Worldwide Sports News

Columbus Clippers (56-49) – AAA

TOL 4 – COL 9

Box Score

The Columbus Clippers were victorious over the Toledo Mud Hens Friday night. Yorman Gómez earned his first win of the season, improving to 1-2. Gómez went 5.1 innings of one run ball. He gave up four hits and walked three, striking out four batters in his outing. Tanner Burns threw 1.2 innings of work, only walking two batters and striking out three. Jake Miller struggled in last night’s appearance. Miller came on in the eighth inning and gave up three earned runs on three singles and a walk without recording a single out. Two runs scored before Miller was pulled for Steven Pérez. Pérez got a double play to start his outing, which scored one inherited runner. Pérez retired the side and earned his third hold of the season. Carlos Hernández closed the game with two strikeouts in the ninth.

Toledo got on the board first with a run in the top of the first. The Clippers came back to immediately answer and take the lead, which they held onto for the remainder of the game. In the bottom of the first, Cooper Ingle drew a lead off walk. With two outs, Kahlil Watson hit a home run to center that left the bat at 103.6 mph.

In the bottom of the third, Alfonsin Rosario drew a walk and went from first to third on Cooper Ingle’s single to left field. Daniel Schneemann smacked a ball to right center for a 403 foot, 105.2 mph 3-run home run.

The next scoring opprotunity came in the bottom of the fifth. Daniel Schneemann singled to right to start the inning. A passed ball and a wild pitch allowed Schneemann to advance to third. Ralphy Velazquez his a sac fly to right, scoring Schnee. After the Mud Hens put up three runs in the eighth, Columbus came right back to answer with three runs of their own. Juan Brito singled to lead off. With one out, Kody Huff hit another hard hit home run to left, scoring two. Alfonsin got in on the action, going back-to-back with Huff for Alfonsin’s first AAA home run.

Akron RubberDucks (46-53) – AA

AKR 2 – ERI 3

Box Score

The Akron RubberDucks and Erie SeaWolves had a close match Friday night. Cam Walty took the mound for the Ducks, only going 3.0 innings in his first AA start after being promoted earlier in July. Walty allowed two runs on four hits and one walk and struck out five batters. Jack Jasiak pitched 3.0 innings of his own, all scoreless. Jasiak only allowed two hits and also struckout five batters. Izaak Martinez fell to 1-2 on the season, earning the loss in his two innings of work. He gave up the game winning run in the bottom of the eighth. Martinez struck out four batters of his own, bringing the Akron total to 14 batters struck out by their pitching staff. Braylon Doughty was scheduled to start for Akron last night, but was pushed back due to reported arm fatigue.

Both Akron runs scored in the top of the fifth. Alex Mooney drew a lead off walk and reach third on Aaron Walton’s double to left. Maick Collado hit a sac fly to score Mooney. Christian Knapczyk doubled to center to score Walton and tie the game.

Lake County Captains (53-43) – High A

SB 15 – LC 7

Box Score

The Lake County Captains had a rough Friday night. Jackson Humphries fell to 1-5 on the season after giving up six earned runs on four hits and four walks in only 1.1 innings of work. His start set the tone for the rest of the pitching staff with the South Bend Cubs putting up 15 runs on 14 hits and 14 walks but only nine strike outs. Jervis Alfaro allowed three runs on three hits, two of which were home runs, and was unable to record an out. Melkis Hernández was the only Captains pitcher to not allow a run to score. Hernández went 3.0 innings, allowing a hit and four walks, but striking out three batters. Jogly García went 1.2 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk. García struck out three. Michael Kennedy pitched the remaining three innings of the game, allowing three runs on three hits and five walks. Kennedy struck out three batters as well.

The Lake County offense did put up quite a few runs, but fell quite short of the Cubs. In the top of the second, South Bend put up nine runs, but the Caps tried to immediately to pick away at the insurmountable lead. Welbyn Francisca and Cannon Peebles drew back-to-back walks. Garrett Howe hit a double on a liner to right that hit high off the wall, scoring Francisca and putting runners on second and third.

In the bottom of the third, Welbyn Francisca tacked on another run with a two-out solo shot to right center.

