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Much like the day before, the San Diego Padres jumped out to a lead against the San Francisco Giants and needed their back-end bullpen arms to lock down the 7-6 win at Oracle Park on Saturday.

Michael King took the mound for San Diego and was hurt by the home run over the first two innings but settled in over the next five to earn the win. Rafael Devers gave San Francisco the lead with a two-run home run to right field, which was his second homer in as many days to give the Giants a 2-0 lead. After the Padres responded with two runs in the top of the second, Shay Whitcomb connected on a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the inning to put San Francisco up 3-2.

Jackson Merrill stayed hot and hit his 25th home run of the season when he connected on a one-out solo home run in the top of the third inning, which tied the game at 3-3. San Diego took its first lead of the game in the top of the fourth inning when Samad Taylor and Fernando Tatis Jr. reached on back-to-back singles. Dustin Harries, who was batting second for the Padres, hit a sacrifice fly which allowed Taylor to tag up and score from third to make the score, 4-3.

San Diego scored a run in the fifth and an emphatic run in the sixth when Tatis hit a 421-foot leadoff home run to left field which pushed the Padres’ lead to 6-3. San Diego tacked on a run on a San Francisco error in the top of the seventh inning to give the Padres a comfortable four-run lead at 7-3 after their half of the seventh.

Bradgley Rodriguez replaced King on the mound to start bottom of the eighth inning and had a disappointing outing. The rookie right-hander was tagged for a leadoff home run, a single and a two-run home run, which allowed the Giants to get back in the game at 7-6. Adrian Morejon was called on to stop the San Francisco scoring after Rodriguez was unable to record an out while allowing three runs. Morejon recorded back-to-back strikeouts and got a groundout to end the eighth.

Mason Miller came on for the bottom of the ninth and had a much better outing than he did in Game 1. He needed just 17 pitches to retire the final three batters to get the win and earn his 36th save.

King was solid outside of the first two innings. He pitched seven innings, allowed three runs on five hits and struck out four without allowing a walk. King had four innings where he faced the minimum number of batters and two of his five hits allowed came in the seventh inning, his final inning of work.

The Padres will go for the road sweep of the Giants and look to extend their winning streak to six games when they meet today at 4:20 p.m.

Padres News:

• The majority of respondents to this week’s Gaslamp Ball Reacts Survey believe if the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks keep running neck and neck in the final weeks of the season, their series at Petco Park will determine which team advances to the postseason.

Baseball News:

• The New York Mets hit six home runs and beat Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees.

• The Chicago Cubs came from behind to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3.

• The Toronto Blue Jays topped the Baltimore Orioles to continue their playoff pursuit.

• CJ Abrams and James Wood lead the Washington Nationals to an extra-inning win over the Los Angeles Angels.

• The Detroit Tigers scored seven runs in the eighth inning to beat the Colorado Rockies.

• The Tampa Bay Rays added another win to their total with a 3-2 defeat of the Houston Astros.

• The Texas Rangers got some players back and they made an instant impact and helped the Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks.

There is 1993, when the Phillies knocked the Braves down in six games, including hammering Greg Maddux around for six runs in the series finale. There is the NLDS’s in 2022 and 23, the height of which being when Bryce Harper stared Orlando Arcia down after a home run.

There are several moments to choose from but if you had to pick something that isn’t super noteworthy or wouldn’t get covered on a National TV broadcast, what would it be?

The Braves-Phillies rivalry is one of the best things going on in baseball right now. The Phillies have knocked the Braves around over their last two postseason matchups but the Braves have mostly dominated the division outside of 2024 and 25 but also have the more recent World Series title. It’s a rivalry without true bragging rights, which feels a little rare in today’s sporting landscape.

Anyway, my personal favorite weird moment is when Luke Williams hit a walk off home run against Will Smith, taking a hanging slider into the left field seats for the Phillies to take a game in June (on a very nice date). It was Williams’ first career home run, he did not do much with the Phillies the rest of the 2021 season, and Williams would go on to play 82 games with the Braves over the last four seasons.

Let us know what your answer is, especially if it’s older, because this Question of the Day is being written by a 23-year-old. If you remember something from before 2010, now is the time to share it.

A similar hand of fate that has inexplicably granted Battery Power’s Ivan near-exclusivity on Martín Pérez starts has linked me with Grant Holmes and Andrew Painter, who will face off for the third time this season (and the second time with the opportunity for the Braves to sweep the Phillies).

