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The post-trade deadline Mets continue to roll. At a time in a lost season when fans of the orange and blue are more likely to be looking at draft lottery odds than playoff standings, the Amazins are now in the midst of their most successful stretch of 2026. Following a sweep of the Guardians and winning two out of three to the Pirates, the good times continued tonight in Atlanta, where the Mets faced off against the NL East-leading Braves and secured an 8-5 victory over their division rivals.

The bats gave Braves starter Bryce Elder a rude hello in the first inning of tonight’s game. A.J. Ewing led off the game with a double (originally ruled a ground-rule double, then just ruled a regular double after several minutes of umpire deliberation for… reasons). After Francisco Lindor moved him over to third base on a groundout to second base, Bo Bichette delivered the first run of the evening with a single to left. The Mets subsequently loaded the bases thanks to a walk to Carson Benge and a single by Jared Young, respectively. Marcus Semien struck out for out number two, giving Elder the chance to get out of the inning having given up just the one run. Instead, Brett Baty deposited the first pitch he saw beyond the right-center field wall for a grand slam, giving the Mets an early 5-0 lead and making Ron Darling look like a genius.

The Braves responded with their own first inning rally against Christian Scott. Like Ewing before him, Drake Baldwin led off with a double, and he would move to third on a one-out single from Matt Olson. After striking out Michael Harris II, an eleven-pitch plate appearance from Ozzie Albies concluded with him getting hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Mauricio Dubón then capitalized with a ground ball through the third base hole, scoring two runs to make it a 5-2 ballgame. Scott struck out Austin Riley to end the frame, but he had already expended 31 pitches in just one inning of work.

The Mets continued the offensive barrage in the top of the second against Elder. For a third straight time, the inning started with a double—this time off the bat of Lindor. Elder got the next two outs on a groundout and strikeout, respectively, but Young then got his second hit in as many innings, this one an RBI single to right field to make it 6-2 Mets. That would prove to be the only run the team would score in the frame, though Semien did get a single for the team’s ninth hit in just two innings. The tenth hit would come in the third inning, after Elder recorded the first two outs of the inning to come on the verge of finally tossing a clean frame. Instead, Lindor socked a monstrous shot to deep right field, giving the Mets a five-run lead once again.

But the Braves would fight back once again. Scott held Atlanta off the board in the second and third innings, but faltered once more in the fourth. After recording the first out of the inning, a single and a walk put runners on first and second. A strikeout of Sean Murphy put Scott one out away from another scoreless frame. Instead, back-to-back two-out singles from Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr. brought home two runs, cutting the lead down to 7-4. Scott struck out Matt Olson to end the inning, but Andy Green elected to have that be the end of his night. Not the best line for the young Mets’ starter (4 innings, 7 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 4 earned runs).

Jonathan Pintaro—who had just been recalled to the Mets’ active roster following the placement of Devin Williams on the injured list—came on for the fifth inning, and the Braves continued to chip away. He allowed the first two batters of the inning on via a single and walk. A double play off the bat of Dubón put a runner on third base with two outs, but that runner would come around to score thanks to a wild pitch from Pintaro. With that, the lead was cut to just two runs.

The Mets’ bats, meanwhile, had gone silent; Elder managed to make it through five innings of work despite his early struggles, and Brent Suter then came on and threw three scoreless innings. Thus, the Braves gave themselves a chance to continue erasing the deficit, but the rest of the Mets’ bullpen was up to the task. Following Pintaro’s inning of work, Nate Lavender came on for the bottom of the sixth and tossed a scoreless frame. He came back on for the seventh, but quickly left after giving up a leadoff double to Harris. Daniel Duarte came on and proceeded to throw two hitless innings—thanks in part to some good defense in his second inning of work, including Francisco Alvarez making a catch against the netting in foul territory and Ewing making a diving catch on a line drive to end the eighth.

