On Friday, Aug. 7 the Tar Heels landed South Dakota and All-Summit League center Cameron Fens out of the transfer portal, giving Malone and Co. a 7-foot, 255-pound big man on the interior.
"One of the most surreal moments of my life," Fens wrote in an Instagram post on Aug. 7. "Humbled to wear Carolina Blue and to represent this university. Excited to get to work. Go Heels! AGTG."
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke died in May from the effects of heroin and cocaine, authorities said Friday.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said the 29-year-old basketball player's death was accidental.
Clarke was found dead inside a home near Los Angeles on May 11. A person familiar with the terms of the investigation told The Associated Press after the Grizzlies announced Clarke's passing that drug paraphernalia was found at the residence. The person had spoken on condition of anonymity because those details had not been released publicly.
Clarke was under contract to be with the Grizzlies through the 2026-27 season.
About six weeks before he died, Clarke was arrested in Arkansas on charges of speeding, reckless driving and possessing a controlled substance. He was with Memphis for all seven of his pro seasons after finishing his college career at Gonzaga.
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 23: Chandler Simpson #14 of the Tampa Bay Rays takes a swing during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at the Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 23, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Chandler Simpson is really good at baseball and is doing things only a handful of players have accomplished in the game’s long history.
Entering play on Saturday night, 25-year old Simpson is hitting .296/.325/.353 over his brief two year career at the big league level. He hardly ever strikes out with a 9.4% career strikeout rate and barely whiffs, with a 90.5% contact rate. Since the start of the 2025 season, among hitters with at least 800 PA, Simpson ranks 7th in AVG, 5th in K%, and 3rd in contact%. Simpson is really good at making contact and hitting for average.
Simpson’s elite speed of course also makes him an asset on the bases as he has already notched 74 stolen bases since making his big league debut, 2 shy of the MLB lead over that time (behind former Rays SS Jose Caballero). According to Baseball Savant, Simpson provides the most baserunning value of any player in the game.
Simpson recently collected his 100th hit of the season as well as his 30th stolen base, this achievement put Simpson in some rare company, as only 13 players have reached those milestones over the course of their first two seasons, including 3x All-Star Bobby Witt Jr. as well Hall of Famers Ichiro Suzuki and Paul Molitor
Meanwhile, Simpson has been refining his play in the outfield. Yes, he had an adventurous time learning how to best utilize his elite speed during his time with the Rays last season, which led to occasional disastrous results and admittedly abysmal advanced defensive metrics in 2025; however, Simpson has worked incredibly hard to improve upon this skillset and now has developed into a plus defender, with a 93rd percentile OAA and is among the top half of outfielders with 5 defensive runs saved this season.
So when did Simpson quietly shatter a franchise record that has been in place for over twenty years? Well, this is a bit of a funny one.
On July 17th when the Rays returned from the All-Star break. Simpson made his first plate appearance in the second inning and grounded out harmlessly. That was his 797th plate appearance with the Rays. With that trip to the plate, Simpson surpassed Jason Tyner for the longest stretch in franchise history to have not hit a homerun.
Tyner was acquired by the Rays in 2000 and would spend the entirety of his Tampa Bay tenure homerless, batting .261/.298/.303 over parts of four seasons. He would become a crowd favorite for his tenacious play and the front office even decided to plan a bobblehead day to be given out to fans on June 2nd. In early April 2002, Tyner got to check out the bobblehead:
“It looked all right. I’m sure I’ll get ragged about it. Oh well.”
However, over the first two months of the season, Tyner was among the worst players in baseball, hitting .214/.249/.238 over 180 PA. On May 28th, just a few days before the scheduled promotion, the Devil Rays optioned Tyner to Triple-A where he would remain for the rest of the season. Coincidentally, the team also had to cancel a Toby Hall bobblehead day that was planned when the backstop was optioned on the same day as Tyner; those dolls had yet to be manufactured though. Unfortunately, all 10,000 Jason Tyner bobbleheads had already been delivered to Tropicana Field. During the offseason, the team donated the bobbleheads to the Pinellas Education Foundation.
Tyner would be up and down in 2003 and performed better but only received 102 plate appearances over the course of the year. He would be claimed off of waivers by Texas in December but the scrappy outfielder wouldn’t make his return to the big leagues until 2005 when he caught on with the Minnesota Twins and had a career year in 2006, accruing 1.5 fWAR, but was still homerless. But then, on July 28th, 2007, Tyner laced a ball down the right field line that was the definition of a wall scraper as it barely cleared the fence. But, the ball left the yard which gave Jason Tyner his first and only career home run in the big leagues after 1318 plate appearances.
Tyner finished out the season with the Twins and joined up with Cleveland the following season but would only receive three plate appearances, the final trips to the plate of his career. Tyner would retire shortly thereafter and since moved onto coaching. Over the past several years, Tyner has been the head baseball coach at Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School.
Jason Tyner’s career ended with just the one HR and him hitting .275/.314/.323 and accruing 1.9 fWAR over 1467 plate appearances.
Back to the 2026 Rays, fear not. Simpson has already proven to be more valuable than Tyner was in his career, having already eclipsed Tyner’s career fWAR with 2.4, and even stuck around long enough to see his bobble head distributed at Tropicana Field:
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 7: Joc Pederson #3 of the Texas Rangers reacts after hitting a two-run home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the sixth inning at Globe Life Field on August 7, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, LSB.
