Eric Lauer faces Daniel Lynch IV as the Dodgers look to sweep the Kansas City Royals.
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The Mets could not find offensive footing despite three home runs in today’s 6- 3 loss to the Braves. Zac Thornton gave up three runs in six innings, and the bullpen gave up the other three in the seventh inning.
After Braves pitcher Tyler Mahle threw nine pitches, A.J. Ewing led off the first inning with a single into center field, but Francisco Lindor followed him by grounding into a force out that Ozzie Albies just barely threw to second base in time. Lindor stayed there to end the top of the inning, and Thornton came out for the bottom. Drake Baldwin sneaked a grounder past Brett Baty at second base for a single, but otherwise Thornton had a clean first inning and the score stayed 0-0.
At the bottom of the second inning, Thornton allowed a home run to Lane Thomas and then a single to Austin Riley before getting out of the inning. Thornton then walked Ronald Acuña Jr to lead off the bottom of the third inning. When Drake Baldwin smacked a single into center field, Luis Robert Jr was lax getting the ball back to the infield as he didn’t seem to realize that Acuña would be running from second to third base. Robert’s last-minute throw to third was also not accurate. The lapse proved costly when Matt Olson grounded into a double play, but Acuña scored regardless. The score was now Braves 2, Mets 0.
Carson Benge tapped a ground ball into right field for a single at the top of the fourth inning, but was stranded there. At the top of the fifth inning, Jared Young lined a single into right field, but when he took a chance on reaching second base, he was thrown out by Acuña. At the bottom of the fifth, Baldwin whacked a line drive into left field for a lead-off double, and Sean Murphy followed him with his own line drive into left field for a single that allowed Riley to reach third base. Acuña then bashed another line drive, this one into center field, for an RBI single. Murphy reached third base, but Acuña tried to run to second base and was tagged out by Baty for the first out. The next two outs came in quick succession, but the Braves had extended their lead to 3-0.
Luis Torrens knocked a lead-off home run over the fence on the first pitch he saw to start the sixth inning, but the rest of the Mets batters were retired in order. Thornton then retired the Braves batters with seven pitches. At the top of the seventh, Robert lofted a home run into left field, and the Mets were within one run of the Braves. Unfortunately, that changed quickly. At the bottom of the seventh, Dedniel Núñez, replacing Thornton, gave up back-to-back home runs to Mike Yastrzemski and Riley. After Acuña bounced a one-out double off the wall, Núñez’s outing was over, and it was time for Jefry Yan. Yan allowed an RBI single to Baldwin, his first batter, and Acuña scored. The next two outs came without incident, and the seventh inning ended with the score Braves 6, Mets 2.
A walk from Ewing in the eighth inning went nowhere for the Mets, and Jack Weisenburger came out at the bottom of the inning to replace Yan. He allowed a two-out double to Yastrzemski, but Riley flied out to end the eighth and allow Weisenburger to escape unscathed. At the top of the ninth inning, Bo Bichette drilled a home run over the fence in center field to lead off. Benge lined a double into center field, and Robert followed him with a walk, still with no outs. Young grounded into a force out at second, leaving himself at first and Benge at third. Alvarez popped out in foul territory for the second out, and Semien grounded into a force out for the third out, and the Braves won 6-3.
The Mets have an off day tomorrow before facing the Nationals at home on Thursday. Robert Stock will face TBD. First pitch is at 7:10 PM ET.
Big Mets winner: Luis Robert Jr, +14% WPA
Big Mets loser: Dedniel Núñez, -16% WPA
Mets pitchers: -23% WPA
Mets hitters: -27% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Luis Robert Jr home run, +11.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Lane Thomas home run, -11.1% WPA
The Red Sox are playing bad baseball… again.
Boston did everything right for nearly two months, but at some point they were going to regress back to the mean. Saturday was the start… Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday included some bad luck… Wednesday was the result of an absolute implosion.
Tyron Guerrero and Alec Gamboa combined to allow five hits and five runs in the eighth inning of what eventually became a 6-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. I’ve got the stud and duds from an ugly night north of the border:
Wilyer Abreu: If you don’t respect defense, you’re not welcome here!
Abreu might have gone just 1-for-4, but he also made an absurd play out in right field where he stole a hit from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a ball that had an expected batting average of .990 and doubled up an eager Brett Bateman. The Red Sox almost certainly would have given up the lead if not for his heroics…
Ceddanne Rafaela: It’s time to go back to the drawing board.
Rafaela has regressed in terms of his plate discipline and swing decisions, with his sixth- and eighth-inning at-bats including several chases outside of the zone. If he’s going to keep swinging at everything, no one is going to throw him strikes.
