Armadillo Sports

— Summer is flying by: college football starts this week. One of the games is North Carolina vs TCU in Ireland. Last year, TCU won 48-14 at North Carolina; Tar Heels went 4-8 in their first year with Bill Belichick as coach. 

— Cleveland Browns chose QB Deshaun Watson to be their Week 1 starter, ending a lot of speculation. Watson is making $46M/year on a contract that runs out after this season.

Cleveland starts the season with road games in Jacksonville, Tampa, then they host Carolina in Week 3.

— Last year, Cincinnati Bengals gave up nine TD’s on offense/special teams, helping explain why they were 3-5 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

— Felt old the other day; social media had clips of a couple high school kids playing QB, the sons of Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer. Manning’s son is only a 9th grader; Palmer’s son is a junior.

— QB Max Johnson is going to start go for Georgia Southern this year; he is 25 years old, will be playing for his fourth college team. He is the son of former NFL QB Brad Johnson.

He played for LSU in Ed Orgeron’s last year coaching the Tigers.

He played for Texas A&M in Jimbo Fisher’s last year coaching the Aggies. 

He played for North Carolina in Mack Brown’s last year coaching the Tar Heels.

— Famous birthdays, August 25th:
Rollie Fingers, 80
Cornelius Bennett, 61
Albert Belle, 60
Doug Glanville, 56
Robert Horry, 56

Gary Matthews, 52
Justin Upton, 39
Max Muncy, 36 (Dodgers)
Caris LaVert, 32
Max Muncy, 24 (A’s)

— Houston Astros have used 127 different starting lineups this year; Toronto Blue Jays have used 123.

— Reds’ OF JJ Bleday hit for the cycle Saturday.

— Phillies’ 2B Luis Arraez has 67 hits this year with two strikes, most in the big leagues.

— McKenzie Gore’s home/away splits this year:
Home: 12 starts, 3-2, 2.99
Away: 15 starts, 4-7, 5.42

— Word of the Day: kibbitz- Casual conversation, kind of like small talk, schmoozing.

— Red Sox 4, Marlins 2
Boston scored twice in the top of the ninth.
Anthony Seigler’s triple was the game-winning hit.
Marlins were 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position.

— Rays 4, Tigers 1
Drew Rasmussen gave up three hits in six IP.
Jonathan Aranda hit his 16th home run.
Detroit has lost six in a row, nine of last 10 games.

— Mariners 9, Phillies 2
Cal Raleigh had his first career three home run game.
Julio Rodriguez also homered, drove in three runs.
Zack Wheeler gave up eight runs in four IP.

— Nationals 13, Rockies 3
Daylen Lile homered, drove in five runs.
Cade Cavalli won his fourth consecutive start.
Colorado has lost seven games in a row.

— Cubs 7, Diamondbacks 0
Kevin Gausman gave up three hits in seven IP.
Michael Conforto, Carson Kelly hit back/back home runs.
Cubs have a three-game lead for the NL’s top Wild Card slot.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres
AL: Rays, White Sox, Rangers Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Guardians

September’s Too……..is a good bar
1165 Central Avenue in Colonie, just west of Osborne Road

Wednesday- Live music during lunch……..
Thursday- Open Mike Night, 7:00
Friday- Karaoke at 8:00
Saturday- Live music at 8:00…….

You can order food from them via Door Dash
There’s a pool table, only 25 cents/game.
Check it out, it’s a fun place

———————————————————————

Monday’s 6-pack:
NFL spreads for Week 1:
— Falcons @ Pittsburgh (-3)
— Ravens (-3.5) @ Indianapolis
— Bills (-1.5) @ Houston
— Bears (-2.5) @ Carolina
— Browns @ Jacksonville (-7.5)
— Saints @ Detroit (-7)

Quote of the Day
“He emptied his heart a little bit, and I don’t think that says who he is. I see the competitor in him. I see the every-day work he puts in, and he wants to be back. He wants to get back to where he was as best he can, and that’s hard. And again, I think the moment just got him after the game, and it can get all of us.”
Cleveland coach Todd Monken, talking about QB Deshaun Watson’s comments

Monday’s quiz
Where did Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen play his college football?  

Sunday’s quiz
In the history of the Colorado Rockies, Todd Helton has hit the most home runs.

Saturday’s quiz
Cleveland Browns scored the first touchdown in the history of Monday Night Football. 

— White Sox C Jake Rogers has had an interesting last month:

He started the season as Detroit’s backup C, hitting .161 in 34 games.

July 30, Detroit traded him to the Orioles.

Four days later, Baltimore traded him to the Red Sox.

11 days after that, Boston traded him to the White Sox.

He’s played seven games for the White Sox, hasn’t been traded by them yet.

— Last Monday night in New York, Mets’ outfielders did something that hadn’t been done in the last 100 years. They threw three guys out at the plate in the game’s first two innings.

All in all, seven Padres in a row reached base safely, but only one of them scored. Mets wound up winning the game, 2-1.

— Wednesday night in Baltimore, Pete Alonso hit a ball a mile down the left field line; it was way higher than the foul pole. Umpires called it foul, which was controversial; hard to believe there isn’t any technology that could tell us if a ball like that was fair or foul.

— Dodgers lost CF Andy Pages (broken hand) for 4-6 weeks; he was drilled with a pitch.

— Divisional races in the major leagues:
AL East
Rays
New York 3 GB
Red Sox 6 GB

AL Central
White Sox
Guardians 3.5 GB
Twins 5.5 GB
Tigers 7 GB

AL West
Astros/Rangers tied (they’re both 64-65)
Mariners 3 GB

NL East
Braves
Phillies 3 GB

NL Central
Brewers
Cubs 6 GB

NL West
Dodgers
Padres 9 GB

— Famous birthdays, August 24th:
Anne Archer, 79
Joe Regalbuto, 77
Kevin Dunn, 71
Steve Guttenberg, 68

Cal Ripken Jr, 66
Reggie Miller, 61
Marlee Matlin, 61
Tim Salmon, 58

Dave Chappelle, 53
Michael Redd, 47
Enrique Hernandez, 35
Mason Miller, 28

— Phillies 6, Cardinals 4
Phillies won their ninth game in a row in dramatic style.
Trailing 4-0, Phillies scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Kyle Schwarber hit his 39th home run to walk the game off.

— Red Sox 5, Giants 4
Giants led 3-0 in the second inning.
Aroldis Chapman earned his 29th save.
Red Sox won seven of their last ten games. 

— Marlins 6, Nationals 2
Xavier Edwards had two RBI for the Marlins.
Nationals have lost eight games in a row against Miami.
Marlins are 41-25 at home, 26-39 on the road.

— White Sox 2, Mets 1
Tristan Peters hit a walk-off homer in the ninth inning.
Game was scoreless after seven innings.
Mets P Nolan McLean allowed one hit in his six IP.

