Weekend Series Recap: 8/28-8/31
Another fun-filled weekend in the books. We got pitcher’s duels and high scoring affairs. We got infield fly chaos. We got our third individual 4 home run game this year. We got some high-level pitching prospects’ debuts and a matchup between the top team in the AL vs. the top team in the NL.
So let’s get to it.
Braves @ Phillies - Phillies take 3 out of 4
Game 1 (ATL 4 - PHI 19): The Braves put 3 runs on the Phillies in the first inning off Aaron Nola. But then reality hit, and that included a 4 HR, 9 RBI game from Kyle Schwarber. The Phillies hit 3 more home runs, thanks to Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto, and Max Kepler. Cal Quantrill gave up 9 runs and Austin Cox gave up 7 in a combined 6.1 innings of work. All Phillies in this one.
Game 2 (ATL 1 - PHI 2): This one was a bit closer than yesterday. Bryce Elder fared much better against the Phillies’ lineup than Cal Quantrill. He went 7 innings and only surrendered one run on 3 hits. Ranger Suarez for the Phils also only gave up 1 run on 10(!) hits, as the Braves left 10 runners stranded on the basepaths. The winning run came in the bottom of the 8th on an Alec Bohm sac fly. Jhoan Duran with the save.
Game 3 (ATL 2 - PHI 3): A battle of the lefties as Cristopher Sanchez and Chris Sale took the bump. Sanchez’s line: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K; Sale’s line: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K. It was a tough day at the plate for both sides. A Weston Wilson solo homer gave Philly the lead until a Matt Olson double knotted it at 1-1 going to the top of the 10th. Nacho Alvarez drove in Jake Fraley as the Manfred runner, but Philly gave them one better, as Trea Turner’s single drove in two for the walk-off winner.
Game 4 (ATL 3 - PHI 1): Through 7, it looked like the Phillies would complete the 4-game sweep. A Brandon Marsh solo homer was the only run as Jesus Luzardo went 6.2 innings, shutting out the Braves on 2 hits with 7 Ks. The Braves capitalized off the bullpen. They tied it up in the 8th off Kerkering with a Matt Olson ground out. Then, in the top of the 9th, Drake Baldwin hit a 2-run go-ahead home run off Jose Alvarado. Raisel Iglesias shut the door on the Phillies in the bottom half and that was it.
Summary: I think the Phillies are probably satisfied with 3 out of 4, but they could have easily had this sweep. They gained 3 games back on their NL East lead on the Mets and sit a game up on the Dodgers for the 2nd seed in the playoffs. They have a big 3-game series starting Monday in Milwaukee as they face the best team in baseball. The Braves, on the other hand, head to Chicago to see if they can spoil a couple games against the Cubs. Hurston Waldrep looks good.
Marlins @ Mets - Marlins take 3 out of 4
Game 1 (MIA 7 - NYM 4): This was a tough one for the Mets. The Marlins put up a good fight and it was 4-4 heading into the top of the 7th. Then Gregory Soto came in to pitch and a series of unfortunate events gave the Marlins the 7-4 lead that gave them the win. A couple singles, a couple passed balls, a fielder’s choice, and a sac fly was all Miami needed to cool off the Mets as they drop a game in the NL East after the Phillies bullied the Braves Thursday night.
Game 2 (MIA 9 - NYM 19): The Mets couldn’t let the Phillies be the only NL East team to score 19 runs, as they put up their own near 20-burger on Miami. What a game for Brandon Nimmo as he went 3 for 4 with 2 HRs, 4 RBIs, and 4 runs scored. Tyrone Taylor also had a 4 RBI game. Luis Torrens hit a 3-run homer and then gave up 4 runs on the mound as the Mets’ position player tried to eat up an inning, only going 0.1. Jonah Tong had a great start to his MLB career, going 5 innings and only giving up 1 ER alongside 6 Ks. Otto Lopez had a homer and 4 RBIs for the Marlins.
