Dewar came over with defenseman Conor Timmins from the Maple Leafs for a fifth-round pick. The Penguins had space in their lineup for both players and wanted to see what they could do to end the year.
Dewar, in particular, had only compiled three points in 31 games (all assists) with the Maple Leafs before being rejuvenated with the Penguins. He may have only played in 17 games with them, but he looked like a completely different player, racking up four goals and seven points.
He was also a great forechecker and was excellent at going to the dirty areas in front of the net. He'd win battles below the dots, leading to extended zone time and quality chances.
The Penguins rewarded him with a one-year extension during that offseason and he had the best season of his career in 2025-26, setting career-highs in goals (14), assists (16), and points (30). He continued to be one of their best forecheckers and was the straw that stirred the drink on the fourth line.
Head coach Dan Muse loved to put the fourth line out when he felt his team needed a spark in games last year, and Dewar was oftentimes leading the charge, whether it was a big hit or a solid offensive shift.
When Dewar was on the ice at 5v5, the Penguins controlled 50.8% of the shot attempts, 51.2% of the expected goal share, 53,3% of the scoring chances, and 51.8% of the high-danger chances. They also had a +11 goal differential with Dewar out there.
Dewar was a mainstay on the penalty kill alongside one of his linemates, Blake Lizotte, logging a career-high 209:22 on that unit. Like Lizotte, Dewar was excellent at blocking shots and winning board battles, leading to clears.
There weren't many players who had a good playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers, but Dewar was one of them. He scored two goals and was everywhere in each game, especially Game 6. Yes, the Penguins lost that game and the series, but that final game in Philadelphia was easily one of his best games of the season.
He was set to be an unrestricted free agent in the summer before the Penguins signed him to a two-year extension with an average annual value of $2.25 million. It was an easy decision for the Penguins, considering his tenure and age (27).
Going into this season, I'd like to see him hover around that 15-goal range again and continue to drive the way on the fourth line. He may not get as much ice time as some of the other players on the team, but he makes all of it count.
Dewar's the type of player who is easy to root for (also like Lizotte) and could play a big role in the Penguins' bottom six having another solid year.
BALTIMORE – Pete Alonso struck the ball so high and so far, the foul pole wasn’t high enough to stop it. It exited so quickly, third base umpire Will Little was reduced to guesswork as he hustled down the line to make a snap decision.
Yet the Baltimore Orioles will tell you the most important factor in the most pivotal point in this game was what wasn’t there: The technology to make a definitive call rather than rely on guesswork and inconsistent television replays.
They lost a 5-3 game to the division rival New York Yankees Wednesday, Aug. 19 at Camden Yards, yet it was a 3-3 game, bottom of the seventh, two outs and the Yankees hoping that lefty reliever Brent Headrick could hang on and retire one of the most feared right-handed sluggers in the game.
Alonso ambushed him.
He clocked a first-pitch slider far over the left field fence some 333 feet from home plate, sauntered a few feet down the first base line and tried his best body English to will it fair. Headrick popped off the mound and crept toward the third base line.
Players in both dugouts hung over the railings to get a better look.
Foul ball.
Orioles manager Craig Albernaz asked for a crew chief review. Little complied. Alonso stood with his bat in foul territory, watched the replays along with the 26,453 fans on hand and believed vindication would come.
Instead, the verdict from New York confirmed what Little saw – yet what a replay from a down-the-line camera seemed to contradict.
Foul ball. Still.
What would have been the go-ahead home run from Pete Alonso was upheld as a foul ball after review pic.twitter.com/Induc0V7qO
The Orioles soon fell apart, yielding go-ahead runs in the top of the eighth. But their frustration was only beginning, as Albernaz, Alonso and starting pitcher Chris Bassitt all believe the technology exists to avoid potential error.
And Bassitt believes Major League Baseball is simply too cheap to utilize it.
“Obviously, I think it was fair. But after the call, it’s just crazy we still have this issue,” Bassitt said in the Orioles clubhouse. “We might be the only major sport with an issue like this. It’s been years that we have technology they can easily use to say, ‘This is exactly the right thing or wrong thing.’ The fact we don’t have it in 2026 is crazy. That’s my take.
“It’s not so much that they got the right call or wrong call. You’ll ask the general public and get a 50-50 answer. It’s just the fact we don’t have the technology in play to actually say 'hey, this was fair or foul' is literally crazy in 2026. It’s crazy.”
And why does it not exist?
“It costs money. That’s it. That’s literally it,” says Bassitt, a former member of the MLB Players’ Association executive council. “You ask a fan of the game who’s a true fan of the game, they’d want those cameras. You’d ask every player. Every coach.
“It costs money. That’s it. That’s literally it.”
Alonso cites the Hawk-Eye technology that is used to power the automated ball-strike system and believes it can be transferred to fair-foul calls that affect hulking sluggers like him with great frequency.
He said he’s been told the main reason it doesn’t exist is because all 30 major league ballparks have different dimensions from the plate to the outfield fences.
“We have Hawk-Eye. I think a simple fix, you have football, you have the pylon camera with the (goal line) plane, it shoots right across the goal line. I feel like we could easily have a laser, or a camera that shoots straight up.
“I think having a camera or laser shooting straight up – we have all the cameras and analytics and funds. I don’t see why we couldn’t do it. The reason I’m told we can’t is because every ballpark is unique. That’s my understanding. It sucks.”
In the Yankees’ clubhouse, the mood was, well, different. Manager Aaron Boone said longtime Yankees replay specialist Brett Weber saw the myriad angles – the one directly above home plate did sow significant doubt – and then walked out to the playing surface later.
“Webby went out and looked after the game. He wanted to look at the line,” Boone said. “So, he’s got it foul.”
Good break there, eh?
“No. I think it was foul,” Boone said.
Headrick and Alonso both had to get their heart rates back to normal and the Yankee lefty, appearing in his 65th game of the year, won the battle. He whiffed Alonso on a 94-mph fastball to end the frame.
“I’m a pitcher, right? So from my vantage point, I thought it was foul,” Headrick said. “But I think it could’ve went either way. It went in my favor.
“Once that happens, you gotta really bear down, buckle down. You’re just trying to stay locked in, regardless. It’s just my job to execute the next pitch.”
Umpires typically discuss controversial calls with a pool reporter. But MLB’s replay center released a statement on behalf of the judgment, which said: “After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official could not definitively determine that the ball left the playing field in fair territory.
“The call stands, and it is a foul ball.”
From their tablets in the dugout, the Orioles believed different, and probably always will on a night they fell 1½ games back in the chase for the final AL wild card.
“It’s really tough to have that come back as ‘stands,’ and have that visual in the dugout,” Albernaz told reporters in his postgame press conference. “It’s 2026. Technology has advanced pretty good. I don’t know why we don’t use it.”
CINCINNATI, OHIO - AUGUST 19: Sal Stewart #27 of the Cincinnati Reds hits a three-run home run during the sixth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park on August 19, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati defeated St. Louis 5-4. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s easy to forget that Sal Stewart is still two weeks away from his one year anniversary as being a big leaguer. Called up by the Cincinnati Reds on September 1st of 2025 when rosters expanded, he hit the ground running back then, too, but his 2026 season just continues to show that the Reds may just have stumbled upon an unyielding force within their lineup for as long as they choose to have him.
The Reds offense is the absolute pits. It’s the stinkiest, most lethargic unit in the league, a position player corps that ranks dead last in fWAR, wRC+, and half a dozen other metrics you can read about if you can stomach it. Still, somehow, Sal has managed to hoist the entirety of the team onto his shoulders when things mean the most, and he now once again sits as the MLB leader in RBI after his performance on Wednesday night in Great American Ball Park.
The Reds got shut out yesterday. They had scored 1 (or fewer) runs in 6 of their most recent 10 games played. They were being shut out by Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore until Sal unleashed an absolute unit of a homer off the batter’s eye in CF in the Bottom of the 6th inning on Wednesday, a shot of the 3-run variety when the Reds had been trailing 2-0.
The future of the Reds is now, even if now they aren’t quite good enough just yet. Sal’s big smash gave the Reds the lead after fellow metal youngster Chase Burns held the Cardinals to just 2 ER in his start. The kids are not just all right, they’re damn destroyers of the paths of those unwilling to yield, and the long and short of it is that the front office of the Reds damn well better find more help for the leaders who’ve emerged to keep this club’s head above water so far in this otherwise dismal 2026 season.
Sal Stewart’s going to sock 30 dingers and drive in 120 runs this year. He’s only going to get better from here, too, as the kid – he’s a kid! – is still younger than Baltimore Orioles youngster Jackson Holliday, fellow Reds rookie Edwin Arroyo, Burns (by almost a year), Jac Caglianone, Jasson Dominguez, Chase Petty, and just about every single other dude out there still being dizzied by the world around them at that age.
Sal, though, is already over it. He’s just here to knock the shit out of the ball and win games.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 19: Dustin May #21 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at American Family Field on August 19, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The high for the Brewers coming off their 22-0 victory over the Mariners the night before was very quickly brought crashing back down to Earth on Wednesday night.
Seattle attacked Brewers starter Dustin May, who did not have his best stuff, early and often. The first three batters reached base, going single-single, double to quickly put two runs on the board. May rebounded to get Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor to make outs and seemed like he was on the path to get out of the inning. But then he gave up walks to Cole Young and Cal Raleigh to load the bases for Taylor Ward, who ripped a 2 RBI single.
What did not help during that first inning was William Contreras using up both of the Brewers ABS challenges on pitches that were not even close to the zone. The Brewers were behind the eight-ball early. It ended up being a 35-pitch first inning for May.
“He’s trying to keep May from struggling. He’s trying to get him on track so I understand it, that you went out of the box to do that…but he was wrong on both and it didn’t seem like they were that close.” Pat Murphy said. “So sometimes it’s harder than you think. He’s been really good at it and there he wasn’t.”
Contreras is 7-for his last-21 on challenges from behind the plate, by the way.
Things did not get better in the second inning. May allowed the first three batters to reach base again. Then a Rodriguez sac fly and Naylor single pushed across more runs and the Mariners were up 7-0 before the Brewers came up to bat a second time.
That would be all for May, who gave up seven hits and generated just two whiffs on 66 pitches in two innings.
The Brewers were able to start chipping away in the bottom half of the second when Joey Ortiz lifted a two-run shot over the left field fence for his seventh of the year.
They continued to have traffic on the bases in every inning, but were unable to scratch anything across until the 6th, when back-to-back walks from Contreras and Yelich chased starter Logan Gilbert from the game. Andrew Vaughn punched a single and the bases were loaded with nobody out for the bottom of the order. Luis Lara struck out, but Joey Ortiz was able to get a run home on a sacrifice fly. Cooper Pratt, who returned from the IL today, struck out to end the inning.
All the while the Brewers bullpen was shutting down the Mariners offense that was rolling through the first two innings. Grant Anderson, DL Hall, Bryse Wilson, and Antonio Senzatela combined to shutout the Mariners over the final seven innings of the ballgame. That gave the Brewers a chance to fight back.
The Brewers were able to plate a few more runs in the 8th against Seranthony Dominguez. Vaughn walked, Lara singled, and then Joey Ortiz delivered again with his fourth RBI of the night with a single to bring home Vaughn. With runners at the corners and nobody out, Cooper Pratt bounced into a 4-6-3 double play, which brought home another run to make it a 7-5 ballgame, but killed the momentum in the process.
“Yeah, (Pratt) didn’t have good at-bats. We’ve seen him have good at-bats in big situations, but he’s a young player, just like Lara in the bases loaded situation. It’s really unfortunate.” Pat Murphy said. “Those kids are 21, sometimes in this league, when you’re 21, you make those kinds of mistakes.”
In the 9th, Milwaukee went down in order against Mariners closer Andres Munoz.
In the end, going down seven runs by the second inning was too big of a hole for the Brewers offense to climb out of. They had some big opportunities in the 6th and 8th innings, but were unable to get the big hit and fully capitalize. That sets up the rubber match for Thursday afternoon with Robert Gasser on the mound for the Crew.
DENVER , CO - FEBRUARY 1: Peyton Watson (8) of the Denver Nuggets celebrates making a three pointer against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, February 1, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) | Denver Post via Getty Images
While the rest of the Eastern Conference was improving, the Cavs were mostly sitting idle. That changed this past week as Cleveland sent Dennis Schroder to the Charlotte Hornets to free up cap space, and then traded Max Strus, an unprotected 2031 first-round pick, and a second-rounder for Peyton Watson and Cam Whitmore.
After a month and a half of waiting, the Cavs have finally made their big move — one that could vault them back into the title conversation.
First, we’ll start with what the Cavs gave up.
The 2031 first-rounder is valuable both as a trade chip and as a useable asset.
The lottery reform starting next season doesn’t reward tanking as it has for the past several decades. Instead, simply missing the playoffs — as long as you weren’t a play-in team — gives you a better chance of landing the first overall pick than having the worst record in the league. Additionally, all lottery picks will be drawn instead of just the top four. We don’t know where the Cavs will be in 2031, but there’s a chance that could be a valuable top-five pick even if they don’t bottom out.
More than that, there’s an opportunity cost with this move. The 2031 pick was the first one they could trade away, considering the 2027 and 2029 picks are still owed to the Utah Jazz from the Donovan Mitchell trade. Now, the only first the Cavs can move for the next two seasons is their 2033 selection. And considering how far into the future that is, and how their team is aging, it’d be unwise to do so. That 2031 first was essentially the last first-rounder Cleveland could trade away to help boost this core.
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There’s an on-court cost to this as well.
Losing Strus will hurt. His shooting and ability to play with and without the ball opened up the offense.
There’s more to spacing than just raw shooting ability. Strus knows when to cut, when to come off screens, and when to act as a decoy. That intuition — even more than the shot — is what made him so valuable to Cleveland’s offense alongside his ability to run second-side actions as a ball handler. Those are things the Cavs will desperately miss.
That said, Strus wasn’t necessarily an ideal fit for this team due to his size and contract.
At 6’5”, he didn’t have the necessary height and strength to cover larger opposing wings. That wouldn’t necessarily be an issue on most teams, but it was in Cleveland.
The Cavs have long had too many shooting guards and not enough small forwards or point guards. Strus is squarely a shooting guard. His expiring $16.6 million deal is $7.5 million more than Sam Merrill’s, who largely fills the same role on offense. For those reasons, moving Strus makes sense. Whether Watson was the player to trade him for remains to be seen.
Both iterations of Cleveland’s core four have desperately needed a wing to connect the dynamic backcourt and two-center frontcourt. De’Andre Hunter was thought to be the answer in 2025, but came up short, resulting in him being dealt before the last trade deadline. Watson fits that same archetype, but there’s reasons to be hopeful that he’ll succeed where Hunter didn’t.
Watson has shown to be an incredibly efficient outside shooter. He connected on 41% of his three-point looks last season, putting him in the 84th percentile for wings. This included knocking down 52% of his outside looks from the corner (97th percentile).
That skill set should be useful on a Cavaliers team that we assume will rely heavily on high pick-and-rolls. Having someone who is that efficient from the corner should keep opposing defenses honest, opening up room to attack the basket.
Despite the impressive shooting efficiency, Watson isn’t the high-volume three-point shooter someone like Strus is. Watson took just 3.6 outside shots per game last season, landing him in the 9th percentile for three-point volume from a wing. For context, that was less than half a shot more than Evan Mobley attempted last season (3.2), which isn’t ideal.
There are legitimate questions about what kind of offensive player Watson is outside of his three-point shot.
Watson mostly relied on his teammates — mainly Nikola Jokic — to create clean looks for him as a scorer. Nearly three-fourths of his field-goal makes were assisted. That suggests that he is comfortable fitting into an offense, but also isn’t a shot creator.
Creating for others isn’t exactly his specialty either. Watson was in the 11th percentile in assist-to-usage rate (0.48), 35th percentile in assist percentage (9.4%), and in the 30th percentile for turnover rate (13.1%) last season. While there are signs that point to Watson growing into a more well-rounded scorer — mainly his impressive free-throw rate — there isn’t much to suggest that he has untapped potential here.
Not being a proven offensive initiator is a concern. Shooting and playmaking are shortcomings for any lineup that includes two traditional centers. Watson fills one of those holes, but the playmaking responsibility will still be primarily on the guards. The ideal starting small forward for this group would be one that could provide a bit of both.
Defensively is where Watson fits best. He offers the size, strength, and athleticism that should pair well with Jarrett Allen and Mobley.
Watson is 6’8” and plays defense like he is. He’s a good rebounder for his position, can comfortably switch one through four, and has been in the 98th to 100th percentile for block percentage throughout his career.
Those defensive skills allowed him to split his time between the three and four last year. This makes him the ideal Wade replacement as he’s perfectly suited to slot into the starting lineup at small forward, and shift up to power forward when either Allen or Mobley are out of the game. This is what differentiates him most from Hunter, who struggled defensively and wasn’t an ideal option at power forward.
The Cavs were never going to find the perfect starting three for this group without ginoving up a member of the core four. As such, any move that they made would need to be a gamble of some kind.
You can quibble about Watson’s fit with this group. There’s certainly reasons to be skeptical, and he most certainly isn’t an A+ match. But considering the cap space and draft capital the Cavs had available, you’d be hard-pressed to do better.
Watson is the perfect type of player to roll the dice on. He has the size, athleticism, and shooting that this group desperately needs. And he also has upside to grow into a more complete offensive player. Whether or not he does will determine if Watson is a long-term solution at small forward.
Koby Altman came into this summer with his hands tied behind his back considering the cap situation. Not only has he gotten the Cavs under the first apron, but he’s also addressed one of the team’s biggest weaknesses. We’ll see if it’s enough to make the Cavs true title contenders. At the very least, they’re in a far better position now than they were at the start of the offseason.
Jace LaViolette is starting to show some life after being promoted to AA. He went 2-5 with a HR and three RBIs tonight. It’s not surprising to see him struggling at a new level. He had a super rought start to the season as well. It wouldn’t surprise me if he is one of those players who takes a little bit to adjust at new levels. Nolan Schubart went 1-2 with two walks and a HR of his own. He is now hitting .301 with a .988 OPS since being promoted to AA. Dean Curley has also really been on fire lately after a slow start to AA. He went 2-4 tonight and is hitting .385 over his last 10 games.
It was a rough game for the RubberDucks pitching staff. Ryan Degges, who has been awesome for the Ducks, allowed three earned runs in 5.1 innings tonight with three strikeouts and two walks. His ERA is now at 1.93 on the season. It has been a disaster season for Dylan DeLucia. I had high hopes for him coming into the season but he has been rough. His ERA is up to 6.80 after giving up 4 more earned runs in just 1.2 innings pitched tonight.
For the Captains we saw a few multi hit performances. Welbyn Francisca continues his awesome season going 2-5 to bring his average up to .290 on the season with an OPS of .939. Tommy Hawke went 2-5 with an RBI and is now hitting .282 with a .763 OPS. Tyler Howard has been awesome since his promotion to Lake County. He went 2-3 with a walk tonight and is now hitting .323 with a .971 OPS since his promotion.
Aidan Major tossed three scoreless innings on two hits tonight, despite walking three batters and striking out just two. His ERA on the Captains is now down to an impressive 2.57.
15th round pick Alejandro Garza has gotten off to a great start to his pro career. He is hitting .421 with a .929 OPS after going 2-5 tonight. Now that Juneiker Caceres has been promoted, Reiner Herrera is the clear most interesting prospect on this Hill City team. He went 1-2 with three walks tonight and is now hitting .247 with an .867 OPS since being promoted to Hill City.
Ryan Prager had another great outing. He was able to pitch four scoreless innings while striking out six and walking two. His ERA on the season is down to 4.30.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 19: Josh Hader #71 and Cam Smith #11 of the Houston Astros celebrate after defeating the Los Angeles Angels in the game at Daikin Park on August 19, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For a few innings anyway, Ethan Pecko was the center of the Astros universe on Wednesday Night. Fortunately for Pecko, his bullpen mates were hovering in the same cosmos. Astros 3 Angels 2.
Making his major league debut, Pecko would flirt with danger, but went largely unscathed during the opening three frames. However, in the fourth, Vaughn Grissom would draw a walk, Josh Lowe then singled, and on Denzer Guzman’s double to deep left, each runner would score on controversial fan interference. Pecko would go 3.2 IP, striking out four, issuing a trio of walks, 3 hits and 2 earned runs. Bennett Sousa would come on and close out the frame for Pecko. Pecko would become the 17th different starting pitcher this season for the Astros, which leads the majors. You’d have to go back to 1965 to find an Astros club to use this volume of arms.
Speaking of arms, the Astros would use the bullpen combination of Sousa, Blubaugh, Okert, Abreu and Hader who performed 5 1/3 scoreless work to lock up a much-needed victory. Hader would notch his 18th save of the season.
It was the bottom of the fourth inning when the Astros would reclaim the lead which they’d never relinquish. Jose Altuve’s 16th double of the year brought home Yordan Alvarez, tying things at 2. Then, Cam Smith would execute a sac fly, scoring Isaac Paredes.
The night also featured some unfortunate sequences. Jeremy Pena would sustain a right-hand contusion on a hit by pitch. Nick Allen would replace him. In the top of the third inning, Joe Espada would be ejected for arguing a hit by pitch call on Mike Trout. Bench Coach Omar Lopez stepped in to fill that role.
The Astros first run of the night came courtesy from Christian Vazquez. He would deposit a sinker from Urena into the Crawford Boxes in the third, putting the Astros ahead 1-0. It was his 7th home run of the season.
The win means Houston is now a game over the .500 mark at 64-63. They’ve snapped a 3-game losing skid. They now lead the A.L. West by 2 games over the Rangers.
Odds & Ends:
Wednesday night was the 500th career relief appearance for Josh Hader.
Peter Lambert will attempt to win the rubber match on Thursday Night. First pitch is once again set for 7:10pm CDT. Lambert has recorded 117 strikeouts this season.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 17: Matt Shaw #6 of the Chicago Cubs hits a triple during a game against the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field on June 17, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cubs have signed shortstop Jackson Cluff to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa.
In the eighth inning of the Pelicans game, there was a 32-minute delay as someone in the Pelicans dugout suffered a medical emergency. The person, and I don’t know who it was at the moment, was taken away in a ambulance. It was not anyone in the lineup as they all returned to the field for the ninth inning.
It was another strong start for Kohl Franklin, who pitched five innings and allowed just one run on five hits. (And according to Iowa broadcaster Jason Kempf, the run should not have counted.) Franklin struck out four and walked one.
Hoby Milner pitched the sixth inning. He gave up a leadoff single, but then retired the next two batters in order and the runner on first was then thrown out trying to steal. Milner struck out one.
Jaxon Wiggins pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning, striking out two.
Ethan Roberts came on for the ninth inning and took the loss when he allowed a two-out, walk-off double. Roberts allowed one run on two hits over two-thirds of an inning. He did not strike anyone out.
Matt Shaw started at second base and played five innings in a rehab assignment. Shaw was 1 for 3.
Catcher Owen Ayers was 3 for 4 with an RBI single in the first inning. He was also 2 for 2 in throwing out runners trying to steal.
The suspended game from yesterday and the regular scheduled game in Pensacola were washed out again. The suspended game will be completed on Thursday followed by a seven-inning regularly scheduled game. Tonight’s second game has not been rescheduled and will only be if deemed necessary.
Starter Braylon Myers took the loss after getting rocked for six runs on six hits over four innings. Two of the six hits were home runs and one of the runs was unearned. Myers struck out two and walked no one.
Lance Alwood made his South Bend debut in the fifth inning. Alwood allowed two runs on two hits and a walk over his inning of work. Alwood struck out one.
Edwardo Melendez made his South Bend debut next and was much better. He allowed just one hit over three innings, but it was unfortunately a solo home run in the seventh inning. Melendez struck out five and walked just two.
Starter Jubrayker Salaya couldn’t find the plate and got blasted for four runs on two hits and five walks over just 1.1 innings. He also hit a batter. Salaya walked five-straight batters in the first inning and then hit the sixth one. He struck out one.
Pelicans pitchers walked 17 batters and hit two. And no, they did not use a position player.
Left fielder Caden Sorrell tripled in a run with two outs in the ninth to avoid a shutout. He was 2 for 5.
Shortstop Derniche Valdez was 2 for 4 with a double.
The All-Star made his final rehab start Wednesday night for the Oklahoma City Comets and was absolutely filthy on the mound. Glasnow retired 16-of-18 batters, including a consecutive stretch of 11 hitters.
Tyler Glasnow made his final rehab start before rejoining the Dodgers’ rotation and looked electrifying. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
The right-hander tossed 5.1 innings, allowing one run with nine strikeouts and one walk. Though, Glasnow didn’t give up the run he was charged with.
Manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday’s rehab start would be Glasnow’s final one before rejoining the rotation.
Prior to landing on the injured list with back spasms in May, the right-hander was 3-0 with a 2.72 ERA across seven starts.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday would be Tyler Glasnow’s final rehab start. CHRIS TORRES/EPA/ShutterstockTyler Glasnow has dealt with injuries in every season he’s played for the Dodgers. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
Based on his performance for OKC, Glasnow looks primed to dominate in an already stacked unit that boasts Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell. Since he was traded to the Dodgers in 2023, Glasnow has dealt with injuries every season.
The good news is Glasnow appears to be fully ramped up and will aid the Dodgers in their quest of a third consecutive World Series title.
Though there are questions surrounding other areas of the team, the Dodgers’ rotation is unequivocally strong. LA will likely lean on the unit to carry it through October.
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 19: Evan Carter #32 of the Texas Rangers prepares to bat against the Washington Nationals during the second inning at Globe Life Field on August 19, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers didn’t score a run but the Washington Nationals scored six runs.
Everything that was fun and nice and enjoyable about last night’s game was immediately extinguished by tonight’s game. It was a complete reversal of an experience down to a nearly fully flipped final score.
The Rangers are hope vampires hunched over a desiccated corpse with a silly straw jammed in its neck.
Player of the Game: Did the Rangers have a good baseball player tonight? Kumar Rocker allowed two runs in five innings. That’s not bad. The problem is, once he allowed the first run, it felt like the Rangers were down 10-0 and it only got worse from there.
Up Next: The Rangers close out this series against the Nationals with RHP Jacob deGrom expected to make the start for Texas against LHP Andrew Alvarez for Washington.
The Thursday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be telecast via the Rangers Sports Network.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 19: Randy Arozarena #56 of the Seattle Mariners slides safely into home plate in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on August 19, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Mariners 7, Brewers 5
Wednesday’s performance: Dominic Canzone, +0.17 WPA; Taylor Ward, +0.11 WPA; Andrés Muñoz, +0.09 WPA
Aug 19, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Athletics pitcher Drew Rom (39) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the eighth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Athletics took on the Kansas City Royals in the penultimate game of their four-game series. For the second straight night, the A’s offense did its job, with the team holding a multi-run lead entering the final two innings, only for its arguably worst-ever bullpen to implode. While last night’s collapse felt like a small earthquake, tonight’s was more like a volcanic eruption of awfulness.
A’s Strike First
The A’s wasted no time putting last night’s heartbreaking defeat behind them, jumping on Royals starter Seth Lugo in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Henry Bolte singled and scored from first on Jeff McNeil’s RBI double. McNeil then scored on Zack Gelof’s RBI single, giving the Athletics a 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning.
Making his first start since coming off the injured list, A’s left-hander Jeffrey Springs prevented an immediate response by tossing a scoreless first inning. He ran into trouble in the second inning, issuing two consecutive walks before escaping the jam by retiring the next two hitters.
Springs’ command problems continued in the bottom of the third, as he issued his third walk of the game before hitting a batter with a pitch. The A’s southpaw escaped again, getting Maikel Garcia to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Fourth Inning Momentum Swing?
In the top of the fourth inning, A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler’s baserunning woes returned. After hitting a leadoff single, Lugo immediately picked him off first base.
The Royals cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth. Designated hitter Salvador Perez’s RBI double brought home first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who had led off the inning with a single. Springs kept the visitors in the lead by retiring the next three batters, stranding the tying run at third base.
Top of A’s Order Delivers Again
Seeking to extend their lead, the Athletics got back-to-back one-out singles from Donovan Walton and Max Muncy in the fifth inning. Bolte made it three straight singles against Lugo, with his base hit scoring Walton to put the A’s ahead 3-1. McNeil followed with a fourth consecutive single, scoring Muncy to give the A’s a 4-1 lead. Gelof’s RBI force out brought Bolte home for the A’s third run of the inning.
The Royals scored a second run off Springs in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Pasquantino hit his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to right field. Springs’ outing ended after he allowed Carter Jensen’s two-out single. He allowed two runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings, walking three while striking out one. Springs did a good job of pitching to contact, inducing six groundouts and three flyouts.
Bullpen Time
Right-handed reliever Scott Blewett replaced Springs and got the final out of the sixth inning, striking out Kyle Isbel with the tying run at the plate. In the seventh inning, the Royals turned to their bullpen, with right-hander Alex Lange replacing Lugo. A’s reliever Elvis Alvarado, who allowed the game-winning hit yesterday, rebounded by pitching a scoreless seventh inning.
A’s Bullpen Blows It Again
Alvarado did not return for the eighth inning despite throwing just 10 pitches in the seventh. Facing new A’s reliever Hayden Juenger, Garcia led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, advancing to third on Butler’s fielding error. Pasquantino’s third hit of the game, an RBI single, cut the A’s lead to two runs.
Juenger failed to retire any of the three batters he faced, exiting in favor of left-hander Drew Rom with two Royals on base and no outs. Isbel did not waste the opportunity, lining an RBI single with the bases loaded to make it a 5-4 game. The next batter, Isaac Collins, tied the game with a sacrifice fly that came close to being a go-ahead grand slam.
The Royals were not done against Rom. Kansas City took the lead on John Rave’s bases-clearing double. Rom finally recorded the third out, but not before the Royals had batted around and scored seven runs against the Athletics’ league-worst bullpen. What was A’s manager Mark Kotsay thinking putting these two scrap-heap guys in this high-leverage situation? For the second straight night and the third time in the past few weeks, the team’s bullpen allowed a big inning, turning a multi-run lead into a sizable deficit.
With two outs in the ninth inning, Muncy hit his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot off Royals reliever Steven Cruz, to make it a 9-7 game. That was as close as the Athletics got in another defeat emblematic of what this season has become.
ATH – Max Muncy 2-run HR (6)
📏 414 ft | 💨 105.2 mph | 📐 24° ⚾️ 97.4 mph four-seam fastball (KC – RHP Steven Cruz) 🏟️ Out in 22/30 parks
Given the number of heartbreaking and embarrassing defeats the Athletics have endured this season, there need to be consequences. Whether that means a managerial change or an overhaul of the majority of the bullpen before next season, something must be done to set the A’s up for success moving forward. At this point, it might be best for a lockout to wipe out next season, giving the Green and Gold a clean slate as the franchise begins its Las Vegas tenure.
In the meantime, the A’s have to play out the remaining 35 games on their schedule. With a competent bullpen, the Athletics could have won today and yesterday, setting themselves up for a chance at the series win tomorrow. Instead, the A’s must win tomorrow afternoon to avoid suffering a dreaded four-game sweep in this series between two last-place clubs. A’s rookie left-hander Gage Jump will look to play stopper again, while the Royals will counter with right-hander Randy Dobnak.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - AUGUST 19: Vinnie Pasquantino of the Kansas City Royals hits a home run against the Athletics during the sixth inning at Kauffman Stadium on August 19, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Reed Hoffmann/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Athletics have the only bullpen worse than the Royals by ERA in 2026. For the second night in a row, they let Kansas City take away a Sacramento lead. The Royals took the game 9-7 and set up a possible four game sweep for tomorrow afternoon.
The day started poorly for Seth Lugo who gave up three consecutive hits to the first three batters of the game. All three were hard hit ground balls that found holes. Henry Bolte, Jeff McNeil, and Zack Gelof hit the ball 110, 105.8, and 102.9 mph respectively while giving the Athletics a quick 2-0 lead. McNeil’s was a double as Jac Caglianone was playing near the right field line and Kyle Isbel was shaded into left field while Jeff hit the grounder to right center which was wide open. Lugo then settled in and got through the fourth with seeming ease.
The Royals had multiple opportunities to get to Jeffrey Springs, but failed to cash in a couple of them. Springs walked two batters in the second and then walked one and hit Jac Caglianone in the ribs in the third. Four free base runners in two innings with none coming around to score. Finally, in the 4th, Vinnie Pasquantino’s leadoff single set the table for their first score after Springs had a very awkward attempted pitch that he was not able to throw and balked Vinnie over to second base. Salvador Perez promptly jumped on a pitch and drove it to the left center gap to score him and make the score 2-1. That ribbie makes Salvy officially second all-time in RBIs at Kauffman Stadium behind only George Brett.
Jac Caglianone was pinch hit for with John Rave in the 5th due to ankle soreness. He evidently tweaked something hustling for a single in the first and they decided to pull him after hanging in there through four. It sounds like it was precautionary and not serious. That’s a good call with at this point in the season.
Lugo ran into his second round of trouble in the 5th inning. With one out and no one on Donovan Walton singled up the middle and the other Max Muncy did as well. Bolte followed that with a third consecutive single through the left side that scored Walton on a poor throw from Tyler Tolbert allowing the other two to move up to second and third. McNeil hit the fourth single in a row on an odd golf swing to score one more. A third RBI came when Gelof grounded out, but McNeil held up long enough to get him to first instead of a double play allowing Bolte to sprint home. A’s 5 and Royals 1.
Kansas City got some offense going in the 6th to try and close the gap. Vinnie pulled a solo home run to right with one out for his 500th career hit.
Then with two down, Carter Jensen singled and ended Jefferey’s night. Sacramento brought in Scott Blewett who gave up another single to Tolbert and another opportunity for the good guys with runners in scoring position. Kyle Isbel could not keep the rally going though, so the inning ended 5-2.
Seth did not come back out for the 7th, so he ended the night at 6IP, 9H, 0BB, 3K, and all 5 runs were earned. Alex Lange was the first Royal out of the pen and took care of the 7th with a tidy one two three. Elvis Alvarado did the same for the Athletics in the bottom half. Craig Kimbrel followed suit. The bullpens were just mowing everyone down after the single Blewett gave up.
There was finally some more offense in the 8th beginning when Maikel Garcia started the inning with a single off Hayden Juenger, but it turned into three bases on an error from Lawrence Butler. Pasquantino drove a ball at 109 MPH off the pad at the top of the wall to just miss a second home run on the night and bring in Garcia to cut the lead to two. It was the fourth time Pasquatch had reached base on the night. Salvy walked to follow that and Juenger left without recording any outs on the night. Drew Rom came out of the visitor’s pen next and got Jensen to line out to center. It was deep enough to move Vinnie to third, but that did not end up mattering as the next batter, Tolbert, walked to load the bases. Kyle Isbel jumped on the first pitch and hit a ground ball through the left side moving all the runners up one base and making it 5-4. Isaac Collins had come in to pinch hit for Nick Loftin back in the 7th and now had a chance to tie the game up, which he did by driving a ball to the warning track in center allowing all three runners to tag up. Now last night’s hero, Bobby Witt, had second and third with two outs so the A’s intentionally walked him to reload them for Rave. Rave cleared the bases with a double to the right field corner and gave the Royals their first lead of the night 8-5.
Maikel Garcia kept it going with his second hit of the inning by singling to right and plating Rave. The 8th ended with Pasquantino’s first out of the night. He was the 11th Royal hitter of the inning, and they managed 7 runs in the frame.
The Royals bullpen is also adept at giving up leads, but Steven Cruz has been very good since he blew up a bit on June 21st, so he came on to try and lock the game down in the 9th. It was no longer a save situation with the Royals having a 9-5 lead. He gave up more than one run for the first time since that June game though and made the 9th a little more interesting than KC wanted. After getting Carlos Cortes and Jonah Heim to begin the inning, Walton singled to right with two down. Max Muncy then got ahold of one to center for a 2-run home run to cut the lead 9-7. It went back to the top of the lineup and Henry Bolte who grounded it to third. He is the fastest player in baseball on the basepaths this year making it less routine than maybe it should have been, but he was thrown out and the Royals sealed the win.
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 18: George Lombard Jr. #96 of the New York Yankees runs to first after hitting a single in the seventh inning during the game between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Tuesday, August 18, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Alyssa Piazza/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Sometimes baseball is weird. Sometimes it’s sloppy. Sometimes, neither team looks exceptionally sharp. But all of the time, someone has to win. The way this game started, it looked like it would last as long as those classic four-hour Yankees-Red Sox July marathons at Fenway, and although this one clocked in at three hours and 15 minutes officially, it felt the same as a 2026 version of a slog.
Both starters struggled early in a mess of baserunners, command, defense and baserunning woes, and a few dingers. Locked up at three in the seventh, Pete Alonso seemingly crushed his second homer of the game for the lead, but the umpires took a page out of the book of last April’s controversy at George M. Steinbrenner Field with an Aaron Judge home run and decided to refute what seemed like obvious video evidence to keep the call on the field.
In keeping the call on the field, Alonso and all Baltimore fans were furious, but were left eating sour grapes as the Yankees scraped two runs across in the eighth in an untraditional fashion, taking the lead on a George Lombard Jr. infield RBI single to win this one, 5-3, to secure this series and the season series against Baltimore.
The Yankees haven’t scored a run in the first inning since the four-run first-inning explosion against Davis Martin and the White Sox on July 30th, but it briefly looked like it might end tonight after consecutive ground-ball singles by Trent Grisham and Ben Rice led off the game. You’d hope, with the heart of the order up, that you’d get at least one of them in, but Luis García Jr. hit into a 4-6-3 double play, and Heliot Ramos hit a weak groundout to strand Grisham. That’s been how it’s going.
Will Warren came out struggling to throw strikes, and it would be something that would bite him later in the inning. A beautiful strikeout of Pete Alonso was sandwiched between a pair of walks and another 3-2 count that ultimately culminated in runners on the corners with two outs. On 1-1, Gunnar Henderson bolted for second base, and Austin Wells made the unwise decision to throw through. That move, coupled with Jazz Chisholm Jr. committing to the tag, allowed Jackson Holliday to scamper home on a delayed double steal, a rarity in the big leagues. ‘Twas a rough defensive inning for Wells, as the runner got to third because he didn’t challenge a crossed-up 2-2 pitch to Samuel Basallo one pitch before a flyout.
Bassitt got away with some poor pitching in the first, but he didn’t in the second. Chisholm worked a nice, six-pitch walk, Spencer Jones chopped a single through the right side, and Ryan McMahon laced a ball to right for a game-tying RBI single before being thrown out trying to get to second, his third baserunning miscue in the last week. Oof. Thankfully for him and the Yankees, George Lombard Jr. got Jones in anyway with a 350-foot sac fly to right-center to give them a 2-1 lead.
More shenanigans ensued in the bottom half, as Leody Taveras’ beautifully executed bunt caused a minor collision between McMahon and Warren that thankfully didn’t lead to anything bad in-game or injury-wise. Grisham almost picked Taveras off on a glove-flash deke in center with one out, but Warren ended the inning himself anyway with a strikeout of Carlos Narvaez.
This slow-moving affair rolled into the third, where Rice worked a long at-bat against Bassitt before absolutely pulverizing a fastball on the outer half for his 34th home run of the season, and his second in the last three games, to make it 3-1 Yankees. García and Ramos added singles later in the inning, but Chisholm was robbed of a hit by Basallo before Jones struck out to end the inning.
Warren continued to labor through this one, getting the first out of the third before being dragged into a long at-bat by the Polar Bear, who answered Rice with his own towering shot to right-center to cut it to 3-2. A double by Henderson and a hit-by-pitch threatened to have things unravel further, but the right-hander got the next two to end the inning.
After taking about 90 minutes to get through three innings and change, things finally sped up in the fourth. Bassitt settled in and looked much better over the back half of the game, getting through 5.2 innings before being lifted for Grant Wolfram, who’d strand Chisholm on second after a single and a stolen base. Warren finished up a four-inning, two-run outing that simultaneously felt like it should’ve been better, but could’ve been worse.
Tim Hill got the fifth and one out of the sixth before giving way to Fernando Cruz. He got the first out, but got into a bad count against Dylan Beavers before having a 3-1 fastball mashed for a game-tying home run. Cruz has really been struggling of late, finally seeming to be bitten by his shoddy command. Even though he wound up stranding him, he got ahead of Leody Taveras 1-2 before hanging him a cookie of a splitter for a double. His fastball has never been highly regarded, so the regression in splitter command is really hurting him.
One-time Yankee Rico Garcia was rudely greeted by a 108 mph bullet single by Lombard, who advanced to second on a diving play by Basallo at first to retire Wells, but he bounced back to escape unharmed. Brent Headrick got the ball in the eighth, and all seemed well until Alonso smashed a ball down the left-field line for a go-ahead… foul ball? It looked fair live; it looked fair on replay too, but it was inexplicably called foul both on the field and in the replay room. That’s a bizarre one, but it kept the game tied after Pete struck out three pitches later.
Cam Sanders was next up for Baltimore, getting in trouble with his command. Two hit batsmen and a walk in between loaded the bases with two outs, prompting Craig Albernaz to go to the bullpen. Yennier Cano came in to face Lombard and got what he wanted, a weak ground ball, but with Lombard’s blazing speed, it was too slow. He beat out the go-ahead RBI infield single to make it 4-3 Yankees.
Two pitches later, Chisholm added some insurance on a ball that barely got away from Yohel Pozo, sliding in to make it 5-3. It looked like he hurt his hip/oblique on a back pick after the Lombard single (which would be the second infield injury of the game), but he looked fine on that play. While an insurance run is always appreciated, this one was especially so, as the Alonso would-be-homer now would not have changed the result of this game.
Suddenly, with the lead, Aaron Boone called on Paul Blackburn for the eighth. Basallo snuck a slow grounder through the left side with one out, and Beavers worked a two-out walk to put the tying run on base for Taveras, but Blackburn induced a first-pitch pop fly to send this baby to the ninth.
The Yanks would get a chance to tack on against Alex Hoppe, but went down in order after a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play. David Bednar would take the ball, looking for save No. 29. He got a groundout from Colton Cowser, struck out a pinch-hitting Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and got a flyout from Holliday to win it. After being robbed in his last at-bat, Alonso was left in the on-deck circle.
The Yankees go for their first three-game sweep at Camden Yards since August 2019 tomorrow night at 6:35 p.m. It’ll be Gerrit Cole against Kyle Bradish on YES.
BALTIMORE — As Pete Alonso’s towering fly ball to left field sailed over the foul pole, it sure looked like the Orioles had taken a late lead over the Yankees.
But to the surprise of many at Camden Yards on Wednesday, the ball was called foul — and after a lengthy review, the call stood and the game remained tied.
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And these Yankees, while hardly overpowering, took advantage and won their third straight, 5-3.
As Aaron Boone said, “We were able to hold on for dear life.”
The winning rally in the top of the eighth featured just one hit, a bases-loaded infield single by George Lombard Jr.
Heliot Ramos was hit by a pitch and Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked before José Caballero, hitting for the injured Ryan McMahon, was also drilled by right-hander Cam Sanders.
Facing Yennier Cano, Lombard came through with the hit, and then with Austin Wells batting, Cano threw a wild pitch that scored Chisholm, who hustled to the plate despite the ball not getting far away from catcher Yohel Pozo.
Pete Alonso's potential go-ahead homer gets called foul even after being reviewed.
“I was ready for a ball in the dirt,” Chisholm said.
“He was flying,” Boone said of Chisholm. “It shows what an instinctive base runner Jazz is.”
Still, the eighth inning had a much different feel as a tie game than one in which the Yankees would have trailed by at least one run.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. accepts congratulations from Trent Grisham after scoring on a wild pitch in the eighth inning in the Yankees’ 5-3 win over the Orioles on Aug. 19, 2026 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images
Alonso, who walked down the line holding his bat before flipping it dramatically when he thought it was fair, said he “100 percent” thought the call would be overturned.
But the MLB replay center said the replay official “could not definitively determine that the ball left the playing field in fair territory.”
“The video room and the umpire called it foul,” Alonso said. “[Those] are the only opinions that really matter. And kudos to [the Yankees] for responding, for breaking the tie that next half inning and to Headrick for making some really tough pitches after a loud strike one.”
Headrick, still effective despite being the most heavily used in a bullpen that’s been taxed, breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m a pitcher, so my vantage point was I thought it was foul,” the lefty said. “It could have gone either way. It went in our favor. We’ll take it. Once that happens, you really have to buckle down and get the out.”
For a second straight game, the Yankees got just four innings from their starter, as Will Warren needed 90 pitches to get through four frames.
George Lombard Jr., who had two RBIs, hits a sacrifice fly in the second inning of the Yankees’ win over the Orioles. Getty Images
Five relievers combined to give up just one run, as Fernando Cruz allowed a two-out homer to Dylan Beavers in the sixth.
“They’ve been awesome,” Boone said. “The strength of the rotation and the bullpen is why we’re in this position.”
The Orioles took the lead in the bottom of the first on a double steal, as Jackson Holliday scored from third when Austin Wells threw to second in a failed attempt to get Gunnar Henderson.
Ben Rice belts a solo homer in the third inning of the Yankees’ win over the Orioles. AP
Warren retired the next two batters to avoid further damage.
Ryan McMahon delivered a run-scoring single in the second, which was followed by a sacrifice fly by Lombard.
Ben Rice’s 431-foot solo homer in the third made it 3-1 and they had a chance to add to their lead when García and Ramos followed with singles.
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Chisholm then lined one to first, where Samuel Basallo made a nice diving catch and Jones struck out.
Baltimore got a run back in the third, as Alonso went the other way for his 29th homer of the season to cut the lead to one run.
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