As the season draws to a close, it’s almost sad to see them go with the 9-3 season series record Atlanta currently holds (with a big emphasis on almost). I’m sure the Phils have been itching to book it to Hartsfield-Jackson since Friday night’s game ended, and the feeling only intensified after yesterday’s double-digit blowout.

No premature declarations here, but it would be pretty sweet to finish the job and add one more game to the Braves lead atop the NL East.

Grant Holmes (9-5, 3.46 ERA) and Andrew Painter (3-9, 5.71 ERA) will get the ball for their teams today as the Braves look to sweep and the Phillies look to salvage.

Their first matchup was on Sunday Night Baseball back on April 19. Holmes was pulled an out shy of qualifying for the win, going 4.2 innings with four hits and two earned runs via a two-run homer to Kyle Schwarber in the first inning. He walked one and struck out four. Painter gave up three earned runs to the Braves in his four innings of work and was given the loss as the Braves completed the sweep in Citizens Bank Park.

Six days later, Holmes got the win with a six-inning performance where he gave up three runs on seven hits. Painter also went a little deeper with 5.2 innings pitched, but was tagged for nine hits and five earned runs, including a homer by Ronald Acuña Jr. Most notably, this was the stretch where Michael Harris II was 1) the hottest player in baseball following the birth of his son Tripp 2) dealing with a pesky quad injury. He pinch-hit, gave the Braves the lead, and left, giving Andrew Painter his second L in a week and extending the Phillies’ losing streak to ten games.

The walk down memory lane is nice, but what’s different about this matchup now that it’s September?

The enigma that is Grant Holmes is riding a bit of a scoreless streak. He was the unexpected other half of a pitching duel in Philadelphia versus Jesús Luzardo last weekend, tossing six scoreless and only surrendering three hits and two walks while striking out six batters. It was scarier than the final line suggests, but he did his part in that 1-0 Braves loss. Rain shortened his outing in DC on September 2, but he was dealing and no-hitting the Nats through three.

Luis Arraez and Brandon Marsh are tied for the team lead in at-bats against Holmes with eleven and each has recorded a double off him. They’re followed closely by Kyle Schwarber, Bryson Stott, and Trea Turner with 10 ABs – Stott is the only one of the trio that doesn’t have a homer. Harper also has a homer and a 1.433 OPS against Holmes. Backup catcher Garrett Stubbs has also been successful in a small sample, going 2-for-3 with a 1.333 OPS.

Painter was optioned to Triple-A after struggling to the tune of a 13.11 ERA in the month of June. He’s been better since being recalled on July 31, but has had ups and downs. His shortest outing since being recalled was four innings on August 5, but he’ll pretty reliably go five or more. The hot-and-cold is exemplified in his two starts in September: he spun seven scoreless and only allowed two hits against Arizona, but got hit hard by Houston six days later: ten hits and five earned runs in five innings.

The Phillies are going to need Painter to give them some length given the heavy bullpen usage over the first two games of the series.

As mentioned earlier, one of Ronald’s two hits againsts Painter in six ABs is a homer. Harris II is a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run of his own. Ozzie Albies is 2-for-4 with a walk as the only other one with an OPS north of 1.000 at 1.100. But the only Braves regulars that have faced Painter and not yet recorded a hit are Drake Baldwin and Austin Riley.

After a fun and relatively stress-free game last night, let’s hope the Braves saved some runs for this afternoon’s finale. First pitch is at 1:35 pm ET.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, September 13, 1:35 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, Los Bravos

As Leo Bernal continues to impress and grab a 2027 starting gig, the St. Louis Cardinals are seeing Nathan Church attempt to do the same. While center field did not have the same depth as catcher, Church is looking to take hold of the spot and give the Cardinals some clarity at a position of need.

St. Louis centerfielders entered the season ranked as the second-worst among the position since 2023 with a 74 wRC+ and much of their 3.5 total fWAR during that time being attributed to defense. The Cardinals attempted to solve the problem a few different ways, with three players seeing 100 or more games in center over that span. Of those three, Lars Nootbaar was the only one to be an above-average offensive player, with Victor Scott II and Michael Siani coming in each 35% below league average or worse with the bat.

Nathan Church is looking to give the Cardinals clarity in center field

Going into 2026, the Cardinals hoped that Victor Scott II’s offseason swing work would unleash his offensive potential and gave him the everyday job. The speedster continued to see much of the same issues with the bat and was demoted to Memphis in June after putting up a 55 wRC+ in over 60 games. During that time, Church was mixing in all around the outfield and used an impressive April to begin pushing Scott for innings in center field.

