The Colorado Avalanche spent months positioning themselves for another deep Stanley Cup run.
Then, when the moment arrived, everything unraveled at once.
A Presidents’ Trophy-winning regular season ended with a Western Conference Final sweep at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights, leaving Colorado with an offseason to figure out how a team that looked so dominant for much of the year suddenly ran out of answers.
For Cale Makar, the explanation isn’t complicated.
But that doesn’t make it any easier to accept.
“It was just a tough way to end,” Makar told Bailey Curtis of DNVR during a fan meet-and-greet Sunday at the new Dick’s House of Sport in Thornton. “I think a lot of things just went wrong for us at the wrong time.”
Perhaps that is the most telling assessment Makar could offer.
There were no excuses. No finger-pointing. No suggestion that Colorado needs to tear everything down.
Instead, Makar described a team that simply couldn’t get enough things going its way when the margin for error became razor-thin.
“Everything’s got to be going right in order to win,” Makar said. “We just kind of ran into a little bit of a wall and had a little bit of tough circumstances for some guys.”
Colorado knows how unforgiving that wall can be.
After dominating the regular season, sweeping the Los Angeles Kings and getting past the Minnesota Wild, the Avalanche entered the Western Conference Final with legitimate championship expectations.
Vegas ended those expectations in four games.
Now Colorado has to make sure the loss actually means something.
“You regroup and you try and build up,” Makar said.
A Different Avalanche Is Taking Shape
The Avalanche will have plenty to build around, but the team taking the ice in 2026-27 won’t look exactly like the one that lifted the Presidents’ Trophy.
Colorado has already made significant changes to its forward group.
Ross Colton was traded to Nashville on June 16. Eight days later, the Avalanche made another deal with the Predators, sending Jack Drury, Chase Bradley and a 2029 third-round pick to Nashville for Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux.
Colorado also acquired Fabian Lysell from Boston for Ivan Ivan and added veterans Jaden Schwartz, Noah Juulsen and Vinnie Hinostroza in free agency.
For Makar, those departures mean more than simply replacing goals and assists.
“We’re losing some key guys and some guys that were big parts of our team,” Makar said. “Not just on ice, but off ice as well.”
That is where Colorado’s biggest challenge could come.
Talent can be replaced.
Leadership has to develop.
Makar knows the Avalanche are going to look different, but he doesn’t view that as an automatic step backward.
“It’s going to be different, obviously,” Makar said. “It’s new bodies, new faces.”
Makar has stayed in contact with some of Colorado’s newcomers during the offseason, although he has mostly let everyone enjoy their summer before training camp begins.
Once camp opens, however, the expectations return.
And Makar remains confident in what the Avalanche can become.
“I feel confident that we’re in a good spot right now and we’re going to continue to get better as the season progresses, like we always did,” he said.
That confidence matters.
Because despite all the roster movement, Colorado’s standard hasn’t changed.
The Avalanche still expect to contend for the Stanley Cup.
Makar Isn’t Worried About The Power Play
One area that will inevitably receive scrutiny after the disappointing playoff exit is Colorado’s power play.
Makar, however, doesn’t sound like someone who believes the Avalanche need to reinvent themselves.
Instead, he sees a foundation worth building on.
“I felt confident in how we ended the regular season and then playoffs as well,” Makar said. “I felt like we can just build up a little bit of that momentum.”
That mindset may be important for Colorado moving forward.
The Western Conference Final sweep doesn’t erase what the Avalanche accomplished during the regular season. It simply exposed how quickly things can change once the playoffs become a battle of inches.
Colorado doesn’t need to start over.
It needs to find a way to finish.
Makar said he is feeling good heading toward training camp after spending part of his summer back in Calgary and recovering from another demanding NHL season.
That is obviously important.
But Colorado needs more than Makar being Makar.
Lysell will have an opportunity to establish himself in Colorado, while L’Heureux and Svechkov will be expected to grow into larger roles.
L’Heureux, in particular, could bring an element of physicality the Avalanche will need. His willingness to throw big hits and play with an edge would give Colorado a different dimension, especially in a playoff environment where games can become increasingly physical.
The veteran additions, particularly Schwartz, will also have to help stabilize a locker room that lost some important voices.
And for the returning core, the challenge is simple: make sure what happened against Vegas becomes a lesson rather than another missed opportunity.
The Avalanche were good enough to dominate the regular season.
They weren’t good enough when things went wrong in the playoffs.