Down by ten runs, in the bottom of the sixth, Garrett Howe hit a lead off home run. His second homer of the season was a fly ball to right.

The Caps added on their final runs of the game in the bottom of the seventh. Jeffrey Mercedes singled on a line drive to right field. With one out, Welbyn Francisca, who went 2-for-4 with three runs and a walk on the night, hit a one-out single. Cannon Peebles singled to right, loading the bases and forcing a pitching change. Juan Benjamin reached on a fielding error by the Cubs shortstop, scoring Mercedes and keeping the bases loaded. Garrett Howe added two more RBI to his night with a single to center to score Francisca and Cannon. Kevin Rivas drew a walk to reload the bases. Juan Benjamin score on a sac fly hit by Esteban González for the second out of the inning.

Hill City Howlers (42-58) – Single A

HC 1 – FAY 10

Box Score

The Howlers were bested by the Woodpeckers last night. Ryan Prager fell to 2-3 on the season after allowing seven runs on three hits and four walks in only two outs. Evan Chrest went 2.1 innings of one run ball, allowing three hits and four walks. Chrest struck out two batters. Aaron Savary threw two innings of work, not giving up a run, but allowing a hit and walk. Savary struck out three batters. Keegan Zinn struck out four batters in his three innings of work. Zinn gave up two runs on two hits and three walks.

The Howlers avoided a shutout in the second inning. Already down by eight runs, Yeiferth Castillo reached on a fielding error to start the second. Jose Pirela grounded into a force out resulting in Castillo being out at second and Pirela reaching first. Jhorvic Abreus and Johan Rodriguez drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Yerlin Luis drew a walk for Hill City’s only run.

Astros 11, Rangers 2

• Well that was unpleasant. And ugly.
• Positives?
• Joc Pederson homered and walked twice.
• Corey Seager, just activated off the injured list, had a single and a double.
• The only reliever used was Luis Curvelo, who probably gets sent down now so Chris Martin can be activated, and Nicky Lopez, who is not a pitcher. That means everyone else in the pen is fully rested for the final two games of the weekend.
• That’s about it.
• Curvelo threw 54 pitches in all, having to wear it in a seventh inning that saw him retire the first two batters before allowing four runs to score. He was brought up for the purpose of handling some innings to save the rest of the bullpen, and he did that, I guess.
• The Rangers are back in second place, a half game back of the Astros, as a result of the loss. The Astros have also clinched the season series, which means Houston has the tiebreaker advantage if the teams end the season with the same record.
• And perhaps worst of all, the Rangers lost the Silver Boot.
• This is one of those games where I don’t really have much to say. The Rangers got kicked in the teeth, and will now have to bounce back.
• Nathan Eovaldi’s fastball topped out at 95.7 mph, averaging 93.6 mph. Luis Curvelo hit 97.3 mph with his fastball. Nicky Lopez’s fastball hit 83.4 mph, averaging 62.8 mph.
• Corey Seager had a 106.9 mph double. Joc Pederson had a 105.3 mph home run Wyatt Langford had a 103.0 mph fly out. Evan Carter had a 101.2 mph single.
• Four down, two to go.

Yeah, ummm…, the Giants didn’t win this one.

If you watched the whole game, I’m sorry, but the writing was on the wall pretty much from the National Anthem.

The Padres are the hot team. They’ve got something to play for in terms of the postseason. The Giants are a loosely affiliated gaggle of guys. They have Robbie Ray — for now, at least — and he pitched Thursday, so… someone else had to touch the baseball. The pitching corps drew straws, Carson Whisenhunt got the short one, and after the Giants went down swinging against San Diego’s opener, Bradgley Rodriguez, he threw one pitch to Fernando Tatis and knew how this game was gonna go. 

It wasn’t that Tatis punched it over the wall and Whisenhunt and the Giants were immediately down a run (that would come soon enough). Giving up a solo shot there maybe would’ve been better. If you’re a pitcher with some mental fortitude you can wipe the memory of that solo homer pretty quickly: first pitch, bad pitch, got lucky, back in the wind-up, lotta game left. Whisenhunt wasn’t so lucky. Tatis hung over his shoulder, sat in his peripheries, as a constant reminder and stressor that would last the entirety of his outing.