— Rays 3, Orioles 1
Nick Martinez allowed one baserunner in six shutout IP, got the win.
Rays scored all three of their runs in the sixth inning.
Colton Cowser had both Oriole hits, including a home run.

— A’s 7, Astros 6
Houston led 6-0 after four innings.
Brian Serven/Max Muncy homered for the A’s.
Astros are 65-66, tied for first with Texas atop a weak AL West.

— Titans 19, Seahawks 16
Seattle led 16-3 after the first quarter.
Titans drove 64 yards, scored winning TD with 5:45 left.
There were 25 penalties for 229 yards in this game.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Tex/Clev

— Orioles 3, Rays 2 (10)
Dylan Beavers hit a walk-off double to end the game.

It was actually a home run, but because everyone acts like a 9-year old these days, his teammates mobbed him and he never touched third base or home plate, reducing it to a double and only one RBI, not two. 

Too bad; it would’ve been Beavers’ fourth game in a row with a home run.

— Red Sox 3, Giants 2
Red Sox scored three runs in the ninth for a comeback win.
Blade Tidwell threw 5.2 shutout IP, allowed only three hits.
Red Sox have a 6.5-game lead for the second Wild Card spot.

— Mariners 5, Cubs 4
Randy Arozarena’s second HR of the day was a walk-off blast.
Mariners scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Bregman/Bosch both homered for Chicago.

— A’s 4, Astros 3
A’s scored three runs in 8th, snapped a five-game skid.
Astros are 65-65, but they lead the AL West by a game.
Jonah Heim knocked in the game-winning run.

— Guardians 4, Rockies 3
Jo Adell homered, drove in three runs.
Tanner Bibee got his first win in his last six starts.
Colorado has lost its last eight home games.

— Padres 7, Twins 5
Minnesota led 5-2 in the 7th inning.
Jake Cronenworth was 2-for-5, scored twice, had two RBI.
Twins’ bullpen gave up five runs in 2.2 IP.

— Dodgers 4, Pirates 3
Tarik Skubal struck out 11, got his first win as a Dodger.
Max Muncy went 3-for-3, scored two runs.
Dodgers have won five games in a row.

— Famous birthdays, August 23rd:
Vera Miles, 96
Barbara Eden, 95
Shelley Long, 77
Julio Franco, 68

Mark Ingram, 61
Rik Smits, 60
Mark Bellhorn, 52
Jeremy Lin, 38

Seth Curry, 36
Mike Yastrzemski, 36
Tyler Glasnow, 33
Bryce Miller, 28

Saturday was coach Bill Parcells’ 85th birthday.

— Giants 26, Dolphins 3
Giants outgained Miami, 390-102.
Giants were 11-18 on third down, Dolphins 2-11.
Dolphins have injury issues with backup QBs; starter Wiilis didn’t play.

— Lions 17, Commanders 13
Washington scored a defensive TD in the first minute.
Detroit QB Dobbs threw for 74 yards, ran for 53 more.
Lions were 9-17 on third down, Commanders 4-12.

— Patriots 24, Eagles 21
Patriots drove 73 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:57 left.
QB McKee was 16-22/173 passing for the Eagles.
New England outgained Philadelphia, 388-301.

— Buccaneers 16, Chiefs 15
Tampa Bay outscored the Chiefs 9-0 in fourth quarter.
Chiefs kicked three field goals in first half; 45-58-69 yards.
Chiefs gained only 3.8 yards per pass attempt.

— Rams 34, Saints 0
Stetson Bennett was 19-31/181 in the first half for LA.
Saints #2 QB Rattler (14-23/141 passing) played better than Zach Wilson.
Rams had a 100-yard pick-6 in the third quarter.

— Bengals 27, Bears 9
40-year old Josh Johnson was 15-23/156 passing, with two TD’s.
Evan McPherson kicked a 58-yard FG for the Bengals.
Bears were 2-11 on third down; they had 81 yards in penalties.

— Bills 31, Browns 7
Game was delayed an hour by lightning in the first quarter.
Shane Buechele threw a 71-yard TD pass to Ja’Mori Maclin.
Buffalo outgained the Browns, 368-194.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Tex/Clev

— Here is where the 32 DH’s hit in the batting order in Friday’s games:
1st- 4
2nd- 3
3rd- 5
4th- 7
5th- 3
6th- 2
7th- 2
8th- 2 (Giants, Padres)
9th 2 (Red Sox, A’s)

— Minimum salaries in the four major sports:
baseball- $780,000
NFL- $885,000
NBA- $1,357,763
NHL- $850,000

— Brewers 2, Braves 1
Misiorowski-Sale was quite a pitchers’ duel.
William Contreras went 4-for-4, with an RBI.
Trevor Megill recorded his 24th save.

— Phillies 7, Cardinals 6 (10)
Alec Bohm hit a walk-off, two-run triple in 10th inning.
Top three hitters in Phillies’ lineup went 0-for-12.
Jordan Walker went 3-for-5, with two RBI.

— Mariners 6, Cubs 5 (10)
Leo Rivas, hitting .138, had the walk-off hit for Seattle.
Alex Bregman tied the game with a 9th inning homer.
Cal Raleigh hit a three-run homer in the second inning.

— Red Sox 6, Giants 4
Willson Contreras hit a 3-run homer, also walked twice.
Rafael Demers homered in his return to Fenway Park.
Aroldis Chapman recorded his 28th save.

— Rangers 2, Angels 1 (10)
Game was scoreless after nine innings.
Wyatt Langford scored the winning run on a throwing error.
Texas is 64-65, but still is holding the AL’s last Wild Card spot.

— Famous birthdays, August 22nd:
Carl Yastrzemski, 87
Paul Molitor, 70
Wes Chandler, 70

Ty Burrell, 59
Randy Wolf, 50
James Corden, 49

Adam Thielen, 36
Maxx Crosby, 29
LaMelo Ball, 25

— This hasn’t been a fun baseball season for me; the A’s are 11-42 in their last 53 games, which is awful. They’ve fired their pitching coach and their general manager. Unfortunately, they can’t fire the jackass who owns the team.

Here is the status of their five best position players:

1B Nick Kurtz- out for the year
C Shea Langeliers- probably out for the year
1B/DH Brent Rooker- out for the year
LF Tyler Soderstrom- out for the year
SS Jacob Wilson- out for the year

— Padres 6, Twins 2
Ty France homered, drove in three runs.
Three San Diego pitchers held the Twins to two hits.
Last sixteen Minnesota hitters went down in order.

— Jets 17, Steelers 0
Geno Smith was 7-of-7 for 65 yards passing.
Jets ran the ball 24 times for only 62 yards.
Aaron Rodgers didn’t play for the Steelers.

— Panthers 34, Jaguars 17
Carolina drove 58 yards for a TD on their second drive.
Panthers ran ball for 147 yards (5.3 yards/rush).
Game was called with 2:00 left because of thunderstorms.