Game 3 (MIA 11 - NYM 8): It was a tough start for David Peterson as the Marlins tagged him for 5 runs in the top of the 1st. The Marlins got their lead up to 6, as they led 8-2 after the top of the 3rd. Mark Vientos hit a 3-run homer, and Juan Soto hit 2 solo homers to tie the game in the bottom of the 6th. Miami scored a go-ahead run in the top of the 7th on a sac fly, and tacked two more on in the top of the 9th off Edwin Diaz, courtesy of a 2-RBI double by Connor Norby. Tyler Phillips came in the game to close out the Mets (although I didn’t see if he slapped himself in the face first).
Game 4 (MIA 5 - NYM 1): Sandy Alcantara was back in Cy Young form as he went 7 innings, only giving up 4 hits and 1 run, while striking out 6. The Mets’ offense went silent, as the only run came from a Cedric Mullins fielder’s choice in the bottom of the 7th. Kodai Senga couldn’t complete 5 innings, as he got stuck with 7 hits and 5 earned runs. The Marlins got a laser homer from Agustin Ramirez.
Summary: The Marlins are pesky, but the Mets really don’t want to lose 3 out of 4 here at home. The Reds still continued to lose so they didn’t lose too much distance between them for the last wild card spot. They head to Detroit for a 3-game series on Monday. The Marlins continue to showcase their young talent and could continue their winning ways with a 3-game set in Washington beginning Monday.
Yankees @ White Sox - Yankees take 3 out of 4
Game 1 (NYY 10 - CHW 4): Here’s news: the Yankees hit more home runs. Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham provided half the run support with their homers. The White Sox did have this game tied at 4-4 after 2 innings with a Miguel Vargas grand slam (Volpe error, a walk, and a HBP to load the bases). Will Warren had an OK outing with all 4 of his runs being unearned. I expect the rest of the games this weekend to follow suit.
Game 2 (NYY 10 - CWS 2): The Yankees scored 10 with only two home runs this time. Except one of them was a Trent Grisham grand slam in the top of the 4th. Anthony Volpe hit a two-run dinger as he went 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs in what Yankees’ fans are hoping to see to justify his roster spot at the Major League level. Carlos Rodon shut out the ChiSox with 6 innings of 1-run ball. Camilo Doval pitched an inning of relief without giving up a run, so that’s positive.
Game 3 (NYY 5 - CWS 3): It took 11 innings, but the Yankees are winners of 7 in a row and are now up 1.5 games on the Red Sox for the top wild card spot (and 2 games back in the division). Aaron Judge and Austin Wells homered. There was a Devin Wiliams scare in the bottom of the 7th as he gave up a game-tying run, which eventually forced the game to extras. But the Yankees scored 3 in the top of the 11th off RBI hits from Bellinger, Chisholm Jr, and Volpe. The White Sox got 1 back, but Camilo Doval shut them down and got the save.
Game 4 (NYY 2 - CWS 3): The Yankees’ win streak comes to an end as the White Sox take the final game. Aaron Judge hit a home run. Colson Montgomery and Lenyn Sosa hit homers as they continue to be bright spots for the White Sox lineup.
Summary: The Yankees were close to taking all 4 games, but 3 out of 4 was good enough for the Yanks to close some ground on the division. They now sit 3 games back of the division lead with the Blue Jays winning today. They’ve got 3 in Houston and then host Toronto and Detroit, making it go-time for the Yankees to establish their dominance in the AL. As for the White Sox, they’ll go to Minnesota to face the Twins for 4 games in a series I’ll be happy not to recap.
Cardinals @ Reds - Cardinals take 2 out of 3
Game 1 (STL 7 - CIN 5): This game had to go 10 innings, but it was a back-and-forth effort. Both starters got hit around a bit, but the Reds got 7 innings out of Zack Littell. The Cardinals used their lineup of what seems like 5 catchers to give them 7 runs and the lead in the top of the 10th off Tony Santillan. The Reds got more production from Ke’Bryan Hayes, Miguel Andujar, and Noelvi Marte, alongside a double and a triple from Elly De La Cruz. Masyn Winn had a 3-hit day for the Cards.