The Rangers won a thriller last night over the Orioles.
Left-hander Jake Bennett takes the mound tonight for the Boston Red Sox. He's struck out six hitters per nine innings across his last two outings, and this matchup is a clear opportunity to rack up Ks.
The Athletics are in horrible offensive form, posting a 61 wRC+ in the last week and carrying a 25.2% strikeout rate. They're also 24th in the Majors in team punchouts, and have struck out 9.67 times per contest across their previous three contests.
Bennett should miss his fair share of bats here.
I'll play this pick up to -150.
Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
Where to watch: NBC Bay Area, NESN
Chase Burns Under 2.5 earned runs (-160)
Chase Burns has been lights out lately for the Cincinnati Reds. The right-hander owns a 1.13 ERA and 2.84 FIP over his last three starts, allowing just 0.56 HR/9. Burns has also cashed the Under in earned runs allowed in three consecutive outings.
The Washington Nationals are a solid offensive team, but Burns is facing them at a great time. The Nats have a 72 wRC+ over their previous seven games.
For what it's worth, Burns already carved up Washington this season, tossing six scoreless frames in May.
I know the price isn't great, but it's a great bet. I'll play this pick up to -170.
Time: 6:45 p.m. ET
Where to watch: NATS.TV, Reds.TV
Pete Crow-Armstrong Over 1.5 total bases (-139)
Pete Crow-Armstrong is arguably the hottest hitter in baseball right now. The Chicago Cubs star has a .400 average and .360 ISO over his last seven games while also slugging .760.
PCA has easily cashed the Over in total bases in three of his previous four appearances, and he'll face the vulnerable Seth Lugo tonight. The veteran righty has a 4.96 xERA over his last five outings while surrendering a 45.7% hard-hit rate.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
PORT CHARLOTTE, FLORIDA - MARCH 13, 2025: Kleyver Salazar #13 and Miguel Bleis #44 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates Bleis scoring on a single hit by Brooks Brannon during the seventh inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Complex on March 13, 2025 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
With Raymond Burgos making his Red Sox debut Friday night in a rout and subsequently achieving his first MLB save by getting the final nine outs against the Athletics, the quick roster change led the WooSox to turn to some unlikely faces to take the brunt of the outs. Enter an Alec Gamboa start against Lehigh Valley (Phillies AAA) and ten scoreless outs by Noah Song. This was his longest outing for the 29-year-old since he returned from military service in 2023. It would be a cool story if Song makes his Major League debut at the end of the season, but the stats aren’t there for anything more than a feel-good appearance. Offensively, the WooSox were consistently getting in scoring position, and while they were just 2-11 under those circumstances, Mikey Romero had his tenth home run of the season and Franklin Arias, Tsung-Tse Cheng and Mickey Gasper each had extra base hits. It was enough to carry a lead, extend that lead in the eighth, and hold the game in the ninth.
With Franklin Arias squarely in Triple-A, the Sea Dogs turned to some reputable bats in New Hampshire (Blue Jays AA) to survive Devin Futrell’s first start in Portland. Futrell certainly didn’t look unhittable, giving up eight knocks on four runs while striking out five, but it could have been a lot worse as he made it out of five innings in 78 pitches, 57 of those for strikes. By his exit, Brooks Brannon had knocked his 18th of the season over the fence, and Miguel Bleis called game in the seventh with a shot of his own admist some shoving out of the pen by Patrick Halligan and Jesse Wu-Yelland.
This game was manageable through Jason Gilman’s five innings but the Renegades (Yankees High-A) really took care of matters for themselves in the eighth inning. The game was always just out of reach because Greenville couldn’t stop stranding runners, leaving seventeen on the basepaths and failing to hit a home run. Their infielders were mashing at the plate. Antonio Anderson had four hits, and Jake Schaffner might not be long for the lower minor leagues following his introduction to pro baseball; the latter went 3-for-5 with a double. Still, despite the Drive outhitting Hudson Valley 13-9, the score told a very different story.
A walkoff walk propelled the RidgeYaks to a Friday night W in Fayetteville (Astros A) as Sadbiel Delzine went 3 2/3 and eventually ran into a jam that ended his night, but Jose Bello took the reins for the following 5 1/3 innings and the team also overcame also stranding fifteen runners. The team just kept finding itself in bases loaded situations, and they overcame an ongoing problem at exactly the right time, in the ninth inning.
His home run price is right around his usual range, but some of his other props, like 1+ hit, are hovering around -110 today.
The White Sox rookie is in a great spot to boom, so I am perplexed by today's pricing. Regardless, let's dive in!
Murakami enters Saturday with the third-highest matchup rating on Batters-Box, where he also owns an 80.4% arsenal coverage against Cleveland Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams.
Despite going cold over the last few games, I blame that on him facing a lot of left-handed pitchers, so his recent form does not concern me.
Over his last 30 at-bats against right-handed pitching, the slugger still owns a .280 BA, .720 SLG, 1.120 OPS and .440 ISO, while generating a 64.3% hard-hit rate and 28.6% barrel rate.
Williams, on the other hand, has hit some speed bumps against left-handed hitters as of late. Over his last 30 batters faced, they are producing a 46.7% hard-hit rate, 13.3% barrel rate, and 73.3% elevation rate.