With Jordan Walker’s breakout in right and the attempt for Nootbaar to regain his value in left, Church as given the everyday job once Scott was sent to the minors. A miserable July caused a conversation about the team’s future in center field, but the tune has changed since the calendar flipped to August. Quickly going back to the three-year span from earlier, the Cardinals center fielders ranked dead last with a .613 OPS, so excuse any extensive praise of Church when comparing to the previous group.

In 37 games since August 1, Church has hit .292 and put up a .736 OPS to measure out to 6% above-league average. Even better than the contact, the rookie has trimmed his strikeout rate to just 10% in 127 plate appearances. In 128 at-bats from June to July, Church struck out 28 times compared to just 13 punchouts in 117 at-bats since. The power has not been there recently, but the lefty has 10 homers and 10 stolen bases on the campaign.

Church will likely need a platoon partner, but his defense is solid enough that he can stick in the lineup if he performs at his current wRC+.As mentioned, working in Church’s advantage is that the Cardinals do not have much to really push him for the major league starting gig. Scott has not started a game since being recalled and Chase Davis finally got some time in Memphis but continues to struggle with consistency. We brought up Josiah Ragsdale on the Thursday episode of Cardinals on My Time since he has laid waste to Double-A pitching, but expect Memphis to be his next step.

Assuming the Cardinals continue to use 2027 as a stepping stone season, expecting Chaim Bloom to put any significant financial investment into the outfield would be a pipe dream. What he could do, though, is go the Ramon Urias route and sign a veteran platoon partner to Church who understand their role and would even allow for Church to grab a few at-bats against lefties as well. If Urias had stayed healthy, I pictured him as the Dustin May of the offense and he would have been flipped for a reliever and that could be what happens in 2027 in center.

The Cardinals want to put a stop to the revolving door in center and while Church may be the answer for next year, he may just become a place holder for the next guy to step in.

Rangers 6, D-Backs 2

• Well whaddya know…the Rangers won a game!
• On the road, even!
• The losing streak is over. Time to celebrate.
• Adding to the warm and fuzzy vibes of the win is the return of Josh Jung to the starting lineup and Nathan Eovaldi to the mound, after each was activated from the injured list before the game.
• Of course, because we must maintain equilibrium, Joc Pederson left the game after being hit in the wrist with a pitch, and Nicky Lopez was pulled due to a hamstring issue.
• Pederson is the bigger potential loss there, though the x-rays indicated no fracture, which is a relief.
• Lopez starting, meanwhile, meant Ezequiel Duran was in center field and Evan Carter was on the bench despite a righthander pitching for Arizona, presumably out of a desire to try to get more offense going.
• When you’re sitting in favor of Nicky Lopez because Nicky Lopez is perceived as the better offensive options, that’s not great.
• Kumar Rocker was solid in his four innings of work, though when he walked the first two batters in the fifth after the Rangers had just had a big inning to take a 6-1 lead, Skip Schumaker went with the quick hook, going to Robert Garcia with lefties due up.
• Garcia retired all three batters and stranded the runners, allowing Eovaldi to come in for a clean inning in his return to action.
• Eovaldi was fine, giving up a run in his first inning of work but ultimately going 2.2 innings, with Jacob Latz handling the final four outs.
• You wouldn’t normally ask your closer to get four outs in a four run game, but, well… * waves in general direction of the rest of the bullpen *.
• All the Rangers runs came in the fifth, when they sent ten men to the plate. A Wyatt Langford homer started things off, before the Rangers strung together some singles, a double, a hit by pitch, and an exciting Lopez sac bunt for a big inning.
• Josh Jung had both a run and an RBI in the inning, part of a 2 for 4 night, which had to feel nice for him after missing so much time.
• Honestly, it feels nice for me, too. A productive Josh Jung is a very good thing for this team.
• Kumar Rocker hit 96.5 with his sinker, averaging 94.4 mph, and 97.3 with his fastball, averaging 95.1 mph. Robert Garcia’s fastball touched 95.5 mph. Nathan Eovaldi maxed out at 95.9 mph with his fastball. Jacob Latz reached 98.1 mph with his fastball.
• Corey Seager had a 108.4 mph double. Elias Diaz had a 106.0 mph single and a 100.2 mph single. Ezequiel Duran had a 105.5 mph single. Wyatt Langford had a 105.5 mph home run and a 102.7 mph double. Evan Carter had a 104.4 mph single. Josh Jung had a 102.6 mph single and a 102.3 mph single. Brandon Nimmo had a 100.1 mph double.
• The last game of the penultimate road series for the Rangers on Sunday. A win would be good.

Meet the Mets

The Mets outslugged the Yankees in a 12-2 win in Yankee Stadium. Francisco Lindor got it started with a leadoff home run and then later delivered the exclamation point with a grand slam. Young Zac Thornton was impressive on the mound pitching seven solid innings and the Mets walked away with a good bounce back victory in the Subway Series.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Daily News, LoHud, MLB.com, Newsday, NY Post

Thornton and Lindor shined in the team’s blowout win over the Yankees.

The Mets were the ones who seized the spotlight in Yankee Stadium after a tough loss the night before.

The Mets have been one of the hottest teams since the trade deadline which shows what could have been if only they had gotten it together earlier.

Letting a player walk isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as you replace them and David Stearns did not do that with Pete Alonso.

Around the National League East

The Braves exploded for eight runs in the fourth to defeat the Phillies for the second straight day.

The Marlins rallied from back-to-back home runs in the first inning to defeat the Dodgers 4-3.

With Jesús Luzardo scratched from his start the Phillies turned to a bullpen game a day after an extra inning game, which led to disastrous results.

Luzardo got encouraging news from his MRI results and isn’t expected to go on the injured list.

The Nationals managed a walk-off victory against the Angels despite the bullpen blowing another lead.

Around Major League Baseball

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole had no explanation for his latest poor performance against the Mets.

Astros DH Yordan Álvarez and and Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson are two very different type of players, but are currently battling it out for the AL batting title.

Six teams have been the biggest surprises in the majors this season in both the positive and negative direction.

The Rays have already clinched a playoff berth but they are going to continue to fight for the division title.

There was no let up in the Brewers after blowing out the Reds 20-0 they followed it up with a 13-9 victory.

This Date in Mets History

Happy Birthday Grant Roberts!

The good feelings from the series opening win over the Mets were erased in a flash. The crosstown rivals stomped the Yankees in the Bronx, 12-2, as Gerrit Cole gave up another three home runs. It was a bad day for their ace to not have it with the Rays and Red Sox both winning to gain ground over and toward the Yankees, respectively.

Tampa Bay Rays (89-59) 3, Houston Astros (75-74) 2

The Rays’ second-year starter Ian Seymour logged one of the best starts of his young career, holding Houston to two runs on four hits and a walk in six innings. The converted reliever struck out ten, which is already his third outing of double-digit strikeouts in just his 14th start. He induced 19 whiffs on the game including five on the four-seamer despite the pitch averaging just 91 mph.

The first of those runs was to the second batter of the game, Isaac Paredes launching a solo shot to open the scoring early. The second didn’t come until the sixth inning, Yainer Diaz driving in Jose Altuve with an RBI single after the latter reached on a one-out double. At the time, that was the game-tying run, the Rays having scored two in the fifth on a two-run single by Richie Palacios after Victor Mesa Jr. and Chandler Simpson opened the frame with a pair of singles and advanced on a sac bunt.

The game winner came in the seventh, Liam Hicks leading off with a double and Mesa drawing a walk. A force out advanced Hicks to third where he’d score on a pinch-hit sac fly by Nick Madrigal. A Jonny DeLuca single kept the inning alive and put runners on the corners where they’d be stranded by Jorge Mateo. Walks by Jonathan Aranda, Ryan Vilade, and Mesa loaded the bases in the eighth, but Simpson could not bring home an insurance run that ended up going unneeded. With the win and Yankees loss, the Rays restore their four-game lead atop the AL East.

Other Games

Boston Red Sox (81-68) 5, Kansas City Royals (66-83) 1

Ranger Suarez provided one of his vintage starts for the Red Sox, holding the Royals to a run on four hits and no walks with eight strikeouts across seven sterling innings, lowering his ERA to 3.33 in 26 starts in his debut season with Boston. The lone damage came in the sixth, Carter Jensen getting the Royals on the board with a one-out solo homer.

As it happens, that homer tied the game, the Red Sox mustering just a run in the first five innings on an Adley Rutschman RBI single after Roman Anthony led off the frame with a single. The Red Sox turned it on from there, starting with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, Mickey Gasper and Rutschman reaching on a pair of two-out singles before Wilyer Abreu drove both home with a two-run double. Caleb Durbin tacked on another with an RBI single after Nick Sogard led off the seventh with a double and Sogard added a final run with an RBI double to drive home Trevor Story after his own double in the eighth. With the win and Yankees loss, the Red Sox climb back within 4.5 games of second.

Chicago White Sox (76-72) 6, St. Louis Cardinals (73-76) 5

This was a topsy-turvy, back and forth affair with multiple lead changes. It wasn’t the most cleanly pitched contest by either side, both teams opting for bullpen games and combining to use 13 pitchers overall. The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead scoring three in the second off White Sox trade deadline acquisition Luis Castillo on a two-run double by Masyn Winn and a sac fly from José Fermín.

The two sides then traded runs in the third, Colson Montgomery’s walk with the bases loaded getting cancelled out by an RBI double from Nathan Church in the bottom half. Chicago then rallied to score three in the fifth to knot the scores at four apiece, Munetaka Murakami drawing a bases loaded walk, Randal Grichuk grounding into a run scoring double play, and Tristan Peters adding an RBI single.

By this point both teams had loaded the bases twice in the span of two innings without fully cashing in, a trend which would continue into the final innings. Indeed, St. Louis grabbed a late one-run lead on a Leo Bernal homer to lead off the eighth, the Cardinals then loading the bases before Jordan Hicks entered in relief to strand them loaded. This proved the turning point in the game, Grichuk winning it in the top of the tenth with a two-run blast.

AL Wild Card Rock Fight

Minnesota Twins (70-78) 4, Cleveland Guardians (75-74) 3

The Twins did all of their scoring in the third, pushing across four in the frame. Emmanuel Rodriguez got things started with a booming solo shot, followed by three straight singles from Luke Keaschall, Brooks Lee, and Kody Clemens. Royce Lewis added an RBI single and back-to-back hit-by-pitches first loaded the bases and then forced in the fourth run. It was enough to fend off the Guardians, Travis Bazzana opening the scoring with an RBI single in the second and Steven Kwan drawing Cleveland within one with an RBI single following Brayan Rocchio’s RBI groundout in the fifth. It was a costly loss for Cleveland paired with Chicago’s late win, dropping them back a game-and-a-half out of first.

Toronto Blue Jays (74-75) 7, Baltimore Orioles (72-77) 3

Kyle Bradish has been getting crushed dating back to the five runs he gave up to the Yankees at the end of August, giving up another five runs on eight hits in just three innings against Toronto. Alejandro Kirk had the big day at the plate going 2-for-4 with a homer and three driven in. Brett Bateman also homered and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added an RBI double while George Springer and Andrés Giménez both contributed multi-hit days. Pete Alonso provided the only real pop for the Orioles with a two-run homer in the seventh.

Texas Rangers (73-76) 6, Arizona Diamondbacks (79-70) 2

This game can really be boiled down to one inning, the Rangers scoring six in the fifth off Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt. Wyatt Langford led off with a homer, Jake Burger singled and advanced on a sac bunt, Elias Díaz singled, Joc Pederson got hit by a pitch, Josh Jung singled, Brandon Nimmo doubled, and Ezequiel Duran singled as part of the ten hits Pfaadt gave up on his start. A Pavin Smith RBI single and Corbin Carroll sac fly constituted all the scoring for the Diamondbacks.

UPDATE AGAIN: We have a start time: 4:55 PM.

UPDATE: Well, with less than 30 minutes before first pitch, the Sox have finally acknowledged meteorological science and announced an indefinite delay.

It’s going to be a waiting game today at Fenway Park as the Red Sox and Royals try to complete their final game against each other this season. Here’s what we can say with confidence:

• It’s going to rain steadily throughout the morning and into much of the afternoon.
• The rain should let up and stop late in the afternoon and into the early evening hours, creating a window to get the game in.
• With just 13 games left in the season, MLB is going to want to get this in today, even if it means waiting a little while.

As a result, the Red Sox already announced yesterday evening that the scheduled start time has been pushed back 90 minutes from 1:35 to 3:05pm

However, that’s probably not far enough, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see additional delays.

Here’s a simulated radar from the HRRR model for 3:00pm today.

Things will likely be headed in the right direction by mid afternoon, but the back edge of the precipitation will probably take a couple more hours to fully clear Boston. Here’s a simulated map for around 5:00pm:

This is probably closer to the time they can pull the tarp off and get things ready for play, and once they do, conditions should remain playable through the evening.

So again, it’s going to be a waiting game. The Red Sox and Royals want to get this game in today, and conditions will improve late. However, until that time, we’re all just going to be watching the radar and waiting for things to clear.

The Dodgers’ season-high eight game win streak came to a crashing halt on Saturday, as they fell to the Miami Marlins 4-3.

Saturday turned out to be a rough outing for right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who completed just four full innings of work through 91 pitches while getting charged for four earned runs, resulting in his first losing decision of the season. Although he struck out seven, Glasnow allowed four walks on the afternoon, the most he allowed in a start since April 29, where he gave up six walks also against Miami.

Glasnow at one point was able to retire the side in order in both the third and fourth innings before the wheels fell off, notes Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times. Despite the poor start, Glasnow said that his back— which kept him off the field for three months— feels good.

“I think it was just trying to move a little quicker and get my glove a little higher,” Glasnow said. “I was just ripping off everything. I kind of put a Band-Aid on it. Felt pretty good then it started to feel a little weird again.”

Glasnow said his back, which sidelined him for three and a half months earlier this season, “feels good.”

Dave Roberts spoke on his decision to pull Glasnow in the fifth inning for reliever Jack Dreyer, insisting on having the bullpen extinguish the fire that Glasnow created for Miami, per Perla Paredes of MLB.com.

“It was great [for him] coming back and competing like he did,” Roberts said. “I just thought for me, walking those first two hitters in that fifth inning was time to just pull the plug and get Jack [Dreyer] in there and try to limit damage.”

Freddie Freeman was back in the lineup on Saturday for his 37th birthday after missing the past two games due to right knee issues. Freeman noted that his injury has hampered his production on both sides of the field, and the team will manage his workload over the final two weeks of the regular season, per Jack Harris of the California Post.

“I was having trouble moving [on defense]. I didn’t have a front side anymore [in my swing],” Freeman said of the way the injury had initially impacted him. “It just got to the point where it wasn’t giving me the best opportunity to play like I want to.”

Moving forward, manager Dave Roberts said the club would continue “to manage” Freeman’s injury by trying to “pick spots to give him an off day here or there, because again, we’ve just got to make sure he’s at optimal health when we finish the season.”

Max Muncy followed up Mookie Betts’s first inning home run with one of his own, but that was all the Dodgers could amount on the scoreboard before a Hunter Feduccia RBI single in the ninth inning. Muncy spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA following the loss to Miami, describing how the offense was unable to regain the spark they had to begin the game.

“They did a good job of mixing it up on us, and they executed some pitches. We didn’t do a great job ourselves of creating opportunities. That’s baseball.”

Today’s Reflections

It certainly was nice to have a laugher for once.

The Cubs’ offense and Shota Imanaga just rolled over the Pirates on Friday, 12-2. Alex Bregman hit his 25th HR and his 30th double in his 3-for-4 day at the plate. Shota Imanaga was effective, allowing two runs (one on a CSPSHR*) on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts over six innings.

Bregman’s double was one of five in the game. Carson Kelly (2-for-3, two RBI), Nico Hoerner (2-for-5, RBI), Michael Busch (2-for-4, 3 RBI) and Pedro Ramirez (1-for-4, two runs scored) all had two baggers. Seiya Suzuki added a triple in his 3-for-5 total for the game. He also scored three runs.

There was another low-leverage, scoreless three innings by three relievers. It’s hard to rate these type of outings. Maybe the small bullpen wins will lead to a more confident group of relievers. We can hope, at least.

Complimentary Starting Pitcher Solo Home Run*

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

Friday’s Game Stories:

• Andy Martinez (Chicago Tribune {$}): Alex Bregman and Chicago Cubs offense bust out to back Shota Imanaga in 12-2 rout, snapping skid at 4. “Alex Bregman went 3-for-4 with a home run and Shota Imanaga pitched six strong innings, helping the Chicago Cubs rout the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2 on Friday.”

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): After slow start to ’26, Bregman continues to be one of NL’s best with bat and glove. “Even as his offensive numbers remained uncharacteristically low into July, Alex Bregman continued to say that a turnaround was coming.”

• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Amid pitching issues, Alex Bregman, Cubs show what bats are capable of: ‘Being the best offense in baseball’. “Though the Cubs have a lot of questions to answer on the pitching side, their offense still looks capable of big, championship-style things, as evidenced in a 16-hit, 12-run output in Friday’s blowout win over the Pirates.”

