Two games into their September stop at Yankee Stadium, the Rockies have scored four runs, struck out 24 times and lost twice.
The Yankees won the opener 5–3 before taking Game 2 by a 6–1 score.
Tonight gives the Rockies (55–90) one more chance to salvage a game against the Yankees (83–62), avoid the sweep and carry a bit of momentum with them to Detroit.
Ryan Feltner will make his 22nd start in a season that has gone poorly. He is 5–9 with a 5.91 ERA and 1.58 WHIP across 106.2 innings.
Feltner leads with his four-seam fastball and varies his secondary mix from there. He works primarily with the slider and changeup against lefties, then turns to the slider, sinker and sweeper against righties. Lefties have produced a .293/.378/.507 line against him this season, while righties are at .275/.326/.522.

#four #slider #righties

A sputtering lineup stirred in the eighth inning. Jose Altuve struck a one-out double, putting him on the cusp of a career milestone. Christian Walker flared a single into shallow left field. LaMonte Wade Jr. did the same, driving in Altuve and paring a deficit to one run.
The current Houston Astros offense can make that seem sizable. The additional hit it required did not appear. Jonathan Loáisiga got Daulton Varsho to wave at a third-strike changeup. Taylor Trammell, the second pinch-hitter of the inning, popped out to end it.
With a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Astros dropped the deciding game of their series at Daikin Park and concluded a 4-3 homestand with consecutive defeats. They went 8-5 over a 13-game stretch with no off-day, emerging from it with a 73-71 record.
Houston scored three or fewer runs in eight of 13 games during that stretch. Its offense entered Sunday averaging 3.9 runs over its past 30 games, scoring the fifth-fewest runs in the majors in that stretch. Its .220 average was the sport's lowest in that span and its .368 slugging percentage the sixth-lowest.
Sunday, the Astros took three at-bats with a man in scoring position in the first seven innings and went hitless in them. Arizona starter Eduardo Rodriguez allowed one run in six innings on a first-inning home run by Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez also popped out with two runners on base to end the seventh.

#astros #runs #altuve #offense

The Diamondbacks came into the game looking for a series win, and with a little bit of luck, putting some more ***** e between their competition for the final NL Wild Card spot. Having Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound was a point in their favor, but the offense still RVSP'd maybe when invited to the game.
The Diamondbacks were quiet in the top of the first, with the only baserunner being a Geraldo Perdomo hit by pitch, and that allowed the Astros to strike first. E-Rod got Jeremy Pena to ground out, but Yordan Alvarez absolutely clobbered one for a solo home run. That was the first indication that Rodriguez didn't have his best stuff today, but the next few batters hammered that home, even if there wasn't much damage done. He walked both Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker, but alternated those walks with a line out from Jose Altuve and got out of the jam with a Nelson Velasquez strike out. 0-1 Astros
This, of course, did raise some concerns amongst the faithful about the early need to score more than one run. That's been a challenge for the Diamondbacks, last night's four run outbreak aside. The offense decided to do some to ***** uage those fears, but did not manage to score multiple runs right away. Corbin Carroll started off the second inning with a double, advanced on a sac bunt from Tommy Troy, and then scored on a sac fly from James McCann. Illdemaro Vargas tried to keep things going with a two out single, but Lawler was unable to step up and ended the inning with a line out to third. Tied 1-1
Rodriguez issues with command continued right away in the bottom of the second, walking Dalton Varsho. Never a good idea to walk someone like him, as he showed when he stole second to get into scoring position two outs later. Too late for it to matter, though, as Jeremy Pena only saw three pitches and flew out to end the inning.
The third inning was… something. Perdomo singled to lead off the inning, bringing Ketel Marte to the plate. Marte got an 86 MPH changeup down and away and turned it around for what looked like an easy single. The only with that is the ball also acted as a heat seeking missel straight to Perdomo's helmet. He hit the ground immediately and quickly found himself surrounded by trainers from both teams. Eventually he left under his own power to a nice ovation from the Houston crowd, as one does.

#astros

Diamondbacks right-hander Corbin Burnes packed four innings' worth of outs into three innings during a bridge camp game on Thursday, Sept. 3, an outing that is expected to be his last before a return to the majors next week in Kansas City.
"Today, I think, was for me a good last step, if that's what this is going to be," Burnes said after facing a lineup of Los Angeles Angels minor leaguers on a backfield near Tempe Diablo Stadium.
Working with a fastball that topped out at 93 mph, Burnes worked three innings and retired 12 batters; in both the second and third innings, he remained on the mound after the third out to continue building his pitch count.
He struck out two, did not walk a batter and may or may not have allowed a hit depending on whether a ground ball to third was ruled an error. His repertoire looked generally sharp, and he gave up perhaps three hard-hit ****** .
"Swing and miss on cutters, sinkers, curveball, the slider, changeup -- I think we got a swing and miss on every pitch today, which is good," Burnes said. "Around the zone. For me, the thing is, I want to be able to command the baseball, and we were able to command everything, which is good."