Guerrero: The Red Sox did some bullpen shuffling, electing to go with Guerrero in the eighth inning over Garrett Whitlock.
Single. Single. Single. Walk. Walk.
Chad Tracy pulled his typically reliable reliever without having him record a single out. If that isn’t a depressing turn of events, what is?
Willson Contreras dropped a pop fly in foul ground in the eighth inning, with the very next pitch serving as the nail in the coffin.
The Blue Jays took the lead and never looked back, pouring on five total runs in the frame to run away with the series victory.
YIKES!
This one kept things interesting, but ultimately the Tigers lost to the Guardians 6-4.
The Tigers were looking to clinch a series win against the Cleveland Guardians nice and early. As we approach the last six weeks of the season, every win really matters, and wins against division rivals matter more than others. The Tigers are inching their way closer to the White Sox, while the Guardians continue to tumble down the AL Central standings. The Tigers would be doing it without Riley Greene, though, as Greene headed to the 10-day IL. Tonight, Framber Valdez was on the mound for the Tigers up against Foster Griffin for the Guardians.
Steven Kwan got a leadoff walk in the top of the first, followed by a Chase DeLauter single. Jose Ramirez was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jo Adell grounded into a double play, but Kwan scored. Angel Martinez then doubled, bringing in another run, and then a wild pitch by Valdez advanced Martinez to third. A strikeout ended the inning, but the Tigers were now working to climb out of a hole. After a lengthy PitchCom-related delay, the home half got underway with Dillon Dingler reaching on an error by Ramirez with one out in the inning. With two outs Hao-Yu Lee doubled, and then a Spencer Torkelson double scored Dingler and Lee.
In the top of the second, Brayan Rocchio singled, followed by a single from Kwan. A groundout ended the inning, though, with no runs scored. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the home half.
The Guardians got a baserunner in the third with a groundball to Kevin McGonigle that he bobbled on the throw. The call wasn’t ruled an error right away, but I’m going to call it that until someone tells me otherwise. On the next play McGonigle got the force-out throw at second tossing to Lee, but Lee’s attempt to get the double play at first failed as the ball drilled into the dirt and Martinez was safe at first. (The McGonigle play was indeed ruled an error). Another groundout to McGonigle kept him on his toes but he did get the final out of the inning. In the home half, Gleyber Torres said “what tie?” as he smashed a solo home run to start the inning. Kevin McGonigle got a one-out walk, but the Tigers ultimately had to settle for just the one run.
Austin Hedges took a one-out walk in the top of the fourth. But his free trip to the base was short-lived as a force out and groundout ended the inning for the Guardians. In the home half, Max Clark got a one-out single. Two outs followed, though, leaving Clark on base.
With one out in the fifth, Ramirez walked. Then Jo Adell homered, pushing the Guardians into the lead 4-3. Martinez singled, but then two outs followed as Valdez kept things from getting any worse. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.
In the sixth, Hedges got a leadoff walk. Then with one out, Kwan walked as well. One out later and that was all she wrote for Valdez. Ty Madden was called in to try and get the final out of the inning and he did just that, getting the Tigers out of the jam. The final line for Valdez was 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 1 HR on 102 pitches. While Valdez pitched to a lot of groundball contact as he typically does, this wasn’t a particularly good outing for him, and the command wasn’t as dialed in as one might hope. In the bottom of the inning Colin Holderman replaced Griffin. Spencer Torkelson got a one-out walk. The Tigers weren’t able to convert the baserunner, unfortunately.
The seventh inning saw things start to get exceptionally ugly. Martinez got a one-out double, and Enmanuel De Jesus came out to replace Madden to face a pinch-hitting Nathaniel Lowe, who he got out. Angel Genao doubled to score Martinez. Hedges then singled to score Genao. They’d settle for the two runs, but the Guardians now held a 6-3 lead. With one out in the home half, Erik Sabrowski came in from the Guardians’ bullpen. He hit James Outman with a pitch, and then with a wild pitch let Outman advance to second. However, two outs followed, leaving Outman stranded and the Tigers still trailing.
With one out in the top of the eighth DeLauter doubled. The Tigers dipped into their bullpen to bring in Tanner Rainey. Ramirez drew a walk, but Rainey got the next two outs to escape the inning unscathed. Hunter Gaddis was the new pitcher in the bottom of the inning, and he gave up a leadoff walk to McGonigle. Two outs followed, then Zach McKinstry singled, bumping McGonigle over to third. Gaddis was done, and Cade Smith was called in. A wild pitch allowed McGonigle to score. Then Max Clark had an epic battle against Smith to really elevate his pitch count, but it ended in a strikeout.
In the ninth, Hedges got a leadoff walk after winning an ABS challenge. It was a three-walk game for Hedges, the first of his career. It didn’t end up mattering as the final out of the inning came up next. The Tigers were now going to need to become the Scrappy Tigs if they wanted to stage a comeback in the ninth, but they’ve done stranger things. Javier Baez got a leadoff single. Then with one out, Torres battled out a single to right field. The Tigers did their best to hustle out a win, but it wasn’t enough as Dingler stared at three strikes in the zone without offering, and McGongile grounded out to end the game. The series was tied 1-1 with the rubber match on the horizon tomorrow afternoon. The Tigers did manage to force Cade Smith to throw a career-high number of pitches, though, so he might not be available tomorrow.
The Braves pounded out 12 hits while the Mets could only muster three solo home runs and struck out nine times as they fell 6-3 in Atlanta on Wednesday night.
Zac Thornton got dinged for three runs in six frames, but once again showed some really solid pitching and the ability to wriggle out of jams as he delivered another efficient outing over six innings in his eighth big-league start, but didn't get support behind him.
New York (53-69) put two aboard with nobody down in the ninth after cutting the deficit to three, but couldn't get the ball out of the infield, finished 0-for-3 with RISP and left five on base on the night. Atlanta improved to 73-48 on the season for a 9.5-game lead at the top of the NL East.
- Thornton was on his way to an efficient, scoreless two innings, but left a fastball up in the zone to Lane Thomas to hammer into the left-field stands (412 feet, 105.7 mph off the bat) with two down in the second. Thornton got into a spot of bother in the third with a leadoff walk and a smacked single up the middle that put runners on the corners when Ronald Acuńa Jr. deeked Luis Robert Jr. and stole 90 feet. But the lefty traded a second run for a 6-3 double-play and avoided a big inning. That started a run of five straight retired with a strikeout.
That streak ended to start the fifth when Austin Riley ripped a first-pitch heater up and over the plate for a double to left. After Sean Murphy singled, the Braves had runners at the corners, but Thornton tiptoed around the danger. First, he got some help from Acuńa, who, while delivering an RBI single, got caught in no man’s land and was out 7-6-4, before a broken-bat ground-out against a drawn-in infield and a strikeout kept the damage to just one run.
Thornton, the master of efficiency, grabbed his first 1-2-3 frame in the sixth, his final inning of the night, to close his book after allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts on 80 pitches (47 strikes).
Entering the game, batters out of the eighth and ninth spots in the lineup were hitting .385 against Thornton. The Braves duo of Riley and Murphy went 3-for-4 against the lefty. (For the game, batters in the bottom third of the order went 6-for-11 with three solo HRs and two strikeouts.)
- Tyler Mahle allowed a hit to start the game, but retired the next 11 straight batters with three strikeouts. The right-hander, who Atlanta acquired at the trade deadline, extended his scoreless streak to start his time with his new club to 11 innings before being dinged for a run. He had a good splitter working to play off his fastball, with the first one netting four strikeouts and the other three, and allowing just one run over six innings of work.
- Luis Torrens put the Mets on the board by cranking his fifth home run of the season with an opposite-field blast on the first pitch of the sixth inning off Mahle. He finished the night 1-for-3 with a strikeout looking.
- Robert, hitless in his first two times up, made up for his fielding miscue, rocketing a solo homer to left with one down in the seventh to cut the deficit to one off lefty reliever Dylan Dodd. The 399-foot drive was tattooed at 107.2 mph for a no-doubter, his sixth of the campaign. He finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout looking.
- Bo Bichette hit two balls hard (95.6 and 95.4 mph), but both for lineouts, and was 0-for-3 before smashing a 405-foot solo homer over the wall in right-center to lead off the ninth against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias. The homer was his 12th of the year.
- Carson Benge smashed a single (105.4 mph) past the first baseman for a two-out single in the fourth and clobbered a double into the right-center gap (105.1 mph) in the ninth to finish 2-for-4.
- Dedniel Núñez got the seventh inning, and in four pitches the Braves had their three-run lead back after the Mets cut it to 3-2, as pinch-hitter Mike Yastrzemski clobbered a center-cut fastball for a solo homer to right (102 mph) and Riley annihilated a hanging slider (438 feet, 108.5 mph) to left. After Acuńa doubled off the wall in right, Núñez's night was over as lefty Jefry Yan entered. A bloop single to left made it a three-run inning before Yan got the next two, including a strikeout swinging.
Jack Weisenburger allowed a two-out double, but added a strikeout in a scoreless eighth inning in his second big league outing.
- A.J. Ewing plopped a base hit into center on the ninth pitch of the at-bat to lead off the game, but he finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout swinging.
- Jared Young smacked a ball to right to start the fifth that Acuńa knocked down but kept it close to him and gunned down Young trying for two. It took a perfect throw to get him, and that is exactly what happened. Young went 1-for-4, bouncing into a fielder's choice with two men on and nobody out in the ninth.
- Francisco Alvarez struck out looking on a 3-2 pitch that just caught the corner to end the second, went down swinging at a heater at the letters in the fifth, and went down swinging on a pitch below the zone to end the seventh. He finished 0-for-4, popping out in foul ground to first with runners on corners in the ninth.
- Francisco Lindor was hitless in four trips to the plate with a strikeout swinging.
- Brett Baty struck out on a half swing to start third and struck out swinging to end the fifth.
- Marcus Semien flied out to left batting for Baty to start the eighth and bounced out to third to end the game and strand a pair.
- Home plate umpire Andy Fletcher entered the game with 54 overturns on 74 challenges, for a 72.9 percent overturn rate, the highest in baseball. He built on that lead early by going 0-for-4 on challenges through four innings. He would have been wrong again if Robert had tapped his head on a strikeout looking to end the fourth on a ball well off the outside corner. Fletcher finished the game with six calls overturned out of nine total challenges.
Luis Torrens gets the Mets on the board with a homer the other way! pic.twitter.com/BZftgDVKm7
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 13, 2026
Luis Robert Jr. drives one deep to left to cut it to 3-2! pic.twitter.com/VKJrsbTISQ
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 13, 2026
Jefry Yan strikes out Matt Olson pic.twitter.com/mFENRksNyX
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 13, 2026
Bo Bichette with the Mets' third solo homer of the night pic.twitter.com/fBptRy6JA1
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 13, 2026
The Mets have Thursday off before opening up a weekend series at Citi Field with the Washington Nationals.
Robert Stock gets the ball for Friday's 7:10 p.m. first pitch, with Sean Manaea and Christian Scott set to follow him on Saturday and Sunday. The Nats have not yet made their pitching plans public.
Daniel Lynch the IV will get his second start of the year as he gets a shot to transition back to the rotation. The first attempt did not go great, and this one is against the third highest scoring team in baseball at 5.02 runs per game. It will be a tough test for the lefty. The Royals could use a win as they try to avoid the sweep in LA.
Nick Loftin will lead off for the 7th time this season with a right-hand heavy lineup to face Eric Lauer due to all the injuries and six man rotation for the Dodgers.
The St. Louis Cardinals were able to beat one of the National League’s best pitchers Wednesday as Alec Burleson’s 3 RBI’s helped the Cardinals beat the Phillies and win the series.
Kyle Leahy was excellent again for the Cardinals as he threw 5 innings Wednesday allowing just 6 hits while striking out 6 and walking no one. He outpitched Zack Wheeler who also lasted 5 innings, but surrendered 6 hits while giving up 4 earned runs while striking out 5 and walking 1.
The St. Louis Cardinals were able to break through against Wheeler in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Jordan Walker hit a screaming single off an infielder’s glove and then stole second. Nathan Church then sliced a 93 mph four-seam Wheeler fastball down the left field line for a double that scored Walker and gave the Cardinals an early 1-0 advantage.
The Phillies tied the game in the top of the 4th inning when Bryce Harper and Luis Arraez hit back-to-back doubles making it 1-1. The Cardinals would not just take back the lead in the bottom of the 5th inning, but break the game wide open after Prieto got his first hit of the year singling to lead off the inning. Two batters later, JJ Wetherholt singled advancing Prieto to third. Ivan Herrera singled in Prieto giving the Cardinals their lead back at 2-1. That would be followed by back-to-back doubles from Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker upping the Cardinals lead to 5-1 after 5 innings.
The Cardinals would add a couple runs in the bottom of the 7th inning thanks to another Alec Burleson RBI single and a Nathan Church sacrifice fly making it 7-1 Cardinals.
The St. Louis Cardinals bullpen did an excellent job holding the Phillies scoreless for the last half of the game. Justin Bruihl, Gordon Graceffo and Luis Gastelum threw a total of 4 scoreless innings locking up a series-winning victory for the Cardinals who now head to Chicago for another crucial series against the Chicago Cubs.
Last July, in a courthouse in London, Ontario, five former members of Canada's 2018 World Junior hockey team were cleared of sexual assault charges.
The judge in the case said the complainant's allegations lacked the credibility and reliability needed to justify convictions. As a result, all five players were eventually allowed to resume their NHL careers.
But Hockey Canada found them in breach of their code of conduct and announced on Wednesday that suspensions will remain in place in four of the five cases.
The one exception is former Senator Alex Formenton, who they've reinstated immediately.
Formenton, Carter Hart, Cal Foote, Dillon Dubé and Michael McLeod were all acquitted last July following an eight-week trial.
But the criminal proceedings were separate from Hockey Canada's investigation. That investigation began in 2018 and eventually resulted in a November 2023 report from an independent panel. The five players were formally suspended from all Hockey Canada-sanctioned programs while an appeal of that decision was underway.
That appeal process has now concluded, and the panel confirmed that all five players breached the organization's code of conduct.
But the panel's recommended suspensions vary dramatically.
While Formenton was reinstated, Foote remains suspended until November 2026, Hart until November 2027, Dubé until November 2028, and McLeod has over four years left before reinstatement in November 2030.
In a nutshell, the panel ruled that Formenton breached the Hockey Canada code of conduct, but apparently not to the extent the others did.
Formenton was selected by the Senators in the second round, 47th overall, in the 2017 NHL Draft and developed into one of the fastest players in the organization, if not the league.
His best NHL season came in 2021-22, when he scored 18 goals and 32 points in 79 games at age 22.
But that turned out to be his final season in Ottawa.
Formenton became a restricted free agent in the summer of 2022 and went unsigned by the Senators. He eventually continued his career with HC Ambrì-Piotta in Switzerland before returning home to face charges.
Formenton spent this past season with his Swiss team again, putting up 23 points in 42 games. He's officially an NHL UFA after the Senators officially cut ties with him two months ago.
Wednesday's ruling doesn't mean the NHL or Team Canada will ever come calling again, but the comparative lenience being shown to Formenton does send a message and may fuel some discussions.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the Sens headlines below:
2025 Senators First-Rounder Shares 'Gnarly' Details Of His Long Road Back
Drake Batherson Wins His Club Championship, Taking Trophy From His Dad
Senators Newcomer Recognized For NHL's Best Goal Of The Year
Career Year, New Deal Fuel Former Senator's NHL Comeback Bid
Jordan Spence On Tkachuk's Exit: 'I Think That It's Going To Make Us Better'
West Coast nightmares continue to haunt the Brewers as the San Diego Padres finish the three-game series sweep in a 4-3 extra-inning affair. The Brewers are now 4-8 on the season when playing on the West Coast.
From Dustin May’s stellar seven-inning performance to the four double plays turned by the defense, followed by a bullpen blowup and some other critical mistakes, today’s game was filled with a lot of ups and downs. Things didn’t get off on the right foot either in the bottom of the second as Joey Ortiz mishandled a groundball to allow Luis Rengifo to reach base safely. He did make it up a play later by turning the first of four double plays.
Entering today’s ballgame, the Brewers had scored just four runs all series, which is a sight for sore eyes compared to what we’ve seen from this team all season. With the team avoiding some major injuries a night ago, the offense needed a spark, and that’s what Gary Sánchez gave to them in the top of the second inning with a solo home run to left field.
Despite the rocky defensive play all series, and the rough start from Ortiz early in the first inning, the defense felt like it finally found its groove. During the bottom of the second inning, Jackson Merrill grounded into the Padres’ second straight double play to quickly give his team two outs. Quickly resulting into another 1-2-3 inning as Austin Hays grounded out shortly thereafter.
Playing in his first game since August 8, Ortiz was trying to be another man in this lineup to provide another pop, but instead of using his bat, he walked with one out in the top of the third inning. After advancing to second base on a groundout, Brice Turang drove in Ortiz with a single to extend the Brewers’ lead to 2-0.
May was stellar this afternoon in his second appearance in a Brewers uniform, throwing a quick and efficient seven innings of one-run ball on just four hits and two walks, while striking out six batters. His one blemish of the game came in the bottom of the third when Xander Bogaerts hit his 10th home run of the season to cut the Brewers’ lead down to 2-1.
In terms of offense, both sides were quite stale going forward. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the bases were loaded for the Padres, with one out. In dire need to get out of the inning to maintain their lead, May forced Hays into an inning-ending double play, making it the third double play grounded into by the Padres in the game.
From that point on, the Padres offense was retired in order until the bottom of the eighth inning. Pat Murphy sent May back out to the mound for his eighth inning of work, as he had thrown less than 80 pitches at that point in the ballgame. A decision that felt like a no-brainer considering the four-game series with the Dodgers looming beginning tomorrow.
May came out and walked Gavin Sheets on four straight balls to open up the bottom of the eighth. Chad Patrick then replaced May, and he then forced Bogaerts into a double play, clearing all but one from the bases. Then the command issues came for Patrick as he loaded the bases on back-to-back walks. Following the second walk, Aaron Ashby came in to take things over. Brewers killer Jake Cronenworth then singled to score Fernando Tatis Jr. to tie the game at 2-2.
Nothing happened on offense for the Brewers in the top of the ninth, but the Padres continued to be pesky, and more so, Merrill continued to be pesky, as he doubled with one out. After Luis Campusano popped out for the second out of the inning, Jase Bowen lined a ball into center field, where Garrett Mitchell stretched out to take away the win for the Padres, leaving the game at 2-2.
After another quiet 10th inning from both offenses, the Brewers finally broke the silence in the top of the 11th inning. Once again, it was Sánchez who came through with the clutch hit as he doubled a ball off the third base bag to score Jihwan Bae, giving the Brewers a 3-2 lead. After a Mitchell walk with no outs, David Hamilton and Ortiz followed with strikeouts of their own to quickly put the Brewers down. Padres then walked Jackson Chourio before getting Turang to strike out to end the inning, wasting valuable time to extend the Brewers’ lead.
Antonio Senzatela replaced closer Trevor Megill on the bump for the bottom of the 11th inning and was out to a great start by forcing a groundout. Then, Merrill drove in the tying run with a flyout to left field that should’ve been more if it wasn’t for Luis Lara’s spectacular catch. While trying to ride high on the catch, Campusano hit a single to drive in the winning run, securing the series sweep of the Brewers.
Looking back at this series, offense was the main issue, as it feels like almost everyone is in a slump. Today, though Sánchez carried the offense, he also hurt the defensive side of the ball with several passed balls and a play at the end of the game that resulted in poor positioning. Certainly not the way the Brewers want to be feeling heading into a four-game series with the Dodgers.
Despite getting two quality starts from Logan Henderson and May, the Brewers will look to get back on track tomorrow in Los Angeles with Shane Drohan on the mound. The offense will also look to generate more runs in this next series, as against the Padres they were 2-for-24 with runners in scoring position.
Tomorrow’s game will be a late one as first pitch is scheduled for 9:10 p.m., and you can find that as normal on Brewers.TV and WTMJ 620.
The Ottawa Senators produced a behind the scenes bit of content for the 2026 draft. The part around their decision with the 25th overall pick involved the Penguins. Per Ottawa’s GM Steve Staois, the Penguins had called and offered an unidentified roster player in order to get the Sens’ pick.
The clip shows Staios fielding an offer from Vancouver, who were attempting to send the 33rd and 41st overall picks to move up to 25 and get pick 72 back from Ottawa. Staios soon dismissed that among his Sens compadres saying, “no pick offers are good enough yet. But Pittsburgh is interesting with the roster player”.
By the time the ultimate decision had to be made, Ottawa elected to hold tight and draft the 16th best prospect on their board at 25th overall, Swedish winger Jonas Lagerberg-Hoen.
The tidbit about the Pens will lead to intrigue. Staios didn’t mention if Pittsburgh included a pick (like 39th or 54th overall) to bolster their offer or if that unidentified roster player stood as the only piece involved.
The Penguins haven’t been in a huge hurry to trade players away. The didn’t end up moving any roster players on draft night and since that point they’ve only traded away Jack St. Ivany and Parker Wotherspoon, neither of which would be remotely close in value to making a team like Ottawa think long and hard about dealing the 25th pick.
It’s a bit easier to see what Pittsburgh’s end game was. The Pens had just drafted Liam Ruck at 22nd overall and it wasn’t exactly a state secret that the team was eager to add his twin brother Markus to the organization. They ended up not needing a trade, getting Markus at their next pick early in the second round at 39th overall. For their part, the Pens picked a partner in Ottawa who held another pick (32nd overall) in the first round as a potential target that might have been interested in adding a current NHL player with their extra pick early on.
Who exactly the Pens offered is intriguing. One would think that a standalone for Bryan Rust or Rickard Rakell would have been enough for Ottawa to move a late first rounder, especially considering that the Pens’ reported price on both veterans is higher than one late first. By the same token, it makes sense to rule out Egor Chinakhov and Ben Kindel value-wise as nothing that Pittsburgh would offer. Same with trade clauses for obviously Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang. Plenty of others on the roster offered up wouldn’t have Ottawa even considering the move.
That leaves a few candidates in the sweet spot as being available but carrying some value, like possibly Tommy Novak or Justin Brazeau as the mystery offer. Possibly even down to near-ready prospects like Harrison Brunicke, Ville Koivunen or Rutger McGroarty, though considering players who finished in the AHL as ‘roster players’ may or may not have been in the cards. Some of those names make more sense than others but seem like the more realistic range of potential offerings.
In the end, the general public will never likely know exactly who the Pens offered up. GM Kyle Dubas runs a tight ship and almost zero details leak out from his side, especially about trades that didn’t end up getting made. General managers float tons of ideas to their counterparts all the time and most the talk amounts to nothing. A Pittsburgh/Ottawa trade for the 25th pick fits in that category of fizzling out before getting across the finish line. The only difference from most talks was that Ottawa used the conversation as part of their multimedia to give a little peak into what went on in their draft room. As a result, they gave a little bit of news to consider what could have been if Staios decided to move forward with the offer from the Pens and just how the team might have been different if he did.
A Montreal Canadiens young star has received some praise.
TheHockeyNews.com has named Ivan Demidov as the NHL's top forward breakout candidate to watch for the 2026-27 season
When looking at what Demidov did during his rookie season with the Canadiens, it is certainly hard not to be excited to see what he can do for the Habs now that he has a full year of experience.
In 82 games last season with the Canadiens, Demidov posted 19 goals, 43 assists, and 62 points. These were very impressive numbers from the Habs rookie, but the 2024 fifth-overall pick should only get better as he continues to gain more experience.
If Demidov can take another step forward, it would only make the Canadiens a more difficult team for opponents to go up against. He has all the tools to become a superstar in the NHL, and it will be interesting to see if he takes another big step to becoming that in 2026-27 from here.
The possibility of Demidov being an 80-point player this upcoming campaign for the Canadiens should not be ruled out. He has the offensive potential to do so.
Ah, the sun! Giver of life, provider of solar energy, burner of skin, mascot of Arizona professional basketball, source of both photosynthesis and melanomas. The sun giveth, and Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco, the sun tooketh away a victory for the home tea,m.
Victor Bericoto delivered the San Francisco Giants’ first run with an RBI single in the first inning. He was also responsible for the Houston Astros’ first run when he lost a Dalton Varsho fly ball in the sun in the 7th inning, in a game the Giants would go on to lose, 2-1.
It was a game that came down to some outfield fly balls. Varsho’s sky-high flyout turned into a two-base error, two batters after Yordan Alvarez missed a home run by a few feet that turned into a long single. Christian Koss got all of a ball in the 9th, at least as much of the ball as Koss can get, and it fell short on the warning track for a long out.
Oracle Park robbed Taylor Trammell of a home run off Keaton Winn (2-3) leading off the 8th inning. One pitch later, Nick Allen drove him in with a sacrifice fly, which was enough for the win when the last 10 Giants who went to the plate made outs.
Bericoto ended up as the goat, but the Giants also missed a chance to erase the eventual tying run one batter earlier when Willy Adames’ back seized up at the worst possible moment. On a textbook double play ball, Adames threw weakly to second base and Isaac Paredes beat the throw at first. Adames would leave the game after fouling out in the bottom of the 7th, and appears headed for the injured list.
Adrian Houser started his first game since June 16 and looked hungry for the chance to get back in the rotation. He pitched three perfect innings before the first Astro reached base, when Jeremy Pena doubled to lead off the 4th inning. After a walk to Alvarez, Hauser induced a 5-4-3 double play out of Paredes.
Houser allowed only three Astros to reach base in six innings, striking out five and walking one. When Allen singled and got bunted to second, the Giants turned one of the most unusual double plays of the season. Willy Adames fielded Pena’s grounder and threw to Koss at third and Allen unwisely signaled Pena to keep running. Koss ran Allen to Basabe’s tag, then hustled to second base to tag out Pena. Score that 6-5-4-5.
That ended Houser’s afternoon, but the bullpen and the defense couldn’t keep the Astros off the board. And the offense couldn’t do anything off a half-dozen Astros relievers who followed opener Bryan King, who left after walking his second batter with two outs in the first inning. Bericoto followed with an RBI hit off Enyel De Los Santos and Drew Cavanaugh walked to load the bases, but Basabe fouled out to end the threat.
The Giants would load the bases again in the second inning off Tatsuya Imai, who stabilized the game with three innings of work out of the pen. Rafael Devers couldn’t capitalize with three ducks on the pond, grounding out to second to end the inning.
After that, only three Giants would reach base the rest of the game. Imai struck out Eldridge with two on and two out in the 4th. Koss singled, then stole second when former Giant and Wednesday’s winning pitcher Steven Okert (6-1) entered the game, only to be stranded when Jung Hoo Lee grounded out.