Edward Cabrera’s Bullpen Plans:

• Brian Sandalow (Chicago Sun-Times): Why the Cubs are hoping Edward Cabrera emulates Roki Sasaki in move to bullpen. “Cabrera was activated from the injured list Saturday and will pitch out of relief like Sasaki did last year, when his electric arm helped the Dodgers win the World Series despite disappointing as a starter.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Cabrera returns from IL ready to step up in new role out of Cubs’ ‘pen. “The Cubs do not know exactly how things are going to go for Edward Cabrera as he shifts into a relief role in a crucial part of the season and with postseason baseball on the horizon.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cabrera Back at Wrigley as Miller, Steele Continue Rehab Assignments. “Edward Cabrera arrived at Wrigley prior to Saturday’s game against the Pirates and will soon be recalled to help a bullpen that desperately needs more velocity and whiffs.”
• Bluesky:

Assorted Stories:

• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Now is when Cubs need Alex Bregman most and history suggests he’ll deliver. “The veteran third baseman has stayed hot after an eye-popping August.”
• Alexander Rosquez (LastWordOnSports): Justin Steele Cubs Return Could Give Bullpen a Needed Boost. “The Justin Steele Cubs return could become one of Chicago’s most interesting roster developments before the postseason.”

Food For Thought:

A four times UK Blues Awards winner, UK Blues Hall Of Famer and Take Me To The River All Star. Singer, guitarist and songwriter making music with real gravitas, marking him as the new voice of British soul-blues. Scored successive no.1 albums on Radio charts with the IBBA and RMR. Influenced by the playing of Albert King and the vocals of OV Wright. New music with Hi Rhythm out summer 2026.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

Bob Uecker was a man of many talents, although he would have denied it.

Uecker spent six years in the big leagues, even winning the 1964 World Series with the Cardinals. He became a regular on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, starred in Mr. Belvedere, appeared in countless commercials, and played perhaps the most famous fictional baseball broadcaster of all time in Major League.

And, of course, he spent more than half a century calling Brewers games.

“Ueck”, the new documentary about Uecker’s life, touches on all of it. Much of the first half-hour or so of “Ueck” will feel relatively familiar to Brewers fans, replete with some of the most iconic Uecker moments — Tonight Show clips, Miller Lite commercials, his Hall of Fame induction speech, even the time he got choked out by Andre the Giant on live TV.

Those stories are accompanied by newer footage recorded in the final years of Uecker’s life: 90-year-old Uecker pulling up to the stadium in his blacked-out Corvette, cracking jokes with Vinny Rottino in the broadcast booth, and sharing a (now less) private moment with Christian Yelich in the locker room.

The documentary moves back and forth between those two versions of Uecker, centering the story of his life within the context of his final years. We see him, and others, discuss his 2023 lung cancer diagnosis. We see him around the clubhouse with current Brewers players. We hear Robin Yount talk about arriving in Milwaukee as an 18-year-old and having Uecker take him under his wing.

All of that eventually leads to a scene in the Brewers’ locker room where Uecker quietly shares his diagnosis with Yelich. That scene — along with a couple of others — is where the documentary stops showing us “Mr. Baseball” and starts showing us the man underneath.

Another example comes after the Brewers are eliminated from the 2024 Wild Card Series — Uecker’s final broadcast, though nobody knew it yet. He signs off with what would become his last words on a Brewers broadcast — “That one had some sting on it” — and the camera stays on him.

Playoff baseball games are an ecosystem in and of themselves, teeming with energy and alive with movement. Amid the chaos, the throngs of fans rushing for the exits, and the visiting Mets celebrating, Ueck just sits there, quiet, still, staring off into space. Whether or not he knew for certain that it was over, watching it now, we do.

And yeah, I cried a little.

Only a couple of people had any sense that it might be his last game. One of them was Yelich, who — with tears in his eyes — explains that, with the benefit of hindsight, he knew it would be Uecker’s last call. After all his years with the Brewers, there was no storybook ending waiting for Uecker that night, no World Series championship or carefully planned farewell. At the time, nobody watching really knew they were hearing him call a baseball game for the final time.

And that hindsight, more than anything, is what makes the footage from the final years of his life so special to watch now. Brewers fans knew Uecker was getting older. We knew he had health problems. What we didn’t normally get to see was this version of him — away from the broadcast itself, the commercials, and the public appearances. We see him come straight to the ballpark from radiation therapy, unable to get out of his car without assistance and visibly ill in the booth, but then — as he always did — put on the headset and call a darn good baseball game.