#innings #swing

ANAHEIM, Calif. — After a whirlwind of a day with the announcement that owner Arte Moreno was selling a majority stake of the team to Stan Kroenke, the night concluded with the Angels' 7-3 loss against the Yankees.
It was a similar story to the other 85 losses the Angels have had this season, but here are some notes from the game that stood out.
The Angels were down quickly, as right-hander Grayson Rodriguez allowed a two-run home run to Spencer Jones and then a solo shot to Jazz Chisholm Jr. the very next batter to give the Yankees an early 3-0 lead. But after that, Rodriguez settled in and allowed one more run the rest of the outing.
His final line was four earned runs in six innings of work with seven strikeouts and two strikeouts.
"Changeup started working a little bit better for me, made some adjustments with it," Rodriguez said was the key to settling in after the first inning. "They took some bad swings on it, so really worked that into the game plan."

#strikeouts

Mantua, Cuba, is a small fishing village on the northwestern coast of the island; legend says it was founded by shipwrecked Italian sailors in the early 1600s. Los Arroyos, the neighborhood where Randy Arozarena grew up, is a tiny tip of the island, about as close to Cancún as it is to the capital Havana, where Lazaro Montes was born. Maybe their respective hometowns account for their personality differences: Randy is quieter, more removed, shying away from media appearances, while Laz is as big and boisterous as the bustling capital city itself, eager to try out his English with whoever wants to talk. Making his big-league debut tonight, "Big Laz" had an appropriately splashy welcome to the big leagues that will guarantee his megawatt smile will light up highlight reels tonight both in Seattle and beyond, accounting for two of the Mariners' nine runs tonight. But Randy Arozarena also continued doing what he's done all season, leading the team offensively and providing an early separating blow that helped the Mariners outlast the Red Sox in a grueling 9-6 win at Fenway.
The Mariners got on the board right away when Dominic Canzone absolutely obliterated this hanging changeup from Red Sox starter Jedixson Paez:
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Unfortunately, the Red Sox took that run right back with a blast of their own, a four-seamer from Bryan Woo that didn't quite get top rail enough that Mickey Gasper hammered for a matching blow.
But the Mariners offense picked up their starter in the top of the second, pouncing on Paez for five runs of both the small and large ball variety. Josh Naylor got things going with a leadoff double, followed by a line-drive single from Cole Young – not super hard hit, but any contact in the air is good from young Cole, who's been really struggling lately with pounding the ball into the ground. That brought up Lazaro Montes for his very first big-league at-bat in an RBI situation. Facing a flagging pitcher on a bullpen day, Montes took a studied, disciplined at-bat, getting ahead 2-0, whiffing at a changeup on the plate, and then declining to chase two more changeups to earn his way on base. J.P. Crawford put the Mariners ahead on a sacrifice fly, and then Brock Rodden checked in with an infield hit of his own, hustling down the line to allow Cole Young to score. That also turned the lineup over for Randy Arozarena, who continued his audition to Get Real Paid by the Red Sox next season by crushing a sinker middle-middle that would have wound up on Lansdowne Street if not for an inconveniently located billboard.

#Mariners #randy #paez

The Major League Baseball trade deadline has already passed, but the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays made a trade on Tuesday.
Teams can still make trades involving minor league players, and the Dodgers acquired right-handed pitcher Sebastian Rodriguez for Jose Rodríguez. Jose Rodriguez was Rule 5 Draft eligible in the winter, but he had some real walk concerns. He walked 14.2% of batters last year in Triple-A.
The walk numbers have not been much better this year, but he has been much better about keeping the ball in the ballpark. Last year, he allowed eight home runs in 45 games. This year, he has allowed one home run in 25 minor league games. He was a top-30 prospect for the Dodgers going into the season.
He is already in Triple-A and is not too far from making his big league debut. His sinker and changeup play well together and he could be an ******* et for the Blue Jays down the line. Meanwhile, Sebastian Rodriguez, who will now join the Dodgers organization, is only 20 years old and still in rookie ball.
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#Dodgers

The Houston Astros got key hits from Nelson Velázquez and Cam Smith to start strong on a tough stretch of games that could decide their fate in the American League West.
The Astros beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 Monday night at Daikin Park in the first of 13 straight games against potential playoff teams with National League wild-card contenders Arizona Diamondbacks coming to town after the White Sox (72-65), who lead the AL Central, followed by a road trip to play likely NL wild-card team Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays, who have the best record in the American League.
The win pushed the Astros' record against opponents who are .500 or better to a Major League-best 26-14 (.650). They maintained their two-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the AL West and increased the lead over the Seattle Mariners, the defending division champions, to six games. Houston also climbed within 2 ½ games of the White Sox for the second seed in the postseason, which comes with a bye past the wild-card round.
The Astros (70-68) trailed 2-1 with two outs and **** ody on in the bottom of the fourth inning. After Smith sparked something with a triple, Velázquez delivered his first hit since the Astros claimed him off waivers three weeks ago, a two-run homer that banged off the barrier just below the train tracks in left field.
Smith helped add to the lead in the following inning. After singles by Christian Vázquez, Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes loaded the bases, Christian Walker brought home a run with a walk to make it 4-2 Astros. The White Sox opted to pull starter Anthony Kay after he struck out Daulton Varsho so righty Trevor Richards could face Smith. It didn't work. Smith ripped a 2-2 changeup down the left-field line for a two-run double and a 6-2 lead.

#astros #games

Happy Saturday, folks! Hope you're having a nice weekend. If you decide to spend it watching late-night West Coast baseball, I hope the Orioles grace you with a series win tonight. They ******* ed a win in Game One last night with a 4-3 victory in ten innings. Although Brandon Young pitched a strong seven innings, the bullpen couldn't hold onto a meager 2-0 lead, and it took extras to sort things out: two clutch base hits by Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand gave the birds the winning margin of victory.
Let's hope the Orioles make Game Two worth staying up for. Tonight, taking the mound at Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for the Athletics is Jack Perkins, a 26-year-old righty who debuted for the A's in 2025, and has been used mostly as a swingman. In 11 starts and 20 relief appearances in 2026, he has an ugly 6.68 ERA, although it seems he's been the victim of bad defense, to judge by his FIP (4.79) and xERA (3.96). He's still been much more effective as a reliever, going by his ERA splits (4.76 ERA in relief/8.17 ERA as a starter). His best pitch is the sweeper, which generates a 36.1% whiff rate, followed by a decent changeup and cutter. The soft spot in Perkins' ******* nal is his mid-90s four-seamer: it's been his most hittable pitch by far (.318 average, .664 slugging against, Run Value -14), and he still throws it nearly a third of the time. Perkins is also ******* e to the long ball (1.69 HR/9) and to putting runners on via the walk (3.79 BB/9) or hit-by-pitch (9 on the year).
As for the O's starter, I don't know if it's crazy or reasonable to hope for a win, given that it's unlucky Shane Baz who takes his turn on the mound tonight. Despite the fact that Baz (4.04 ERA, 3.34 FIP) has allowed three or fewer runs in 19 of his 26 starts, he doesn't have a win in his last twelve starts (which is incredible to process). And he's been pretty good! He had a 3.68 ERA in June, a 3.00 one in July, and August, while slightly worse, shows him at a 4.30 mark. Poor Baz. Can the schneid please end tonight?
Tonight's lineup features a surplus of lefties. Jackson Holliday back in the leadoff spot, and Henderson, hopefully rested after his day off, hitting third. Dylan Beavers, hot lately, is back in, and so is Cowser playing center field. The newly activated Blaze Alexander is sitting today. However, Coby Mayo, slayer of lefties, is getting a start against the right-handed Perkins anyway, hitting seventh. And Pete Alonso, lately called our team's "iron man," is still out there, hitting, even with a sore calf.
Last night saw these Orioles ******* a game back from Cleveland's lead to put them just two games back of the third and final Wild Card spot. Earlier today, the lowly Royals did the Orioles a huge favor, pummeling the Guardians 8-3, which gives the team chance to make up yet another game! The next four games against the A's and the Rockies, whom the O's visit next, represent a best chance to make score some easy wins in the wild card race

There is something for everyone on the Yahoo waiver wire right now, as roster rates tend to climb slowly during the stretch run. And although this is the time of year to heavily stream players with favorable upcoming matchups, there are also a few players who have plenty of potential to become rest-of-season roster mainstays.
The good news doesn't end there, as this week's list includes a strong balance of starters, relievers and hitters. Let's dive in:
Andrew Painter, SP, Phillies, 24%: Since rejoining the Phillies on July 31, Painter has shown some significant changes to his ****** nal that should have fantasy managers excited. The former top prospect seems to have finally figured out his four-seam fastball, which he is throwing harder and inducing more vertical break. His changeup has fed off the fastball improvements to become more effective itself. The results have been excellent, including a 3.62 ERA and 1.06 WHIP across five starts.
Painter should be in most lineups for his Friday start against a weak Angels offense and can remain on rosters if that outing goes well.
J.T. Ginn, SP, Athletics, 32%: Ginn has been the Athletics' most consistent starter this season, as his respectable strikeout skills and heavy groundball lean have made him successful at home and on the road. Still, every Athletics pitcher likely prefers to work away from their hitter-friendly home park, which will be the case for Ginn twice next week, when he makes starts at offense-suppressing venues in Texas and Seattle. Managers who need to load up on starters for the final week of the fantasy regular season should add Ginn and his fellow two-start teammate, Gage Jump (13%), who has fared much better on the road (3.49 ERA) than at home (5.62 ERA).

#season #home #roster #become

I have a confession to make. This whole season, I have been waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop for Eduardo Rodriguez. I had a difficult time believing the same pitcher who had posted consecutive seasons with ERAs north of five could somehow transform himself into a legitimate Cy Young candidate. There were some legitimate reasons for that doubt too between his whiff percentage, strikeout rate, and chase rate all leave something to be desired – to say nothing of expected stats that paint an even worse picture. But at some point, you have to throw out all the other pieces of evidence and recognize that however he's doing it, Rodriguez is putting together one of the best pitching seasons in franchise history. And at a time in the season where every win is crucial, he delivered once more with an absolute gem against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday afternoon. In seven innings of scoreless work, Rodriguez racked up nine strikeouts and allowed just five baserunners all game, inducing a whopping 18 swings and misses along the way.
It was a fairly dominant performance for the veteran lefty, but it wasn't all smooth sailing. In the visiting half of the sixth, Pete Crow-Armstrong, who was mostly contained in the series, stroked a leadoff double down the line and then moved over to third on Seiya Suzuki's groundout. After a shallow flyout from Alex Bregman wasn't deep enough for PCA to score, he decided to take matters into his own hands and bluffed a straight steal of home by sprinting halfway down the third base line. That move unsettled Rodriguez enough for him to shuffle off the pitching rubber before delivering to James McCann behind the plate. The entire Cubs dugout clamored for a balk call, but after a quick umpire consultation, it was declared not a balk – much to PCA's chagrin as he charged directly at the third base umpire and had to be held back by his coaches. After a few replays of the incident, I do think (as does Bob Brenly) that it probably was a balk. E-Rod clearly takes his left foot off the rubber before coming home with the ball, which would be very deceiving to a baserunner and which has always been the intent behind the balk rule. The play also highlighted the fact that every play should be reviewable as other angles show enough that the Cubs at least had an argument and when the margin is so thin, the call should be correct. It's worth watching the whole sequence for yourself to see where you fall on the decision:
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For what it's worth, Chicago starter Matthew Boyd nearly matched Rodriguez zero for zero as the veteran journeyman allowed the same number of baserunners (five) in six innings of work and continued the excellent starting pitching the Cubs had in the series. His only mistake was a hanging changeup that Jordan Lawlar just lifted over the right field fence for the only run allowed by a Cubs starting pitcher. The D-Backs added an insurance run in the eighth when consecutive leadoff singles from McCann and La

Mark Vientos continued his rehab stint with Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday and had his best game with the club.
The young Mets slugger went 2-for-5 and drove in two runs. He also hit a home run against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Vientos' first hit came in the first, smashing a single to score Emilien Pitre from second and give Syracuse an early 1-0 lead. His longball came in the fifth with the bases empty. He smashed a changeup in the middle of the plate 409 feet to give Syracuse a 6-1 lead at the time.
It was a great offensive day for Vientos, who started at DH, and he needed it. He was hitless over his first three minor league games in his current rehab ******* ignment and Mets interim manager Andy Green had some pointed things to say about the slugger and his future role on the team.
"I was very forthright with him when he started the rehab ******* ignment that a lot of that will be dictated by how others perform and also by how he performs," Green said Wednesday. "Still think there's a very bright future for him out there if he wants to grab a hold of it. That's on him."

#first #give

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The San Diego Padres' (71-62) offense was again non-existent against the Pittsburgh Pirates (65-69), who did just enough to squeeze out a 1-0 victory.
In what had been a scoreless game in the top of the ninth inning with two outs, Padres closer Mason Miller threw a 98 mph changeup that Oneil Cruz launched into right field. His 17th home run of the season gave the Pirates the game's only run.
"He's human," Padres manager Craig Stammen said.
Miller had the quote of the night.
"Humans can be idiots sometimes," Miller said. "Tip your hat. Good swing. Crushed it obviously. But I just can't be throwing that pitch (a changeup) in that spot."

#Padres #miller #diego #pittsburgh

Tuesday night was an opportunity for the St. Louis Cardinals to rebound from a profoundly disappointing end to the road trip returning home from Philadelphia, but would they? Much of that would depend on which version of Matthew Liberatore took the mound for the Cardinals. The answer is not the one most Cardinals fans were hoping for and the end result was appalling. Not to spoil this for you if you didn't see the game, but everyone in Busch Stadium that was not an Oriole's fan should demand their money back.
The game would get off to an auspicious start in the top of the 1st inning when Matthew Liberatore fielded Jackson Holliday's dribbler on the 1st base side of the mound and fired the ball over Alec Burleson's head into right field. Pete Alonso followed that with a solid single into left field with Holliday running on the play which gave the Orioles runners at first and third with no outs. Matthew would find a way out of the jam as he got Gunnar Henderson to pop out and then struck out Mayo and Encarnacion-Strand.
The top of the 3rd inning would be similar to the top of the 1st, but the result would be much different. Taveras reached as he beat out an infield hit. Jackson Holliday whistled a single into center which brought up Pete Alonzo who was not fooled by an 88 mph changeup which he sent soaring 435 feet deep into the left field stands for a 3-0 Baltimore lead. Two outs later, Encarnacion-Strand absolutely annihilated a 94 mph four-seam Liberatore fastball 450 feet even deeper into the left field stands for a 4-0 Orioles lead. That's the longest home run in Busch Stadium this season.
The Cardinals would not go away silently. Nathan Church waited on a 72 mph curveball from Orioles pitcher Chris Bassett and ripped it 405 feet into the Cardinals bullpen giving St. Louis a run making the score 4-1.
That brief moment of St. Louis Cardinals optimism was short-lived. Matthew Liberatore would not survive the 5th inning. Jackson Holliday led off with his third hit of the night followed by another single from Cardinals nemesis Pete Alonzo. Matthew Liberatore then walked Gunnar Henderson to load the bases with no one out. Liberatore's last batter was Mayo who he surrendered a single to making it 5-1 Orioles and even though Matthew was done, Baltimore wasn't done scoring. Liberatore's replacement was Peter Strzelecki who didn't fare much better than his predecessor. He immediately gave up a single to Encarnacion-Strand which plated two more Orioles upping the Baltimore lead to 7-1. Stzelecki did accomplish one good thing during his relief outing. He struck out Basallo and…yeah, that's it. Next he hit Franklin with a pitch, gave up a single to Taveras, a single to Holliday and a double to Alonzo. When the dust settled, it was 12-1 Orioles and by the time the horrific 5th inning was done, Caleb Ferguson was in the game as the designated "you're pitching until you're too tired to pitch for the rest of the game" guy.

