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There were four relevant rubber games on Thursday involving at least one current playoff team or a franchise on the cusp of the postseason. Meanwhile, the Phillies and Tigers looked to add to their healthy division leads with series-opening contests versus two sub-.500 teams. With that intro, let’s get to the action.
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Today’s Headlines
Vladdy Delivers Series Winner
The Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs met for an afternoon affair in what turned out to be a nice pitcher’s duel. With the series even at one apiece, Toronto’s Max Scherzer battled Chicago’s southpaw Matthew Boyd. Coming into the contest, the Cubs held the top NL wild card position by one game over the Dodgers, while the Jays had a comfortable 4.5-game lead in the AL East.
Scherzer and Boyd battled through five scoreless frames before Chicago’s first baseman, Michael Busch, launched a 409-foot homer over the right field wall to give the Cubs a 1-0 advantage.
Boyd continued to pitch well over six innings of one-hit ball, but a leadoff walk to Davis Schneider in the bottom of the seventh set up an opportunity for first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to come through with a clutch knock. With Boyd ahead in the count 0-2, Guerrero sent a 77 mph curveball over the left field wall for what would eventually be the game-winner.
The homer was Guerrero’s 20th of the season, and increased his batting average to .300. Toronto held on for the 2-1 win after closer Jeff Hoffman struck out Dansby Swanson for his 27th save with the tying run on second in the ninth. Scherzer went seven innings, allowed one run, and improved his record to 3-2 with the victory.
The Blue Jays increased their lead to five games in the AL East, while the Cubs continue to lose ground to the Brewers in the NL Central; they are now eight games back with 42 contests remaining.
Mets Cannot Gain on Phillies in NL East
The New York Mets had an opportunity to gain much-needed ground on the Phillies in the National League East. Entering Thursday, the Mets trailed Philadelphia by five games in the division, and had a chance to cut that lead to four after the Phils dropped their opening contest versus the Washington Nationals, 3-2.
It started well for the home team after Francisco Lindor put the Mets on the board with a solo homer in the third off Atlanta’s starting pitcher Bryce Elder. However, New York’s starting pitcher Kodai Senga surrendered a game-tying long ball to second baseman Ozzie Albies in the fourth.
The teams traded blows in the sixth after Atlanta went ahead 2-1 on an Albies RBI single to left. The Mets responded with two runs in the bottom half, ending with a Pete Alonso go-ahead single to give New York a 3-2 lead.
Then came the eighth frame. The Mets still led by a run and called on former Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, who hadn’t been sharp since coming over from St. Louis at the trade deadline. That didn’t change on Thursday, after the right-hander surrendered back-to-back doubles to Michael Harris II and Albies, plating the tying and go-ahead runs.
Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias tossed a perfect ninth, and the road team held on for a 4-3 victory and 2-1 series win. Elder earned his fifth W after seven innings of two-run ball. Albies went 3-for-4 and drove in three of Atlanta’s four runs.
No Changes in the AL Central Race
The Detroit Tigers traveled to Minnesota for the first of four meetings with the Twins. The Tigers called on their ace, Tarik Skubal, who entered the contest on a bit of a downer, following two consecutive outings of allowing three or more earned runs. Unfortunately for the reigning AL Cy Young winner, that trend didn’t change on Thursday. Skubal surrendered three runs in the third inning and trailed 3-0 heading into the fourth. The good news for the Tigers lefty: his offense responded courtesy of a Riley Greene two-run homer in the fourth, and a game-tying RBI single by Colt Keith in the sixth.
The teams remained knotted at three over the next four innings until a go-ahead sac fly by Gleyber Torres in the 11th scored Keith from third. Tigers reliever Rafael Montero shut the door in the bottom half with a strikeout of third baseman Royce Lewis.
Montero was the pitcher of record and claimed his first W of the season. Skubal went seven innings, gave up three runs, and struck out three (his fewest strikeout total since striking out two in his first start of the season versus the Dodgers on March 27).
The Cleveland Guardians had no issues in their rubber game against the visiting Miami Marlins. After both clubs scored three runs apiece in the first inning, the Guardians outscored their opponent 6-1 the rest of the way, highlighted by a four-run seventh. Third baseman José Ramírez continued to pad his typical MVP-worthy stats with three singles, three runs scored, and two stolen bases to give him 35 on the year. Last season, Ramirez stole a career-high 41 bags, and is easily on pace to reach the 40 stolen base plateau once again.