Game 2 (STL 4 - CIN 2): Does anyone know the infield fly rule? We got a fundamental demonstration in the top of the 1st when the Reds escaped a bases-loaded jam due to none of the Cardinals runners understanding the rule. It didn’t matter in the end, as Pedro Pages homered again and Michael McGreevy held Cincinnati to one run off 5 hits, despite not striking out a single batter. The Reds have lost 5 straight and the NL Wild Card race is cooling off.
Game 3 (STL 4 - CIN 7): Brady Singer, aside from what the box score shows, had a really solid start. The Reds allowed two runs to score in the first off a play that should have been made in shallow left field. The Reds’ offense came from TJ Freidl, Austin Hays, and Ke’Bryan Hayes as they each had 2-RBI afternoons. The Cardinals’ rookie catcher Jimmy Crooks III hit his first career home run. Also, the name “Jimmy Crooks III” goes hard. Reds salvage the last game and stop their losing streak.
Summary: The Reds’ nightmare continues. The Cardinals showed some fight and pushed the Reds further away from the last wild card spot. This is dumb analytics but the Cardinals having 5 current/former catchers on their 40 man roster is crazy (Contreras, Crooks III, Herrera, Pages, and Pozo).
Rays @ Nationals - Rays sweep 3
Game 1 (TBR 4 - WAS 1): This game happened. Both teams are well out of the playoff race and there wasn’t much to report on for this one. Brandon Lowe and Everson Pereira hit homers for the Rays and CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews, and Paul DeJong had multi-hit days for the Nats. That’s about it.
Game 2 (TBR 4 - WAS 1): This game happened, again. Josh Lowe was the offense this time. He hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 1st inning, and then hit a solo home run in the top of the 4th. Ryan Pepiot threw 5 solid shut out innings and struck out 6. The Nationals threatened to mount a comeback in the bottom of the 8th with three consecutive hits, resulting in one run scoring. But they stranded two on base and that was all the fight they had.
Game 3 (TBR 7 - WAS 4): Brandon Lowe hit a grand slam and the Rays were up 7-0 by the third inning. The Nats added 4 but couldn’t get any closer than that, and innings 5-9 were scoreless. Hey, shout out to the Nationals’ bullpen combining for 6 scoreless innings.
Summary: The Rays sweep and they’re winners of 6 of 8. They’re still under .500 and the Nationals have been out of it for months. That’s all I’ve got.
Brewers @ Blue Jays - Brewers take 2 out of 3
Game 1 (MIL 7 - TOR 2): Milwaukee took the first game of the matchup between the top two records in each league behind 6 innings of shutout baseball from Freddy Peralta as he got his 16th W on the season. The Brewers rode a 5-run top of the 6th (partly off Shane Bieber) to the next inning, where they got two more, before Davis Schneider’s two-run single brought the Blue Jays back to within 5. But it was over at that point. Multi-hit games from Brice Turang, Andrew Vaughn, Caleb Durbin, and Isaac Collins provided more than enough offense to shut down the Jays in Toronto.
Game 2 (MIL 4 - TOR 1): Shout out to Kevin Gausman who went 7 innings, striking out 8 and only giving up 1 run on 4 hits. Also, shout out to Quinn Priester who only gave up 1 unearned run on 5 hits in his 6 innings. The game was tied 1-1 going into the top of the 9th with Jeff Hoffman coming on in relief to hold the tie. The first batter he faced was Jackson Chourio, who in his first game off the IL, hit a solo shot to give the Brewers the lead. Then Christian Yelich hit one to go back-to-back. He gave up a walk to Sal Frelick and Isaac Collins drove in another run on an RBI double. That was it for Hoffman. The Brewers take the series. The Blue Jays have a Jeff Hoffman problem.
Game 3 (MIL 4 - TOR 8): A lot of mistakes on the Brewers’ side caused the Blue Jays to capitalize and salvage the last game of the series. Bad fielding and baserunning outweighed the William Contreras and Brice Turang home runs. Brandon Woodruff got knocked around, surrendering 10 hits and 8 runs (5 earned) in 4.1 innings of work. Max Scherzer didn’t have a great showing either, going 4 innings, giving up 9 hits and 4 earned runs. It was a hit barrage all the way around with both teams tallying 13 hits apiece. But Jeff Hoffman didn’t give up a run, so that’s huge for the Blue Jays.