#matthew #holliday #inning

The Arizona Diamondbacks lost 7-0 to the Chicago Cubs on Monday night, and Merrill Kelly called out third base coach Quintin Berry for relaying signs to Cubs hitters.
The Diamondbacks and Cubs were seen chirping at each other on the broadcast, with the Arizona Diamondbacks directing their anger at Berry.
Diamondbacks and Cubs dugouts exchanging wordspic.twitter.com/Pcn2eMpv38
"We just thought he was relaying signs," Kelly said after the game. "We thought he had something on my changeup. Especially to lefties, every time I was throwing a changeup we felt like he was relaying that."
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#Cubs

Folks in the District of Columbia were not moved by the opportunity to see two of the National League's struggling teams on a Monday night, as the Colorado Rockies (50-80) and the Washington Nationals (61-71) kicked off their four-game series in front of a sparse crowd of 12,105. Those that did show up got to witness an offensive outburst for the hometown team.
The game started with a strong battle between starters Ryan Feltner and Cade Cavalli. Then — stop me if you've heard this before — one big inning brought the Rockies down. Colorado couldn't claw back into it after a fifth inning full of Nationals hits, Rockies errors, and an Ezequiel Tovar injury that erased their early lead.
The Rockies logged their 50th win back on August 16th. The 51st has proven to be elusive as Colorado's losing streak climbs to a season-high seven straight losses.
Cavalli had built a good bit of momentum through his last few starts. He carried that into the early part of today's game. After giving up a leadoff single to Jake McCarthy, Cavalli got the next three batters out with ***** in play.
The Nationals followed suit and stranded runners of their own in the first. Feltner walked his first batter faced in CJ Abrams, but came right back to strike out Abimelec Ortiz, getting him to chase a changeup outside. Abrams threatened by stealing second before Feltner walked Dylan Crews. The Nationals couldn't do anything from there, as a Daylen Lile line out and a Brady House grounder left runners on first and second.

#first

Today was the much-anticipated debut of Mariners pitching prospect Kade Anderson, but it was a more familiar face who stole the show. Randy Arozarena bookeneded the game with a pair of homers, peppering in a dramatic home run robbery and a clutch infield single, to deliver the Mariners an improbable 5-4 win, meanwhile racking up one of the highest WPAs I've ever seen for a position player in a single game: 1.08. It's not Brandon Crawford's seven-hit game from 2016, but it's gotta be up there. Arozarena, in his free agency year, is having his best season by wRC+ as a big-league regular: 138 before today's game is factored in. He's been the most valuable Mariner in 2026 offensively, and has contributed to more than his fair share of wins while the rest of the team has struggled through injury and doldrums. He's also been the author of more than his fair share of miscues, some outfield defense that at times looks indifferent, and an occasional inattention (like missing the team photo) that makes you wonder what planet Randy is living on.
The answer: Planet Randy. It's Randy's planet. And like Taylor Swift, he makes the rules. Today, Randy decided to orbit himself directly in front of what looked like a surefire Cubs win, repelling Chicago and their hefty dose of fans packed into a sellout crowd at T-Mobile Park and instead delivering the Mariners a series win. It might have been Kade Anderson **** p Day, but it was Randy Arozarena Precession Day (this is a science term that my science friend says means when a planet **** ps how it spins on its axis. I am **** ured the joke works.).
Kade Anderson was as advertised in the first inning, living around the strike zone and challenging hitters. He got his first big-league out on his first big-league pitch, tempting Pete Crow-Armstrong into making weak contact on a well-located heater for an easy pop out. He struggled a little after that with locating the curve, and got into a long battle with Alex Bregman before getting him to chase after a changeup for his first big-league strikeout:
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With the warm-up act out of the way, it was time for Planet Randy to take the stage. Arozarena gave his rookie pitcher some run support right away, jumping on the first pitch he saw from lefty David Peterson and driving it into a packed T-Mobile 'Pen: 105.3 mph and 416 feet for Randy's 18th on the season.

#randy #arozarena #kade #league

Left-hander Andrew Sears is reportedly on his way to Detroit. The Tigers 11th ranked prospect on our preseason rankings, Sears has shown out in two Triple-A appearances since being promoted from Double-A Erie back on August 11. The X account Dr. Degenerate, apparently the burner account for someone with good sources, reported on Saturday that Sears is being promoted to Detroit. That account has nailed several recent promotions in the Tigers' system. The report has been circulated by both Emily Waldon as well as the MiLB Central official account on X, and Chris McCosky of the Detroit News confirmed that Sears is with the team in Kansas City and will be used as a bulk reliever in Sunday's bullpen game.
The 23-year-old Sears, he'll turn 24 on August 30, was the Tigers 10th round pick in the 2023 draft out of Connecticut. That makes him the first pitching prospect drafted by Scott Harris to reach Detroit, and another later round success story to go with Brett Callahan. Sears received a $167,500 bonus to sign, just barely over the base bonus of $150,000.
Sears made his full season pro debut in 2024 at the Low-A Lakeland level, where his strikeout rate was good and he was rarely hit hard, but had some control issues. Those were resolved by 2025, and the southpaw continued to rack up good strikeout numbers and prevent home runs while throwing a lot more strikes for High-A West Michigan. Left-handers often thrive in A-ball and then struggle as more advanced hitters get used to seeing more southpaws against them, but Sears didn't miss a beat moving into the upper levels. He closed out the season with a nice run over six starts at Double-A Erie. The hope this year was that Sears would refine his changeup and overall command a bit more, reach Triple-A and become available in the second half of this season to help the major league club.
Ultimately, this all came to pass, but it was a wild ride for Sears this year. He had a bone spur fracture in his throwing elbow to begin the season, and spent a few months recovering and rehabbing, returning to Erie in mid-June. He made nine starts for the SeaWolves, compiling a 2.57 ERA/3.44 FIP combination, with a 24.3 percent strikeout rate and a 7.6 percent walk rate. In two starts for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, Sears has been a strikeout machine, punching out 41.2 percent of hitters he's faced. His walk rate has ticked up to 11.8 percent, but he also hasn't allowed a home run.
We've pegged Sears for two seasons now as the next lefty swingman for the Tigers. He can start, but he makes plenty of sense as a long reliever and spot starter who also works out of the bullpen. His deception, built on a bit of funky, crossfire delivery and a quick arm from a low slot, makes him tricky to deal with, and his stuff has routinely played up compared to the raw stuff metrics. The big task this season was to refine his changeup and get to using the offspeed more often to take pressure off his good sinker-slider combination, and

