit, with a double in the bottom of the eighth to extend his on-base streak. Though the South Siders only left four on base, they went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Lefthander Sean Newcomb came in for the 10th in an effort to prevent the ghost runner from scoring, but the Reds were able to score their free run while Chicago bombed all three opportunities in the bottom of the 10th. For Cincinnati, back-to-back fly outs let the runner advance to third, and score on a sacrifice fly from De La Cruz to take the lead, 5-4. Yep, the Reds won it in the 10th without the benefit of a hit. Great new rules, MLB.

Sam Antonacci battled through a 14-pitch at-bat before striking out against Reds closer Emilio Pagán for the first out of the 10th. Luisangel Acuña and Tristan Peters were the last hope for the Good Guys, but both popped out in the infield, sealing a heartbreaker on the South Side, and losing a game on the Detroit Tigers in the division race to boot.

Tomorrow is another day, and while we can hope the Cleveland Guardians can even out the series with the Tigers to hold the division lead to at least 2 ½ games, but the White Sox need to come back with a vengeance tomorrow and take care of business. Luis Castillo will take the mound for his second outing since joining the South Siders, going up against another righthander as the Reds turn to Rhett Lowder.

MVP
Sean Burke: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 8 K, HR, WP, no decision

Runners-Up
Brenton Doyle: 1-for-3, leadoff HR, R, RBI
Miguel Vargas: 1-for-4, R, RBI, HR
Edgar Quero: 1-for-3, R, RBI, K, HR, HBP
Sam Antonacci: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K, 2B

Cold Cat
Bryan Hudson: 0 IP, 3 H, 3 R

Runners-Up
Colson Montgomery: 0-for-4, 3 K
Braden Montgomery: 0-for-4, 2 K, OA
Luisangel Acuña: 0-for-4, K

On Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves, following a clunker of an outing his last time out in Cleveland, Nolan McLean allowed just one hit through six innings.

Unfortunately for the right-hander, that one hit, a home run by Ozzie Albies, was enough to beat him and the Mets who were shut out against Martin Perez and the Braves bullpen in a 4-0 loss.

Any other day, especially lately as New York’s offense has been red-hot, McLean’s outing would’ve been more than enough to earn him a win. Still, he and interim manager Andy Green were pleased with how he threw the ball.

“He was great,” Green said. “I thought he bounced back early from being behind consistently and he managed to get out of those in the first couple of innings, avoided hits early because of that. 

“Pitched behind more than he’d like to or we’d like him to, [but he] really found his groove there for a while. Just great six innings of work. One pitch that I’m sure he wants back.”

That one pitch to Albies, a fastball up, came on a 0-2 count and while the result is frustrating, particularly in that exact spot, McLean tipped his cap to the infielder who has tortured the Mets for a while.

“It was fairly executed,” the rookie said about the pitch. “I mean I wasn’t trying to really punch him by any means for a strikeout there, but I would’ve liked it slightly more elevated but he made a good swing on a pitch that was pretty close to the outside corner so tip my cap.”

While that was McLean’s only blemish of the night in what has been a sensational rookie campaign, the right-hander is still looking to improve.

In fact, when asked to take stock of the body of work during his first full year as a starting pitcher in the majors after he made his MLB debut on Aug. 16, 2025, McLean was more interested in looking towards the future instead of reliving the past.

“There’s still a lot of work to do I think,” he said. “Still a lot of games left, too, in this season and I wouldn’t say that the body of work is finished. I can learn every time I go out there and each lineup is completely different, too. 

“So I think it poses a good challenge every time I go out there, how to navigate lineups multiple times through the order and I guess the goal is to keep learning from that.”

However, for those wondering, McLean is 13-9 with a 3.07 ERA (1.11 WHIP) through his first 32 career starts. For comparison’s sake, Dwight Gooden had a 2.60 ERA in 31 starts during his rookie season in 1984.

Of course, McLean began his career last season when he burst onto the scene with a 2.06 ERA in eight starts in the middle of a playoff race. So, with more experience and time in the majors this year has he begun to settle into a rhythm?

“It’s always a work in progress I think,” McLean said. “I’m constantly tweaking it to figure out what works for me. And sometimes it’s different, you can’t be super self-conscious about it if you don’t get everything in and just trusting that it’s gonna be there every five days.”

A lot of movement in the system tonight.

Iowa right-hander Paul Campbell was released.

Right-handers Noah Edders and Anhuar Garcia were promoted to High-A South Bend from Low-A Myrtle Beach.

The following players were all promoted to Myrtle Beach from the ACL Cubs.

Shortstop Juan Cabada

Right-hander Chase Meyer

Left-hander Victor Zarraga

Right-hander Luis Mata

Right-hander Jubrayker Salaya

Right-hander Luis A. Reyes

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs expelled the St. Paul Saints (Twins) from heaven, 6-3 in the minor league Field of Dreams game.

Jordan Wicks gave up a home run on the first pitch of the game. After that, Wicks was pretty effective and ended up getting the win. Wicks allowed two runs on just two hits over five innings. The non-home run run was unearned. Wicks struck out two and walked one.

Jaxon Wiggins pitched the sixth inning in relief of Wicks. He walked the first batter, Walker Jenkins, on five pitches. But then he got two strikeouts and a ground out. It was just Wiggins’ second relief appearance of his career, and the other one was a “tandem start” situation last year in which Wiggins threw three innings.

Gabe Klobosits threw the ninth and gtot the save. Klobosits gave up no runs on no hits. He walked one and struck out one.

Every Iowa run came on a home run. In the second inning, shortstop Greg Jones connected with the bases empty for his second home run of the year and first in the Cubs’ organization. Jones went 1 for 3.

The I-Cubs scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to to three home runs. The first two home runs were back-to-back solo blasts by third baseman Ben Cowles and DH Jordan Nwogu. The third one was a three-run blast that came later in the inning by first baseman BJ Murray.

It was Cowles sixth home run this year. He was 1 for 3.

The home run by Nwogu was his first career Triple-A home run and his second overall. Nwogu was also 1 for 3.

Murray was 1 for 4 with his 13th home run on the year.

Right fielder Kevin Alcántara went 2 for 4.

The Jones home run.

The back-to-back home runs by Cowles and Nwogu.

Murray’s three-run blast.

A great defensive play by Jones on his knees.

Fireworks.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were picked dry by the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), 6-1.

Edward Cabrera started this game on a rehab assignment and completely dominated the Trash Pandas for five innings. He gave up no hits and no runs. The only baserunner was a two-out walk in the first, after which Cabrera retired 13 in a row. He struck out seven. Cabrera threw 64 pitches, of which 43 were strikes.

Things did not go as well for Daniel Palencia’s rehab assignment. Palencia relieved Cabrera to start this sixth and didn’t make it out of the inning. He took the loss after allowing four runs on no hits, three walks and one hit batter over two-thirds of an inning. Palencia struck out one. Only 11 of his 24 pitches were strikes.

Third baseman Dom Krupinski was 1 for 2 with two walks and the only Smokies run. He also stole a base.

Cabrera highlights.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were short-changed with Canadian money by the Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers), 6-3.

Solid start for Jostin Florentino, who went four innings and surrendered two runs on four hits. Both runs scored on a fourth-inning home run. Florentino walked three and struck out five.

Brayden Spears pitched the final three innings and took the loss. Spears was tagged for four runs on five hits, including a two-run home run. Spears walked two and struck out one.

Third baseman Matt Halbach hit a solo home run in the third inning, his ninth on the season. Halbach went 2 for 4 and scored twice.

Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy was 2 for 4 and scored one run.

Here’s a two-run double by catcher Logan Poteet. He was 1 for 4.

Halbach’s home run.

A nice outfield assist at the plate by right fielder Jose Escobar.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were driven mad by the noise of the Hill City Howlers (Guardians), 9-4.

Edwardo Melendez pitched the first three innings and allowed just one run on two hits. Melendez walked two and struck out three.

Freddy Rodriguez was up next, and he took the loss after getting pummeled for four runs on four hits over 1.1 innings. Rodriguez walked one and struck out one.

Right fielder Ethan Conrad went 2 for 4 with a two-run triple in the eighth inning. Conrad scored one run.

DH Jhoander Irigoyen singled home Conrad in the eighth. He was 2 for 4.

Third baseman Corey Nunez singled home a run in the second inning. He was 2 for 4.

Left fielder Eli Lovich was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

Highlights.

Paul Skenes hasn’t been his Cy Young Award-winning self this season, and Tuesday’s start almost bordered on shocking.

The Pirates ace threw just five innings — and just 65 pitches — before being yanked from the game in a 2-0 loss to the Marlins.

He yielded just two runs against Miami, striking out four, but did serve up a solo homer in the bottom of the third and an RBI single in the fifth.

Skenes, who hit 99 mph or higher on his fastball 68 times last season, did not exceed 96.5 mph on his heater at loanDepot park. His last fastball registered at 95 mph on his 57th pitch of the game.

The right-hander’s numbers in August, from a runs allowed standpoint, have improved. Skenes surrendered five runs in each of his final two starts of July and has allowed five in total across his first two games this month.

But for the 2023 No. 1 overall pick and three-time National League All-Star, the numbers (3.88 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) have been far from what baseball fans have been used to seeing. And each of his starts in August have been five frames long.

“If I were the manager I’d probably do it too,” Skenes said, according to USA Today. “He walked me through everything and it all made sense.

“Wish I could have gone more but, you know, it kind of is what it is.”

Pirates manager Don Kelly said Skenes coming out at that after five innings did not have anything to do with an injury.

“Anybody this time of year is … not injured, but guys in August aren’t 100 percent,” Kelly told reporters, per MLB.com. “It wasn’t injury-related that he came out. Just thought it gave us the best chance to win there.”

Skenes has now recorded three starts of 65 or fewer pitches this season after doing that just twice over his first two big league campaigns. One year ago, he fastball averaged 98.2 mph. This season it has dipped to 96.9 mph.

Before the game, according to MLB.com, Kelly said a lot of Skenes’ issues have come because hitters across baseball have become accustomed to his stuff.

“The league is adjusting back,” Kelly said. “Paul’s gonna have to fight to make the adjustment back to the league and find a way to adjust himself.”

The LL comments stopped working right about the time that Michael Rucker turned to watch his bases-loaded mess become a lead-losing base hit. Small mercies. Tonight’s 4-1 loss had the decency to come before sundown in Seattle, but the winter equinox is approaching far quicker for the Seattle Mariners than it is for the rest of us.

