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Last night I went to the Yankees game, which they lost in uninspiring and unimpressive fashion, as they do. But it featured not just a one-hour rain delay, but also two separate light delays due to the right field bank just shutting off mid-inning. Plus, they took the tarp off, did the first pitch, the anthem, and team intros, then rolled the tarp back out only to immediately remove it again. So that was fun to be confused by.
Today’s Headlines
Sunny Days For Gray
So the Red Sox just don’t know how to lose games anymore, huh? They won their seventh game in a row on Wednesday with the help of a shutout six-inning start by Sonny Gray:
Quality stuff from Sonny.
That gives him an AL-leading 14 wins on the season. 13 of his 20 starts this year have been Quality Starts as his ERA sits at a sparkling 2.78. Boston proved they are the superior Sox with a 4-0 win over Chicago, bringing them 11 games over .500 and tying the Yankees in the loss column. They might only have a seven-game winning streak going (“only”) but they’ve won nine of their last ten and already had that incredible fifteen-game streak earlier this season.
Boston scored their runs off of a Willson Contreras single in the first, this Wilyer Abreu laser solo shot in the third:
HR No. 20 was a laser!
An Andruw Monasterio sac fly in the seventh, and then a Caleb Durbin single in the eighth. And their bullpen picked right up where Gray left off, with Tyron Guerrero, Garrett Whitlock, and Jovani Morán combining for a scoreless inning each.
Going Out Cubbing
The Dodgers might be destined to win the World Series again and ruin baseball forever, but nobody told the Cubs as they completed their three-game sweep of LA yesterday by a score of 7-6. It looked like it would be a laugher on the north side as the Cubs took a 7-1 lead into the eighth thanks in no small part to Shota Imanaga, who threw five innings, giving up eight hits but striking out six, walking nobody, and only serving up a single run on a solo homer by (who else) Shohei Ohtani.
Chicago got the run back in a hurry as Pete Crow-Armstrong hit one of his own into the bleachers in the bottom of the first inning:
one pitch is all it takes!
— Chicago Cubs (@cubsbot.bsky.social) 2026-08-05T18:30:57.000Z
PCA currently leads all of baseball by both fWAR and bWAR, and by a healthy margin over any other position player and by nearly a full win over Ohtani. He’s also currently rocking a .288/.386/.552 line, which is a 156 wRC+. And the fielding? A casual +22 OAA and 14 DRS in center field. That’s what it takes to wrest the MVP odds out of Shohei’s hands, apparently. PCA added an RBI double in the second:
he just keeps hitting.
— Chicago Cubs (@cubsbot.bsky.social) 2026-08-05T19:03:18.000Z
Plus a second homer in the fourth, this time a two-run job:
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
— Chicago Cubs (@cubsbot.bsky.social) 2026-08-05T19:43:32.000Z
Astute readers will note that I said it only looked like a laugher, though, because the Dodgers made it a game in the top of the eighth, starting with a Max Muncy three-run dong:
Which was followed two batters later by Shohei’s second homer of the day, which also scored Miguel Rojas to bring the Dodgers to within one (here’s a bonus video with Ohtani’s first homer, too.)
Ryan Zeferjahn then hit Alex Call and allowed him to reach second on a wild pitch, but was able to strike out Enrique Hernández to escape the inning with the lead intact.
Jacob Webb was called on for the second game in a row to close things out and he was up to the task, working a 1-2-3 inning with two groundouts and finally this slightly exciting Mookie Betts lineout.
The W. Fly it.
Harrison Comes Up Two Short
The Brewers took down the Pirates 4-2, putting Paul Skenes below .500 for the year as he went five innings, striking out six but giving up two hits and walking four, accounting for three earned runs. But it was his opposite on the mound who came up just short of chasing history. Kyle Harrison didn’t care about his Still ILL tag at all, pitching five scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and walking one to go with ten strikeouts. When he came out to warm up for the sixth inning, he had struck out eight Pirates in a row, putting him just two punchouts short of matching the MLB record of ten consecutive strikeouts:
Unfortunately, while throwing those warm-up pitches, he had to come out of the game with a trainer. He was motioning towards his side as he came off, but thankfully after the game the Brewers said the issue was actually cramping in both of his calves. He should eat more bananas.
And with that win, the Brewers continue to hold onto a solid 5.5-game lead over the surging Cubs in the NL Central.
By The Numbers
5 different batters hit by pitches in the Seattle/Detroit game.
2 ejections due to the aforementioned HBPs.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Yan Snipe Celly
The Mets were sellers at the deadline, and specifically they unloaded several of their relief arms. Which stinks for Mets fans who were looking forward to what was supposed to be a competitive, top-tier team. But it’s good for all of us because it means they promoted Jefry Yan, who has one of the most incredible strikeout celebrations in the game:
Jefry Yan records his first big-league strikeout (and celebration) against his first hitter.
— Tim Britton (he/him) (@timbritton.bsky.social) 2026-08-06T00:35:55.175Z
Do you think he does a little Mario “Yahoo!” to himself when he’s mid-air?
Old Man Mike
The Nationals beat the Phillies in extra innings Wednesday in one of the most incredible and lopsided overtime wins I’ve seen in a while, with the final score 10-4 in 11 innings. But the most incredible part about the top of the eleventh was the RBI bunt from pinch hitter…Miles Mikolas?!
Ok yeah so a pitcher pinch hitting in 2026 is pretty wild, and laying down a successful bunt is wilder, but the absolute wildest part of this whole saga is that in doing so, he became the first Washington National over the age of 28 to take an at-bat this season. What?!
Ford Tough
Dude at the Yankees game on a Mariners Mike Ford jersey is the highlight of the night
It wasn’t a very good game for me otherwise.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Toronto put Trey Yesavage on the IL due to left knee inflammation.
⚾ The Reds announced that Hunter Greene is suffering from right elbow soreness and he’s now on the IL. Rough.
⚾ While Joe Ryan is officially listed as day-to-day, he returned to Minnesota for further testing on an issue in his back/glutes that is causing him to be unable to properly repeat his delivery. Ominous.
⚾ Freddie Freeman was removed from the game yesterday due to being hit by a pitch on his right hand, X-rays came back negative, he’s DTD.
⚾ The Mets were without closer Devin Williams on Wednesday due to “a little bit of arm fatigue,” but he’s expected to be available today.
⚾ In some good injury news, Aaron Judge has been cleared to begin light activity as he rehabs his rib stress fracture. There is still no return timeline, however.
Articles You Should Read
Ranking the MLB Prospects Traded at the 2026 Deadline – Eric Longenhagen and Brendan Gawlowski, FanGraphs
Fantasy Baseball Coverage