What was so dispiriting about Tatis’s double was how his bat didn’t just make contact with the ball — it swallowed it whole before spitting it into the right-center gap at 108 MPH. The fastball Whisenhunt threw too — it was like he knew it was coming, and the fact that it was off the plate away didn’t seem to concern him either. Whatever it was and wherever it was located, he was going to drive it. The relationship dynamics became abundantly clear: Whisenhunt may hold baseball, but Tatis, and the rest of the Padres hitters, were in control.  

Luis Rengifo dug into the box with a similarly aggressive game plan. Look for the fastball early in the count and pounce. Whisenhunt obliged, as if he was taking requests, serving up another first pitch heater that Rengifo had no problem dumping into the outfield for another single. 

Two pitches in, and the Padres had claimed the plate as their own. Whisenhunt became understandably anxious around the zone. Like a dog with a shock collar testing the border of their domain, the moment he released the baseball, he winced in pain.

San Diego scored two runs in the 1st — not a soul-crushing deficit, but tonally, the number on the scoreboard loomed large. Whisenhunt felt winged. He needed to adjust. He threw just one four-seam fastball in the 2nd. He started using the sinker and slider more, and working his signature change-up into at-bats quicker. That helped a little, but Padres batters kept turning into runners. Those stressors bent the game to their will. After a pair of singles, they scored their third run on an odd 3-6 double play in the 3rd that ended the inning, but because Rafael Devers fielded the grounder on top of first base, the play at second became a tag play, not a force, leaving the inning’s door open for Jackson Merrill to sneak through right before it closed. 

In the 4th, number 9 hitter Jase Bowen delivered the knock-out blow by annihilating a slider for the Padres’ fourth run. Whisenhunt wobbled on the mound for two more batters, but walked them both before Tony Vitello mercifully led him back to the dugout to watch Ty France add two more runs to his pitching line with a two-out single. Whisenhunt allowed 6 earned on 7 hits and 4 walks over 3.1 innings pitched.     

By the end of the 4th, a dozen Padres had reached base. As for the Giants? Just one. 

Christian Koss rolled a two-out single into left off southpaw Yuki Matsui. That proved to be half of San Francisco’s entire offensive output in the evening. Matsui responded by baffling the never baffled Luis Arraez with an elevated slider to end the 3rd. 

After the 4th, the contest, if it could be called one, was essentially laid to rest. Down 6 runs with just a single single to their name, the Giants line-up dutifully laid down in the hole that had been dug. The rest of the game was spent burying them.

Germán Márquez did most of the shoveling. The veteran pitcher previously of Colorado, who has boasted a 6+ ERA in each of his last two seasons, took over for Matsui and pitched five scoreless innings. He allowed just a single and a walk, earning a save in a game that the Padres had won in the 1st inning.

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The first place Tampa Bay Rays head into today's contest against the Chicago White Sox as a heavy -156 moneyline favorite at Tropicana Field. 

With Drew Rasmussen in good form, my White Sox vs. Rays predictions expect Tampa to bounce back in Game 2 of the series.

Read more in my MLB picks for Saturday, August 1. 

Who will win White Sox vs Rays today: Rays moneyline (-161)

The Tampa Bay Rays hand Drew Rasmussen the baseball this afternoon, who is one of their most reliable starters. The right-hander owns a fantastic 1.51 FIP across his last two outings, not allowing a single home run during that span while limiting opponents to a 23.3% hard-hit rate. 

On the other side, the Chicago White Sox counter with Jordan Hicks. While he's looked good lately, Hicks is expected to be the opener, which means this will be a bullpen game for Chicago. That's certainly not a bad thing, as they've collected a 3.67 xERA over the last week. 

But Tampa is in respectable offensive form, posting a 106 wRC+ over their last 13 games, and Rasmussen's dominance gives them a slight edge. I don't expect this one to be lopsided, but the Rays will do enough at the dish to prevail. 

I'll play this pick up to -160 only. The run line is a supporting option. 

COVERS INTEL: The Rays are a much better team offensively at home, posting a 112 wRC+ compared to a 97 wRC+ on the road in 2026. That home split gives Rasmussen more support in a matchup where margins may be thin.

