SCORES OF THE DAY

Phillies-7, Diamondbacks-1: Bryce Harper’s 4-for-4 day at the dish and Jesus Luzardo’s 6 ⅓ frames of one-run ball lead the Phillies to a sixth straight win and sole possession of the NL’s top wild card position over Chicago.

Brewers-9, Cubs-4: The Cubs surrender the NL’s top wild card spot after Milwaukee scores all nine runs beginning in the fifth frame.

Nationals-9, Braves-5: Atlanta’s NL East lead over Philadelphia drops to three games after SP AJ Smith-Shawver allows five runs over four innings for the loss.

Cardinals-13, Dodgers-8: St. Louis takes the first of three contests in Los Angeles behind five homers, including two off the bat of shortstop Thomas Saggese.

White Sox-5, Astros-1: Chicago evens this four-game series between AL division leaders after SP Sean Burke holds Houston scoreless over 5 ⅔ frames for the win.

Rangers-8, Athletics-5: Brandon Nimmo’s four knocks and five ribbies carry Texas to victory and to within one game of Houston for the AL West lead.

Guardians-6, Blue Jays-1: The first of three pivotal matches between AL wild card contenders goes to Cleveland after ace Gavin Williams strikes out a career-high 13 over seven frames en route to his 13th win (W, 7 IP, 0 ER (1 R), 13 K).

Mariners-9, Red Sox-6: Randy Arozarena’s three-run homer in the second inning and SP Bryan Woo’s six quality frames (W, 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 K) help Seattle even this three-game set with Boston.

Yankees-7, Angels-3: Spencer Jones and Jazz Chisholm Jr. go yard, giving Gerrit Cole enough run support to record his eighth win (W, 5.1 IP, 3 ER) as the Yankees increase their lead for the AL’s top wild-card position to four games over Boston.

Rays-6, Mets-2: Tampa Bay’s Freddy Peralta holds his former squad to one run over six innings (W, 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 K) as the Rays continue to cruise along with the American League’s best record.

Pirates-13, Giants-12: A bizarre contest that saw Pittsburgh hit nine singles and score nine runs in the third frame off the usually reliable Logan Webb, only to blow an 11-5 lead before walking it off in the ninth courtesy of a throwing error by Giants third baseman Osleivis Basabe.

Reds-4, Padres-3: Padres leadoff man Fernando Tatis’s two solo homers aren’t enough as Cincy scores a pair of crucial runs in the eighth inning thanks to ribbies by Jose Trevino and Juan Brito.

Twins-15, Tigers-2: Minnesota homers three times in a blowout victory, and Connor Prielipp collects his fourth win after tossing five scoreless frames in relief.

Marlins-6, Royals-3: The Marlins gain ground in the NL wild card race (now three games behind San Diego) thanks in part to their third baseman Graham Polley’s homer and four ribbies.

Rockies-4, Orioles-2: TJ Rumfeld’s go-ahead two-run blast seals the win for Colorado as Baltimore loses some ground in the AL wild-card race (now 1 ½ games behind the third WC spot).

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

It’s between two players. Once in a while here at Baseball Fan Perspective, the easiest way to decide on a winner is to add up each hit, type of hit, runs, RBI, walks, stolen bases, and deduct a point for each strikeout. That’s what I had to do today when deciding between the lines of Cardinals’ Thomas Saggese and Rangers’ Brandon Nimmo.

Nimmo’s five RBI stands out, but so did his zero runs scored. For a guy who had four hits and only one for extra bases, and yet no runs scored, that’s tough. Meanwhile, Saggese only had two knocks, but both were homers, and he scored three times and walked once. Neither player struck out, and in the end I simply did the math using the formula I mentioned earlier. With that in mind, here’s how it played out.

STL - Thomas Saggese (2 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 K): 2+2+3+3+1-0= 11 points

TEX - Brandon Nimmo (4 H, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K): 4+1+5+0+0-0=10 points

Using that logic, Saggese is today’s winner.

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

No need for any formulas when it comes to Tuesday’s winner for Pitching Line of the Day. Only one glance at Gavin Williams’ line was needed.

CLE - Gavin Williams (W, 7 IP, 0 ER (1 R), 2 H, 13 K, 1 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

This is one of those days where I have very little on my mind. I guess that Tuesday’s rant about position players being on the mound was enough for two days’ worth of thoughts. I’m not going to waste anyone’s time today. Let’s move on.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

6:40 PM - Blue Jays (68-71) at Guardians (70-68): As I mentioned on Tuesday, I’m interested to see if Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez and Toronto’s Vlad Guerrero Jr. finally break out with big games in this highly important series for both clubs. Each star went 1-for-4 with a single in Game 1. Let’s see if either gets going tonight.

After Williams’ dominant performance in the opener, maybe Toronto’s Cy Young candidate, Dylan Cease, responds with a gem of his own. Cease (25 GS, 9-5, 2.33 ERA), who is tied with Williams for the AL strikeout lead with 217, takes on Guardians lefty Joey Cantillo (28 GS, 9-7, 3.70 ERA). Cleveland holds the AL’s third wild card position by 1 ½ games over Texas and Baltimore. Toronto is 2 ½ games off the pace.

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Astros-6, White Sox-3: Houston takes the first of four contests between American League division leaders, highlighted by two ribbies apiece from Nelson Velazquez and Cam Smith.

Cubs-17, Brewers-3: Brewers southpaw Kyle Harrison surrenders nine runs over 3 ⅔ frames, and the Cubs “break” the club record for most homers in a game with nine despite some more pitching BS by an opponent (more on that later).

Red Sox-9, Mariners-8 (F/10): In his second game back from the IL, shortstop Trevor Story drives in three Boston runs, including a walk-off single in the 10th to hand Seattle a fifth straight loss.

Orioles-2, Rockies-1: Baltimore wins its fourth straight contest to even its record at 69-69 thanks to Colton Cowser’s go-ahead RBI in the seventh and his game-saving walk-off home run robbery of Jake McCarthy in center.

Angels-10, Yankees-1: Angels first baseman Vaughn Grissom goes 3-for-5 with four RBI and rookie SP Walbert Urena holds the Yanks to one run over seven frames for the win (W, 7 IP, 1 ER, 8 K).

Mets-3, Rays-2: New York’s Robert Stock holds Tampa Bay scoreless over 5 ⅓ innings for the win, and former starter turned reliever (at least for the rest of ‘26), Kodai Senga continues his impressive run in the closer role after nailing down his fifth save in as many opportunities.

Giants-7, Braves-3: A makeup game is won by the road team as San Fran’s four-run sixth puts the match out of reach and ends Atlanta’s seven-game winning streak.

Phillies-2, Diamondbacks-1: Philadelphia’s winning streak reaches five games as they stay even with the Cubs for the NL’s top wild card spot after a low-scoring victory in the first of three contests at Arizona.

Padres-5, Reds-0: San Diego retakes the National League’s third wild card position by a half-game over Arizona behind six scoreless frames from Michael King (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 6 K).

Rangers-8, Athletics-1: Texas veteran Jacob deGrom makes his case for the top pitching line of the day after holding Sacramento to one hit over seven shutout innings (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 8 K).

Twins-11, Tigers-1: Twins righty Taj Bradley wins his 10th game after tossing seven innings of one-run ball in the first of three contests between two clubs praying for some help in the AL wild-card race.

Nationals-6, Marlins-3: Nats leadoff hitter Daylen Lile reaches 20 homers and 80 RBI on the season after going yard twice and collecting four ribbies in a contest between two franchises that not all that long ago were serious postseason contenders, but have slowly fallen out of the race over the last few weeks (Marlins four games out of WC spot; Nats eight games out).

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

CHC - Alex Bregman (3 H, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

TEX - Jacob deGrom (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 8 K, 0 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

It’s September 1. The final stretch of the MLB regular season is here. And, folks, I want to be positive and entertained the rest of the way. The next two months are the best MLB has to offer, and we should enjoy every moment. However, even though I am trying to remain positive about the rest of the ‘26 campaign in what could be the last full season of baseball we see until 2028 (depending on the CBA negotiations this winter), I can no longer look at box scores and not cringe when we continue to witness position players enter games and intentionally give up runs. And, yes, it’s intentional.

I went into this a couple of weeks ago when the Mariners, not once but twice in one week, brought in position players to throw (you can read my thoughts about it here if you missed it). I’m not going to call it pitching, because it isn’t. It’s an intentional excuse to quit without having to use bullpen arms. Last night, it happened twice. I only noticed this because I watch games and highlights, and now every time there is a lopsided box score, I can’t help but check whether either squad brought in a position player to pitch at some point. This year, seemingly every other one-sided contest has the losing manager bring in a non-pitcher. It’s draining the joy out of this league, and it needs to stop.

The official rule goes something like this, according to MLB:

Position players are not allowed to pitch unless the game is in extra innings or involves a sizable deficit -- their team is losing by eight or more runs, or their team is winning by 10 or more runs in the ninth inning -- when they take the mound.

For the second time in less than a month, the Cubs were generously awarded loads of extra runs. This time, it came when first baseman Andrew Vaughn entered the game in the bottom of the seventh with one out after Chicago went ahead 10-2 on a Carson Kelly solo homer. Vaughn pitched multiple innings, and this was his final line: 2 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 3 HR, 3 BB.

Of course, like all these pretenders and wannabe pitchers, Vaughn wasn’t trying to get the out, but rather lobbing balls between speeds of 37 and 44 mph nearly every time (55 pitches were thrown by Vaughn, which was more pitches than two true relievers had combined before he entered). In fact, Bregman, who was today’s winner for Offensive Line of the Day, would likely not have hit his third homer if not for a Vaughn 40 mph lobber over the plate that ended up going 400 feet into the left-field stands. Take that away, and Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena, who had four legit hits and four RBI, would have taken the award.

We also saw this crap during Minnesota’s 11-1 victory over Detroit. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch decided to go with his right fielder, Zach McKinstry, in the bottom of the eighth with his squad trailing 9-1 (again, the eight-run minimum deficit a team is allowed if they choose to send position players to the mound). Recall, on August 18 during the Brewers’ 22-0 win over the M’s, Milwaukee’s rookie Luis Lara hit his first career home run off Seattle’s utility man Leo Rivas on a 40 mph eephus pitch. Lara hasn’t gone yard since. On Monday, Twins rookie Walker Jenkins smoked his first career long ball off a McKinstry 37 mph supposed fastball. Is that legit? No. And it’s not Jenkins fault. But he and Lara are both going to remember that their first career round-tripper was against a position player not trying. The homers are tainted, and that sucks.

Look, I’ve been watching baseball for decades, and I’ve never been more wary of legitimacy than I am now. If we’re going to put asterisks next to the steroid users from yesteryear and call the power numbers illegitimate by the likes of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and many others, then there’s no way MLB should be counting these ridiculous stats being accumulated by hitters off non-pitchers. Hitters have it so easy today when you figure that they can have runs added onto their stat sheet if they begin extra innings on second base with the lazy Manfred man (usually after recording the final out of the previous inning), and now you add this whole clown show of facing position players in blowouts who are trying to give you as many knocks and runs scored as possible by throwing beer league caliber balls over the plate.

If this BS isn’t going to end and MLB doesn’t ban non-two-way players from pitching, then these stats should not count for the hitters. Do whatever you want with the team numbers, but to think someone like Bregman hit three homers yesterday, when really only two were legitimate, is in the same ballpark as roided-up McGwire and Sosa hammering balls over the wall off real pitchers. We’re simply reversing the situations. At least those guys still had to hit 95 mph big league fastballs to get it done. I’m not for anything they did, but what we’re seeing right now at a higher rate than I’ve ever witnessed is juiced-up stats intentionally added to hitters’ seasonal numbers because opposing managers won’t use true bullpen arms at certain deficits. Unfortunately, now when I look at Bregman’s end-of-year stats, I’m going to have to decide how many of his homers were legit. Will there be asterisks next to those hits off non-pitchers? No, but there should be.

Using my criteria, the Chicago Cubs had 10 legit runs and 11 legitimate knocks in last night’s win over Milwaukee.

Vaughn has pitched in two games this season, spanning three frames. Here are his numbers as a “pitcher”: 3 IP, 10 ER, 12 H, 4 HR, 30.00 ERA.

Every single one of those runs and knocks given up by Vaughn should not be seen on the back of a hitter’s baseball card next year. Or, if they are going to be there, put a couple asterisks next to them. I’m telling you all right now, if Commissioner Manfred (who I believe doesn’t give a hoot about the history of the game) doesn’t put a stop to this by banning all position players from pitching, then ultimately what will end it, sadly, is when someone breaks a major record off one of these 35 mph eephus pitches. Could it be Yordan Alvarez winning the Triple Crown on the final day of the season on a home run versus a position player? I don’t know, but that’s probably the kind of situation it will take for MLB and its fans to finally have enough of this nonsense. I’m sick of it, and why would anyone pay to watch this garbage? Fans and players need to speak up, and maybe this stuff will change.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

9:40 PM - Phillies (78-60) at Diamondbacks (73-66): Philly took the first of three games last night. Huge wild-card implications for both teams, and I’m looking at a potentially excellent pitching duel between a pair of lefties. Philadelphia’s Jesus Luzardo (27 GS, 12-5, 3.09 ERA) versus Arizona’s Eduardo Rodriguez (27 GS, 14-4, 2.50 ERA).

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Braves-6, Dodgers-5: A tight game once again between two of MLB’s best is decided on a walk-off hit in the ninth by Atlanta’s pinch-hitter Ha-Seong Kim, who entered the contest with a .066 batting average on the year (5-for-76).

Phillies-6, Mariners-0: Phillies leadoff man and MLB home run leader, Kyle Schwarber, goes yard for the 40th time and Jesus Luzardo allows one hit over seven shutout innings for his 12th win (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 9 K).

Diamondbacks-2, Cubs-0: Arizona takes the rubber game over Chicago courtesy of a sixth-inning solo shot by Jordan Lawlar, allowing Eduardo Rodriguez to collect his 14th win on the bump after twirling seven scoreless frames (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 9 K).

Yankees-9, Astros-3: It was a close contest until a four-run seventh highlighted by Cody Bellinger’s go-ahead two-run double led to a series-tying victory for the Yanks.

Marlins-4, Red Sox-0: Miami stays four games back of San Diego for the final NL wild card position after salvaging the final match of this series behind 5 ⅔ scoreless frames from SP Ryan Gusto.

Rays-3, Tigers-0: Freddy Peralta breaks through with his best outing since joining the Rays at the Trade Deadline (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 H), as Tampa Bay takes the road series in Detroit to remain 3 ½ games ahead of New York in the AL East.

White Sox-10, Rangers-4: Rookie Tristan Peters ties a White Sox record with a homer in his fifth straight contest (12th HR of the season) as Chicago takes the rubber game in commanding fashion versus Texas.

Guardians-4, Angels-3: Despite walking seven batters over six frames, Cleveland’s SP Joey Cantillo gets off the hook for a loss (6 IP, 2 ER, 7 BB, 1 K) thanks to a ninth-inning rally highlighted by Steven Kwan’s game-tying double and Travis Bazzana’s go-ahead sac fly, giving the Guardians a seventh consecutive victory.

Blue Jays-3, Royals-0: A three-run homer in the fourth by Toronto’s Nathan Lukes accounts for every run in this contest as the Jays use seven pitchers to shut out the Royals and end their nine-game winning streak.

Orioles-8, Cardinals-7: St. Louis rallies from a 7-1 deficit after a six-run fifth frame ties the contest before Baltimore’s Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s game-winning double in the ninth seals the victory for the visitors.

Brewers-8, Mets-1: After Milwaukee’s SP Dustin May exits the game after a first-pitch comebacker off his shoulder by Mets leadoff hitter A.J. Ewing, reliever Robert Gasser yields one run over 5 ⅓ innings for the win.

Padres-3, Pirates-0: Five Padres pitchers hold Pittsburgh scoreless as San Diego remains one game ahead of Arizona for the final NL wild card.

Reds-10, Giants-9: Trailing 9-3 in the ninth frame, Cincy storms back with a seven-run outburst to steal a victory at San Francisco.

Athletics-7, Twins-4: Minnesota’s early 3-0 lead didn’t last long after the A’s scored four times in the sixth inning to hang on for a series victory in Sacramento.

Rockies-13, Nationals-1: Rockies backstop Hunter Goodman hits his 36th round-tripper (21st on the road), and second baseman Connor Norby drives in five Colorado runs.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

COL - Connor Norby (2 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

A true battle for the top pitching line of the day between Jesus Luzardo and Eduardo Rodriguez. The lines are nearly identical, with the only difference coming in the hits column. Luzardo allowed one knock compared to Rodriguez’s two hits allowed. That’s the difference maker and why Luzardo wins today.

PHI - Jesus Luzardo (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 9 K, 3 BB)

ARI - Eduardo Rodriguez (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 9 K, 3 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

So where are we on the AL Central? Are we feeling the Cleveland Guardians vibe yet? Do we believe this club has enough to win its third consecutive AL Central title?

At 2 ½ games behind Chicago for the division lead, it appears to be a two-horse race to the end, all while the Twins and Tigers fall further behind in what was looking like a potential four-team battle only a couple of weeks ago.

After watching the Twins lose a three-game set versus the A’s yesterday and Detroit dropping a fourth straight series with a loss at Pittsburgh, I am confidently knocking those clubs out of the AL Central and wild-card picture. I don’t see the talent needed on either squad to make a run, even in the subpar American League.

That leaves us with Chicago and Cleveland, both of whom have a relatively easy schedule going forward. How easy? If we’re going by the strength of opponent, then there’s no reason either franchise should lose much ground in the playoff race. They face each other one more time during a three-game series at Cleveland from Sept. 14-16. Other than their meeting with Cleveland, the White Sox do not face another club currently with a winning record for the rest of the campaign. The only other current winning team the Guardians play this season is Boston from Sept. 22-24. How’s that for easy?

I feel like the White Sox have the better overall talent despite some serious questions in their rotation. I guess the ace is Sean Burke, who leads the starting staff with a 3.32 ERA. But in his outing on Wednesday versus Texas, he issued eight walks over three innings before his removal. That’s not a good sign for a player who has already exceeded his career high in innings pitched with 149. The 26-year-old Burke is in his third big league season, and as we have seen hundreds of times in this generation of starting pitchers, when a youngish player hits a certain number of frames, he usually can’t be relied upon for the latter part of the season. I hope I’m wrong for Chicago’s sake, because right now, I don’t see any trustworthy starting hurler in a potential playoff series.

I trust Cleveland’s offense slightly more than I do Chicago’s pitching, and a lot of that has to do with the second-half surge by Steven Kwan. The outfielder got off to a horrific start and hit only .225 in the first half. He has turned it around since the All-Star break and is batting nearly .400 over 35 second-half contests (.386 batting average and a .463 on-base percentage). When he’s clicking, that takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the lineup, especially their star Jose Ramirez, who, like Kwan, didn’t have a good first half. Ramirez appears to be finding his groove a little bit this month, but it is concerning that he has only 10 homers this year, with none so far over 28 second-half games.

If you made me predict a winner today, I’d go with Cleveland given their pedigree and experience. Plus, you have to have a starting arm or two you can trust in September, and they do have that with the likes of Gavin Williams and maybe a couple others. However, in a playoff series, I don’t trust either club to go far. At least this is shaping out to be an interesting race.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

There are seven Thursday contests. Two have my full attention.

7:05 PM - Astros (66-67) at Yankees (75-57): It’s a fairly important rubber game between these hated rivals. A loss by Houston means they would fall into a tie for the AL West lead with idle Texas. A loss by New York, and they would carry a two-game lead over Boston in the wild card race before the AL East foes meet four times this weekend in the Bronx. There’s no doubt that the Yanks would feel far more comfortable with a three-game advantage for the AL’s top wild card spot with a win over Houston today.

Expected pitching matchups

HOU - Hayden Wesneski (5 GS, 3-1, 4.23 ERA) versus NYY - Gerrit Cole (16 GS, 7-6, 3.11 ERA)

7:15 PM - Dodgers (80-53) at Braves (78-55): It’s the heavyweight fight of the day. If the first two contests have told us anything about these NL squads, it’s that they are evenly matched right now. Both games have come down to clutch late-inning hits by Atlanta, and already the Braves have won the season series with Los Angeles, currently ahead 4-1 with only today’s meeting remaining. That’s an important fact to keep in mind. If these teams end up with the same record at season’s end, Atlanta would hold the tiebreaker with the better head-to-head results.

If the Dodgers are swept today, the Bravos will be one game behind them for the NL’s second-best record. Remember, the top two division leaders in each league get a bye to the LDS.

To make this match even more intriguing, we’ll get to watch two of the best SPs in the game. The Dodgers are going with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (23 GS, 12-7, 2.61 ERA). Atlanta will counter with Chris Sale (23 GS, 12-9, 2.20 ERA).

Yeah, this is a must-watch contest. For those of you who don’t have the MLB package, you’re in luck today because this game airs on FS1. Find a television or find a ticket. Do whatever you must to watch this clash and potential playoff preview tonight. Enjoy.

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Diamondbacks-5, Cubs-4: Trailing 4-0 entering the eighth frame, Arizona rallies back with three runs in the eighth and a walk-off two-run blast by pinch-hitter Ryan Waldschmidt off Cubs reliever Jacob Webb.

Pirates-1, Padres-0: Oneil Cruz’s solo homer in the ninth off Padres closer Mason Miller puts the first and only runs on the board as San Diego’s lead for the final NL wild-card spot is down to one game over the D-backs.

Mariners-4, Phillies-1: Seattle’s Cal Raleigh goes yard for the fourth time in two days, and SP George Kirby strikes out nine Phillies over 7 ⅔ innings of one-run ball for the win as the Mariners will look for the three-game sweep on Wednesday.

White Sox-11, Rangers-7: A rough outing for Rangers veteran Jacob deGrom (L, 3.2 IP, 8 ER), which included a six-run first frame by Chicago, drops Texas out of first place in the AL West.

Astros-9, Yankees-7: An eighth inning that saw Houston’s Yainer Diaz tie the contest with his second homer of the night, followed by a go-ahead RBI triple by Yordan Alvarez, put the ‘Stros back atop the AL West standings.

Red Sox-7, Marlins-3 (F/11): An 11th-inning grand slam by Boston’s Jarren Duran seals a fifth straight win for the Sox and pulls them to within 1 ½ games of New York for the top AL WC position.

Tigers-4, Rays-1: Max Clark’s two-run homer in the fifth gives Detroit the lead for good in a contest the struggling Tigers needed to stay within five games of a playoff berth.

Guardians-8, Angels-6 (F/10): Cleveland takes a one-game lead for the final AL wild-card spot after a 5-for-5 (all singles) day by leadoff man Steven Kwan, and a go-ahead two-run double by Jose Ramirez (3 H, 3 2B, 5 RBI) carries the Guardians to a sixth straight victory.

Royals-5, Blue Jays-3: The Kansas City Royals quietly make it nine straight wins in a too little too late situation (currently eight games back for a wild-card spot), but the loss for the inconsistent Blue Jays puts them three games back of Cleveland for the AL’s sixth seed.

Mets-3, Brewers-2 (F/10): After a Christian Yelich double ties the game in the ninth for Milwaukee, an errant throw home with the bases loaded and one out in the 10th by their third baseman David Hamilton leads to Francisco Lindor scoring the winning run for New York.

Braves-4, Dodgers-3: An Ozzie Albies go-ahead RBI single in the ninth leads Atlanta to a crucial win over the Dodgers in the race for the NL’s best record.

Athletics-4, Twins-2: Despite 11 punchouts by Minnesota’s Taj Bradley, the right-hander still allowed four A’s runs, and with that came a loss to drop the Twins three games back of the playoff field.

Orioles-13, Cardinals-1: The Redbirds’ playoff hopes continue to plummet after a fourth straight loss puts them five games back of an NL WC spot, while the victory for Baltimore, thanks in large part to Pete Alonso’s four-hit day (4 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI), keeps them 2 ½ games behind for the third AL wild card.

Giants-3, Reds-1: San Fran’s pitching staff holds Cincy to one run on four hits, and Rafael Devers goes yard for the 28th time this year.

Rockies-3, Nationals-1: Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman hits his 35th home run, and Colorado’s bullpen holds Washington scoreless over the last five frames in a highly irrelevant match between National League squads.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

I like Yainer Diaz’s two homers, and always appreciate when a player collects three doubles, as Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez did. However, I still prefer the four-hit performances with a mix of power and ribbies. Pete Alonso went 4-for-4 with four RBI. Ramirez beat Alonso in the RBI department with five, but what keeps Jose from the champions’ podium today is his zero runs scored and two strikeouts. As for Diaz, his all-around line was nice, but I’ll take four knocks and four ribbies over three hits and three RBI almost every time unless the player with fewer hits and RBI did a lot of other things to fill the stat sheet.

I’ll leave all three lines below. Today, I’m taking Alonso over the pack.

BAL - Pete Alonso (4 H, 1 HR, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K)

HOU - Yainer Diaz (3 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 K)

CLE - Jose Ramirez (3 H, 3 2B, 5 RBI, 0 R, 1 SB, 0 BB, 2 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

Now we get to one of those old-school versus new-school debates. Most of you reading this know where I stand on old-school stats versus new-school numbers. For instance, I’m not a fan of the new-age WAR number, or any stat that takes more than 10 seconds to lay out the formula and explain, because then you know it was created by some science or math geek who only recently watched his first baseball game, but ultimately got bored and went back to his graphs and charts. They can’t even tell us the formula without looking it up because it’s too convoluted and, just as annoying, there’s more than one way to calculate it. It’s folly stuff, and too many MVP awards lately have been decided by that silly stat. That stuff isn’t for me.

However, when it comes to pitcher wins, a statistic that meant a lot to most baseball pundits and fans when I was growing up and has decided many Cy Young races over the years, it might be one of those old-school numbers I agree doesn’t have the same value it once did. And I still want to believe that a win next to a hurler’s name means something today, but I do understand the new-age thought about the value of the W not being nearly as important as the other numbers a pitcher has. After all, I’ve seen pitchers give up nine runs in a game and not get a loss, and, of course, we’ve all witnessed a tough-luck loser who goes eight innings and yields one run. A win is oftentimes about run support. A starting pitcher can’t get a win without his team scoring at least one run. That is out of the pitcher’s control, especially now in the age of the DH in both leagues.

After saying all of that, I still believe when it comes to the pitching line, a W next to a player’s name looks a lot better than a no-decision, obviously. On Tuesday, two pitchers tossed seven scoreless frames and walked away with no-decisions. Chicago’s Clay Holmes and San Diego’s Michael King. Then there was Seattle’s George Kirby. He allowed one run over 7 ⅔ frames, and struck out nine while yielding six hits. Holmes allowed two hits, while King surrendered five knocks. King and Holmes walked two batters apiece, while Kirby allowed only one free pass.

This is a case where I know Holmes and King pitched slightly better than Kirby overall, but the M’s right-hander earned the W, and that carries weight in this exercise when the numbers are this close. I’m crowning Kirby with the Pitching Line of the Day, with Holmes coming in at a close second. I could argue that Gage Jump deserves some thought as well, considering he earned the win for the A’s while striking out nine, but I’m not going there today.

Here are the top four lines from Tuesday, including Jump’s.

SEA - George Kirby (W, 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 9 K, 1 BB)

CHC - Clay Holmes (ND, 7 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 5 K, 2 BB)

SD - Michael King (ND, 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 7 K, 2 BB)

ATH - Gage Jump (W, 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 9 K, 2 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Speaking of old-school thinking, I love when a manager pulls a player for not hustling. Every generation has its group of slackers (this isn’t new), whether it’s an outfielder not hustling on a ball rolling toward the wall or, in the case of the Milwaukee’s rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt last night versus the Mets, not running hard around the bases on a bloop single to right in the fifth inning of a 1-0 game. Brewers manager Pat Murphy was having none of it and immediately pulled Pratt for pinch-runner David Hamilton, who happened to be the player who cost Milwaukee in the end with a wide throw home from third. That play is also in the clip below. Here it is.

Anyway, Murphy’s point was made, and what I love about the clip is his reaction as Pratt comes off the field. He was stoic. He said nothing immediately to the rookie and didn’t even look at the kid. Sometimes that’s all a leader has to do to get his point across, and I’ll bet Pratt, who has 147 MLB at-bats, won’t slack out of the box again this season.

No excuse for not hustling. I don’t care if you’re a rookie or a 10-year vet. You get paid to play. So play hard.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

3:40 PM - Cubs (76-57) at Diamondbacks (70-63): I caught the Waldschmidt walk-off homer last night as I was flipping between contests. Chicago had that game in the bag until the eighth inning, and now, with this series tied 1-1 and the D-backs only one game behind San Diego for the last NL WC berth, I’m intrigued to see if Arizona can take today’s rubber contest before heading to San Francisco this weekend to play four matches with the National League’s second-worst team. A win today could be a huge boost for the Snakes. It will be a southpaw duel between Chicago’s Matthew Boyd (16 GS, 8-2, 4.15 ERA) and Arizona’s Eduardo Rodriguez (26 GS, 13-4, 2.61 ERA)

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Mariners-9, Phillies-2: Philadelphia’s nine-game winning streak is snapped after Zack Wheeler surrenders eight earned runs (nine total) to Seattle in what turned out to be a Cal Raleigh homer fest (3 H, 3 HR) after Julio Rodriguez put the M’s on the board with a first-inning three-run tater.

Rangers-11, White Sox-2: Corey Seager collects three hits and three ribbies in what has been another injury-prone campaign for the Rangers shortstop as Texas climbs ahead of idle Houston for the AL West lead.

Guardians-4, Angels-2: Cleveland wins its fifth straight contest behind a six-inning quality start by Parker Messick (W, 6 IP, 1 ER) and is now within 2 ½ games of Chicago for the AL Central lead.

Red Sox-4, Marlins-2: Anthony Seigler and Nick Sogard collect back-to-back RBI knocks in the ninth to give Boston a two-run lead, setting up closer Aroldis Chapman for his 30th save.

Rays-4, Tigers-1: Drew Rasmussen earns his 14th win behind six innings of one-run ball as Tampa Bay increases its AL East lead to 3 ½ games over idle New York.

Cubs-7, Diamondbacks-0: A vintage Kevin Gausman performance as the 35-year-old right-hander breaks through with his first superb start in a Cubs uniform since being dealt at the Trade Deadline by Toronto (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 6 K).

Pirates-3, Padres-2 (F/12): Nick Gonzalez’s RBI single wins it for Pittsburgh in the 12th, but at 7 ½ games behind San Diego for the final NL wild card spot, it’s a steep climb to the playoffs.

Twins-9, Athletics-6: Zebby Matthews twirls a seven-inning gem for the win (W, 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 K), while Byron Buxton collects three hits and scores four runs for Minnesota.

Nationals-13, Rockies-3: Daylen Lile’s three hits with a homer and five ribbies provide more than enough for Washington to clobber MLB’s worst pitching staff that now has a team ERA of 5.59 on the year.

Giants-5, Reds-0: Rafael Devers hits a three-run homer in the second frame off Reds ace Chase Burns to give San Fran a comfortable five-run lead and the final runs of the contest.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

Holy Cal! A rare Cal Raleigh sighting. The 2025 60-homer backstop returned to his old form on Monday. Raleigh’s three long balls give him 17 for the season, and if there’s ever a time when the defending AL West champs need their best player from a year ago to step up at the dish, this would be the moment. I have no clue who will take this division between the M’s, Astros, and Rangers. All I know is that when all three are at their best, Seattle should be the better club by far. But the M’s haven’t been close to their best, not only with the sticks, but on the mound as well.

A close second behind Raleigh is Washington’s Lile, but I can’t ignore the three homers. Cal gets the podium today.

SEA - Cal Raleigh (3 H, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 K)

WSH - Daylen Lile (3 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB, 0 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

Remove Kevin Gausman from the equation, and Zebby Matthews would be the winner today. Unfortunately for Zebby, that’s not how this works. Gausman’s seven shutout frames were a promising sign for a Cubbies squad hoping to hold onto the top NL wild-card spot over Philly and San Diego. With both Philadelphia and the Friars losing on Monday, Chicago holds a three-game advantage over the Phils and a five-game lead over San Diego.

CHC - Kevin Gausman (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 6 K, 1 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

I was looking at Colorado’s pitching staff this morning after they surrendered 13 runs at Nationals Park on Monday. The staff is an absolute insult to this franchise’s fans, and it’s been like this for so long that, as I said last year in FIVE…MLB franchises that should be cut if the league went to 25 teams, it really is time for the league to consider dismantling clubs like this if they aren’t going to compete more frequently.

There is a misconception among baseball people that one of Colorado’s difficulties in competing at a high level on an annual basis has to do with where they play. We all know the Rockies’ home is in the thin air of Denver and, yes, offenses flourish historically at Coors Field. And, yes, I do believe this is why they struggle to get good pitchers to sign there. In fact, who was the last legit ace that Colorado signed via free agency? I’m not even sure, but off the top of my head, the last consistently solid starting pitcher that the franchise had was Ubaldo Jimenez, who was an undrafted free agent signed by the Rockies in 2001. Jimenez played with the team from ‘06-’11 before being traded to Cleveland midway through the 2011 campaign. The right-hander was a good pitcher and finished his Colorado career with a 56-45 record and 3.66 ERA. Not bad at all.

So, Jimenez was able to figure it out, and I truly believe if the Rockies found a way to get a couple of legit high-end SPs to sign there (since obviously they don’t know how to draft pitchers lately), they could compete. No one can convince me that it’s only because of Coors Field that this pitching staff stinks. Here are some numbers to keep in mind.

Colorado has had the worst home ERA in baseball since 2022 (no surprise). This year, they have the 29th-worst home ERA (5.25), behind only the A’s (6.49). However, the last time the Rockies didn’t have the worst road ERA was in 2022, when they finished 26th with a 4.82 mark. That was also the last season that this franchise’s road earned run average was under 5.00. What’s my point? Where they play has nothing to do with how lousy this pitching staff is. The pitching sucks no matter where they throw.

If good pitchers don’t want to play at Coors Field, and the team is awful at developing arms, then they are ultimately doomed. And if that’s the case, what’s the point in having a franchise if there’s no hope at all? Right now, there’s zero hope in Colorado. Get rid of this embarrassing franchise and trim this league down if this is how it’s going to be every season from here on out.

The Rocks are an MLB-worst 50-81 and could reach 100 losses for a fourth consecutive season. Show me where the light at the end of the tunnel is. Show me how this franchise plans on getting a couple of legit arms on the pitching staff. Explain to me why the best starting pitcher on this year’s squad, Tomoyuki Sogano, has an ERA just under 5.00 (4.96 to be exact). This is a disgrace, and I don’t understand why fans even show up.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

7:15 PM - Dodgers (80-51) at Braves (76-55): The first of three games between two NL division leaders fighting it out with Milwaukee for the top record in MLB. Atlanta needs this series far more than Los Angeles. The Braves are five games back of the Brewers and four behind the Dodgers. Remember, only the top two division winners in each league get a bye to the League Division Series.

Tyler Glasnow (7 GS, 3-0, 2.72 ERA) will make his first appearance since early May after the oft-injured right-hander landed on the 60-day IL with back spasms. It’s always something with this guy, and many others like him. We’ll see how long Glasnow lasts before his next IL stint for something like turf toe. He’s making $30 million this season and has given the Blue Crew a grand total of 39 ⅔ frames.

Glasnow is just another example of the Dodgers overspending on players, yet not having to pay the consequences like most teams would in their situation. Lockout coming soon, folks. No doubt about that. Let’s hope when it ends, players like Glasnow will no longer get paid big bucks to spend well over half their career on the injured list while doing absolutely nothing to help their team win. Atlanta will send Bryce Elder to the mound (24 GS, 8-7, 3.92 ERA).

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Twins-6, Braves-4: The Twins are officially the third AL wild-card holder after completing a three-game sweep of the Braves behind a game-winning RBI single in the seventh by Kody Clemens.

Phillies-4, Marlins-1: Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola (W, 7 IP, 1 ER) outduels Miami’s Sandy Alcantara to give Philly six straight victories, and with Atlanta’s loss, the NL East race is separated by 4 ½ games.

Yankees-5, Orioles-3: A game that had a controversial Pete Alonso foul call upheld on a potential go-ahead homer leads to a George Lombard Jr. game-winning single for the Yanks in the eighth frame.

Rays-7, Blue Jays-6: Tampa Bay holds off a Blue Jays comeback attempt thanks to its bullpen’s excellent pitching over the final three innings.

Pirates-4, Tigers-3: Paul Skenes gets off the hook for his 12th loss after another poor outing (ND, 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 4 BB) thanks to a pair of homers by his Pirates teammate Rafael Flores Jr. and a Brandon Lowe walk-off blast in the ninth.

White Sox-3, Cubs-0: The ChiSox avoid being swept at Wrigley Field in large part to reliever Jose Urquidy’s six scoreless frames (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 8 K).

Mets-4, Padres-2: New York takes the rubber game of this series led by Carson Benge’s 15th homer and 4 ⅔ shutout innings from the bullpen.

Diamondbacks-7, Red Sox-6 (F/10): An RBI single in the 10th by Nolan Arenado followed by a bases-loaded walk to Jose Fernandez gives Arizona the one-run victory.

Giants-1, Guardians-0: Cleveland’s Parker Messick strikes out 10 over 6 ⅔ frames, but his one run allowed in the fourth proves costly as the Giants, behind five scoreless innings from reliever Adrian Houser, keep the Guardians off the scoreboard.

Reds-5, Cardinals-4: Cincy evens this five-game series at two games apiece after holding off a late Redbirds rally in the ninth inning.

Mariners-7, Brewers-5: The good news for Seattle is that Tuesday’s 22-0 loss didn’t stop them from scoring seven early runs off Milwaukee’s Dustin May in Wednesday’s victory over MLB’s top club.

Nationals-6, Rangers-0: Cade Cavalli fans 11 Rangers over six scoreless innings, and DH Andres Chapparo adds three knocks, three ribbies, and three runs scored to his stat sheet.

Astros-3, Angels-2: Every run scored came in the first four innings as Houston increases its AL West lead to two games over the Rangers.

Royals-9, Athletics-7: Kansas City rallies from a 5-1 deficit with a seven-run eighth inning.

Dodgers-6, Rockies-4 (F/10): Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts collects three hits, including an insurance RBI single in the 10th.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

WSH - Andres Chapparo (3 H, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

It’s between three pitchers, one of which came out of the bullpen. Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola threw the most innings out of three candidates, but he was also the only one to surrender a run. Nola’s five hits allowed were more than Washington’s Cade Cavalli and Chicago’s Jose Urquidy. However, both hurlers went only six innings compared to Nola’s seven.

I’m going to do something that is extremely rare on Baseball Fan Perspective. I’m awarding a reliever with the Pitching Line of the Day. Urquidy entered in the third frame of a big-time contest between playoff contenders and inner-city rivals. It was a scoreless game when he entered and 3-0 in favor of the White Sox when he left after the eighth inning. He also struck out eight without issuing a walk.

Here are all three lines. It’s close.

CHW - Jose Urquidy (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 8 K, 0 BB)

WSH - Cade Cavalli (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 11 K, 1 BB)

PHI - Aaron Nola (W, 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 8 K, 0 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

When it comes to replay reviews, I’m not always sure how certain calls are upheld and others overturned. And in the case of Pete Alonso’s potential go-ahead homer in the seventh inning of last night’s O’s-Yankees contest, it’s fascinating that the replay center didn’t overturn this foul call made by third-base ump Will Little.

Clearly, by what is shown in the angles we are given, that’s a home run. According to a statement made by the Replay Operations Center, they didn’t have enough evidence to overturn the call. Here is the official statement:

“After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official could not definitively determine that the ball left the playing field in fair territory. The call stands, and it is a foul ball.”

Here’s my question. What is considered a relevant angle? Who knows? Every time the umps ask for a helping hand from the replay center, I often wonder what goes on in that dark New York City room. Occasionally, certain networks have access to what always looks like a hidden camera in the replay center. They’ll show a few people from behind, covered in shadows, observing multiple screens while everyone anxiously waits at the ballpark and at home.

This is basically what viewers see every time they are allowed to take a peek inside this dark corner of the baseball world that few can enter, and certainly fewer can see clearly enough to really know what’s going on.

It’s weird. This place reminds me of the scenes from the classic film ‘All the President’s Men’ when Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward (played by the late Robert Redford) meets Deep Throat in a random parking garage for top secret information. He gives Woodward hints here and there, but never enough to use immediately in his stories. That is what the MLB Replay Center feels like to me. While waiting for them to give us the final call, I kind of feel like Woodward probably did in that parking garage. It’s difficult to trust the information we are told when the replays, like those from last night, clearly show that a ball is fair, and yet, in this shadowy New York room, we are told that what we’re witnessing is incorrect. Very odd. Very Deep Throat-esque.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

6:35 PM - Yankees (71-55) at Orioles (61-66): Well, since we just finished talking about the controversy at Camden Yards, let’s continue with the final game of this series on Thursday night. The Orioles have dropped three straight contests and will look to avoid being swept. Entering today, they are 1 ½ games behind Minnesota for the third AL wild card. The Yankees trail Tampa Bay by five games in the AL East and hold a 3 ½ games advantage over Boston for the AL’s top wild-card spot.

Expected pitching matchup

NYY - Gerrit Cole (15 GS, 6-6, 3.22 ERA) versus BAL - Kyle Bradish (24 GS, 7-11, 3.65 ERA)

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Blue Jays-10, Rays-5: Alejandro Kirk, Kazuma Okamoto, and Josh Smith all homer as the Jays take the first of three contests versus Tampa Bay.

Yankees-3, Orioles-1: Trent Grisham drives in every New York run via a first-inning solo blast and a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh.

Red Sox-9, Diamondbacks-4: Boston cruises to a second straight win over the Ketel Marteless D-backs as catcher Adley Rutschman goes yard for the first time in a Red Sox uniform.

Phillies-6, Marlins-4: Philly rallies from a 3-1 deficit with a four-run sixth frame and will look for a sixth straight victory on Wednesday.

Brewers-22, Mariners-0: Three Brewers collect four ribbies apiece, and SP Kyle Harrison earns his 10th win in a 22-run blowout.

Cubs-4, White Sox-3: Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a first-inning big fly for his third homer of the series, while Alex Bregman’s game-tying RBI single in the seventh and walk-off hit in the ninth lead the Baby Bears to a 2-0 series lead.

Pirates-4, Tigers-1: The true ace of the ‘26 Pittsburgh Pirates, Braxton Ashcraft, tosses his second consecutive 8+ inning doozy for his 13th victory (W, 8 IP, 1 ER) in a game that saw CF Oneil Cruz return from a multi-month IL stint with a go-ahead two-run tater in the fifth.

Guardians-8, Giants-1: Trade Deadline acquisitions lead Cleveland to victory as former Nationals ace Foster Griffin (W, 6 IP, 1 ER) and former Angel in the outfield, Jo Adell (3-for-4, 1 HR, 6 RBI) take charge.

Cardinals-3, Reds-0: Cardinals SP Kyle Leahy’s five shutout frames for his 10th win were almost as good as his teammate Masyn Winn’s three extra-base hits (1 HR, 2 2B).

Padres-5, Mets-2: San Diego improves to 8-2 over its last 10 contests thanks in large part to Fernando Tatis’s two long balls and impressive second-inning grand slam robbery of Francisco Lindor in right field.

Twins-4, Braves-1: Josh Bell’s first-inning homer off Atlanta’s Tyler Mahle was all Minnesota’s SP Zebby Matthews needed (W, 5.2 IP, 1 ER).

Rangers-5, Nationals-0: The once wild-card hopeful Nats dropped a fourth straight contest to fall eight games back in the NL Wild Card race after Rangers veteran Cal Quantrill held them scoreless over seven frames (W, 7 IP, 0 ER).

Royals-4, Athletics-3: Bobby Witt Jr.’s walk-off single leads KC to a third straight victory.

Angels-3, Astros-1: Anaheim’s rookie George Klassen holds Houston scoreless on one hit allowed over seven frames as the Astros’ AL West lead over Texas is down to one game.

Dodgers-7, Rockies-6: Shohei Ohtani clocks his 30th homer for Los Angeles and Tanner Scott earns his 17th save after struggling closer Edwin Diaz goes back to the IL with neck inflammation.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

Jo Adell’s half-dozen ribbies for Cleveland would normally take this honor. However, I can’t ignore Milwaukee’s nine-hole hitter David Hamilton’s overall line. Adell beats him in the RBI department, 6-4, but Hamilton scored one more run, struck out one less time, and stole two more bags. Hamilton wins today.

MIL - David Hamilton (3 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB, 0 BB, 0 K)

CLE - Jo Adell (3 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

I’ll stand by what I said earlier about Pittsburgh’s Braxton Ashcraft. He is the ace of the ‘26 Buccos right now. Paul Skenes has been a shell of himself, and the numbers show it (25 GS, 9-11, 3.88 ERA, 1.12 WHIP). In the same number of starts as Skenes, Ashcraft’s stats are better (25 GS, 13-5, 3.68 ERA, 1.07 WHIP). Braxton certainly deserves the podium today, but Klassen’s one hit allowed over seven frames is the better line. The question is, do I give Rangers right-hander Cal Quantrill the honor after his seven shutout innings? It’s close, but I like that Klassen had a couple more strikeouts and allowed three fewer hits than Quantrill. Here are the lines of all three contenders. I’ll take Klassen.

LAA - George Klassen (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 7 K, 3 BB)

TEX - Cal Quantrill (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 5 K, 0 BB)

PIT- Braxton Ashcraft (W, 8 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 4 K, 0 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Something that bugs me more than almost anything else in today’s game is when a non-pitcher enters in a blowout with the hopes of keeping the losing team’s bullpen fresher going forward. In Tuesday’s ridiculous 22-0 loss by the Mariners, in yet another example of why they are baseball’s worst offensive club, it was the pitching from start to finish that destroyed them. And it’s the finish that I want to discuss today.

Entering the bottom of the eighth, Seattle trailed 13-0. They’d used three legit arms up to that point and decided to go with infielder Leo Rivas in what the Mariners knew would be the last inning a pitcher would be needed. He gave up five consecutive hits to begin the frame, including this ridiculous homer to rookie Luis Lara on a 37 mph pitch that may as well have been underhand.

The Brewers commentators should feel ashamed for getting that excited given the way Lara earned his first career homer. How would you like to have your first big league round-tripper come in such a silly way? It’s a joke and is a great example of MLB mocking the game and disgracing the crowd.

Rivas allowed nine runs and nine hits in the frame, and that, folks, is why the score was 22-0. It didn’t help that the Mariners’ best player, Julio Rodriguez, forgot how many outs there were in the inning after tossing the ball into the stands with one man away, ultimately leading to another run on what was ruled an error.

Look, here’s my big issue. I truly believe that if a non-pitcher is going to enter a game, that player needs to try to get outs. And to do that, realistically, he has to throw some moderate heat. At least reach the 70 mph mark more often than not, instead of every pitch clocking in at under 40 mph. It’s a mockery of everything the game should stand for.

Maybe the Brewers fans enjoyed the scene considering where the contest was being played. But as a whole, this is a terrible look for baseball. It’s like putting in a defensive end to play quarterback for the final five minutes because his team is down 70-0. It’s stupid. Finish the game as it’s meant to be played. Moves like this one that Seattle’s manager Dan Wilson pulled inflate opponents’ numbers and give players like Lara a first career homer that he didn’t have to earn.

Put it this way: Imagine if Houston’s Yordan Alvarez won the American League Home Run title and Triple Crown (currently leads all three Triple Crown categories) on the final day of the season off a pitch like the ones we saw from Rivas? It wouldn’t stand, and it would be a true disgrace, through no fault of Alvarez’s. The fact that something like that could happen is why MLB needs to put a stop to this nonsense. We’ve seen this over and over throughout ‘26, and it’s getting worse.

Keep non-pitchers off the mound. If not, have a pitch speed minimum of 70 mph, or that “pitcher” is automatically removed. Do something to at least make the hitters work for those numbers instead of this slow-pitch softball crap we’re seeing at the highest level of baseball.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

2:20 PM - White Sox (65-60) at Cubs (74-53): This has been a fun battle between the inner-city rivals. The Cubs are eyeing a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field, which would give them a 4-2 edge in their head-to-head matchups with the ChiSox this year.

Pitching matchup:

CHW - Sean Newcomb (46 G, 2 GS, 1-3, 2.51 ERA) versus CHC - Clay Holmes (11 GS, 5-5, 2.56 ERA)

6:05 PM - Marlins (64-63) at Phillies (69-58): This is a much-needed game for the Fish. They’ve dropped the first two contests of this three-game set, and a loss today would put Philadelphia six games ahead of Miami in the NL wild-card race. Right now, the Marlins are four games behind San Diego for the third WC position and five back of Philly for the second spot.

As for the Phillies, if they pull off the sweep today and Minnesota completes a 3-0 series win over Atlanta, then in a matter of three days, the Braves’ lead in the NL East will have gone from 7 ½ games to 4 ½. Atlanta and Philly still have seven meetings coming in September to ultimately decide the division winner.

Pitching matchup:

MIA - Sandy Alcantara (26 GS, 13-7, 3.43 ERA) versus PHI - Aaron Nola (25 GS, 4-9, 5.33 ERA)

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Cubs-7, White Sox-5 (F/10): A back-and-forth affair between inner-city rivals ends with Pete Crow-Armstrong’s walk-off two-run homer in the 10th, giving him his second consecutive 30 HR-30 SB campaign.

Phillies-6, Marlins-5: The first contest of a crucial three-game set between NL wild card contenders goes the way of Philly after Cristopher Sanchez earns his MLB-best 16th win (W, 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 K).

Red Sox-11, Diamondbacks-1: Arizona’s leading home run hitter, Ketel Marte, no-shows at Fenway Park, and his absence was felt after Boston’s pitching holds the playoff hopeful D-backs to one run.

Rays-7, Orioles-6: Tampa Bay avoids being swept in four games at Tropicana Field after scoring three runs in the fourth and seventh frames, ending with Jonny DeLuca’s game-winning RBI single.

Twins-4, Braves-2: A four-run first inning was the only offense Minnesota needed after its bullpen held Atlanta scoreless over the last four frames.

Cardinals-2, Reds-1 (Doubleheader Game 1): Alec Burleson’s two-run double in the first inning leads St. Louis to victory.

Reds-6, Cardinals-5 (Doubleheader Game 2, F/10): A game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth by Reds pinch hitter Dane Myers leads to Cincy’s leadoff man Elly De La Cruz’s walk-off double in extras to even this five-game series between NL Central foes.

Tigers-8, Pirates-5: Detroit’s victory pulls them into a three-way tie for the final AL wild card position while the loss for Pittsburgh drops them to 6 ½ games back in the NL wild card race.

Mets-2, Padres-1: San Diego gets thrown out twice at home in the first inning by Mets right fielder Carson Benge, and with a bit of run support, New York’s Nolan McLean secures his ninth win (W, 6 IP, 1 ER).

Dodgers-11, Rockies-5: Blake Snell allows one run over six frames for his first win of ‘26, and Shohei Ohtani leads the offensive attack with four knocks, two homers and three ribbies.

Royals-9, Athletics-5: In an irrelevant battle between two of the American League’s worst clubs, Kansas City’s shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. goes 3-for-4 with a homer, four runs scored, and his 33rd stolen base of the year.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

Ohtani and Bobby Witt had terrific games, but the overall performance by Crow-Armstrong takes the cake today. Here are the lines by three of the best players in MLB.

CHC - Pete Crow-Armstrong (4 H, 2 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB, 1 BB, 1 K)

LAD - Shohei Ohtani (4 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, 0 BB, 0 K)

KC - Bobby Witt Jr. (3 H, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 4 R, 1 SB, 1 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

Not a great selection on Monday. Blake Snell’s two hits and one run allowed over six frames was the most efficient.

LAD - Blake Snell (W, 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 5 K, 3 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

I read an article this morning on The Athletic about the low viewership for the Field of Dreams game last Thursday on Netflix. The piece is short but lays out the facts about how baseball on Netflix is not getting a whole lot of viewers. From the Opening Night contest between the Yankees and Giants, to the Home Run Derby last month, and now, last week’s return of the Field of Dreams game between the Phillies and Twins in Dyersville, Iowa.

It’s not shocking that there were only 1.66 million views for last week’s Netflix contest on what I consider a movie/show app rather than a sports app. Netflix is not meant for live sporting events. No one wants to go there for that. And this is coming from someone who loves baseball but hates flipping between apps just to find certain contests. Apple TV steals two Friday games a week, which means even those of us with the MLB package don’t get access to those matches. Peacock is another app you must buy to watch a Sunday game. And there are others as well, continually making their way into the MLB broadcasting system. Add all of that to other annoyances like blackout restrictions, and what you have is a mess. An unfriendly system. One that might be fixed sometime in the near future, but I’m not hopeful.

Is anyone surprised by Netflix’s low ratings for baseball events? Silly stuff. Keep sports on sports networks. Period. Sadly, money always wins, and that leads to customer dissatisfaction. Kind of a weird way to do business if you ask me.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

6:40 PM - Blue Jays (61-65) at Rays (75-49): Normally, I wouldn’t be too interested in a club that is four games under .500 on August 18. However, in this case, that team would be the defending AL champions who have put together six consecutive series wins. The Blue Jays enter Tuesday a half-game out of the third wild-card spot. Six other clubs are within two games of that position.

Right now, it’s looking like seven American League franchises battling for one spot. Boston and New York are comfortably ahead of the pack for the top two AL wild-card positions, which likely means that Toronto’s only hope for a playoff berth is coming via the third WC. This is a huge week for the Jays. Following this three-game set with Tampa Bay, they head to the Bronx to face the Yankees.

Expected pitching matchup:

TOR - Jose Soriano (24 GS, 9-6, 3.16 ERA) versus TB - Nick Martinez (23 GS, 12-3, 2.74 ERA)

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Padres-4, Brewers-3 (F/11): A game that had a little bit of everything, from great defensive plays, nice pitching performances (MIL - Dustin May: 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 K), and a walk-off single in the 11th by Padres catcher Luis Campusano to give San Diego a series sweep and fifth straight win.

Cubs-12, Nationals-6: Alex Bregman’s three homers and seven ribbies at Washington (3 H, 3 HR, 7 RBI) lead the Baby Bears to victory and to within three games of Milwaukee for the NL Central lead.

Rays-8, Athletics-4: Tampa Bay’s Liam Hicks collects three hits, including his 16th long ball, as the Rays roll to their 9th straight victory (all coming on the road).

Blue Jays-6, Red Sox-4: Toronto scores five runs in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie and eye a four-game sweep on Thursday.

Yankees-10, Mariners-5: Make it six straight losses for the AL West’s preseason favorite after New York’s late surge, which included Trent Grisham’s game-winning RBI double in the seventh (Grisham: 3 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI).

Twins-7, Orioles-5: Minnesota takes the rubber game between wild-card hopefuls after pecking away at an early 4-1 deficit with small ball tactics.

Cardinals-7, Phillies-1: St. Louis scores five times off Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler, leading to a rubber game victory and Kyle Leahy’s ninth win (W, 5 IP, 1 ER).

Rockies-6, Diamondbacks-4: Arizona’s Merrill Kelly surrenders six runs as the D-backs lose a series at home to the National League’s worst team.

Angels-5, Rangers-2: Texas loses for the second straight time to the American League’s worst team and holds a narrow half-game lead for the third AL Wild Card position.

Astros-2, Giants-1: A pair of sac flies in the seventh and eighth frames gives Houston a low-scoring victory by the San Francisco Bay.

Guardians-6, Tigers-4: Cleveland evens this important three-game set with AL Central rival Detroit thanks in part to Jo Adell’s go-ahead two-run tater in the fifth inning.

White Sox-5, Reds-0: Luis Castillo’s second outing with Chicago since coming over from Seattle via trade goes fantastically after the right-hander holds Cincy to one hit over seven frames (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 10 K).

Marlins-8, Pirates-2: Miami’s Janson Junk allows one Pittsburgh run over six frames as the Buccos’ downward spiral continues; now 2-8 over their last 10 contests.

Braves-6, Mets-3: Atlanta increases its NL East lead to 9 ½ games after a rubber game win courtesy of three home runs and Tyler Mahle’s six-inning quality start (W, 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 K).

Dodgers-4, Royals-2: Homers by Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Hunter Feduccia account for every Dodger run as SP Eric Lauer earns his seventh win behind 6 ⅓ frames of one-run ball.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

A vintage Alex Bregman sighting. The man who signed with Chicago for five years and $175 million finally decided to start earning a bit of his paycheck this week. Entering August, Bregman was having a forgettable season with a .248/.340/.380 slash line. Most of the baseball world knew that the Cubs overpaid for his services. Remember, it’s been seven years since the 32-year-old third baseman put up MVP-type numbers with Houston during a 2019 campaign in which he hit .296 with 41 bombs, 112 RBI, and a .423 OBP. Those are numbers most logical folks would consider worthy of a $35 million-per-year contract. Not the slash line shown earlier.

However, Bregman has been a major reason the Cubs are 9-2 in August and only three games back in a division that seemed destined to be Milwaukee’s at the end of July (the Brewers held a 6 ½-game lead over Chicago entering this month). Bregman has a .333/.412/.711 slash line over 11 August contests with five homers and 14 RBI (half of those ribbies coming on Wednesday).

I’m not a huge believer in Bregman anymore, and I certainly am not gullible enough to think that he will come close to living up to that enormous contract he signed in the offseason. But, to his credit, he hasn’t given up on 2026 and, like many players of his caliber, is proving that he still has a lot of talent with the stick. Now we’ll see how consistent he is over the next six-plus weeks of the regular season. Can he stay this hot, or is this just one of those stretches that ultimately ends with a frown? We’ll find out.

Anyway, Bregman is the no-doubt offensive king of the day. Congrats.

CHC - Alex Bregman (3 H, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

CHW - Luis Castillo (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 10 K, 0 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

I often give my father a tough time about his comments on sports, whether it’s baseball, basketball, or anything else, really. He’s one of those people who is known as a jinx when it comes to athletics. Ask any family member or close friend, and I’ll bet you they have a story about my father’s case of the jinx. If he says it, more often than not, the opposite will happen. We see this year-round. Sometimes, we tell him for the sake of his teams (like the Red Sox), maybe it’s best to not say anything. Stay silent and good things could happen. But he doesn’t listen. And on it goes. Jinxes be damned.

However, to his credit, there was something he said at the Trade Deadline regarding his Red Sox that, so far, he’s been spot on with (but this is my dad, so it could change quickly and probably will soon). When Boston traded their .180 catcher, Carlos Narvaez, to Baltimore along with prospects for the Orioles’ then-injured backstop, Adley Rutschman, he was worried. He said that the idea of trading a catcher in the middle of a hot streak makes no sense, even if he can’t hit. His belief, as some franchises would agree with, is that you don’t mess with the pitcher-catcher relationship when things are going this well (and by well, I mean when a team hasn’t lost a series in over a month).

During this current five-game losing streak, Boston is averaging less than three runs per game. That has nothing to do with the pitcher-catcher combo. And, frankly, in the American League, where Texas holds the third wild-card spot with a 60-61 record, I think the Sox will be fine. I believe Boston and New York will be battling in the Best-of-3 ALWC for a second straight year. Whether that will take place at Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park is to be determined, but neither of them will catch the Rays in the AL East. Tampa Bay holds a six-game lead over New York, with Boston 10 games back.

Until the Sox break out of this slump, I’m sure I’ll be hearing daily from my father about how much he doesn’t like Rutschman. But as I’ve learned over the years with my father and other sports fans who jump to conclusions far too quickly, all it takes is a big moment by the disliked player and a good run by the team, and suddenly that negativity goes away. If Rutschman doesn’t perform well for the rest of this season (only two games played for Boston so far), then God help me, I’ll never hear the end of it. I guess that means I’m rooting for Boston to snap out of this funk sooner rather than later, just so I don’t have to hear the family jinx go on about the trade that doomed the hottest club in MLB.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

7:30 PM - Phillies (64-58) at Twins (60-62): It is the Field of Dreams annual contest in Dysersville, Iowa. A tradition that began in 2021 with the White Sox and Yankees. It’s still a neat idea after five years, and even though I have little doubt that actually being there in person would be truly nostalgic for anyone who loved the 1989 film starring Kevin Costner, there’s still something fun about seeing modern-day players on TV going at it once a year surrounded by corn.

This year’s battle between Philly and Minnesota is the first of three contests in the series. The rest of the games will be played at Target Field on Saturday and Sunday. The Phillies’ hopes for an NL East title have faded. At 9 ½ games behind Atlanta in the division, all that matters is their wild-card fate. Entering this game, Philadelphia is tied with Arizona for the final NL WC spot, and one game back of San Diego for the second position. As for the Twins, they are a half-game back of Texas for the American League’s third wild card. That makes this game and series all the more relevant.

The contest will be aired on Netflix.

Pitching matchup

PHI - Aaron Nola (24 GS, 3-9, 5.47 ERA) versus MIN - Taj Bradley (23 GS, 9-4, 3.76 ERA)

10:10 PM: Brewers (74-47) at Dodgers (73-48): And then comes the heavyweight fight. After your trip down memory lane with the Field of Dreams contest, flip to this doozy. The first of four games between two National League bohemoths fighting for MLB’s best record with Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Chicago.

The top five records in MLB entering Thursday:

It doesn’t get much better than this. A must-watch series.

Pitching matchup

MIL - Shane Drohan (23 G, 13 GS, 6-4, 3.87 ERA) versus LAD - Roki Sasaki (20 GS, 5-5, 4.54 ERA)

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Padres-11, Brewers-2: Milwaukee’s usually reliable Kyle Harrison surrenders eight runs, including homers to Luis Renfigo, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Luis Campusano as the Padres go for the three-game sweep of MLB’s top team on Wednesday.

Rockies-3, Diamondbacks-2: Colorado’s best pitcher by far, Tomoyuki Sugano, collects his 12th win (W, 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 K) thanks to his team rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the latter innings.

Cardinals-2, Phillies-0: Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez throws six scoreless in a no-decision effort, but the lack of run support ultimately leads to a St. Louis victory after a Masyn Winn RBI single in the seventh inning puts the Redbirds on the board first.

Rays-12, Athletics-4: The Rays win their eighth straight contest and go yard six times, including two off the bat of Victor Mesa Jr. and the 35th homer of the year by Junior Caminero, tying him for the MLB lead.

Yankees-4, Mariners-1: A pair of two-run singles in the seventh by Ryan McMahon and Trent Grisham account for New York’s first and only runs of the game against MLB’s worst offensive squad.

Blue Jays-5, Red Sox-3: The once sizzling-hot Red Sox drop their fourth straight game after the Blue Jays bullpen holds them scoreless over the final four innings.

Tigers-6, Guardians-4: Rookie leadoff man Kevin McGonigle drives in half of Detroit’s runs to help the Tigers to a third straight victory.

Marlins-2, Pirates-0: Miami’s Eury Perez (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 7 K) outduels Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes (L, 5 IP, 1 ER) after the Buccos ace throws only 65 pitches for his 11th loss of ‘26, saying after the game, “Wish I could’ve gone more, but it kinda is what it is.”

Cubs-8, Nationals-6: Chicago pulls to within four games of Milwaukee for the NL Central lead after homers by Pete Crow-Armstrong, Alex Bregman, and Seiya Suzuki highlight the team’s offensive attack.

Braves-4, Mets-0: Matt Olson’s 35th tater in the eighth inning gives the Bravos a 4-0 victory and Martin Perez his eighth win (W, 6 IP, 0 ER).

Orioles-5, Twins-2: Three hits and a pair of two-run homers by Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso help Baltimore even this three-game set with Minnesota.

Reds-5, White Sox-4 (F/10): Despite one run allowed over seven frames by Chicago’s SP Sean Burke, the White Sox blow a 4-0 lead and ultimately lose in extras after an Elly De La Cruz go-ahead sac fly in the 10th.

Angels-3, Rangers-2: A three-run third frame by Anaheim secures the victory at home as Texas continues to hover around .500 (60-60 record).

Giants-4, Astros-1: Houston is unable to increase its lead over Texas in the AL West after SP Hunter Brown surrenders three runs over five innings for the loss.

Dodgers-5, Royals-4 (F/10): Oft-injured Blake Snell finally decides to start earning some of his $27-plus million he’s owed in ‘26, and in his second appearance with Los Angeles this season, he strikes out 10 over six frames (ND, 6 IP, 1 ER, 10 K), and the Dodgers walk it off in extras courtesy of a Max Muncy run-scoring single.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

A rare Mookie Betts sighting. The former elite player collected three knocks and a homer last night, but for the season is batting a mere .235 with 27 extra-base hits. His contract expires after 2032, and he’ll make no less than $27 million in any of those seasons. I think we’ve seen the best of Mookie, who appears to be one of those 30-plus-year-old athletes trending in the wrong direction (turns 33 in October).

LAD - Mookie Betts (3 H, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

MIA - Eury Perez (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 7 K, 2 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Quality starts. It’s a funny stat to me and one that my fantasy baseball league has used for the last 20-plus years. It rewards starting pitchers for going relatively deep into games by today’s standards (six innings) and those who allow three earned runs or fewer in the process. In other words, the worst line statistically that a pitcher can have for a quality start is: 6 IP, 3 ER. This means that the pitcher had an ERA of 4.50. Nothing great, but nothing horrific.

I’ve always pushed back on this stat for one reason, and on Tuesday I was reminded again why the quality start needs some refining. Tampa Bay’s Nick Martinez threw well against the A’s, needing 101 pitches to get through nine innings for the complete-game win. Entering the ninth frame, he had allowed two runs over eight innings. Had he been replaced prior to the ninth, Martinez would have ended his night with a quality start (8 IP, 2 ER). Instead, the Rays right-hander was asked to finish the contest with his club well ahead. He gave up two additional earned runs and finished with the following line: W, 9 IP, 4 ER.

Martinez failed to earn a quality start because he surrendered more than three earned runs in the contest. But here’s the thing. Do the math, and you see that his nine-inning complete game with four earned runs allowed is more valuable than a player who gives up three earned runs over six frames. Why? Because Martinez’s 4.00 ERA for the game is lower than the pitcher who gave up three earned runs over six innings for a 4.50 ERA. Given that Martinez worked three more frames with a lower ERA than the player who went six innings, that should add to his value.

Considering how rare it is these days for any pitcher to go nine innings in a contest, especially one who has given up a few runs in the process, I have always felt that four runs allowed over nine innings should count as a quality start. Any manager would tell you they’d rather have Martinez’s performance on Tuesday over the one where a pitcher gives up three earned runs over six innings. It’s a mind twist, and I have always disliked this about the QS.

Again, it’s a rarity to see a pitcher go nine innings and surrender four earned runs. But when it happens, it should count for something. A quality start would suffice. I feel for all fantasy leaguers who lost a quality start last night because of Martinez’s performance.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

4:10 PM - Brewers (74-46) at Padres (64-57): As mentioned earlier, Milwaukee is still four games ahead of Chicago in the NL Central. However, a loss today in San Diego, coupled with a Cubs sweep at Washington, would trim the Brewers’ division lead to three games. This is a relatively big match for both clubs. San Diego is seeking a fifth straight victory. They are tied with Arizona and Philadelphia for the second and third NL wild-card spots.

I’m interested in the pitching matchup between each club’s newest members of their respective rotations. At the Trade Deadline, Milwaukee made a swap with St. Louis for right-hander Dustin May (22 GS, 6-7, 4.30 ERA). In his first start with the Brew Crew, he gave up two runs over six innings for a win against Pittsburgh. San Diego will go with former Giants southpaw Robbie Ray (23 G, 22 GS, 10-7, 3.24 ERA), who didn’t look good in his first appearance with the Friars versus Houston (L, 5 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 5 BB).

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Rays-10, Athletics-6: Rays third baseman Junior Caminero launches his 34th homer as part of an eight-run eighth frame to help Tampa Bay to its seventh straight victory and a six-game lead in the AL East.

Blue Jays-2, Red Sox-1: A wacky and ridiculously long 16-minute delay in the seventh inning ends with Boston scoring its only run of the game, but it wasn’t enough as Toronto takes the first of four contests at Rogers Centre and improves to 7-3 against the Red Sox this season.

Dodgers-6, Royals-5: Dodgers lefty Tarik Skubal gives up three runs over five frames in a no-decision, but his teammate Freddie Freeman’s go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning leads Los Angeles to victory.

Mets-8, Braves-5: The last-place Mets continue to give Atlanta problems this season after the offense explodes for five first-inning runs off Braves SP Bryce Elder (L, 5 IP, 7 ER), leading to their seventh win in 11 tries versus the NL East leaders.

Phillies-6, Cardinals-5: Philadelphia’s oft-injured right-hander Andrew Painter takes a no-no into the sixth inning and ultimately surrenders two runs over 5 ⅓ frames for the win (W, 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 K).

Twins-9, Orioles-5: In a relatively important game between AL wild-card hopefuls, the sub-.500 Twins get 10 knocks and eight ribbies from the top four hitters in their batting order and seven innings of one-hit ball from Dean Kremer against his former Oriole squad with whom he played for only two weeks ago (W, 7 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 7 K).

Rangers-4, Angels-1 (F/10): Rangers veterans Brandon Nimmo and Jake Burger drive home three runs combined in extras as the third AL wild-card holder sees its record improve to 60-59.

Padres-3, Brewers-2: In the only series of the early week involving two winning franchises, the Friars earn the victory against MLB’s top squad after a Jackson Merrill go-ahead two-run tater in the seventh inning seals the deal.

Diamondbacks-9, Rockies-0: Nolan Arenado’s first-inning grand slam was all Arizona’s pitching staff needed as Michael Soroka (4.1 IP, 0 ER) and Zack Littell (W, 4.2 IP, 0 ER) combine for a nine-inning shutout.

Astros-6, Giants-3 (F/10): Houston remains a half-game ahead of Texas for the AL West lead thanks to a three-run 10th and closer Josh Hader’s two scoreless frames for the win.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

MIN - Austin Martin (4 H, 1 HR, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB, 0 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

It’s cool to see a pitcher dominate his former team, especially when it’s one he suited up with less than two weeks ago. Both Minnesota and Baltimore are on the outside of the current postseason picture but are within striking distance at 1 ½ and three games out of the AL wild card, respectively. That makes Kremer’s outing against his former squad all the more impressive.

MIN - Dean Kremer (W, 7 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 7 K, 1 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Earlier, I briefly mentioned something about the long (and I do mean long) delay during the seventh inning of Toronto’s 2-1 victory over Boston last night. I happened to catch the situation live, but not the actual play, until I saw it a dozen or so times after flipping to the game a few minutes into the delay, wondering what all the fuss was about.

I’m not going to go over the entire scenario from the top of the seventh inning with two men on, etc. I’ve heard more than a few broadcasters and analysts try to explain the ‘Fourth out rule’ following what happened in that game. Trust me, after about five different explanations, I realized it’s a great way to jump-start a migraine.

Even the crew chief, Chris Guccione, tried explaining the situation to the crowd at Rogers Centre, but anytime an ump starts with the word “Okay…” and then proceeds to explain the ruling for anxious fans, you know that he probably isn’t comfortable with the words to follow. And the truth was, it took about seven or eight minutes of the umps talking on and off with the managers from both sides before Guccione’s announcement, which basically told the crowd that the umps didn’t really understand the rule and they would need to consult with the replay center in New York. Then came another seven or eight minutes of fans standing around watching players stand around staring back at them while chatting and picking their noses. Not exactly what fans pay for.

I’m fine with lengthy delays if there’s action involved. Best example being a benches-clearing brawl. That’s worth the delay and excites the crowd. But last night in Toronto went overboard. I understand it was a unique situation, and again, it gives me a headache listening to and reading about the exact scenario because even the teams involved had no idea how many outs there were due to the scoreboard showing two outs instead of the actual one out in the frame. I’ll leave the complete story link here if you want to read the full details on mlb.com:

https://www.mlb.com/news/blue-jays-red-sox-delayed-for-rule-check

That will give you an idea of what happened last night in Toronto.

Anyway, before I flipped to the Sox-Jays game, I happened to be watching the Braves-Mets contest. At the start of that match, there was a good five-minute delay because after New York’s A.J. Ewing hit a leadoff double in the first inning to right field, Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. claimed that the ball was stuck underneath the outfield wall without even attempting to pick it up. Ewing made it to second with ease for the two-bagger, and it was ruled initially as a ground-rule double because the umps figured that the ball was stuck. The Mets decided to challenge that the ball wasn’t actually wedged underneath the wall and that Acuna could have grabbed it and thrown it in. The assumption being that Ewing could have gotten to third with a triple.

Anyway, the umps asked the New York replay center for help, and ultimately the call was overturned and ruled not to be stuck under the wall and that Acuna could have gotten the ball. However, after all that, Ewing wasn’t awarded third base. That didn’t make much sense to the Mets commentators or me, but in the end, the lengthy delay seemed to affect Elder more than anyone. Atlanta’s right-hander gave up six hits and five runs in the first inning, and the Braves never recovered.

Here’s my final thought on replays. Between both games last night, I witnessed over 20 minutes of delayed action. For a league that claims it is trying to speed up games with all the shortcuts they now use with pitch clocks and the soft extra-innings rule with a man starting on second base, I find it obnoxious when replay reviews (not only in MLB, but in other leagues as well) take more than a minute, or, at most, two minutes, to decide on. There is no excuse for what happened in either game last night. Why would it take five-plus minutes for the replay crew to figure out that the ball wasn’t stuck under the wall in Atlanta? And, please, someone explain to me how the replay center wasn’t all over the bizarre ‘fourth out rule’ in Toronto. As soon as the umps called for help, New York should have had an answer. But, no, they wasted more time while the fans and players did absolutely nothing. And this is in a rush-rush era where people claim they can’t handle a three-hour baseball game.

Replays are just as detrimental to sports as they are helpful. Fix the lengthy delays. No excuse for it. By the way, if you don’t know what the ‘fourth out rule’ is, see below. You can read it 20 times and still not quite understand it. I’m beyond tired of thinking about it after last night and hope to never see such a play again. Reminder: if interested, check the article linked above for the full story of how this ruling was used in last night’s Jays-Sox contest.

Fourth Out Rule

Appeal plays may require an umpire to recognize an apparent 'fourth out.’ If the third out is made during a play in which an appeal play is sustained on another runner, the appeal play decision takes precedence in determining the out. If there is more than one appeal during a play that ends a half-inning, the defense may elect to take the out that gives it the advantage. For the purpose of this rule, the defensive team has 'left the field' when the pitcher and all infielders have left fair territory on their way to the bench or clubhouse.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

There are no great pitching duels on paper today. Tuesday’s contests don’t exactly thrill me, and even from a standings viewpoint, there isn’t anything that I would consider must-watch. We have a dozen or so teams within realistic striking distance of the postseason, and a few others like the Diamondbacks, Phillies, and Rangers all hanging on narrowly to their wild-card spots.

My recommendation: Watch any game you like today because there’s not one series that doesn’t involve at least one club playing for something of relevance. I’ll leave it at that.

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Cubs-7, Dodgers-6: Chicago finishes off a three-game sweep of the Dodgers in a contest that saw two NL MVP candidates, Shohei Ohtani and Pete Crow-Armstrong, both collect three knocks and a pair of homers.

Red Sox-4, White Sox-0: Sonny Gray twirls six shutout frames (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 8 K) for his MLB-tying 14th win as Boston clinches its ninth straight series victory and looks for the three-game sweep of the AL Central leaders on Thursday.

Diamondbacks-10, Padres-4: Casey Mize’s Padres debut goes awry after the former Tigers right-hander surrenders eight runs for the loss while his opponent Mitch Bratt picks up his first career W in grand fashion (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 9 K).

Blue Jays-5, Astros-4 (F/10): Ernie Clement’s two-run homer in extras leads Toronto to a rubber game victory over the AL West’s top team.

Rangers-6, Giants-0: Texas gains ground on Houston in the AL West after five hurlers hold San Fran scoreless at Globe Life Field.

Rays-4, Rockies-0: The Rays complete a three-game sweep of the Rockies behind Nick Martinez’s scoreless outing (W, 5.2 IP, 0 ER) and Junior Caminero’s 33rd home run.

Cardinals-3, Yankees-1: New York loses ground in the AL East race after SP Will Warren surrenders two run-scoring doubles in the fifth inning to Cardinals’ infielders JJ Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera.

Mets-6, Guardians-5 (F/10): Despite a four-hit performance from Guardians rookie Angel Genao in his MLB debut, the Mets take advantage of a ninth-inning mishap by Cleveland’s shortstop Brayan Rocchio and get the victory in extras thanks to a Bo Bichette RBI single.

Nationals-10, Phillies-4 (F/11): CJ Abrams’ clutch two-run triple in the 11th off Phillies new reliever Caleb Kilian is followed by four more Washington runs, leading to the end of the club’s seven-game slide.

Braves-4, Marlins-1: Make it seven straight victories for Atlanta following Bryce Elder’s one run allowed over seven frames for his eighth win (W, 7 IP, 1 ER, 1 H).

Orioles-5, Angels-2: Baltimore homers three times and provides plenty of run support for Trevor Rogers to collect his seventh win of ‘26 (W, 6 IP, 2 ER, 9 K).

Brewers-4, Pirates-2: Add a 10th loss to Paul Skenes’s 2026 resume after the right-hander once again fails to come through for the Buccos in the big spot after allowing three runs in the fourth frame to the defending NL Central champions who saw one of their key pitchers return from the IL in a big way only to leave the contest with cramping in the calves (Kyle Harrison: W, 5 IP, 0 ER, 10 K).

Mariners-4, Tigers-2: Seattle gets a much-needed victory at home behind Bryan Woo’s seven shutout frames and Julio Rodriguez’s three-run homer in the sixth.

Reds-3, Athletics-2: Cincy’s Noelvi Marte’s sixth-inning sac fly breaks a 2-2 tie and ends up being the game-winner between two underachieving clubs.

Royals-2, Twins-1: Michael Massey’s go-ahead solo homer in the seventh provides Royals lefty Noah Cameron a much-deserved win (W, 8 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 9 K).

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong’s duel in Game 3 of this series provided voters a chance to see the two players currently fighting it out for the NL MVP Award. It was a great duel. Both showed up in this series, and right now their offensive numbers are very similar, with the one huge edge in Crow-Armstrong’s favor being stolen bases (28-6). Everything else from homers (26 apiece) to RBI (70-69 in favor of Ohtani) is very close.

I believe that if Ohtani doesn’t pitch anymore during the regular season and the numbers between these players stay relatively close, then Crow-Armstrong’s value as one of the best center fielders in the game should land him his first MVP award, assuming the Cubs stay in the playoff race.

Here are both lines. Even though Crow-Armstrong might fall short of the MVP, he wins the Offensive Line of the Day here at BFP.

CHC - Pete Crow-Armstrong (3 H, 2 HR, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K)

LAD - Shohei Ohtani (3 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

A few nice performances on Wednesday, but rookie Mitch Bratt’s seven scoreless frames for his first career victory in a big game versus San Diego earn him today’s award.

ARI - Mitch Bratt (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 9 K, 3 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Maybe I’m a little harsh when it comes to Paul Skenes. He never says a negative word. He’s not arrogant. He’s just a good pitcher who is having a down season by his standards. Standards, by the way, which were set by anxious media members who, as we see in all sports, have to hype up “potentially” great players before they are proven, just to give them something to write and talk about. It doesn’t matter if they fall short of expectations in the end, because in their minds the hype and attention is worth the risk. In reality, anointing a player as “great” often comes too early in their career. There’s no better example than Skenes when it comes to MLB starting pitchers.

After another mediocre outing last night, Skenes dropped to 9-10 on the season. He’s been in the league three years and has already lost 10 games twice (10-10 record in 2025). I want to put this in perspective using the three future Hall of Famers that most of us consider to be the best starting hurlers from the last generation who are either on the verge of retirement (Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer) or already have retired (Clayton Kershaw).

Between the three names mentioned above, they have combined for 58 seasons pitched. Now, in my mind, both Scherzer and JV need to call it quits after this season. Max hasn’t been the same pitcher since his days in Washington, pre-2020. Verlander tossed 152-plus innings last year and posted a respectable 3.85 ERA with the Giants, but he’s been injured all season for Detroit and has pitched only 3.2 innings.

Scherzer and Verlander are a couple of years into their 40s (85 years old combined). It’s time for both of them to say goodbye. Kershaw understood this, and retired after winning the World Series with the Dodgers last season.

Here’s the thing, and why pitchers like Skenes, Jacob Misiorowski, and throw in a couple of other good young starting pitchers (it doesn’t really matter who) won’t ever reach the level of greatness that came from previous generations…they don’t pitch enough when healthy, and they won’t have long careers if they keep throwing as hard and awkward as they currently do. Misiorowski will never be better than he is today, and if you told me that his next start would be his last this season and maybe next year as well because he requires elbow surgery, I won’t be shocked. At some point, it appears inevitable.

When I look at what Max, Clayton and JV accomplished over their 58 combined seasons, they are untouchable by future generations of pitchers until something changes in the mechanics and mindset of today’s game. But that won’t happen anytime soon, so this generation and at least one more following will be incapable of consistent greatness over a lengthy period of time.

I’ll leave you with this. Combined, Verlander, Kershaw and JV have eight seasons in which they lost 10 or more games (Verlander: 4, Scherzer: 3, Kershaw: 1). Combined, they have 23 campaigns of 200-plus innings pitched (Verlander: 12, Scherzer: 6, Kershaw: 5).

As mentioned, Skenes already has two 10-loss seasons in three years, and when it comes to innings pitched, he’ll be lucky to ever reach 200 frames in a season if he continues to average 5.3 innings pitched per start as he is this year. That’s the best baseball has to offer going forward? That’s greatness? No, that’s overhype around an unproven pitcher. That’s the media forcing us to believe that the best athletes of all time must be playing today. That’s bullshit and typical media members talking out of their ass and trying to dumb us down. Don’t fall for the BS of this generation.

If Skenes has proven anything to me, it’s that he struggles to go deep into games, and so far in his career, doesn’t step up when his team requires it most. Last night, Pittsburgh needed him to be great, but he wasn’t. Now the Pirates are 4 ½ games out of a wild-card spot, and their ace has a losing record and an ERA near 4.00.

Let these young pitchers throw at least five good seasons before we even bring up conversations about greatness. It gets tiring. I am no longer interested in Paul Skenes being Pittsburgh’s savior. Probably not happening this season. Wake me up if it ever does.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

9:40 PM - Padres (59-56) at Diamondbacks (61-54): It’s a big one for San Diego as they look to split this four-game series in Arizona. A D-backs win would drop the Padres potentially three games back of a wild-card spot depending on how Philadelphia fares against Washington today. The Pads and Snakes will meet once more in the final series of the regular season at San Diego (Sept. 25-27).

Pitching matchup:

SD - Walker Buehler (22 GS, 6-5, 5.18 ERA) versus ARI - Kohl Drake (3 GS, 0-0, 4.85 ERA)

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Cubs-5, Dodgers-1: Tarik Skubal pitches well in his Dodgers debut, but not well enough after an infield hit by Chicago’s Nico Hoerner breaks a 1-1 tie and ultimately leads to a Cubs victory (Skubal line: L, 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 K).

Red Sox-14, White Sox-2: Seven Red Sox players collect two knocks apiece as Boston makes it six straight wins after tagging White Sox SP Davis Martin for a half dozen first-inning runs (L, 9 ER).

Braves-4, Marlins-2: The Atlanta Braves win their sixth straight contest behind homers from Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley as well as six shutout frames by SP Grant Holmes (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 6 K).

Phillies-5, Nationals-0: Philadelphia’s new acquisition Luis Arraez collects a pair of hits and ribbies as Washington loses for a predictable seventh straight time after punting on their season via questionable Trade Deadline moves.

Yankees-2, Cardinals-0: Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s second-inning homer and rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr.’s fifth-inning tater in his MLB debut provide all the run support southpaw Ryan Weathers needed for his fifth win of ‘26 (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 6 K).

Padres-9, Diamondbacks-4: D-backs ace Eduardo Rodriguez surrenders seven runs (five earned) on 11 hits in a rare tough outing, while San Diego’s SP Randy Vasquez tosses six scoreless frames for the win to help the Padres even this important four-game set between wild-card contenders.

Tigers-8, Mariners-0: Detroit goes yard three times, and Troy Melton tosses seven shutout frames for the road win at Seattle (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H).

Rays-9, Rockies-7 (F/10): Tampa Bay’s new pitcher Freddy Peralta gets touched up for seven runs in his team debut, but the Rays remembered that no game is over in Colorado as they rally from a two-run deficit courtesy of Jonathan Aranda’s game-tying single in the ninth, leading to an eventual victory in the 11th.

Orioles-3, Angels-1: The theme of Tuesday may very well have been ‘six shutout innings’ after another starting pitcher, this time Baltimore’s Cade Povich, tosses six scoreless frames for the win (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 7 K).

Mets-6, Guardians-2: Catcher Luis Torrens gets the Mets offense going via a three-run homer in the second inning and finishes the day with a few knocks and four RBI.

Reds-5, Athletics-4: A wild pitch in the eighth by A’s reliever Hogan Harris allows Reds first baseman Sal Stewart to score the deciding run from third.

Royals-8, Twins-2: Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. collects three hits in his return from the injured list as Minnesota drops its third straight contest to fall two games under .500.

Brewers-4, Pirates-2: Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn homer to help SP Logan Henderson to a sixth win (W, 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 K).

Rangers-5, Giants-4: Ezequiel Duran hits a walk-off ground-rule double in the ninth as part of a three-knock and four-RBI day for the Rangers third baseman.

Astros-7, Blue Jays-2: Jose Altuve and Taylor Trammell drive in four of Houston’s seven runs in the fourth inning as the AL West leaders improve to 8-2 over their last 10 contests.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

Kind of a weird and weakish decision today. As I go through box scores, I jot down names that could potentially take the line of the day for both offense and pitching. Sometimes, when I’m finished writing my one-liners for Scores of the Day, I’ll get to this section, glance at my list of players, and scratch my head wondering if I left someone off. This usually happens when I’m not overly impressed with the candidates.

That’s the case today. I had four names listed (Manny Machado, Ezequiel Duran, Liam Hicks, and Luis Torrens). I instantly eliminated Machado and Duran when I realized that, even though they matched the other two with four RBI, neither hit a homer and both struck out once, while the other two did not.

That narrowed it down to Hicks and Torrens. Hicks was making his Tampa Bay debut after being traded from Miami over the weekend. I like what the 27-year-old did with the Marlins (.282 BA, 14 HR, 62 RBI). After last night’s debut, we can add another homer and four ribbies to those numbers. The main difference between Hicks and Torrens is that the latter collected three knocks while Hicks had two.

However, do I reward Hicks for having two extra-base hits to Torrens’ one? Both players drew one walk, scored one time, and didn’t strike out. That’s a scratch. It all comes down to the value of the hit. Are two singles and one long ball more valuable than one double and one homer? Not from a total bases standpoint. Both candidates had six total bases.

I’m going to choose Torrens with the following in mind. Technically, his three-run homer in the second inning to put the Mets on the board was the game-winner. New York never trailed in this contest. Also, how much more ink will the last-place Mets get this season on Baseball Fan Perspective? I don’t imagine nearly as much as Tampa Bay, which means Hicks should have more ink-worthy opportunities. Here are both lines.