That is the gap Colorado has to close.
The Vegas sweep is still part of the story.
It just doesn’t have to be the ending.
Colorado ran into a wall.
Now, with a new-look roster and another championship opportunity ahead, it has to figure out how to break through it.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 16: Cal Raleigh #29 of the Seattle Mariners runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on August 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Mariners 3, Astros 2
On fire (complimentary): Andrés Muñoz 0.20 WPA, Bryan Woo 0.13 WPA On fire (emergency!): Josh Naylor -0.19 WPA
Aug 16, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder Zac Veen (13) slides safely home under the tag of San Francisco Giants catcher Drew Cavanaugh (61) on a wild pitch during the sixth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
With two outs in the 6th, the Rockies up 8-7, Mickey Moniak greeted Reiver Sanmartin, San Francisco’s third pitcher of the inning, with a punched single into left.
One run scored as left fielder Turner Hill overran the ball, allowing Moniak to take second and a second run to race home. The top of the half started with the Rockies in a one-run hole. After that single punctuating a four-score rally, the half-inning ended with them in possession of a commanding lead that would only grow as the game progressed.
A rough frame for Sam Hentges, JT Brubaker, and Sanmartin for sure. And only a brief dip into the weeds of the inning is required to recognize that rough isn’t a strong enough word.
Four walks were handed out in the 6th. Tack on a wild pitch and a hit batter — that’s six gifts of 90 feet. 540 feet of hassle-free, ‘round the bases travel before Moniak’s 80 MPH punch — Colorado’s first and only hit in the inning — turned the diamond into a carousel. Hentges faced four batters, walking two and retiring two. Brubaker came in as the fireman and bag the third out; instead he spiked a change-up that catcher Drew Cavanaugh lunged to get in front of. Cavanaugh deadened the ball but lost track of it as it trickled comically out behind him. Everyone on the field and the stands could see where the ball ended up except for the desperate catcher, and those brief moments of frantic searching was enough for Zac Veen to race home and tie the game. A wild pitch that ended up about six inches from the plate.
That unfortunate break (along with some excellent aggressive base running) left Brubaker rattled. He walked Amador, then on four pitches, forced the bases loaded with another free pass to Jake McCarthy. In an 0-2 count, he plunked Cole Carrigg to surrender the lead and bring Moniak up to the plate.
As awful and clumsy and amateurish and goofy and embarrassing and u-g-l-y as that 6th inning, it was not an anomaly. That 2-run single was just Colorado’s fifth hit of the day, and yet, somehow, they had scored ten runs. That kind of production doesn’t come without some generous handouts.
Starter Blade Tidwell walked five over 4.1 innings, though he limited Colorado to just three hits they still tagged him for six runs. In the 2nd, two walks and two singles preceded number-9 hitter Amador’s 2-out, 3-run shot to right. Tidwell would walk two more before being pulled in the 5th for Hentges, and both would eventually reach home after a double by Carrig and Moniak sac fly. Keaton Winn surrendered a walk and another 3-run homer before he recorded an out in the 7th.
Eight of the 11 walks (10 BB + 1 HBP) gifted by the Giants came around to score. It’s the 38th time this year that a pitching staff has walked at least 10, and the second time (their 16-2 loss to Milwaukee on June 1st) in which San Francisco has walked as far onto the wild side. It’s just the 15th game in which the team walked at least ten while giving up 9 or fewer hits.
38? 15? Doesn’t that feels like a lot? Almost commonplace, even. I mean, what we did is just another day at the ballpark for the Rockies — they worked ten walks against the Diamondbacks four days ago. If we really want to wallow around in this suck, let’s pile on the other crimes and misdemeanors. Sunday’s loss was the fourth time in the 21st century that a Giants team has handed out at least ten walks, hit at least one batter, thrown at least one wild pitch, committed at least one error, and surrendered at least ten runs in a game, with the most recent franchise collapse coming in a 14-3 loss to the Phillies in 2024.
Less common, but 2024 feels very close. There’s still some level of precedence for the bad we witnessed this afternoon. Does that make it worse? Absolutely! Not only did we get treated to one of the worst pitched games a team can put together against one of the worst teams in baseball — but it’s not even one-of-a-kind, barely even unique.
If you’re chasing that feeling of distinctive despair, consider how one-sided the incompetence was. This loss was far from a team effort. The offense scored 7 runs — that’s a solid performance. The last time a Giants team scored as many while also committing all that aforementioned nonsense was 1979.