The Mets finally added on in the top of the ninth when Victor Mederos came on for the Braves. He quickly loaded the bases on a single, walk, and hit-by-pitch, and Young proceeded to get his second RBI of the game by hitting a sacrifice fly to center field. That would make it an 8-5 game, and while it would prove to be the only run the Mets would score in the inning, it would be enough. With Williams now on the injured list, Kodai Senga came on for the bottom of the frame to try to secure his first career save. He did so without much trouble, striking out the first two batters he faced and issuing only a two-out walk in his hitless inning of work to close the door.

So the Mets are now 6-1 since selling at the deadline. Will these good times continue? Eh, probably not. But on the bright side, the Mets have now won the season series against the Braves for the first time since 2017. Would not have expected that in this particular season, but beating Atlanta always feels good. Game two of the series tomorrow evening.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Daniel Duarte, +27% WPA
Big Mets loser: Christian Scott and Marcus Semien, -8% WPA
Mets pitchers: +32% WPA
Mets hitters: +18% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Brett Baty grand slam in the first, +24.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Mauricio Dubón two-run single in the first, -10.2% WPA

The Mets defeated the Braves, 8-5, in an offensive showcase on Monday night in Atlanta.   

Here are the takeaways...

-- Braves starter Bryce Elder had been on pace for a career year heading into this game with a 3.69 ERAm but the Mets were able to jump all over him in this one, tallying seven runs and 10 hits over the first three innings. 

-- A.J. Ewing led off the proceedings with a ground-rule double, and Bo Bichette singled him home two batters later. With the bases loaded and two outs, Brett Baty sent a moonshot over the right-center field fence for his eighth homer of the season and first career grand slam. 

-- The five-run inning saw every member of the Mets lineup take an at-bat. The Braves responded in the bottom half of the frame, loading the bases on Mets starter Christian Scott before Atlanta's Mauricio Dubón brought home two runs with a two-out single.

-- The Mets added another leadoff double -- this time off the bat of Francisco Lindor -- to kick off the second inning. Lindor came around to score thanks to a Jared Young liner which found the outfield grass with two outs to increase the lead to 6-2 Mets. With two outs in the top of the third, Lindor tallied another hit, this one a 420-foot no-doubter to pad the Mets lead to a five-run advantage. Lindor finished the game 3-for-5, his fourth game with at least three hits this season.

-- Atlanta's standout sophomore DH Drake Baldwin notched his second hit of the game in the fourth inning, singling home Austin Riley to cut the lead to 7-3. Ronald Acuña Jr. then ripped Scott's hanging slider into left field to bring home Jim Jarvis, but Scott battled back, striking out Matt OIson to limit the damage with the Mets still leading by three runs.

-- Scott allowed four earned runs on seven hits, striking out six batters and walking one across 82 pitches. He was pulled after the fourth inning, increasing his ERA and WHIP on the season to 3.45 and 1.30, respectively.

-- Michael Harris II scored from third base on a wild pitch thrown by Mets reliever Jonathan Pintaro with two outs in the fifth. Pintaro finished the inning with the Mets still in front, 7-5. He was relieved by southpaw Nate Lavender, who spun a scoreless sixth inning.

-- Right-handed reliever Daniel Duarte handled two full innings of high-leverage relief work in the seventh and eight innings, allowing just one baserunner and zero runs to hold the Mets lead.

-- With the bases juiced and nobody out in the ninth, Mets first baseman Jared Young drove in a run via sacrifice fly, his sixth RBI in the last six games he's played.

-- In the stead of injured closer Devin Williams, Kodai Senga entered the game with three outs to seal a Mets win and the score 8-5. He struck out both Olson and Harriswith his signature forkball, walked Ozzie Albies, and retired Dubón via flyout to earn the first MLB save of his career.

Game MVP: Brett Baty

Baty clobbered the first grand slam of his career, providing the Mets with an ample cushion to cruise the rest of the way, the team's sixth victory in their last seven games.

Highlights

A.J. Ewing opens the game with a leadoff double.

The Mets challenged the play, alleging that the ball was not stuck in the right field wall.

The call on the field was overturned, but Ewing was still only awarded second base. pic.twitter.com/GEcx7980dn

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 10, 2026

Six straight hits for Bo Bichette!

He brings home A.J. Ewing in the first inning! pic.twitter.com/Abmvjk66o4

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 10, 2026

RONNIE'S PICK TO CLICK!