— Packers 33, Broncos 13
Bo Nix was 6-for-9 for 76 yards in his first game since he got hurt LY.
Trey Smack kicked four field goals for Green Bay.
Broncos had won their previous eight exhibition games.

— Raiders 22, Texans 20
Raiders trailed 20-3 midway thru the third quarter.
Houston drove 69 yards for a TD on their first drive.
Rookie QB Mendoza threw a pick-six on his first drive.

Last three years, Texans went WL, WL, WL in the playoffs; they’re expected to get more W’s in the playoffs this season.

— 49ers 41, Chargers 17
Jacob Cowing ran a punt back 83 yards for a touchdown.
49ers outgained the Chargers, 321-229.
Chargers had eight penalties and eight first downs.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Rangers

— College sports has turned into a circus; during the transfer window last January, 34 teams were looking for a new starting quarterback. These days, schools are paying $3M+ to QB’s.

— Oklahoma coach Brent Venables signed a new six-year contract worth $63M; Sooners are 32-20 in four years under Venables, 0-4 in bowl games.

— When Baker Mayfield transferred from Texas Tech to Oklahoma, the Texas Tech QB was Davis Webb, who is now the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos.

— If you have Netflix, the Quarterback series is a good watch; a Hard Knocks-type show that focuses on three or four QB’s for three different seasons.

— Famous birthdays, August 21st:
Archie Griffin, 72
Gary Hogeboom, 68
Jim McMahon, 67
Craig Counsell, 56
Akili Smith, 51

Jesse Chavez, 43
JD Martinez, 39
Brandon Drury, 34
Luke Weaver, 33
Corbin Carroll, 26

Friday would’ve been Wilt Chamberlain’s 90th birthday.

— Last four years, head coach/QB for the Raiders in Week 1:
2023- Josh McDaniels, Jimmy Garoppolo
2024- Antonio Pierce, Gardner Minshew
2025- Pete Carroll, Geno Smith
2026- Klint Kubiak, Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza

— Cowboys/Saints were both fined $500,000 by the NFL after their joint practice earlier this week turned into a series of brawls.

— In the NBA, Cleveland Cavaliers signed James Harden for three years, $97M. 

— Four NBA players who have earned $500M+ in their careers:
Lebron James, Steph Curry, Harden and Kevin Durant.

— Former Nuggets coach Michael Malone is the basketball coach at North Carolina now, which is going to be very interesting to follow this winter.

— Movie of the Day: Let it Ride (1989)- A cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and he wins a lot of money; he keeps gambling all day, much to his wife’s dismay.

Richard Dreyfuss runs amok as the cab driver, Teri Garr is his wife; David Johansen, Jennifer Tilly and Robbie Coltrane add to this comedy, which is a funny movie.

— When baseball had their lockout in 1994 that cancelled the World Series, they were 57 players who never played in another big league game. 19 of those players played their last game the day the strike began.

— Braves-Brewers are playing a game Sunday night in Williamsport, PA, at the Little League World Series.

— The late Tommy John pitched 26 years in the major leagues; he faced Roger Maris seven times, Mark McGwire 22 times. Maris retired 18 years before McGwire’s rookie season.

— If I had my way, outfield fences would be 8 feet high in major league stadiums, as often as possible. Robbing home runs is one of the most exciting plays in the game.

— Houston Astros players have their own fantasy football league; buy-in is $2,500/team, so if they’ve got 16 teams, that’s a $40,000 pot they’re playing for. 

— Washington Nationals won the 2019 World Series; after that season, 3B Anthony Rendon signed a seven-year, $245M contract with the Angels, which expires after this season.

Rendon played a total of only 257 games in those seven seasons, hitting 22 home runs. In his last three years with Washington, Rendon hit 41-44-44 home runs.

Went to Saratoga race track with my cousins Wednesday; was a fun day shooting the breeze on a perfect day weather-wise. Some quick observations:

a) If you’re smart, you park in people’s yards, pay less than $10 and walk a little further than people who park in the bigger lots.

b) It costs $10 to get in; they get 18,000 people there, they’ve already banked $180,000. You don’t pay to get into a casino, and casinos are more fun. Kind of a ripoff. 

c) They don’t take cash, except at the betting windows; you need a credit/debit card to get in the freakin’ place, and to buy food.

d) Food is expensive, but good. High grade for the hot dogs.

e) There is a big screen by the paddock; good place to put your lawn chair, find a shady spot and relax all day, Betting windows and food are close by.

f) Only eight races Wednesday; is there a shortage of horses? Only a couple of the races had more than eight horses in them. 

g) All in all, a good experience. Fun day.

— Astros 3, Angels 2
Houston bullpen got 16 outs, didn’t allow a run.
Jeremy Pena fouled a pitch off his hand, left the game early.
Astros are 64-63, lead the AL West by two games.

— Nationals 6, Rangers 0
Andres Chaparro scored three runs, had three RBI
Cade Cavalli allowed three hits, struck out 11 in six IP.
Texas is 62-65, half-game out of the last AL Wild Card slot.

— Rays 7, Blue Jays 6
Drew Rasmussen won his sixth consecutive start.
Bryan Baker earned his 25th consecutive save.
Tampa Bay led 7-1 in 4th inning, held on for dear life.

— Diamondbacks 7, Red Sox 6 (10)
Nolan Arenado had the game-winning hit in 10th inning.
Mickey Gasper homered for the third game in a row.
Red Sox have a 5.5-game lead for the second Wild Card slot.

— Pirates 4, Tigers 3
Brandon Lowe had a walk-off homer in the 9th inning.
Rafael Flores tied the game with another 9th inning homer.
Paul Skenes now has a 5.05 ERA in his last sixteen starts.

— White Sox 3, Cubs 0
Jose Urquidy allowed two hits in 6 IP as the bulk reliever.
Miguel Vargas had two hits, scored two runs.
White Sox had lost their last eight games at Wrigley Field.

— Mets 4, Padres 2
Mets are 11-4 in their last fifteen games.
Carson Benge hit his 15th homer, a two-run shot.
Padres have a one-game lead for NL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Famous birthdays, August 20th:
Peter Horton, 73
Quinn Buckner, 72
Mark Langston, 66
Tom Brunansky, 66

Andy Benes, 59
Todd Helton, 53
Amy Adams, 52
Mitch Trubisky, 32

— American League Wild Card race:
New York WC#1
Red Sox WC#2
Twins —
_____________

Rangers 0.5 games out
Blue Jays 1 game out
Guardians/Orioles/Tigers 1.5 games out
Mariners 2.5 games out

— National League Wild Card race:

Cubs WC#1
Phillies WC#2
Padres —
_____________
Diamondbacks 1 game out
Cardinals 3 games out
Marlins 4 games out

— Giants 1, Guardians 0
Adrian Houser pitched five innings as the bulk reliever.
Victor Bericoto knocked in the game’s only run.
Cleveland is 61-66, but only 1.5 games out of a playoff spot.

— Mariners 7, Brewers 5
Dustin May gave up seven runs in two IP.
Dominic Canzone scored twice, had two RBI
Josh Naylor had three hits, had two RBI.

— Reds 5, Cardinals 4
Sal Stewart hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning.
Jordan Walker hit his 25th home run for St Louis.
St Louis is three games out of the NL playoffs. 

— Twins 6, Braves 4
Braves go to Minnesota and get swept three games.
Kody Clemens had two hits, three RBI.
Taj Bradley pitched five innings, giving up only two hits.

— Only four NFL exhibition games this weekend have spreads higher than 3.5 points. Sounds like more regulars are going to play this week. 

— Underrated baseball record: Ted Williams holds the all-time record for most consecutive games reaching base, 84 games in a row.

— Phillies 6, Marlins 4
Phillies scored four runs in the sixth inning.
Bryson Stott had the go-ahead hit.
Phillies have won five games in a row.

— Angels 3, Astros 1
George Klassen allowed one hit in seven IP.
Josh Lowe had an opposite field home run.
Astros’ lead in AL West is down to a game over Texas.

— Rangers 5, Nationals 0
Cal Quantrill allowed four hits in his seven IP.
Wyatt Langford had two hits, scored two runs.
Washington lost six of its last seven games.

— Padres 5, Mets 2
Fernando Tatis led the game off with his 14th home run.
Tatis hit his 15th home run in the fifth inning.
In 2nd inning, Tatis robbed Francisco Lindor of a grand slam with a great catch.

— Cardinals 3, Reds 0
Kyle Leahy allowed three hits in his five IP.
Joshua Baez hit three HR’s in his MLB debut last week.
Since then, he is 0-for-17, with a sac fly.

— Pirates 4, Tigers 1
Brandon Ashcroft allowed one run in 8 IP, throwing only 80 pitches.
Oneil Cruz hit a two-run homer in his return from the IL.
Detroit has lost four of its last five games.

— Famous birthdays, August 19th:
Gerald McRaney, 79
Adam Arkin, 70
Anthony Munoz, 68
Gary Gaetti, 68

Rickey Pierce, 67
Ron Darling, 66
Morten Andersen, 66

Bobby Hebert, 66
Kyra Sedgwick, 61
Jeff Tam, 56

Nate Burleson, 45
JJ Hardy, 44
Kirk Cousins, 38
Brandon Young, 28

— Alabama is ranked 13th in the preseason college football top 10, the first time in 13 years their preseason rank is outside the top 10. This is their lowest preseason ranking since 2008, when they were #24 in the preseason poll.

— Modern college sports: Arkansas poached a defensive back from Dartmouth.

— LB Von Miller signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys, worth $5.5M; he’s played 14 years in the NFL, winning Super Bowls with Denver and the Rams.

— WR Keenan Allen signed a one-year deal with the Colts, worth a maximum of $8.32M.

— Surprising stat: Baltimore Orioles are 16-5 in P Brandon Young’s starts this season.

— In case you were wondering, San Francisco Giants have hit eight grand slams, most of any team in the major leagues.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Rangers
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Phillies, Padres

— Reds 1-6, Cardinals 2-5
NL Central rivals split a day/night twinbill.
St Louis bullpen threw five shutout IP in the opener.
Elly De La Cruz had his first walk-off hit in the nightcap.

— Cubs 7, White Sox 5 (10)
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a walk-off HR for the Cubs, his 30th.
He also led off the bottom of the first with a home run.
White Sox led 5-4 in the ninth inning.

— Red Sox 11, Diamondbacks 1
All nine Boston starters had at least one RBI.
First four guys in their order went 9-for-18, with six runs scored.
Red Sox have a six-game lead for the second Wild Card slot.

— Mets 2, Padres 1
RF Benge threw out two Padres at the plate in the first inning.
San Diego was 3-5 with runners in scoring position, scored only once.
Mets are 10-3 since the trade deadline.

— Phillies 6, Marlins 5
Cristopher Sanchez allowed 11 baserunners in 6 IP, but only one scored.
Sanchez is the first pitcher this season to win sixteen games.
Phillies survived their bullpen giving up four runs in 3 IP.

— Rays 7, Orioles 6
Tampa Bay scored three runs in the bottom of the 7th.
Jonny DeLuca had the game-winning hit for the Rays.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered, had four RBI.

— Tigers 8, Pirates 5
Kevin McGonigle homered, scored two runs.
Detroit’s bullpen got 10 outs, didn’t give up any runs.
Detroit is in a three-way tie for AL’s last Wild Card spot.

— Famous birthdays, August 18th:
Bruce Benedict, 71
Denis Leary, 69
Lafayette Lever, 66

Christian Slater, 57
Edward Norton, 57
Jeremy Shockey, 46

Dan Orlovsky, 43
Seiya Suzuki, 32
Kevin McGonigle, 22

Tuesday would’ve been Robert Redford’s 90th birthday.

AFC East
— Joe Brady, Bills
He grew up in Florida, played WR at I-AA William &Mary.
Was pass game coordinator at LSU when Joe Burrow/Ja’Marr Chase were there.
Was offensive coordinator for the Panthers and Bills.

— Jeff Hafley, Dolphins
Grew up in New Jersey, played WR in college at D-III Siena.
Was 22-26 in four years as head coach at Boston College.
Was defensive coordinator at Green Bay the last two years.

— Mike Vrabel, Patriots
He grew up Akron, played college ball at Ohio State.
Vrabel played fourteen years as a linebacker in the NFL.
He is 73-52 as an NFL head coach, for Titans/Patriots.

— Aaron Glenn, Jets
He grew up in Texas, played college ball at Texas A&M.
He played 15 years in the NFL as a DB for five different teams.
He was 3-14 in his first year coaching the Jets.

AFC North
— Jesse Minter, Ravens
His father was a college coach; he moved a lot as a kid.
Minter played D-III football at Mount St Joseph’s College
He was a defensive assistant for both Harbaugh brothers (Balt, LAC)

— Zac Taylor, Bengals
His father was a QB at Oklahoma when Barry Switzer coached there.
Zac Taylor played QB at Wake Forest, Nebraska.
In between, he won a junior college national title as a QB.
He is 57-63-1 as NFL head coach, 5-2 in playoff games.
Taylor’s father-in-law is former Green Bay coach Mike Sherman.

— Todd Monken, Browns
He played QB in college at D-III Knox College.
He was 13-25 as coach at Southern Miss from 2013-15.
He’s been an assistant coach for four NFL teams, six colleges.

— Mike McCarthy, Steelers
He grew up in Pittsburgh; his father was a policeman, later owned a bar.
McCarthy played tight end in college for an NAIA team.
His coaching record is 174-112-2, winning a Super Bowl with Green Bay.

AFC South
— DeMeco Ryans, Texans
Ryans grew up in Alabama, played LB for the Crimson Tide.
He played ten years in the NFL, for the Texans/Eagles.
He is 35-22 as an NFL head coach, 3-3 in playoff games.

— Shane Steichen, Colts
He grew up in El Dorado Hills, CA
He played QB for four years at UNLV.
He is 25-26 in three years as an NFL head coach.
He once was a contestant on The Price is Right, but didn’t make it to the stage.

— Liam Coen, Jaguars
He grew up in Rhode Ialand, played QB at UMass for four years.
He was a backup QB for two years in Arena Football.
He was an offensive coordinator for the Rams, Buccaneers.
He was 13-5 in his first year coaching Jacksonville.

— Robert Saleh, Titans
He grew up in Michigan, played tight end at Northern Michigan.
His brother escaped the South Tower safely on 9/11.
Saleh was 20-36 in four years coaching the Jets.

AFC West
— Sean Payton, Broncos
He played QB for I-AA Eastern Illinois, also played Arena Football.
He was a replacement player for the NFL’s Bears in the 1987 season.
He is 194-118 as an NFL head coach, 10-10 in playoff games.
He also caddied briefly on the PGA Tour (for Ryan Palmer).

— Andy Reid, Chiefs
He grew up in Los Angeles, was once a vendor at Dodger Stadium.
As a kid, he appeared in Punt, Pass & Kick during a Monday night game.
He was an offensive lineman in college at BYU,
A certain Hall of Famer, Reid is 279-157-1 as a head coach, 28-17 in playoff games.

— Klint Kubiak, Raiders
His dad is Gary Kubiak, who played/coached in the NFL.
Klint Kubiak was a defensive back in college at Colorado State.
He was offensive coordinator for Seattle LY, when they won the Super Bowl.

— Jim Harbaugh, Chargers
His father Jack was a longtime college coach; the family moved a lot.
Jim Harbaugh played college football at Michigan, then 14 years in the NFL.
He is 144-52 as a college coach, 66-31-1 as an NFL coach.

— Orioles 10, Rays 2
Leading 1-0 in the fifth inning, Rays took Freddy Peralta out with two men on base, two out. 10 of the next 13 Baltimore hitters reached base against Tampa’s relievers.

Right now, Orioles have a half-game lead for the last Wild Card slot.

— Royals 3, Angels 0
Noah Cameron threw a 9-inning, 115-pitch complete game.
In his last five starts, Cameron allowed only five runs in 37.2 IP.
Under is 6-1 in the Angels’ last seven games.

— Padres 5, Guardians 0
Casey Mize allowed three hits in six IP in his 3rd start for San Diego.
Rengifo/Sheets hit back/back home runs in the second inning.
Padres/Phillies are tied for the last two Wild Card slots in the NL.

— Cardinals 11, Cubs 4
Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker both had four RBI.
After hitting 3 HR’s in his MLB debut Saturday, Joshua Baez went 0-for-5.
Right now, Cubs hold a firm grasp on the #1 Wild Crd spot in the NL.

— Pirates pushed back Paul Skenes’ next start from Sunday to Wednesday; Pirates say this move is not injury-related. Skenes has a 5.00 ERA in his last 13 starts.

— Dodgers OF Kyle Tucker is making $60M/year; his home road splits:

Home: 203 AB……2 HR’s, 17 RBI, .566 OPS
Road: 207 AB…….9 HR’s, 37 RBI, .840 OPS…….big difference

— Washington Nationals are planning to move CJ Abrams from SS to 2B, but they haven’t done it yet; he is 1-for-17 in his last five games.

— RIP to Tommy John, who passed away this weekend at age 83.

From 1963-74, Tommy John was 124-106 as a big league pitcher, then he had this new operation on his elbow, and missed the 1975 season.

From 1976-1989, From 1963-74, Tommy John went 164-125 in the big leagues. The surgery he had on his elbow obviously became very prominent, and is still used today.

— Trivia: the second pitcher who had Tommy John surgery was Brent Strom, who went on to be a great pitching coach in the major leagues.

— Person who should be in the Hall of Fame: Dr Frank Jobe, who performed a lot of these operations, and extended a lot of major league pitching careers.

— Famous birthdays, August 17th:
Robert DeNiro, 83
Skip Lockwood, 80
Donnie Wahlberg, 57
Christian Laettner, 57

Ernie Conwell, 54
Antwaan Randle-El, 57
Dustin Pedroia, 43
Rudy Gay, 40

Victor Caratini, 33
Jesse Winker, 33
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 28
Cam Little, 23

NFC East
— Brian Schottenheimer, Cowboys
father Marty was a longtime NFL coach
Brian was a backup QB in college at Kansas/Florida.
Last year was his first year as a head coach.

— John Harbaugh, Giants
His father Jack was a longtime college coach.
John Harbaugh was a defensive back at Miami OH
He was 193–124 coaching the Ravens, 13-11 in playoff games.

— Nick Sirianni, Eagles
Sirianni’s father was a high school coach in western New York.
Sirianni played WR at a D-III school; they won three national titles while he played there.
He is 65-30 coaching the Eagles, 6-4 in playoff games.

— Dan Quinn, Commanders
Quinn is from New Jersey; he played defensive line at a D-III school.
Eight of his assistant coaches have gone on to become head coaches.
He is 65-62 as a head coach, 5-3 in playoff games.

NFC North
— Ben Johnson, Bears
His father was a high school principal in South Carolina.
He was a backup QB at North Carolina.
He was 12-7 in his first year as a head coach LY, 1-1 in playoff games.

— Dan Campbell, Lions
Campbell grew up in Texas; he played tight end in the NFL for 11 years.
He played college football at Texas A&M.
He is 54-45-1 as a head coach, 2-2 in playoff games.

— Matt LaFleur, Packers
His father was an assistant coach in college, in Michigan.
He played WR at Western Michigan, QB at a Division II school.
He also played two years as a backup QB in the Indoor Football League.
He is 79-46-1 as a head coach, 3-6 in playoff games.

— Kevin O’Connell, Vikings
His father was an FBI agent.
He played QB at San Diego State, and for five years in the NFL.
O’Connell was an assistant with the Rams when they won Super Bowl LVI.
He is 43-27 as a head coach, 0-2 in playoff games.

NFC South
— Kevin Stefanski, Falcons
His father has been an executive with several NBA teams.
Kevin Stefanski played safety in college for the Penn Quakers.
He was 46-58 coaching the Browns, 1-2 in playoff games.

— Dave Canales, Panthers
His father was pastor of their church.
He was a WR in college for an NAIA school, Azusa Pacific.
He is 13-22 in two years coaching Carolina, 0-1 in playoff games.

— Kellen Moore, Saints
His father was a successful high school coach in the state of Washington.
Moore played QB at Boise State, was an NFL QB for six years.
He was an assistant coach when Eagles won the Super Bowl two years ago.
Moore was 6-11 last year, in his first year coaching the Saints.