What will really salt the wound was how nice the start of this game was thanks to the offense. The bats kept up their groove from yesterday, going 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Six of their runs came with two outs. Rafael Devers hustled out a double in the 1st and came home for the game’s first run on a Bryce Eldridge single. Next ups, Devers responded to Amador’s 3-run shot with one of his own in the very next half-inning — he even put his in the water for his first Splash Hit. Lead-off extraordinaire, Drew Gilbert bagged another RBI knock. Turner Hill collected one too for his first Major League hit, and Buddy Kennedy worked a bases loaded walk in the 5th, earning the San Francisco arms their third lead of the day.
All of that didn’t matter. The seven Giants’ arms (well, five in particular) were dead-set on their artlessness. Everything the offense gave to them was repackaged and offered up to their opponents — a turn even more vexing considering zero walks were handed out yesterday. (That kind of 180 might explain why the Giants have yet to win four games in a row).
A 13-7 loss, and a 6-7 season series loss to the Rockies (their first since 2020). Truly a fitting end to the Battle of the Bad.
The Mets are calling up Christopher Morel from Triple-A Syracuse ahead of their series-opener against the San Diego Padres on Monday, according to multiple reports.
Morel, 27, played in 22 games with the Miami Marlins earlier in the 2026 season, but was designated for assignment on June 21. He had struggled mightily with Miami, hitting just .162 with three doubles and one RBI.
Since joining Syracuse, Morel has turned it around. He's hitting .321 with a 1.098 OPS, 12 home runs, and 29 RBI over 31 games. Defensively, he's seen time at first base (10 games), third base, second base, left field, and right field.
Last year with the Tampa Bay Rays, Morel hit .219 with 11 HRs and 16 doubles over 105 games. His best season in the big leagues came with the Chicago Cubs in 2023, hitting .247 with 26 home runs and 70 RBI over 107 games.
Aug 16, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Colorado Rockies catcher Brett Sullivan (26) is congratulated by teammate Jake McCarthy (31) after hitting a three-run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Colorado Rockies have done it: They’ve won their 50th game this season, something they have not achieved since they won their 50th game on August 28, 2024.
In honor of this feat, and the excellent community we have here on Purple Row, we’d like to do a giveaway!
To enter, comment with your favorite Rockies win of 2026.
We will select two winners after the game on Sunday, and they will receive one of two Larry Walker bobbleheads.
Since we’ll also be celebrating Larry Walker getting a (long-overdue) statue this weekend, it seemed like a perfect time for this particular giveaway.
An exchange between Steve Smith and Litton Das on the third day picked up by Fox Cricket’s stump microphone has become symbolic of Bangladesh’s fearless attitude in their historic nine-wicket Test win in Darwin.
After a tough outing on Aug. 5, Mets starter Jonah Tong has now turned in two straight strong performances for Triple-A Syracuse.
The right-hander struck out six over 4.2 IP on Sunday against Jacksonville, allowing just one run on three hits and two walks.
He came out of the gate firing, striking out two in the first inning, but let up the one run on a solo homer in the bottom of the second inning. Tong fought back to retire three straight including back-to-back strikeouts and kept it going with a 1-2-3 third inning.
Tong hit the leadoff man in the fourth inning before getting some help from his defense on a double play and caught stealing. His day came to an end in the fifth inning after surrendering a two-out walk and single. Reliever Joe Jacques came in to get the third out and keep the runs off Tong's scorecard.
Syracuse's bullpen was then able to hold Jacksonville hitless for the rest of the game, pulling out a 2-1 win. Hayden Senger drove in the team's first run in the second inning, and Eric Wagaman's sacrifice fly in the seventh gave them the lead.
While Tong didn't earn the win, he did lower his season ERA to 5.15 and is up to 115 strikeouts over 94.1 IP.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 13: Sal Stewart #27 of the Cincinnati Reds hits a home run during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on August 13, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jayden Mack/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The St. Louis Cardinals begin a brutal week where they’ll play 5 games in 4 days against the Cincinnati Reds beginning with a day/night doubleheader on Monday. What we know about pitching matchups already shows this might be one of the most interesting and possibly pivotal weeks of the season so far.