BOSTON — In the first five months of his Red Sox career, Willson Contreras has made it clear he has a swing fit for Fenway Park. On Friday night, he proved his swing might also fit the Mass. Pike.
Contreras turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead with a mammoth three-run home run off Giants All-Star Logan Webb that easily cleared the Green Monster — and perhaps a couple of buildings behind it. Contreras' homer left his bat at 116 mph and had a final projected distance of 452 feet. It was both the hardest- and farthest-hit ball by a Red Sox batter in 2026.
"It was hit a ton," said interim manager Chad Tracy. "He hit it really good."
Trailing 1-0 after a Bryce Eldridge RBI single in the top of the inning, the Red Sox got to Webb with two outs in the third. With Nick Sogard on first, Wilyer Abreu smoked a single to extend the inning. In a 1-1 count, Webb left a low changeup over the plate and Contreras demolished it. He admired it for a few seconds, demonstratively flipped his bat while throwing his hands up, pounded his chest and screamed into the dugout where his teammates marveled at his blast.
Some of them remained in awe hours later.

#webb

BOSTON (AP) — Willson Contreras hit a three-run home run and the Boston Red Sox held off the San Francisco Giants 6-4 on Friday night in the return of Rafael Devers to Fenway Park.
The Giants pulled within 5-4 in the fourth inning after Drew Gilbert hit a two-run homer off Boston starter Sonny Gray, and Devers followed with a solo homer, his 26th this season.
But Wilyer Abreu's RBI triple in the sixth gave Boston enough cushion. Gray (16-3) pitched six innings, allowing four runs off seven hits and while striking out six. Aroldis Chapman struck out three and walked one in the ninth to pick up his 28th save.
Bryce Eldridge added an RBI single for San Francisco.
Contreras jumped on an 85-mph changeup from Giants starter Logan Webb (8-8) and crushed a 450-foot rope over the Green Monster and out of stadium for his 26th homer to put the Red Sox in front 3-1.

#contreras #devers #gray #willson

It was a good-looking Shane Baz that greeted New York tonight. Not only did the O's starter make a big first impression, striking out three Yankees in the first inning (and on three different pitches!—curveball, heater, changeup), he also pinched into the seventh and struck out a season-high ten batters.
Alas, as my colleague Paul Folkemer put it in his preview of this series, through no fault of his own, Baz has been something of a bad-luck charm for this Orioles offense, and tonight, it was like that again. In total, the Birds managed just four hits (all but one singles). They scored just once, on a Coby Mayo solo homer (his second four-bagger in two nights), instead going 0-for-6 as a team with runners in scoring position, with seven men left on.
There's probably blame to be allotted for the bad hitting, but let's start with cheers for the good pitching. The box score says Shane Baz gave us 6 1/3 innings and three earned runs, but this is largely due to a Josh Walker stumble in the seventh. I'll be darned if Baz didn't look much better than that. So let's give him his deserved kudos.
Baz whiffed the first three Yankees hitters he saw, plus two more in the second. It was a ruthless beginning. Four of his first five outs were by K. The fastball was zippy, the sinker was running, and the knuckle curve was unhittable.
For six innings, Baz made just one mistake, a hung changeup to leadoff man Trent Grisham, who somehow was well out front of the offspeed pitch, put a weird swing on it, and still managed to send it to the flag court. Baseball is full of random things like that, but seeing how the two starters looked it was a real surprise, truthfully, that the Yankees had struck first.

#yankees #shane #good #tonight

After a sweep against the Minnesota Twins where they scored a combined 23 runs over three games, they pull out a solid win as the Marlins try to cling to the wildcard race.
It was all of the makings of a good team win. It started on the first ball in play of the night, Trea Turner made a classic Derek Jeter-like jump throw to nail Esteury Ruiz. Cristopher Sánchez did not have his normal velocity tonight but it didn't matter too much. He still got six strikeouts and made plenty of Marlins hitters look silly on the changeup but there were breaks. The Marlins offense recorded eight hits, including three straight innings with at least one leadoff baserunner.
It was not always pretty but he gutted it out. Sánchez did catch a nice break in the fifth. After back-to-back singles to start the inning, Heriberto Hernández squibbled a a grounder right to Bryson Stott on the third base bag, who fired a rocket to second base for a double play. Xavier Edwards then hit a weak ground ball to Alec Bohm to end the threat.
Meanwhile, the Phillies' offense hit Janson Junk around for five innings but struggled to deliver the final blow. They were able to capitalize in the bottom of the third, with an excuse-me groundball that dribbled down the third base line for a Justin Crawford leadoff double. After a Kyle Schwarber strikeout, Trea Turner slapped a single to put the Phillies on the board.
After a Bryce Harper walk, Luis Arraez then punched a single into right field to double the Phillies lead to two.