— Todd Bowles, Buccaneers
Bowles grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
He played CB in college at Temple, for seven years in the NFL.
He is 62-77 as a head coach, 1-3 in playoff games.

NFC West
— Mike LaFleur, Cardinals
His father was an assistant coach in college, in Michigan.
He played QB, then safety for a D-III team in Illinois.
He was offensive coordinator for the Rams the last three years.

— Sean McVay, Rams
His grandfather coached the Giants, was an executive with the 49ers.
His father was a television executive for Cox Communications
McVay grew up in Atlanta, played WR in college at Miami OH.
McVay is 102-63 as a head coach, 10-6 in playoff games.

— Kyle Shanahan, 49ers
His father is Mike Shanahan, the great NFL coach.
Kyle Shanahan was a WR in college at Duke, Texas.
He is 91-72 as a head coach, 9-5 in playoff games.

— Mike MacDonald, Seahawks
He grew up in Boston, hurt his knee in high school, didn’t play college football.
MacDonald was an assistant HS coach while he was in college at Georgia.
He is 27-10 as a head coach, 3-0 in playoff games. 

— Cardinals 8, Cubs 4
Joshua Baez made his major league debut Saturday:
1st AB: home run
2nd AB: home run
3rd AB: home run

He is first major leaguer EVER to hit a HR in each of his first three at-bats.

— Mariners 10, Astros 5
Cole Young homered, had four RBI.
Brendan Donovan had three hits, scored three runs.
This was Seattle’s second win in their last nine games.

— Red Sox 4, Pirates 0
Sonny Gray got his 15th win, first time he has done that.
Wilyer Abreu had three hits, including a home run.
Pirates are 5-13 in their last eighteen games.

— White Sox 4, Tigers 3
Andrew Benintendi had the game-winning hit in 7th inning.
White Sox lead the AL Central by 4.5 games.
Eduardo Valencia has six home runs in first 50 MLB at-bats.

— Blue Jays 4, New York 1
Charles McAdoo had the tie-breaking double in the 7th inning.
Toronto has won 13 of its last 19 games.
New York lost its last three games, scoring a total of two runs.

— Orioles 4, Rays 3 (10)
Tyler O’Neill had the game-winning hit for Baltimore.
Pete Alonso hit his 27th home run for the Orioles.
Tampa Bay still leads the AL East by 6.5 games.

— Marlins 8, Reds 4
Marlins scored four runs in the 8th inning.
Jacob Marsee went 4-for-4, including a home run.
Marlins are 53-13 when they score 4+ runs. 

— Famous birthdays, August 16th:
Julie Newmar, 93
Lesley Ann Warren, 80
James Cameron, 72
(Madonna) Louise Ciccone, 68
Angela Bassett, 68

Timothy Hutton, 66
Steve Carell, 64
Daric Barton, 41
Yu Darvish, 40
Tyler Stephenson, 30

— Rams 20, Chiefs 12
Rookie QB Simpson was 21-25/190 passing, with two TD’s.
Chiefs led 9-6 after the third quarter.
Neither starting QB played in this game.

— Vikings 13, Giants 10
Minnesota outscored the Giants 10-0 in the second half.
Will Reichard kicked a 54-yard FG for Minnesota.
Jaxson Dart was sacked twice on his six drop-backs.

— Bills 29, Panthers 14
Bills outgained Carolina 396-201 in first game in their new stadium.
Buffalo QB’s were 26-33/245 passing, with one TD.
Carolina averaged only 3.8 yards/pass attempt.

— Bears 34, Browns 10
Game was tied 10-10 at half, while Watson played QB for Cleveland.
Case Keenum was 9-10/151 passing, with two TD’s.
Chicago averaged 8.3 yards/pass attempt.

— Case Keenum has had an interesting career:
2013-14- Texans 2-8 as a starter
2015-16- Rams 7-7 as a starter
2017- Vikings 11-3 as a starter

2018- Broncos 6-10 as a starter
2019- Washington 1-7 as a starter
2020-21- Browns 2-0 as a starter

2022- Bills- two games as a backup
2023-24- Texans- 1-1 as a starter
2025-26- Bears- He hasn’t played since 2023.

— Jaguars 24, Saints 20
Jaguars outscored New Orleans 18-0 in the second half.
Saints’ backup QB Zach Wilson was 11-16/145 passing, with a TD.
Jaguars QB Bradley (South Alabama) was 10-17/105 passing

— Ravens 24, Eagles 7
Rookie QB Fagnano (UConn) was 22-28/224 passing; he was undrafted.
Baltimore outgained the Eagles, 440-159.
Ravens were 5-11 on third down, Philly was 0-9.

— Cowboys 17, Seahawks 7
Seahawks averaged only 2.0 yards/pass attempt.
Cowboys outgained Seattle, 337-156
Neither starting QB played in this game.

—If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Cards: Bronx, Red Sox, Rangers
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, SD/Ariz/Phil

— Reds 1, Marlins 0
Alcantara vs Burns was an excellent pitchers’ duel.
Eugenio Suarez’ RBI double drove in the only run.
Marlins were shut out for the 7th time this year.

— Cubs 3, Cardinals 0
Clay Holmes allowed one hit in 6.2 IP.
Seiya Suzuki hit a 3-run homer in the sixth inning.
Neither team had a baserunner in the first four innings.

— White Sox 9, Tigers 5
Miguel Vargas homered twice, was 4-for-5 wit three RBI
Braden Montgomery was 3-for-5, with three RBI.
White Sox lead the AL Central by 3.5 games.

— Padres 7, Guardians 5
Bogaerts, Campusano both drove in three runs.
Cleveland led 3-0 after the third inning.
Padres are now the #2 Wild Card team in the NL.

— Astros 10, Mariners 7 (10)
Christian Walker hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning.
Yordan Alvarez hit his 36th homer this year.
Isaac Paredes had two hits, drove in three runs.

— Dodgers 3, Brewers 1
Yamamoto gave up a run on four hits in six IP.
This season, Yamamoto is 12-7, 2.60.
Edman, Pages homered for the Dodgers.

— Diamondbacks 2, Braves 0
Brandon Pfaadt is 7-0, 1.16 in his last eight starts.
Tim Tawa homered in the 9th for an insurance run.
This was Atlanta’s first loss in 11 Friday night home games.

— Pirates 8, Red Sox 4
Brandon Lowe hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning.
Bryan Reynolds had two hits, scored three runs.
Red Sox lost six of their last seven games.

— A’s 8, Rangers 3
Jeff McNeil was 4-for-5, with three RBI
A’s bullpen got 11 outs, didn’t allow a run.
Jake Burger hit a three-run homer for Texas.