Olson has been on a tear against right-handed pitching over his last 60 plate appearances, posting a .292 BA, .604 SLG, 1.037 OPS and .312 ISO. During that stretch, he is still producing a 45.7% hard-hit rate and 17.1% barrel rate.
Cole has done a solid job dealing with left-handed hitters this season, but I do love that,over the last 60 he has faced, they are elevating the ball over 70% of the time while carrying an expected slugging percentage of .615.
On top of that, through 26 elite ratings this season, Olson has left the yard in 30.77% of those games. He has gone yard in three of his last five elite ratings, so hopefully he can keep that momentum rolling.
Take this down to the +280 range.
Time: 3:05 p.m. ET
Where to watch: YES, Braves Vision
Home run pick: Jordan Walker (+276)
The Home Run Derby champion has not been crushing homers coming out of the All-Star break, and neither has the league as a whole. However, St. Louis Cardinals young star Jordan Walker finds himself in a boom spot against Colorado Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland.
The veteran left-hander has struggled on the road against right-handed bats this season, as they own a .315 BA, .550 SLG, and .390 wOBA. Over the last 60 right-handed bats Freeland has faced, they are producing a 52% hard-hit rate, 13% barrel rate, and 63% elevation rate.
On top of that, they own a .436 xBA, .807 xSLG, and .367 xwOBA.
Walker, on the other hand, has feasted on left-handed pitching this season. Most importantly, over his last 60 at-bats against them, he has maintained a .300 BA, .837 OPS, .378 wOBA and 58% hard-hit rate.
With the way Freeland has been allowing right-handed hitters to do as they please, combined with how well Walker has seen lefties, I love this spot for him.
Try to get the best number possible, and bet this down to +250 at most.
Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Cardinals.TV, Rockies.TV
Colby Marchio's 2026 Transparency Record
HR picks: 91-338, +4.7 units
Today’s HR combo
Munetaka Murakami
Trade Now +4865
Matt Olson
Jordan Walker
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 21: Christian Zazueta #15 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch on Saturday, March 21, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Julia Jacome/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Three of four Dodgers minor league affiliates won on Friday.
Player of the day
Right-hander Christian Zazueta, the Dodgers’ top pitching prospect, had his best start since getting promoted to Double-A, with eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings for Tulsa on Friday night in Corpus Christi.
Zazueta in seven starts in Double-A has a 3.30 ERA in 47 strikeouts against only three walks, and doesn’t turn 22 until October.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
The Comets scored 11 runs in the first three innings in a rout of the Salt Lake Bees (Angels).
Ryan Ward hit a three-run home run. Alek Thomas drove in four. Noah Miller had three hits, including a pair of doubles.
Cole Irvin, who accepted a minor league assignment after clearing waivers, allowed two runs in five innings for his 10th win.
Double-A Tulsa
Taylor Young homered to back Zazueta in the Drillers’ win over the Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros). Young also stole a base.
Catcher Frank Rodriguez drove in Tulsa’s other two runs with an RBI single and sacrifice fly.
High-A Great Lakes
Charles Davalan and Chase Harlan homered in the Loons’ win over the Dayton Dragons (Reds). Jaron Elkins singled twice, walked, and stole his first base since joining High-A.
Following an opener, Sterling Patick struck out seven in five innings, and allowed one run in the win.
Class-A Ontario
The Tower Buzzers scored the first six runs of the game, but lost a high-scoring affair to the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres).
Joendry Vargas homered and doubled in the loss, part of a four-hit game. Easton Shelton walked three times and had a two-run single.
Transactions
Triple-A: After getting designated for assignment on Tuesday, catcher Chuckie Robinson cleared waivers and was sent outright to Oklahoma City. First baseman Matt Gorski was activated off the injured list.
Sawyer Gipson-Long continued to struggle in Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader between Toledo and Omaha. He failed to reach the fourth inning for the third straight start and has only had one outing allowing fewer than four runs since July 7. SGL’s ERA has ballooned to 5.75 from 4.28 in that time, and opponents are hitting .429 against him in August.
He worked around a pair of unfortunate singles in the first, but Jacob Berry took him deep in the second to get the scoring started.
The wheels started falling off in the third. SGL hit the leadoff man on a full count, gave up a swinging bunt single and saw a triple go over Wenceel Perez’s head, ricocheting off the wall into right-center. A long sac fly made it 4-0, and back-to-back walks on nine pitches meant the end of the day for Gipson-Long.
Jack Little gave up a flare to right field to bring in a fifth run before getting out of the third. Little didn’t do great with the bases clear in the fourth. He gave up two runs on three hits, making it 7-0.
Toledo had some early chances to score and make this a game, but no one got the big hit. Max Anderson doubled off the wall in the first, but was stranded. In the second, Andrew Navigato had a hard-hit single to the left field corner that looked like extra bases off the bat. A Seby Zavala liner up the middle would have scored Navigato from second, but Jack Goodman grounded out to end the inning instead.
Those were the first at-bats for Goodman and Zavala with Toledo. Goodman spent most of the year with Single-A Lakeland but got called up earlier this week. Zavala recently signed after spending time with Triple-A Oklahoma City and Charros de Jalisco in Mexico.