Here are the probable (key word) pitching matchups according to MLB.com:
Monday, Aug 17 (12:40 PM Central Time): TBD (Game 1 of Doubleheader) vs Quinn Mathews
Monday, Aug 17 (5:40 PM Central Time): Rhett Lowder (RHP) vs Andre Pallante
Tuesday, Aug 18 (5:40 PM Central Time): Andrew Abbott (LHP) vs Kyle Leahy
Wednesday, Aug 19 (5:40 PM Central Time): Chase Burns vs Matthew Liberatore
Thursday, August 20 (11:40 AM Central Time): TBD vs Michael McGreevy
It’s important to emphasize that the pitching matchups are somewhat tentative and changeable. I was able to confirm the Cardinals starters for Monday’s day/night doubleheader based on a report from Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch:
Quinn Mathews will start Game 1 in Cincinnati. Andre Pallante goes Game 2.#stlcards
Here’s how the projected Reds starters have been performing. Rhett Lowder is 1-1 over his last 3 starts. He lost his most recent start on August 12 against the Chicago White Sox although it wasn’t his fault. He tossed 5 1/3 innings and only allowed 2 earned runs giving up 7 hits while striking out 4 and walking just 1. He won the previous start to that against the Athletics throwing 6 innings giving up 4 hits and 2 earned runs on August 5.
Andrew Abbott is also 1-1 over his last 3 starts. His most recent outing on August 13 against the White Sox was a no-decision as he pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up 7 hits and 5 earned runs while striking out 3, but also walking 3. Prior to that, he was victorious on August 6 tossing 6 2/3 innings against the Athletics giving up 7 hits, 3 earned runs while striking out 4 and walking 2.
Chase Burns is the most effective Reds starter the Cardinals are expected to face as he’s 14-2 on the year. His most recent game on August 14 was a gem against the Marlins as he pitched 7 innings giving up only 4 hits and no earned runs with 8 strikeouts and no walks. The outing prior was a dud on August 8 as he got rocked by the Washington Nationals giving up 5 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 6 and walking 3.
Who are the Reds players to watch?
Sal Stewart – JJ Wetherholt’s main competition for the NL Rookie of the Year leads the Reds with 26 home runs and 91 RBI’s with a batting average of .259. St. Louis can’t let Stewart beat them.
JJ Bleday – Bleday currently has 20 home runs with just 47 RBI’s and an average of .217.
Elly De La Cruz – Elly has 20 home runs, 56 RBI’s with 21 stolen bases and an average of .262
Spencer Steer – Steer has 16 home runs, 40 RBI’s with an average of .238
Eugenio Suárez – Cincinnati’s DH has 18 home runs, 49 RBI’s with an average of just .205
The Cincinnati Reds, who sit in the cellar of the National League Central, are 4-6 in their last 10 games and have lost the past 2-in-a-row to the Miami Marlins this weekend. The St. Louis Cardinals, by comparison, are 7-3 in their last 10 games winning the past 2-in-a-row against the Cubs in Wrigley. The Cardinals have a 5-3 record against the Reds this season overall. They split a doubleheader in Cincinnati on May 23 winning game 1 decisively 8-1, but losing game 2 in 11 innings 7-6.
Even though he was hitless on Sunday after his historic MLB debut Saturday, Joshua Baez brings a different look to the St. Louis Cardinals lineup. There are no doubts that he’ll have to make adjustments to Major League pitching, but I noticed that Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson seemed to be seeing better pitches when they hit in front of Baez this weekend against the Cubs. The sample size is much too small to draw any real conclusions, but I’m hopeful that his presence will continue to light a fire under the St. Louis Cardinals offense so their bats support some great pitching efforts recently. I also recognize this is a development year, but I’m not conceding a run at the playoffs yet. I greedily want to see the Cardinals take at least 4 of the 5 games in Cincinnati this week if not a sweep. At minimum, St. Louis needs to win the series and grab at least 3 of 5. There’s no reason the Cardinals shouldn’t come out of Cincinnati with a better look at a playoff spot than they have going in. Will that happen? We’ll find out starting Monday.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 28: Manager Terry Francona of the Cincinnati Reds relieves Caleb Ferguson #46 in the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians during game two of a doubleheader at Great American Ball Park on July 28, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tejay Antone never should have been tasked with this. To be quite clear, I am ecstatic that Antone not only made it back to the big leagues in very successful fashion after his third Tommy John surgery almost two years ago, but he never should’ve found himself in the situations he was in this weekend against the Miami Marlins in Great American Ball Park.
Cincinnati had slugged its way back into the lead on Saturday, and they took a 4-3 lead into the Top of the 8th when Tejay took over. In a blink, he was tagged with 3 ER in an inning that eventually saw the Reds surrender 4, and that 4-3 lead turned into an eventual 8-4 loss.
