Armadillo Sports

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

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Saturday’s 6-pack:
NFL teams with the worst turnover ratios last year:
minus-19- Jets
-13— Commanders
-9— Cowboys, Vikings
-7— Browns, Raiders
-6— 49ers
-5— Titans

Quote of the Day
“Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair; it is something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.”
Erma Bombeck

Sunday’s quiz
From 1991-2005, Atlanta Braves made the playoffs every year, but only won one World Series; who did they beat in the 1995 World Series? 

Saturday’s quiz
Before they were called the Astros, Houston’s baseball team was called the Colt 45’s, from 1962-64.

Friday’s quiz
In the baseball movie Moneyball, Philip Seymour Hoffman played A’s manager Art Howe.  

— A’s last made the playoffs in 2020; from 2022-24, they lost 307 games but improved to 76-86 last year. This year, they’ve regressed and are having a dismal season, two years before they head to Las Vegas.

Few weeks ago, they fired the pitching coach. 

This week, they fired the general manager, who had been with the team for 27 years, back in the Moneyball era. He had been the GM for the last 11 years, but they’ve told him to take a hike.

Is there any way we can get the owner fired? How about he spend some money and try to win? Then he can start blaming other people.

— Padres 3, Astros 2
Jackson Merrill hit his 17th home run of the year.
Michael King allowed three hits in six IP.
San Diego is one game out of the last Wild Card spot.

— Blue Jays 7, Phillies 5 (11)
Nathan Lukes hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning.
Max Scherzer (3,516) moved into 10th place on the all-time strikeout list.
Aaron Nola recorded his 2,000th career strikeout.

— Rockies 8, Cardinals 6
Jake McCarthy hit two home runs, scored four runs.
McCarthy had a bunt single, also stole two bases. 

McCarthy is the first Colorado player since Charlie Blackmon in 2015 to have two homers and a bunt single in the same game.

— Marlins 7, Angels 0
Sandy Alcantara allowed three hits in 7 IP.
Alcantara’s last three starts: 20 IP, 9 H, no runs allowed.
Marlins are three games out of the last Wild Card slot.

— Brewers 4, Twins 3
Andrew Vaughn had the game-winning hit in the 8th inning.
Aaron Ashby pitched the 8th inning, got his 13th win, all in relief.
Brice Turang had three hits, drove in two runs.

— Nationals 8, Reds 2
Washington ended Reds P Chase Burns’ 12-game winning streak.
Daylen Lile has 11 RBI in five games against the Reds this year.
Nationals are 4.5 games out of the players, Reds are five games out.

— Famous birthdays, August 9th:
Bob Cousy, 98
Sam Elliott, 82
Ted Simmons, 77
Melanie Griffith, 69
Chris Miller, 61

Vinny Del Negro, 60
Bob Scanlan, 60
Deion Sanders, 59
Eric Bana, 58
Troy Percival, 57

Pat Mahomes Sr, 56
Liz Vassey, 54
Kliff Kingsbury, 47
Anna Kendrick, 41
Xavier Edwards, 27

— Dodgers 2, Diamondbacks 1 (10)
Win snaps the Dodgers’ seven-game losing skid.
Game was scoreless after seven innings.
Kyle Tucker homered for Los Angeles. 

— Pirates 9, Mets 0
Bubba Chandler allowed three hits in six IP.
Pittsburgh led 8-0 in the fourth inning.
Jake Mangum had three hits, scored two runs. 

— Bronx 5, Braves 4
George Lombard hit his 2nd home run in his 4th MLB game.
Gerrit Cole struck out nine, allowed six hits in seven IP.
Atlanta still leads the NL East by 8.5 games.

— Royals 6, Cubs 3
Jac Caglianone had four hits, four RBI, two home runs.
Ian Happ hit his 19th home run for the Cubs.
Chicago has a 5.5-game lead for the NL’s first Wild Card slot.

— Rangers 5, Orioles 1
Jacob deGrom struck out nine; Rangers have won four in a row.
Corey Seager hit a three-run homer in the 8th inning.
Orioles lost five of their last seven games.

— White Sox 6, Guardians 3
Chicago scored five runs in the sixth inning.
Win snaps Chicago’s four-game losing skid.
White Sox lead AL Central by three games.

— Tigers 8, Giants 0
Jackson Jobe allowed one hit in five IP in his first ’26 start.
Game was scoreless after five innings.
San Francisco didn’t get a runner past first base.

—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, Phillies, Arizona

NFC East
— Cowboys
Dallas hasn’t been in an NFC title game since 1995.
QB Dak Prescott is 85-60-1 as a starter, 2-5 in playoff games.
Last three years, Cowboys are 11-6-1 ATS in divisional games.

— Giants
John Harbaugh was 193-124 coaching the Ravens, 13-11 in playoff games.
QB Jaxson Dart was 4-8 as a starter in his rookie season.
Last three years, Giants are 9-14 ATS as a road underdog.

— Eagles
Eagles have won two Super Bowls in the last nine years.
Sirianni is 65-30 as a head coach, 6-4 in playoff games.
QB Jalen Hurts is 63-29 as a starter, 6-4 in playoff games.

— Commanders
Washington has made the playoffs twice in last ten years.
QB Jayden Daniels is 16-11 as a starter, 2-1 in playoffs.
Dan Quinn is 65-62 as a head coach, 5-3 in playoff games.

NFC North
— Bears
Last year was Chicago’s first winning season since 2018.
QB Caleb Williams is 171-9 as a starter, 1-1 in the playoffs.
Last three years, Bears are 8-3-1 ATS as an underdog.

— Lions
Last four years, Detroit is 45-23 in the regular season.
QB Jared Goff is 94-65-1 as a starter, 4-5 in playoff games.
Last three years, Lions are 13-3 ATS as a road favorite.

— Packers
Green Bay has made the playoffs 14 of the last 17 years.
Since 2014, Packers are 0-4 in the NFC title game.
QB Jordan Love is 28-23-1 as a starter, 1-3 in playoff games.

— Vikings
O’Connell is 43-27 as a head coach, 0-2 in playoff games.
QB Kyler Murray was 38-49-1 as a starter in Arizona, 0-1 in playoff games.
Last four years, Vikings are 11-5-4 ATS as a road favorite.

— Famous birthdays, August 8th:
Connie Stevens, 88
Jose Cruz, 79
Donnie Most, 73
Bruce Matthews, 65
Howard Cross, 59

Rashard Lewis, 47
Craig Breslow, 46
Danilo Gallinari, 38
Yandy Diaz, 35
Cameron Payne, 32

NFC South
— Falcons
Stefanski was 46-58 as coach in Cleveland, 1-2 in playoff games.
QB Tua Tagovailoa was 44-33 as a starter in Miami, 0-1 in playoff games.
Last three years, Falcons are 6-13 ATS as a home favorite.

— Panthers
Carolina has had 8 straight losing seasons (made playoffs at 8-9 LY)
Canales is 13-22 as a head coach, 0-1 in playoff games.
QB Bryce Young is 14-31 as a starter, 0-1 in playoff games.

— Saints
New Orleans has missed the playoffs five years in a row.
QB Tyler Shough was 5-4 as a starter in his rookie year.
Last four years, