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We're now more than two weeks removed from the MLB trade deadline, and the New York Mets organization is making aggressive moves with two of the prospects it acquired in its summer sell-off. Interestingly, the prospect you’d most expect to be moving up didn’t. The Mets promoted infielders Billy Amick and Emilien Pitre from Double-A Binghamton to Triple-A Syracuse on Monday. Infielder Jefferson Rojas, the top-100 player acquired from the Chicago Cubs in the Clay Holmes-Tyrone Taylor deal, stayed at Binghamton. Age had to play a role in the decision: Amick and Pitre are 23 and have major college experience, while Rojas is a 21-year-old international signee. New York acquired 11 minor-leaguers in the six trades they made over a 72-hour period at the start of August. Grand Central Mets offers initial impressions of these three, the most advanced hitters of the group: Jefferson Rojas Rojas has been merely a cog in Binghamton’s offensive machine, but he's not slowing it down. He’s slashing .263/.333/.447 (106 wRC+) after 10 games, with a home run and four extra-base hits. Three of those XBHs came in one game. While the slug may be spotty, it's real. Rojas has produced 16 home runs and 39 extra-base hits in 101 games between Binghamton and Double-A Knoxville, both career highs. Another big plus: his strikeout and walk rates are both at 10.2 percent at Binghamton, in line with his career numbers. He has an 81.0 percent contact rate and a 9.0 swinging strike rate since joining the Mets' organization. As he grows and learns, his command of the zone should help him unlock more thump. And he will need to find more, because third base is already calling Rojas away from shortstop. The Mets have started him four times at third and twice each at short and second since acquiring him. He played twice as much third as short with Knoxville this year. For now, he’s forming a dynamic infield duo at Binghamton with Mitch Voit and giving Mets fans visions of a young star tandem blossoming in the next year or two. Billy Amick His power surge is real, but what's also clear is that Amick is a classic all-or-nothing slugger. He has unlocked his power in his third pro season after totaling seven homers the first two years. He leaves Binghamton tied for the Double-A home run lead with 30 total. His seven dingers in 12 games for the Rumble Ponies powered a .304/.396/.763 slash line (1.179 OPS, 199 wRC+). The swing strategy is clear: lift and separate. He produced a 59.3 percent fly-ball rate with Binghamton, almost nine percentage points higher than his rate at Wichita. His pull-air rate with Wichita was in the 92nd percentile, according to Prospect Savant. Interestingly, his overall pull rate dropped sharply with Binghamton, from 48.1 percent to 29.6 percent, per Fangraphs, while his center-field rate jumped from 23.8 percent to 44.4 percent. But more than any changes in his swing habits, we have to address the strikeout issues. In ’24 and ’25, he punched out at a 27.7 percent rate (95 in 343 PAs); this year, it’s 29.3 percent (127 in 433 PAs combined). At Triple-A, he’ll face... maybe not the best pitching talent in a system, but enough quality arms to expose him. There’s no mystery with Amick: it’s the three true outcomes of home run, walk, and strikeout (32 combined in 54 PAs with Binghamton). The Mets’ organization is challenging him to expand his horizons and shrink his zone in the final month of the Triple-A season. If he does make progress, he’ll make life more uncomfortable for Ryan Clifford, who’s sporting a 54 wRC+ and 38.1 percent K-rate. Emilien Pitre Saying Pitre is the anti-Amick is trite, but accurate. He struck out four times in 44 plate appearances for Binghamton (9.1 percent), and his .375 slugging percentage was entirely the product of a .375 batting average, because he had zero extra-base hits in 10 games. But that contact is just too enticing. An 87.1 percent contact rate with the Rumble Ponies, which was slightly down from his 89.4 percent rate with Double-A Montgomery, is hard to pass up on. His 5.9 percent swinging strike percentage was higher, too, but it was still less than half Amick’s 12.6 percent. And the quality of Pitre’s contact could not be more different. He produced a 54.1 percent ground-ball rate and a 43.2 opposite-field rate with Binghamton. He was at 52.3 percent ground balls with Montgomery. Both ground-ball figures are sharply higher than his A-ball percentages. Then there’s the speed. His stolen base total has slowed at Double-A, with 12 in 47 games as compared to 21 in 51 games at High-A, but it’s clear he has wheels. Mets team president David Stearns reached for speed and up-the-middle skill in several deadline trades. Pitre was one of them, and his talents in those fields could land him a role with the big-club sooner than later. View the full article

For what feels like the fifth or sixth time this season, the Toronto Blue Jays have arrived at another supposedly season-defining week. Every winning streak has been framed as a last stand. Each streak gains momentum then dissipates with a handful of losses. Yet here we are again. The Jays entered Tuesday with a 61-65 record, still four games below .500, but only a half-game back of the final American League Wild Card position. They are part of a peloton cluster of teams that appear unable to separate themselves from the pack. As of Tuesday, Toronto sits behind Baltimore, Texas, Detroit and Minnesota while battling with Cleveland and Seattle in one of the most congested playoff races in baseball. It isn't because each team is playing great baseball. It's because they are playing just well enough. Each team is showing signs of life but is being helped out in large part because the American League is not at its best. This week's games are important, but they are not the most important stretch of the season. The next seven days are less about determining whether Toronto is a contender and more about ensuring the club remains attached to the group of Wild Card hopefuls. A month ago, the Jays' season was on the brink. Their chances of making the playoffs were below 10%. Now, they have doubled. They appear to be back. They certainly aren’t frightening anyone, but they are keeping things close. Nearly every game in the past week or so has felt like a playoff game. From a team that looked to already be making off-season plans, the Jays might be relevant again. Winning six consecutive series and going 13-6 over a 19-game stretch justifies the big crowds at the Rogers Centre. A 7-3 record over their last 10 games has allowed them to leapfrog several teams. A 162-game season is long. Teams can have plenty of peaks and valleys. For the Jays, there have been far more valleys than peaks. Among the teams in the hunt, they are all flawed. The Rangers and Orioles remain inconsistent. Detroit has stumbled. Minnesota has struggled to gain traction. Cleveland and Seattle have spent much of the season hovering around the same level of mediocrity. As a result, the Jays have not imploded and are in the discussion. One of the defining characteristics of this year's Wild Card race is that nobody seems particularly eager to claim it. The Yankees and Red Sox have established themselves above the scramble. Behind them sits a remarkable collection of clubs with records clustered around the .500 mark. Ahead of games on Tuesday, Baltimore is 61-64, Texas is 61-64, Toronto is 61-65, Detroit is 61-64, Minnesota is 61-65, and Cleveland is 60-65. Seattle trails only slightly farther back at 59-66. In most years, a team sitting four games under .500 in mid-August would require a dramatic run to even be contemplating the playoffs. The Jays control much of their own fate because of where they currently sit. And let’s be honest, it is way too soon to be realistically talking about the playoffs. If the season ended next week, we’d already be calculating the possible do-or-die tie-breaker games to even grab the final Wild Card spot. There is no question the Blue Jays have been playing with greater confidence than they were earlier in the year. The pitching seems to be what is propping up this team. While the team’s fortunes have improved, one problem has remained stubbornly unchanged. The Blue Jays still aren't scoring many runs. The Jays have fought their way back into the race despite owning one of the largest offensive declines ever recorded by a defending division champion. They own a minus-57 run differential and have scored just 492 runs while allowing 549. Among division winners since 1961, very few defending champions have experienced a larger year-over-year collapse in runs scored per game than the current Blue Jays. According to historical data tracking division winners from 1961 to the present, the largest declines in runs scored per game after winning a division are: 2014 Boston Red Sox: -1.36 1972 Baltimore Orioles: -1.33 2024 Texas Rangers: -1.22 1981 Kansas City Royals: -1.14 2020 Houston Astros: -1.03 2026 Toronto Blue Jays: -1.01 As a result, the team’s margin for error remains extremely thin. Toronto's season is unlikely to be decided over the next seven days. Games on the road against the Rays and Yankees are never easy, and later in the season even tougher. If the Blue Jays go 4-3 or 3-4, they'll probably remain in the thick of the race. If they go 5-2, they could find themselves occupying a Wild Card position. A disappointing week may not completely eliminate them because every other team in the conversation is facing the same uphill climb. A 1-6 stretch would hurt because it might allow one or some of this group to break away. The Jays have a “softer” schedule after this week than most of the other teams in the hunt. They tend to play well against weaker opponents, but they have also played down to some opponents as well this season. The Jays will spend much of their final six weeks facing clubs with losing records. That does not guarantee anything, but it improves their chances. They still have more road games remaining than several of the teams they are chasing and will play a significant number of games against fellow Wild Card contenders. Which Blue Jays team will show up this week or, for that matter, the rest of the season remains in the air. They haven’t miraculously become a different team, although some weeks with the number of players coming and going from Buffalo it feels like it. They have been doing just enough to win series since the trade deadline, and that success means they are in this leading pack of teams. The regular season is scheduled to end on September 28. So, the Jays don’t need this to be their most important week. They are hoping that the last two or three weeks of September are even more important. This article was written prior to the Blue Jays' 10-5 victory over the Rays on Tuesday, August 18. View the full article

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (August 15-17) Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Series vs Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox): 4-2 Season Record: 60-60 Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Series vs Somerset Patriots (New York Yankees): 1-5 Season Record: 52-60 High-A Vancouver Canadians Series vs Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels): 5-1 Season Record: 54-60 Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays Series vs Tampa Tarpons (New York Yankees): 2-4 Season Record: 52-58 FCL Blue Jays: Season Complete DSL Blue Jays Blue Week Record: 1-4 Season Record: 19-35 DSL Blue Jays Red Week Record: 5-0 Season Record: 33-18 Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Season Record: 60-60 Series vs Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox) August 15: Buffalo had what amounted to a bullpen day on Saturday against Worcester. Richard Gallardo, Austin Marozas, and Beau Phillip all threw 1.2 innings, while Sam Gardner had the high mark in innings for Buffalo at 2.2. Gallardo struggled, to say the least, coughing up six hits and two walks, all leading to four runs in his short outing. Gardner was near perfection, he recorded eight outs on the day, five from strikeouts, and didn't allow a hit or walk. While the pitching was up and down, the hitting had similar stretches, scoring three in the second inning before going silent until late in the game. In the second, it was two missiles for home runs that provided the scoring, a solo blast from Peyton Williams to right and a two-run shot from C.J. Stubbs also to right field. Buffalo would be relatively quiet until the seventh, when Sean Keys roped a ball to right field, joining the duo with home runs on the day, his was of the two-run variety and gave Buffalo a 5-4 lead. It was looking good for the Bisons, until Chad Dallas surrendered the tying run in the eighth inning, sending the game into extra innings. In the top of the tenth, Buffalo started off with a single by Yohendrick Piñango and Nick Goodwin was hit by a pitch. Ismael Munguia then doubled to center, scoring Keys and Piñango, but Goodwin was thrown out at home. Williams and Stubbs would strike out and end the inning, stranding Munguia on the bases. It was more than enough of a lead for Buffalo, as Devereaux Harrison struck out two in a clean frame to give the Bisons the 7-5 win. August 16: Spencer Arrighetti made a second rehab start for Buffalo on Sunday, and it had some ups and downs with it. Arrighetti looked great in the bottom of the first inning, striking out two, as he worked a perfect frame. The second inning was also perfect, two flyouts and a lineout, keeping Arrighetti facing the minimum through two. Two pop ups, and a groundout in the third saw Arrighetti remain perfect through nine batters. It was the bottom of the fourth that tripped up Arrighetti; a single and two-run home run by Mikey Romeo would get Worcester on the scoreboard. Arrighetti would not make it out of the frame, giving up a single and a walk, before turning it over to the bullpen. When he left the game, Buffalo's bats had already put the Bisons on cruise control, scoring nine runs in the first four innings. Carlos Mendoza had a massive game at the plate for Buffalo, collecting four hits, including a two-run home run in the second, a two-RBI double in the third, and adding two more doubles for a total of three on the day. Davis Schneider capped off the scoring for Buffalo, with a three-run blast in the fourth, his sixth for the Bisons. Buffalo cruised to a 9-6 win. Double-A New Hampshire Season Record: 52-60 Series vs Somerset Patriots (New York Yankees) August 15: For the Saturday matchup between New Hampshire and Somerset, we got to see the Double-A debut of Johnny King. There was both the really good and some bad, as his command was a bit of a wild card on the day. In the first inning, a walk and a double scored a run for Somerset and were followed by another walk. In the second inning, King got his second and third strikeouts, but then allowed a single and a walk before finishing the inning. In the third inning, King walked the first two batters and then got three outs on a groundout, sacrifice fly, and pop up. The next inning, Carter Cunningham drove in a run to cut the lead in half for New Hampshire. In the bottom of the fourth, King had a clean inning with two more strikeouts and a groundout. For the day, King went four innings, allowed just two hits, but walked five, and struck out five. In the sixth, a home run and an RBI single gave Somerset the four-run lead. Daniel Guerra came in to pitch the seventh inning and was masterful. Hitting 99 mph on his way to striking out three batters and allowing a walk. New Hampshire lost this one 5-1. August 16: Things went better on Sunday for New Hampshire against Somerset. The Fisher Cats started with the lead in this one in the second inning. A run scored on a throwing error, and a second run came in via an Alexis Hernandez RBI groundout. In the fourth and sixth innings, Victor Arias added an RBI double and Hedbert Perez did the same. Tucker Toman would score later on a fielding error. Jackson Wentworth went five innings for New Hampshire and only allowed three hits and one run. He only struck out one as well. New Hampshire finished this one strong, as they ended up winning 7-1. High-A Vancouver Season Record: 54-60 Series vs Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels) August 15: The Jays love dipping their toes in Indy Ball, and Max Viera is another success story. The infielder spent the majority of the season with the FCL Blue Jays, but was promoted to the Canadians after the draft, and once again performed on offense, hitting a double in the second inning to put a runner on second and third, then scoring the first run after Jaxson West drove him in on a sac fly. Dasan Hill made his debut at Nat Bailey, and he looked great, not allowing a single walk and striking out three over four innings, only allowing a single unearned run after a JoJo Parker throwing error. The Canadians added to the lead when Maddox Latta hit a homer, and Viera helped add some insurance runs after hitting a triple and scoring in the sixth. Holden Wilkerson took the win after five strong innings in relief, allowing two runs as the Canadians won 5 to 3. August 16: Troy Guthrie was once again the starter for Vancouver, and he went five innings once again for the fifth time in six starts since getting promoted. The Canadians took the lead in the second after loading the bases, but could only score one run on a Jean Joseph sac fly. The Dust Devils were able to tie it in the fifth inning off of Guthrie, who left in line for a no-decision. Franly Urena gave up a homer to Ryan Nicholson which also gave up the lead, but once again Max Viera hit a triple to start the rally for the Canadians, as Dariel Ramon drove him in on a sac fly to tie it up, then in the eighth inning, Viera drove in two more runs with his third triple in two games, which ended up being the winning runs. The 25-year-old infielder now has a 1.412 OPS in Vancouver. Single-A Dunedin Season Record: 52-58 Series vs Tampa Tarpons (New York Yankees) August 15: The Tarpons blasted 4 homers against the D-Jays, as it was a non-competitive blowout. Denis Samudio had his worst start with the Jays organisation, walking three batters and allowing four runs in under three innings of work. The bullpen was not better, as each pitcher gave up a homer and the bullpen gave up 10 runs and 11 hits after Samudio was taken out. The Jays were able to score seven runs, including Jake Cook’s third homer of the season, but it was still an insurmountable lead, as they lost 14-7. August 16: What started out well with Brandon Barriera once again having a good start, going three scoreless innings and striking out five batters, quickly turned into a disaster. Jake Bennett and Dean West both had RBI hits in the second inning, but once Brayden Heidel replaced Barriera, things took a turn for the worse. Heidel was unable to get a single out, giving up eight runs with three walks and six hits, ballooning his ERA to 8.23. Josbel Garcia gave up no earned runs replacing him, but fielding errors led to three earned runs scoring. The Jays were able to claw some runs back with a couple of homers from Aldo Gaxiola and Owen Carapellotti, as well as a Jake Cook RBI single, but the seventh inning was another big inning for the Tarpons, as Isaac Williams and Dax Dathe gave up six runs, making it impossible to come back without a miracle, which eventually led to an 18 to 8 defeat for Dunedin. FCL Blue Jays Season Record: 38-20 Season Completed DSL Blue Jays Blue Season Record: 19-35 August 15: BJB scored five runs on the backs of a clogged base path for much of the game on Saturday. They had nine hits and seven walks in the seven-inning game. Eiker Lothar had three of the hits, two singles and a double, while Randy Soto provided some fireworks with his first home run of the season. Cristopher Polanco added two runs to the scoreboard in the fourth, with a two-RBI single on a ground ball to center. Michael Mesa walked with the bases loaded in the sixth and brought home Lothar. Then Soto's solo blast in the seventh capped off BJB's scoring. The five runs were just not enough against a Yankees Bombers squad that scored six in the top of the first inning and eased their way to a 7-5 win. August 17: Juan Caricote led the way for BJB against the White Sox DSL team on Monday. Caricote had an RBI double in the first, a solo home run in the third, and an RBI single in the fourth. He ended the day just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle and added three RBI and two runs scored. Michael Mesa had an RBI double in the first inning, matching Caricote. With a 5-0 lead after the fourth inning, BJB pitching kept giving up runs until the game was tied and went into extra innings. BJB got two runs in the top of the eighth, on Cristopher Polanco's two-RBI single, providing BJB enough of a lead to get a win 7-6. DSL Blue Jays Red Season Record: 33-18 August 15: BJR had the bats dialed in on Saturday against the White Sox DSL team, collecting nine hits and walking 11 times on their way to scoring 11 runs. Alex Linares had the only extra-base hit, a double in the second inning. Jose Gori had an RBI single in the first and a two-RBI single in the fifth. Frelian Flores also had a two-RBI single in the fifth. With the game tied up at eight, the game headed into extra innings, where BJR took a lead they wouldn't surrender. Flores scored on a wild pitch, Samuel Orellana was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Aneudi Severino knocked in one on a single to center. While the bats were hot, the pitching was hit or miss. Carlos Olivo and Juan Ramirez each struck out five in 2.1 innings of work, but BJB coughed up eight runs (five earned) on the day. BJR was able to hold on for the win, 11-8 in ten innings. August 17: As good of an offensive game BJR had on Saturday, Monday was the exact opposite, just three hits and no walks on the day. Darwin Nuñez hit a solo home run in the second inning to left field; the blast was his third of the season. In the fifth, Ayberson Ortega hit a ball to center for a sacrifice fly, giving BJR a 2-1 lead. The pitching for BJR was great. Franiel Severino, Adrian Moreta, and Jose Melo combined to give up just one run on seven hits, while walking just five. BJR won 2-1. View the full article