Bryan Woo was nails, albeit for just five frames, racking up his third shutout appearance in four appearances at Yankee Stadium, with the lone outlier last year’s 7.1 inning gem spoiled late by two big flies. Similarly to a season ago, the M’s bullpen coughed up a loss on a night that could’ve been put away earlier by a more competitive offense. Instead, they had Randy, end of list, for the umpteenth time this year. An opposite field homer was nice for a time, as left-handed man Ryan Weathers bamboozled Seattle’s bats by spraying his offerings around the area of the plate and allowing the limp-batted M’s to design and furnish their own mausoleums.

Unable to adjust or demonstrate knowledge of the prior existence of the pitcher they were facing, Seattle gave Weathers the courtesy of 5.2 frames before allowing a pair of southpaws continue going right at Seattle’s ideal lineup to face lefties. Tim Hill took 10 pitches for his frame and a third, Brent Headrick needed just nine. A misplay by Jazz Chisholm Jr. gave the M’s a shot with Dom Canzone aboard and just one out in the 9th, but Chisholm made up for it with a stellar ranging snag and throw to deny Cole Young a hit on the very next at-bat, giving Cal Raleigh three more elevated fastballs to add to his scouting report as he punched out and ended it.

Tonight’s moment is about Dan Wilson, of course, because it must be. Wilson reported postgame that despite an off day following serving his two-game suspension for throwing at Gleyber Torres back in the Tigers series, which forced Seattle to be shorthanded for most of the Rays series, Gabe Speier was unavailable due to back soreness. Following Woo, José Ferrer worked a clean sixth with 16 pitches, carving through the 1-2-3 of the Yankees. With LHHs Luis Garcia Jr. and Chisholm up, both sporting significant splits on the year and for their careers, Wilson opted for RHP Michael Rucker. Speier’s absence at the time was unknown externally, but even still it was a surprising choice ahead of time. Eduard Bazardo’s performance of late hasn’t earned immense trust with a 1-0 lead, and newly arrived Seranthony Domínguez is far from famed for easy innings. Lefty Josh Simpson has had next to no high-leverage experience in the bigs.

And so it was Rucker Wilson opted for, facing nine straight against three playoff teams, not wishing to extend Ferrer to a second frame either. A double, a single, a punchout, and a four-pitch walk to another lefty later, Rucker stood bases loaded against Ryan McMahon, squaring up from the left side as well. McMahon scalded a breaking ball for a single, an xBA of .500 evoking a coin that will even out eventually, if not necessarily in the Holocene. Eduard Bazardo arrived at last, hoping to hold a 2-1 lead he needn’t have bothered with. A chip-swing grounder from Austin Wells crawled through the 5-6 hole like it’d been rolled there to triple New York’s lead. On a night only Julio Rodríguez managed a ball hit at an expected batting average above .500, Seattle started their road trip from hell exactly where they expected to be.

The Orioles blasted a pair of two-run homers in the first two innings against Bailey Ober to jump out to an early lead. The damage was done by Pete Alonso and Gunnar Henderson.

The Twins loaded the bases in the 2nd inning with no outs and only got one run out of it. In the top of the 3rd, Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a solo homer to make it a 5-1 game.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Brooks Lee’s 19th double scored their 2nd run of the game. Later, Alan Roden would strike out with the bases loaded to end the inning.

The final chance for the Twins came in the 8th, with Luke Keaschall and Royce Lewis getting on base. Unfortunately, Kaelen Culpepper would strike out looking to end the inning.

It was a pretty uneventful game after the 3rd inning, with the exception of Culpepper getting his first hit at Target Field in the 4th inning. Ober managed to settle down and go 6 innings, with the bullpen trio of Funderburk, Nance, and Rogers keeping the game within reach. The lineup just couldn’t reach very far, or at all.

The loss drops the Twins down to 59-62, with the rubber match of this series coming tomorrow at noon. Following that, the next 9 are against the Phillies, Braves, and Padres. That will certainly be a tough test.

Studs:

Royce Lewis: 2-4, R

Brooks Lee: 2-4, 2B

Duds:

Alan Roden: 0-4, RBI

Trevor Larnach: 0-5

Bailey Ober: 6 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, BB, 3 HR

Team: 1-11 w/ RISP

“A pitcher’s nightmare, this game,” pronounced Kevin Brown as we headed into the fourth inning. It was true, we’d played six half-innings at that point and seen a run or more score in five. There were no easy ABs or quick outs. And while the runs dried up eventually, truly neither the Twins’ Bradley Ober nor the O’s Brandon Young looked particularly skilled tonight. If you like good starting pitching, this was one to skip.

But this was also an Orioles win—and what a relief, given that this team entered tonight two games out of a Wild Card, having dropped two of three to Texas and Game One of this series in tragic fashion after getting silenced by former friend Dean Kremer, dealt just last week.

I’m thrilled to report that offense was not a problem for the Orioles tonight. Kind of the opposite: they were up 2-0 after two batters, 4-0 after two innings, and despite an offensive slowdown after that, they stayed on top for an easy 5-2 win in the end.

Gunnar Henderson, still in the leadoff spot despite a tough .215 average, turned on the second pitch he saw from Minnesota starter Bradley Ober, a fastball down the middle. Henderson walloped it into the right-field corner for a leadoff double. Pete Alonso was even ruder to the Minnesota righty: he got an 88-mph fastball down the middle and launched it into the seats. 2-0, Orioles, before the Twins had an out.

(The inning could have gone even worse for Ober, who then allowed a single to Christian Encarnacion-Strand and walked Coby Mayo, hitting .444 in his last seven games. But Ober retired Christian Franklin to get out of it down just two.)

