Man Swinging Sledge Hammer (Photo by Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images) | Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
DIAMONDBACKS
ROYALS
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Carter Jensen – C
Ketel Marte – 2B
Bobby Witt – SS
Gabriel Moreno – C
Vinnie Pasquantino – 1B
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Salvador Perez – DH
Lourdes Gurriel – DH
Michael Massey – 2B
Ildemaro Vargas – 1B
Nick Loftin – 3B
Tim Tawa – RF
John Rave – RF
Jordan Lawlar – CF
Matthew Lugo – LF
Ryan Waldschmidt – LF
Kyle Isbel – CF
Jose Cabrera – RHP
Noah Cameron – LHP
An 11:10 am first pitch on a Monday? What fresh hell is this? I know it’s Labor Day and all, but Monday is one of my days off anyway, so it makes no difference to me. I’m used to relaxing, watching a couple of movies, then sauntering towards a Gameday Thread in the late afternoon. Today though? No such luck. Even though it is one of the holidays “observed” by baseball, with an afternoon start time an option, it has been a long while since we’ve had one start this early in Arizona. Usually, we’re at home, or playing close to it. From what I’ve found, it’s the earliest Labor Day in SnakePit history. The last morning game was 2000, when Atlanta meant a 10:05 am start here.
So I’ll keep this brief. All told, it hasn’t been a happy holiday for Arizona. They are only 9-18 on Labor Day over the years (they had no game in 2001), and have just one win in six attempts this decade. They’ll be hoping for better today. It’s another bullpen game, so maybe it’ll be as successful as the last one. Though the line-up above shows Cabrera as the starter, he’s going to be the “bulk” pitcher, with Derek Law the opener. Plenty of options in the ‘pen, with five players who haven’t pitched in five days or more, and two more on three days rest. No Corbin Carroll, who is simply getting a day off, but good to see Geraldo Perdomo bounce back after the friendly fire incident yesterday.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 06: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers gets ready to bat in the dugout during the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on September 6, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Never has a four-game streak felt so flat as one with the heavy cloud of Shohei Ohtani’s absence looming over the Dodgers, but those scary days seem to be over, and not a moment too soon. According to Dave Roberts, his star player is ready to return tonight against the Reds as the Dodgers get set for a far more daunting challenge than they had in any of the four games without the MVP. While the Reds as a team have tailed off after an encouraging start to the season, currently sitting in last place of the NL Central, Chase Burns has been at the top of his game—if not for Jacob Misiorowski’s ridiculous season in Milwaukee, the Reds’ ace would be in the running for the NL Cy Young.
When Burns faced the Dodgers early in his first year last season, he wasn’t as polished, but there were already clear signs of the dominant pitcher he could be—hosting the reigning champs in late July of 2025, he reached double-digit strikeouts for his third straight start in a 5-2 loss. Assessing this game’s outlook in particular, for as great as Burns has been with his 2.79 ERA in nearly 150 innings, so has the run support he has received, the fourth-best in the sport at 5.88—the ideal recipe for a dominant 15-3 record.
All of this certainty on the Reds’ side is contrasted by the direct opposite on the Dodgers’ pitching plans for this matchup. An odd man out amidst the return of multiple key starters, Emmert Sheehan was sent down at the beginning of August after a blowup start against the Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball—the Dodgers were coming off five straight losses in his starts. Since then, the work in Triple-A has been promising, with Sheehan allowing just one run in 17.1 innings.
Even in great teams, individual pitchers are susceptible to an underwhelming record for any number of reasons, but the comparisons of this specific matchup are too unique to ignore. The last-place Reds will send out a starter who has won 15 of his 18 decisions across 26 starts this year, while the first-place Dodgers will go with a starter who has lost two-thirds of his decisions with a 4-8 record in 20 appearances. When will we see something like this so late in the season from two players who have been with their respective clubs right from the start? It might be a while.
The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, and the organization’s developmental model has begun to yield results, with 2023 first rounder Zach Benson making an impact in the playoffs, and 2024 top pick Konsta Helenius appearing as one of the AHL’s top prospects the last two seasons.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. These players are all 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and have played less than 82 NHL games.
The Buffalo Sabres once again had a top 10 pick at the 2025 NHL Draft, and after lengthy speculation that they might trade the pick for immediate help with former GM Kevyn Adams entering a do or die season, the Sabres kept the ninth overall pick and selected Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman Radim Mrtka.
Where will Connor Hellebuyck end up?
Mrtka offers an intriguing physical package at 6’6”, 218 lb. with excellent skating ability. After getting limited playing time in various levels in Czechia last season and playing for his country in the Under-18s, the big right hander came to North America to play in the WHL and posted 35 points (3 goals, 32 assists) in 43 games with the Thunderbirds, where he was teammates with current Sabres prospect Scott Ratzlaff.
"Mrtka (offers a) very unique package to be able to move the way he does at 6'6", (is) almost more agile with the puck, if that's possible," Sabres Asst GM Jerry Forton said before the draft in June 2025. "A smart player at both ends. I was over in Czechia early in the year when he wasn't getting a lot of playing time in the men's league over there to see what he was willing to do to move to North America. He comes from a background where he has very little in the way of resources for hockey or anything outside hockey. He uprooted, high character kid, a huge ceiling."
The 19-year-old played five games for Czechia at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships, and played a four-game stint with AHL Rochester after Sabres training camp before being sent back to the WHL. His production was virtually the same last season with the Thunderbirds (1 goal, 33 assists) in 43 games, and after their year was over, Mrtka finished the season with the Amerks and played all three playoff games against the Toronto Marlies.
It is expected that Mrtka will play full time with Rochester, and based on how the Sabres blueline fares and how the youngster plays in the AHL, a call up to the NHL is not out of the question.
Sep 2, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Noah Cameron (65) delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Here on Labor Day, in the midst of a heat wave, the Arizona Diamondbacks come to a cooler environment than Phoenix for a series. The 76-68 D-Backs are hanging on to the third Wild Card slot in the NL, with a half-game lead over the San Diego Padres. The Royals can play spoiler a little bit, if they like.
The D-Backs will start Derek Law on the hill in today’s game. He will turn 36 in a week, and he’s purely a reliever. He’s one of those guys who has bounced around over the years; he’s on his 7th team since breaking through with the San Francisco Giants 10 years ago. He’s thrown only four innings this year after having missed all of 2025 due to right forearm inflammation. He was last seen as a reliever for the Nationals in 2024 and put together a solid season for them.
In short, it’ll be a bullpen game from the D-Backs.
The Royals will put new staff ace Noah Cameron on the mound. His last start was against Miami, and he gave up four runs in five innings but had excellent K/BB numbers. He gives the Royals as good a chance as any pitcher they have for a win. Unfortunately, Jac Caglianone remains out of the lineup. With John Rave in right field, Matthew Lugo gets the start in left field. The 25-year-old was hitting .271/.320/.531 in Omaha prior to his callup.
The game starts at 1:10pm US Central at Kauffman Stadium. You can watch on Royals.TV OR locally on KCTV5. You can listen on 96.5 The Fan or the Royals Radio Network.
The Portland Trail Blazers are signing Hyunjung Lee to an Exhibit 10 training camp contract, according to multiple reports out of Korea, and confirmed by Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. That means he is almost certain to spend much of the coming season with the Trail Blazers' G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix.
Nicknamed the "Ace of South Korea," the 6'7" forward played for Portland at Summer League in 2024, spent last season playing in Japan's B League. With a smooth jump shot, 3-point range and just playing hard when he got the chance, Lee made an impression at Summer League this year with San Antonio, averaging 8.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in eight games (across the California Classic and Las Vegas). He started slow but near the end of Summer League, he dropped 22 on Utah.
Lee wants to play in the NBA and is taking his shot through the G League. It feels appropriate that the team that drafted and is trying to develop Yang Hansen is taking a shot on him.
Sexton talks Lakers
He'll be coming off the bench, but Collin Sexton chose to come to the Lakers as a free agent because of the opportunity. He is going to have a big role, sparking offense with the second unit on a team that's going to play fast and be critical to their success. Sexton appeared on ESPN LA Radio and talked about what drew him to Los Angeles as a free agent (hat tip Real GM).
"I would say just opportunity to win, being on a big stage and being in the situation where I can try to come in and impact winning. I feel like I've been on different teams where it's just been a lot tougher. Of course, the want to win, it's always been there."
He also talked about most of the team heading to Slovenia on Luka Doncic's dime to work out this summer.
"I would say it was one of those trips where it was more like team building for us. It was for us to gel and work out, not just in the States, but away. And also, just the culture, for Luka to do that, it just shows a true leader, and that's the role that he wants to fall into this season and be the one to lead us."
Madison Square Garden tops Ant’s favorites list
Anthony Edwards and young F1 star Kimi Antonelli filmed a commercial together and did a behind-the-scenes video for YouTube, one where Antonelli asked Ant his favorite buildings to play in (hat tip Hoopshype).
"Well, of course home or Madison Square. Madison Square, TD Garden, New York, Boston, Philly, and Atlanta at home. But it's hard to play in Madison Square Garden too. Great place. It's hard to play there. You got to be ready for that. Boston is the same way New York is."
Barkley says he’s retiring
We've seen this movie before, but maybe this time he means it.
Appearing on "The Bill Simmons Podcast" last week, Barkley said this coming season of "Inside the NBA" would be the last one for both him and host Ernie Johnson. Barkley said when the iconic NBA pre/postgame show jumped from TNT to ESPN last year, Johnson asked Barkley to stay on for two more years.
"I said: 'I love you, man. You're the best. I'll stay.' So right now, unless Ernie changes his mind, next year is my last year, 100%."
Take it all with a grain of salt, we've heard this a couple of times now from Barkley. But one of these times it's going to be real.
CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 04: Cleveland Guardians left fielder Jo Adell (7) drives in a run with a sacrifice fly during the first inning of game 1 of the Major League Baseball doubleheader between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians on September 4, 2026, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 06: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres celebrates after hitting a home run in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Petco Park on September 06, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Diego Padres seem to have started to find their groove. The Friars made franchise history on Sunday afternoon, hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs for the fourth time in club history. It was just the second time of those four that the three homers were to lead off a game. That last happened in 1987, when Marvell Wynne, Tony Gwynn and John Kruk led off with three long balls.
Instead, it was Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado. Tatis and Cronenworth hit theirs to the opposite field, with that being Cronenworth’s first opposite-field home run of his MLB career. Machado went to dead center field. That, along with Luis Campusano’s solo shot in the seventh inning, was the difference maker after the New York Yankees scratched three runs across in the eighth inning.
Thankfully, closer Mason Miller slammed the door on the Yanks, striking out the side. That gave the Friars their first series win in two weeks, since they swept the Minnesota Twins. They’ll now face the Washington Nationals at Petco Park before going on their penultimate road trip of the 2026 regular season.
Taking the mound
Jake Irvin (WAS) v. Nick Pivetta (SD)
The Nationals right-hander has had a tough go of it this season. Irvin has pitched to a 5.57 ERA through 18 starts (85.1 IP) with an abnormally high 1.40 WHIP. He’s yet to put it all together at the big-league level after four seasons with Washington. That said, he’s surrendered just three runs in his last 8 1/3 innings.
Irvin’s only positive is that he hasn’t faced the Padres much in the past. San Diego batters have a combined eight at-bats against him. In that time, they’ve batted a collective .250, with Ty France having two hits against the righty. Hopefully, it won’t take long for the Friars to solve Irvin in the series opener.
He’s back! After missing the last five months, Nick Pivetta is finally returning to the Padres. He’ll start a major-league game for the first time since April 12 against the Colorado Rockies. It wouldn’t be surprising to only see Pivetta in for the first four innings, or until he reaches a certain number of pitches. The Friars don’t want to jeopardize his arm.
Still, Pivetta coming back is a huge improvement for the San Diego starting rotation. His return boosts the pitching staff in a big way, and takes pressure off of the rest of the group. If Pivetta can look anything close to his 2025 self, it’ll be a massive add for the Friars.
Batter up!
Apart from the first inning, the lineup didn’t do a whole lot in the series finale on Sunday. That said, Campusano has been a force to be reckoned with lately. During the Yankees series, the backstop went 4-for-10 with a walk, two home runs and three RBIs. If that production continues, it would be a major improvement behind the dish.
Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
Jake Cronenworth, 2B
Manny Machado, 3B
Ty France, 1B
Jackson Merrill, CF
Luis Campusano, DH
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Dustin Harris, LF
Freddy Fermin, C
Harris has swung a hot bat in just about every opportunity he’s had with San Diego. The left fielder is now hitting .292 on the season with a .719 OPS. Since joining the Padres, Harris owns a monstrous .409/.435/.455 slash line. That likely won’t continue, but the production they’re getting from him is phenomenal.
Relief corps
Michael King pitched another gem, as always, straining seven Yankees (4 H, 3 BB) across six scoreless innings of work. That saved the bullpen after Robbie Ray’s disastrous start on Saturday. Bradgley Rodriguez, Adrian Morejon and Miller covered the final three frames. Morejon struggled a bit, giving up three runs, though one was due to a throwing error.
With Pivetta’s return today, manager Craig Stammen reported that Randy Vásquez will be working out of the ‘pen. It seems likely that Pivetta pitches about four innings before Vásquez enters in relief. Behind those two, Jhony Brito, Griffin Canning, Kyle Hart, Yuki Matsui, David Morgan and Wandy Peralta are all available for San Diego to call upon.
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 2: Starting pitcher Trevor Rogers #28 of the Baltimore Orioles delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 2, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Labor Day, Camden Chat! I hope the Orioles don’t give you a back-breaking loss that seals their season. I’d understand if you didn’t feel great about their chances: the O’s are 0-6 in September, four games back of the Guardians, and couldn’t even achieve a series win against the Colorado Rockies!! For Pete’s sake.
Well, hope springs eternal. Today, it’s a battle of two lefties—Cleveland’s Joey Cantillo (9-8, 3.91) vs. our own Trevor Rogers (9-9, 4.30)—as these two teams attempt to elbow their way into the postseason.
Cantillo is a swing man turned full-time starter this season. The Honolulu-born lefty has been just average this year—barring his poor control, as attested to by a league-leading 72 walks. He’s good at getting whiffs, particularly with his curveball and changeup. A lefty with offspeed stuff? Sounds like it could be trouble.
The Orioles are actually letting a few lefties hit off of Castillo: Jackson Holliday, Gunnar Henderson, Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers. Also Rece Hinds was called up just yesterday, so you’ll be meeting him. Hope he’ll be a spark of something.
The O’s’ myriad frustrations this year don’t really fall at the feet of the starting rotation, which includes Trevor Rogers. The lefty’s season-long numbers aren’t wow, but they are mitigated by two things: a bad start he’s since transcended, and bad batted-ball luck/bad defense, suggested by a .301 BABIP for opposing hitters. His strikeout and walk numbers are mostly the same as his brilliant 2025. For me, at least, it’s always nice to see Trevor Rogers out on the mound. Last time we did, he racked up a career-high 11 strikeouts in Colorado (the O’s managed to lose that one, anyway, with a bullpen collapse). The future Hall of Famer José Ramírez loves to hit Rogers, though, so watch out for him.
Devon Toews is accustomed to making an impact on the ice.
On Sunday, the Colorado Avalanche defenseman traded his stick for a baseball and stepped onto the mound at Coors Field, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the Colorado Rockies took the field.
The Hockey News was in attendance for the game.
Toews’ appearance came as the Rockies welcomed fans to the ballpark, with the Avalanche defenseman taking part in the pregame festivities before settling in to watch the game from the stands.
The Rockies appeared to be juiced up at the beginning. They built a 5-1 lead until the bullpen faltered and allowed five runs in the sixth inning.
From there, the Rockies tried to play catchup, but subsequent runs allowed put them further behind, as they suffered a series 10-8 defeat to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
For Toews, who is an avid baseball fan, the afternoon provided a chance to represent the Avalanche away from Ball Arena and connect with Colorado’s broader sports community.
The appearance also served as another reminder of the unique relationship between Colorado’s professional sports teams. Avalanche and Rockies fans have plenty of opportunities throughout the year to support both clubs, and Toews’ presence at the ballpark brought those worlds together.
And now with reports coming out in recent days regarding the Walton-Penner group and how it’s expected for the Broncos owners to acquire a larger portion of the team, Rockies fans, who have been tortured for years upon years of bad teams, may have something to smile about around the corner.
And before you know it, Rockies fans may experience what Avalanche fans have enjoyed for the latter part of a decade. Excellent teams, playoff appearances, and plenty of post-game fireworks.
On Sunday, the partnership was evident and together, we can support all Colorado sports teams for the greater good.
And for the Avalanche, training camp is right around the corner.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 04: Cal Raleigh #29 of the Seattle Mariners rounds third base after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning against the Athletics at T-Mobile Park on September 04, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When Cal Raleigh steps to the plate at T-Mobile Park for these final few weeks of the 2026 season, Mariners fans might be surprised to hear a different walkup song for their catcher. Raleigh has long favored Washington-born Zach Top’s “Bad Luck”, which he’d been using since last season, but also has a taste for the classics: he’s used Eddie Money’s “Take Me Home Tonight,” Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing,” and back in the minors, the original Beef Boy Ballad, “Drift Away.”
Classic heavy metal? Not so much.
Except sharp-eared fans might have recently heard Raleigh walking up to “The Trooper” by Iron Maiden, arguably the second-most famous piece of literary art about the Charge of the Light Brigade. Frustrated with his season and open to changing up anything, Raleigh has been trying out different walk-up songs over the past few months – the less said about the use of Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” over the July Fourth homestand, the better – eventually allowing the Mariners’ clubhouse managers and attendants to take a turn picking out songs for him. Clubhouse attendant Tim Kalal, a devout Iron Maiden fan, selected “The Trooper” prior to a game against the Phillies on August 24th. Cal went on to hit three homers in the game and hasn’t looked back since.
It’s a fitting tune for Raleigh, who has probably felt like he’s been in Tennyson’s Valley of Death during 2026. However, there are signs he’s been starting clambering off the gob pile that has been his season. Cal points to a mid-August series in Milwaukee where he instituted a mechanical change as a turnaround in his season. Small sample size ahoy, but since the beginning of that series, Raleigh has a wRC+ of 259 . He’s hit eight home runs over that span, which is one fewer than the number he hit from the beginning of the season to the fourth of July; more importantly, he’s walking much more (19%) and striking out much less (26%) than he’s been this season. He’s also squaring the ball up better, with a barrel rate of over 30% (MLB average is around 8%) and a hard-hit rate of 64.5% (MLB average is 22%).
Part of Raleigh’s adjustments have been getting his hands into better position; they’re a little higher and a little further back. Per Cal, this allows him to be better on-time to get off his good swing, which would contribute to the uptick in hard-hit numbers.
“It doesn’t take as long to get to my fire position,” said Raleigh, noting the new setup has helped him get to that position earlier. “So I don’t have to worry about getting back on time. There’s less room for error. So just being a little higher, a little more back, I’m a little more in that position where I fire from.”
Here he is in that “fire position” in his second home run against Wheeler on August 24th vs. where he was on May 12 (where he broke an 0-for-38 with a single) in Houston. His hands are higher, but really he’s more upright overall, with those classic high elbows that are an Edgar hallmark. His hips are also slightly more open.
Raleigh describes the change as a collective effort among the hitting group.
“You know, Edgar is a big proponent of it, he always has been. He’s big on getting your hands back and getting that separation beforehand so you don’t have to worry about maybe not getting back or not getting on time.”
Compare again to Raleigh in late June, where he’s much more closed at a similar point – you can see even more of his numbers than in the still from May – and his hands are closer to his body with a more perpendicular angle to his lead elbow. You can also see how much stronger Raleigh is to his back leg in August, with a more balanced weight distribution, as opposed to May-June, when he almost seems tipped forward some.
But the primary thing the new setup has given him is his timing back. While his attack angle hasn’t changed, you can see from Raleigh’s swing tracking data that in 2026, he’s often been later on the fastball, which has resulted in him getting under the pitch more, which has in turn resulted in a lot of flyballs that haven’t left the park. While it would be difficult for Raleigh to have repeated his 25% HR/FB ratio from last year ( at those rates, think Schwarber/Caminero/Alonso), this year that number has fallen to a career-low 14.5% (think Miguel Vargas, JJ Bleday, Zach Neto) – still high average, no longer elite.
“I don’t have to go searching or be on perfect timing every time,” said Raleigh. “I can have more room for error for being on time for the fastball and then a little more back on the off-speed.”
One thing that has been consistent for Raleigh all season is his ability to take a walk; even at his worst points, when he was expanding up or chasing out of the zone and striking out consistently, he still ran an above-average walk rate, managing to wring some value out of his plate appearances. But in this mid-August stretch until now, not only is he walking almost 20% of the time, but he’s getting himself into advantage counts and actually doing damage in those counts. Raleigh said he started to feel things shifting in his favor earlier; the mechanical adjustment just helped him unlock the ability to punish mistakes.
“I felt like I was seeing the ball better. I was laying off pitches, I was doing all that stuff. It was just about the execution of it. Now when I was getting the mistake, I was actually taking advantage of it. So I think that’s the difference. Beforehand, I was seeing the ball a lot better and doing a better job of recognizing and stuff like that, but still not getting the execution part through.”
So the two improvements have gone hand-in-hand: Raleigh is doing more damage on the pitches he’s seeing now thanks to the mechanical tweak, but he’s able to get those pitches to damage because of his improved plate discipline and ability to dictate the at-bat – something that can build throughout the game.
“You always want to be on the attack, and if it’s not [the pitch you want], you’re getting another pitch out of them. It might not show up in that first at-bat but maybe you saw that one pitch one extra time, or he had to use all four pitches on you instead of only two or three, and I think it shows up—maybe not in that at-bat, but it shows up in the next one. You recognize it and you get even more good counts, and you do that more often and you can square something up. So it’s that trickle-down effect, like if it’s not immediate, maybe it’s the next time through. It’s just much better when you’re in the driver’s seat. You have a little more freedom. You have a little more ability to be like, what’s my plan here, what am I going to try to do to get that swing off, instead of trying to play defense up there.”
Cal claims not to be an Iron Maiden fan, but the battle metaphor is appropriate for both baseball and the unnamed protagonist of “The Trooper,”
You’ll take my life, but I’ll take yours too You’ll fire your musket, but I’ll run you through So when you’re waiting for the next attack You’d better stand, there’s no turning back
“To me, a typical season is like, 10% of the time you’re hot, super hot, you can’t get out. 10% of the time, you’re awful. You can’t do anything. Then there’s that 80% where you’re fighting, battling. Maybe not good, maybe not bad. Right in the middle. And that’s when you’re trying to fine tune things a little bit and make sure you’re on top of everything.”
At this point it would take a Herculean effort to push Raleigh’s 2026 campaign even towards “right in the middle” – not that that’s stopping him from fighting, battling. The Light Brigade soldier goes into battle knowing he won’t live to fight another day; fighting anyway, plunging on into certain death. It’s too late to save Cal Raleigh’s 2026 season, just like it’s too late to save the Mariners’ 2026 season. But Raleigh’s determination to fight on and finish as strongly as he can, to make those adjustments, to find a way out of the valley is a testament to the kind of player and person he is: in every sense, a Trooper.
The Atlanta Braves won arguably the most dramatic game of the season last night that resulted in a season tiebreaker against the Philadelphia Phillies and moved the division lead to five games with only four games left between the two team. The Phillies’ destiny is no longer in their own hands to win the NLE.
That being said, there is still enough baseball left that any cushion the Braves can create would be huge in their chances for taking back the NLE crown and potentially earn a first round bye in the playoffs via a two seed.
Grant Holmes did well in his last day game where he gave up zero runs last week, but he also gave up six earned runs in the start before that. Jesús Luzardo has been fantastic this year. The Braves need to tire him out because getting to the bullpen seems to be the key to the game.
Follow along in the comments. First pitch is at 1:05 EDT.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 01: Robert Gasser #54 of the Milwaukee Brewers delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field on September 01, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For the fifth time in a week, the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs will face off against each other. After splitting a four game series at Wrigley Field, the two NL Central rivals return to American Family Field for their final series of the regular season.
The Brewers hold a comfortable seven game lead over the Cubs for the top spot in the division. Every single win the Crew gets in this series, drops their magic number to clinch down by two. The magic number currently sits at 12, which means it could drop all the way down to six by the end of this series. The magic number to clinch a playoff berth is five.
Milwaukee made a roster move prior to this Labor Day game, placing reliever Grant Anderson on the 15 day IL with right biceps inflammation. Right-hander Brandon Sproat was recalled from Triple-A to take his spot. Sproat will pitch out of the bullpen for now and will give the Crew some much needed length as they’ve had a string of short starts lately and are wrapping up a stretch of 16 consecutive days with a game.
Sproat talked with reporters prior to the game, saying, “I think the most important thing for me when I was down there (in Nashville) was just getting back to the person and player the Brewers traded for. Just get back to moving my body intentionally, working on the pitches, anywhere from the four seam to the cutter to the sweeper, whatever it might be.”
It was tough news for Grant Anderson, who has been a key piece of this bullpen, and was stretched out to 2.2 IP of work on Sunday on the second day of a back-to-back. Pat Murphy said pregame that there was no structural damage and they hope it’ll be minimum stint on the IL.
It’s also a needed day off for Jake Bauers as he continues to battle through bumps and bruises. Murphy would love to have him out there, but he’ll get Labor Day off. That means Andrew Vaughn gets the start at first base today and is batting cleanup. Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras will be the trio atop the order aiming to get on base ahead of Vaughn. Christian Yelich and Luis Lara will follow. Then Cooper Pratt, Garrett Mitchell, and Joey Ortiz will round out the bottom of the order. Mitchell will be starting in the 8th spot in the lineup for just the fourth time this season.
That is the lineup that will go against Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, who has an 8-3 record and 4.05 ERA on the season. Boyd pitched against the Brewers on Tuesday last week and went 5.1 IP, allowing seven hits and three runs in the Crew’s 9-4 victory. On the Crew’s side, Robert Gasser gets the start. Gasser also started Tuesday’s game last week and went 4.1 IP, allowing three hits and two earned runs. Even though he was pulled in the middle of the 5th inning, Pat Murphy gave Gasser some words of encouragement and told him he pitched well. The Brewers played some rough defense behind him in that game.
Gasser will face a potent Cubs lineup once again, starting with the leadoff hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is the leading NL MVP candidate. He’ll be followed by Seiya Suzuki and Alex Bregman atop the order. Old friend Tyrone Taylor is batting cleanup, followed by Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw. Carson Kelly, BJ Murray, and Pedro Ramirez round out the bottom of the order for Chicago.
This is the Cubs’ last best chance to make a dent in this division race. They’ll be hungry. The Brewers need to be equally hungry to keep them at bay and win a fourth consecutive division title.
Basketball: NBA Playoffs: Brooklyn Nets fans in stands holding up letters that spell BROOKLYN during game vs Milwaukee Bucks at Barclays Center. Game 7. Brooklyn, NY 6/19/2021 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X163667 TK1)
With the signing of 7-footer Grant Nelson to a two-way deal on Friday, the Brooklyn Nets roster seems set, barring some huge surprise. They now have the full complement of 15 players on standard NBA deals and three on two-way contracts. They will invite players to training camp which starts September 29, ultimately sending four of them to Long Island for G League duty. That should be it.
The roster is very young, no doubt the youngest in the league for the second straight year with eight of the 15 on rookie contracts, and five of them unable to legally drink in New York because they’re under 21. Two of the 20-year-olds — Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. — will be the highest drafted rookies in back-to-back years since 1995 and 1996. Only one player will be over 30 — Julius Randle who will turn 32 . They will also reflect the team’s new mantras of positional height and versatility — no more small ball. Ten of the 18 are 6’9” or taller, topped by Nelson at an official 7’0” in bare feet.
Will they win some games? They think so. Jordi Fernandez eschews gloom and doom, thinking his team will win a lot more than any pundits think (and we’re not going to dwell on what they think. No we are not.) Julius Randle told Mikel Brown Jr. they “will shock the world.” And Ben Saraf in an interview with the Jerusalem Post, published Thursday laid out the players’ goal.
“I think this year we want to win as many games as possible. Last season, there were more opportunities for the younger players, and I think that really helped all of us. But this year it’s about winning. Whoever helps the team win is going to play,” he said. “Making the playoffs is definitely a dream. I think this year our team has been built well, and I really believe we can do it. That’s our goal.”
Not the “play-in,” not the more amorphous “post-season” but the playoffs which would require around 40 wins. Optimism reigns.
Of course, optimism always reigns this time of year. Most teams by now, as Bobby Marks (no relation) has said, in love with their rosters. Not every team thinks it can contend, but they generally will like how their rosters fit their plan. It takes until around mid-December, conveniently when free agents signed over the summer can first be traded, for ownership and management to realize the plan has holes.
As for Nelson, his signing is yet another sign the organization likes him. Despite some physical setbacks, Brooklyn has remained positive about his development. They signed him to an Exhibit 10 after he went undrafted, waited through seven weeks of rehab, then played him in Long Island with minutes restrictions till he got healthy enough and gave him a 10-day with the big club. After his patella tendinitis, aka jumpers’ knee, re-emerged and he wasn’t given a second 10-day, they kept him around on. Following a non-surgical treatment after the season, they gave him a spot on the Summer League roster, even travelled him to Sacramento and Las Vegas knowing he still needed recovery time wouldn’t plan. Finally, he got a two-way which will have an opportunity for minutes. That’s commitment.
Next up will be signing players to those Exhibit 10 contracts, some of which will mean camp invites, some of which will simply be a way to fill out Long Island’s roster. They can bring 20 players into camp.
So knowing all that, should we play the rotation game? Who we might see vs. the Charlotte Hornets on Opening Night, October 21. At the moment, barring those surprises, we are likely to see the Aura Bros — Egor Demin and Michael Brown Jr., both aged 20, starting in the backcourt along with the two high scoring veterans, Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle at the 3 and 4 and Day’Ron Sharpe at the 5.
That’s the easy part. Also likely to see minutes in Fernandez’s typically deep rotation are guards Terance Mann, Nolan Traore and Keon Brown as well as bigs Josh Minott, Noah Clowney and Moe Wagner. Saraf and Danny Wolf may be getting niche minutes. Defense is likely to play a big role in who plays.
Do we expect big improvements from some of the eight players on rookie deals, aged 22 to 20?
One player who needs a big season is Clowney. He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of 2026-27 so this is his time. He didn’t have a bad year in year three, averaging 12.4 points on 40/33/80 splits to go along with 4.1 rebounds in 27 minutes per in 66 games. But he started 60 of those games and that’s unlikely this time around, not with the addition of Randle. As every Nets fan knows, he’s had some highly promising games over his short career — a week with games of seven and four blocks in the last week of 2023-24 and four games with four or more 3-pointers just last season. They’d just like to see more of it.
Overall, decisions are likely to be driven first by developmental priorities … but unlike the last two seasons, Fernandez will not have worry about the lottery. Brooklyn may have to (okay, will likely to) swap firsts with the Houston Rockets. They also control the New York Knicks unprotected first. Both will likely to be low in a reportedly mediocre and top heavy draft. No the prior it was the last two drafts, both seen as “generational.”
We shouldn’t be tied to the tyranny of positions 1-through-5, either. Fernandez and others in the organization talk about position-less basketball, positional height and versatility going to be crucial. How many times will we see Demin, Brown Jr. and Traore together? How often late in games with Randle be pounding the ball down at the 5? Will Clowney get time at the 5 in certain situations? Minott at the 4? Will they find time for Joshua Jefferson who they liked a lot in the draft? What about the three two-ways? The Nets have used two-ways more than most teams the last two seasons as part of their development scheme.
It should be interesting.
What about MPJ and Julius Randle?
Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron and Capsheets.com had Erik Slater and Brian Lewis on last week and the headline out of the podcast was speculation about whether Michael Porter Jr. or Julius Randle, two proven NBA scorers aged 28 and soon-to-be 32, will be with the team past the trade deadline in early February…
The suggestion is that contending teams looking to improve their chances will offer Brooklyn assets that are more in line with their time line, whether younger players or draft picks … although the Nets already have a clear league lead in first (13) and second (19) round picks. In addition, the Nets and MPJ seems to be at an impasse about an extension beyond his $40.8 million expiring deal. So, if that doesn’t work out, Sean Marks & co. would be in danger of losing MPJ without any compensation (although the Nets can extend him at any time up till July 6 next year.)
However, Randle thinks he an MPJ will work well together, telling a fan in Brazil (where he was on a Skechers promotional tour with O.G. Anunoby of tip-in fame) he thinks the two bigs play different games and can complement each other…
Como vai ser o encaixe entre Julius Randle e Michael Porter Jr. no Brooklyn Nets?
“It’s gonna be great. Two completely different type of players as far of style of play. I think we actually complement each other very well,” the three-time NBA All-Star said. “I can do a lot with the ball, with the dribble, you know creating and he’s a great catch-and-shoot guy, can really space the floor. We’ll complement each other very well.”
FYI, Randle has a player option of $35.8 million come July.