The San Diego Padres' four full-season affiliates began a new set of series Tuesday by going 3-2, which included the conclusion of a suspended game. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas were edged by Round Rock 5-3, the Double-A El Paso Chihuahuas walked off Northwest Arkansas 6-5, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps won twice over Great Lakes, 6-5 in the completion of a suspended game and 7-4, then the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm fell 9-2. Padres Minor-League Transactions LHP Andrew Wright assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres. SS Elliot Lascelles assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres. LHP Joseph Herrera assigned to ACL Padres from Lake Elsinore Storm. RHP Maikel Miralles assigned to ACL Padres from Fort Wayne TinCaps. RHP Johan Moreno assigned to San Antonio Missions from El Paso Chihuahuas. RHP Jose Leclerc assigned to El Paso Chihuahuas from San Antonio Missions. OF Kai Murphy assigned to El Paso Chihuahuas from San Antonio Missions. RHP Bernard Jose assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from San Antonio Missions. SS Justin DeCriscio assigned to San Antonio Missions from Fort Wayne TinCaps. RHP Matthew Watson assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from San Antonio Missions. IF Yimy Tovar assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from Lake Elsinore Storm. RHP Victor Lizarraga assigned to San Antonio Missions from Lake Elsinore Storm. San Antonio Missions transferred C Oswaldo Linares to the Development List. San Antonio Missions activated LHP Luis Gutierrez from the 60-day injured list. Early Blow Too Much For Chihuahuas To Handle Left-handed starter Jagger Haynes gave up an early three-spot but was otherwise solid as the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas fell to the Round Rock Express 5-3. Rehabbing Padres outfielder Samad Taylor went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in his first rehab game after two weeks of workouts in Arizona. Taylor, who is coming back from a right oblique strain, played the entire game in left field, possibly indicating a short stay with the Chihuahuas. Dustin Harris went 2-for-3 with a homer, a steal and two RBIs out of the leadoff spot against the team he played the last 2½ seasons for and Marcos Castanon went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Chihuahuas, who were held to five hits. That combo produced the first run of the game as Harris singled and, two outs later, Castanon doubled. Harris then belted his fifth homer since joining the Chihuahuas as a free agent and 11th of the season, a two-run shot, in the bottom of the fifth. Ethan Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect, went 0-for-4, ending his streak of reaching base in every game since being promoted from Double-A San Antonio at 14 games. Haynes, Padres Mission's No. 13 prospect, went five innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts. Right-handers Daison Acosta (1⅔ innings), Alek Jacob (1⅓ innings) and Ethan Routzahn (one inning) combined for four scoreless innings. EP_0818.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Dustin Harris 3 2 2 2 0 0 Samad Taylor 3 0 0 0 1 2 Nick Solak 4 0 0 0 0 1 Marcos Castañon 4 0 2 1 0 2 Ethan Salas 4 0 0 0 0 1 Mason McCoy 4 0 0 0 0 1 Will Wagner 4 0 0 0 0 2 Rodolfo Durán 3 0 1 0 0 0 Nick Pratto 3 1 0 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jagger Haynes 5 7 5 4 2 2 0 Daison Acosta 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 2 0 Alek Jacob 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 Ethan Routzahn 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 Romeo Sanabria Caps 4-Run Ninth With Walk-Off For Missions Alex McCoy had a two-run single and scored the winning run on Romeo Sanabria's walk-off single in a four-run bottom of the ninth as the host Double-A San Antonio Missions stunned the Northwest Arkansas Travelers 6-5. Tirso Ornelas had a game-tying single before Sanabria's hit as all four runs in the ninth came with two outs. The Missions were down to their final strike before McCoy and Ornelas got their hits and Sanabria's came on a 2-2 pitch just like the other two previous singles. Albert Fabian went 4-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Ornelas was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored, McCoy (Padres Mission's No. 8 prospect) two hits and two runs scored and Sanabria two hits. Missions left-handed starter Fernando Sanchez gave up four runs over five innings with five strikeouts, but right-hander Garrett Hawkins (one inning), left-hander Harry Gustin (one inning), right-hander Johan Moreno (1⅓ innings) and right-hander Francis Pena (two-thirds of an inning) allowed just one run and three hits over the final four frames. The Travelers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second, then the Missions clawed back two in the sixth on an Ornelas RBI double and Fabian run-scoring single before Northwest Arkansas went up 5-2 in the seventh. In the bottom of the ninth, Fabian had a leadoff double and went to third on Luis Verdugo's single. After a pair of strikes, Verdugo took second on defensive indifference. Braedon Karpathios, Padres Mission's No. 9 prospect, walked to load the bases when McCoy grounded his two-run single to left field to pull the Missions within 5-4. After a pitching change, Ornelas lined a single to right, scoring pinch-runner Kai Roberts from second and beating the throw home, which advanced McCoy to third and Ornelas to second. SA1_0818.mp4 SA2_0818.mp4 SA3_0818.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Braedon Karpathios 4 0 0 0 1 3 Kai Roberts 0 1 0 0 0 0 Alex McCoy 5 2 2 2 0 0 Tirso Ornelas 5 1 3 2 0 1 Romeo Sanabria 5 0 2 1 0 1 Ryan Jackson 4 0 0 0 0 1 Albert Fabian 4 1 4 1 0 0 Luis Verdugo 2 1 1 0 2 0 Justin DeCriscio 4 0 1 0 0 1 Brendan Durfee 4 0 0 0 0 3 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Fernando Sanchez 5 6 4 4 2 5 1 Garrett Hawkins 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 Harry Gustin 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 Johan Moreno 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 3 0 Francis Peña 2/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 Rosman Verdugo Helps TinCaps Finished Delayed Sweep The High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps improved their home and road record on the same day in sweeping a doubleheader from the Great Lakes Loons 6-5 and 7-4, snapping a season-worst eight-game losing streak. Thanks to a rainout nearly three weeks ago, the TinCaps were actually the visitor in the first game, the resumption of an Aug. 2 suspended game, to begin what is now a seven-game series in Fort Wayne. In the game that was suspended in the top of the fifth inning, Jack Costello, who was promoted to Double-A San Antonio a few days after this game started, had a two-run double in a three-run third inning as the TinCaps took a 4-1 lead. They added two more in the top of the fourth in a game that was started by right-hander Miguel Mendez, who was traded to the San Francisco Giants the day after this game started. In the regularly scheduled game, Rosman Verdugo had a two-run double in the first inning and finished with three RBIs. Kasen Wells went 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBIs and three runs scored out of the leadoff spot, while Bradley Frye went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored from the No. 2 slot. With Verdugo batting third, the top three in the TinCaps' lineup went 8-for-11 with seven RBIs and four runs scored. Kerrington Cross went 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored. It was Frye's first three-hit game in his 10 games with the TinCaps after being promoted from Low-A Lake Elsinore. TinCaps right-handed starter Kannon Kemp had the best of his 10 appearances since coming back from a left oblique injury in spring training. Kemp went four innings and allowed one run on six hits with no walks and a season-high six strikeouts. After right-hander Sean Barnett gave up three runs in 1⅓ innings while fanning four, right-hander Bernard Jose returned to Fort Wayne for his third stint this season with 1⅔ scoreless innings, allowing just a hit and his first High-A save and third of the season. He has also pitched at Double-A San Antonio and the Arizona Complex League this year. FW_0818.mp4 COMPLETION OF SUSPENDED GAME Player AB R H RBI BB K Justin DeCriscio 2 0 0 1 0 1 Bradley Frye 1 0 0 0 1 0 Ryan Wideman 3 0 0 0 0 2 Conner Westenburg 1 0 0 0 1 0 Alex McCoy 1 1 0 0 1 0 Dylan Grego 1 0 0 0 0 0 Luke Cantwell 3 1 1 1 1 1 Rosman Verdugo 4 1 2 0 0 2 Kerrington Cross 1 2 0 0 1 0 Jack Costello 1 1 1 2 1 0 Lamar King Jr. 2 0 0 0 0 1 Oswaldo Linares 1 0 1 1 1 0 Carlos Rodriguez 1 0 0 0 1 1 Kasen Wells 2 0 0 0 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Miguel Mendez 1 3 1 1 0 1 0 Carlos Medina 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 Javier Chacon 1 1 1 1 3 1 0 Isaiah Lowe 2 2/3 2 3 3 1 3 1 Will Varmette 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 REGULARLY SCHEDULED GAME Player AB R H RBI BB K Kasen Wells 3 3 2 2 1 0 Bradley Frye 4 1 3 2 0 0 Rosman Verdugo 4 0 2 3 0 2 Luke Cantwell 3 0 0 0 0 3 Robbie Lavey 3 0 0 0 0 2 Lamar King Jr. 3 0 0 0 0 1 Kerrington Cross 2 2 2 0 1 0 Dylan Grego 2 1 0 0 1 2 Conner Westenburg 2 0 0 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Kannon Kemp 4 6 1 1 0 6 0 Sean Barnett 1 1/3 3 3 3 0 4 1 Bernard Jose 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 Second-Rounder Elliot Lascelles Has 3 Hits For Storm In Debut Second-round draft choice Elliot Lascelles went 3-for-4 with a run scored in his pro debut, but that was the biggest highlight as the host Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm dropped a 9-2 decision to the San Jose Giants in a battle of the California League's two first-half division champions. Lascelles, Padres Mission's No. 11 prospect who was a high school shortstop out of Toronto and batted fifth, had a leadoff single on a 1-1 pitch against Giants right-hander Trey Seeley for his first pro hit. He then had his first stolen base. Lascelles singled leading off the fourth inning and tripled with one out in the sixth and scored on a wild pitch before grounding out to second to end the eighth inning. Chris McHugh, an 11th-round pick, and Dawson Willis each had two hits for the Storm. Storm right-handed starter Jesus Castro gave up five runs over four innings. Player AB R H RBI BB K Dawson Willis 4 1 2 0 0 0 Alex Conover 4 0 1 1 0 1 Chris McHugh 4 0 2 0 0 1 Ty Harvey 4 0 0 0 0 1 Elliot Lascelles 4 1 3 0 0 0 Jorge Quintana 4 0 1 0 0 1 Joe Tiroly 2 0 0 0 1 0 Truitt Madonna 2 0 0 0 2 2 Qrey Lott 4 0 0 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jesus A. Castro 4 4 5 5 3 2 1 Brandon Langley 2 4 2 2 0 4 0 Yoesmerli Beltre 2 3 2 2 0 1 1 Andrew Wright 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: 0-for-4, K Ryan Wideman: 0-for-3, 2 K Coleman Borthwick: In Arizona Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Ty Harvey: 0-for-4, K Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season Jorge Quintana: 1-for-4, K Alex McCoy: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 R (San Antonio); 0-for-1, BB, R (Fort Wayne, Game 1) Braedon Karpathios: 0-for-4, BB, 3 K Lamar King Jr.: 0-for-2, K (Game 1); 0-for-3, K (Game 2) Elliot Lascelles: 3-for-4, 3B, R Tucker Musgrove: DNP Jagger Haynes: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K Jake Cunningham: DNP Truitt Madonna: 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K Eric Yost: DNP Winyer Chourio: DNP Jesus Castro: 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K Michael Salina: On injured list Rosman Verdugo: 2-for-4, R, 2 K (Game 1); 2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 K (Game 2) View the full article