BRETT BATY GRAND SLAM! pic.twitter.com/JmQyytaY76

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 10, 2026

Jared Young brings home Francisco Lindor 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MrAYn0rGOV

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 11, 2026

Francisco Lindor hits one 420 feet 🔥 pic.twitter.com/l1c1TbTlCf

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 11, 2026

A.J. Ewing makes the play and we go to the 9th! pic.twitter.com/6I6LGVDocU

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 11, 2026

Kodai Senga locks down his first MLB save! pic.twitter.com/9uHxyjocrl

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 11, 2026

What's next

The Mets continue their series in Atlanta on Tuesday night, with first pitch set for 7:15 p.m.

For the Mets, Nolan McLean (3.51 ERA, 1.16 WHIP in 130.2 IP) will toe the slab.

Martín Pérez(3.14 ERA, 1.15 WHIP in 100.1 IP) will take the mound for the Braves.

Whatever else can be said about tonight’s game, it had one of the most “you can’t predict baseball” moments of all time. It was the only run the Sox scored, and it was utterly ridiculous, and they lost anyway.

The short story is this: Both Sonny Gray and Jameson Taillon were on point, with the first damage coming on a solo homer from Charles McAdoo, his second ever. Really can’t be allowing that stuff, says smart guy:

The Jays added another run on garden-variety stuff before the shit hit the fan in the top of the seventh. And my sisters, I promise I’m not exaggerating when I say this is one of the most fucked baseball moments of all time.

Here’s what happened:

Ceddanne Rafaela comes up with runners on first (Eric Sogard) and second (Anthony Siegler) with one out. Only, and this is important, the scoreboard in center says there are two outs. Which apparently all the players watch, because when Ceddy flies out to center, no one is really moved by it, and the Blue Jays throw it in and tag first in the perfunctory way teams do when they’re just sort of going on muscle memory. During all this, Sogard crosses second and Siegler crosses home.

Come back from commercial, and Blue Jays manager-for-life or so it seems John Schneider is talking to the umps for a good five minutes. He’s not losing his mind, but he’s not happy. Then the umps talk to Chad Tracy, who dramas a bit, and then the head ump gets on the mic and is like: “New York, tell us what to do.”

Which is this: The Red Sox score. For the dumbest possible reason: Since the only way to successfully protest an incorrect run-scoring call in this instance is to challenge it at third base, and the Jays instead went to first, the run counted. Chances are you’ll never see this again in your life, tbh. Too many weird things had to happen at once for it to come to pass. But it did happen:

But whatever. Jarren Duran led off the ninth with a double and was moved to third on a bunt and couldn’t tie it. The shine is gone. It’s over. It’s never been more over. The only question is: Are we back? I think we’re back.

Every Major League Baseball park has its own distinct personality, but if you're talking history, Fenway Park (1912) and Wrigley Field (1914) sit in a league of their own as the meccas of the sport.

What's wild though, is the massive drop-off after those pre-World War 1 masterpieces. The third-oldest venue in baseball isn't some classic turn-of-the-century structure – it’s Dodger Stadium, which didn't open until 1962. On the flip side of the timeline, Texas broke in MLB’s newest venue, Globe Life Field, back in 2020. In fact, stadium construction has slowed down so much lately that Atlanta’s Truist Park (2017) is the only other park to debut over the last decade.

That’s a stark contrast to the massive boom sparked by Camden Yards in 1992, which kicked off a "retro-classic" wave that saw an incredible 12 new ballparks open between 1994 and 2004.

So, what’s next on the horizon? The Athletics are officially set to open baseball’s newest venue when they make their move to Las Vegas, while the Tampa Bay Rays might finally end their endless saga and secure a new ballpark.