Summary: The Brewers continued their dominance over good teams. I saw a graphic on twitter that showed they’re 15-3 this season against the other division leaders in baseball. If they avoid some sloppy play, they may be looking at a sweep. The Blue Jays needed to get this last one as the Yankees are loudly knocking on the AL East’s door. They go to Cincinnati for three and then head to New York next weekend.
Pirates @ Red Sox - Pirates take 2 out of 3
Game 1 (PIT 4 - BOS 2): It was Paul Skenes vs Payton Tolle as the Red Sox called up their big lefty top prospect to make his debut and it did not disappoint. Roman Anthony hit a solo homer off Skenes to make it a 2-0 ballgame, before the Pirates got two back off Tolle in the top of the 6th, and then the go ahead run off Greg Weissert who came on in relief. The Pirates tacked on another one and their bullpen shut down the Sox offense as they failed to put together another comeback win. The Red Sox also dropped to the 5th seed as the Yankees won.
Game 2 (PIT 10 - BOS 3): This was a disaster for the Red Sox. The whole “Dustin May” thing has not been working in favor of the Red Sox. Maybe the Dodgers just know when to offload pitchers to the Red Sox. But the Pirates offense was firing. Every batter got a hit, with multi-hit performances from Horwitz, McCutchen, and Gonzales. Oneil Cruz was the only one to homer in their 10-run effort. The Red Sox lose another one at home against one of the worst offenses in baseball. The Blue Jays lost, but the Yankees have yet to play.
Game 3 (PIT 2 - BOS 5): The Red Sox needed to get this last game. Jarren Duran had an exciting 3-run inside-the-park home run that proved to be the difference maker. Lucas Giolito put together a solid 6 innings of work, only giving up one run (but walking 5). Aroldis Chapman celebrated his Red Sox extension by striking out 2 in the 9th to get the save.
Summary: A very disappointing series for the Red Sox. They lost some ground to the Yankees by slipping up here. This will be a series they look back on in a month. On a positive note, they have some winnable series coming up, but this was supposed to be a winnable series so I guess we’ll see. The Pirates are 7-3 in their last 10 and host the Dodgers on Monday.
Mariners @ Guardians - Guardians take 2 out of 3
Game 1 (SEA 4 - CLE 5): Seattle’s 4-run first inning looked like it was going to be an easy win in game 1, but the Mariners’ bullpen couldn’t hang on. George Kirby gave up only 2 ERs off solo homers from Kyle Manzardo and Nolan Jones, but Matt Brash gave up another run and Andres Munoz gave up 2 more, getting the loss. The Mariners are going to look back and wish they could have this one back.
Game 2 (SEA 3 - CLE 4): Gavin Williams shut down the Seattle offense, as he went 7 innings and only allowed 1 run via a Jorge Polanco solo home run. Only Randy, Julio, and Polanco got hits for the Mariners, as the rest of the lineup went 0 for 20 with 2 BBs and 11 Ks. Kyle Manzardo hit another home run. Cade Smith had to come in in the 8th to get the multi-inning save, but they held on and clinched the series against the last wild card team.
Game 3 (SEA 4 - CLE 2): The Guardians were held to 2 hits and 2 runs, which came from a Daniel Schneeman 2-run home run in the bottom of the third. The rest of the game was all Mariners, as Randy added to his career-high HR total with a two-run shot of his own and Julio Rodriguez’s 2-RBI single proved to be the difference-maker. Shout out to Bryce Miller for a great start and the Brash/Munoz setup/closer act that did not surrender any runs today.
Summary: The Guardians showed up, so you gotta hand it to them. They head to Boston to see if they can continue their push to a wild card spot. The Mariners will go to Tampa Bay to see if they can find a groove. I think Mariners fans would like to see a sweep there to feel good about their playoff position, as the Royals, Rangers, and Guardians are creeping up.