The Giants were quite close to sweeping the Astros. Instead, they lost the series entirely. Josh Hader picked up his 17th save while getting a scare from Koss and getting Andrew Knizner to foul out in his first plate appearance of 2026. On what could have been an encouraging day for the remaining uninjured and untraded Giants, they picked up their 71st defeat instead.
The Dodgers continue their homestand with four games against the Milwaukee Brewers, who come to town with the best record in baseball, just like in 2025.
Roki Sasaki starts Thursday night for the Dodgers, having allowed only six runs (five earned) over his last four starts, with 26 strikeouts and seven walks in 24 innings.
Rookie left-hander Shane Drohan made a start in his major league debut on April 8, then in 10 relief appearances posted a 2.63 ERA and 2.77 xERA. Since re-joining the rotation on June 1, Drohan has a 4.39 ERA and 3.84 xERA in 12 starts with 65 strikeouts and 20 walks.
Seth Halvorsen made his Dodgers debut on Tuesday night, pitching a spotless 10th inning to strand the free runner and earn the win over the Kansas City Royals. But with a bullpen depleted by heavy usage of late and a six-man rotation, the Dodgers were in need of a fresh arm to eat some innings, so Halvorsen was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City so Landon Knack to get called up in his place.
A six-man rotation left the Dodgers with seven active relievers instead of eight, and the septet has all worked heavily of late, ironically save for Halvorsen, who before Monday’s appearance last pitched last Thursday for Oklahoma City.
The numbers in the table above are expressed as innings/pitches. For instance, Alex Vesia threw 21 pitches in his one inning on Tuesday.
Vesia, Jack Dreyer, and Evan Phillips have each pitched three times in the previous four days, making them all likely unavailable on Wednesday. Which essentially means the bullpen following Eric Lauer on Wednesday is essentially Knack and Edgardo Henriquez, plus perhaps Tanner Scott and Edwin Díaz depending on how the game goes.
Knack’s previous stint with the Dodgers this season surrounded the All-Star break, and he pitched in bulk relief entering two games when the Dodgers trailed by four runs. In those games, Knack allowed five runs in five innings, including four home runs, with four strikeouts and two walks.
Knack, who missed the first three and a half months on the injured list with an intercostal strain, has pitched well with Oklahoma City this year, with a 2.60 ERA in five games, with 19 strikeouts and four walks in 17 1/3 innings. Knack last pitched last Wednesday, throwing 72 pitches in 5 1/3 innings. That more than satisfies the fresh component of the fresh arm express.
Just don’t be surprised if, after Knack takes down three innings when called upon, if someone like Paul Gervase walks into the Dodgers clubhouse the very next day. Wednesday is the Dodgers’ sixth game of 13 game days in a row.
What would a trip to Florida be without hitting the beach?
Social media star Olivia “Livvy” Dunne and Pirates ace boyfriend Paul Skenes made sure to check that off the list, hitting up a beach in Key Biscayne one day after the latter took the hill against the Marlins.
Dunne, the former LSU gymnast who is set to play a role in Fox’s reboot of “Baywatch,” enjoyed the water and sand in a black-and-white bikini. She also strolled the beach with the 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner.
The Pirates are slated to play the Marlins again at loanDepot park in Miami on Wednesday, one day after Skenes was pulled after throwing just 65 pitches and failing to exceed 96.5 mph on his fastball.
Skenes told reporters after the loss that he would have removed himself from the game if he were in manager Don Kelly’s shoes, too.
“[Kelly] walked me through everything, and it made sense,” Skenes told reporters after the 2-0 loss. “I wish I could have gone more, but it kind of is what it is. … He’s the manager, and I don’t ever argue with it. Like I said, I understand why.”
Kelly reiterated that Skenes isn’t dealing with an injury but added that “everybody is going through it” on the Pirates.
Dunne and Skenes have been in the spotlight the last three years after they went public with their relationship. They’ve had plenty of red carpet moments, including at this summer’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia.
In the spring, Dunne explained to Jimmy Fallon on the “Tonight Show” how the star couple met at LSU.
“When I met Paul, we were just two normal college kids at LSU,” Dunne said. “I was a gymnast, he was a baseball player. I was already pursuing social media and gymnastics. Paul wasn’t Paul Skenes yet. There’s no predicting that somebody’s going to become the best pitcher in the MLB.
“There’s really no way, and it’s just been such a joy to watch him. And we really support each other.”
Dunne will hit the airwaves in January when the “Baywatch” reboot is expected to be released. Skenes will likely pitch again early next week against the Tigers.