Sunday afternoon in GABP told a similar story, albeit one that wasn’t technically just the bullpen’s fault. Nick Lodolo turned in 5.0 scoreless innings in a game where the offense completely failed to show up, but it was once again Antone on the mound in the Top of the 8th in a 0-0 game, and he served up the go-ahead solo homer before the rest of Cincinnati’s beleaguered bullpen collapsed in a 7-1 loss.
Again, this ain’t about Tejay. It’s just that he’s the only one standing despite being the last one anyone should’ve expected to be standing in a unit that – whether by injury, design, or mismanagement – has completely burned through every single thread it once had.
We’ve not seen Graham Ashcraft since late May. Tony Santillan’s been gone since late June. Caleb Ferguson was a total bust before he was shipped out at the trade deadline, and none of Zach Maxwell, Lyon Richardson, or Kyle Nicolas panned out as hoped. Connor Phillips was such a disaster again at the start of the year that we haven’t heard a peep from him in months, while Sam Moll, Pierce Johnson, and Julian Garcia have been so-so at best.
Ron Marinaccio, who was just claimed off waivers when there was nobody else in the quiver, was on the bump for the 5-run Top of the 9th inning in today’s loss.
The weekend was indicative of just what the Reds bullpen has become – a mix of poor, run down, overworked, and overmatched, with only Tejay there to be the one guy who actually looks the part. Unfortunately for him, he’s been tasked with that job so damn often of late that it finally came back to haunt the Reds this weekend, the end result them dropping a home series to a struggling Marlins club and dropping (once again) back into last place in the NL Central.
Despite overwhelming odds against them, Bangladesh still found a way to win – but their success wasn’t down to any Australian complacency
Sport coverage is powered by hyperbole and recency bias, but the following statement is justifiable: Bangladesh’s defeat of Australia in Darwin is the most profound upset, the greatest revolt against the pre-game odds, in international cricket history. Australia’s win in England in 1882 so shocked locals that they published a cremation-themed obituary, but the same result had already happened four times on the other side of the world. Zimbabwe stunned India in 1998, but that was at least in the underdogs’ home conditions.
India’s bench-depth win at the Gabba in 2021 has a claim, or the new nation of Pakistan winning either in India in 1952 or England in 1954. But in truth, Sunday’s result is now the title holder, not just because of the disparity between the resources and histories of the two teams, not just because of the location, but because of the manufactured rarity of this match-up even taking place. Since Bangladesh’s admission to Test ranks in 2000, Cricket Australia have treated a cricket populace of well over 100 million people with the most blatant condescension.
Feb 19, 2025; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Jordan Lawler (10) poses for a portrait for MLB Media Day at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
The Diamondbacks dropped two out of three to the Rockies. Are we at the point in the season where we can no longer brush it off as “just a series”?
Spencer: Sure? But what about all the games early on we lost? It sucks but there’s a lot of baseball left. There’s just a lot less leeway than there was a week ago.
Makakilo: Momentum Matters: losing that series damaged some great momentum from winning against the Dodgers. Downhill To Playoffs: it’s easier than needing to win the last games of the season.
Dano_in_Tucson: Nope. It was just a series. Result was disappointing, certainly, but any major league baseball team can beat any other major league baseball team on any given day, or even win a three-game series. Besides, aside from Soroka, Colorado drew the weakest links in our chewing-gum-and-baling-wire rotation, and Colorado can hit, even if they usually can’t pitch.
Of course, I’m answering this after writing up the recap for our series-win-deciding game against the best team in the NL East, so that’s probably informing my mindset. We’ve taken two so far from Atlanta….to my thinking, that more than outweighs dropping two of three against the Rockies.
Ben: I think the middle loss of that series was one you could brush off as “just baseball,” but the series finale was particularly ugly. They were handed golden opportunity after golden opportunity to score and failed in nearly all of them. In isolation, dropping the series to the Rockies is a setback for sure, but following that up with a series win against a much stronger Atlanta team is a real palate cleanser.
1AZfan1: I understand the camp who says that each game matters equally throughout the season, from 1 to 162, but from a mental standpoint we’re getting close to the games that matter just a little bit more than the rest of the regular season. As fans, we’re all scoreboard watching and keeping tabs on the standings, but no one is tracking magic numbers yet. No one is lining up rotations for the postseason yet. We’re not quite to the point that each series carries the weight of the season. To me, early September is when I feel that switch hits. All that to say, winning series against the Rockies in August can help make September less stressful, but there are still nearly 40 games left. Not plenty of time, but time enough.