— Famous birthdays, August 15th:
Kenny Carr, 71
Gary Kubiak, 65
Bubby Brister, 64
Jeff Huson, 62

Scott Brosius, 60
Debra Messing, 58
Eric Bieniemy, 57
Anthony Anderson, 56

Ben Affleck, 54
Oliver Perez, 45
Bruce Brown, 30
Luke Keaschall, 24

— Was watching a Canadian Football League game the other night; the CFL has a larger playing field (midfield is the 55, end zones are way bigger). Was doing something else while I listened to the game, and did a double-take when the announcer said: “Lions have the ball on the Calgary 53-yard line.” CFL games are fun to watch.

— All six NFL games Thursday night stayed under the total.

— Buccaneers 24, Jets 16
Rookie QB Cade Klubnik (Clemson) led two scoring drives.
Third-string QB Zappe threw a pick-6 in the 2nd quarter.
Jets led 13-10 at halftime; neither starting QB played.

— Broncos 27, Falcons 7
Jahdae Barron returned a pick-6 97 yards for a TD.
Denver led 24-0 at halftime.
Broncos outgained Atlanta, 359-192

— Commanders 20, Dolphins 7
Miami QB Willis led 14-play, 93-yard TD drive in his only drive this game.
Washington’s backup QB Marcus Mariota got hurt, left the game.
Commanders were 8-17 on third down, Dolphins 3-12.

So far this week, under is now 8-1 in NFL games.

— Field of Dreams Game in Iowa next summer: Red Sox vs Royals.

— 2028 All-Star Game is going to be in San Francisco.

— Reds’ DH Eugenio Suarez got his 1,500th career hit this week.

—If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Cards: Bronx, Red Sox, Tigers
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Padres, Ariz/Phil

— Phillies 7, Twins 1
Kyle Schwarber homered twice, had three RBI.
Schwarber now leads the major leagues, with 37 homers.
Phillies have a half-game lead for the NL’s last Wild Card spot.

They didn’t have the ABS pitch-challenge system in this game.

— Nationals 7, Cubs 0
Cade Cavalli didn’t allow a hit until the 7th inning.
Abimelec Ortiz homered, had three RBI.
Washington is five games out of the last playoff spot. 

— Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 0
Peyton Tolle allowed two hits in his eight IP.
Leading 1-0, Caleb Durbin hit an 8th inning grand slam.
Boston’s win snaps their five-game losing skid.

— Mariners 1, New York 0
Logan Gilbert gave up four hits in his six IP.
Weston Wilson homered in the second inning.
Win snaps Seattle’s six-game losing skid. 

— Reds 9, White Sox 8
Sal Stewart homered, had two hits, scored four runs.
Cincinnati led 8-4 in the fourth inning.
Eugenio Suarez hit his 18th home run of the season.

— Pirates 13, Marlins 1
Braxton Ashcroft threw a three-hit, complete game.
He is first Pirate to since 2017 to throw a CG in less than 100 pitches.
Jake Mangum went 3-for-4, with three runs scored.

— Tigers 3, Guardians 0
Keider Montero got 17 outs, allowed only three hits.
Eduardo Valencia homered for the Tigers.
Cleveland lost nine of its last 12 games.

— Famous birthdays, August 14th:
Steve Martin, 81
Susan Saint James, 80
Earvin Johnson, 67
Mark Gubicza, 64
Halle Berry, 60

Wayne Chhrebet, 53
Mike Vrabel, 51
Mila Kunis, 43
TJ Friedl, 31
Cade Cavalli, 28

— Bengals 16, Lions 14
Joe Burrow played one series; Jared Goff didn’t play.
Evan McPherson kicked a 56-yard FG for Cincinnati.
Rookie QB Altmeyer was 13-22/130 passing for Detroit.

— Steelers 28, Packers 9
Steelers completed 27-33 passes, for 313 yards.
Aaron Rodgers didn’t play in this game.
Total yardage was 385-160, Pittsburgh.

Tyrod Taylor is a backup QB for Green Bay; he’s had an interesting career:
2011-14 Ravens- 35 passes thrown, no starts
2015-17- Bills- 22-20 as a starter
2018- Browns- 1-1-1 as a starter
2019-20- Chargers- 1-0 as a starter

2021- Texans- 2-4 as a starter
2022-23- Giants- 2-3 as a starter
2024-25- Jets- 1-3 as a starter
overall- 29-32-1 as a starter, 0-1 in playoff games

— Colts 13, Patriots 13
Colts kicked a 61-yard FG with 1:16 left to tie the game.
There is no overtime in NFL exhibition games.
Anthony Richardson was 11-14/145 passing for Indianapolis.
Tommy DeVito was 13-22/138 passing for New England.

— Chargers 27, Texans 7
Trey Lance was 12-20/164 passing for the Bolts.
Neither starting QB played in this game.
Chargers outgained Houston, 379-209. 

— Cardinals 27, Raiders 14
Three Arizona QB’s were 26-30/212 passing.
#1 draft pick Mendoza was 10-16/97 passing, with one TD.
Teams combined to convert 15-29 third down plays.

—If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Cards: Bronx, Red Sox, Tigers
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Arizona. Phillies

— Heard a conversation on TV the other night about people eating hot dogs, and it reminded me of a story:

Long time ago, many moons ago, I was on a date, and it was going well. We wandered into a place that specialized in different kinds of hot dogs. We ordered and I put ketchup on my hot dog. Things…….well, things went downhill from there. Quickly.

My date, for a still unknown reason, disliked ketchup; she was insisting I put mustard on my hot dogs. Wasn’t going to happen; I was wondering why she would care so much about what I was eating, but the rest of the date was……it didn’t go well. Oy.

— Cubs 12, Nationals 6
Alex Bregman hit three home runs, had seven RBI.
Cubs have won eight of their last nine games.
Cubs are only three games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central. 

— Padres 4, Brewers 3 (11)
San Diego has won 15 of its last 19 games.
Milwaukee led 2-1 in the 8th inning.
Dustin May gave up four hits in seven IP for Milwaukee.

— Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 4
Tied 1-1, Toronto scored five runs in the 8th inning.
Blue Jays are 11-5 in their last sixteen games.
Red Sox lost their last five games, scoring 14 runs.

— Braves 6, Mets 3
Mike Yastrzemski/Austin Riley hit back/back home runs.
In two starts for Atlanta, Tyler Mahle has given up one run in 12 IP.
Mets lost the last six times they scored fewer than six runs.

— White Sox 5, Reds 0
Luis Castillo struck out 10 in 7 IP in his White Sox home debut.
Chase Meidroth, Drew Romo homered for Chicago.
White Sox lead the AL Central by 3.5 games.

— New York 10, Mariners 5
Trent Grisham homered twice, had four RBI.
Seattle led this game 5-3 in the third inning.
Mariners lost their last six games, outscored 34-10.

— Tampa Bay has won nine games in a row, leads AL East by six games.