#ball

Michael Massey and Jac Caglianone powered the lineup last night. They did it again tonight, with the only two hits KC had – both singles – in a 1-0 loss to the Angels.
When your team falls by a score of 1-0, it would be easy to place the blame on the offense. But this was really Reid Detmers flashing some of that brilliance I wrote about before the game. When he's on, there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do, and baby, he was on tonight. Detmers struck out 11 over 8 scoreless innings and required only 92 pitches to do it. He didn't walk anyone, and he allowed those two singles mentioned at the top. That's it. The Angels asked closer Ben Joyce to finish it off and, wielding a fastball that easily tops 104 MPH, he did just that with a pair of strikeouts.
Randy Dobnak, known more for his sweeper, threw the Angels a healthy dose of changeups in his 5.2 innings tonight. He figured out early that the sweeper wasn't working and the Angels could do nothing to the changeup, so he threw it more than any of his other pitches. Ultimately, he struck out six while allowing 4 hits and 2 walks in 5.2 scoreless innings. He had some good defense behind him, but Dobnak Time continues unabated as we inch ever closer to the end of the season.
Craig Kimbrel was tasked with escaping the sixth inning with two runners on and managed to do so when a deep flyball from Josh Lowe died just in front of the track, landing in Starling Marte's glove. Kimbrel relied again on the marine layer as well as a fantastic play from Tyler Tolbert in the seventh.
Nate Pearson got the eighth and, unfortunately, his control issues from most of his career popped up again when he allowed a leadoff walk to Wade Meckler. Jose Siri pinch-ran for him and promptly stole second. Pearson got Mike Trout to pop out, but a groundball at 102.6 off the bat of Nolan Schanuel managed to deflect off of Caglianone's glove into right, and that was all she wrote. Pearson recovered to get a strikeout and a groundout, but the winning run was already in.

#tonight #detmers

St. Louis rookie Joshua Baez smacked three home runs, the most ever by any player in his Major League Baseball debut, as the Cardinals beat the host Chicago Cubs 8-4 on Saturday.
The 23-year-old Dominican-American right-fielder made a debut for the ages at historic Wrigley Field, the oldest National League ballpark dating to 1914.
Baez smashed the first pitch he saw in MLB, a 93.4-mph fastball from Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd, for a two-run homer into center field that gave St. Louis a 3-0 lead.
In his second time at bat, Baez blasted a changeup pitch for a solo homer down the left field line in the fourth inning to lift the Cardinals ahead 4-3.
That made Baez only the ninth player in MLB history with two homers in his regular-season debut, and just the second since 1900 to homer on his first two MLB at bats after Bob Nieman in 1951.

#player

There has never, in the long and celebrated history of Major League Baseball, been a better debut than the one Cardinals outfielder Joshua Baez authored at Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon as Baez became the first player to ever go deep in the first three plate appearances of a career.
The 23-year-old slugger got things started with a bang, pulverizing the 0-0 pitch of his first at-bat 449 feet over the batter's eye in dead center. That sent the Cardinals' dugout into a frenzy. Players banged uncontrollably on the dugout railing. Coaches stood shellshocked, mouths agape. Baez couldn't stop smiling as he floated around the bases. It was a magnificent opening salvo for a player whose calling card is light-tower power. It was also just the start.
Baez went yard again in his second trip to the dish. Savvy veteran Matthew Boyd tried to sneak a full-count changeup past Baez. The hulking slugger turned it into a souvenir, pulling the offering down the left-field line over the ivy and into the seats. But he wasn't done. With a runner on first in the top of the sixth, Baez got the better of Boyd once again, poking an outer-half slider into the front row in right. Three at-bats; three homers, all to different parts of the yard. It was a debut beyond anyone's wildest dreams.
It was quite a Day 1 in the big leagues for St. Louis' Joshua Baez. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
For Baez, the Cardinals' 8-4 victory was the experience of a lifetime and an appropriate introduction to the big league ball fans that might spend the next decade watching him turn hangers into bangers.