An issue the Diamondbacks have consistently faced is hitting with RISP. Is there a solution to this that can take affect in the short amount of time remaining?
Spencer: Hit the ball where the defenders aren’t. Problem fixed.
Makakilo: Perhaps scoring runs with RISP is not an issue. 78% of Diamondbacks runs scored happened with RISP, which is the second highest percentage in MLB (Brewers are highest with 81%). Alternative viewpoints are that the Diamondbacks need more baserunners, or that the Diamondbacks need to hit more homers.
Dano_in_Tucson: Um….maybe? I hope so? Honestly, I have no idea what all that is about, and what could possibly be done about it at this late date in the season. But here’s hoping.
Ben: As far as I’ve seen, so much of the success around specific situations comes down to luck and the variability of baseball over the course of the season. There’s little the team can do to change their hitting philosophy or approach at this point in the season. Certainly, there are some changes that could be made to batting order, approach in attacking a specific pitcher, etc, but their approach has gotten them this far so why would they change?
1AZfan1: The solution goes by many names. Sequencing. Randomness. SSS. YCPB. Anything can happen over a short time period in baseball. I am encouraged that they have a large amount of opportunities with RISP in just about every game (5th most PA in MLB) and their batted ball metrics are all basically the same comparing RISP to overall season numbers. LD-GB-FB numbers are all nearly identical. K% is nearly identical. The biggest difference is a 10 point drop in BABIP from .281 to .271. If the batted ball luck swings only partially back toward the mean they will score a fair amount of runs. I don’t think there’s any team-wide mechanical or mental adjustment that can or will happen within the daily grind of a postseason race in August and September. What can happen is just pure luck. The balls start to fall our way a little more often. I just hope they keep giving themselves opportunities.
Justin Martinez seems to be nearing his return from the IL. How much of an impact do you see him having the rest of the season?
Spencer: Probably not all that much. He’s still a lot of potential. I’m not sure I want him pitching leverage innings this year. Garcia is killing it as closer, so for 2026 I wouldn’t change stuff just because Martinez is signed.
Makakilo: He would have a high impact in an area of need. In 2 games in Reno, he faced 6 batters. He struck out three and none of the other three got a hit or walk.
Dano_in_Tucson: I see it being big, assuming that he’s got his control back as well as his velocity after his Tommy John surgery. Of course, our bullpen has actually been a strength this year, so having him come back is perhaps not as crucial as it might have been in previous seasons. That said, though, being able to plug him back into the back end of what has already proven to be a really solid unit should help us out enormously down the stretch as we push to hold onto a wild card spot.
Ben: I would imagine he’ll have a marginal role in the bullpen, but I would be surprised if Lovullo uses him in higher leverage spots until they feel confident about his health. They clearly see Martinez as part of the team’s future so I have a difficult time believing they would take even the slightest of risks with his health at this point in the season.
1AZfan1: I think it will be substantial. Garcia and Morillo would be legitimate back-end weapons on any team in baseball. Both are within the top 6 in MLB in reliever xERA. J-Mart, when fully healthy, is better than both of them. Will he be fully healthy? His pitching lines and velocity readings in Reno certainly suggest that if he’s not fully healthy now, he should be in September. This bullpen has had admirable contributions up and down the line from Ginkel, Clarke, Loaisiga, and even Carrillo, but they aren’t at the same level of those other three. I honestly believe that when Martinez returns we will be able to stack our 7-8-9 against anyone else in baseball.
Same question, but Jordan Lawler?
Spencer: More of an impact than Martinez I think. Although I’m not sure where I see him playing. Does he deserve to play over Waldschmidt? I could see either side of that argument. He certainly deserves to play over Kepler or Noot, but Noot is the veteran the team just targeted to acquire…. You can’t have either Lawlar or Waldy riding the bench in Barrosa’s role for development purposes. But the team seems pretty adamant Lawlar is no longer an infielder. I think in a world where everyone is healthy, I cut Kepler for Jordan but make Marte the DH most days and play Lawlar at 2B. When Moreno needs to DH, one of Lawlar/Marte takes an injury prevention rest day.