— Famous birthdays, August 13th:
Kevin Tighe, 82
Gretchen Corbett, 81
Jay Buhner, 62

Mark Lemke, 61
Elvis Grbac, 56
Dallas Braden, 43

DeMarcus Cousins, 36
Randal Grichuk, 35
Samuel Basallo, 22

Today would’ve been my parents’ 71st wedding anniversary. I was lucky to have good parents.

— Cal Raleigh’s last two years:
2025- 60 home runs, 125 RBI, hit .247 with a .948 OPS
2026- 12 home runs, 43 RBI, hitting .161 with a .570 OPS

— Vladimir Guerrero’s home road splits this year:
Home: 206 AB, no home runs, 16 RBI, .644 OPS
Away: 212 AB; 7 homers, 30 RBI, .742 OPS

— Congrats to A’s utility guy Jeff McNeil, what got his 1,000th career hit a few days ago. McNeil is a .286 career hitter who won a batting title four years ago. 

— Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 4
Brett Sullivan hit a three-run homer in the second inning.
Arizona left 15 men on base, including bases loaded in 5th/6th innings.
Corbin Carroll hit his 100th career home run.

— Marlins 8, Pirates 2
Griffin Conine homered, got on base five times, scored three runs.
Jackson Junk allowed four hits in six IP.
Marlins are 38-24 at home, 24-35 on the road.

— Guardians 6, Tigers 4
Jo Adell’s 5th-innng home run was a game-winner.
Cade Smith got four outs, recorded his 31st save.
Cleveland is 7-1 against the Tigers this season.

—If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Cards: Bronx, Red Sox, Rangers
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Arizona. Phil/SD

Trends are thru August 11th

NL East
— Braves (72-48)
Atlanta won 10 of its last 13 games.
Braves are 40-21 at home, 32-27 on road.
Braves are 26-13 in divisional games.

— Marlins (61-59)
Miami is 37-24 at home, 24-35 on road.
Marlins are 50-42 vs righties, 11-17 vs lefty starters.
Marlins are 16-12 in in one-run games.

— Mets (53-68)
Over is 6-1-1 in the Mets’ last eight games.
Mets are 10-22 vs lefty starters.
Mets are 11-20 in in one-run games.

— Phillies (64-57)
Phillies are 21-11 in one-run games.
Phillies are 20-22 vs lefty starters.
Over is 6-1 in their last seven games.

— Nationals (59-62)
Nationals won three of their last four games.
Washington is 26-35 at home, 33-27 on road.
Nationals are 36-45 vs righties, 23-17 vs lefty starters.

NL Central
— Cubs (70-50)
Chicago won seven of its last eight games.
Cubs are 21-12 vs lefty starters.
Cubs are 18-13 in in one-run games.

— Reds (57-61)
Reds are 11-24 in divisional games.
Cincinnati is 8-4 in extra-inning games.
Reds are 18-12 in in one-run games.

— Brewers (74-45)
Brewers are 22-11 in divisional games.
Milwaukee is 22-11 vs lefty starters.
Under is 9-1-1 in their last 11 games.

— Pirates (58-63)
Pirates lost six of their last seven games.
Under is 5-2-1 in their last eight games.
Pirates are 10-26 vs lefty starters.

— Cardinals (60-60)
Cardinals won six of their last nine games.
St Louis is 20-16 vs lefty starters, 40-44 vs righties.
Cardinals are 8-5 in extra-inning games. 

NL West
— Diamondbacks (64-56)
Arizona is 19-9 vs lefty starters.
Snakes are 26-14 in divisional games.
Arizona is 21-17 in in one-run games.

— Rockies (46-73)
Rockies lost six of their last seven games.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Colorado is 27-32 at home, 19-41 on road.

— Dodgers (71-48)
Dodgers are 20-18 vs lefty starters, 51-30 vs righties.
Dodgers are 23-17 in divisional games.
Dodgers are 22-17 in in one-run games.

— Padres (64-57)
Padres won five of their last six games.
San Diego is 35-26 at home, 28-31 on road.
Padres are 22-17 in divisional games.

— Giants (49-70)
Giants lost eight of their last ten games.
Giants are 27-30 at home, 22-40 on road.
Giants are 10-20 in in one-run games.

— Famous birthdays, August 12th
George Hamilton, 87
Mel Farr, 60
Antoine Walker, 50/

Khris Middleton, 35
Ian Happ, 32
Kyle Harrison, 25

AL East
— Orioles (58-62)
Orioles are 15-20 vs lefty starters, 44-42 vs righties.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine games.
Orioles are 10-18 in in one-run games.

— Red Sox (64-55)
Red Sox lost their last four games, scoring 10 runs.
Over is 6-3 in their last nine games.
Red Sox are 29-31 at home, 35-24 on road.

— New York (67-52)
Bronx is 26-17 vs lefty starters.
New York is 30-26 at home, 37-26 on road.
Under is 5-1 in their last six games.

— Rays (73-46)
Rays are 23-11 vs lefty starters.
Tampa Bay is 41-18 at home, 32-28 on road.
Rays are 16-10 in in one-run games.

— Blue Jays (58-63)
Blue Jays won four of their last five games.
Toronto is 16-19 in one-run games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.

AL Central
— White Sox (61-57)
Chicago is 36-23 at home, 25-34 on road.
White Sox are 20-13 in divisional games.
Chicago is 21-17 in in one-run games.

— Guardians (58-62)
Guardians lost eight of their last ten games.
Six of their last seven games went over the total.
Cleveland is 23-18 vs lefty starters, 35-44 vs righties.

— Tigers (59-60)
Tigers won eight of their last ten games.
Over is 9-3-1 in their last thirteen games.
Detroit is 12-20 in in one-run games.

— Royals (49-71)
Royals are 29-30 at home, 20-41 on road.
Kansas City is 9-25 vs lefty starters.
Royals are 16-20 in in one-run games.

— Twins (59-62)
Twins lost seven of their last ten games.
Under is 4-2-1 in their last seven games.
Twins are 14-19 in in one-run games.

AL West
— Astros (61-60)
Astros are 3-5 in their last eight games.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven home games.
Astros are 47-43 vs righties, 14-17 vs lefty starters.

— Angels (46-74)
Angels fired all their pitching coaches this week.
Under is 10-1 in their last eleven games.
Angels are 15-20 in in one-run games.

— A’s (47-73)
A’s are 11-38 in their last 49 games.
Five of their last six games went over.
A’s are 15-15 vs AL West, 32-58 vs everyone else.

— Mariners (56-64)
Mariners lost their last five games, outscored 24-5.
Seattle is 33-29 at home, 23-35 on road.
Mariners are 18-12 in divisional games.

— Rangers (60-60)
Texas won five of its last seven games.
Five of their last six games stayed under.
Rangers are 21-13 in in one-run games.

—If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Cards: Bronx, Red Sox, Rangers
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Arizona. Phil/SD