Angels @ Astros - Angels take 2 out of 3 (for now…game 4 is on Monday)
Game 1 (LAA 0 - HOU 2): It was a pitching clinic from the Astros, as Christian Javier threw 6 innings of no-hit ball, only walking 3 and striking out 6. Enyel De Los Santos, Craig Kimbrel, and Kaleb Ort continued the shutout, with the Angels only getting two hits all game. The Angels’ pitching staff shut down Houston as well, with the only runs coming in the bottom of the 7th and 8th off a Correa single and an Alvarez sac fly.
Game 2 (LAA 4 - HOU 1): Kyle Hendricks and Spencer Arrighetti held the game at 1-1 through 6 innings, while each bullpen did the same until the top of the 9th. Bryan Abreu came on to hold the tie, but gave up 4 straight hits and walked in a run to give the Angels the 4-1 lead. They held on to win despite their lineup striking out 14(!) times.
Game 3 (LAA 3 - HOU 0): The Angels got the best of Hunter Brown and Lance McCullers Jr. as they got them for 3 runs, including an Oswald Peraza home run. Jose Soriano threw 7 innings of 1 hit, shut-out ball, striking out 8. Only Yordan Alvarez and Ramon Urias had hits, as the rest of Houston’s lineup went 0 for 23 with 9 Ks.
Summary: The Astros are back in an offensive funk. Granted, they won on Friday, but only scoring 3 runs in 3 games is not where they want to be as they head into the final month of regular season baseball. The Angels played spoiler and I’m sure it feels good to go into Houston and take 2 out of 3 (so far).
Tigers @ Royals - Tigers take 2 out of 3
Game 1 (DET 5 - KCR 3): The Royals jumped on Chris Paddack right away, with home runs from Mike Yastrzemski and Maikel Garcia in the bottom of the 1st to give them a 3-0 lead. The Tigers got the lead back at 4-3 by the top of the 4th, off two separate 2-RBI doubles by Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene. Dillon Dingler added another run in the form of a solo dinger in the top of the 8th as the Royals failed to plate any runners for the final 8 innings.
Game 2 (DET 1 - KCR 3): Stephen Kolek and the Royals bullpen held the Tigers scoreless after the 3rd inning. They went: Schreiber, Zerpa, Erceg, and Estevez to hold the Tigers to only 3 hits. Bobby Witt Jr came up clutch in the bottom of the 8th with a 2-run homer off Tyler Holton to give the Royals the lead and to allow Carlos Estevez to retire the side in the 9th for the save. They even up the series and head into the rubber match tomorrow.
Game 3 (DET 5 - KCR 0): Skubal day for the Tigers proved to be fruitful. He went 7 innings and shut out the Royals, holding them to only 4 hits. Jake Rogers hit a two-run triple(!) to kick off the scoring in the 5th. The Tigers then added two more that inning, and one more in the 8th. Kyle Finnegan and Rafael Montero closed it out, completing the shutout.
Summary: Another weekend, another Det/KC series where the Tigers take 2 out of 3. I think it’s pretty well-established who the kings of the AL Central are. The Royals kept it close as they tried to gain more ground on the final wild card spot. Detroit will host the Mets and the Royals will host the Angels for 3.
Padres @ Twins - Twins take 2 out of 3
Game 1 (SDP 4 - MIN 7): It was a tough outing for Nasty Nestor as he got banged around for 3 innings by the (vaunted?) Twins offense in Minnesota. The Twins’ bottom 4 hitters (Austin Martin, Royce Lewis, Kody Clemens, and Trevor Larnach) combined to go 8 for 13 with a homer (Lewis) and 4 RBIs. Gavin Sheets reached base all 4 times for the Padres in a 3-hit, one-walk performance, while Machado, O’Hearn, and Laureano all went hitless, combining for an 0 for 12 box score in the middle of the lineup.
Game 2 (SDP 12 - MIN 3): Taj Bradley outdueled Nick Pivetta in Saturday’s edition of “headlines you never thought you’d hear in 2025”. The Twins led 3-1 through 5, but the Padres scored 11 unanswered runs through the 6th, 7th, and 8th inning to make it a rout and even up the series. The Padres bullpen only surrendered a hit and a walk through the final 4 innings and their offense was supported by a two-homer day from Elias Diaz, a three-run home run from Ramon Laureano, and a two-RBI day from Gavin Sheets who continues to get on base. They’ll meet tomorrow for the rubber match.