TRANSACTIONS In Triple-A the St. Paul Saints activated RHP Alejandro Hidalgo from the Development List. RHP Ruddy Gomez was placed on the 7-Day Injured List. IF Jorel Ortega was released from the Wichita Wind Surge roster. After multiple promotions yesterday, including 2026 breakout performer OF Luis Fragoza, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels received some reinforcements from the FCL Twins roster. They included C Jimmy Keenan, RHP Brian Strange, and RHP Jackson Sleeper. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Columbus 19 Box Score I could swear I’ve written this same recap before… Oh that’s right, I have. Definitely some deja vu on the final score, and who ended up finishing the game on the mound for the Saints. I’m not sure if Tom Pohlad would have any reason to travel on the road to Columbus for this one, but I’m sure there were a few Twins scouts in attendance as the Clippers are the Clevaland Guardians top affiliate. This one actually started just the way the Saints like to draw it up, with Walker Jenkins leading off with a single and Ben Ross following with his 14th home run of the season with the Saints, for a 2-0 lead before their starting pitcher had warmed up. But while it took the Saints two hitters to score two runs, the Clippers one-upped them in the bottom of the first as it took them three hitters to score three runs. A pair of walks and a three-run homer were what greeted starter Ryan Gallagher, and it wouldn’t get any better from there. He was able to finish just 1 2/3 innings, and of the five hits he allowed, three of them left the yard and tallied up nine earned runs total thanks to pairing all that with five walks. Gallagher hadn’t allowed that many earned runs over his last five starts and 27+ innings. A stretch during which he went 3-1 and lowered his season ERA by nearly two runs. The rest of the pitching staff didn’t learn the lesson, either. C.J. Culpepper (2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 K), Matt Bowman (2 IP, ER, BB, 2 K), and Woo-Suk Go (1 IP, 2 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, 2 K) combined to be charged with eight earned runs themselves over the next five innings. Down 14-3 in the middle of the eighth, the Saints called on the eephus talents of infielder Tanner Schobel, and the softball swing of the Clippers’ Milan Tolentino resulted in a grand slam to make the final score. All that said, Schobel’s ERA on the season is a comfortable-for-a-position-player 6.00. The Saints lineup got multi-hit efforts from Jenkins (2-for-5, R, K), Ross (2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K), and Gabriel Gonzalez (2-for-4, R, HR, RBI) who added his 13th home run of the season in the sixth. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 10, Frisco 9 Box Score While Gallagher got bludgeoned on the road after a recent stretch of solid outings, Chris Vallimont was doing the same thing over his last five starts with Wichita… …and also got bludgeoned in an opposing ballpark on this night. Vallimont at least made it into the third inning, but he also didn’t finish it. The RoughRiders scored three, two, and three runs against him in the first three innings. Those eight earned runs came on nine hits and one walk over his 2 2/3 frames. He struck out only one and allowed two homers. Thankfully for the Wind Surge, their bullpen was up to the task. Five relievers combined to allow just one further run on four hits and five walks over the final six innings, giving the lineup a chance they didn’t waste in the ninth. Wichita did strike first to start the game as Caden Kendle hit a two-out double and was driven in by a single from Garrett Spain in the first. They scored two more in the second thanks to singles from Jay Thomason, Marek Houston, and Brandon Winokur and a wild pitch that made it 3-3 at the time. The lineup went cold until the top of the seventh when Winokur drove a slider out the opposite way to close the Frisco lead to four. After William Fleming (1 1/3 IP, H, K), Darren Bowen (1 IP, K), Jaylen Nowlin (1 IP, K), and Paulshawn Pasqualotto (2 IP, H, ER, 2 K) had reversed the pitching fortunes, the Wind Surge headed to the ninth down 9-4. Houston led off by reaching on an error, and after a strikeout of Winokur, Kendle reminded everyone why their hands burned when they touched him. His seventh home run with the Wind Surge, and fifth in his last nine games, trimmed the Frisco lead to three. After a groundout Wichita were down to their last out, but they still had fight in them. Jake Rucker beat out an infield single. Andrew Cossetti and Kyle DeBarge worked walks to load the bases, bringing up Jay Thomason. It may not have been the “ultimate” variety, but his grand slam brought the Wind Surge all the way back and then some to take a 10-9 lead. Kyle Bischoff came on for the save opportunity after probably believing he wasn’t going to be needed and gave up a solid liner into right to start the frame. Luckily for him, that batter thought he got more of the pitch than he did and wasn’t hustling out of the box. The bounce off the wall came right back to Kendle, who promptly spun around and fired a bullet into second to beat the runner there for the first out. Bischoff gave up another single but retired the other two batters he faced to pick up his fifth save on the season. The Wind Surge got two-hit efforts from each of Houston (2-for-5, 2 R, 2B), Winokur (2-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, K), Kendle (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2K), and Thomason (2-for-5, R, GS HR, 4 RBI, 2 K) in the dramatic comeback victory. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Beloit 6 (6 innings) Box Score The Kernels were the victim of a complete game shutout on Tuesday, though that comes with the caveat that the game was called due to rain in the bottom of the sixth inning. Not that it would have mattered if it had gone the full nine the way this going for Sky Carp starter Liomar Martinez. Cedar Rapids had just one base runner through five innings and didn’t get their first hit until the top of the sixth, just in time to avoid adding a no-hitter to the complete game asterisk for Martinez. Yasser Mercedes’s two-out double gave the Kernels their only at-bat on the game with a runner in scoring position, and Eduardo Tait popped out to end the inning. Martinez struck out nine Kernels over his six frames. Lefty Michael Carpenter made the start for Cedar Rapids and was forced to work by the Beloit lineup. He pitched into the third inning, but a leadoff walk ended his outing after 49 pitches (30 for strikes). Carpenter was charged with four earned runs on four hits and a walk, while striking out two. Michael Ross was summoned and completed the final four innings. He allowed two earned runs on six hits and struck out four. In his Midwest League debut the reigning Florida State League Player of the Week, Luis Fragoza, finished 0-for-1 with a strikeout and reached base on a hit by pitch. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Palm Beach 8 Box Score On the road this week in Palm Beach, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels sent right-hander Eric Hammond to the mound to kick off their series against the Cardinals. He worked around baserunners in each of the first three innings, but after his pitch count hit 60 in the third inning, he was relieved by the newly promoted Brian Strange. Hammond allowed no runs on three hits and a pair of walks in his 2 2/3 innings, striking out two. Fort Myers got on the scoreboard first in the top of the second. Yovanny Duran led off with a walk, moved to second on a groundout, and stole his third base with the Mighty Mussels to put himself 90-feet away. Aidan Teel brought him in with a sac fly for the early 1-0 lead. They took a 5-0 lead in the fourth thanks to some loud contact from Carson Tinney and timely hitting elsewhere. With one out Tinney launched his fourth home run since being drafted, a solo shot. Duran and Colby Turner followed with singles, and Teel drew a walk to load the bases. Isaiah Lane followed with a two-run double, and Hideki Prather added a sac fly for the five-run lead. Strange got the Mighty Mussels through the fourth inning on the mound, allowing one hit and striking out three in his 1 1/3 innings. Jackson Sleeper’s Florida State League debut didn’t go as comfortably. The Cardinals tied the game at five in the fifth, with all of those runs being charged to Sleeper, though two of them went as unearned thanks to an error. He allowed two hits and walked three while recording just one out. Matthew Becker got them through the fifth with no runs being charged to himself, walking two of his own but also striking out two. Brent Francisco went the next two scoreless innings, allowing one hit, walking two, and striking out three. In the top of the ninth the Mighty Mussels were able to break the tie. Prather and Charlie Scholvin led off with singles. After a fielder’s choice off the bat of Merphy Hernandez, he stole second to put two runners in scoring position. MLB’s #2 catching prospect, Vahn Lackey, then delivered a clutch two-run single to put Fort Myers back in front. The save opportunity was given to Adam Falinski, and it was quickly put in jeopardy. It started with a hit by pitch, then a single. After a grounder for the first out, another single scored made it a one run game. The next single drove in two to walk it off for the Cardinals. The offense was led by Duran (2-for-4, 2 R, BB, K), Turner (2-for-4, R, 3B), and Lane (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K) who each collected two hits. Lackey finished 1-for-4 with a walk and stole his third base. DOMINICAN DAILY Game 1: DSL Cardinals 7, DSL Twins (7 innings, completion of suspended game) Box Score This game was suspended in the top of the fourth inning all the way back on the fourth of July, and it picked up on Tuesday morning with the score 5-3 Cardinals. The Twins wasted little time resetting the scoreboard. In the bottom of the fourth back-to-back singles from Luis Suarez and Jeferson Abreu got it started. Daiyer Barboza drove them both in with a double. The Cardinals got both those runs back in the top of the fifth, but the Twins struck for three more in the bottom of the sixth to make the final score. Three walks and multiple wild pitches led to the first run of the inning. Another walk and stolen base from Jhon Gonzalez put runners on second and third, and Luis Duarte brought them both in with a single for the 8-7 final. Gonzalez finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a walk. Barboza and Duarte each drove in two to lead the offense. Juan Collado had made the start back in July and was charged with five earned runs on three hits and five walks. He struck out four. Jesus Moreno had recorded one out back then, too, before Collado re-entered the game. When play resumed on this day it was Alam Soriano on the bump. He picked up the win by completing 2 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits and one walk, while striking out three. Aldwin Morillo picked up the save with a scoreless ninth. He walked two and struck out one. Game 2: DSL Twins 10, DSL Cardinals 14 (7 innings) Box Score The regularly scheduled contest between the two teams started off with a bang. In the top of the first the Twins sent 11 men to the plate, and eight of them came all the way back around to score. It started with a hit-by-pitch which was followed by a pair of singles to load the bases. Enmanuel Merlo got the scoring party started with a two-run double. Three walks later another run had scored, and the starting pitcher was removed without recording an out (he would re-enter the game later and record four outs). Another walk brought in a fifth run, and the sixth scored on a double-play ball. Leadoff man Daiyer Barboza then drew another walk, and scored on a double from Jendy Martinez, who was thrown out at third to end the inning. Unfortunately for the Twins, the Cardinals came back with seven runs in the bottom of the second to quell the momentum and turn it back into a game. Twins starting pitcher Yolcar Garcia worked a one-two-three first but lost his control in the second. He was charged with six earned runs on two hits and three walks in his 1 2/3 innings, striking out two. Failin Placencio didn’t fare any better, walking all four hitters he faced, but was only charged with one earned run. Camilo Made recorded the final out of the frame, and finished 1 2/3 total innings, pitching into the fourth. He was charged with three earned runs on two hits and two walks and struck out two. Fabian Ulloa delivered his first home run of the season to tie the game at 10 in the fifth, but the Cardinals would score the game’s last four runs. Miguel Martinez allowed one hit, walked two, and struck out two in 1 2/3 innings pitched. Herkyn Tavares gave up those last four runs on three hits and a pair of walks in his lone inning. He struck out one. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brian Strange, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (1 1/3 IP, H, 3 K) Hitter of the Day – Jay Thomason, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-5, R, GS HR, 4 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 2-for-5, R, K #2 - C Vahn Lackey (Fort Myers): 1-for-4, 2 RBI, BB, SB (3) #3 - SS Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota): 1-for-3, R #4 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita): 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 0-for-3, BB, K #7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul): 0-for-4, K #8 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3 #9 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 2-for-4, R, HR (13), RBI #11 - C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers): 1-for-5, R, HR (4), RBI, 3 K #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita): 2-for-5, R, HR (6), 2 RBI, K #15 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul): L, 1 2/3 IP, 5 H, 9 ER, 5 BB, 3 K #19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, 2B, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Ricky Castro (3-2, 5.02 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Riley Quick (0-2, 5.68 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Reed Moring (1-1, 5.63 ERA) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Matt Barr (0-0, 6.43 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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It was an ugly night across the system for the Brewers' affiliates. Nashville was walked off. Biloxi dropped their 12th straight. Wisconsin lost a close one and Wilson was embarrassed. Sprinkled in, we saw some familiar faces in new places for the second straight week. The silver lining came in the DSL, where regular season play concluded and the DSL Gold squad clinched their division title. Transactions: Milwaukee Brewers sent SS Cooper Pratt on a rehab assignment to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Nashville Sounds activated SS Freddy Zamora from the 7-day injured list. Nashville Sounds placed SS Eduardo Garcia on the 7-day injured list retroactive to August 17, 2026. SS Luis Peña assigned to Biloxi Shuckers from Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Biloxi Shuckers placed LHP Sam Garcia on the 7-day injured list. RHP Joshua Quezada assigned to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from Wilson Warbirds. SS Brady Ebel assigned to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from Wilson Warbirds. RHP Wenderlyn King assigned to Wilson Warbirds from ACL Brewers. SS Trey Ebel assigned to Wilson Warbirds from ACL Brewers. RHP Andrew Gaines assigned to Wilson Warbirds from ACL Brewers. Game Action: Norfolk (Baltimore) 8, Nashville 7 Box Score NOTE: There is currently not an online link available for the Sounds-provided summary, so we provide it directly here: Sounds Walked Off in Norfolk Tyler Black Belts Third Career Grand Slam NORFOLK, VA – Nashville suffered an 8-7 walk-off loss in Norfolk on Tuesday night to open a 12-game road trip. The Sounds tied the game with a ninth inning run but saw the Tides answer with the game-winner in the bottom of inning as Nashville was handed their eighth walk-off loss of the season. Sounds starter Colton Gordon saw Norfolk take a 4-0 lead after two innings and before the Sounds could even get a baserunner aboard off Norfolk starter Nestor German. Gordon loaded the bases in the bottom of the first off a walk, single, and hit batter with the first run of the game scoring via a sacrifice fly. The Tides leadoff batter in the bottom of the second singled his way aboard and advanced into scoring position on a throwing error by Brock Wilken. Gordon battled back to retire each of the next two but a two-out bunt single RBI scored Luis Vazquez from second on the play. Rece Hinds proceeded to make it a 4-0 game with a two-run home run to right field. Gordon finished his night after 4.0 IP with four runs allowed on four hits and struck out three with a pair of walks. Luis Matos served as the first baserunner of the game for Nashville after he led off the top of the third with a single. He was followed aboard by Ethan Murray who drew a walk and Freddy Zamora who also singled in his return to the Nashville lineup to load the bases. Tyler Black cleared them with his second grand slam of the season and third of his career to even the score at 4-4. Nashville took their first lead of the game in the fifth after Jeferson Quero doubled home Bo Naylor with a two-out RBI. Wilken made it a two-run Nashville advantage with his 13th home run of the season to begin the top of the sixth. After two scoreless innings in relief for Carlos Rodriguez, Brett Wichrowski took over on the mound for Nashville in the bottom of the seventh. Three straight one-out hits brought the Tides within a run after Heston Kjerstad doubled home a run and pushed the tying run to third. Wichrowski induced a ground ball to Murray who went home on the play to try and nab Hinds on a play at the plate. The tag by Naylor was late as Hinds scored with Kjerstad also able to score standing up on the play as the ball rolled away from Naylor towards the Norfolk dugout. In the top of the ninth with Nashville down a run, Zamora walked and stole second. Naylor added his lone hit of the night to score Zamora and tie the game at 7-7. It was the fourth straight game with a RBI for Naylor who has recorded eight total over his last four games played. Back-to-back flyouts from the heart of the Sounds batting order sent the game to the bottom of the ninth. Garrett Stallings was back on the mound after relieving Wihcrowski in the bottom of the seventh and stranding a two-out triple in the eighth. Hinds and Kjerstad each tallied their third hit of the night with singles to begin the inning with a wild pitch pushing both up an extra base and left Hinds standing on third as the potential winning run. A walk issued by Stallings loaded the bases for Jose Barrero who hit a ball deep enough to left field to allow Hinds to dash home for a third time and the walk-off win. The Sounds and Tides will continue their six-game series on Wednesday night at Harbor Park. First pitch is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. LHP Thomas Pannone (4-1, 4.09 ERA) will get the start for Nashville in game two of the series. POSTGAME NOTES: SLAMMIN SOUNDS, PT. 11: Tyler Black hit his second grand slam of the season and third of his career on Tuesday night in Norfolk. Black is now tied for the most grand slams hit by a Nashville player in their career. Erick Peterson and J.R. House also each hit three over their time in Nashville. Peterson hit two during the 1981 season and added his third in 1983 while House hit all three of his during the 2004 season. Black is the 17th different Nashville player to record multiple grand slams in the same season, and the fifth to do it this season, joining Brock Wilken, Luke Adams, Akil Baddoo, and Eddys Leonard. Nashville leads all Minor League Baseball with 11 grand slams this season. High-A Dayton (CIN), Double-A Somerset (NYY), and Double-A Springfield (STL) have each hit nine this year and are tied for second behind the Sounds. The 11 grand slams add to a historic season for Nashville, who had never hit more than six in any single season entering the year. BAYSIDE BROCKETS: Brock Wilken tied the team lead with his 13th home run of the season on Tuesday in Norfolk. He tied Luke Adams atop the Nashville leaderboard for round trippers and leads the club with his 65 RBI this season. The 13 long balls are the third-most Wilken has recorded in a single-season of his professional career behind his 18 in 2025 with Double-A Biloxi and 17 he hit in 2024 with the Shuckers. Wilken has 53 career home runs and is now tied for the second-most in the farm system since 2023 along with former Sound Wes Clarke. Eric Bitonti leads all Brewers minor leaguers over the span with his 56 home runs. R-BO-I: Bo Naylor recorded his fourth straight game with a RBI after plating Freddy Zamora in the top of the ninth inning on Tuesday night to tie the game at 7-7. Naylor has eight RBI total over his last four games played. He is the eighth different Nashville player to have a RBI streak of 4+ games this season for Nashville and the first since Luke Adams (July 9-17). Cooper Pratt posted a RBI in five straight games to lead all Nashville players. Since appearing in his first game with Nashville on August 4, Naylor is hitting .270 (10-for-37) with a double, three home runs, 10 RBI, and seven runs scored. Since making his Triple-A debut with Columbus in 2022, Naylor has produced 129 RBI in 180 games with 38 doubles and 38 home runs in Triple-A. Nashville lost a heartbreaker on Tuesday, rallying back from an early four run deficit to take the lead in the middle portion of the game, only to get walked off in the 9th. Colton Gordon (4IP 4H 4R 4ER 2BB 3K) started and put the Sounds in an early hole, but was bailed out when Tyler Black delivered a game-tying grand slam in the third inning, courtesy of the Sounds’ X account: In the 5th, Jeferson Quero popped a ground rule double into the wind to give the Sounds the lead, and then Brock Wilken extended the lead with his 13th home run of the year: Carlos Rodriguez gave the Sounds a chance with two shutout innings, but then the bullpen faltered. Brett Wichrowski continued his difficult season allowing three runs (two earned) while retiring just one batter in the seventh. That gave Salem a 7-6 lead heading into the 9th. In the 9th, the freshly activated Freddy Zamora walked, stole second, and then scored on a Bo Naylor single. But in the bottom half of the inning, the wheels fell off for Garrett Stallings. Stallings allowed a pair of singles, a wild pitch, and a walk to load the bases with nobody out. A sac fly then gave the walk-off win to Salem. The loss drops the Sounds to 65-56 on the season. Wednesday's starter is TBD. Biloxi pre-game media notes Rocket City (Angels) 7, Biloxi 3 Box Score As always, you are encouraged to read the official round-up from the team’s site: Peña Records 1st Double-A Hit, Shuckers Drop Opener to Trash Pandas - Thompson sets new career-high with eight strikeouts, Cruz strikes out seven in relief The tough times continued for Biloxi on Tuesday as the Shuckers once again fell behind early on their way to a 7-3 loss, their 12th consecutive defeat. 2025 2nd-round pick JD Thompson took his second start at AA and struck out a career high eight in four innings of work. Unfortunately Thompson allowed two runs in the first and another in the third and the Trash Pandas never looked back. The Shuckers’ prospect-laden lineup managed just five hits on the night. Luis Pena made his AA debut playing third base and collected his first hit, courtesy of the Biloxi X account: Damon Keith had the only extra-base hit for the Shuckers, with a run-scoring double to open the scoring: The other RBIs came courtesy of an Andrew Fischer sac fly and a Mike Boeve ground out. Stiven Cruz came on for Thompson and struck out seven in three innings of work. However, the bullpen couldn’t keep the game close as Rocket City responded to Biloxi’s rallies and were never really threatened until late in the game. In the top of the 9th, the Shuckers loaded the bases on an error, a walk, and a single. That brought Braylon Payne to the plate as the tying run, but Payne struck out to end the game. The loss drops the Shuckers below .500 (55-56) for the first time since May 27th. No starter has been named for Wednesday’s game. Wisconsin pre-game media notes Lake County (Guardians) 4, Wisconsin 3 Box Score Captains Steer Past Rattlers - Lake County’s late run tops Wisconsin Wisconsin dropped a tough defeat, losing 4-3 at home to Lake County on Tuesday. The game started out well, as Brady Ebel, in his Wisconsin debut, drew the first of his four walks to open the game. The rehabbing Cooper Pratt then singled, and eventually both players scored on Eric Bitonti’s clutch two-out two-run single. You can see all the highlights below from the Rattlers’ YouTube page. Unfortunately after the hot start, Wisconsin would not manage much offense the rest of the game. After Lake County had rallied off Rattlers’ starter Jacob Morrison (3.2IP 3H 3R 3ER 3BB 5K) to take a 3-2 lead, Pratt tied the game with a sac fly in the fifth. Wisconsin managed just five hits on the night and was 1-for-9 with RISP. The game remained knotted at three until the 8th, when Lake County used a HBP, double, and sac fly to take the lead. Andrew Healy was the tough luck loser in this one, despite throwing four innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts. Healy has a 16:2 K:BB rate through his first 14 innings at the level. With the defeat, the Rattlers drop to 3.5 games back in the second half standings. RHP Josh Knoth (4-3, 4.68 ERA) takes the mound in the early game on Wednesday. Wilson pre-game media notes Salem (Red Sox) 21, Wilson 4 Box Score Wilson Allows Season Highs in Big Loss - Ebel Records First Hit Wilson was steamrolled in their series opening loss to Salem on Tuesday night. Salem put up three touchdowns across the first five innings of the game on their way to a 21-4 drubbing of the Warbirds. Joan Pena (2.1 IP 10ER), Thomas Conrad (1.2IP 5ER) and Enderson Mercado (.2IP 6ER) were all battered by the RidgeYaks’ lineup. Salem tallied rallies of 4-1-7-3-6 runs to open the game as the carousel kept spinning all night long. Only Ismael Yanez (1.1IP 1H 2B 2K) and seldom used backup catcher Eric Martinez (2IP 3H) got through the game unscathed. Perhaps the Salem offense tired themselves out by the 6th inning of play. The Warbirds did manage nine hits on offense. Juan Ortuno led the team with three hits, including a double, three steals and two runs scored. Brailyn Antunez continued his torrid stretch at Wilson with another multi-hit game, while Carsten Sabathia III doubled twice. Antunez is now carrying a 1.271 OPS through his first 18 games in Low A. Trey Ebel made his full-season debut and picked up right where his brother Brady left off with a hit and two walks. LHP Joey Broughton (0-3, 5.55 ERA) will make his 7th start (12th appearance) on Wednesday as Wilson will look to flush this one from memory as quickly as possible. DSL Brewers Gold 15, DSL Pirates Gold 6 Box Score The DSL Brewers Gold concluded their regular season on Tuesday with a resounding 15-6 victory over DSL Pirates Gold. The Brewers jumped all over the Pirates early and the outcome was never in doubt after the second inning. In the first inning Ricki Moneys and Leanders Matos each walked and stole base, then Josue Rodriguez plated them both on an RBI single to make it 2-1 Brewers. In the second inning, the Brewers sent 13 men to the plate and scored eight runs to put the game out of reach. Moneys had a two-run triple and Fernandez had the big blast with a three-run home run, part of a five RBI day for the 17-year-old left fielder. The hectic second inning featured six walks, four wild pitches, a balk, and an error. As a team, the Brewers had a staggering 17 walks on the day. Santiago Garcia was one of the other offensive stars of the day. Garcia finished a triple shy of the cycle and belted his first home run of the season (120 at-bats). On the mound for the Brewers; starter Daniel Garcia allowed three run in three innings of work. Joan Gonzalez was filthy, striking out eight in his four innings of work. Garcia was one out shy of a clean inning, when a two-out error in the seventh inning led to three unearned runs scoring before the final out was recorded With the win, the Gold squad (34-20) clinched the DSL Central Division and will advance to the DSL playoffs. We will await word on timing and first opponent for the playoff push. DSL Rojos (Reds) 10, DSL Brewers Blue 5 Box Score The DSL Brewers Blue finished their DSL season on a sour note, dropping a 10-5 decision to the DSL Rojos on Tuesday. The Blue squad fell behind early, but showed their grit rallying to tie the game and eventually take a brief lead. However, the Rojos put the game away with big rallies in the sixth and eighth inning. The Brewers actually outhit the Rojos 8-5 on the day, but were doomed by a pitching staff that allowed 10 walks. Angel Gonzalez paced the offense with three hits, including a triple. Jose Rodriguez had two hits, a walk, and a run scored. Diego Frontado knocked in two runs on a double. The 17-year-old Frontado finishes his impressive first season in the system with a .979 OPS and 46 RBI. The Brewers emptied the clip on the bullpen in the final game of the season. Six different pitchers were used. Carlos Canales (1IP 1BB) and Jean Rodriguez (2IP 2BB 1K) were the noteworthy performances as the pair worked hitless and scoreless outings in relief. The game turned when the Rojos capitalized on command issues from the Brewers bullpen, scoring four runs in the sixth with the help of three hit batters, three walks, and a wild pitch. The Brewers Blue finish the season 31-24 and just miss out on qualifying for the playoffs. Well, at least the Brewers game was a fun one on Tuesday. The DSL has wrapped on the regular season, so it's just the four full-season affiliates in play on Wednesday. Wisconsin once again has the early game at noon CT. Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth View the full article

The Quad Cities River Bandits took the only win of the night behind Jordan Woods, who allowed one hit over four innings with six strikeouts, and Nolan Sailors, whose grand slam capped a 7-2 victory. Grant Gambrell gave Northwest Arkansas five scoreless innings before a 6-5 loss. Vince Velasquez allowed three home runs in Omaha's 8-7 defeat. Moises Amezquita threw three scoreless innings for Columbia, which lost both ends of a doubleheader at Segra Park. Kansas City Royals Transactions Kansas City Royals optioned RHP Lucas Erceg to Omaha Storm Chasers. Kansas City Royals recalled RHP Carlos Duran from Omaha Storm Chasers. Omaha Rallies In The Ninth But Falls 8-7 To Rochester The Omaha Storm Chasers collected 14 hits and four doubles at Werner Park, but five Rochester home runs carried the Red Wings to an 8-7 win. Velasquez started for Omaha and worked 5 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and four runs, all earned, with one walk and five strikeouts. Three of the hits he allowed were home runs. Luke Little recorded one out, walked three, and struck out one. Easton McGee allowed two runs on two hits over one inning. Matt Moore was charged with three hits and two runs while recording a single out, and he took the loss. Ben Sears finished with 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Omaha broke through with four runs in the third. Abraham Toro doubled home two runs, Jack Pineda doubled in another, and Matthew Lugo added a sacrifice fly. Carson Roccaforte and Drew Waters delivered run-scoring singles in the fifth to build a 6-3 lead. Toro finished 3-for-5 with a double, two runs, and two RBI. Brett Squires went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Pineda added two hits, a double, two runs, and an RBI. Luca Tresh had two hits and a run, and Peyton Wilson doubled. Roccaforte drew two walks to go with his run-scoring single. Trailing 8-6 in the ninth, Pineda and Squires singled to pull Omaha within a run, and Lugo followed with a single of his own. Roccaforte grounded out to end it, leaving the tying run in scoring position. Omaha struck out 10 times, drew two walks, left seven runners on base, and went 6-for-12 with runners in scoring position. The Storm Chasers are now 56-62. Player AB R H RBI BB K Abraham Toro 5 2 3 2 0 1 Jack Pineda 5 2 2 1 0 1 Brett Squires 5 1 3 1 0 2 Alejo Lopez 0 0 0 0 0 0 Matthew Lugo 4 0 1 1 0 2 Carson Roccaforte 3 0 1 1 2 1 Drew Waters 4 0 1 1 0 1 Brandon Drury 4 0 0 0 0 1 Luca Tresh 4 1 2 0 0 1 Peyton Wilson 3 1 1 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Vince Velasquez 5 2/3 6 4 4 1 5 3 Luke Little 0 1/3 0 0 0 3 1 0 Easton McGee 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 Matt Moore 0 1/3 3 2 2 1 1 1 Ben Sears 1 2/3 0 0 0 1 2 0 Justin Johnson's Three-Run Homer Is Not Enough In Naturals' Ninth-Inning Loss Gambrell gave the Northwest Arkansas Naturals five scoreless innings at Nelson Wolff Stadium, but San Antonio scored four times in the ninth for a 6-5 win. The Naturals starter allowed four hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Beck Way followed and gave up four hits and two runs while recording two outs. Anthony Simonelli struck out two over 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Augusto Mendieta was charged with four earned runs on three hits and a walk over 1 2/3 innings, and he took the loss. Zachary Cawyer allowed two hits without recording an out. Northwest Arkansas also got some help from some stellar defense, especially in the infield. The Naturals built their lead in the second. Colton Becker singled home Daniel Vazquez, and Johnson followed with a three-run home run, his 10th of the season, for a 4-0 advantage. Spencer Nivens singled in Johnson in the seventh to make it 5-2. Johnson finished 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI. Vazquez went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run. Omar Hernandez added two hits and a run. Becker was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Luke Pelzer had a hit and two walks from the leadoff spot. Nivens went 1-for-5 with an RBI, and Jorge Alfaro struck out three times in four at-bats. San Antonio opened the ninth with a double and a single, and after two strikeouts, a walk and three straight singles produced four runs. A throwing error by right fielder Sam Kulasingam allowed a runner to take second base during the rally. Northwest Arkansas finished with nine hits, four walks, and 10 strikeouts, left seven runners on base, and went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The loss drops the Naturals to 47-66 this season. Player AB R H RBI BB K Luke Pelzer 3 0 1 0 2 0 Javi Vaz 5 0 0 0 0 0 Spencer Nivens 5 0 1 1 0 1 Jorge Alfaro 4 0 0 0 0 3 Sam Kulasingam 3 0 0 0 1 0 Daniel Vazquez 3 1 2 0 1 1 Omar Hernandez 4 1 2 0 0 2 Colton Becker 3 1 1 1 0 2 Justin Johnson 4 2 2 3 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Grant Gambrell 5 4 0 0 1 3 0 Beck Way 0 2/3 4 2 2 0 2 0 Anthony Simonelli 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 2 0 Augusto Mendieta 1 2/3 3 4 4 1 3 0 Zachary Cawyer 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 Sailors' Grand Slam And 16 Strikeouts Lift Quad Cities Past Dayton Quad Cities pitching struck out 16 Dayton batters, and Sailors' grand slam broke the game open in a 7-2 win at Day Air Ballpark. Woods started and allowed one hit over four innings, walking one and striking out six. Jackson Cleveland struck out four over two innings and gave up two runs on two hits, one of them a home run. Ethan McElvain turned in a scoreless inning and earned the win. Nick Conte and Yimi Presinal each added a scoreless inning, combining for five strikeouts and two walks. The staff allowed three hits in all. The River Bandits scored first when Asbel Gonzalez came home on a Zion Rose ground out. Derlin Figueroa homered for the 26th time this season, and Stone Russell added a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead. After Dayton pulled within a run, Quad Cities answered with four runs in the seventh, all of them on Sailors' grand slam, his sixth home run of the year. Sailors finished 2-for-4 with a run and four RBI. Figueroa went 1-for-4 with a walk, two runs, and an RBI. Gonzalez had a hit, a walk, and two runs from the leadoff spot. Rose drove in a run and walked, and Tyriq Kemp and Russell each singled. Quad Cities managed only six hits, but the club drew four walks and took advantage of three Dayton errors. Blake Mitchell struck out five times in five at-bats. The River Bandits struck out 16 times themselves, left seven runners on base, and went just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. With the win, they improved to 59-51 this season. Player AB R H RBI BB K Asbel Gonzalez 4 2 1 0 1 2 Zion Rose 4 1 0 1 1 2 Blake Mitchell 5 0 0 0 0 5 Derlin Figueroa 4 2 1 1 1 1 Jose Cerice 3 1 0 0 0 1 Nolan Sailors 4 1 2 4 0 2 Austin Charles 4 0 0 0 0 2 Tyriq Kemp 3 0 1 0 1 0 Stone Russell 3 0 1 1 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jordan Woods 4 1 0 0 1 6 0 Jackson Cleveland 2 2 2 2 0 4 1 Ethan McElvain 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Nick Conte 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 Yimi Presinal 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 Columbia's Three-Run Second Slips Away In Extra-Inning Opener The Columbia Fireflies led early in the doubleheader opener at Segra Park, but Augusta scored twice in the eighth for a 5-3 win. Shane Van Dam started and allowed seven hits and two earned runs over 4 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out five. Andy Basora struck out four over 1 1/3 innings and was charged with an unearned run. Dalton Hill allowed one hit over 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Jhon Reyes worked one inning, walked two, and allowed two runs, one of them earned, taking the loss. Columbia answered a first-inning run with three of its own in the second. Sean Gamble came home on an error, and Ricson Gonzalez singled in Connor Rasmussen and Tyson Moran for a 3-1 lead. That was the extent of the Columbia offense. The Fireflies finished with three hits, two walks, and nine strikeouts. Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Gamble was 1-for-4 with a run, and Moran was 1-for-3 with a run. Rasmussen walked and scored. Yandel Ricardo struck out three times in four at-bats, and Josh Hammond was hitless in four at-bats. Augusta tied the game in the sixth on a wild pitch and pushed across two runs in the eighth, the first of them by the zombie runner on a double-play ground ball. Henry Ramos walked in the eighth, but Columbia did not score. The Fireflies left five runners on base, went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and were charged with one error. Player AB R H RBI BB K Henry Ramos 3 0 0 0 1 0 Yandel Ricardo 4 0 0 0 0 3 Josh Hammond 4 0 0 0 0 0 Sean Gamble 4 1 1 0 0 1 Roni Cabrera 3 0 0 0 0 1 Connor Rasmussen 2 1 0 0 1 1 Tyson Moran 3 1 1 0 0 1 Jhonayker Ugarte 3 0 0 1 0 2 Ricson Gonzalez 3 0 1 2 0 0 Daniel Lopez 0 0 0 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Shane Van Dam 4 1/3 7 2 2 1 5 1 Andy Basora 1 1/3 2 1 0 0 4 0 Dalton Hill 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 Jhon Reyes 1 0 2 1 2 1 0 Fireflies Shut Out In Doubleheader Nightcap Despite Amezquita's Three Scoreless Columbia managed four hits in the doubleheader nightcap and was shut out 3-0 by Augusta at Segra Park. Michael Braswell III started and allowed four hits and three earned runs over three innings, walking one and striking out three, and he took the loss. Moises Amezquita followed with three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks with three strikeouts. Augusta scored once in the first on a sacrifice fly, then added two more in the third on a triple and another sacrifice fly. Sean Gamble made the catch in center field on both of those fly balls. The Fireflies never advanced a runner past second base. Ricardo led the offense with two hits in three at-bats, singling in the first and again in the fourth. Gamble singled behind him in the fourth, and Camden Johnson doubled in the seventh. Henry Ramos drew the only walk. Columbia struck out 12 times in a game shortened to seven innings, and the lineup was retired in order in three of the seven innings it batted. Ricardo had struck out three times in the opener, and Gamble finished the doubleheader with two hits in seven at-bats. Augusta did not need to bat in the seventh. Columbia left four runners on base and closed the day with seven hits across the two games. The Fireflies' record fell to 56-58 after being swept on Tuesday. Player AB R H RBI BB K Henry Ramos 2 0 0 0 1 2 Yandel Ricardo 3 0 2 0 0 0 Josh Hammond 3 0 0 0 0 1 Sean Gamble 3 0 1 0 0 0 Camden Johnson 3 0 1 0 0 1 Jhosmmel Zue 3 0 0 0 0 2 Connor Rasmussen 3 0 0 0 0 2 Gabriel Silva 2 0 0 0 0 2 Daniel Lopez 2 0 0 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Michael Braswell III 3 4 3 3 1 3 0 Moises Amezquita 3 1 0 0 2 3 0 Top 20 Prospect Performance Kendry Chourio: DNP David Shields: DNP Josh Hammond: Game 1: 0-for-4. Game 2: 0-for-3, K Blake Mitchell: 0-for-5, 5 K Sean Gamble: Game 1: 1-for-4, R, K. Game 2: 1-for-3 Ramon Ramirez: DNP Zion Rose: 0-for-4, R, RBI, BB, 2 K Asbel Gonzalez: 1-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2 K Carson Roccaforte: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB, K Taylor Rabe: DNP Yandel Ricardo: Game 1: 0-for-4, 3 K. Game 2: 2-for-3 Justin Lamkin: DNP Drew Beam: DNP Michael Lombardi: DNP Jack Slightom: DNP Felix Arronde: DNP Angeibel Gomez: 1-for-2, R, RBI, BB Ben Kudrna: DNP Steven Zobac: DNP Blake Wolters: DNP View the full article

The Miami Marlins decided to roll with a bullpen game on Tuesday night in hopes of evening up the series against their division rival, the Philadelphia Phillies. Everything was going according to plan as Miami led 3-1, but in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Phillies scored four runs to take a lead that they never looked back on. The Phillies defeated the Marlins by a final score of 6-4, clinching the season-series against the Marlins. Between Cade Gibson, Tyler Zuber and Josh Ekness, they limited the Phillies to one run on three hits. On top of that, Griffin Conine hit his 14th home run of the season, tying the game at 1-1. Xavier Edwards gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead with an RBI single and Heriberto Hernandez grounded into a force out that scored Otto Lopez, extending the Marlins lead, 3-1. Conine went into the game sporting a .955 OPS since the All-Star break. In the month of August, he has a 1.027 OPS. The only other player in baseball with an OPS over 1.000 in August is Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez. Overall, Conine is slashing .278/.371/.562/.933 with 14 home runs, 31 RBI and a 154 wRC+. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough went with Michael Petersen to get the final two outs in the bottom of the fifth and let him begin the sixth. Petersen started that inning by hitting Trea Turner. After Bryce Harper flew out for the first out of the inning, the Phillies went on to knock four-straight hits. Luis Arraez single, Alec Bohm RBI double, Bryson Stott RBI single and a Brandon Marsh single. Petersen was taken out of the game after that, with Philadelphia now leading, 4-3. Tyler Phillips entered the game with inherited runners and after striking out J.T. Realmuto, he allowed an RBI single to Justin Crawford to make it 5-3, Philadelphia. When the dust settled, it was a four-run bottom of the sixth. For Petersen, this marks his worst outing of the season, allowing four runs on four hits. He takes the loss and blown save in this ballgame. The Marlins tried to mount a comeback in the top of the eighth as Heriberto Hernandez knocked in an RBI single, making it 5-4, but Calvin Faucher surrendered an RBI single to Kyle Schwarber, icing the game, 6-4. With the loss, the Marlins are now 64-63 on the season, 3.5 games out of the third National League Wild Card spot. View the full article

Jason Ross and Jeremy Tecktiel discuss Pete Crow-Armstrong's MVP-like season and how special a year it truly is. We will then dive into possible playoff rotations, a minor league report, and finally a look into the current state of the NL Central. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View the full article