Makakilo: I’m uncertain. The positive is that for the Sod Poodles he hit 4 homers in 32 PAs (exceptional!). The negative is that for the Sod Poodles he struck out 13 times in 32 PAs with zero walks (plate discipline needs to be fixed).
Dano_in_Tucson: Dunno, honestly, because I’m not entirely sure how/where he’s going to fit into the outfield mix. I mean, he could replace Kepler/Nootbaar in left, or reclaim center and push Waldschmidt to left, where he would be the one replacing Kepler/Nootbaar, either way that would likely be a positive. That assumes, of course, that he can resume his performance with the bat after so much time on the IL this year.
It seemed at the start of the season like he’d finally figured out that side of his game, and when he came back after his first IL stint it seemed like he still had it and there wasn’t much rust to shake off, but he was back on the IL again so quickly after his return that….well, I just don’t know. We’ll see. His return might turn out to be really big, which would be great. But it could also turn out to be, well, meh. Here’s hoping it’s the former.
Ben: I think Lawlar is a very different case. He’s obviously gotten the prospect pedigree and his performance at the beginning of the year finally shows some of the translation between those expectations and actual on-field performance. I’m not convinced he’ll be able to jump right back into the .316/.409/.447 slash line as soon as he returns, but anything will be better than the black hole that Max Kepler has been so far – and the latter’s unavailability in the postseason adds even more impetus to bring Lawlar back as a third/fourth outfielder.
1AZfan1: Lawlar’s impact is a little less convincing to me. If he’s still the same player he was when he was injured, then it’s a big deal getting him back in the lineup every day. I’ve been one of the biggest Lawlar believers on this site, and even I am concerned that much of his success may be tied to the .407(!) BABIP he was rocking over his small sample of 12 games, but I don’t expect him to crater offensively, either. I’d expect that Kepler gets the boot in favor of Lawlar so the bar is set pretty low for how much he needs to do and still provide value. A Waldy-Lawlar-Carroll (or Lawlar-Waldy-Carroll) outfield defense looks pretty legit, too.
What is the biggest thing in the Diamondbacks’ favor towards heading back to the Postseason, and what is their biggest danger in missing it?
Spencer: We have killed it in division this season. That’s the second tie breaker and I believe we beat every team in the race currently (in one of those first two tie breakers). Conversely, our biggest danger of missing the postseason is that we are once again playing poor enough ball that the tie breakers may not matter; we are letting other teams dictate how the season goes rather than winning enough for it to not matter.
Makakilo: If the season ended the morning of 15 August, the Diamondbacks would be a NL Wild Card team. That is the biggest thing in favor of reaching the postseason. On the other hand, baseball is a streaky game, which is the biggest danger.
Dano_in_Tucson: In our favor, I would say it’s the vast improvement we’ve shown in the last month or two in going toe-to-toe with teams with actual winning records, and beating them, and taking series from them.
Our biggest danger? I guess I’d have to say the intermittent signal loss we seem to get with our offense, as illustrated by the ongoing RISP issues that we see a lot of days.
All in all, though, I feel quardedly optimistic about our chances of reaching the postseason as we slouch along into the last month and a half of the season.
Ben: For the first time in a long time, the D-Backs have an excellent bullpen. That has been an absolute weapon throughout the season and it’s been a marvel to watch develop. Ironically, their biggest weakness remains their rotation. Eduardo Rodriguez continues to be a marvel and Brandon Pfaadt has executed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent memory, but the team is still relying on a combination of Michael Soroka and a pair of rookies in Mitch Bratt and Kohl Drake to carry them into the postseason. That isn’t exactly one of the most intimidating rotations in the National League.
1AZfan1: Biggest thing in their favor, in my opinion, is the strength of their pitching staff. Pfaadt, ERod and Soroka look to be good enough to go toe-to-toe with anyone else in the business and with Corbin Burnes on the mend (and Ryne Nelson as a possible piggy-back partner), I think we will have enough starting pitching to hand the ball off to our good-to-great bullpen and make it easier for our offense to score enough runs to win any given night. Our biggest danger in missing the playoffs likely comes from the fact that we are fighting for 2 spots against 2 teams who were considered to be better than us on paper at the beginning of the season and can very possibly lean on their talent to perform to expectations more than we can. We either need one of the other teams to underperform or we have to outperform compared to expectations.
The Dodgers placed left-handed pitcher Justin Wrobleski on the injured list on Sunday, Aug. 16.