Mariners Drop Series in Baltimore
In a series with far more importance to the Seattle Mariners and their division title hopes, Baltimore played spoiler by taking the final two contests, including a 5-3 rubber game victory on Thursday. Mariners starting pitcher Logan Evans tossed three scoreless innings before a wild pitch with two outs in the fourth inning allowed Baltimore’s Jordan Westburg to score from third. This led to Orioles DH Ryan Mountcastle stealing home for the second run of the frame, followed by a Jeremiah Jackson RBI single to give the hosts a 3-0 advantage.
Baltimore added two more runs before a lengthy rain delay in the sixth sent both teams to the clubhouse. Upon returning, Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez hit an opposite-field two-run homer to put his team on the board, but ultimately it wasn’t enough as Baltimore hung on for a 5-3 win.
The loss drops the Mariners to 67-55 and 1.5 games behind Houston in the AL West. Seattle and the Astros won’t meet again until their final series of the year in Houston beginning on August 19.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Caissie Gets Robbed in Cubs Debut
It has to be exciting for a 23-year-old rookie to make his debut for a team in the middle of a playoff race against one of the best pitchers of this generation. In his first career at-bat, it looked like Owen Caissie had an easy extra-base hit off Scherzer until left fielder Davis Schneider decided to go all out for the robbery.
Caissie hit .289 with 22 long balls and 52 RBI with Triple-A Iowa before the callup. He went 0-for-4 against the Jays in this one.
Alonso Honored With a Truck and a Painting
Two days after Alonso broke Darryl Strawberry’s all-time franchise home run record with 253, Ford gifted him an F-150 Truck, and he also received a painting from Steve and Alex Cohen made with 253 custom baseballs. Not a bad bonus for just over 250 career homers. What’s the prize for Alonso if he reaches the 500 homer milestone while still playing for the Mets?
For breaking the Mets’ all-time home run record, Pete Alonso was gifted a one-of-a-kind painting from Steve and Alex Cohen made from 253 baseballs pic.twitter.com/4qJreZQrdA
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 14, 2025
Pete Alonso was surprised with a brand-new F-150 truck from Your Local Ford Stores to commemorate his Amazin’ home run record. pic.twitter.com/fXW9nfbF3R
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 14, 2025
A Young Fan Makes a Great Grab in Baltimore
Got to love it when a young fan has an entire row to himself and makes a grab on a foul ball as if it’s no big deal.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki made his first rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma on Thursday while recovering from a right shoulder impingement. Sasaki hadn’t thrown in a game since May 9, and it showed on the field against the Albuquerque Isotopes. The right-hander surrendered three runs on six hits over two innings. Sasaki could rejoin the Dodgers rotation by late August or early September.
⚾ In other Dodgers news, reliever Michael Kopech also made his first rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma while recovering from a meniscectomy in his right knee that led to surgery in July. Kopech took the loss against the Isotopes after allowing three runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning.
⚾ The Washington Nationals designated first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for assignment to make room on the active roster for rookie Dylan Crews. Crews went 1-for-3 in his first game back with the Nats after missing nearly three months with a left oblique strain. Lowe was hitting .216 with 16 homers before his DFA.
⚾ Blue Jays outfielder George Springer doubled and scored a pair of runs with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Thursday. Springer hasn’t played on the big league club since being hit in the head on July 28 versus the Orioles.
⚾ The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Michael King (left knee inflammation) on the 15-day IL retro to August 11. King last pitched on August 9 versus Boston. In 11 starts this season, King has a 2.81 ERA over 57.2 innings pitched.
Articles You Should Read
The 10 biggest breakouts on the new Top 100 Prospects list — Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Joe Trezza, MLB.com
By the numbers: How the Padres overtook the Dodgers in the race for the NL West— Dennis Lin, The Athletic
Why Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards in bad condition can command premium prices — Michael Salfino, The Athletic
Brewers’ 12-game winning streak finally has Milwaukee’s World Series odds improving: Can we believe in them? — Matt Snyder, CBSSports.com
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