Box Score SP: Zebby Matthews 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (90 pitches, 58 strikes (64%)) Home Runs: Josh Bell (17) Top 3 WPA: Bell (0.17), Matthews (0.15), A.J. Minter (0.12) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) An 11-game and seven-year winless drought against the Braves was broken Monday night, and Zebby Matthews hoped to shock the world again by pitching the Twins to a series win on Tuesday night. The foe was ex-Twin Tyler Mahle, who has been taking care of business for his new team in two starts since the trade deadline. If you had "pitchers duel" on your bingo card, you were the only one—and you went home happy. The question remained, though: would Twins fans go home happy yet again? Starting Well Again For a solid week, the Twins seemed to repeatedly surrender first-inning runs in heart-wrenching fashion. The past two games saw the Twins jumping on the board early, with mixed eventual results. Tonight's game saw Matthews cruise through the top of the first, and Mahle initially looked poised to do the same—that is, until Ryan Jeffers reached second base on some outfielder pinball with two outs, and Josh Bell decided to send an 87.4-MPH splitter back at 110 MPH (with a 30° launch angle). Just like that, it was 2-0 Twins. Good Pitching Defeats Good Hitting... Every Time The second through sixth innings featured both pitches commanding the zone and fielders making the plays in front of them. Mahle needed 26 pitches to escape the first inning, but he only needed 41 pitches to mow through the next five, without surrendering another run. The Twins' early starts and mid-game fizzle were on full display yet again. Matthews matched Mahle in results at twice the effort, as he reached the 90-pitch mark in the sixth after serving up Drake Baldwin's 21st homer of the year. With only a one-run lead, Matthews stayed in and got into more trouble with runners at first and second with two outs. Derek Shelton brought in the emergency relief, and Kody Funderburk came through to keep the game 2-1 in favor of the home team. Can the Twins Really Win a Game Like This, After a Week Like That? Andrew Morris wore Sunday's Phillies loss, but he took the Braves out in order in the seventh. A.J. Minter faced the dangerous Baldwin, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Matt Olson trio in the eighth, but they all went back to the dugout disgruntled. Meanwhile, the Twins' bats had been dormant since the first, but Kaelen Culpepper ain't scared of relievers. He singled to start the bottom of the eighth. Luke Keaschall failed to advance him, but Shelton pinch-hit Byron Buxton for Trevor Larnach, which caused Walt Weiss to bring in the righty Didier Fuentes. Buxton singled on the first pitch he saw, and it took Ryan Jeffers only two pitches to make it a 4-1 Twins lead with a ringing double. With the game still a save situation, Yoendrys Gómez came in to shut the door. Michael Harris II instead slammed a leadoff double to put the anxiety back into the room. Harris never got past third base, however, and the unthinkable became reality at Target Field. Series victory in the books. It's time to see if Philly left any brooms in the building. What’s Next? The Twins look to sweep the Braves. I never thought I would get to type that, but here we are. Twins righty Taj Bradley (9-5, 3.98 ERA) looks to avenge his Field of Broken Dreams start, while the Braves will send recent call-up RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, 4.15 ERA) out to attempt to salvage a game. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Coming Soon! Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Morris 0 23 28 0 13 64 Hoffman 0 17 0 20 0 37 Gomez 0 0 0 19 16 35 Minter 0 12 14 0 6 32 Rogers 0 0 16 11 0 27 Funderburk 0 16 4 0 4 24 Adams 0 0 0 18 0 18 Nance 0 0 0 0 0 0 View the full article

Dansby Swanson, star defensive shortstop and linchpin of the Cubs' elite defense, will miss the lion's share of the remaining regular season, and even his availability for October is in doubt. He was diagnosed with a Grade 2 oblique strain, which makes it hard to see how he can return any sooner than late September. Nico Hoerner will man shortstop capably, if not as well as Swanson, who is in Gold Glove conversations yearly. Second base will be primarily Pedro Ramírez, with a smattering of Matt Shaw. The team just got worse at two defensive positions, and since Shaw might be needed to complement Michael Busch at first base, rest will be in short supply for Alex Bregman the rest of the way. This harkens back to 2019, when Addison Russell and Javier Báez switched spots in the double play combo. After Ruseell's shadow ban (and then official ban) for domestic violence, the team elected to let Báez handle shortstop and mixed Russell in (when he was available) with the likes of Ben Zobrist, Robel García (remember him?), Daniel Descalso and David Bote at second base. The stability at short was non-negotiable, but the defense was markedly worse for the swap. This is real adversity, even if it's a bit less disquieting than the cloud that hung over the team because of Russell's behavior back then. The last time the Cubs faced adversity to this level (when their pitching went to pieces in May and June), they went 7-23 in a 30-game stretch and nearly watched their season unravel. To avoid having that happen this time, the offense will have to heat up—Pete Crow-Armstrong's slump-busting virtuoso performance Monday was a good start—and the pitching staff will have to start missing more bats. Chicago is built around elite defense, and suddenly, they don't have one. If they want to catch the Brewers (or beat them in October), they have to play their best baseball, and that's harder to do without Swanson. They showed great resiliency (and surprising depth, especially in the persons of Ramírez, Jacob Webb and company) in recovering from their last stumble, but they have to avoid another one. That will be easier said than done. Unless and until Swanson returns, it's time to switch into survival mode. View the full article

Even before his injury, Austin Martin was looking lost at the plate for months. With a roster crunch in the outfield, which will get worse this offseason, it's possible he could be in for a new role in 2026. What could that role look like? View the full article

By big-league standards, Kaelen Culpepper is not a big guy. When he was drafted, he was listed as 6 feet tall, but after being officially measured (as every hitter has to be, these days, to make the ABS system work), he's now 5-foot-10. He's not scrawny, by any means, but he's also far from stocky. If a player Culpepper's size is going to fit anywhere on the diamond, it's likely to be on the middle infield, but even middle infielders are getting taller and broader-shouldered. Culpepper's size is a constraint on his value. To be great, he has to find ways to make up for being smaller than a lot of the guys to whom one might first be inclined to compare him. Happily, he knows exactly what those ways are. "I'm a twitchy athlete," Culpepper said. "I'm explosive. I've got a lot of torque." In other words (and in more specific terminology), while he might not be huge or conventionally powerful, Culpepper is exactly the kind of athlete who thrives most in the rotational sport that is baseball. He can generate much more bat speed and much stronger throws than you would guess, comparing the physiques or even sheer, linear power measurements between him and players like Royce Lewis or Ryan Kreidler. Although he's not putting up huge numbers over his first few weeks in the majors, Culpepper has impressed his teammates, coaches and fans with his feel for the game and his poise. He's also flashed the tools that made him a fast-rising prospect on national rankings late in his progression to the big leagues, including an average bat speed of 74 MPH—well above the league average—and some strong throws from the left side of the infield. To understand him better and see where the upside is for the balance of the season, let's take a closer look at Culpepper's swing. This is a single Culpepper hit Monday night against Atlanta. For reasons we'll break down, it's a good place to start in an effort to understand his moves in the box. ZU53THlfWGw0TUFRPT1fRGdKV1VWMENCUVlBQVFFQlhnQUhWQTlYQUFBQkFBQUFVMXhUVVZaVVZGRmRCVkZX.mp4 Firstly, note his setup and his stride. For a short guy, he's fairly spread-out in his stance, but the leg kick and stride are especially aggressive. How much a hitter gets into their legs says a lot about what kind of pitches they're trying to hit and what parts of the kinetic chain are most important to them. Notice that Culpepper chooses to slightly outwardly rotate his front knee and point his toe toward the ball as he lands with that front foot, and how much he turns and drops his back knee toward the ground as he does so. That big movement in the lower half is where he gets his power; it's the foundation of the torque that we already touched on. "I have to clear my hips," Culpepper explained. "I have to make sure I get through there, to get the most out of my swing. I have to keep my back foot down, and open up enough." He's not alone among shorter hitters in using his legs to generate power. Shorter levers means that more of one's bat speed has to come from torque, and torque has to come from stretching the bands of the body. While much more thickly built, Andrew Vaughn of the Brewers is also 5-foot-10. Not coincidentally, he also gets deep into his legs when he swings; the low drop of the back knee is the visual giveaway when watching from the center-field camera. MnI0T1BfWGw0TUFRPT1fQkZCU1Z3RUFBMVFBWEFkVVZBQUhCUUFDQUZsVEFWa0FCUWRYQmdaVENBTlJWRk1G.mp4 If you're thinking that the upper half works differently for these two hitters, though, you're right. Culpepper lets his hands get away from his body a bit earlier in his swing than Vaughn does. If he wants to generate bat speed as good as Vaughn's or better, despite Vaughn having more raw power in his legs, Culpepper has to allow a bit more length in his swing. He had to lunge slightly at the first hit we looked at, because it was a breaking ball in a two-strike count, but you can really see how proactively he extends his arms early in his swing when watching him attack a fastball. OHliak1fWGw0TUFRPT1fVndsUlZsQlhVd0lBRFZSV1hnQUhVQWRRQUFCV0J3SUFVd01FVlZFRUIxRUFBUWNF.mp4 "I'm trying to stay inside the ball," Culpepper said. "But at the same time, I want to cover a guy's best heater, and then know I can adjust and handle the breaking ball; I've always been able to do that." When you see a pitch stand him up like that, you can see a slightly different comp, can't you? This one strikes a bit closer to home. Here, look: Uk85OGFfWGw0TUFRPT1fQmdSVVZGRUVVZ2NBQVZkWEF3QUhCbFJYQUZrQ1ZnVUFDMTBDQmdvRVVGQlRDQUlE.mp4 Byron Buxton starts and ends taller on most swings than does Culpepper. The younger man said he's never thought of his swing as mapping neatly to Buxton's. However, when it comes to the way they address the ball—and, therefore, to the pitches they handle and the direction in which their best contact tends to go—there are important similarities. "You're always looking to hit it hard back up the middle," Culpepper said. "I don't try to think about where I'm gonna hit it too much; I want to just see the ball and get the good part to it." In reality, though, all of Culpepper's hits in his career to date have gone to the pull side, and all but one of them has come on pitches from the middle of the plate out. Buxton is the same way: a rare pull hitter who's hunting for the ball away. Both guys let their hands get away from their bodies relatively early in their swing, and their best contact comes when they catch the ball out front, with their arms extended and the barrel turned slightly toward left field. Culpepper is even more extreme than Buxton in this regard, though. Taller and with more tilt in his stroke, Buxton can stay through the ball longer and catch it a bit flatter, in terms of attack angle and direction. Culpepper, though not telling himself to do so, succeeds by getting into a slightly steeper move earlier and reaching for the ball in front of his frame more. That's common among hitters who get into their legs the way he does. If you stride that aggressively, you get to a powerful position in your swing later than most hitters, and it's important not to let the ball get too deep into your kitchen. It comes down, really, to knowing the window within which you're going to make solid contact. Here's Culpepper's first career double, on a changeup left right in the heart of the zone. Watch the way he manages the torque of his swing with the front shoulder and trunk and maximizes his extension with the top hand and back side. eHl3a3pfWGw0TUFRPT1fQTFCU1ZBQlJYbFlBRFFNRVVRQUhBZ0JUQUZrSEIxQUFBRnhSQ1FZR1YxVlVDUUJV.mp4 For a smallish guy, Culpepper has great plate coverage, but it takes an unusual form. Given his size, he has great bat speed, but it has to be built from the ground up on every swing. For someone unlikely to post huge exit velocities, he should have plenty of power, and he can bolster the bottom of the Twins' lineup the rest of the way, but he'll have to keep showing the ability to spoil stuff on the inner part of the plate and let non-strikes go, so he can get hold of the mistake out over the plate when opponents make one. He has the right mindset for it, at the very least. "I'm just trying to do everything with a smile on my face," he said. "It's the same game here [as in the minors], but it's definitely an adjustment. The crowds are so much bigger; there's a lot more adrenaline. I'm way more tired after games. You can feel how important these games are. So I'm just enjoying it." View the full article

The Boston Red Sox received some injury updates Tuesday afternoon before the second game of their three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Following the injuries to outfielder Masataka Yoshida and pitchers Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten, the three were scheduled for MRIs. Only two of them came back positive. As first reported by MassLive's Chris Cotillo, both Whitlock and Slaten received good news as there was no structural damage, just inflammation, found in both of their MRIs. The two key pitchers of the Red Sox bullpen will remain shut down for now with the length of their downtime unknown. Yoshida, on the other hand, received tough news as his injury turned out to be significant with there being a chance he misses the remainder of the regular season. The loss of Yoshida's bat is a major blow to the Red Sox as they look to make it back to the postseason. In his last 22 games, the outfielder was hitting .292/.361/.403 with five doubles, one home run and 10 RBIs. The Red Sox also gave an update on Tanner Houck, stating that he threw a live bullpen session in Fort Myers and that it is now possible he could return this season. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery on August 18, 2025. View the full article

The Boston Red Sox's second-half resurgence has been a full-team effort, but no turnaround has been more remarkable than the revival of the offense. Before their historic winning streak, they had a bottom-10 offense in the league with a 91 wRC+, but since then, they have improved to a top-five offense with a 115 wRC+. But despite their improvements, the team has yet to find a consistent leadoff man. Before his long stint on the injured list, Roman Anthony was the team’s first option, but his injury caused manager Chad Tracy to turn to a committee of options. The manager's most recent choice was second baseman Nick Sogard, but Tracy shook up the lineup after Sogard went 0-for-13 during a three-game losing streak against the Toronto Blue Jays, which paved the way for Masataka Yoshida to take the reins. Known for his elite plate discipline and strong zone recognition, Yoshida seems like an obvious choice on paper. Primarily batting in the middle of the lineup this season, he has been a consistent contributor for the team, batting .274/.347/.399 with 72 hits, 34 runs and 28 RBIs. Yoshida has spent time in each spot in the batting order, but has spent most of his time batting fifth, where his ability to avoid strikeouts and prolong at-bats has made him valuable. But while no one questions his plate discipline, the knock against Yoshida batting leadoff has been the belief that he isn’t aggressive enough. Statistically, however, that couldn’t be further from the truth. This season, Yoshida has a 9.5% walk rate and 11.2% strikeout rate, the best marks of his MLB career. His selective approach at the plate makes him difficult to attack, as he chases pitches outside the strike zone at just a 28.1% rate but still makes contact on 72.4% of those swings. Combined with his 90.7% contact rate on swings at pitches in the strike zone, he rarely lets hittable pitches go to waste. However, just because he has a patient approach doesn't mean he isn’t aggressive when he gets a pitch he likes. In 0-0 or 0-1 counts this season, Yoshida is batting above .350, collecting 13 and 12 hits, respectively. He's batting only .243 from the leadoff position this season, but has been effective when leading off an inning, batting .306 with a .358 OBP. There shouldn’t be a question of whether Yoshida can be a leadoff hitter, but whether the leadoff spot is the best place to maximize his value. Batting him first does negate some of the value created by his contact; he has been particularly effective with runners on base. While he is batting just .200 with runners in scoring position overall, that number jumps to .286 when he bats fifth. So, really, perhaps the best solution is to keep him flexible. If the lineup is struggling to put traffic on the basepaths, batting Yoshida atop the order should help alleviate those issues. If they team is struggling to bring runners home, then maybe it's best to let him hit in the middle of the lineup. In the Red Sox’s most recent series against the Pirates, Yoshida suffered a left hamstring strain that will put him on the injured list and force Tracy to try other options at leadoff (he's gone back to favoring Sogard). That gives Boston additional time to evaluate its options at the top of the lineup and determine where Yoshida should play once he's healthy again. View the full article