White Sox vs Rays Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 runs (-121)

The Under looks like the better angle at 8.5. Tampa Bay has been much quieter offensively over the last week despite its stronger home profile, while the White Sox are sitting right around league average with a 98 wRC+ over their last seven games.

The bullpen setup also supports a lower-scoring game. Chicago’s relief corps has done a better job limiting damage lately and has barely allowed any long-ball damage. Tampa Bay’s bullpen has been even sharper, sporting a 2.08 xERA over its last 24.2 innings of work.

With Rasmussen giving the Rays a stable starting-pitching edge and both bullpens in strong form, I do not expect a ton of runs today at Tropicana Field.

Playable to -130.

White Sox vs Rays weather

Outside conditions near Tropicana Field look warm and humid, with scattered shower risk around the game window. 

However, because Tropicana Field is a domed venue, weather should not affect scoring, ball carry, or delay risk.

White Sox vs Rays odds

• Moneyline: Chicago +150 | Tampa Bay -156
• Run line: Chicago +1.5 (-138) | Tampa Bay -1.5 (+133)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+113) | Under 8.5 (-117)

White Sox vs Rays trend

The Under is 6-0 in Tampa Bay's last six home games. Find more MLB betting trends for White Sox vs. Rays.

How to watch White Sox vs Rays and game info

White Sox vs Rays latest injuries

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Triple-A: Worcester Red Sox 9, Norfolk Tides 6 — 10 inn.

This game headed to extra innings tied at three and ended in a 9-6 final. It was a rough night at the office for Tides reliever Cameron Weston, who coughed up six runs in the top of the 10th, which featured five consecutive RBI singles. Norfolk’s starting pitcher, Trey Gibson, gave up two runs in a mediocre 4.2-inning performance. The Tides’ pitching staff was hit particularly hard by Worcester leadoff man Franklin Arias, the #7-ranked prospect in all of baseball per MLB Pipeline. Arias had three hits and drove in four.

It was an outstanding night for Tides outfielder Reed Trimble, who crushed two home runs as part of a 3-for-6, four-RBI game. He also stole a base for good measure. Trimble was playing just his third game with Norfolk since returning from a month-long IL stint with right hamstring discomfort. Enrique Bradfield Jr. went 2-for-6 with a double as the DH, and catcher Creed Willems doubled in five at-bats. Heston Kjerstad, who had been hot lately, took an 0-for-6.

Box score

Double-A: Altoona Curve (Pirates) 4, Chesapeake Baysox 1

It was Joseph Dzierwa night for Chesapeake, and the Orioles’ outstanding lefty prospect did not disappoint. In five strong innings he didn’t allow an earned run, though he did give up an unearned one on a throwing error by catcher Adam Retzbach. Dzierwa surrendered just two hits and struck out five. Things didn’t go so well for the Baysox once he left, as reliever Gerald Ogando gave up three runs in the seventh to break a 1-1 tie.

The Baysox outhit the Curve in this game, 9-7, but managed only one run due to a brutal 1-for-10 performance with runners in scoring position. Aron Estrada, Griff O’Ferrall, and Frederick Bencosme had two hits apiece, and both of Estrada’s were doubles. Wehiwa Aloy was 0-for-4 and committed an error in his fourth game at Double-A.

Box score

High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 4, Frederick Keys 1

Apparently it was a popular night to lose 4-1, as Frederick followed in Chesapeake’s footsteps with an identical final score. Unlike the Baysox, the Keys didn’t even have a bunch of hits to hang their hats on. They managed only two hits all night, and they both happened within the first three batters of the game, an RJ Austin double and Luis Vázquez RBI single. After that, they went 0-for-26. Yikes. They were stymied by 19-year-old Wilmington righty Miguel Sime Jr., the Nationals’ #10 prospect, who struck out 10 in five innings.

Frederick’s starter, Stephen Still, actually topped Sime in the strikeout department, racking up an eye-popping 11 Ks in 5.1 innings. This was the High-A debut for the 24-year-old Still, who was signed out of the independent leagues in May. The southpaw Still started the game with five scoreless innings, but allowed two batters to reach in the sixth, and both scored when reliever Cameron Foster coughed up a grand slam to the Blue Rocks’ Kevin Bazzell.