NYM - Luis Torrens (3 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K)

TB - Liam Hicks (2 H, 1 HR, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

Thirteen starting pitchers tossed exactly six frames on Tuesday. No more, no less. Of those, five were scoreless outings. It’s very rare to see that many arms go six innings in a day. But none of those 13 solid starts were good enough to win this award. Two other pitchers tossed at least seven scoreless frames for wins. Detroit’s Troy Melton and Philadelphia’s Jesus Luzardo. Melton allowed three hits over seven innings, while Luzardo yielded four knocks over eight frames. Luzardo is today’s winner. He went deeper into his start than Melton and struck out three more batters.

All in all, a great day of pitching around the big leagues minus what we saw from a few outcasts like Chicago’s Martin at Fenway Park.

PHI - Jesus Luzardo (W, 8 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 7 K, 2 BB)

DET - Troy Melton (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 4 K, 2 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Of all the interesting stories around MLB right now between Skubal’s Dodger debut, Arraez’s spark in the Phillies lineup, the sudden collapses of teams like the Rangers and Nationals, and plenty more, the one that rises above the rest is Boston’s incredible ride from one of the worst American League teams to what many are suddenly calling the most dangerous AL squad in baseball.

I’m not ready to call the Red Sox World Series contenders just yet. What they are doing is amazing. Any team that wins 24 of 28 contests deserves all the praise. What’s craziest about this Boston run is how the entire lineup is clicking at once. Every hitter 1-9 has done something productive during this stretch. Seven players with multi-hit efforts last night versus the White Sox is a rare sight.

Then there’s the pitching, which ranks third in MLB with a 3.52 ERA, and over the last 30 days leads all of baseball with a 2.61 earned run average. That’s ridiculous, especially considering that this team has been without last year’s runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award, Garrett Crochet, since April. Crochet, who has been out with a shoulder issue and might not return this season, was a key reason why Boston earned a wild-card berth last year.

I could go on and on. My point is that watching a team click on all cylinders after what seemed like a lost year at the start of July is one of the major reasons the MLB regular season keeps our attention from beginning to end. Boston’s not supposed to be doing this. A little over a month ago, everything pointed to this franchise being sellers at the Trade Deadline. Yet here we are on August 5, and not only is Boston right in the thick of the wild-card race, but at 5 ½ games back of Tampa Bay in the AL East, I’m not betting against them.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

7:40 PM - Pirates (57-58) at Brewers (70-43): This is it for me. If Paul Skenes (9-9, 3.90 ERA) loses today in a game Pittsburgh desperately needs (3 ½ games behind the third NL WC position), then I think it’s safe to put a fork in the Buccos’ quest to make their first playoff appearance since 2015.

I’ve been unimpressed with Skenes all season. Maybe he can do something to actually help his team win a big game for once. Step up, Paul. Go seven strong innings tonight like an ace of your caliber should be doing more often than not. But another so-so five-plus frames should make Pirates fans vomit. We just saw half of Tuesday’s starting pitchers throw six or more quality innings. Hopefully, Skenes is aware of that and finally reminds fans why he was once hyped as this generation’s next great pitcher.

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Cardinals-13, Yankees-7: The Redbirds led 6-0 before the Yankees rallied for seven straight runs (including a go-ahead two-run homer from new acquisition Luis Garcia Jr.), but St. Louis retook the lead with a seven-run eighth inning highlighted by Alec Burleson’s third round-tripper of the contest (3 H, 3 HR, 6 RBI).

Phillies-6, Nationals-3: Washington’s playoff hopes look dim after blowing a 3-0 lead thanks to surrendering six runs combined in the seventh and eighth frames, ultimately leading to their sixth straight loss.

Diamondbacks-5, Padres-1: In the first of four games between two legit NL wild card contenders, Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt holds San Diego to one unearned run over 6 ⅓ frames for his sixth win (W, 6.1 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 5 H).

Cubs-10, Dodgers-5: The top NL wild card squad homers four times off Dodgers southpaw Justin Wrobleski in a potential playoff preview.

Pirates-4, Brewers-3: Spencer Hortwitz’s three-run double in the third provides the big offensive spark for Pittsburgh, leading to a win that brings them back to .500 in the standings.

Giants-5, Rangers-1: The Rangers were AL West contenders two weeks ago, but after dropping their sixth straight contest on Monday to fall 2 ½ games back, the only thing Texas can be thankful for is that they play in the weakest division in MLB.

Blue Jays-3, Astros-1: Toronto’s Shane Bieber strikes out six 'Stros over 5 ⅔ innings for the win, but the Blue Jays still trail by four games for the final AL wild card position.

Rays-13, Rockies-9: Tampa Bay collects 15 hits, scores 13 times, and their star third baseman Junior Caminero smacks his 31st and 32nd taters of the year to remind Houston’s Yordan Alvarez that the AL MVP race is far from over.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

STL - Alec Burleson (3 H, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

SF - Logan Webb (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 8 K, 1 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

On Monday, while writing my twice-weekly MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List, I mentioned to readers that the one thing I’d like to see before the Trade Deadline expires is a swapping of good big league-ready players between two contenders. A trade where a team like the Washington Nationals gets a quality MLB-ready arm or two in exchange for one of their big bats. Remember, the Nats are the highest scoring team in baseball. They needed quality pitching in both the rotation and bullpen to make a run at the playoffs.

Instead, over the last week we’ve seen the Nats trade two quality bats (Luis Garcia Jr. and Curtis Mead), and their best starting pitcher (Foster Griffin: 12-3, 3.06 ERA) for an injured hurler from Boston (Connelly Early) and a bunch of prospects that the average baseball fan has never heard of. In other words, a franchise that was in the wild-card hunt a week ago is punting on the season with the prayer that these relative unknowns will make them better in a few years, maybe sooner. I’ve seen this story a million times, and it rarely pans out.

My biggest issue with most of the trades we’ve seen over the last few days, including the big one (Detroit trading Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers for three prospects), is that not one of them involved two playoff contenders trying to get better this season. Everything was about one team undoubtedly trying to improve for 2026, and the other basically saying, “let’s hope these prospects and below-average big leaguers help us out one day.”

What the Nationals did by trading their best arm (Griffin) and the NL’s slugging percentage leader (Garcia) for players who will absolutely not make them better this season was tell their fans who haven’t tasted the playoffs since 2019, something like this:

Maybe in a few years we’ll go for it again. Thanks for supporting us in the meantime.

So there’s my issue. Some teams got better immediately and gave up very little to do so. We don’t know how good prospects will be once they reach the majors. Most of them fail to meet expectations. This is why I don’t understand how in a season when 20-plus teams are within realistic striking distance of a postseason berth, there weren’t more trades between contenders. Trades where both sides try to get better right now. It’s kind of boring and a big slap in the face to the fan bases, especially those who haven’t seen their favorite club reach the playoffs this decade. Best example: The Washington Nationals.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

8:05 PM - Dodgers (69-44) at Cubs (64-49): Even though I think the Skubal trade to Los Angeles for three prospects that may or may not become something worthwhile one day was a joke of a deal (how does Detroit not at least get some MLB-ready players for the reigning two-time Cy Young winner?), it is still the left-hander’s debut in a new uni. Skubal (16 GS, 7-5, 2.79 ERA) will try to end the Blue Crew’s four-game skid against a Cubs squad that leads the NL wild-card race by four games and trails the Brewers in the NL Central by 5 ½ games.

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Marlins-1, Phillies-0: A solo homer in the first inning by Kyle Stowers provided the only offensive highlight in this contest, but Sandy Alcantara’s seven shutout frames versus Philadelphia became the top story as trade rumors swirl once again around the right-hander.

Tigers-14, Orioles-0: Detroit’s SP Troy Melton rivals Alcantara for pitching line of the day (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 5 K, 2 BB) with the main difference being that he received 14 runs of support courtesy of big performances from Gleyber Torres (1 HR, 5 RBI), Kevin McGonigle (4 H, 4 R), and catcher Eduardo Valencia (4 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI).

Diamondbacks-8, Pirates-7 (F/12): A wild comeback from six runs down by Pittsburgh sends the contest to extras, but the visiting D-backs get the last laugh after James McCann’s go-ahead RBI single in the 12th proves to be the game winner.

Rangers-4, Rays-1: The battle of division leaders goes the way of the team from the AL West as Rangers veteran Cal Quantrill picks up the win after striking out seven over 5 ⅓ frames (W, 5.1 IP, 1 ER).

Nationals-8, Blue Jays-6: Toronto’s Shane Bieber walks six batters in the first inning, leading to four Washington runs and another loss for the last-place Jays.

Twins-3, Royals-2: Minnesota’s Taj Bradley was in line for the loss after allowing two runs and striking out 10 over six innings, but instead left the ballpark with a no-decision after his teammate Royce Lewis hammered a game-winning two-run triple off the right field wall in the bottom of the ninth.

Yankees-3, White Sox-2: A three-run second inning by the visiting Yankees provided all the run support Gerrit Cole needed for his fourth win after tossing six scoreless frames (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 7 K).

Cubs-10, Cardinals-2: Chicago cruised to a second straight victory over their NL Central rivals behind six strong innings from Colin Rea (W, 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H) and 17 hits from the offense.

Astros-3, Angels-2: Yordan Alvarez continues to increase his odds of winning the AL MVP after mashing his MLB-leading 35th long ball in the first inning and collecting a game-winning RBI single in the ninth to give his Astros a second consecutive victory over the Halos.

Athletics-4, Red Sox-3: After word got around that Boston’s newly acquired infielder Curtis Mead landed on the 10-day IL with a fractured wrist, the Sox offense was held scoreless by the A’s through the first seven innings on Tuesday and fell a run short in a late comeback effort.

Padres-8, Rockies-7: San Diego won its fourth straight contest after Xander Bogaerts walk-off sac fly brought home Jackson Merrill from third.

Brewers-8, Giants-2: Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson tossed 5 ⅔ scoreless frames (W, 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 7 K), and rookie Luis Lara drove in three of the Brewers’ eight runs to give him 10 RBI over 38 big league at-bats.

Mariners-7, Dodgers-6: A back-and-forth contest that had everything from a leadoff homer by Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to long balls by Seattle’s big names Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez is ultimately decided on a Dominic Canzone go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth (2 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI).

Guardians-6, Reds-5 (Doubleheader Game 1): Kyle Manzardo’s first-inning grand slam and Brayan Rocchio’s go-ahead sac bunt in the eighth frame highlight Cleveland’s victory in Game 1 of the Ohio Cup.

Reds-2, Guardians-0 (Doubleheader Game 2): Despite a quality 12-strikeout performance by Cleveland’s Gavin Williams (L, 7 IP, 2 ER, 12 K), the Ohio Cup will have a rubber game on Wednesday thanks to Cincy’s bullpen holding the visitors to three hits over nine innings.

(Braves at Mets postponed. Doubleheader on Wednesday)

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

I always appreciate a 5-for-5 day like the one San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. had on Tuesday. However, all of his knocks were singles, and he only scored one run.

The best line of the day goes to Detroit’s first-year backstop Eduardo Valencia. In only his seventh big league contest, Valencia clocked two homers, collected four hits, drove in four runs and scored three times. He’s batting .529 since being called up from Triple-A Toledo, and already has four homers and seven RBI. Valencia hit .262 with 17 taters in 81 minor league games this season.

DET - Eduardo Valencia (4 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

Wow. It’s literally a tie for me between Alcantara and Melton. Both pitchers threw seven scoreless innings (even). Both struck out five batters (even). Alcantara allowed four hits to Melton’s three (advantage Melton). Troy walked two while Sandy allowed one free pass (advantage Alcantara). Melton needed 92 pitches to get through seven frames, while Alcantara tossed 97 pitches (slight advantage Melton). But, with it being a virtual tie, I have to use the strength of opponent and situation to decide the winner.

Alcantara was possibly pitching in his final game as a Miami Marlin. Who really knows? Had the Fish dropped last night’s contest to Philly and then lost on Wednesday, many believe they would be sellers before the August 3 Trade Deadline. And they may very well still be sellers. We don’t really know. But if that was Alcantara’s final start for Miami in a game in which he had one run of support against a division rival, I have to go with him. The Marlins are hoping to catch Philly in the wild-card race and, entering Wednesday, are two games behind Arizona for the third WC spot and three back of Philly for the second wild card. Therefore, from a pressure standpoint, there’s no comparison between Alcantara’s performance and Melton’s easy-going outing that saw his team score at least once in every inning. Alcantara is today’s winner.

MIA - Sandy Alcantara (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 5 K, 1 BB)

DET - Troy Melton (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 5 K, 2 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

It’s one thought, and one thought only today. In the same way I felt about last night’s start possibly being Alcantara’s final one with the Marlins, I’m probably even more intrigued by whether Detroit’s Tarik Skubal will be making his final start in a Tigers uniform today versus Baltimore.

Let’s be honest with each other about the Tigers. Detroit is 51-57, and they sit five games back in the AL Central with three squads ahead of them. In the wild-card race, they are “only” 3 ½ games behind for the third WC spot, and that would be fine if there were one or two other franchises fighting for that position. However, that’s not the case. There are four clubs between themselves and the third wild-card holder, the Cleveland Guardians, which means Detroit will have to at some point pass five teams just to get a wild-card berth. Or, they’ll have to leap ahead of three teams in their division, one being those Guardians, and hope for an AL Central title.

Hope and prayer are the two words I am thinking Tigers fans are using right now when trying to figure out if this club can make the postseason. After today’s contest with Baltimore, the Tigers head to Sacramento to play the A’s for three games. The A’s are a lousy 45-62. I think Detroit will probably wait on today’s result with Skubal pitching, and likely until the end of Sunday before deciding on the reigning two-time Cy Young’s fate.

Let’s just say that the Tigers win out the week. They take Wednesday’s rubber game against Baltimore and then sweep the A’s over the weekend. That would put their record at 55-57 a day before Monday’s Trade Deadline. And let’s play pretend for a moment and say, with those four wins, they gain a game in the wild card and division race. If that happens, the Tigers would be four games out in the AL Central, and 2 ½ back in the AL Wild Card.

I’m not buying it. The Tigers would be foolish to assume that even if they found a way into the 2026 postseason, this is a team capable of going to the World Series and possibly winning it all. They aren’t very good, with or without Skubal. If there’s a franchise willing to sell their farm and possibly some MLB-ready players for Tarik, then knowing the unlikely scenario that Detroit has of re-signing Skubal in the offseason, how can they not make a big move?

My fear for the Tigers is that they sit tight, don’t do anything, and suddenly end up in an identical situation as the 2023 Los Angeles Angels. A team that thought, with Ohtani and the oft-injured Mike Trout, that a playoff run could be made even though they were three games back of a wild card and 4 ½ games behind in the AL West on July 31 that year. At least the Angels were above .500 at 56-51 at that time, and there were fewer teams fighting for those postseason berths. But their boldness and, quite frankly, arrogance in not trading Ohtani for what would have been a massive return from some other club has since destroyed this franchise (going for a third straight last-place finish in the AL West). When the Angels refused to trade Ohtani at the ‘23 deadline, their plan backfired. Anaheim went 17-36 the rest of the way and finished 16 games out of a playoff spot with a 73-89 record.

So someone tell me why a mediocre club like Detroit should even attempt to keep Skubal given their situation? Even if they make the playoffs and then are eliminated early on, is that worth it to the fans in the long run? Make the playoffs and lose early, and then lose Skubal in the offseason for nothing in return? No way. It’s time to trade Skubal. Let’s just hope for Tigers fans that he doesn’t injure himself today in what should be his final game wearing a Detroit uniform.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

1:10 PM - Orioles (52-56) at Tigers (51-57): For all the reasons mentioned above, this is probably your must-watch contest of the day. At least it will be for every Skubal-hopeful franchise about to make an offer for the American League’s most dominant pitcher.

Pitching matchup: BAL - Trevor Rogers (19 GS, 6-7, 4.17 ERA) versus DET- Tarik Skubal (16 GS, 7-5, 2.70 ERA)

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Marlins-8, Phillies-7: The 12-game losing streak is over for Miami in a game that saw the Marlins jump ahead of Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, 5-2, only to see that lead evaporate before ending with a three-run ninth-inning comeback highlighted by a Griffin Conine walk-off single courtesy of Philadelphia’s closer Jhoan Duran.

Pirates-3, Diamondbacks-2 (F/10): Pittsburgh rallies from a 2-0 deficit with a run in the sixth and eighth frames, and eventually wins the game in the 10th via Brandon Lowe’s walk-off single down the first base line.

Red Sox-4, Athletics-2: Ceddanne Rafaela’s sixth-inning grand slam accounts for all of Boston’s runs as they improve to 18-3 in July.

Rangers-7, Mariners-3: Mariners right-hander George Kirby surrenders seven runs in a key series finale with Texas, including four homers, two of which came off the bat of Rangers leadoff man Joc Pederson (2 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI).

Orioles-8, Tigers-5: It might be close to Tarik Skubal selling time for Detroit after the Tigers lose their third straight contest to fall four games out of the AL wild-card race with plenty of teams ahead of them.

Cubs-7, Cardinals-3: The first of four games between these NL Central rivals goes the way of Chicago after four-hit performances by Alex Bregman and Nico Hoerner carry the Cubs to victory.

Yankees-9, White Sox-5: Chicago scores three first-inning runs off Yankees southpaw Max Fried only to see that lead evaporate after New York crosses home plate four times in the fourth and eighth frames.

Blue Jays-3, Nationals-2: Toronto needs seven pitchers to hold MLB’s highest-scoring squad to a pair of runs.