While there are some holdovers retaining a piece of the San Diego Padres under new owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones, there are some new faces, too. Among those staying on are Alfredo Harp Helu, whose previous stake in the Padres was around 20% but according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, he is increasing that investment. Harp Helu's name is on the Mexico City stadium where the Padres and MLB have played. Members of the Seidler family, who sold the team to Feliciano and Jones for a record $3.9 billion with that transaction approved by MLB owners Monday, will also be sticking around, not an unusual move. However, joining the ownership group are Behdad Eghbali, Feliciano's co-founder of private-equity firm Clearlake Capital, as well as Joey and Jesse Buss, the youngest children of the late Jerry Buss. Joey and Jesse Buss, perhaps coincidental, perhaps not, on Monday announced they were selling the family stake in the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, which is being contested by sister Jeanie Buss. Feliciano and Jones are expected to have about a 45% interest in the Padres. With the sale expected to close in the next few days following MLB's approval, the couple will be introduced Monday at 1 p.m. at Petco Park. View the full article

The struggles of Lucas Erceg have resulted in a demotion. The right-handed reliever was optioned to Triple-A Omaha as right-hander Carlos Duran was called up from Omaha. The Royals are hoping Erceg can figure some things out in a less-pressurized environment. In Monday's 9-5 loss to the A's, Erceg gave up a run on a hit and two walks without getting an out in the ninth inning. That leaves him with a 5.57 FIP (6.23 ERA) in 43⅓ innings over 47 appearances with a 13.9% walk rate and 14.9% strikeout rate. Those are not only below last year's marks of 7.2% and 19.3%, but off his career rates of 10.3% and 22.8%. Erceg, formerly the Royals' closer, has 12 saves in 18 chances this season. Duran will be making his season debut for the Royals after having his MLB debut with the A's last year with one-third of an inning, allowing three runs on one hit and three walks. He signed in the offseason with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was added to the 40-man roster in early July before being acquired by the Royals in the Kris Bubic trade at the deadline. In 40 games at Triple-A between the Dodgers and Royals, he has a 3.15 ERA with a 13.9% walk rate and 30.8% strikeout rate. View the full article

We are back after a two-week absence, one for the trade deadline and the other because I had jury duty. Anyways, let's check in on the San Diego Padres prospects who made a mark in the last week (check out Padres Mission's latest Top 20 rankings as well!). Alex McCoy, OF, Double-A San Antonio Missions Season stats: .277/.356/.491, 100 games, 63 R, 29 2B, 1 3B, 17 HR, 61 RBI, 41 BB, 115 K, 22 SB, 6 CS Talk about having a week. Padres Mission's No. 8 prospect, after going 2-for-4 Tuesday for High-A Fort Wayne, was promoted to Double-A San Antonio, a big enough event in itself. In his debut Friday, the big right-handed hitter crushed a pair of homers and had four RBIs in a 14-12 loss to the Frisco RoughRiders. That was the highlight of a .500/.474/1.000 (9-for-18) slash line with three doubles, eight RBIs, eight runs scored and the two homers. He also stole three bases. He is now up to 17 homers for the season. After starting out the season sizzling with a slash line of .354/.386/.683 in April as the corner outfielder was named Midwest League Player of the Month, he wasn't as productive in the next few months before picking it up in July and being named Midwest League Player of the Week (July 28-Aug. 7). He ranked second in doubles with 27, fourth in hits with 99, third in extra-base hits with 43 and fifth in total bases with 173. That was enough for the Padres to promote him when outfielder Jake Cunningham went on the seven-day injured list with a groin strain. McCoy went 7-for-14 in his first three games with the Missions, including a two-steal game Sunday and a stint in center field. Ethan Salas, C, Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas Season stats: .301/.377/.465, 86 games, 51 R, 19 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 57 RBI, 42 BB, 55 K, 15 SB, 8 CS Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect continues to sizzle since his promotion to Triple-A El Paso. In his third week with the Chihuahuas, the left-handed-hitting catcher put up a slash line of .471/.524/.765 (8-for-17) in five games with two doubles, his career-high 10th homer and eight RBIs. The 20-year-old, the youngest player in Triple-A, had three walks and did not strike out. That pulled his season batting average above .300 for the first time since June 3. Yes, the hype is strong, although he has had a few defensive missteps since coming up from Double-A San Antonio. Salas has a 10-game hitting streak and reached base in all 14 games at Triple-A, putting up a tremendous slash line of .377/.453/.698 with six doubles, a triple and three home runs. His home run Sunday was an opposite-field shot down the left-field line, while he also doubled off the base of the wall in center field. The power comes easy with his swing, which is more of a line-drive tilt with gap power. More power will come as his body matures, but his hit tool has taken a major step forward this season. Bryan Balzer, RHP, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps Season stats: 7-4, 4.47 ERA, 20 games (18 starts), 88⅔ IP, 75 H, 48 R, 44 ER, 39 BB, 92 K, .230 opponent average In what was perhaps his second- or third-best game of the season, the right-handed starter struck out 10 and allowed just one hit over five innings in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday. He did walk four and hit another, which kept this from being his best game of 2026. His strikeouts and 94 pitches were career highs as he continues to build his prospect profile. He didn't allow a hit until a leadoff double in the fourth, although the walks and the hit batter prevented him from having a clean inning. He did strike out three in the first and third innings and nine of the first 10 outs he recorded were punchouts. Balzer was signed as an international free agent out of Japan in 2023, coming off Tommy John surgery, which delayed his pro debut until 2024. He has appeared in 20 games (18 starts) this year, including eight games (seven starts) with High-A Fort Wayne following a promotion from Low-A Lake Elsinore. Balzer's strikeout rate is up from Lake Elsinore (22.6% to 26.9%), but his walk rate is worse (8.3% to 13.8%). He has mitigated those walks with a .202 opponent batting average with the TinCaps. His ERA sits at 4.47 for the season, including 4.45 at Fort Wayne. His innings are likely to be monitored over the final three weeks as he is at 88⅔ after covering 50 last year. Tyler Schmitt, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm Season stats: 8-6, 4.76 ERA, 20 games (17 starts), 87 IP, 80 H, 46 R, 46 ER, 46 BB, 94 K, .246 opponent average Check out the game logs for the right-handed starter and you will be in for a bit of a roller-coaster ride. But there have been more ups than downs for the 2025 17th-round draft choice out of Illinois. When on, Schmitt has been pretty good. That was certainly the case when he piggybacked left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft, Padres Mission's No. 4 prospect, on Saturday with five shutout innings and eight strikeouts. He walked two and allowed three hits. Schmitt's eight punchouts were the most since he had nine and 11 in a three-start span May 30-June 13. In half of his 20 games, he has allowed one or zero runs. He also has four outings where he gave up at least five runs. Walks are his Kryptonite. He had back-to-back starts July 11-18 with no walks, but otherwise has had at least one in every game. This is his first full season in pro ball, so the walks are something that can be ironed out by the 22-year-old. Luis Maracara, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm Season stats: 2-3, 6.92 ERA, 15 games (13 starts), 40⅓ IP, 40 H, 35 R, 31 ER, 21 BB, 51 K, .255 opponent average The 18-year-old right-handed starter, signed as an international free agent in 2024 out of Venezuela, has had a mixed bag of results since coming to the U.S. last year. He spent all of 2025 in the Arizona Complex League with a 9.19 ERA in 12 games (four starts) and 32⅓ innings. This year, he began in the ACL and had a 5.94 ERA in seven starts with 23 strikeouts in 16⅔ innings. That earned him a ticket to Low-A Lake Elsinore, where he has appeared in eight games (six starts) with a 7.61 ERA. But he has had some nice outings between the rocky ones. That was evident Sunday. In an 11-7 loss to the Inland Empire 66ers, when Maracara struck out eight over four innings, matching his career high from 2024 in the Dominican Summer League. He allowed a pair of runs on five hits and no walks. With three weeks left plus the California League playoffs still to come, it is certainly something for him to build off. View the full article

Oswaldo Pirela, the San Diego Padres' minor-league catching coordinator, was taken into custody Sunday in El Paso, Texas, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The San Diego Union-Tribune and The Athletic each confirmed Piera's plight with members of his family. Pirela has a hearing scheduled for next week, the Union-Tribune said. Pirela is Venezuelan with an ongoing asylum case. He has been in the U.S. since 2014 and family members said he has an active work permit. Pirela's brother told The Athletic that Pirela was not carrying his work permit card at the time. The Padres issued a statement Monday: “We recently became aware of the detainment of minor league catching coordinator Oswaldo Pirela in El Paso, Texas. We are working to gather additional information and will not have any further comment at this time.” The Athletic received a statement from Homeland Security on Tuesday: “On August 16, 2026, Border Patrol arrested Oswaldo Jose Pirela Dominguez, an illegal alien from Venezuela, at the El Paso International Airport. He entered the country legally on September 10, 2014, and was granted permission by the Obama administration to remain in the country until February 10, 2018. In violation of our nation’s laws, he overstayed his welcome. When approached by law enforcement officers, he was not in possession of legal documentation granting him status in the country. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive due process. To be clear, work authorization or a pending application do NOT confer legal status in the United States.” Pirela was visiting the Padres' Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas affiliate during their home series against the Salt Lake Bees. He was detained at the El Paso airport around 4 a.m. as he was traveling back to the Phoenix area, where he family lives and the Padres have their minor-league headquarters and spring training site in Peoria, Ariz. With ICE ramping up immigration checks at airports, Pirela and his family came up with a system of checking in during his travel. The family did not hear from him Sunday morning, raising concern. Pirela was the bench coach with the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm in 2024. He was a minor-league catcher for the Texas Rangers from 2009-11. View the full article

The Chicago Cubs entered Major League Baseball's 2026 trade deadline with as clear of needs as just about any organization in the league. Jed Hoyer's previous track record of addressing needs in more of a tepid fashion than an assertive one didn't lend itself to the idea that the organization would properly go about their business. What transpired, though, was fairly remarkable. Not only did Hoyer and his front office comrades put the Cubs in a position to address their shortcomings, they completely solidified the staff on paper as the team awaits the recovery of various arms suited for various roles. A bench bat was even added for good measure. As a recap, here's where things fell prior to the Aug. 3 deadline for the Cubs: Acquired RHP Kevin Gausman from Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for prospects Brett Bateman & Ty Southisene Acquired RHP Clay Holmes & OF Tyrone Taylor from New York Mets in exchange for prospect Jefferson Rojas Acquired RHP Ryan Zeferjahn from Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Moisés Ballesteros & prospect Mason McGwire Acquired LHP Braxton Garrett from Miami Marlins in exchange for prospects Jonathon Long & Jace Beck The moves that the Cubs made were largely about 2026 (Garrett, Zeferjahn, and their respective team control notwithstanding). While Bateman has since made his big-league debut with Toronto and Ballesteros is back at the top level with the Angels, we're not at a point of re-grading the moves based on the performance of those who departed the organization as part of the transactional spree. As such, we're only interested in the early returns from those acquired. Let's take a quick look at those returns. Kevin Gausman Despite his status as an impending free agent, Gausman was perhaps the most significant addition the team made ahead of the deadline. He's a veteran with postseason experience capable of working deep into ball games. His first start indicated as much, as he threw seven innings while allowing two earned runs against Kansas City back on August 7. His second start didn't land quite as favorably, as he ran up the strikeout numbers (seven) but only worked 4.2 innings while allowing six earned runs. Gausman's splitter has absolutely played in each start, which is hardly a surprise given that its his pitch that has generated the most chase (39.2 percent), whiff (39.8 percent), and groundball action (48.9 percent) of anything else in his arsenal. As long as he's deploying the fastball effectively (something that did not happen against Washington last week), he should be able to provide the Cubs with plenty of much-needed efficiency down the stretch atop their rotation. Clay Holmes Holmes hadn't pitched since May 15 when the Cubs acquired him, as he was recovering from a broken fibula that was the result of a comebacker off his right leg. His return was imminent, though, and his two starts since arriving in Chicago have been a sort of inverse of that of Gausman. He labored through his first start, throwing four innings, allowing six hits and two walks, and being tagged for four runs in a game the Cubs eventually lost. In start No. 2, however, he was brilliant. Against St. Louis over the weekend, Holmes worked into the seventh (6.2 innings), allowed just a single hit and one walk, and kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard. His sinker was out in full force; he threw it 55 percent of the time and generated groundballs on 61.1 percent of the balls in play allowed. That sinker should allow him to continue to find success down the stretch, as he's a groundball machine on the mound throwing in front of an elite infield defense. Ryan Zeferjahn It's a bit more difficult to gauge the early returns on a relief pitcher than it is a starter. Zeferjahn has made six appearances for the Cubs thus far, logging 5.1 innings of work. His ERA sits over eight (8.44) through those initial appearances with a FIP (7.58) that doesn't look much more favorable. However, his strikeout rate is still admirable (25.0 percent) and his walk rate is down a touch (10.7 percent). It's also noteworthy that each of the appearances that Zeferjahn has made to date have come in a game that the Cubs would go on to win. He's allowed runs in three of those six appearances, but none of those clunky outings have come in a way that was damaging to the Cubs' playoff pursuit. Unlike a starting pitcher that has multiple innings at a time, Zeferjahn hasn't had quite the springboard to gaining his footing quite yet, so even through some bad luck (.400 opposing BABIP), we don't yet have a reason to be worried that their big relief acquisition is a dud. Tyrone Taylor Taylor was brought in to, essentially, serve as a fifth outfielder and right-handed bat off the bench. That's the role he's filled thus far. Of his 11 games with the Cubs, he's been a pinch runner once and has pinch hit on three different occasions with only six starts to his name. There hasn't been anything particularly noteworthy on the stat sheet quite yet (47 wRC+), but he's scattered a few hits across his smattering of appearances. He's an especially difficult player to gauge in terms of overall value, but as his sample increases (particularly against left-handed pitching), you'd hope to see the occasional contribution, even if it's not coming with much frequency. Braxton Garrett The only deal the Cubs made with a clear eye on the future (Garrett is under team control through 2028), it was a bit of a surprise that the team added him to the big-league roster so soon after his acquisition. However, that was more about giving their pitching staff some coverage than anything, and he has yet to make his Cubs debut. He's also made just one appearance with Iowa, throwing a pair of innings while walking six and allowing an earned run. Unless he's added back into the mix upon the expansion of rosters, it's unlikely we'll see him again before 2027 as the Cubs work to develop him into a starter worthy of next year's rotation. View the full article