Toledo’s offense was pretty quiet for the rest of the game. Brett Callahan was hit by a pitch in the fourth, but nothing came from it.
Goodman and Zavala got a bit of redemption in the fifth. Zavala led off with a walk, and Goodman hit his first Triple-A home run. It was a no-doubter into the street beyond left field. So, there’s a silver lining. Nine of the final 10 Toledo hitters went down after that.
Beau Brieske was the victim of a very unfortunate string of singles that led to a grand slam, turning it into a laugher. Two of the hits to load the bases were bloops. It was just one of those days for the Mud Hens. Troy Watson got the sixth. He worked around a two-out walk for a scoreless inning.
Cal Stevenson was the position player on the mound in the seventh. He had a little fun getting a strikeout with an 80-mph heater after lobbing in several 50-mph eephus pitches.
Game 2 went just about the same way, except the blowup came in the second inning, and Toledo led briefly after a Jace Jung homer in the first. For what it’s worth, Jung stung a couple of balls in Game 1; they just went right to gloves. This one was an oppo shot that just kept going and going until it crept over the wall.
Lael Lockhart was the unlucky starter to take the loss. Toledo listed a TBD starter, so it was a planned bullpen game. Lockhart actually got through the first cleanly, but things went really bad in the second.
Seven of the first eight batters in the inning reached safely, including three doubles and a home run. Max Anderson booted one of those “doubles” to allow the tying run to score, but everything else was legit.
Tyler Gentry hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second, cutting the deficit to five runs.
Luke Taggart got the third and fourth for Toledo. Three hits turned into two more runs for the Storm Chasers in the former, but Taggart got through the latter frame without any damage.
Gentry got another RBI in the fourth, driving in Brett Callahan with a single into left. Toledo actually got the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings, but the big hit never came.
Tanner Rainey was the third pitcher for the Mud Hens. He worked around a pair of two-out squibbers in the fifth and went 1-2-3 in the sixth. Rainey was solid with four strikeouts. Scott Effross got the seventh. He gave up an unearned run on an error and two hits.
Anderson:1-3, 2B (19), BB
Jung: 1-4, HR (18), R, RBI, K
Gentry: 3-3, HR (9), R, 2 RBI
Lockhart (L, 2-3): 2.0 IP, 7 ER, 5 H, BB, 2 K, HR
Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday. Omaha leads the series, 3-1.
Four home runs powered the SeaWolves Flagship City Kitties to a 10-1 win, but some decent pitching deserves some credit for holding Altoona to just one run on six hits and three walks. Most of those baserunners came against starter Carlos Pena, who worked 4.2 innings of one-run ball.
That one run came in the first and was unearned. An error by E.J. Exposito at third extended the inning, which should have been over in four batters. Instead, a two-out base hit brought the runner home, and Erie briefly trailed… but not for long.
Peyton Graham opened the bottom of the first with a solo homer. Thayron Liranzo also had a ground-rule double, but there was no follow-up.
Graham and Liranzo were at the center of a three-run third inning, too. Graham got things going with a ground-rule double, and Liranzo blasted a three-run shot after Josue Briceno walked. Andrew Jenkins had a bizarre triple that fell in the middle of three fielders near the foul line in right field. Jenkins didn’t end up scoring, though.
Pena was pretty good after the extended first inning. He retired eight of the next nine batters he faced before running into a little trouble in the fourth. The second out of the inning went off Pena’s leg before he made the play. He stayed in the game after being checked out by the training staff, but Altoona notched back-to-back singles before Pena got a strikeout.
Pena came back out for the fifth, but a pair of walks got the bullpen active. Zack Barnhart got the final out of the inning and pitched through the sixth.
Erie blew the game wide open with four straight singles in the bottom of the sixth. Exposito and Stephen Hrustich went through the left side, and Max Burt found fair territory on a tall fly ball to left that looked destined to land foul.
Patrick Lee bounced one to short to make it 6-1. The infield was playing in and made a good throw home, but Burt snuck his hand in there. If we’re being honest, he looked out, but it was going to be a tough one to overturn.
Graham hit into a fielder’s choice for another run, and his 55th steal of the season came on a wild pitch that scored Lee, pushing Erie’s lead to seven.
Colin Field came in for the seventh. He gave up a single but retired the other six batters over two innings of work.
Lee and Briceno both hit solo homers in the eighth for good measure. We’ll also ignore Zyhir Hope striking out four times and being the only SeaWolf without a hit.
Josue Briceno now has homered in 3 straight games. He just missed in his previous at-bat pic.twitter.com/QDIS0aCFxO
Yoniel Curet got the ninth. He ended it on two strikeouts after giving up a leadoff single.
Briceno: 2-4, HR (8), 2 R, RBI, BB
Graham: 2-5, HR (6), 2B (17), 2 R, 2 RBI
Hope: 0-5, 4 K
Liranzo: 2-4, HR (11), 2B (8), R, 3 RBI, BB, K
Lee, P: 2-4, HR (3), 2 R, 2 RBI, K
Pena, C: 4.2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday. The series is tied, 2-2.
West Michigan Whitecaps 14, Fort Wayne TinCaps 4 (box)
Ah, yes, a good ol’ 14-run drubbing from West Michigan. The Whitecaps scored in seven of nine innings and put up four crooked numbers in this one. Every player got a hit. Edian Espinal and Ricardo Hurtado each had a three-hit day, and Bryce Rainer, Beau Ankeney and Juan Hernandez all had multiple hits.