Game 3 (SDP 2 - MIN 7): It was a bullpen game for the Padres as the Twins took full advantage. The Padres B-squad bullpen of Kyle Hart, Wandy Peralta, and Yuki Matsui gave up all 7 runs as Byron Buxton homered again and Royce Lewis had another two-RBI game. Joe Ryan went 7 scoreless innings, striking out 8 and enabling the Twins to take the series at home against one of the NL’s best.
Summary: The Padres failed to take advantage of the Dodgers slipping up against the Dbacks. The Twins put up a good fight and refuse to roll over despite the entire roster being a complete overhaul of what it was two months ago. The Padres host the Orioles for 3 starting Monday, and the Twins host the White Sox for 4.
Cubs @ Rockies - Cubs take 2 out of 3
Game 1 (CHC 11 - COL 7): Cade Horton continued his strong rookie campaign, pitching 5 innings and giving up 2 ERs. Dansby Swanson went nuts, going 3 for 5 with 2 homers, a triple, and 6 RBIs. Michael Busch and Ian Happ provided some home run insurance as well. The Rockies tried to mount a comeback, but it was far too late. Kyle Farmer and Yanquiel Fernandez hit homers for the Rocks.
Game 2 (CHC 4 - COL 3): The Cubs’ top of the lineup (Busch, Tucker, Suzuki, Happ) went 8 for 14 with 4 BBs, while the rest of the lineup went 1 for 18. But it was more than enough as they held a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the 6th, when the Rockies got two off Javier Assad. The Cubs’ bullpen was nails, going to Kittredge, Keller, and Palencia in the 7th, 8th, and 9th to hold the Rockies hitless and secure the series.
Game 3 (CHC 5 - COL 6): The Cubs got out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the 3rd, but the Rockies scored 5 unanswered as Matthew Boyd continues to come back to Earth after his hot start. Ian Happ hit a game-tying three-run home run in the top of the 8th. But Mickey Moniak came through with a walk-off triple in the bottom of the 9th after Danny Palencia came in and blew the save.
Summary: The Cubs kept pace with the Brewers but failed to capitalize on their loss Sunday. They continued to distance themselves from the final two wild card teams as they host the Braves on Monday for a 3-game set. The Rockies won their 39th game as they head into a home series against the Giants, looking
Rangers @ Athletics - Rangers sweep 3
Game 1 (TEX 5 - ATH 2): Jack Leiter had another nice start as the Rangers slowed down the A’s hot streak. Jonah Heim and Michael Helman had two RBIs apiece, along with home runs. The A’s got their runs off a Brent Rooker 2-RBI double in the bottom of the third, but were shut down for the rest of the outing. Nick Kurtz also left the ballgame early, so we’ll need to keep an eye on that situation for the stand-out rookie.
Game 2 (TEX 9 - ATH 3): The whole Rangers’ lineup had hits again, with Jung, Higashioka, Helman, and newcomer Dylan Moore all having 2-RBI games. Wyatt Langford hit his 20th homer of the year, and Merrill Kelly put together another solid performance, going 6.1 and giving up 3 ERs. The A’s have cooled off these past two games, being held up by Brent Rooker again for the majority of their offense. The Rangers are 8-2 in their last 10 as they push for the final wild card spot.
Game 3 (TEX 9 - ATH 6): All Rangers again. They had an 8-0 lead after the top of the 8th, chasing JT Ginn from the game after 6, and scoring a run off each Athletics reliever that came in the game. Joc Pederson had 3 RBIs, including a two-run homer, and Josh Jung and Wyatt Langford had 2 RBIs apiece as well. Jacob deGrom went 5 shut out innings, only giving up 2 hits. The Rangers’ bullpen got a little scare with the A’s surging back for 6 runs in the bottom of the 8th and 9th (Lawrence Butler and Jacob Wilson multi-hit games), but it wasn’t enough as the Rangers completed the sweep on the road.