Mets-14, Braves-3: Atlanta rookie reliever Connor Thomas may have a short big league career after yielding 11 runs in a game that sees five Mets players collect three knocks apiece, including a few extra-base hits by Francisco Lindor (2 HR, 1 3B, 6 RBI).

Astros-6, Angels-4: The last-place Angels squander a two-run lead in the ninth courtesy of two hit-by-pitches, a couple of errors, a pair of walks, and a whole lot of other nonsense that we’re accustomed to seeing with the saddest American League franchise around.

Giants-3, Brewers-0: San Fran’s Tyler Mahle tosses six scoreless frames for the win against the NL Central leaders.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

NYM - Francisco Lindor (3 H, 2 HR, 1 3B, 6 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

SF - Tyler Mahle (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 K, 2 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

While watching highlights this morning, one of the funniest things I’ve seen this year occurred at Comerica Park in Detroit. The grounds crew, along with Orioles outfielder Leody Taveras, spent some time chasing a black squirrel around the outfield in hopes of getting the fella to safer ground.

The clip below is a short one, and it’s the commentary that cracks me up. I felt like I was listening to a play-by-play of the Kentucky Derby mixed with a Heavyweight boxing match between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed. Take a listen.

And the crowd booing at the end was a great finishing touch. Amusing thoughts today. Nothing serious.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

6:40 PM - Phillies (57-50) at Marlins (53-54): In Monday’s MLB Series Preview, I talked about the Miami Marlins 12-game losing streak. Over the last few seasons, trade rumors have always surrounded their former Cy Young winner, Sandy Alcantara. I said that Tuesday’s start versus Philadelphia may very well be his last if the Marlins keep on falling down the standings.

Well, they won a dramatic game last night to end the losing streak, and now find themselves two games back of a wild-card spot with loads of teams ahead of them. Yes, they are in the race, but if they drop the next two contests to Philadelphia, maybe for once, the rumors around Alcantara will come true. This may very well be Alcantara’s final game in a Marlins uni, so I’m interested to see what he and his team do tonight.

Other than throwing 8 ⅓ innings in 2017 to begin his MLB career as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, Alcantara has never tossed an inning dressed in anything but a Marlins uniform.

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Red Sox-6, Orioles-3 (Gm. 1 Doubleheader): A four-run first inning by Boston leads them to a 15th straight victory to match the franchise record set in 1946.

Orioles-5, Red Sox-1 (Gm. 2 Doubleheader): A four-run first inning by Baltimore ultimately snaps Boston’s 15-game winning streak as SP Kyle Bradish claims the win (W, 6 IP, 1 ER).

Pirates-5, Yankees-3 (F/10, Gm. 1 Doubleheader): A pair of RBI singles in the 10th by Jared Triolo and Jake Mangum propel the Buccos to victory.

Yankees-2, Pirates-0 (Gm. 2 Doubleheader): A two-run seventh by New York and only three knocks allowed by the pitching staff equals a doubleheader split in the Bronx.

Dodgers-9, Phillies-5: Max Muncy’s 20th homer in the sixth frame gives the Dodgers a two-run lead and series victory in Philly.

Rays-4, Blue Jays-2: Victor Mesa Jr. drives home two of Tampa Bay’s four runs, and Griffin Jax collects his sixth win (W, 6 IP, 1 ER) to give the Rays a chance at a four-game sweep on Thursday.

Twins-10, Guardians-6: Jose Ramirez has two hits for Cleveland in his return from the IL (fractured hand), but Minnesota’s Brooks Lee homers and drives in four runs to help the Twins to a needed victory on the road.

Braves-7, Padres-6: Six Braves players collect two hits apiece, and their bullpen nearly blew a 7-1 lead in the ninth before closer Raisel Iglesias locked down his 20th save.

Royals-5, Giants-4: Kansas City placed its star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. on the IL before the game with lower back tightness, but the offense put up a five-spot in the seventh inning for the win.

Brewers-4, Mets-3: Joey Ortiz goes 3-for-3 with two extra-base hits and SP Logan Henderson strikes out nine over five frames for the victory (W, 5 IP, 2 ER, 9 K).

Nationals-8, Rockies-0: Cade Cavalli’s six shutout frames (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 8 K) spark Washington to an easy win at Coors Field.

Diamondbacks-15, Athletics-5: Arizona’s 6 thru 9 batters account for most of the damage after going a combined 10-for-17 at the dish with nine ribbies.

Reds-5, Mariners-3: Seattle drops the rubber game at home after Sal Stewart’s go-ahead three-run tater in the seventh leads Cincy to a series win.

Cardinals-1, Angels-0: A half-dozen scoreless innings by Hunter Dobbins (W, 6 IP, 0 ER) and JJ Wetherholt’s solo homer in the sixth help St. Louis avoid being swept by the American League’s worst franchise.

White Sox-4, Rangers-2: Second baseman Chase Meidroth collects four knocks and drives in two Chicago runs as they take the series, 2-1, over the AL West leaders.

Tigers-5, Cubs-1: Detroit’s Keider Montero allows one run over 5 ⅓ frames for the road win.

Astros-5, Marlins-2: Yordan Alvarez’s two-run blast in the eighth to break a 2-2 tie ensures a Houston sweep and a ninth straight loss for the Marlins.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

There are times when the best offensive line goes unnoticed. You don’t always need the big multi-homer or five RBI outing to have the best all-around numbers. Milwaukee’s Joey Ortiz is an example of this. He didn’t have a flashy performance against the Mets, but his little bit of everything caught my eye today.

MIL - Joey Ortiz (3 H, 1 3B, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB, 1 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

Anytime a pitcher, or in this case a team, holds an opponent scoreless at Coors Field, I take notice. Cavalli’s six strong frames and eight punchouts deserve recognition.

WSH - Cade Cavalli (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 8 K, 2 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Boston’s winning streak came to an end last night. I tuned in for the first inning and witnessed one of their lesser experienced rookies, Eduardo Rivera, give up four runs on three hits and a pair of walks before being replaced after only two-thirds of an inning. Boston’s offense never got it going at any point against Bradish and the O’s pen. That first frame was their doom.

I could tell that Rivera felt terrible as he sat in the Boston dugout after being replaced in the first inning. He knew how poorly he pitched in a game with a massive winning streak on the line that was supposed to have lefty Ranger Suarez take the bump in his return from the IL with a groin injury. However, Suarez was feeling ill before the contest, so Rivera was called upon to make the start.

My father is a Red Sox fan. Before the game began, he said to me that the idea of putting a struggling rookie on the mound, who hadn’t pitched well in his previous start versus Tampa Bay, seemed off given that Boston was going for a franchise-breaking 16th straight victory. He was right. I would have gone with the more experienced Brayan Bello, who replaced Rivera in the first inning and pitched well over 5 ⅓ scoreless frames.

The point is, nobody ever knows when a player like Rivera could have a career day. However, I’m a big believer in experience when it comes to high-pressure situations. Bello has had a down year (until last night’s solid outing), but he’s a pitcher who went 11-9 with a 3.35 ERA last year, and has a decent five-year MLB career under his belt.

In the big picture, it doesn’t really matter. Boston’s streak, like any, was going to come to an end eventually. Their 15 straight wins got them back in the race, and entering Thursday, they own a two-game lead for the third AL wild card and sit one game behind Cleveland for the second WC spot.

Let’s see if the Sox continue to play well at home this weekend versus Toronto. I see no reason why they should fall back into their first-half losing ways at Fenway Park. However, as we are witnessing with Miami right now, sometimes the hottest team in the league will suddenly go completely cold after a run like this. Now that the winning streak has ended, we’re going to find out if the Red Sox are legitimate playoff contenders. After the huge momentum swing came to an end last night, this is when we’ll see what a team like Boston is really about.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

Only five games today, but two of them have major relevance.

1:10 PM - Twins (50-53) at Guardians (54-49): An important matchup. The final game of four between a pair of AL Central contenders. A Cleveland win puts them a half-game back of idle Chicago in the division. A Minnesota loss puts them 5 ½ games behind the White Sox and five back of Cleveland.

Pitching matchup: MIN - Taj Bradley (19 GS, 9-4, 3.85 ERA) versus CLE - Gavin Williams (20 GS, 10-5, 4.00 ERA)

5:15 PM - Diamondbacks (53-49) at Cardinals (52-49): This is one of those odd makeup games. Arizona is traveling to Washington for a weekend series beginning on Friday with the Nationals. They are making a pit stop in St. Louis on the way because of a postponed game on June 25. This is the definition of a one-and-done situation in MLB. One game, and then move on.

Just because these clubs are playing only once doesn’t mean there’s nothing on the line. The winner of today’s game will head into the weekend as the National League’s third wild-card holder. The D-backs are a half-game ahead of the Cards for that position. Of course, there are still two-plus months to go, but you never know if this contest on July 23 ultimately plays a major factor in the final standings come the last day of the regular season on September 27.

Pitching matchup: ARI - Brandon Pfaadt (17 G, 7 GS, 4-1, 4.58 ERA) versus STL - Michael McGreevy (19 GS, 4-7, 2.92 ERA)

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Dodgers-2, Phillies-1: Max Muncy’s two-run blast off Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler in the second frame, and a game-ending 5-2-6-4 double play, evens this series at one game apiece.

Rangers-10, White Sox-0: Six shutout frames by Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker (W, 6 IP, 0 ER) and a 4-for-4 day at the plate by Brandon Nimmo lead Texas to the easy win.

Guardians-5, Twins-2: Cleveland draws even with Chicago atop the AL Central behind solid pitching and two sac flies in the sixth inning.

Reds-4, Mariners-2: Chase Burns holds Seattle scoreless over five frames and earns his 12th win, tying him for the MLB lead in that category.

Rays-12, Blue Jays-2: So much for a Toronto wakeup call in this four-game series versus the AL East division leaders after SP Kevin Gausman surrenders five runs over 3 ⅓ frames, leading to the team’s third straight loss.

Padres-8, Braves-3: San Diego homers four times, including two off the bat of Manny Machado, to even this four-game series at 1-1.

Royals-3, Giants-2: KC hurler Luinder Avila earns his fifth win after striking out seven Giants over 6 ⅓ innings of two-run ball.

Mets-4, Brewers-0: Zac Thornton’s six shutout frames and first career win lead the Mets to victory over first-place Milwaukee.

Cubs-11, Tigers-2: Chicago’s David Peterson holds Detroit scoreless (W, 6.2 IP, 0 ER) and the Cubbies offense knocks Framber Valdez out of the game in the first frame after the southpaw surrendered six runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Astros-5, Marlins-3: The Marlins drop their eighth straight contest thanks to homers by Houston’s Jeremy Pena and Isaac Paredes, as well as a solid outing by rookie Tatsuya Imai (W, 6 IP, 1 ER, 8 K).

Rockies-8, Nationals-7: A pair of homers by Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams isn’t enough for Washington after a go-ahead solo blast in the eighth by Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman seals the deal for the home team.

Angels-5, Cardinals-1: St. Louis drops its fourth straight contest after SP Matthew Liberatore yields five first-inning runs to the American League’s worst club.

Diamondbacks-6, Athletics-5 (F/10): Arizona’s Ildemaro Vargas singles home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th to help his squad draw even for the final NL wild card position.

Orioles at Red Sox (Postponed: Doubleheader on Wednesday)

Pirates at Yankees (Postponed: Doubleheader on Wednesday)

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

WSH - CJ Abrams (2 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

I marked four pitchers on my list for today’s honor. Justin Wrobleski, Kumar Rocker, Zac Thornton, and David Peterson. Each hurler tossed at least six innings, and only Wrobleski surrendered a run. Therefore, he’s automatically eliminated. Former Met, now Baby Bear, Peterson had the longest outing (6.2 IP), while Rocker and Thornton went six innings apiece. I’m eliminating Thornton because he only struck out two and allowed three knocks, while Peterson, who also gave up three hits, fanned four batters.

This leaves us with Peterson and Rocker. Kumar only yielded one hit, and he struck out six batters while walking two. He gets today’s award, but it’s close. I’ll put all four lines below.

TEX - Kumar Rocker (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 6 K, 2 BB)

CHC - David Peterson (W, 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 4 K, 1 BB)

NYM - Zac Thornton (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 1 BB)

LAD - Justin Wrobleski (W, 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 7 K, 1 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

It’s been a quick turn of events for the Miami Marlins over the last two weeks. They entered the All-Star break as the hottest team since June 1, and are now on the verge of being swept for a third consecutive series if they lose at Houston today. I talked about unpredictability on Tuesday, and seeing the Marlins go into this kind of slump certainly qualifies as such.

MLB’s batting average leader, Otto Lopez (.332 BA), is 3-for-23 over his last six contests. Meanwhile, Miami’s second-best hitter for average, Xavier Edwards (.293 BA), has gone 6-for-31 (.194 BA) during the eight-game slide. With those key bats slumping at the same time, I suppose it’s not all that surprising to see the Marlins struggle. The ups and downs of a 162-game season.

Miami is a half-game out of the playoff picture entering Wednesday.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

Doubleheader - Orioles (49-52) at Red Sox (51-48): With yesterday’s postponement, the Red Sox and Orioles will play a pair of contests today. The 14-game winning streak is still on the line for Boston, so nothing has changed there. We’ll see how the Sox fiddle with the rotation. Yesterday’s expected starter Ranger Suarez was supposed to pitch after missing a couple of weeks with a groin injury. However, his status for today is up in the air. As of now, he could take the ball in the second contest at 7:10 pm. The Sox will send rookie Jake Bennett (9 GS, 5-3, 2.35 ERA) to the bump in Game 1 at 1:35 PM. He’ll face O’s righty Dean Kremer (5 GS, 1-2, 4.15 ERA).

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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SCORES OF THE DAY

Red Sox-6, Orioles-5: Boston takes the first of three contests between the hottest teams in MLB thanks to Caleb Durbin’s go-ahead solo blast in the bottom of the eighth (winning streak reaches 14 games).

Guardians-13, Twins-4: MLB’s lowest-scoring team clocks seven home runs, including six off Minnesota’s usually reliable Joe Ryan (L, 4 IP, 8 ER, 6 HR).

Yankees-8, Pirates-5: Jazz Chisholm Jr. smacks two homers and drives in five Yankee runs in the series-opener versus Pittsburgh.

Phillies-10, Dodgers-7: Philadelphia takes this high-scoring affair behind Cristopher Sanchez’s 12th win (W, 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 K) and Trea Turner’s three extra-base knocks (3 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI).

Rays-7, Blue Jays-1: Tampa Bay’s Nick Martinez (W, 6 IP, 1 ER) doesn’t record a single strikeout but shuts down the Blue Jays offense behind six solid frames, while outdueling Toronto’s ace Dylan Cease (L, 6 IP, 3 ER).

Tigers-8, Cubs-6 (F/10): After Ian Happ’s two-run tater in the eighth ties the game for Chicago, the bullpen allows Detroit to score three times in the 10th for the loss.

Braves-3, Padres-2: Homers by Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies carry Atlanta offensively in the first of four contests between these playoff contenders.

Astros-8, Marlins-5: The once scorching-hot Miami Marlins drop their seventh straight contest after Houston scores six runs in the second frame, highlighted by a Jeremy Pena grand slam and Yordan Alvarez’s first of two long balls on the day.

White Sox-10, Rangers-3: The battle of division leaders goes the way of Chicago after the offense tags Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom for five runs over 4 ⅔ frames.

Brewers-8, Mets-3: Milwaukee’s rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt collects his first career homer in the second inning as part of a three-hit performance.

Mariners-8, Reds-0: Seattle overtakes Texas for the AL West lead behind six shutout frames from George Kirby (W, 6 IP, 0 ER) and a Cal Raleigh seventh-inning grand slam.

Nationals-7, Rockies-3: Washington homers three times to pull to within one game of the final NL wild card spot.

Athletics-5, Diamondbacks-2: Jeff McNeil’s go-ahead two-run single in the seventh leads the struggling A’s to victory.

Royals-4, Giants-3: With the game tied at three and runners on the corners in the bottom of the ninth, KC’s Nick Loftin lays down a perfect safety squeeze for the walk-off victory.

Angels-3, Cardinals-2: Halos outfielder Jo Adell earns a walk-off HBP after being plunked by Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien with the bases loaded.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY

More than a few multi-homer performances on Monday make today’s decision a tough one. In the end, I’m going with Detroit’s Dillon Dingler’s four knocks, two long balls and three ribbies, which means I’m also selecting Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, who had an identical line.

I could have gone with the five RBI outings by Jazz Chisholm and Trea Turner, but Chisholm only had two hits and struck out twice, while Trea’s three knocks and two punchouts weren’t quite good enough. I prefer players who don’t strike out. That was the case with Dingler and Betts. Congrats on the co-winners.

DET - Dillon Dingler (4 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K)

LAD - Mookie Betts (4 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K)

PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY

Despite a full slate of contests on Monday, there was nothing special on the pitching front to speak of. By default, I suppose I have to go with George Kirby’s six shutout frames for Seattle. If I missed a better line, let me know.

SEA - George Kirby (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 6 K, 1 BB)

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THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

You know why I love the game of baseball? Sometimes I ask myself this question, and it always comes back to unpredictability. For the most part, other major sports leagues like the NBA, NFL, and NHL are fairly predictable. Sure, we’ll get stunners like the New York Knicks defying the odds to win an NBA title this year, or the occasional surprise in the NFL, like the 2008 New York Giants taking down the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. But these “upsets” are rare in those leagues. In MLB, not so much. This is the most unpredictable sport we have.

Two examples I’ll throw out there today.