Ben Saraf takes stock
Of all Brooklyn’s first rounders last year, Ben Saraf was the subject of the most fan skepticism and that’s being kind. He was seen, at No. 26, as an NBA lemon by a loft of fans, and/or an indication of how the Flatbush 5 was filled with bad choices … despite the fact that a 26th pick doesn’t produce a lot of stars and that he was the eighth youngest player out of the 600 or so who donned NBA uniforms last year. And please don’t mention to those fans that Hugo Gonzales was taken at No. 28!
Saraf remains optimistic about his NBA journey. In that same interview with the J-Post where he spoke about the team’s optimism, he spoke about his belief in himself.
While at a community event in Rishon LeZion in Israel last month, he spoke with Joshua Hallickman he expressed confidence that his second year will give him a push.
“During my workouts over the past few months, the Summer League and our team practices, I already feel like the game has slowed down for me a bit. You have to get used to the pace and understand better what’s expected of you,” he said. “This summer, I’m focusing a lot on improving my shooting, getting stronger physically, learning how to take care of my body and how to prepare for games. Those are all things you learn during your first NBA season, and I’m happy about that.”
As a combo guard, he’ll need to shoot better to get minutes in a backcourt that includes four other 20-year-olds in Egor Demin, Mikel Brown Jr., Nolan Traore and Drake Powell, a 22-year-old rookie in Joshua Jefferson plus Keon Ellis and Terance Mann.
He admits as well, that there were some tough times.
“It was really important for me to prove to myself that I was capable, even if I had to take a step back. I wanted to stay mentally strong, and I think by the end of the season I was playing much better and had some good games. But the goal now is to start next season already playing a meaningful role with the team.”
Indeed, at Hallickman points out, there were some bright spots particularly late.
After spending part of the year in the G League, the 20-year-old responded with arguably the strongest stretch of basketball of his young NBA career. Over Brooklyn’s final four games, he averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists while logging more than 32 minutes per contest. The highlight of that run came when he scored 19 points in back-to-back games against Milwaukee and Indiana, showing the poise, confidence and playmaking ability that made him one of Europe’s most highly regarded prospects.
His shooting still wasn’t that respectable — 46/19/88 — in that stretch but in one of the two 19-point outings, he went to the line 10 times in 36 minutes, hitting nine of them. Also, his head coach often praised his defense and he averaged close to a steal a game in 21 minutes last season.
Saraf told Hallickman that the high point of the season was not a high score but the game the Nets played vs. the Portland Trailblazers in Brooklyn on March 6. It was the first time three players with Israeli passports had taken the court together in the NBA. He, Danny Wolf and Deni Advija spent a total of 66 minutes running up and down the court at Barclays in front of a lot of Israeli flags.
“I think the most exciting and emotional moment was the game where there were three Israelis playing together on the same court with all the Jewish fans in attendance. It was so much bigger than basketball. That was definitely the most powerful moment of my season.”
Saraf didn’t mention any of the protests related to Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Iran but instead noted how well he was treated and his connections with Israeli and Jewish communities in the U.S.
“It’s amazing. There are endless Friday night dinners. Even when I travel to other places, I meet many Israelis and Jews doing gap-year programs or volunteering, and I’m always invited over,” he told Hallickman. “That’s also true when it comes to Chabad houses (Jewish community centers) across the country. I try to go whenever I can. I also visited a Jewish school in Cleveland to talk with the kids. It’s great. I really appreciate all that support.”
Although he didn’t play for the Israeli national team in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers this summer, he expressed the hope he’ll be able to in the future.
“It’s a huge dream. Honestly, whenever I play for the national team, that’s when I enjoy basketball the most. Those tournaments are the most fun for me, and it’s always an incredible experience. I’m also really excited to watch the youth national teams. They’re doing an amazing job. I think we have a lot of talented prospects and that we can become a really strong national team in the future. I’m very excited about that.”
Long Island Nets busy, too.
Just as Sean Marks has been filling out the Brooklyn roster, Long Island’s GM, Matt MacDonald, has been doing the same, making small trades to acquire G League rights to players, drafting a French guard in the G League international draft and working with Brooklyn on both Exhibit 10 and two-way signings.
One transaction this week in particular caught our eye, a trade for rights to Isaiah Wong, a 6’3” combo guard who grew up in Piscataway, N.J. and attended the University of Miami. The 25-year-old has experience in the G League, NBA and the Spanish League, generally conceded to be the best pro league outside North America.
Overall, Wong has played 21 NBA games having been taken by the Pacers at No. 55 in the 2023 NBA Draft after he’d been named ACC Player of the Year, a third team All-American and helped Miami reach their first-ever Final Four.
What can he do? Here’s his Miami highlights:
Wong played a single game with the Pacers in 2023-24, then he got 20 games of action the next year in Charlotte…
After Charlotte didn’t renew his deal, he went overseas, playing first in Lithuania with Zalgiris, a Euroleague team, then in Spain with Gran Canaria. Wong averaged 14.6 points a game along with two assists and two rebounds.
Personally, he has an interesting distinction. His paternal great-grandfather was Chinese, meaning he can play for the Chinese national team. Can’t hurt. Will he choose Long Island over the Canary Islands? No word yet, but unless he gets signed to an Exhibit 10 contract and gets the customary bonus of $85,000, he’ll be limited to the standard G League deal, which tops out at $49,000, less than what he can get overseas.
Final Note
Meanwhile in L.A., the city’s two teams are in turmoil. The Lakers former owners, the Buss family, are feuding as Jeannie Buss tries to preserve her role as NBA governor. With her siblings undercutting her to sell their final 17.8% of the team to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, she wouldn’t control enough stock in the operating company to qualify for a seat on the NBA Board of Governors. She’s going to court it appears.
