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With those who were dealt at the trade deadline now with their feet on the ground with their new teams and the calendar a few days into August, the sprint to the finish of the MLB season is a full go. There will be dramatic swings, literally and figuratively, as big hits will lead to big movements in the standings. We enter this week with much tighter situations across MLB’s six divisions than we did a few weeks ago, as five races show the top two teams are within three games. That isn’t even thinking about the wild-card chases. On Sunday, on division flipped hands.
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Today’s Headlines
Sanchez Shuts Down Tigers, Puts Phillies In First
While Jhoan Duran drew a lot of attention to what he did in the ninth inning, the new Philadelphia Phillies closer wouldn’t have been in that position had it not been for a spectacular outing by left-hander Cristopher Sánchez. Behind Sanchez’s eight scoreless innings, the Phillies turned back the Detroit Tigers 2-0. The victory allowed the Phillies to slip back into first place, a half-game ahead of the New York Mets, who lost to the San Francisco Giants 12-4. The Tigers, meanwhile, remain comfortably atop the AL Central and are tied for the AL’s best record. Sanchez allowed five hits and a walk while striking out six to lower his ERA to 2.40 in just 84 pitches, giving him a 10-3 record. While Sanchez could have gone for his second complete game in three starts, the Phillies unleashed their shiny new weapon in Duran, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Minnesota Twins. Duran dazzled by throwing four of the five fastest pitches by a Phillie in the pitch-tracking era (2008), topping out at 103.3 mph, picking up his second save in as many outings since the deal. The runs came on a second-inning grounder by Max Kepler and an eighth-inning homer by Kyle Schwarber, his 38th of the season. That tied Schwarber with Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL lead and second in MLB behind the 42 by Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners. There were a number of terrific defensive plays on both sides as well.
Marlins Sweep Yankees, Reach .500
The New York Yankees–Miami Marlins matchup this weekend was a series involving teams with different types of momentum. The Yankees have slowly been sliding back into the pack after once holding a seven-game lead in the AL East, while the Marlins were 10-4 since the break. This weekend only emphasized what is happening with both teams as the Marlins completed a three-game sweep of the Yankees with a 7-3 win. It is the first sweep by the Marlins of the Yankees in franchise history. All-Star Kyle Stowers hit a three-run homer and drove in four, while Edward Cabrera allowed two hits and a run over six innings as the Marlins evened their season record at 55-55. Cabrera walked one and struck out seven. The Marlins were up 3-1 when Stowers hit his three-run blast in the fourth inning to make it 6-1. Stowers has 25 homers this season. The Marlins were 16 games below .500 (25-41) on June 11, going 30-14 since to become the first time since the 2014 Tampa Bay Rays to go from 16 below to .500 in the same season.
Timeless Turner Gets First Walk-off HR
Yes, Justin Turner is still hanging around. He hasn’t been having a very good season for the Chicago Cubs, but we are entering that time of the year where he can etch memories. The 40-year-old hit his first career regular-season walk-off homer, a two-run shot with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Cubs beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-3. The win allowed the second-place Cubs to keep pace with the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, who won 14-3 over the Washington Nationals and have MLB’s best record at 67-44. Turner’s heroics were necessary because Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia blew a save in the top of the ninth, yielding an RBI single to Ryan Noda to tie the game 3-3.
Justin Turner hits a pinch-hit #WALKOFF homer!Sing it, Chicago 🗣️
Justin Turner40 years old17th MLB seasonFIRST career regular season #walkoff homer
White, Waldrep Lead Atlanta To Checkered Flag
Eli White and Hurston Waldrep will go down in history for their performance in the Speedway Classic. White had his second career multi-homer game, and Waldrep picked up his first MLB victory as Atlanta topped the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn. It was not only the historic first MLB game in Tennessee, but the first at a NASCAR track. White, the starting right fielder with Ronald Acuña Jr. on the injured list, hit the only two homers of the game, a three-run shot in the second inning and a solo shot in the seventh. He also may have prevented a homer in the ninth inning on a drive down the line by Matt McLain. Waldrep, meanwhile, wasn’t even supposed to be in Bristol, but due to Saturday’s rain that delayed the game in the bottom of the first inning, he was called upon to come on in relief. Waldrep came in to finish the first inning and then went five more, allowing one run on three hits, walking none, and striking out one for his first MLB win in his third appearance. Meanwhile, Atlanta might lose third baseman Austin Riley to another stint on the injured list. Riley made a terrific diving play to tag Elly De La Cruz after stabbing a hot grounder right at the bag in the bottom of the first inning. Riley left the game due to abdominal soreness in the third inning. Check out Best Moments From Yesterday to see other fun things from the game.