After the home team posted a zero against the O’s Brandon Young, the Birds’ hitters returned to the task of hitting Ober. The O’s No. 9 hitter, catcher Yohel Pozo, hit a soft ground ball up the middle that confused the Twins’ infield, with neither Kaelen Culpepper (at short) nor Kody Clemens (at second) able to scoop it up.

That brought back up the leadoff hitter, Gunnar Henderson. Gunnar was fouling off Ober offerings while the MASN booth reported how Gunnar had gone 18 straight games without a multi-hit game. Then, boom. The shortstop got a low-and-inside fastball and ripped it, loudly, into the stands. “The Birds are bashing it right now!” exulted analyst Ben McDonald. It was 4-0 Orioles.

We were onto the bottom of the second, and Brandon Young had himself a cushion. He’d need it, because that inning was dicey. Considering Young loaded up the bases for himself with no outs, it could have been much, much worse. He surrendered back-to-back singles to Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee, then hit second-year center fielder Luke Keaschall, who trotted to first. The Twins scored a run on a groundout to second. But another groundout did not go their way: the ball rolled right to Encarnacion-Strand, who fired home with ample time to get the runner at home. One groundball later, and Young was out of trouble with a three-run lead still.

The O’s had one more left in them, too. Ober served CES a meatball, and the O’s third baseman hit an absolute tank, 460 feet away, the longest homer by an Oriole this year. It was a terrible pitch, but a beautiful swing. Wow. 5-1 Orioles.  

After his team had given him a homer in each of the first three innings, Young wanted a shutdown third… but it wouldn’t be so easy. Minnesota catcher Ryan Jeffers reached on an infield single, then Josh Bell, too, on a strange catcher’s interference call. (In reality, Bell swung late on a sinker and caught a chunk of Yohel Pozo’s mitt. The O’s backstop left in pain, and was promptly replaced by another new O’s backstop, Carlos Narváez.) After two quick outs, Young was one strike away from ending the inning, but Brooks Lee doubled off a sinker, making it now 5-2. Then it looked like Young had struck out young Luke Keaschall, but the CF challenged, and the call was overturned. While the MASN booth proclaimed this “another stressful outing,” Young finally got a strike three swinging. It’d taken him 62 pitches, but he was through three.

Gunnar next doubled with two outs, making him 3-for-3 on the day, but the Orioles didn’t score, and Young teetered in the fourth. He allowed a leadoff single to rookie Kaelen Culpepper but, with two outs, fell down 3-0 to slugger Josh Bell. “I would pitch Josh Bell extremely carefully here,” said McDonald from the booth. Young was up to the task: a groundball to second kept it 5-2.

The O’s made solid contact against Ober in the fifth and sixth (with three deep flyouts), but both ended up 1-2-3 innings. Brandon Young did not have a 1-2-3 fifth or sixth inning—and frankly, it was a miracle he got this deep in the game, period, given his pitch count was up around ninety before either. In the fifth, he walked the leadoff man, but got a miraculously timed double play. He came back out for the sixth—and it felt scary. But after a leadoff single, he got two quick flyouts. Then, a ground ball took Gunnar well to his backhand; he picked it, slung his arm across his body, and got the third out at first! For Young to complete six and get a quality start tonight (his tenth of the season!) felt like a miracle; what a gutsy effort by the Texan.

The Orioles had a chance to make it 6-2 against Twins lefty Kody Funderburk, but a Pete Alonso single, Jackson Holliday walk, and Tyler O’Neill produced only an out at the plate—feels like the Orioles have more than their fair share of those.

Josh Walker had a lightning-fast seventh inning—it took him just eight pitches. I wasn’t in a hurry or anything tonight, but still, what a breath of fresh air.

Yennier Cano was much messier, allowing a hit and a walk, but he held the line.

The O’s took their swings off lefty sidewinder Taylor Rogers in the ninth, but didn’t score (once linked to the O’s as a bullpen target, Rogers has a twin brother, also a pitcher, named Tyler, and just imagine the havoc if this team had a Tyler, a Taylor and a Trevor Rogers on the same staff).

That left only the bottom of the ninth, and Andrew Kittredge. The veteran righty has been a little shady of late, but tonight he was nails. Not only did he get two quick groundball outs, he whiffed Josh Bell convincingly, with a little dipping dart of a sinker. Cool.

Tonight was a much-needed win. It doesn’t fix all the Orioles’ flaws, but they made it look pretty easy tonight.

So, Birdland, who is your vote for Most Birdland of tonight? Brandon Young, who gutted out his tenth quality start of the season with imperfect stuff? Pete Alonso, 3-for-4 with a 2-run home run and a walk? Gunnar Henderson, who came a triple away from the cycle and played some great defense? Christian Encarnacion-Strand, a recent callup who hit a 460-foot monster of a home run?

It began with a ball struck with authority, Luis García Jr. thundering his second double of the game off the right field wall. 

It included the kind of well-aimed luck that has eluded them, Austin Wells’ pop-up into shallow right-center somehow not winding up in a Seattle glove. 

And for the first time in a long time, there were bunches of hits — legitimate, real, pitch-to-bat-to-outfield-grass trajectories, the kind your grandparents fondly remember witnessing when they were young. 

The frigid Yankees lineup finally broke through, stacking five knocks and one walk together to score four runs in the seventh inning to seize a 4-1 comeback victory over the Mariners in front of 41,407 frustrated, then frenzied, fans in The Bronx on Tuesday. 