Meanwhile, across the great expanse of the city, Steve Ballmer is also considering suing the league after Adam Silver put the hammer down on his ownership of the Clippers. ICYMI, the Clippers have to give up their first rounders from 2029 through 2033 and pay a $30 million fine. Ballmer and his CEO, Gillian Zucker, are suspended for a year while Lawrence Frank faces six month unpaid leave. And it an under reported and under appreciated part of the ruling, “the Clippers organization and personnel are subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office for a period of five years.” That appears to mean that the league office will now play a role in Clippers’ basketball operations. How’s that going to work?
All of it, of course, is the penalty for circumventing the NBA’s salary cap rules. In the year after Pablo Torre first uncovered the scandal that involved Kawhi Leonard’s lucrative no-show deal with a team partner, the league’s high-powered law firm, Wachtell Lipton not only confirmed what Pablo found out, but found three more suspect agreements … and announced there may be more to come.
The general belief is that neither law suit will succeed and Josh Kushner, Jared’s brother, will take Jeannie Buss seat and Ballmer will have to find another hobby for a year. However, the lasting effect of all these West Coast machinations, including the circumstances that led Laker owner Mark Walter to sell in the first place, may very well be that Adam Silver’s new theme song is “No more Mr. Nice Guy” across the board.
Silver has long been seen as a conciliator compared to his predecessor, David Stern who was more of a hanging judge. That was fine as long as team valuations soared into the stratosphere and scandals could be brushed aside. Now, though, there’s a sense of crisis because the game’s integrity is at the center of the league’s success. Without it, more fans will be even more cynical and cynics make for lousy fans.
Cheating on the cap, a failure to fully vet new owners’ net worth and the gambling scandal are all part of that integrity problem. Gambling could indeed by the worst blow. The budding investigation has already nabbed four former NBA players including a Hall of Famer and will likely explode in the next few months. Two former players, including MPJ’s brother Jontay, have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with authorities in the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s office. Gamblers are too. Will other, big names be tarred?
While the Clippers’ scandal has taken up a lot of Pablo Torre’s time of late, he also tackled the gambling scandal back in February and a close reading of what he found out then should have sent tremors through the NBA offices on Fifth Avenue. There were some bad actors out there. No word on when things will get laid out publicly but watch for news about sentencings of those who have pleaded guilty. Often at those sentencing hearings, defendants must “allocute,” that is, reveal what they have told the feds and prosecutors put it in the larger context. That could be painful for the league.
Anything that could harm the Nets going forward? It seem unlikely. MPJ has explained he had nothing to do with his brother’s gambling, mostly on G League games (!), and we have no reason not to believe him. As for cap circumvention, that’s certainly not been a problem. Brooklyn hasn’t crossed the cap since the Mikal Bridges trade and no one is suggesting the Tsais aren’t among the wealthiest people in the world.
As one insider noted to us, “we’re boring.” Let’s keep it that way!
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 21: Eugenio Suarez #7 of the Cincinnati Reds blows a bubble during his at bat against the Minnesota Twins in the fifth inning of the game at Target Field on June 21, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Reds 7-5 in twelve innings. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Slugging Cincinnati Reds 3B Eugenio Suárez is known to be one of baseball’s most streaky hitters, one who jumps up to provide weeks at a time of prodigious power that can carry a single lineup. That’s why the Reds brought him back to their roster for 2026 on a $15 million deal, after all – their mostly punchless lineup needed a big bat to bolster their chances at a second straight postseason run.
Problem is, Geno got hurt early on. An oblique strain sent him to the shelf for longer than anything else in his career has been able to pull off, and that paired with an absent spring training (while on duty with Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic) has made for an overall dismal season for their long-time star.
All of that paired with slipping defense at 3B meant Geno went nowhere at the August 3rd trade deadline this summer. Cincinnati held on to him, presumably because there simply were not enough offers (if any), and they even chose to place him on waivers at the end of August as the deadline for teams to add players who’d be eligible for their postseason rosters came, and went.
Nobody claimed Geno. The roughly $3 million left on his contract was simply too much for the gamble.
Geno sat idle on August 3rd as the deadline came, went, and he still had a Cincinnati Reds uniform in his locker. He suited up in said uni on August 4th, and he’s been precisely the kind of Geno the Reds hoped they’d get all year ever since.
In 30 games (119 PA) since the Reds couldn’t find a suitor for him at the deadline, Geno has hit a robust .234/.378/.511 (.889 OPS) with 7 homers, 23 ribbies, and a 19/33 K/BB. Yeah, he’s still striking out like the guy who swings and misses more often than anyone in the sport, but that’s just who he’s become over the last decade while socking dingers at a rate not seen across the sport (non-Judge edition). He’s even added an eye, though, as those walks and OBP demonstrate.
Sadly, it hasn’t been enough to help the ol’ Reds enough, however. The Reds went into their August 3rd day off 5 games under the .500 mark, and they woke up today, September 7th, at 5 games under the .500 mark, too. That’s not on Geno this time around, though, as his bat woke up just like everyone knew it eventually would.
I do think it’s likely annoying enough to at least a handful of MLB execs across the league who thought picking up Geno on the cheap would be a bargain down the stretch and, for whatever reasons, got out-voted in the final decision-making process.
It won’t be enough to carry the Reds to a miracle finish like the 2021 St. Louis Cardinals, surely, but it would make for an entertaining end to an otherwise moribund Reds campaign in 2026 if Geno found a way to go nuclear for the final three weeks, too.
Boston, MA - September 2: Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello underhands the ball to first base in the sixth inning. The Boston Red Sox played the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
It being Labor Day, I’m going to do these lineups with the minimum amount of work in support of the comrades who got us here. How this differs from my normal lineups routine is unknown at this time. We will not be doing the work to investigate as such for reasons already explained. To the grilled meats we go.