Summary: The Rangers are hot. They’ve won 5 in a row and 8 of 10. They sit 2.5 games back of the Mariners for the final wild card spot. The offense has been bad this year, but they’ve averaged 8.5 runs/game over their last 10 wins. They go to Arizona to see if they can continue their hot streak. The A’s got humbled after coming in blazing. They’ll head to St. Louis for 3 games beginning Monday afternoon.
Diamondbacks @ Dodgers - Diamondbacks take 2 out of 3
Game 1 (ARI 3 - LAD 0): Zac Gallen out-dueled Blake Snell with 6 innings of shut out, 2-hit baseball. The rest of the Dbacks’ bullpen shut down the Dodgers’ lineup, holding them to 3 hits all night. The Diamondbacks offense came in the form of a Blaze Alexander 2-run home run and a Gabriel Moreno single. The Dodgers failed to increase their division lead even though the Padres took the L in MN.
Game 2 (ARI 6 - LAD 1): E-Rod and Tyler Glasnow dueled to hold the game scoreless through 6. The Dbacks jumped on Glasnow in the top of the 7th to get 3 runs (Corbin Carroll solo home run, and a Gabriel Moreno sac fly that scored two). The Dodgers got a run back in the bottom half off a Mookie Betts single, but that was it, as Ildemaro Vargas hit a 3-run home run for some insurance off Kirby Yates in the 9th. Diamondbacks have won 4 in a row and sit a game under .500.
Game 3 (ARI 4 - LAD 5): Yoshinobu Yamamoto spun a gem. He went 7 innings, only allowing 1 run on 4 hits and striking out 10 without walking a single batter. The Dodgers held a 4-1 lead until the top of the 8th, when Corbin Carroll hit a game-tying 3-run home run off Tanner Scott. It wasn’t enough, though, as Will Smith came in to pinch hit as the leadoff batter in the bottom of the 9th and hit a walk-off home run off John Curtiss to give the Dodgers the W.
Summary: Although the Dodgers lost two of three, they remain two games up on the Padres in the division. The Diamondbacks have shown a little bit of a hot hand and will have that put to the test against the red-hot Rangers in the second rematch this year of the 2023 World Series. The Dodgers will go to Pittsburgh, but the Pirates have shown recently that they will not roll over to anyone, especially at home.
Orioles @ Giants - Giants take 2 out of 3
Game 1 (BAL 8 - SFG 15): Although high-scoring, this one was all Giants. Both Dean Kremer and Robbie Ray got lit up, giving up 7 and 6 ERs apiece, respectively. The Giants offense exploded for 18 hits, with a 4 RBI game from Dom Smith and a 3 RBI game from Luis Matos, who both hit home runs. Willy Adames went 4 for 6, and each member of the Giants lineup got a hit. Ryan Mountcastle had a 3-hit, 4 RBI game and Coby Mayo hit a solo home run.
Game 2 (BAL 11 - SFG 1): Willy Adames hit a solo homer in the bottom of the first…and that was it for the Giants’ offense. The rest was all Orioles. Samuel Basallo hit his first career home run, and Jeremiah Jackson had a two-hit, 4-RBI day (including a home run). Trevor Rogers continued his dominance as he limited the Giants to 5 hits through 7 innings. Newcomer Shawn Dubin closed out the last two innings as it was a night to forget for the Giants as their 6-game win streak came to an end.
Game 3 (BAL 2 - SFG 13): Another lopsided game, this time in the Giants’ favor again. They jumped all over Sugano, booting him in the 4th after he gave up 7 runs on 10 hits. Justin Verlander pitched 5 scoreless innings, only giving up 3 hits and striking out 10 on 121(!) pitches. Spencer Bivens got the 3-inning save and the Giants’ offense was highlighted by 3-hit games from Heliot Ramos, Rafael Devers, and Drew Gilbert.
Summary: There was a lot of offense in this series, but more-so on the Giants’ side. The Giants will head to Colorado for a 3-game series as they sit a game under .500 and 5 back of the wild card. The O’s will go to San Diego to see if they can play spoiler for the Padres’ division hopes.