Here's when every MLB stadium opened:

Oldest stadiums in MLB

• Fenway Park – 1912 (Red Sox)
• Wrigley Field – 1914 (Cubs)
• Dodger Stadium – 1962 (Dodgers)
• Angel Stadium – 1966 (Angels)
• Kauffman Stadium – 1973 (Royals)
• Rogers Centre – 1989 (Blue Jays)
• Tropicana Field – 1990 (Rays)
• Rate Field – 1991 (White Sox)
• Orioles Park at Camden Yards – 1992 (Orioles)
• Progressive Field – 1994 (Guardians)
• Coors Field – 1995 (Rockies)
• Chase Field – 1998 (Diamondbacks)
• T-Mobile Park – 1999 (Mariners)
• Daikin Park – 2000 (Astros)
• Comerica Park – 2000 (Tigers)
• Oracle Park – 2000 (Giants)
• Sutter Health Park – 2000 (Athletics' home ballpark until team moves to Las Vegas)
• American Family Field – 2001 (Brewers)
• PNC Park – 2001 (Pirates)
• Great American Ball Park – 2003 (Reds)
• Citizens Bank Park – 2004 (Phillies)
• Petco Park – 2004 (Padres)
• Busch Stadium – 2006 (Cardinals)
• Nationals Park – 2008 (Nationals)
• Citi Field – 2009 (Mets)
• Yankee Stadium – 2009 (Yankees)
• Target Field – 2010 (Twins)
• LoanDepot Park – 2012 (Marlins)
• Truist Park – 2017 (Braves)
• Globe Life Field – 2020 (Rangers)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is the oldest MLB stadium? When every active ballpark opened

The first of hopefully many outstanding starts for Tarik Skubal at Dodger Stadium in 2026.

Tonight's #Dodgers lineup vs. Royals: pic.twitter.com/Ba7KzJpuGZ

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 10, 2026

West coast for the week. pic.twitter.com/2vRo6tk55A

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 10, 2026

Monday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Royals
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
• Start time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Well I don’t think the Dodgers were expecting this. The Dodgers are 2-8 in their last 10 games as shiny new acquisition Tarik Skubal is set to make his first home start for the champs. They’re still 7.5 games up on the DBacks though. I don’t think their division crown is in jeopardy.

The Royals should be familiar with Skubal since he pitched for the Tigers – his pitch mix in his lone start for the Dodgers so far revealed no changes in pitch preference from his new team. He hasn’t pitched as much as usual this season but is still a top pitcher by all the metrics. He’s a tough guy to face. The Dodgers also still have guys like Ohtani. They’re still going to be favored despite the recent losses.

But hey, maybe the Royals can catch them mid-tumble and steal a few wins here.

To counter Skubal, the Royals will send surging Noah Cameron to start. Cameron has himself been pitching as well as Skubal recently, having given up only 1 run in 23 innings pitched over 3 starts. Yes…those 3 starts were against the Twins twice and the Tigers once. A bit of an AL Central bias in those numbers. But he’s looked good. He gives the Royals as good a chance as any right now. Partially because maybe he can get the game to the end with minimal bullpen exposure. We’ll see.

The game starts at 9:10pm US Central time. It’s gonna be an all-nighter as far as west coast baseball goes. You can watch on Royals.TV or 96.5 The Fan/Royals Radio Network. If you live in LA I guess you’re screwed since apparently no one can ever watch SportsNet LA. Or maybe they fixed that. I don’t know.

Lineups:

Go Rays!

After last night’s extra-inning heroics, the Brewers have now won three straight series to start the month of August. They’re in San Diego tonight for the first of three against the Padres, who enter having won seven of their last 10.

On the mound for Milwaukee will be rookie right-hander Logan Henderson, who’s pitched to a 6-1 record and 2.70 ERA over 10 starts this year. He’s allowed more than two earned runs in just one of them. San Diego will counter with right-hander Casey Mize, who’s made one start for the Padres since they acquired him just before last week’s trade deadline. Mize’s Padres debut didn’t go particularly well, as he was tagged for eight runs in 3 1/3 innings. He’ll look to bounce back against a Brewers lineup that has scored more than four runs just twice this month.

As for tonight’s lineup, manager Pat Murphy has elected to shake things up. Veteran stars William Contreras and Christian Yelich, both of whom have struggled at the plate for well over a month, will hit sixth and seventh. Murphy clarified before the game that the move isn’t “meant to be motivating, it’s meant to be what’s best for our team right now.” Both Contreras and Yelich will get the opportunity to keep trying to break out of their slumps, but they won’t be doing it from the heart of the order.

