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MLB News & Moments: Jacob Misiorowski Kicks Off Players Weekend

The Miz defeats Sale.

Pablo Figueroa
MLB Morning News 11 Hours Ago

Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.

As the MLB calendar shifts to late August and playoff races start coming into focus, the league is giving us a fun initiative to provide some levity amid this seriousness. The Players Weekend yearly tradition is now limited to equipment, with players having the freedom to showcase customized bats, cleats, and belts, while teams can also get creative with their uniform choices and social media content. There are many highlights circulating on social media, including Pikachu, Skittles, and Naruto. However, my favorite may just be the Yankees breaking the fourth wall.

Today’s Headlines

 

Righty Bests Lefty

To start Players Weekend, MLB gave a nice gift to the fans, with a prime pitching matchup in Milwaukee. Chris Sale vs. Jacob Misiorowski is the stuff of legends, as the veteran Sale and the young Miz have been among the best hurlers in MLB. The matchup delivered upon its promise, with Miz taking the win with six scoreless innings. He was not at his absolute best, but battled Atlanta with six strikeouts and help from his defense. Meanwhile, Sale was similarly effective, but an inning in which he was BABIP’d to death resulted in two runs, giving Milwaukee all the scoring they would need. Despite the constant threats from both teams, only one extra-base hit was recorded during the game, with only six combined walks. This could have served as a potential playoff preview, as both franchises look primed for a deep run in October.

LAte Night

The Pirates faced a must-win series in Los Angeles, as their playoff hopes continue to dwindle. Despite their best efforts, they fell just short as Tommy Edman walked them off in the tenth. An early Max Muncy homer and the usual dominance of Yoshinobu Yamamoto appeared to have the Dodgers in full control, as the Japanese ace held the Pirates to two runs over 6.1 frames, with nine strikeouts. However, a late bullpen implosion provided hope for the Pirates, as they tied the game at four and sent it to extras. Despite an excellent chance to score at least the ghost runner, a double play kept Pittsburgh off the board and gave LA a chance to win it. Edman delivered his clutch single with two outs, as the Dodgers have now won four straight.

Seventh Heaven

During Friday’s highest-scoring game, the Cardinals and Phillies engaged in a classic back-and-forth affair, with rookie sensation Joshua Báez starting the contest with a two-run homer, while Alec Bohm finished with a walk-off, two-run double. In the middle of all that, a couple of lead changes and a late St. Louis rally sent the game to extras, while the ghost runner set up Bohm’s heroics. Both teams reached double-digit hits, while Philly starter Jesús Luzardo played to the extremes, striking out nine but also allowing two homers and four runs. The Phillies remain well in control of a wild card spot, while the Cardinals continue to slip away in the standings.

Bronx Bombing

Following a rare stretch of four straight winless games, Cam Schlittler was back to his ace-like ways, dominating the Blue Jays through six innings of one-run ball. Even as he recorded only four strikeouts, the righty made pitches when he needed to, while the bullpen followed a similar bend-but-don’t-break approach to limit Toronto. While the Blue Jays amassed nine hits against New York’s four, they went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position, while the Yankees needed only a key Spencer Jones two-run homer to set the tone for the contest. Jones’ blast barely stayed fair, and even required an umpire’s review, but it kept this week’s theme of the Yankees having luck on their side when it comes to fair/foul calls on homers. The 3-1 final gave the Yankees their fifth straight victory, as they inch closer to the Rays atop the AL East.

Breaking the Ice

The Orioles entered last night’s action on a four-game losing streak, but were probably happy to welcome the Rays, whom they have dominated recently. Starter Trevor Rogers gave up a three-run frame that appeared to spell doom for Baltimore, but the offense found a way to turn things around, while Rogers and the bullpen would go on to post nothing but zeroes the rest of the way. After the O’s had tied the score at three, the red-hot Polar Bear did what he does best, smashing a go-ahead homer to take a 5-3 lead. This was Pete Alonso’s 30th homer of the season, proving that he may have been exactly the type of free agent signing this franchise needed. The Orioles will start the weekend only two games back of the AL’s final playoff spot.

 

By The Numbers

 

200 By starting last night against the Red Sox, Logan Webb reached 200 career starts. He becomes the 36th active pitcher to arrive at that number, and the club should grow before the end of the season, as hurlers like Max Fried, Luis Severino, and Sandy Alcantara have already surpassed 195.