“Still, obviously, we got a long ways to go,” manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees (67-52) won for the third time in four games, a span in which Tuesday’s was the lone contest not decided by one run. “But hopefully this is us moving the needle to get closer to the offense we can be.” 

So many games for the past several weeks have followed a script that featured excellent Yankees pitching, inept Yankees hitting and resulting late-game tension because neither side could create distance. 

That is how the series opener began, the Yankees down 1-0 — courtesy of a Randy Arozarena sixth-inning home run off an otherwise excellent Ryan Weathers — after six and a half innings, during which the home team managed three hits, none of which came with runners in scoring position. 

Until the game flipped with Seattle starter Bryan Woo removed. Against righty Michael Rucker, García scalded a leadoff double. Jazz Chisholm Jr., who even in this season of struggles has struggled acutely recently, found a hole on the right side of the infield to put runners on the corners. 

A George Lombard Jr. strikeout felt as if it would be the first step to another backbreaking inning, but after a Spencer Jones walk, Ryan McMahon lined a go-ahead two-run single through the left side of the infield to turn a one-run deficit into a one-run lead. 

“I was just trying to stay inside the baseball,” said McMahon, who volleyed a curveball the other way for the 500th RBI of his career, “give us a good chance to try to get some runs in.” 

After Wells’ bloop single off Eduard Bazardo reloaded the bases, Trent Grisham found the same hole that McMahon exploited, smacking a single between third baseman Brendan Donovan and shortstop Colt Emerson to drive in two more. 

Suddenly, the Yankees had a rally, a lead and a legitimate big inning: They had not scored more than two runs in a frame in more than a week, since last Monday’s 13-7 loss to the Cardinals in which they scored three in one inning and four in another. 

“Just a lot of tough at-bats,” Boone said of the Yankees attack, which scored more than three runs in a contest for just a third time in their past 11 games (a stretch in which they incredibly have won six times). 

“Stacking them, that’s super important,” McMahon added of the hits. “That’s how you score runs and something we got to do a little bit more.” 

Regardless of the offensive output in every other inning — the Yankees scored in just the seventh and wasted a second-and-third rally in the first inning and a one-out double in the third — they escaped because their pitching remained typically brilliant. 

After Weathers’ dominance, Tim Hill recorded four groundouts, Brent Headrick struck out two in a clean eighth and David Bednar — with the help of a hobbled Chisholm, who had hurt his ankle on the previous play and then ranged into the hole to field a ground ball and record a force out at second base — secured save No. 27. 

Apart from one frame, the blueprint remained the same for a team that still is not scoring enough and still is relying heavily upon nearly untouchable pitching. 

Part of this blueprint is the Yankees are now accustomed to playing tight games, which might matter in October. 

“I hope it serves us well in the end,” Boone said after comeback win No. 30.

If the Wrigley Chewing Gum company weren’t so deeply associated with the arch-rivals of the St. Louis ballclub, they’d probably offer the Cardinals the opportunity to be the new face of Doublemint Gum, on account of all the double killings they turned tonight. In the absence of an endorsement deal, the Redbirds will have to settle for winning the game.

The Phillies put runners on the corners on the first, but didn’t convert them into runs. And the same was true in the second, as the Phillies put runners on the corners and saw the inning end on a Justin Crawford 6-4-3 GIDP. The Cardinals soon found themselves in a comparable situation, putting runners on first and third against Cristopher Sánchez on singles from José Fermin and Masyn Winn. And the Redbirds, wanting to be gracious and considerate hosts, chose not to upstage their visitors and promptly hit into a 5-4-3 twin killing. The Phillies, however, misunderstood this kind gesture, thinking that home team was trying to upstage them with a GIDP slightly fancier than the standard 6-4-3. “We can match that,” said the Phils. And so it was that in the next inning they did indeed replicate the 5-4-3 DP, via grounder from Bryce Harper.

The assembled masses, Philadelphia Phaithful and toasted ravioli-eating St. Louis partisans alike, cried “stop! No more!” But their calls went unheeded. The Cardinals, their dander up and their ire drawn, one-upped the Phillies by hitting into a 4-6-3 version of the pitcher’s best friend. to conclude the bottom of the third. The arms race was on. Your faithful recapper sprinted to his bookshelf, removed his copy of the Dickson Baseball Dictionary, flipped to the entry on double plays, and groaned upon realizing that only four synonyms were listed; one was used two sentences ago, and the others weren’t distinct enough to be of use (technically you can shorten double play to just double, but isn’t that confusing?)

In the fourth inning, the first two Phillies batters, Luis Arraez and J.T. Realmuto, made outs, thus ensuring the chain of double plays would at last be broken. But while the double plays ended, offense was still hard to find. In the top of the fifth, Alec Bohm sent a slider flying to center, where Everson Pereira leapt and came down with it elegantly; poetry in motion, and frustration in action for the Phillies. The Cardinals proved no more adept at scoring in their portion of the fifth, and then in the sixth the double play chain began again, with the Phillies matching the 4-6-3 their avian foe hit into earlier.

The Phillies faced the Redbird bullpen in the seventh, with Brady Pallante departing after six scoreless, with four hits and just two Ks. His replacement, George Soriano, quickly induced two outs, then allowed a single to Brandon Marsh and a walk to Bohm. That brought up Justin Crawford, who lined out. The scoring drought continued.