Box score

Low-A: Hickory Crawdads (Rangers) 14, Delmarva Shorebirds 2

The Shorebirds would have killed for a garden-variety 4-1 loss. Instead they got bludgeoned by a 14-run, 16-hit Crawdads attack. Three Delmarva pitchers, Dalton Neuschwander, Adrian Heredia, and Jack Crowder, each served up at least three earned runs. A trio of Shorebirds errors allowed three unearned runs to score as well.

In addition to their terrible pitching and defense, the Shorebirds also couldn’t hit when it mattered, going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranding 10 runners on base. Despite eight hits, the only runs they managed came on a Jaiden Lo Re solo homer and a throwing error by Hickory’s catcher.

Box score

Saturday’s scheduled games:

• Norfolk: vs. Worcester, 6:35 PM. Starter: Luis De León (Triple-A debut)
• Chesapeake: at Altoona, 6:30 PM. Starter: Patrick Reilly (0-1, 5.06)
• Frederick: vs. Wilmington, 6:00 PM. Starter: JT Quinn (3-3, 4.15)
• Delmarva: vs. Hickory, 7:05 PM. Starter: Jake Dykhoff (Low-A debut)

Meet the Mets

After winning on Thursday night, the Mets fell to the Marlins 5-2 yesterday as the series evened up. The Marlins scored four of their five runs in the fifth inning after both teams were held scoreless for the first four innings, and the only runs the Mets managed came via an A.J. Ewing single and a Francisco Lindor solo homer.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, NY Post

Freddy Peralta was originally scheduled to start last night, but was scratched as the team continues to pursue a trade for him, and Kodai Senga took the mound instead.

While Senga faded at the end, the first four innings of his start were very encouraging.

Luke Weaver continues to draw interest from a variety of teams, including the Brewers and Pirates.

The White Sox are reportedly one of the teams that has spoken to the Mets about Peralta.

Clay Holmes is planning on pitching this Sunday, but his exact status is up in the air with the deadline approaching.

Benny Agnayani discussed how he felt watching his son get traded to the Mets.

While this has been a lost season for the Mets, there are a couple bright spots.

Around the National League East

A four-run sixth inning—which included a three-run bomb from Michael Harris II—was the difference maker for the Braves, who defeated the Nationals 6-2.

The Phillies were up by two runs in the seventh, but Orion Kerkering proceeded to surrender four runs to the Orioles and doom Philadelphia to a 6-4 defeat for their fourth straight loss.

Foster Griffin pitched for the Nationals last night despite the trade speculation surrounding him.

Around Major League Baseball

The Giants announced that they are suspending payment to Harrison Bader following the recent aggravation of his foot injury in a scooter accident.

One day after acquiring A.J. Minter from the Mets, the Twins turned around and acquired another pitcher—starter Dean Kremer from the Orioles.

It’s possible that most of the starting pitching market is going to be held up until Tarik Skubal gets dealt.

The Orioles have inked Yennier Canó to a two-year extension with a club option for 2029.

The Mariners will be without third baseman J.P. Crawford for a while after placing the veteran on the injured list due to left wrist inflammation.

The Astros are moving Tatsuya Imai to the bullpen for the moment.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Brian Salvatore and Chris McShane previewed the Mets’ potential moves at the trade deadline on the latest episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series.

This Date in Mets History

One day following the famous Wilmer Flores walk-off homer, the Mets won the second game in what would be a crucial three-game sweep of the Nationals on this date in 2015.

It was the bounce back performance the Friar Faithful wanted to see from the San Diego Padres. After scoring just one run in the opening game of the series against the San Francisco Giants, the Padres erupted for seven runs on 12 hits and beat the Giants 7-0 at Petco Park on Friday night.

As good as the offense was for San Diego, the story of the game was the pitching. The Padres needed just three pitchers to complete the game, and the trio allowed just two hits. Bradgley Rodriguez opened the game and pitched a hitless first inning and recorded two strikeouts. Yuki Matsui followed in the top of the second and the left-hander held San Francisco to one hit over three innings of work. German Marquez was called on for the final five innings of the game, and he too allowed one hit with one walk to secure the win for the Padres.