The 26-year-old is dealing with forearm inflammation. He's produced a strong first half to the season and was named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Wrobleski posted a 2.69 ERA over 100 1/3 innings in the first half of the season but has struggled of late. He has a 6.92 ERA with 11 home runs allowed in 26 innings pitched since the All-Star break.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was "not concerned" about Wrobleski being placed on the injured list, believing it "should be short-lived."
"Given his workload and where he's at, taking some of the load off his arm, I think it's smart," Roberts told reporters.
Tyler Glasnow is expected to be back from the injured list soon and could return to a starting role. Wrobleski might be coming out of the bullpen during the postseason if all of the Dodgers' starting pitchers are healthy.
The Dodgers called up reliever Kyle Hurt to take Wrobleski’s place on the roster.
Knoxville Smokies outfielder Kane Kepley (2) catches a ball for an out against the Rocket City Trash Pandas during a Minor League Baseball game on Aug. 11, 2026, in Knoxville, Tennessee. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
Jordan Wicks turned in his second-straight start of five innings and two runs, but he took the loss anyway. Wicks surrendered four hits. He struck out six and walked two.
Daniel Palencia pitched a scoreless sixth inning in a rehab appearance. Palencia gave up a one-out single, but otherwise struck out the side. Palencia’s fastball was consistently 97-to-99 miles per hour and he hit 100 on his final pitch.
The I-Cubs managed to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth with one out and they failed to get the tying run across after a Jordan Nwogu pop out and a Justin Dean fly out.
Kevin Valdez started and got the win. Valdez pitched six innings and surrendered two runs on four hits. He struck out six and walked one.
Vince Reilly pitched the ninth inning and got a very ugly save. Reilly gave up two runs on one hit, one walk and two hit batsmen. The one hit was a two-run home run with no outs in the inning. Reilly did not strike anyone out, but he did induce a key double play when he needed it.
Center fielder Kane Kepley hit his second Double-A home run in the fourth inning with two men on. Kepley went 3 for 4 with two runs scored.
First baseman Drew Bowser was 3 for 4 and scored one run.
Shortstop Alex Madera went 2 for 2 with a walk. He scored twice.
Starter Ethan Flanagan pitched 4.1 innings and held the Loons to one run on four hits. He did struggle with his control as Flanagan walked three and hit one batter. He struck out one.
J.P. Wheat pitched the bottom of the seventh and got the win after South Bend took the lead in the top of the eighth. Wheat issued a one-out walk, but no other baserunners. He struck out two in his one inning.
Jose Romero threw the final two innings without allowing a run and got the save. Romero allowed one hit. He struck out four and walked no one, but he did hit a batter.
First baseman Brennan Hudson hit his first career home run with two men on in the seventh inning. Hudson went 2 for 4 with four total runs batted in.
Two batters later in the seventh, right fielder Geuri Lubo hit a solo home run to tie the game up 4-4. It was Lubo’s second South Bend home run and eighth overall. Lubo was 1 for 4.
Left fielder Kade Snell was 3 for 4 with a double and a stolen base. He scored one run.
Second baseman Jose Escobar was 2 for 4 with a walk and one run scored.
Hudson’s home run.
Cubs 2026 20th-rounder Brennan Hudson blasts his first pro home run to centerfield.
The New York Knicks star and Jordyn Woods reportedly got married over the weekend in Malibu, California.
On Sunday, Aug. 16, the New York Post shared photos and details of the wedding. The outdoor ceremony was held under a flowered arch overlooking the ocean. Woods wore a strapless ball gown with a neck scarf and Towns opted for a black suit and bow tie. All of the guests wore black attire.
The publication reported that Towns' Knicks teammates Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Jose Alvarado and Miles McBride attended the wedding along with New York superfans Ben Stiller and Timothée Chalamet. The "Marty Supreme" actor's girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, is a good friend of Woods and was also a guest. Other members of Woods' close circle shared in the joyous occasion, including Suni Lee and Hailey and Justin Bieber.
Woods' family friend and business partner, Adam Weitsman, posted a photo to his Instagram stories of himself and Woods' mother, Elizabeth, at the wedding with the Malibu geolocation tag.
"Came to California to celebrate and attend the wedding of the best couple I know @karltowns and @jordynwoods," he wrote.
"COVID came and kind of brought its challenges," Towns said, "and it kind of forced us to either pick where our relationship was going to go as friends or something more. And we chose the latter."
The couple shared the news of their engagement via an Instagram post on Christmas Day with the caption "Marry Christmas."