Brice Turang leads off tonight, followed by Jackson Chourio, Jake Bauers, and Andrew Vaughn, who’s playing third base in the absence of Joey Ortiz. Batting fifth, just ahead of Contreras and Yelich, is Garrett Mitchell, who’s been struggling himself lately (.122 average over his last 49 at-bats). Rounding out the lineup are Luis Lara, who made two incredible catches in last night’s game, and David Hamilton.

You can catch tonight’s game on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620, and the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch is set for 8:40 p.m.

West Coast week

📺: https://t.co/eycfmE2vgm
📻: WTMJ#ThisIsMyCrew x @NicoletLawpic.twitter.com/OU90AtiT4i

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 10, 2026

Monday night against Milwaukee.

Fans in the Padres home television territory can watch for free on https://t.co/HUkqcZyxVa. pic.twitter.com/th8PwiUSNT

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 10, 2026

The San Francisco Giants welcome the Houston Astros to Oracle Park tonight to begin a three-game series.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Blade Tidwell, who enters tonight’s game with a 3.18 ERA, 3.20 FIP, with 13 strikeouts to four walks in 17 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers last Tuesday, in which he allowed two runs on six hits with three strikeouts and a walk in five innings.

He’ll be facing off against Astros right-hander Hayden Wesneski, who enters tonight’s game with a 3.86 ERA, 3.00 FIP, with eight strikeouts to four walks in 11.2 innings pitched. His last start (his second for the Astros this year) was in their 7-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays last Tuesday, in which he allowed two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks in six innings.

Game #119

Who: San Francisco Giants (49-69) vs. Houston Astros (60-59)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 6:45 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani has continued to be available as a designated hitter, but is still working his way back for another potential appearance on the mound this season.

Ohtani was throwing to catcher Will Smith in the outfield before the game against the Kansas City Royals on Monday, Aug. 10.

The four-time MVP was last seen restarting his pitching progression at Chase Field on Aug. 8, according to MLB.com's Sonja Chen. It was the first time he's been seen doing those activities since July 22, when he threw his latest bullpen session in Philadelphia.

He hasn’t pitched since July 3, unable to take the mound due to an inflamed knee.

It remains unclear when Ohtani will have his first bullpen session, according to manager Dave Roberts, but the team is hopeful he can return to the rotation in September and be ready for a postseason run.

Ohtani had previously brought to light that he was also dealing with right biceps discomfort.

Ohtani had a bullpen session postponed on Saturday, July 25, in New York. There’s an expectation that the organization would be cautious with the superstar’s workload for the rest of the regular season.

Roberts had previously stated that Ohtani is not expected to throw 100 pitches whenever he does make his return to the mound.

While the Dodgers continue to wait for Ohtani to get back on the mound, he’s managed to still make a difference at the plate, leading the team with 26 home runs and is second on the squad with 71 RBIs.

The Dodgers have struggled recently, losing eight of their last nine games. Los Angeles' only win during the stretch came in the form of a 2-1 win in 10 innings over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday, Aug. 8. Ohtani had an infield single to first base that brought Kyle Tucker in to score what would be the game-winning run in the 10th inning.

The Dodgers would drop Sunday’s game and the series against the Diamondbacks with a 4-2 loss. He went 0-for-4 at the plate and struck out twice.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani injury update: Dodgers star still not pitching

With the Dodgers put away and in the rear-view mirror, at least until the post-season, the D-backs schedule now presents them with a bit of a palate-cleanser. Three games at home against the Rockies, currently locked in a tussle with the Angels, as Colorado seek to repeat as the worst team in baseball? I don’t mind if I do. As usual, the Rockies are particularly woeful away from home, where they are just 19-40. This feels like a series where taking two out of three is the absolute minimum for the D-backs. Ideally, all three. Well, I feel we should be looking to win four of three, but suspect that might be a little too much to ask, even against Colorado.

Having crossed off the Dodgers certainly helps Arizona’s strength of schedule. Here, how the teams in the wild-card standings currently rank, along with their position and the win percentage of their remaining opponents.