30+  Pete Alonso’s two-run homer was not only the game-winner for the Orioles, but it also became the 30th of his season, giving him six straight seasons with at least 30, and seven in eight seasons to start his career. Alonso only missed the mark in the shortened 2020 season, but still he joined some elite company by making it 7-for-8. Only four other players ever reached that milestone, including Albert Pujols and Mark Teixeira.

14-1 Home teams played inspired baseball last night, and almost completed a clean sweep of their road counterparts. The Guardians were the only road team to take a victory, with a 9-1 win over the Rockies. This prevented only the second instance of all 15 home teams winning on the same day, which has only happened once in MLB history, on August 11, 2015.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Rogers, Rogers

In a day full of walk-off wins (six in total), none was more impressive and memorable than the one witnessed on the south side of Chicago. Sean Manaea shut down the White Sox completely through five innings, as the Mets jumped to a 4-0 lead. However, Chicago’s usual display of homers came into play, with Miguel Vargas, Randall Grichuk, and Colson Montgomery going back-to-back-to-back to tie the game at four in the sixth. As it all remained squared by the bottom of the ninth, a runner on third and two outs gave the White Sox a chance to walk it off with a mere single, but Jake Rogers decided to go out in style. On a 0-1 count against viral sensation Jefry Yan, Rogers sent the ball deep to left, giving the Sox a walk-off homer that keeps them well in control of the AL Central. It is amazing to see how the Chicago crowd has gone from moribund in 2025 to ecstatic a season later.

Lara’s Revenge

During Friday’s early game, as pitching dominated and runs were at a premium, Luis Lara was at the center of both sides of the defensive spectrum. Leading off the fifth, Lara hit what looked like a sure-fire double, especially considering his speed. As he rounded first confidently, Ronald Acuña Jr. had other plans, making a pinpoint throw to second to get Lara by half a step. Undeterred by this humbling moment, Lara then prevented a sure-fire extra-base hit for his pitcher, as Matt Olson hit a ball deep to center field. Lara tracked it masterfully and leapt against the wall, making the catch and preserving the shutout for Jacob Misiorowski. Baseball taketh away, but baseball also giveth.

Japanese Idol

The Cubs and Mariners gave us one of Friday’s most entertaining games, as Chicago jumped to an early 3-0 lead that evaporated by the second inning, as Seattle appeared to be in control after a four-run frame of their own. The Cubs tied the game dramatically in the ninth, as an Alex Bregman solo homer sent the game to extras. Seattle ultimately prevailed with a 6-5 walk-off single from pinch hitter Leo Rivas, an out after the Cubs used a five-man infield. Hours after all this excitement, a heartwarming moment took place on the field, as Shota Imanaga got to meet and greet none other than Ichiro. The Hall of Famer is quite the celebrity in his native Japan, and his countrymen tend to use visits to Seattle as an opportunity to show their respect for the legend. As usual, baseball is the best.

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. is expected to be back in the lineup today in New York after passing his final concussion tests. Guerrero played a rehab game in Single-A Dunedin and rejoined the Blue Jays afterwards, taking batting practice as part of his final stretch of recovery. Despite his down season, his return should be a key boost in Toronto’s unlikely playoff push. 

⚾ The Cardinals have placed starting pitcher Andrew Pallante on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation. While the injury is noteworthy for the mere fact of losing Pallante in the middle of a playoff race, it is also important to note that this is the first St. Louis starting pitcher with an arm injury to reach the IL in almost two years, as it last happened to Sonny Gray in late 2024. To cover Pallante’s absence, the Cardinals have announced that lefty Quinn Mathews will take his place in the rotation.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

From the Worst Starter to the Best Reliever in MLB — Mike Petriello, MLB.com

The AL Wild Card Race and Competitive Balance — Jay Jaffe, Fangraphs

 

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Pablo Figueroa

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Pablo Figueroa is a Baseball Writer here at Pitcher List, with experience as a writer since 2013. He lives in Aguascalientes, Mexico - proud home of Los Rieleros. When he´s not thinking about baseball , he's a husband, owns two dogs, watches random episodes of The Sopranos , plays padel, and works on his day job to pay the bills.

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