The Phillies, too, turned to their bullpen, with Alex McFarlane taking over for Sánchez (6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 7 K). He walked his first batter, who then promptly stole second. Had he not, the subsequent grounder would’ve resulted in yet another double play; as it was, it was just one out. Winn lined to right, and the game finally had its first run.

Kyle Schwarber walked to lead off the eighth, with Derek Hill called in to pinch run. Hill promptly made the most of his role, stealing second. Trea Turner worked a walk as well. That brought up Bryce Harper, who battled across nine pitches before earning his free pass. Thus, Luis Arrarez had the bases loaded, no outs, and the perfect opportunity to break his hitless streak. Though the opportunity couldn’t have been better, the result could have been: Arraez grounded gently to first, whereupon the ball was tossed to home for the first out, and then back to first for the second. Yet another double play, and one exceptional enough that the Cardinals certainly wouldn’t top it.

Tim Mayza took over for the bottom of the eighth, facing Pereira first. Not content to have robbed what was almost a homer, Pereira decided to hit one of his own, sending it out to center to put the Cardinal lead at 2-0.

The Phillies had Stott-Marsh-Bohm for their final stand in the ninth. Stott struck out, Marsh lined out, and Bohm grounded out.

The Phillies are 64-57. The final game of the series will commence tomorrow at 2:15.

Red Sox 3 Blue Jays 5

Despite Dylan Cease not having his usual great start, it turned out to be a good game. Cease went 5 innings, allowed 5 hits, 4 walks, and 7 strikeouts, but gave up 2 home runs. Neither one was crushed; one just barely cleared the wall. For anyone else, it would be pretty good, but we’ve come to expect more from Cease.

We used a lot of guys in the pen:

• Chase Lee got five outs, giving up a hit and two walks.
• Brandon Little got the last out of the seventh, striking out the lefty.
• Braydon Fisher pitched a quick eight, giving up just a walk.
• Spencer Miles got the save, giving up a double on a ball I expected Myles Straw to catch, but I think Straw thought the wall was closer than it was.

On a day they rested Louis Varland and Tyler Rogers, our pen was terrific.

Our offence? Well, we did get five runs, which is like other teams scoring 12.

We had 10 hits. No homers, just two doubles for extra-base hits. Bateman, Straw and Kirk had two hits each. Clement was the only Jay not to reach base, and he hit into two double plays. It just wasn’t his day. But he did get an RBI.

We scored:

• One in the third: With two outs, Lukes singled, McAdoo walked, and Bateman doubled in Lukes.
• Two in the fifth: Andrés Giménez started it with a single. Straw hit into a force at second. Lukes put down a nice bunt. And McAdoo hit a sac fly. And Bateman in another.
• One in the sixth: Springer led off with a walk. Kirk singled him to third. Clement hit into a force at second (but not a double play) and Springer scored.
• One in the eighth: Springer again led off, this time with a single. Kirk hit into a force at second. Josh Smith came in to pinch run. After Clement popped out, Giménez was hit by pitch, right on the knee. It looked very painful. And Straw doubled home Smith.

We should have scored more, but the double plays hurt. And Vlad, with Bateman on first, lined one into the right field corner, but Wilyer Abreu did a great job getting to it before it made the back wall and made a perfect throw into second, getting Vlad. I thought it was a double off the bat, but the play in the corner was great. Likely Vlad had turned at first and didn’t see the pickup, but we’d have been gett off with him sticking at first.

And there was some amazing Jays defense. In particular, Giménez made a super play on a ground ball to his right, diving, popping up and throwing a perfect bounce throw to first—just an amazing play. Charles McAdoo looked far better at third than I expected. Kirk threw out a runner stealing, terrific throw.

Jays of the Day: Bateman (0.26 WPA, I thought he did a great job in the post-game interview with Hazel), Kirk (0.17, plus the throw), Straw (0.16, maybe subtract a little for the missed catch in the ninth), Lee (0.12) and Fisher (0.12). Honourable mention to Spencer Miles for the save.

Other Award: Clement (-0.15), Vlad (-0.12) and Cease (-0.12).

Tomorrow is game 3 with the Red Sox—another 7:00 Eastern start. Ranger Suarez (4-3, 3.32) vs. José Soriano (9-6, 3.24), making his second start for the Jays.

The Yankees are struggling offensively. The Yankees do not hit with runners in scoring position. The Yankees have been too homer-reliant. All three of these tenets are true, especially since the injury bug swept through the Bronx and left them more vulnerable than they’ve been in several years.

All of their wins and losses are decided by one or two runs. They get excellent pitching, but regardless of the quality of the opposing starter, they often fail to dent home plate due to their middling healthy power options and their woes with RISP. Since June 18th, they have been batting an absolutely dreadful .170 in these situations, by far the worst in baseball. They are also striking out a league-high 29.4 percent in these spots, limiting opportunities for productive outs.

This game was going like all the others. They squandered three massive opportunities with runners in scoring position off Bryan Woo early on before going down in order in three consecutive innings. Now trailing 1-0 after one measly run scored off a sharp Ryan Weathers, they got one more chance in the seventh and didn’t let it go to waste. Two unlikely sources provided two great pieces of hitting to small ball their way to a four-run inning and a 4-1 win.

Weathers started this one out looking to continue the good vibes he’s had on the bump lately and quickly retired the first two he faced before jumping ahead 0-2 on Julio Rodríguez before throwing four straight balls and walking him. Things might’ve gotten hairy with a Dominic Canzone grounder that hit the second base bag if not for a stellar barehanded play by George Lombard Jr., who continues to be a savant defensively.