• Cubs, +6.0 – .528 (2nd)
• Phillies, +0.0 – .518 (7th)
• D-backs, +0.0 – .493 (16th)
• Padres, -1.0, – .504 (12th)
• Marlins, -3.0 – .519 (6th)
• Cardinals, -3.5 – .500 (13th)

It’s promising that Arizona has the easiest schedule of the teams currently in the picture. The Cubs still have six games left against the Brewers, who have the best record in the National League, and six more against the second-best Braves. It’s not hard to imagine them going 4-8 there and dropping back significantly towards the pack. It’s also worth noting the difference between the NL and AL this year. The only National League teams in the bottom half by strength of remaining schedule are the D-backs (16th, .493), the Nationals (19th, .492) and the Dodgers (23rd, .489). The last-named obviously benefit, like us, from not having to face the Dodgers.

Amid the Dodgers’ recent tailspin, and with a pivotal seven-game homestand on the horizon, manager Dave Roberts did not mince words before first pitch on Monday afternoon.

After losses in eight of the club’s last nine games, Roberts decried what he described as a lack of “urgency” and “focus.”

With his team now facing a deficit for a top-two National League playoff seed, and in danger of potentially missing out on a first-round bye in the postseason, he called out the reality of their predicament frankly: “Kind of thinking about it on the plane yesterday,” he said, “we’re a wild-card team right now. We gotta get going.”

Most of all, Roberts expressed frustration with an offense that has ranked among the league’s worst in overall production the last two months, and has been particularly impotent against increased fastball usage from opposing pitching staffs.

“It never feels good to be bullied,” he said. “And to know that teams go after us with the fastball more than any team in baseball, that’s bothersome. That would bother me.”

Roberts did take personal accountability for the team’s recent slump, which includes a 9-15 record over the last 24 games. He said it was on him to raise the roster’s intensity level, and signaled a willingness to begin “managing more urgently” with his team suddenly in a dogfight in the standings.

“Everyone’s trying,” he acknowledged. “But I think the effort could still be enhanced and improved and more focused. So yeah, I think it’s just a reminder. A good reminder. There’s plenty of time. We’re still plenty good. But we gotta play like it.”

A good place to start would be the offense. While the unit ranks fourth in scoring and second in OPS among MLB teams on the season, they are 24th and 21st in those categories since the start of July.

“We’ve scored runs, a lot of runs — fourth in baseball — but that doesn’t tell the whole story,” Roberts said. “The story is being the best version of ourselves, and that’s hitting the fastball, and making adjustments in at-bats, situationally, all of it.”

The team’s struggles against fastballs have grown increasingly pronounced lately.

No team has been challenged with heaters more than the Dodgers over the last several months, and yet no club has a worse weighted on-base average (an all-encompassing stat to measure overall productivity) than their $400-plus million roster.

“You’ve got to look into your zone and get the bat head to it,” Roberts said of how the team can address such a glaring weakness. “It’s something that, I hope our guys take that personally. We shouldn’t get bullied [with fastballs by opposing pitchers].”

The club’s pitching staff, meanwhile, offers a more promising pathway to an immediate turnaround.

Tarik Skubal is set to make his Dodger Stadium debut on Monday night. Blake Snell is scheduled to return from the injured list to start Tuesday’s game. Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani are both progressing in their injury recoveries (Glasnow made his second minor-league rehab start on Sunday, while Ohtani played catch for the second time in recent days on Monday). Yoshinobu Yamamoto continues to be the rotation’s one steady metronome, as well.

With that group rounding into form, the Dodgers should only need so much improvement from the offense to snap out of their funk.

They navigated similar challenges last year, and still found a way to defend their World Series title.

That’s why, for now, Roberts isn’t panicking.

It was time, though, for him to turn up the dial.

“[Saying], ‘We’re gonna be OK and we’re good,’ that’s not good enough,” Roberts said. “Clearly it’s not, given how we’ve played over the last month. So we put ourselves in this position. [We have] a lot of talent. But I think across the board, we need to play with more urgency. And our guys know that.”