Despite a total of 16 hits, West Michigan only had three go for extra bases. Rainer had the first, starting the scoring with a double in the first. Hurtado also had an RBI single in the opening frame.
Espinal singled in Samuel Gil in the second and drove in Andrew Sojka with a sac fly in the fourth. Rainer’s second hit was an RBI single right after.
The sixth inning was the big one, with five runs crossing. Somehow, Ankeney’s three-run homer was one of just two hits in the frame. The first four batters reached via hit-by-pitch or walk, with Rainier picking up the RBI. Roberto Campos advanced all of the runners with a groundout after a pitching change, and then Ankeney did his thing.
Sojka tripled to leadoff the seventh and scored on a groundout from Hernandez. Fort Wayne traded run No. 12 for a double play, and Gil got West Michigan to a baker’s dozen with a single through the right side. Campos added the final run in the ninth with a single up the middle. Somehow, the TinCaps avoided throwing a position player. I’m not sure why.
Speaking of pitching, Jojo Ingrassia made his organizational debut. He was solid despite loading the bases in the first. A dropped third strike and two walks made things tricky, but he got out of it with a double play. Ingrassia flashed a 90-92 mph fastball that touched 94, an 86-mph changeup and an 84-mph slider. Command was spotty, but he went 1-2-3 in the second. He came out with one out in the third after 44 pitches.
Tigers prospect LHP Jojo Ingrassia notches his first strikeout in the Tigers organization. pic.twitter.com/T6ZBJ7nuqQ
Zack Lee inherited a runner from Ingrassia and gave up an RBI double to make it an earned run. He was otherwise good through the fourth. Win Scott went 1-2-3 in the fifth and worked around a two-out double in the sixth.
Fort Wayne finally put something together in the seventh, with Scott still on the mound. Scott left the game with the bases loaded, but an error helped extend the inning. Only one of the three runs that scored was earned. Ryhan Harvey pitched through the eighth, and Eliseo Mota faced the minimum in the ninth, ending the game on a double play.
Rainer: 2-5, 2B (18), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K
Espinal: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, BB
Ankeney: 2-5, HR (2), R, 3 RBI
Ingrassia: 2.1 IP, ER, H, 2 BB, 3 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Saturday. West Michigan leads the series, 3-1.
Another doubleheader! Unlike Toledo, Lakeland took Game 1 and did so in convincing fashion. The Flying Tigers scored 11 runs on 14 hits in just six innings—no need to play the bottom of the seventh when you’re up by double digits.
Carson Rucker delivered the first of three home runs, a two-run shot with Hayden Yost on second (walk, balk).
Carson Rucker crushes a 2-run homer to left to give Lakeland a first inning lead. It’s his 11th home run of the year, and this one was 108.7 off the bat and traveled 431 feet. pic.twitter.com/KcS12fUU4i
Three batters later, Angel De Los Santos hit his own two-run homer, and first outside of rookie ball. Anibal Salas tripled in Jesus Pinto a bit later, giving Lakeland an early 5-0 lead.
Congratulations to Angel De Los Santos, who turns on this 96 MPH fastball and launches his 1st home run at the Low-A level. pic.twitter.com/Xa2CEwVdXd
The Flying Tigers batted around in the first, bringing Yost back to the plate in the second. He singled, moved to second on a passed ball and scored after stealing third and forcing a bad throw. It’s his 15th stolen base of the season. Chris Meyers doubled in Rucker, who was hit by a pitch.
Jordan Yost steals 3rd base and scores on a throwing error, then a rehabbing Chris Meyers hits a hard RBI double to put the Flying Tigers up 7-0. pic.twitter.com/QMkVGxdz2l
Meanwhile, Cale Wetwiska worked through 2.2 innings of scoreless ball. He gave up a pair of hits and walked two batters, but four strikeouts evens things out. Maddox Long took over for him in the third, getting the final out of the inning and working into the sixth. Long did about as well as Wetwisk, albeit with half the strikeouts.
After two quiet innings, Lakeland got back to scoring runs in the fifth. Rucker had another big hit, this time with the bases loaded. A bases-clearing double made it 10-0.
Carson Rucker scalds a 3-run double into right center and Lakeland takes a 10-0 lead over Dunedin. pic.twitter.com/7IhFJHVQ4w
Jan Caraballo got the last out of the sixth and closed things out for the Flygers. He gave up a run in the seventh, breaking up the shutout, but who’s complaining about an 11-1 win? Not me.
Game 2 didn’t go so well, though. Lakeland had just one hit and trailed 6-0 for most of the contest.
Malachi Witherspoon labored through 3.2 innings, giving up six earned runs on two hits and three walks. An RBI double in the first isn’t the worst thing, but following up with walk-HBP-walk-HBP to open the second is. Witherspoon got a ground ball to get the first out and traded another run for the second, but JoJo Parker hit a three-run homer off him to put Dunedin up by six.
At least Witherspoon bounced back by striking out the side in the third, and he would have gotten through the fourth if not for an error. Jose Guzman replaced him and worked through the sixth. He walked a pair but didn’t allow any hits.
Pedro Garcia worked around a double from Parker in the seventh. Parker had all three of the Blue Jays’ hits in this one. It’s an odd overall box score, but that’s what happens in Single-A doubleheaders.
Lakeland’s lone hit came from Jude Warwick in the sixth. It was a leadoff double to right field. At least it wasn’t a no-hitter…
Missouri State's Caden Bogenpohl round second after hitting a homer as the Bears took on the Mizzou Tigers at Hammons Field on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
Thank goodness for the Threshers taking a doubleheader. Otherwise, we’d be looking at a clean sweep of the organization on Friday night. Let’s look at how the kids did.
Worcester 5, Lehigh Valley 4
In the last minutes of the trade deadline, the Phillies made a small deal by sending Seth Johnson to the A’s in exchange for Colby Thomas. It doesn’t seem like much since Johnson simply wasn’t good here, but Thomas was once ranked as the A’s third best prospect. He has stalled in his cameos in the big leagues, but he has been a minor league gem. He had two more hits last night for the IronPigs, but that was about all the offense that could be mustered. Paul McIntosh homered and Keaton Anthony had an RBI double, yet the pitching was a bit of a letdown. Tucker Davidson went 3 1/3 innings and allowed two runs, followed by Michael Mercado going 2 2/3 innings and allowing two runs and that was enough.
Richmond 10, Reading 9
A day after having a doubleheader, the pitching was a bit exhausted for both teams and it showed with 28 hits getting registered in total during the game. Gage Wood struggled on the mound, allowing four runs in three innings and only chalking up four strikeouts, but the backend of the bullpen allowed six runs to put the game away for the Fightin’ Phils. At the plate, there were multi hit games from several hitters, including Aroon Escobar, Pedro Leon, Raylin Heredia, Caleb Rickets and Raider Tello. Leon, Heredia and Ricketts all had home runs on the day, Ricketts tacking on three RBI on the day.
Frederick 2, Jersey Shore 0
For all the offense Reading had, the opposite was true of Jersey Shore in their shutout loss. Devin Saltiban had two hits, Robert Phelps and Mark Kolozsvary had one a piece and that was that. The pitching was actually alright for the BlueClaws, but a group of five pitchers allowed eight walks and that just isn’t going to get it done. They were simply outmatched on the mound by J.T. Quinn of the Keys (5 2/3 innings, 3 H, 0 R, 7 K).
Clearwater 3, Tampa 2 Clearwater 4, Tampa 3
A couple of nail biters in a doubleheader, the Threshers were able to come out on the winning end in both of them. In the first game, the Threshers were only able to scratch out four hits, but made them count when Noah Beltran hit a two out, two run single in the sixth inning to take the lead, followed by an RBI single by Matthew Ferrera that ended up being badly needed when the Tarpons scored once in the seventh before Brian Walters finished it off. Sean Youngerman got the win by throwing five innings and only giving up one run despite five walks. In game two, Yordanis Guerra had four innings of one run baseball on the mound, striking outs six in the process. He was aided by an offense that got on the board early thanks to a two-run home run in the first by Jack Hopko and a bases loaded walk later in the inning by Macon Winslow. Caden Bogenpohl continues to enjoy professional life, adding two more hits to his ledger and raising his average to .375. His pick is starting to look like a good one by the Phillies.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 07: Payton Tolle #70 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after Ceddanne Rafaela (not seen) made a diving catch to end the third inning against the Athletics at Fenway Park on August 07, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As improbable as it seems, the Yankees won both a one-run game and an extra innings game in one fell swoop, Ryan McMahon’s tenth inning sac fly enough to sink the Braves, 3-2. Max Fried tossed 6.1 scoreless while his offense waited until the ninth inning to score their first runs. There were a handful of sparkling defensive plays to keep the bats in it long enough for the win, and it certainly looks like this recipe of shutdown pitching and sure-handed defense will have to continue until Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton return.
Tampa Bay Rays (69-46) 2, Seattle Mariners (56-61) 1
Drew Rasmussen was dominant yet again, holding the Mariners scoreless for seven innings, allowing just two hits and two walks against eight strikeouts. Things could have gone sideways in the second, the Mariners loading the bases on a Julio Rodríguez single and walks by Josh Naylor and Cal Raleigh, but Rasmussen struck out Colt Emerson to strand all three in place. Starting with that punch out of Emerson, Rasmussen would go on to retire the final 16 batters he faced in order. It’s already Rasmussen’s seventh start of the year of at least six scoreless innings, two of those coming against the Yankees.
There wasn’t much offense to be found in general, all three runs in the game coming via the solo home run. Jonny DeLuca and Jonathan Aranda put the Rays up early with solo shots in the second and third, respectively. Rodríguez ended the shutout and cut the deficit to one with a two-out solo shot in the ninth, but that was all Seattle would muster. It’s the Rays fourth win in a row as they are now 13-4 in their last 17 games to remain 4.5 games up on the Yankees.
Other Games
Boston Red Sox (64-51) 13, Athletics (45-71) 1
For as stressful and exciting as their 12-11, 13-inning barnburner win over the White Sox on Thursday was, this was about as straightforward a win as the Red Sox could have asked for. On the day that the A’s parted ways with general manager David Forst, the roster he assembled got absolutely thrashed, 13-1, by Boston. The fact that they did it while hitting just one home run made it all the more impressive.