Woo’s always done well against the Yankees, but he labored to put up a zero in the first. A one-out walk by Ben Rice and a two-out double by Luis García Jr. set things up for Jazz Chisholm Jr., who worked a nine-pitch at-bat that included a 400-foot foul ball, but he flew out to the warning track in left-center field. Woo threw 32 pitches, allowed three batted balls of at least 101 mph, and didn’t get a single whiff, yet didn’t allow a run. Maybe the fact that he threw the five hardest pitches of his entire career that inning helps.

An infield single and a two-out walk to Weston Wilson gave Seattle a chance with a runner in scoring position in the second, but a nice stab by García at first on a Colt Emerson grounder ended a lengthy top of the second. Lombard led off the second with a single but was stranded after Taylor Ward’s leaping catch robbed Ryan McMahon of extra bases and the rookie was gunned down by Cal Raleigh trying to steal his first MLB bag.

A much quicker 1-2-3 third inning by Weathers gave the offense another chance to work off Woo, who they continued to get good swings off of. Austin Wells just yanked a long foul ball before grounding out, and Trent Grisham doubled into the corner at the end of a long at-bat, but the RISP woes continued as Rice struck out and Heliot Ramos grounded out to strand the runner.

Both offenses had their chances in the first few innings as the two starters labored, but once they got in a groove, neither threatened. Weathers retired 10 in a row, while Woo went from throwing 73 pitches in three tough innings to coasting through the final two, settling in after looking doomed early. Two struggling offenses certainly looked the part on Tuesday night.

By the laws of the game, someone had to score first, and the first blow was struck in the sixth on an opposite-field home run by longtime Yankee killer Randy Arozarena, one of the only hitters not currently loathed in Seattle for lack of production. After a week full of balls dying on the warning track, seeing a swing like that get out felt like a bigger gut punch than we actually saw on the scoreboard. Weathers departed after walking Dominic Canzone, finishing 5.2 strong innings but being in line for the loss.

Tim Hill got the last out of the sixth before Seattle went to their bullpen, going to José A. Ferrer against the top of the order, who went down quietly. Hill got through the seventh quickly in what’s been maybe his best outing since April, allowing the offense to wake up in the seventh.

García roped a leadoff double off Michael Rucker and was singled to third by Chisholm. Lombard struck out, Spencer Jones walked to load the bases with one out, and you just sat there wondering if they could finally break through. McMahon, likely still steaming from the robbery earlier, answered.

His two-run single made it 2-1 and chased Rucker. With two on and one out, Eduard Bazardo gave up a first-pitch blooper to Wells that Ward seemed terribly positioned for, setting up Grisham for a two-run knock of his own to left field to make it 4-1. Rice and Ramos stranded the remaining runners, but the Yanks finally did their jobs at the plate.

Brent Headrick was the first to come out and protect the newfound lead, doing so expeditiously. Seranthony Dominguez got this game to the ninth with a weird 1-2-3 inning that saw Chisholm overturn a strikeout before getting picked off a solid 15 seconds later. That’s been his season in a nutshell. Lombard also worked a long, 12-pitch at-bat for good measure.

David Bednar came on for the save against the heart of the order with a three-run cushion. He K’d J-Rod, allowed Canzone to reach on an infield single, got a nice force out from Jazz on a redemption play, and K’d the once-MVP candidate Raleigh to lock down his 17th consecutive save. With the loss by Boston, the Yankees are now three games clear of their rivals to the north, but would need a favor from the lowly A’s to gain ground in the AL East.

The Yankees go for the series victory tomorrow night at 7:05 pm in the middle game of this three-game set against the Mariners. It’ll be Will Warren against Bryce Miller on ESPN.

Box Score

Tuesday night was a good ole pitchers duel at Busch Stadium with St. Louis Cardinals Andre Pallante matching the Phillies Cristopher Sanchez nearly pitch-for-pitch, but it would a couple of dramatic Cardinals late inning at-bats (and clutch relief appearance, too) that would eventually win the day for St. Louis.

The first 4 innings were a dead heat between Sanchez and Pallante. The Phillies had only managed 3 hits and the Cardinals only had 4. Both teams were bailed out by double plays that ended scoring chances. It reminded me of some classic National League games I remember growing up as a kid in the 70’s and that’s not a complaint. In the top of the 5th inning, Pallante received a major defensive assist from new centerfielder Everson Pereira. Alec Bohm of the Phillies connected with an 88 mph Palante slider and blasted it to deep center when Pereira hit the wall at full stride, slammed into the wall and held onto the ball. I fully expected his next move would be to reveal a big “Superman” emblem on his chest.

To give credit where credit is due, Cristopher Sanchez of the Phillies was as good as advertised. The Cardinals had a lone scoring chance in the bottom of the 2nd inning when José Fermín and Masyn Winn singled giving St. Louis runners at first and third with just one out, but a double play ended that opportunity. For the first 6 innings, neither pitcher was budging. It’s a major compliment to Andre Pallante to say that he was a worthy competitor with the nasty stuff that Sanchez was dealing Tuesday night. Manager Oli Marmol removed Andre after 6 full innings and his stat line was solid. 6 innings allowing just 4 hits, no runs while striking out 3 and walking 2. Not exactly the equal of Sanchez performance, but close where it mattered which is on the scoreboard.