#three #debut

Matthew Liberatore was his best self Friday afternoon as the St. Louis Cardinals entered the gauntlet of Wrigley Field to play the Cubs for the start of a crucial weekend series. The problem was that Cubs starter Clay Holmes was even better. The first 2/3 of the game was a scoreless and nearly hitless duel. Wheels would start to come off for the Cardinals in that last third of the game, though.
There are no offensive highlights to share with you from the first half of the game. However, there were a couple of defensive gems provided by the middle infield of the Cardinals. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Pete Crow-Armstrong was robbed by Masyn Winn. ROBBED!
The very next batter Suzuki was also denied base access, this time by future Gold Glove second baseman JJ Wetherholt. ROBBED AGAIN!
The Cubs would threaten to break through the scoring drought in the bottom of the 6th inning when Liberatore handed out a leadoff walk to Taylor. Dansby Swanson singled to center which gave Chicago runners at first and third with no outs. Matthew was able to get PCA to foul out to third for the first out, but that would be the end of Liberatore's strong outing Friday. George Soriano was brought in to face Suzuki. During his at-bat, Swanson stole second giving the Cubs two runners in scoring position. The stolen base wouldn't matter as Suzuki connected on an 88 mph changeup as it cleared the wall in left field traveling 390 feet and giving Chicago a 3-0 lead.
The Chicago Cubs 6th inning wasn't over yet as Soriano followed the Suzuki homer with a walk to Alex Bregman and a single to Michael Busch still with just one out. Fortunately, JJ Wetherholt and Masyn Winn combined on a double play on a grounder from Nico ******* ner to end the inning with the damage already being done. The final stat line for Matthew Liberatore would look less impressive than the eye test where he looked extremely sharp for the first 5 innings. Matthew tossed 5 1/3 innings striking out 6 and only walking 1, but those 2 earned runs that crossed the plate along with the 1 Soriano was responsible for were a killer.

#matthew #suzuki #cardinals #inning

Orioles 5, Twins 2
It didn't take long for trouble to find Bailey Ober on Tuesday night.
Ober allowed a single to the first batter of the game, Gunnar Henderson, and a two-run home run to the second batter he faced, Pete Alonso, who crushed an 88.2 mph fastball left over the heart of the zone.
An inning later, Henderson took an Ober changeup out of the park, with the second two-run home run putting the Twins down by four. And in the third, Ober served up another home run, this one to former Twins prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand.
Ober capped his night with three scoreless innings, but the damage had been done; the Twins never led in Tuesday night's game.

#ober

Although the Mets are on a tear since the trade deadline, interim manager Andy Green and the organization are using the last couple of months of the season to evaluate young players to see if they can help the team in 2027.
While the bullpen has been remade with arms from the farm system, one notable name that has not made his way back to the Mets is Jonah Tong.
The former top prospect has had an up-and-down season in Triple-A. But many believe Tong and the Mets would be better served if the right-hander hones his craft in the majors.
Green was asked about Tong ahead of Tuesday's game with the Braves and what he's seen from him.
"Two starts ago, he was great," Green said. "Fastball shape that we get really excited about. A really good curveball. His changeup was back to being a plus pitch for him. Next outing, his first three innings were great. Was encouraged by what he did. Ran through a weird set of circumstances where three different pitches got hit out of the park, which is pretty rare. He bounced back, had a respectable outing.

#outing #three

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jackson Merrill hit a two-run homer to center field in the seventh inning and Mason Miller earned his NL-leading 30th save to give the San Diego Padres a 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.
With the Padres trailing 2-1 in the seventh, Ty France singled with one out and Merrill followed with his 19th homer on an 83 mph changeup from starter Logan Henderson (6-2). Merrill has nine homers since the All-Star break.
San Diego has won 13 of its last 17 games. The Padres remained a game out of the final National League playoff spot.
Henderson had won his last six decisions over seven starts before taking the loss versus San Diego. In 6 1/3 innings, he gave up three runs and five hits while striking out seven.
San Diego reliever Yuki Matsui (3-1) got the victory, pitching a scoreless seventh inning. Miller worked a scoreless ninth.

#henderson #inning #victory

The wins are rare and not so easily attained for the Dodgers at this specific moment in the season. And hosting the Royals, it took all that this team had to outlast the opposition in a 6-5 victory in a back-and-forth matchup with multiple lead changes, ultimately decided on a Freddie Freeman RBI single.
Allowing a run in the first, Tarik Skubal didn't deliver a lights-out performance, but how a pitcher handles outings with some form of adversity can often be the true measure of him. The Royals were relatively lucky to get on the board early on with a softly hit single from Nick Loftin that found the right spot—followed by an RBI knock from Jac Caglianone on a groundball that should've found a Dodger glove but didn't, as Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts didn't react well enough to make a play. Those two singles were enough for the run because once Bobby Witt Jr. replaced Loftin on the basepaths after a forceout, he showed off his speed by swiftly stealing second, his AL-leading 32nd SB.
It would not be the only time Caglianone would hurt Skubal, as a couple of innings later, he would hit a two-run shot on a hanging slider to hand the Royals a 3-0 lead. What was particular about that at-bat was the unpredictable attack plan of Skubal versus Caglianone, with the slider being the fifth different pitch he threw to Caglianone. The problem is that unpredictability can only do so much if hangers are coming to the plate.
Laboring a bit more than he is used to per inning, Skubal established a very high pitch count in the first few frames, allowing him to just complete five, not before getting the final laugh on Caglianone, though. Caglianone came up to the plate with two on and two out in the fifth with the chance to do the most damage in this one. Skubal gave him a recipe of nothing but heaters that laid the groundwork for a strike three swinging on a changeup down and in, a dangerous pitch to throw to the tall lefty, but one that worked out.
Chasing the game from the start, the Dodgers didn't spend a lot of time trailing by those three runs, answering the Royals' two-run third with two of their own in the bottom of the frame. The lefties provided the big hits against Noah Cameron as a Shohei Ohtani RBI double was followed by a Freddie Freeman single to make it 3-2.

#freddie