It started with one of the most dominant starts across all of MLB this season, Payton Tolle tallying a career-high 14 strikeouts across his six innings of one run ball. He allowed just two hits and no walks, the lone damage a Tyler Soderstrom solo home run in the fifth. He struck out the side in the second, fourth, and sixth, and the third was the only frame where he failed to punch out at least a pair. It lowers his season ERA to 3.20 as he makes a late charge in the AL Rookie of the Year race.
As for his offense, they did most of their scoring in the first half of the game, dropping five in the second and four in the fourth. Every member of the starting lineup had at least a hit — only Nick Sogard, Caleb Durbin, and Jarren Duran failing to record multi-hit games — Boston ending the day with 15 hits.
Boston has now won nine in a row and have lost just three games since July 1st, their 27-3 record over that span bringing them within a half-game of the Yankees for second.
Cleveland Guardians (58-59) 8, Chicago White Sox (59-56) 2
Noah Schultz recorded just one out and had to depart in the first inning, but it wasn’t due to injury. One batter after the pitching coach came out to check on Schultz, manager Will Venables made their second mound visit of the inning, which by the rules of the game necessitates the removal of the pitcher. The reliever they replaced him with, David Sandlin, got torched for six runs on seven hits and two walks in 5.1 innings, five of those runs coming in the fifth courtesy of a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded and an Angel Martínez grand slam. Martínez had already struck with a two-run single off Schultz in the first as he finished the day with six RBI. Steven Kwan went 3-for-5 with a solo home run while Chicago’s two runs arrived via solo home runs by rookies Braden Montgomery in the second and Munetaka Murakami in the sixth in this pivotal AL Central battle between first and second place teams.
Houston Astros (60-57) 6, San Diego Padres (60-57) 3
The Padres’ two blockbuster additions to the rotation at the deadline have not had the best starts to life in San Diego. First it was Casey Mize giving up eight runs on nine hits and three walks in 3.1 innings of a 10-4 loss to the Diamondbacks and tonight it was Robbie Ray coughing up four runs on seven hits and five walks in five innings against the Astros. Cam Smith had the big day on offense for Houston, with a pair of solo home runs as part of a 3-for-4 afternoon. Isaac Paredes went 3-for-5 and Christian Walker drew a pair of free passes while adding a two-run single in the third. Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-for-5 with a solo shot. The Astros were in fourth place as recently as June 26th, but a 13-3 record in their last 16 while playing in the joke that is the AL West have them atop the division.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - AUGUST 04: Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr #7 of the Kansas City Royals reacts after a triple during the 5th inning of the game against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium on August 04, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Many fans clamored for the team to tear it down, trading most everyone and starting anew to build around Witt. But Picollo gave the team a vote of confidence, and they appreciate it.
“I think he’s not wrong with that, right?” second baseman Michael Massey said. “I think it’s been a group that was here for a long time. I think ‘24 kind of showed the potential that we have, and obviously last year wasn’t what we wanted, but we were still above .500 and right there in September. I think we were four games out.
“Obviously, this year the wheels kind of fell off a little bit. Part of that’s injuries, part of that just on us not doing a great job, us as players. But yeah, I agree, I think the core is here. I think this is a team that can definitely be right back in at this time next year.”
Overall, the data looked good. He threw his changeup more than anything after leaning heavily on his cutter in the last two starts. I think it was because he kept trying to find it. But he threw his slider second-most, throwing 22 of them and 23 changeups. For the season, he uses his slider about 10 percent of the time, and last night he used it 21 percent of the time. It’s because it was a dominant pitch, particularly late.
He got seven whiffs on it in 15 swings and allowed just three batted balls against it. Twins hitters saw 13 of them out of the zone, and they swung at eight of those. That’s pretty incredible. I mentioned it in yesterday’s newsletter, but the Twins are a fairly patient offense. To get a chase rate of 62 percent on one pitch and 42 percent overall is very impressive.
As expected, the Royals didn’t do much at the deadline — there really wasn’t much for them to do. The healthy version of Kansas City’s roster looks moderately more complete than its current Stock Watch ranking suggests, but that’s not to say there isn’t work to be done. Even with the injuries in the rotation — some of which will carry over into next season (Cole Ragans, Stephen Kolek, Luinder Avila) — the Royals have a solid foundation in that group. The challenge will be to deepen the lineup and almost completely revamp the bullpen. It’s a lot to do given what is likely to be limited payroll flexibility and too few prospects pushing up from below.
Jul 15, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Colorado Rockies mascot Dinger and New York Mets mascot Mrs. Met on the red carpet before the 2025 MLB All Star Game at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Meet the Mets
The post-trade deadline Mets continue to be unstoppable, as they began their series against the Pirates with their fourth straight victory. The Amazins were buoyed by a three-run homer from Marcus Semien in their four-run third inning, along with five scoreless innings from Zac Thornton.
Tyler Mahle delivered a good performance in his Braves debut, but Raisel Iglesias blew the save and the Braves ultimately fell to the Yankees 3-2 in 10 innings to snap Atlanta’s eight-game winning streak.