The St. Louis Cardinals bullpen took over in the top of the 7th when George Soriano entered the game. He got off to a good start striking out Realmuto and Stott, but allowed a hard single by Marsh past JJ’s glove into right field followed by a walk to Bohm. The Cardinals were fortunate that the bullet that came off of Crawford’s bat went straight to Jordan Walker’s glove in right field to end the Phillies scoring threat in the 7th.

The Phillies called on their depleted bullpen in the bottom of the 7th as Alex McFarlane took over for the excellent Sanchez. Jordan Walker gave St. Louis some hope as he drew a leadoff walk to start the Cardinals 7th and then he stole second. Alec Burleson struck out, but José Fermín moved Walker to third as he grounded out to short for the second out. It was Masyn Winn’s turn to play the role of potential hero as he stepped into a 100 mph sinker and drove it into right-center for a RBI single giving the Cardinals a precious 1-0 lead.

After George Soriano escaped the top of the 7th inning, it was Caleb Ferguson’s turn to tackle the top of the 8th inning with Kyle Schwarber and the rest of the top of the Phillies lineup coming to bat. He gave up a leadoff walk and that groan you might have heard at that moment was from ALL OF US. The Phillies pinch-ran for Schwarber with Hill who stole second base even though Pages had a rapid release and JJ Wetherholt made a nice swipe tag that barely missed getting him out. Ferguson then walked Trea Turner and the collective scream you might have heard was ALL OF US. Unbelievably, Caleb managed to walk Bryce Harper to load the bases with no outs. Hold on a second, I need to go sign up for some anger management classes. Back in a sec.

After a very ticked off looking Oli Marmol unceremoniously removed Ferguson from the game, Ryne Stanek was brought in to try and douse the developing dumpster fire. He managed to miraculously get Arraez to ground into a double play to Alec Burleson who fired the ball to home for a force with Pages firing it back to him. Wonderful! When Realmuto flied out to deep center for the final out of the Phillies 8th, all was right in the (Cardinals) universe again.

Here’s something I haven’t been able to say often enough this season. The Cardinals actually added an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th inning. Everson Pereira gave a long ride to an 87 mph slider from Phillies reliever Tim Mayza that landed in David Freese land in dead center field giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

In the 9th inning, it was Riley O’Brien’s baby as he had to shut down the Phillies to close out an unexpected victory for the Cardinals. He had the bottom half of the Philadelphia lineup to deal with starting with Stott who Riley struck out with no difficulty. Next up was Brandon Marsh who ripped a line drive that conveniently landed in Alec Burleson’s glove. Alec Bohm’s meager groundout to Masyn Winn ended the game for a huge St. Louis victory.

The St. Louis Cardinal wrap up their homestand before heading off to Chicago with a game Wednesday afternoon against the Philadelphia Phillies. Kyle Leahy gets the nod from the Cardinals while Zack Wheeler will start for the Phillies. First pitch scheduled for 1:15pm central time at Busch Stadium and game TV broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

Yankees 4, Mariners 1

Eastbound and Down: Bryan Woo, 0.28 WPA

Weston and Wilson: Michael Rucker, -0.47 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

Alright Fritz. Fine.

It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest hang for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the heat. There are cool people in here. There’s no cover charge. We have a few tables still available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night, I asked you which team was most likely to claim the second National League Wild Card? The vote wasn’t too close as 50 percent of you picked the Phillies. The Diamondbacks just snuck past the Padres for second place, 23 percent to 22 percent.

On Tuesday nights, I don’t generally do a movie essay. But I always have some time for jazz, and that time is now.

Tonight we are honored to have trumpeter Freddie Hubbard in 1989 performing “The Night has a Thousand Eyes.” Peter Washington is on double bass, James Williams plays piano and the drummer is Tony Reedus.

Welcome back to everyone who skips all that jazz.

Rick Sutcliffe said something on social media a couple of weeks ago that’s stuck with me.

I’m the kind of person who thinks that managers get too much credit when things go well and too much blame when things go poorly. I do believe that managers make a difference, both good and bad, but the influence is normally small. I do think a bad manager can do a lot more damage to a team than a good manager can help one. Sometimes what we think is a good manager is just someone who isn’t quite as crappy as the guy before him.

But in this case, I gotta agree with Sut. I don’t need to tell you that this year’s Cubs team was decimated by pitching injuries. Things were ugly in May. But Counsell kept the boat afloat through the storm and managed to find some starters and relievers who could keep games close enough for the offense to win. When Pete Crow-Armstrong struggled early in the year, he didn’t bench him against left-handers. Bregman did get off to a poor start to his Cubs career (at least by his standards), but Counsell stood by him and now he looks like his same old self. Hoerner’s mid-season struggles seem to be over. I know a lot of you wanted the Cubs to bench Ian Happ and yes, Counsell did give him an off-day here and there. But the rested and refreshed Happ is starting to look like his old self as well.

Everyone says Counsell is a wizard with the bullpen. Except Counsell. He thinks that’s overstated. But he’s been forced to use 13 different pitchers to record saves this year. He’s put together a bullpen with chewing gum and piano wire.

Now, with the Trade Deadline passed, the Cubs have several reinforcements for those injured players just as the injured players returned. And over the past several weeks, the Cubs have been the best team in the National League, at least as far as wins and losses go. And I don’t think any other metric really matters.

So I’ve got to give Counsell an “A.” But what do you give him?

Thank you for coming in. We always enjoy having you stop by. Get home safely. Call a ride if you need one. Recycle and cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow for more BCB After Dark.