#1: The Red Sox have won 14 straight contests and are one win away from tying their franchise record of 15 straight victories. On July 1, Boston was 37-47 and 13 games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East. Since then, Boston has gone 14-1, cut that lead to six games, and is currently 1 ½ games ahead for the final AL wild card position. Did anyone see that coming from a team that was way out of the playoff picture only three weeks ago? I didn’t, and certainly would never have predicted that on July 21, the Sox would be tied for the best reliever ERA in baseball (3.09).

#2: Yesterday on Pitcher List, I gave my top five series of the week as usual. One of the series I highlighted was the important four-game set between the Twins and Guardians in Cleveland. The key point I made was that coming into Monday’s contest, Minnesota led the AL in runs scored, while Cleveland ranked last in MLB with 3.92 runs per game. So, of course, what happens in Game 1? Cleveland scores 13 runs on 19 hits and a season-high seven dingers. What’s even more surprising, six of those homers came off the Twins’ ERA leader, Joe Ryan. The half dozen home runs were the most Ryan had ever allowed in a contest (not surprising) and set the franchise record for most long balls given up in a single contest (kind of surprising). Ryan’s six homers surrendered also tied 11 other pitchers for the most ever in the Modern-era (since 1900).

Unpredictability. That is one of the top reasons I enjoy this game, and MLB in particular. Even during the regular season, this league is difficult to predict. That’s what makes it fascinating. And that’s probably why my preseason predictions are generally trash. But that’s okay, because I’d rather be wrong and enjoy the journey than correct and find it bland.

EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern

6:40 PM - Dodgers (63-38) at Phillies (56-45): This is one of the better current rivalries in MLB. Today’s pitching matchup between Dodgers southpaw Justin Wrobleski (16 G, 15 GS, 10-2, 2.69 ERA) and Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler (15 GS, 10-1, 2.13 ERA) features a pair of 10-game winners. Wrobleski isn’t known for the strikeout (73 punchouts over 100.1 innings), but he has fanned 20 batters over his last two outings, and he’ll be facing a pitcher who has posted three consecutive games with double-digit strikeouts. Ever since Wheeler was denied an All-Star selection, he’s been on a rampage. This should be a fun matchup.

7:10 PM - Orioles (49-52) at Red Sox (51-48): We can’t leave this one off the list. Now that Baltimore’s modest seven-game winning streak is over, it’s all about Boston’s quest for a franchise-tying 15th straight victory. A must-watch event if you like baseball history. O’s right-hander Kyle Bradish (19 GS, 6-9, 3.61 ERA) will face Boston’s Ranger Suarez (17 GS, 4-3, 3.15 ERA) as he returns from a groin strain that landed him on the IL before the All-Star break.

MLB Quickcap will be released on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If interested, you can read my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday by following the attached link. I break down my top five series of the week and the weekend. The articles are released around 3 p.m. Eastern.

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Hey, folks. Thankfully, the All-Star break is over, and the first game of the second half begins tonight in Philadelphia between the Mets and Phillies. On the topic of Philadelphia, as most of you reading this know, I’m not a huge All-Star Game fan in any sport. I didn’t watch this year’s game but did tune in for the revamped Home Run Derby. I was curious how different it would be from the annoying swingathon that it had become with the ticking clock.

All in all, the format itself was better. The fans, players, and commentators had a chance to enjoy every homer with at least a bit of space between pitches. It was very similar to the old-school 10-out version that I always enjoyed. Also, the ending was fun. Seeing Philadelphia’s own Kyle Schwarber lose in the Finals to Cardinals first-half MVP Jordan Walker provided plenty of theater. I’ve never seen a Derby where the fans boo a player for hitting a homer and cheer when he doesn’t. That was the case in the Semifinals with Boston’s Willson Contreras and in the Finals with Walker. I’d say that was my favorite part of the whole event.

The rest was annoying hoopla with comedians like Will Ferrell and Luke Wilson in the pregame, Bryce Harper acting like he was the man amongst boys in the middle of a ridiculous boxing ring (ultimately eliminated in the first round with eight homers), and ring announcer Michael Buffer doing his usual ‘let’s get ready to rumble’ before the last round.

But above all the shenanigans, the one thing that absolutely ruined it for me was the high number of camera angles for all the swings. Half the time, viewers on Netflix couldn’t even watch the ball being thrown because there were insane close-ups of the hitters from a variety of awkward angles. I think Netflix forgot that they weren’t there to shoot a film or TV Series. It’s a sporting event. Pick a couple of shot locations that allow viewers to see the pitcher and batter. Nothing else is needed.

Anyway, my last thoughts on All-Star Weekend before we get into the first-half grades. The game was kind of a sleeper with the AL winning 4-0. Again, I didn’t watch a second of it. What a rough showing for Philadelphia players in front of their home fans. Not only did Schwarber lose in the Finals of the Derby and Harper pretty much no-showed in the event, but also seeing the National League’s starter, Cristopher Sanchez, yield three runs in the first frame for the loss while pitching in his home park was not a good look at all. Oh yeah, and combined, the Phillies trio of Schwarber, Harper, and Brandon Marsh went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in the contest. Yikes! Glad I’m not a Phillies fan. However, they are still my pick to win the 2026 World Series.

Let’s get to the grades.

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Tampa Bay Rays

Grade: A+

Thoughts: No one thought they’d win the AL East. In fact, not many believed they’d come close to winning the division. Instead, Tampa Bay has the best record in the American League. I’m not sure I like this team’s overall pitching staff in a playoff series, but the offense is sound, led by MVP-candidate Junior Caminero and AL batting average leader Yandy Díaz.

New York Yankees

Grade: A

Thoughts: An unhealthy rotation all year that hasn’t been at full strength since Day 1. Aaron Judge has been out for longer than initially expected with a rib injury (last played May 31). Yet, for well over a month, the Yanks have been hanging around in the AL East and still have the second-best record in the American League. If Judge isn’t back until late August or early September (as some reports suggest), I’m not sure if they’ll stick with Tampa Bay. Still, New York has had a nice first half despite the key injuries to their captain and the rotation.

Boston Red Sox

Grade: C

Thoughts: Forget about the current nine-game winning streak for a moment. I can’t rate this team higher than a C because their preseason expectations were better than owning a sub-.500 record. Yes, it’s been a nice stretch at the end of the first half, and, yes, all of this has been without their ace, Garrett Crochet (60-day IL with shoulder inflammation). But there is no way the Red Sox continue to climb up the standings if they don’t improve on their MLB-worst home record of 17-27. Boston’s current winning streak has come away from Fenway Park. Let’s see how they do beginning this weekend at home versus Tampa Bay. Following that three-game set, they’ll have six more home games versus the Orioles and Blue Jays.

Baltimore Orioles

Grade: C-

Thoughts: A middle-of-the-pack rotation, as most expected. A staff without a true ace that will probably pitch no better in the second half unless some major upgrades are coming before the Trade Deadline on August 3. The offense has some pop, but if shortstop Gunnar Henderson doesn’t get back to the ‘24 version in the second half, then I think this team falls a bit short of the playoffs.

Toronto Blue Jays

Grade: C-

Thoughts: They should be way better. They should not be a last-place squad. Vlad Guerrero Jr. should have more than six homers despite “apparently” dealing with lower back tightness. Between Guerrero’s lack of power and the usually reliable Kevin Gausman’s so-so first half (20 GS, 4-8, 4.33 ERA), I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising to see Toronto where it is in the standings. I think they have a run in them, but I’m not so confident anymore.

Chicago White Sox

Grade: A

Thoughts: Best story in the American League so far. A 50-45 record for a team being led by a lineup filled with young and inexperienced 20-somethings is impressive. I don’t trust the pitching over a full season, but in the weak AL Central, it might not matter.

Cleveland Guardians

Grade: B

Thoughts: Their offense stinks. They’ve been without their best hitter, Jose Ramirez, for a month (left hamate surgery). Despite having the AL’s worst batting average (.229), Cleveland is tied for first place and has a chance to win a third straight division title. The theme is the same every year. Win games with a below-average offense and solid pitching.

Minnesota Twins

Grade: C

Thoughts: An average team with an average grade. Seems fair to me. Every time Byron Buxton looks ready to break through and play a full season, he doesn’t. His latest hip injury landed him on the 10-day IL in early July. Buxton was nowhere near as good as Mike Trout was early in his career, but he reminds me of the Angels icon every time he lands on the injured list. You can’t be great if you spend half your career sitting on your million-dollar ass with bumps, bruises, and whatever other injuries keep you off the field. Both center fielders have been underachievers for the majority of their careers. No one will ever convince me otherwise.

Detroit Tigers

Grade: D

Thoughts: Speaking of underachieving. I like rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle (.283 BA, .392 OBP, and he walks more than he strikes out). The Tigers have a few other solid bats, but too many easy outs for opposing pitchers to navigate through. Ace Tarik Skubal must prove healthy, not only for Detroit’s chances at a playoff push, but for any potential opportunity the franchise has of stealing another team’s farm system for his services at the Trade Deadline. Skubal has been solid since his return from the IL, but nowhere near as dominant as he was pre-surgery.

Kansas City Royals

Grade: F

Thoughts: For two straight seasons, I’ve predicted this franchise to earn a postseason berth. Now it appears that they’ll fall well short of those expectations again. Bobby Witt Jr. is awesome. After him, the word awesome cannot be used to describe any other player on this roster.

Texas Rangers

Grade: C +

Thoughts: They never have a fully healthy Corey Seager. They haven’t gotten near the productivity initially hoped for from a few youngsters like Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford. They have only one starting pitcher with an ERA under 4.00 (Jacob deGrom). They are in first place in the AL West. Go figure. Something is working. I just can’t figure out what that is.

Seattle Mariners

Grade: C-

Thoughts: Cal Raleigh (65 G, .169 batting average) has to be a lot better. Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor have been average at best. The rotation has been fully healthy all season, and yet has a 32-34 win-loss record. This entire team is underachieving. I’ll still pick them to come out on top in this division.

Houston Astros

Grade: C-

Thoughts: Yordan Alvarez has been at full strength for the entire season and is an MVP candidate. The offense behind Alvarez has been solid enough to keep Houston in the race. However, the 28th-ranked starter ERA (5.26) will destroy them. Hunter Brown must return to his 2025 form.

The Athletics

Grade: D

Thoughts: A solid start to the campaign that saw Sacramento end April with a 17-14 record has since turned disastrous. The A’s are 24-41 since the beginning of May and have the American League’s worst team ERA (5.20). I’m a huge fan of first baseman Nick Kurtz, but can’t get excited about the club’s second half at 6 ½ games out of a playoff spot.

Los Angeles Angels

Grade: F

Thoughts: There’s not a single aspect of this franchise that has me believing it will turn things around this decade. The Halos continue to fail every single season. For as much as people want to say that Mike Trout is back, I’ll simply respond with - Then why is the lifetime .291 hitter batting under .240 for the third straight season? Trout’s not back. He’s just on pace for a few more homers than he’s accumulated over the last three seasons. And that’s only if he stays healthy.

Atlanta Braves

Grade: A

Thoughts: I have to credit Atlanta for its terrific first two months despite the struggles since the beginning of July. They still lead the division by two games. For a team predicted by most to finish third in the NL East, I’d say they’ve done a great job. However, there’s no way they make a World Series run without Ronald Acuña Jr. again. 2021 was as magical as it was shocking. Acuna (10-day IL with a Grade 1 hamstring strain) hasn’t played since June 9 and is expected back soon. They need him.

Philadelphia Phillies

Grade: B+

Thoughts: A horrible start leading to a managerial change in late April has changed Philadelphia’s potentially disastrous season into one with hope. If the offense can improve upon its .236 batting average, then I’ll stick with Philly as my World Series champion behind the rotation’s 1-2 combo of Zack Wheeler and Sanchez.

Miami Marlins

Grade: A

Thoughts: Look at the record and tell me if you honestly believed that the Miami Marlins would be this good? They can hit (see NL batting average leader Otto Lopez and infielders Xavier Edwards and Liam Hicks). They can pitch (see Max Meyer, Eury Pérez, and Sandy Alcantara). If they make the playoffs in the loaded National League, I won’t be as shocked as I would have been had you told me that in the offseason.

Washington Nationals

Grade: C+

Thoughts: Like Miami, they can hit. In fact, they can hit with anyone in the majors (lead MLB in runs scored and slugging percentage). Unlike Miami, they cannot pitch, with the exception of breakout 30-year-old All-Star Foster Griffin (10-2, 2.77 ERA). The Nats have a 4.43 starter ERA, but what’s killing their season comes in the late innings (NL-worst 5.07 reliever ERA and MLB-worst 27 blown saves). Definitely an entertaining squad to watch, but they are impossible to take seriously until the front office addresses the pitching staff issues.

New York Mets

Grade: F

Thoughts: There’s no way this franchise can say it’s not in the midst of another epic failure. We don’t need to look at any of the player’s subpar stats to make that case. All you need are two numbers:

Total payroll - $376 million (second-highest in MLB)

Total wins - 40 (fourth-lowest in MLB)

Milwaukee Brewers

Grade: A

Thoughts: The Brewers shouldn’t surprise any of us. They are the best team in the NL Central by five games and will surely make the playoffs one way or another. However, starting pitching could be their undoing. Right now, their top three SPs are all dealing with something. Brandon Woodruff is on the 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation. Kyle Harrison is on the 15-day IL with left forearm tightness. And it won’t surprise me if their ace, Jacob Misiorowski, lands on the IL at some point after reports of a tired arm will keep him from making a start in the team’s first series of the second half this weekend versus Miami. Without those three at full strength, Milwaukee will probably not go far in October. I’m interested to see how this plays out.

Chicago Cubs

Grade: B+

Thoughts: Two 10-game winning streaks mixed in with a 10-game losing skid help explain their current record. All things considered, between their injury-riddled pitching staff and a bullpen that has no true closer (at least one save from 10 different players), I’d say the Baby Bears are doing just fine. Can someone other than Pete Crow-Armstrong hit well consistently in the second half?

St. Louis Cardinals

Grade: B

Thoughts: I had the Cards finishing last in the NL Central. That’s probably not happening given Cincinnati’s woes. Other than the aforementioned Home Run Derby champion Jordan Walker’s breakout season and JJ Wetherholt’s solid rookie campaign in the everyday leadoff spot, I don’t see much else that says this is a playoff team. Not one of their five regular starting pitchers averages a strikeout per inning, yet the rotation has the 10th-best starter ERA in MLB (4.08). I’m curious if St. Louis holds a top-10 position in that category going forward.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Grade: B

Thoughts: They are hanging around, which is something that Pittsburgh hasn’t been able to claim in more than a decade. I liked the way this team was playing with a healthy Oneil Cruz (10-day IL, hand fracture), Konnor Griffin (10-day IL, torn left ring finger), and Spencer Horwitz (10-day IL, hammy strain). Now? Not so much. It also doesn’t help that the more I watch Paul Skenes pitch, the less confidence I have in the ace’s ability to carry this pitching staff.

Cincinnati Reds

Grade: D-

Thoughts: I don’t ever recall getting a D- on any graded paper in school. I’m not even sure if it’s a legit grade. There is a D, and there is an F, but what exactly a D- is, I have no clue. What I do know is that Cincy has one of the worst run differentials in baseball and is the only team in this division with a negative mark (-60). Therefore, in my book, a -60 run differential equals a D- for the first-half grade.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Grade: A+

Thoughts: I don’t want to give the highest-payrolled franchise an A+ for having the best record in MLB. They are presumably getting the results they paid for, right? However, it’s amazing how this franchise finds wins despite dealing with constant injuries to its pitching staff (some examples include Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Edwin Diaz) and subpar offensive seasons from guys like Mookie Betts and one of the most overpaid players in MLB history, Kyle Tucker. This is the team to beat in October. Nothing has changed.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Grade: B-

Thoughts: Whatever happened to Arizona’s former ace, Zac Gallen? The right-hander was 3-9 with an MLB-worst 6.34 ERA before landing on the 15-day IL before the All-Star break with right elbow inflammation. My belief is that Gallen is not on the IL for anything related to inflammation, but rather something called ERA inflation. The D-backs had to find a way to get this has-been off the field, because he was destroying them every time he took the mound. Regardless of Gallen’s horrible year, this club continues to fight. Eduardo Rodriguez has been by far their best hurler (8-3, 2.29 ERA). Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte continue to lead the offensive attack. Playoff team? I don’t think so.

San Diego Padres

Grade: C-

Thoughts: Other than closer Mason Miller (39.2 IP, 0.91 ERA, 25 saves, 72 K), not one player on the pitching staff or in the everyday lineup has met expectations. San Diego might be hanging around in the wild-card picture at 3 ½ games out, but let’s be honest, it’s time to blow this team up.

San Francisco Giants

Grade: D

Thoughts: As I predicted in the offseason, the Giants’ bullpen would be an issue. What I didn’t expect was the 22nd-ranked starting pitcher ERA of 4.48. However, even if the pitching was better, San Fran’s offense ranks 25th in OBP (.310) and 24th in runs scored (395 runs in 96 games played). Simply put, this squad isn’t well constructed.

Colorado Rockies

Grade: D

Thoughts: They are still the worst team in the National League. No surprise there. However, I give them a D because they had zero expectations coming into ‘26 and have had some quality offensive showings from players like Hunter Goodman, TJ Rumfeld, Jake McCarthy, and Mickey Moniak. Give those four players a pitching staff that doesn’t have a 5.84 home ERA and an almost as pathetic 5.05 road ERA, and maybe the Rockies are further up the standings.

That’s it for today. The first half is over. I’ll be back on Tuesday with MLB Quickcap. Don’t forget to check out my MLB Series Preview on Pitcher List every Monday and Friday. Here’s the link if interested.

Enjoy the start of the second half.

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