As we approach the final month of the major-league regular season, many teams bring up some of their top prospects for quick looks and for needed boosts in playoff races. September callups allow teams to add two more players to their rosters, going from 26 to 28 players, and a lot of the conversations around the Twins’ organization lately have been focused on two outfielders: Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez. They’re two of the best prospects in the organization. Both are right on the doorstep of the major leagues, and it feels like only a matter of time before the Twins give each of them an opportunity. But there’s another outfielder who doesn’t get mentioned nearly enough, in my opinion, and he’s in a very similar spot. It’s Hendry Mendez. The Harrison Bader trade at last summer’s trade deadline continues to look good. Mendez has done nothing but hit the ball since being acquired from the Phillies—so much so that he’s climbed directly behind Rodriguez in Twins Daily’s prospect rankings. Across 356 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A this year, Mendez is slashing .290/.383/.454. When you compare his Triple-A numbers specifically to those of Jenkins and Rodriguez, you might be surprised by just how well Mendez stacks up. His extra-base hit production isn’t quite as high, largely because of Mendez’s 52% ground-ball rate. He isn’t going to provide the same raw power that Rodriguez can, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to like about his offensive profile. Mendez is getting on base at a higher clip than Jenkins, and his hard-hit rate is also about four percentage points higher. The biggest difference, though, might be his ability to consistently put the bat on the baseball. Rodriguez’s overall contact rate is at just 65% (a major concern, but one for another time). Mendez’s contact rate is up at 82%. That gives Mendez a very different offensive profile from Rodriguez. He may not have the same ceiling in terms of power, but there is considerably less swing-and-miss in his game. That could be valuable for the Twins as they try to figure out what their outfield should look like over the next few seasons. Mendez is also already on the 40-man roster, meaning the Twins face no major friction if they decide to promote him. Even after making the jump from Double-A to Triple-A, he’s continued to produce and put good swings on the ball and post impressive numbers. There’s no reason Mendez has to be viewed as a direct alternative to Jenkins or Rodriguez. The Twins could theoretically bring up multiple young outfielders, especially if they want to use September as an opportunity to get a better look at the players who could be part of the playoff window they hope is opening this season. Each of the three prospects would bring very different things to the table. Jenkins offers the highest overall prospect pedigree, but isn’t on the 40-man and could be stuck in St. Paul for the rest of the year. Rodriguez brings some of the most impressive raw power in the organization, and Mendez brings a more contact-oriented approach with the ability to get on base and consistently make hard contact. That diversity could actually make Mendez an even more interesting piece of the puzzle. The Twins have many decisions to make in their outfield moving forward. Some veterans are likely to be moved, with a wave of prospects getting closer and closer to the major leagues. It's all but guaranteed the outfield will shift to a much younger group in the near future. Jenkins and Rodriguez will probably be at the center of those conversations, but Mendez should be part of them, too. I don’t think the Twins need to rush Mendez to the major leagues, and I wouldn’t argue that he needs to be prioritized over Jenkins or Rodriguez. But if the organization is looking for another young hitter to get a taste of the majors in September, there’s a compelling case to give Mendez a chance. View the full article

Ricky Tiedemann would likely have made his MLB debut earlier in the season if he hadn't had injury issues. He's a highly talented left-handed pitcher who throws a mid-90s four-seam fastball with a changeup and sweeper. However, he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2024, forcing him to miss the entire 2025 season, and this season he was briefly shut down in February with elbow discomfort and in early July due to neck discomfort. The lefty prospect finally made his long-awaited MLB debut on August 15 to provide length in a bullpen game. Tiedemann threw 1 2/3 innings, allowing an earned run on two hits and striking out two. He followed opener Braydon Fisher, and after Tiedemann's outing, he passed the ball off to Simeon Woods Richardson in a game that saw the Jays use seven relievers. It was an important game for the Toronto Blue Jays as it led to their second win in the series against the New York Yankees. The rookie's MLB experience was short-lived, as he was sent back down to Triple-A Buffalo the next day. Brendon Little took Tiedemann's spot after being reinstated from the paternity list. The move has nothing to do with how the rookie performed. The demotion likely has to do with keeping the injury-prone southpaw's workload down. Tiedemann only made five minor league appearances after returning on July 25 from his neck injury, with three of those in Triple-A. He also only threw one inning in each outing. So the Blue Jays are protecting a player who has a bright future at the major league level. The team is in a logjam fighting for the last Wild Card berth; six teams are within one game of that final spot. With Toronto in a tight battle, Tiedemann's lack of experience could also be a reason to send him down to the minors. They've elected to use relievers who have MLB experience. The players at the bottom of the bullpen depth chart are Matt Waldron, newly acquired Paul Sewald, and Little. Though they've struggled this season, they have tons of experience at the highest level. However, if their struggles continue, Tiedemann will likely return to the big leagues before the regular season ends. The Blue Jays know Tiedemann is talented, but they have to be careful not to give him a massive workload right now. He showed in a small sample that he could compete, which leaves open a strong possibility we see him again in the final stretch of the season. He has the skills to make a late-season impact similar to Trey Yesavage last season, but Tiedemann won't be stretched out enough to be a starter. His role will be as a long reliever, but with his sweeper that can miss bats, he'd be a solid option in the middle innings. View the full article

Alex and Maddie sit down and discuss the Red Sox’s recent skid. (Spoiler: they’re unfazed about the Blue Jays and Pirates series.) They answer your forum questions, reviewing the difference in Statcast and Baseball Info Solutions definitions of hard-hit rate. They consider the length of Trevor Story and Roman Anthony’s rehab stints. They’re also reminded of Johan Oviedo’s existence. They talk about Adley Rutschman's transition to Boston and how he’s starting to look like himself again in the first game of the Diamondbacks series. Finally, they predict where Alex Cora will end up managing next year. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talk-sox-podcast/id1783204104 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qPrPXEngu0CxgTmlf0ynm Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-talk-sox-podcast-244591331/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4tmd121v Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talksox View the full article

Earlier this season, I wrote about the way Cooper Pratt emerged from his shell after a few weeks in the major leagues. When he first got the call to the bigs, he maintained a very deep contact point and a patient approach. He didn't cut losse with his 'A' swing very often. He was there to provide steady defense at an important position and to be a low-ceiling, high-floor eighth or ninth batter on most days. Once he got to about 80 plate appearances, though, the Brewers allowed him to get more aggressive. This is a pattern you can watch unfold multiple times, as you sift through the slew of young players the team has promoted over the last few years. Joey Ortiz, Brice Turang, and Sal Frelick all went through similar apprenticeships, even after reaching the majors. Jackson Chourio's was a more chaotic first month or two, given that he was a 20-year-old rookie and one of the highest-ceiling prospects in team history, but the same essential principles applied. The Brewers believe a hitter needs time to learn how they'll be pitched in the majors, and what getting hits against that pitching requires. They want them to learn the situational aspects of hitting in that crucible, and to prioritize seeing the ball well and making good swing decisions. Once those hurdles are cleared, the team gives the player the green light to be their more assertive self. That process is still playing out with Luis Lara, even though he's come to bat 98 times since being recalled early last month. Lara is young, and he's small, and his calling card is defense, but that's not why the team has yet to take the training wheels off him. It's simpler than that. Lara is a switch-hitter, which means he's only come up 77 times as a lefty and 21 times as a righty. He's still earlier in that transitional phase than his raw numbers imply. Recently, that's put the player and the team in a tough spot. Frelick has been on the injured list. Christian Yelich is active, but he's clearly in decline. Turang has sputtered a bit and battled nagging injuries, and Pratt, Ortiz and David Hamilton have all been in and out of the lineup with injuries of varying severities. That's created a vacuum where the club's elite offensive production used to be. It would be great if Lara could step forward and fill a portion of it. As far as the Brewers are concerned, though, it's not worth asking their young outfielder to change what he's been doing since coming up. He's not yet having tremendous success, but his approach to date—that deep contact point, very little chase, very little swing-and-miss—fits the roadmap to success. One of the luxuries of being in control of your division, as the Brewers always seem to be, is the ability to keep telling a player like Lara to do what they've been doing—to stay dedicated to development. More than most good teams, the Brewers are willing to give up a run or a win now and then for the promise of a five-fold return on the investment two years later. Lara is in that place right now. That decision is made even easier right now, though, by the fact that Lara has two swings to maintain and two approaches to learn. With a cushion in the NL Central and the best record in the National League, the Crew have been able to eschew the potential to turn the youngster into a more dynamic (but more erratic) offensive presence. They're not ready, yet, to have him start attacking the ball more aggressively or changing what he's looking for. They want him to be the best version of himself next year and in 2028, and that means asking him not to risk too much in pursuit of being the best version of himself in 2026. Before the year is out, that will change. Lara will tap into a little more power and start contributing more to the lineup down the stretch. For now, though, despite the injuries and struggles afflicting the team, Milwaukee is still counseling their rookie to stay within himself and learn the ropes. They've earned the option to do so. Even if he never does fully click this season, they'll be ok—and they'll be better off next season, too, as they pursue what could be a fifth straight division crown. View the full article

Coming into the 2026 season, there was reason to believe that David Morgan was going to be a key part of an upper-tier San Diego Padres bullpen. He was fresh off a 2025 campaign in which he posted a 2.66 ERA and a strikeout rate that rested a shade over 25 percent. His start to the year had such a trajectory looking very much in play, too (however short-lived it might have been). Through April 12, Morgan made seven appearances for the Padres that included 10.1 innings of work. In that sample, he didn't allow an earned run, got the ball on the ground an obscene 68.2 percent of the time, and had the bullpen's lowest hard-hit rate against at 16.7 percent. There were some warning signs, though, in the form of a strikeout rate that sat over 16 percent and a strand rate that read over 92 percent. By April 17, those problems had caught up with him. Between April 17-28, Morgan made four appearances. He allowed a pair of earned runs in each of the first two, four in the third, and another in the fourth. From there, it was off to El Paso for a month before he came back up for seven appearances in June, at which point knee inflammation landed him on the shelf. Upon his activation last week, the team sent him back to El Paso. How long he could reside in Texas, however, is certainly a matter worth considering. The following is Morgan's percentile distribution from his 15.2 innings in Triple-A this season: To no one's surprise, Morgan has been quite good throughout his time at Triple-A. While he's had to work around some quality contact allowed, the right-hander otherwise turned in very strong work, with a distribution that looks quite similar to what he's posted in roughly 22 big-league innings in 2026: Morgan may not have enough innings to qualify for the actual percentiles, but the visual here is clear enough to indicate that he did just about everything well between his two stints at the top level this season. The groundball rate is a particularly enticing element of his game, alongside the ability to generate a fair bit of swing-and-miss. Even the walk rate could be dismissed rather easily given that 10 of his 13 total walks came in his first nine of 18 appearances thus far, and he had only walked two total over his seven appearances before heading to the injured list. These two images make it clear that his ERA at each level—5.74 in Triple-A & 4.50 with the Padres—are a byproduct of bad luck (a .411 BABIP between the two levels) rather than any fundamental flaw. The issue, then, is that there isn't necessarily room for Morgan. Which leads to a somewhat natural question of: should they make room for Morgan? It's not so much that the team needs David Morgan in their high-leverage mix. They've got Mason Miller at the end of games and Adrian Morejon directly in front of him. Each of Bradgley Rodríguez, Wandy Peralta, and Jeremiah Estrada have handled the late innings well, too. Yuki Matsui remains in the relief mix, with Jason Adam's return also on the horizon. That's a lot of mouths to feed for innings. What's important to consider though is the early strain that the team's deficiency in the rotation put on the bullpen. Miller is less than 14 innings shy of his career-high for relief innings at the top level and 11 games behind his personal record for total appearances. Morejon is roughly just eight frames shy despite 19 fewer games than the season in which he set his innings mark. Rodríguez has already blown away his total across his 55 innings of work. Estrada & Adam have had injury issues, while the general preference is to keep the likes of Matsui & Peralta away from leverage. The re-addition of Morgan to the mix could introduce an arm with upside that helps to take some of the strain off of the relief corps (alongside a rotation that has begun to stabilize since the trade deadline). Of course, then you get into the question of how one makes Morgan fit into the group considering the current roster construction. While the Padres have finally rounded out a starting five without the need for a "chaos" plan, Walker Buehler & Randy Vásquez are still likely only giving you five or six innings in a given start (at most). Does that type of situation make someone like Griffin Canning or Kyle Hart more of a necessity than they might otherwise be considered? And then you get into the imminent return of Joe Musgrove, which was already set to complicate the roster picture by pushing (likely) one of Buehler or Vásquez into at least part-time relief. It's possible that such a situation makes the (re)addition of Morgan a bit more difficult. He's not necessarily an arm that helps you in the volume department, which has been a key role for the Padres this year. Perhaps Musgrove's arrival could actually help that case, with one of the current starters headed to relief as a much more stable presence than either of Canning or Hart, leading to both finding their way out upon the former's return. It's also possible that the team waits until September and the expansion of rosters. Regardless of the logistics required or how the team ultimately decides to go about it, it's clear that there is a benefit to David Morgan being a part of this group in as expedient a fashion as possible. Despite the early blip of bad luck that sunk his numbers a bit and the injury that put him out of the picture entirely, he can work in the middle innings or in leverage with that combination of decent swing-and-miss stuff and upper-tier penchant for groundballs. Given all that, we know we'll see Morgan soon. It's just a question of how and when. View the full article