The Phillies lost to the Blue Jays 5-4 on the same night in which they honored Chase Utley. Very sad, that.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - MAY 22: Starting pitcher Chris Bassitt #40 of the Baltimore Orioles works the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 22, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Of immediate interest to the big league club is that this was another rehab start for Chris Bassitt. There’s little to complain about in the results, as Bassitt pitched six innings without allowing a run, scattering three hits, two walks, and a hit batter. That looks about as stretched out as a guy is going to get on a minor league rehab assignment; this was his third start. I wouldn’t be surprised to see his next game in Baltimore.
Bassitt handed the baton off to my honorary hyphenated cousin, Juaron Watts-Brown, with a 3-0 lead in the bank. Watts-Brown blew the lead while pitching in the eighth, putting two men on base before giving up three runs on a single swing. That sent things into extra innings, where the Tides were able to plate their Manfred Man plus two more in the tenth.
If you thought that would be enough to close out the game without drama, you haven’t met Norfolk’s pitching staff. The Bisons loaded the bases with one out against previous Oriole Jose Espada. (Why is this team called the Bisons when the plural of bison is bison?) They didn’t get any closer.
Looking at the Tides lineup is depressing. There are only two guys worth mentioning and one of them is because I just can’t give up on Heston Kjerstad, even though the Orioles appear to have done so. Kjerstad had two hits and drew a walk and was picked off once. Creed Willems is down to a .766 OPS after a 1-5 night at the plate.
Despite being out-hit by the Senators by an 11-7 margin and only having four of their players get hits at all, the Baysox were able to win this one. Even tougher than that previous sentence sounds for Chesapeake is that their 1-6 hitters had just one hit combined across all of them. You might think that Harrisburg’s three errors would have helped, but no, none of the runs were unearned. Baseball can be weird and minor league baseball can get even weirder.
My guy Aron Estrada took an 0-4, as did recently-promoted Victor Figueroa. Wehiwa Aloy was also hitless, though his night included a walk and a sacrifice fly, as well as his second stolen base at this level.
For Baysox pitchers, Patrick Reilly made his third start back at the Double-A level after having Tommy John surgery last year. The runs column reads zero on the stat line, so that’s good. He had a whole lot of traffic, though, with nine hits and one walk over 4.2 innings. When the WHIP is over 2, that’s less good. But any starts for the rest of this year are really just about shaking off the rust.
High-A: Frederick Keys 2, Jersey Shore (Phillies) 0
These two teams combined for eight hits, four errors, 13 walks, and 23 strikeouts. Minor league baseball! Recent promotions and injuries have left this Keys lineup depleted compared to early in the season and it shows. Both of the Keys runs scored on groundouts. No one even got an RBI hit.
The starting pitcher who got this thing going towards the combined shutout was JT Quinn, the Orioles competitive balance round B pick from last year’s draft. Quinn’s 5.2 scoreless innings saw him give up just three hits and one walk, while striking out seven batters. He hasn’t raced to Double-A like Joseph Dzierwa and later Caden Hunter did, but he hasn’t acquitted himself badly at the level, sporting a 3.75 ERA and 1.13 WHIP for the season, with a K/BB rate near 5.
A Shorebirds pitcher struggles early and the offense never does much the whole game is pretty much the whole season for Delmarva. They had a 1-0 lead after an RBI groundout in the third inning, starting pitcher Holden deJong gave up four runs while failing to complete the bottom of the inning, and they coasted along on the way to a loss. They’re 37-69. It’s rough down there.
Not rough is infielder Jaiden Lo Re, the fifth round pick from last year. Lo Re accounted for two of the five Shorebirds hits all on his own and scored two of their runs. Outfielder Jordan Sanchez also had two hits and drove in all three Delmarva runs. Lo Re has a .915 OPS after 45 games at this level, pretty good for age 19.
Chesapeake: vs. Harrisburg, 6:35. Starter: Anthony Eyanson
Frederick: at Jersey Shore, 7:05. Starter: Kyson Witherspoon
Delmarva: at Fredericksburg, 6:35. Starter: Harrison Kreiling
That’s three players who were acquired at the trade deadline, and the fourth (De León) was recently promoted to the Triple-A level. An interesting night for pitching on the farm. Hopefully it turns out well for everyone. Experience as an Orioles fan teaches me that it will not.
ARLINGTON, TX - JUNE 5: Stefen Romero #17 of the Seattle Mariners bats and runs to first base from the batter's box in the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington on June 5, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. The Texas Rangers defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-2. (Photo by John Williamson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association has announced the winners of the 2026 Heart and Hustle Award, which goes to one player on each team who “exemplifies a true passion for the game and who best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game.”
Jeff Passan at ESPN told the behind-the-scenes story on how the Tarik Skubal trade came down. Apparently, the Tigers felt increased urgency to deal him because they were afraid potential suitors would pivot to George Kirby.
Bradford William Davis at eyeblack continued his exceptional investigative journalism in a recent article in which he laid out a whistleblower’s claims that identifying irregularities in the baseball are “nearly impossible.”
A drama series featuring the New York Yankees is coming to Netflix with Jason Bateman’s Aggregate Films and Emmy winner Josh Wakely leading the project.
Anders picks…
Sounder at Heart shared a letter written by a longtime Seattle Sounders fan to the club about why he’s considering giving up his Legacy Season Tickets after 17 years, citing lackluster investment in the team and worsening fan relations from the organization.
Jake Bennett
Chase Burns
Pete Crow-Armstrong
Munetaka Murakami
Matt Olson
Jordan Walker