Eli White smokes one out to put the @Braves in front! 💨 #SpeedwayClassic
Eli White takes his second lap around the bases! #SpeedwayClassic
Matt McLain was unbelievably close to tying this game up 😳 #SpeedwayClassic
J-Rod Makes History With Another 20-20 Season
The expectations that come with being Seattle Mariners superstar center fielder Julio Rodríguez are immense, which is why sometimes we take for granted what he is doing. Rodriguez hit his 20th homer in a 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers to become the first player in MLB history to begin his career with four seasons of 20 homers and 20 stolen bases. It was also the 100th homer of the 24-year-old’s career, making him the third player in MLB history with 100 homers and 100 steals in his first four seasons. The others are Bobby Bonds and Darryl Strawberry. J-Rod hit the homer off Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom, who became the fastest pitcher in MLB history to reach 1,800 career strikeouts. He did it in 240 games and 1,493⅓ innings. The series was a showdown for second place in the AL West, with the Mariners winning three out of four.
Jacob deGrom is the fastest pitcher in MLB history to 1,800 strikeouts by games (240) and innings (1,493.1) 🔥h/t @EliasSports
Surging Red Sox Sweep First-Place Astros
While the Boston Red Sox didn’t do much at the trade deadline, the results on the field are continuing to show that they are intending to be trouble the rest of the season. Right-hander Lucas Giolito allowed just three hits over eight innings, and Ceddanne Rafaela went 3-for-3 as the Red Sox rode a six-run fourth inning to a 6-1 victory over the Houston Astros. The Red Sox swept the three-game series from the AL West leaders, extending their MLB-best winning streak to five games and winning for the ninth time in 10 games. Giolitio walked one and struck out four to improve to 8-2. The game was scoreless entering the fourth inning when Carlos Correa hit his first home run since being traded back to the Astros in the top of the inning. Trevor Story tied it with an RBI single, then Rafaela put the Red Sox up for good with another hit. A balk, two sacrifice flies, and a groundout accounted for the remaining scoring. The Red Sox’s hot streak has pushed them into second in the AL East.
By The Numbers
⚾ The Brewers had 56 hits in their sweep of the Nationals, setting a club record for a three-game series. Also, the Brewers, who outscored the Nationals 38-14, now lead MLB in run differential at plus-119, which comes after Milwaukee was outscored 47-15 in the first four games of the season.
⚾ Andy Pages‘ RBI single in the sixth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays snapped an 18-inning scoreless streak for L.A.
⚾ Alek Thomas of the Arizona Diamondbacks went 3-for-4 in a 6-4 win over the Athletics, extending his slash line to .340/.380/.582 over his last 15 games.
⚾ And finally, a little trivia, with the trio then teaming up on a play:
A bit of fun history here today at Wrigley Field.The #Orioles have Jackson Holliday, Jeremiah Jackson & Alex Jackson in the lineup.Per Elias Sports Bureau, it's 1st time in modern era (since 1900) a team has started 3 players named Jackson (first or last) in the same game.
— Jake Rill (@jakerill.bsky.social) 2025-08-03T18:40:15.907Z
Best Moments From Yesterday
Zipping Around The Speedway Classic
A few scenes from the Speedway Classic:
This Elly De La Cruz throw got to first in the blink of an eye 🔥 #SpeedwayClassic
Nick Allen is wearing Talladega Nights-inspired cleats with "Nicky Bobby" written on them 😂 #SpeedwayClassic
The track at Bristol is steeper than it looks 😭 #SpeedwayClassic
McKeon Honored By Marlins
Iconic manager Jack McKeon was inducted into the Marlins Legends Hall of Fame.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Milwaukee Brewers rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski went on the 15-day injured list due to a bruised left shin after he was hit by a comebacker in his previous start. Misiorowski said he will only miss the minimum 15 days. Right-handed starter Logan Henderson was recalled from Triple-A to start Sunday’s finale vs. the Washington Nationals.
⚾ New York Yankees right-handed starter Luis Gil was activated from the 10-day IL. Gil, the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, had not pitched in 2025 due to a strained lat he sustained before Opening Day.
⚾ Chicago White Sox infielder Miguel Vargas was placed on the 10-day IL with a strained left oblique. Infielder Curtis Mead, acquired at the trade deadline from the Tampa Bay Rays, was called up from Triple-A.
Articles You Should Read
This former Angel recalls only walk-off hit for a loss in MLB history — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times
Ohtani back in leadoff role for Dodgers after Betts experiment — Ian Castleberry, Yahoo Sports
How Duran’s electric entrance accompanied him from Twins to Phillies — Matt Gelb, The Athletic
Fantasy Baseball Coverage