The “Pitching Chaos” approach can be treacherous at ties if the pitchers who are called on do not perform, but what Rodriguez, Matsui and Marquez did in the second game of the series showed how the approach can be successful. Although Padres pitchers, like Matsui, may be asked to throw more pitches or more innings in an outing, their ability to perform conserves the other bullpen arms, which allows this pitching approach to have a chance to be effective night in and night out.

The San Diego offense got started early against the San Francisco starter Carson Whisenhunt. Fernando Tatis Jr. opened the game with a line drive double and was followed by Luis Rengifo who singled to put runners on the corners. Manny Machado brought home the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly, and the Padres offense was off and running. San Diego scored two runs in the first, one in the third, three in the fourth and scored the final run of the game in the sixth.

Ty France led the Padres offense and finished 2-for-2 with a walk and three RBI. Luis Campusano finished 3-for-4 with and RBI and Rengifo finished 1-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored. Tatis also finished 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored and Jase Bowen added two hits, one of which was his first MLB home run. The only player in the San Diego lineup to not record a hit was Jackson Merrill.

The Padres will try to make it two wins in a row tonight when they host the Giants at 5:40 p.m.

Padres News:

• Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribunesat down with Padres third base coach Bob Henley to discuss his playing career and what he chose to leave Washington.

• According to reporting from MLB Trade Rumors, executives around MLB say they do not think the Padres will trade closer Mason Miller. Additionally, San Diego appears unlikely to move the left-hander.

Baseball News:

• The moves are starting to trickle in throughout MLB with the MLB Trade Deadline looming on Monday. The Baltimore Orioles sent Dean Kremer to the Minnesota Twins. The Twins also added A.J. Minter in a trade with the Mets.

• Giants GM Buster Posey announced Harrison Bader will not be paid until he is able to contribute to the team after a scooter collision resulted in injury.

• Junior Caminero reached 30 home runs this season for the Tampa Bay Rays in their loss to the Chicago White Sox,.

• The Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers to take the top spot in the AL West.

• The New York Mets scratched Freddy Peralta from his scheduled start, and they fell to the Miami Marlins on Thursday.

• The Cincinnati Reds used two comebacks to top the Pittsburgh Pirates,

• The Chicago Cubs suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of the New York Yankees.

• The Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals, 6-2.

The Detroit Tigers opened up their West Coast road trip on Friday night with a 13-1 blowout victory over the Athletics in Sacramento. Max Clark shined in his major league debut and the bullpen successfully shut down the opponents.

On Saturday night, the Motor City Kitties can clinch the weekend series behind left-hander Framber Valdez, who struggled in three of his four games last month. Over the course of July, the 32-year-old posted a brutal 7.13 ERA but a much more respectable 4.74 FIP, serving up 21 hits (two home runs) and seven walks while striking out 15 and hitting four batters over a 17 2/3-inning stretch.

For the Athletics, right-hander Jack Perkins will take the mound to make his ninth start in 27 total appearances this summer. Since becoming a starter (with one relief appearance against the Tigers mixed in), the 26-year-old has put up a 7.14 ERA and a 5.63 FIP spanning over 40 1/3 innings of work, allowing 39 hits (10 home runs) and 20 walks while striking out 47 and hitting a pair of batters.

Here is a quick look at how the two match up on paper.

Detroit Tigers (52-58) vs. Athletics (45-65)

Time (ET): 9:40 p.m.
Place: Sutter Health Park, Sacramento, California
SB Nation Site:Athletics Nation
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 111: LHP Framber Valdez (5-7, 4.53 ERA) vs. RHP Jack Perkins (2-6, 6.45 ERA)

VALDEZ

PERKINS

Here's what happened in Mets Land on Friday, in case you missed it...

• Kodai Senga hits wall in fifth inning, Mets offense stymied in 5-2 loss to Marlins
• Mets biding time for trade deadline dominoes to fall, with plenty of pieces still left to deal
• Senga shows flashes of brilliance in emergency start against Marlins: "He was phenomenal today"
• Freddy Peraltascratched from Friday's start as trade interest intensifies
• Brewers showing "strong interest" in Luke Weaver, Pirates also interested in reliever 
• Fan favorite Benny Agbayani thrilled to see son, Bruin Agbayani, continue legacy after trade to Mets 
• WATCH: The Mets Pod asks what are the team's best options with Weaver?