Continuing to be Bob Uecker in his final years took an immense amount of strength, but he did it anyway. He could have easily taken the rest of the season off, but he didn’t. He wanted to be in the booth. He wanted to call Brewers games for as long as he could.

And maybe that’s why one line from earlier in the documentary stuck with me more than anything else.

Uecker had played major league baseball, become a television star, made movies, and become famous well beyond Wisconsin. Most people would probably consider any one of those things the accomplishment of a lifetime.

Uecker had other priorities.

“All that other stuff’s fun,” he says. “But I wanna come back here and do baseball.”

It’s easy to watch this documentary and be sad. Brewers fans are still mourning the loss of Uecker, one of the greatest announcers of all time, by all accounts a genuinely great human being, and a proud member of the Brewers organization.

But another thing the documentary makes clear is that Uecker’s impact survives him. In Yount’s words, he was “everybody’s best friend.” Whether you were a security guard or an MVP, he would stop, share a laugh with you, and then continue on with his day. That builds a culture, especially over more than 50 years.

When Uecker called his first Brewers game, in the second year of the franchise’s existence, they were an expansion team in a market that had already lost a major league franchise. As the documentary mentions, there was some doubt as to whether Milwaukee was a big enough city to keep a baseball team.

Uecker could have called Brewers games for five years, then applied to the Yankees, or gone and been an actor. But he didn’t. He loved Milwaukee, he loved the Brewers, and he built a community here — one that will survive without him.

Thank you, Bob.

“Ueck” is currently showing in select Wisconsin theaters

Triple-A: Memphis Redbirds (STL) 8, Norfolk Tides 1

It was not a great day for the Norfolk Tides. The offense managed just three hits. Bryan Ramos homered, Enrique Bradfield Jr. doubled, and Tavian Josenberger singled. As a team, they struck out fourteen times. Every player struck out at least once and Bradfield led the way with three.

Trey Gibson started and was not good. In 4.1 innings, Gibson was knocked around for 11 hits. He had runners on base in every inning. He battled through three innings with just one run allowed, but gave up three runs on a homer in the third and two more in the fifth after back-to-back doubles. His final run scored after he left the game.

Four relief pitchers finished the game for the Tides, including the rehabbing Ryan Helsley and Félix Bautista. Helsley threw 10 pitches in a perfect inning with one strikeout. Bautista wasn’t as successful. He faced five batters, gave up a home run, and walked a batter. He threw 17 pitches and only nine strikes.

Box Score

Double-A: Chesapeake @ Richmond – Canceled

Last night’s game was rained out. With the final game of the season scheduled for this afternoon, the rain out will not be made up.

Today’s Schedule

• Norfolk @ Memphis, 2:05 pm. Starter: Juaron Watts-Brown
• Chesapeake @ Richmond, 2:05 pm. Starter: Sebastian Gongora

Hunter Goodman has had an outstanding season. He has hit 38 home runs, which not only obliterated his old record (31) but also is 11 more than the next MLB catcher (Dillon Dingler, 27) and 15 more than the next NL catcher (Drake Baldwin, 23). And this, of course, also comes after Goodman spent 10 days on the IL with a shoulder injury in August.

This week, we asked if you thought Goodman would surpass the 40-homer mark. 63% of you believe he will — becoming the first Rockies player to do it since Nolan Arenadon in 2019.

There are 14 games left, and 10 of them are at Coors Field. Do you think Goodman will hit 40 before the end of the season? What do you think his final total will be?

Let us know in the comments!

To Read: Rockpiles

• Monday: Fred Ocasio lays the foundation for future Rockies players | Sam Bradfield
• Tuesday: How the Colorado Rockies are using technology to manage pitcher workload | Renee Dechert
• Wednesday: Assessing Zac Veen’s second big-league stint so far | Skyler Timmins
• Thursday: Something to look forward to in each remaining Rockies series | Cory Cohen
• Friday: Maybe third season is the charm for Adael Amador | Joelle Milholm
• Saturday: Mason Adams is giving the Rockies something to watch | James Riggenbach

To Read: News

• Roster News: Rockies reinstate Kyle Karros, Ryan Ritter optioned | Cory Cohen
• Rockies Analysis: The Rockies are pinch hitting more, but is it working? | Joelle Milholm
• Weekly Pebble Report: Jack Mahoney is making his case for a big-league cameo | Sam Bradfield

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