Someone call Homer or Christopher Nolan, because I have been on one hell of an Odyssey!

OK, with that bit of topical humor out of the way, allow me to re-re-reintroduce myself. My name is Leonard Gore, Lenny to my friends and colleagues here at South Side Sox, and @Leonard42 on the Bird App (oh! Also @leonardg42.bsky.social on Bluesky!)

I’ve been a White Sox fan for as long as I could remember, and that’s a verifiable fact because when my parents took me to Old Comiskey back when I was a wee little baby, they lost me for a good long while as they passed me down the aisle for ladies to ooh and ahh at my objectively adorable cheeks, and I ended up two sections over. I like to tell folks I knew even back then that the place was my true home, and not the fact that I could have been kidnapped and raised by a nice family in Bridgeport that had to find an elaborate reason why their baby boy was a darker shade than the rest of his siblings!

But to bring this back on track, why am I coming back on board now? Right as this White Sox team is two-thirds of the way to a playoff spot? As Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery, Davis Martin, Sean Burke, Grant Taylor and former Savannah Banana Tristan Peters all take off and play the best baseball of their lives? As Will Venable manages as if this team hasn’t lost 300+ games over the last three seasons and has this team believing they can beat anybody in a mediocre American League?

Well, to be honest … this team may have brought me out of the darkest time for me as a Sox fan in my entire life.

It started with Pedro Grifol staring into the camera and saying with a straight face that the White Sox were here to “kick your ass” only to find out that the rest of the league was the boot and the Sox were bent over, bottom getting redder and redder leading to 121 losses and the well deserved title of Worst Team of All Time. I found myself becoming what I never thought I would be: apathetic.

Josh Naylor hits a game-tying grand slam in the ninth inning followed by a three-run homer in extras? Welp, that is to be expected. Oh well.

Miguel Vargas gets blindsided and collides with 75 Million Dollar Man Andrew Benintendi as a ball drops for a hit? Damn, they went full White Sox!

The team loses its 21st game in a row, tying a major league record leading to the 1,000-Yard Stare from a shellshocked Vargas in a sewage-filled Oakland dugout? Sure it stinks in here, but I can’t tell if its the raw sewage or the Chicago White Sox.

You, dear reader, were there too. I don’t need to re-litigate the darkest three-year period in franchise history. The point is, it weighed on me. It weighed down on my soul to a point where I was actively despising this team and the ownership.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on how Jerry Reinsdorf decided that his handpicked successor to Hawk Harrelson, the great Jason Benetti, was an ingrate for being too popular and taking Sundays off to do national baseball and NFL games and let him walk to Detroit (DETROIT!), replacing him with the abomination that is John “South Side STAAAAAND UP!” Schriffen. That’s a whole another 10,000-word post.

But even with the 19-game improvement to onlylose 102 games in 2025, I didn’t see much daylight in the upcoming 2026 season. And given the fact the team began 2026 with a Chase Meidroth homer off of Cy Misiorowski and Munetaka’s first major league homer, only to sandwich 14 Brewers runs on Opening Day, the 7-14 record to begin the season felt like this was the start of another slow march to a loss total that had three digits again.

But then, an amazing thing happened.

The White Sox … just kept … winning. No crazy-long, 12-game winning streaks … but three five-game win streaks in the first half? Not bad. Not bad at all!

Edgar Quero, in the midst of a slump that would eventually send him down to Charlotte, comes up with a walk-off homer to overcome a blown lead in the ninth to beat the Cubs? Well, would you look at that! This team may have something cooking!

Braden Montgomery gets called up and in his major league debut hits a walk-off home run off of Atlanta’s elite closer, called by Bob Costas, in front of an incognito MLB draft prospect Daniel Cholowsky? THIS TEAM DOES NOT QUIT! POST THE PARADE ROUTE ONLINE!

Amazingly, this is only three-highlights from a season’s worth of them that probably eclipses the total highlights from 2023-2025 combined. I could have gone with more, but Brett is already looking over my shoulder politely asking me to land this plane.

Just a couple of days ago, the White Sox just had their second consecutive extra-inning walk off win over the Yankees, splitting a series where the team absolutely could have lost all four games and sent this fan base into its first existential crisis of the season, casting doubt on whether this hot start was revealing itself to be the mirage we all had buried deep in the back of our minds. But they split the series (much thanks on Wednesday to the Yankees catcher airmailing an ill-advised pickoff attempt to end the game at third base) and somehow, amazingly, have yet to have a losing streak longer than three games this season.

So are the Sox a lock for the playoffs? For as mid as the AL has been all season, this team is still young and prone to periods of silent bats. The Guardians, despite a recent slump, still have José Ramírez and the nasty ability to somehow win games with a roster full of MLB The Show NPCs. The Twins, through some legitimate voodoo, have an offense as potent as even the vaunted Sox squad and are an uncomfortable three games back, right there with Cleveland. Tarik Skubal, thankfully, got his farewell start in Detroit and will hopefully not be a problem for the White Sox until they face whichever NL team pays thru the nose to rent him for the playoffs. And the Royals … well they just gave up a walk-off grand slam to the Twins while strike from victory. (At least they have Bobby Witt Jr.?)

But your White Sox are in first place on August 1. They are entering a nine-game stretch vs the AL-best Rays, the suddenly hot-as-hell Red Sox, and the against the third-placesecond-place middling Guardians. Given the Sox track record, they’ll go 4-5 but somehow sweep Cleveland and finally start to pull away towards the most improbable Sox division title since 2008.

And with that, I leave you with this. There is a non-zero chance the 2027 season will be locked out and games will be lost. Hell, there may be ZERO baseball next year. So ENJOY THIS RIDE, Sox fans. Expect success. Fill up the Rate and cheer like crazy for your South Side 9. Crazier things have happened.

Let’s Go White Sox!!!

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The New York Yankees are short road favorites against the Chicago Cubs tonight, and I’m laying the moneyline.

It's not shaping up to be an ideal day for baseball in Chi-Town, with rain and heavy winds expected at Wrigley Field. That keeps me away from the run line, but Max Fried still gives New York the edge on the mound.

Here are my Yankees vs. Cubs predictions and MLB picks for Saturday, August 1.

Who will win Yankees vs Cubs tonight: Yankees moneyline (-127)

I'm backing the New York Yankees, and I'd play them down to -130. The reason is simple: Max Fried.

He has allowed just a .247 xwOBA this season. That’s a strong fit against an up-and-down Chicago Cubs offense.

Veteran David Peterson hasn't been a disaster, but he will be more solvable. He owns a 5.14 xERA, .429 xSLG allowed, and just a 18% strikeout rate.

It gets most of his success out of his 80th percentile ground-ball rate. That could keep the Yankees' bats quiet for long stretches, but eventually the underlying metrics will catch up with him in a game of thin margins.

COVERS INTEL: Fried’s 1.6% barrel rate is not just good. It is nearly five full percentage points better than his 2025 mark.

Yankees vs Cubs Over/Under pick: Under 6.5 (-121)

We saw just how ineffective these offenses can be with barrel suppression yesterday in a 2-0 Yankees win. I'm backing another low-scoring affair and would play the Under to 6, particularly considering the weather in store.

Rain and wind blowing in at Wrigley are not small variables, especially with the pitchers in mind.

Fried fits the weather. His 50% ground-ball rate and almost non-existent barrel rate make it difficult for the Cubbies to create power.

Peterson’s overall profile is shakier, but he still owns a 49% ground-ball rate, and the weather helps cover some of his air-contact risk.

Yankees vs Cubs weather

Wrigley’s wind and rain are game-changers, especially with Max Fried and David Peterson on the mound.

Yankees vs Cubs odds

• Moneyline: New York -121 | Chicago +110
• Run line: New York -1.5 | Chicago +1.5
• Over/Under: Over 6.5 | Under 6.5

Yankees vs Cubs trend

Yankees are 5-1 in Fried's last six starts as a favorite. Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Cubs.

How to watch Yankees vs Cubs and game info

Yankees vs Cubs latest injuries

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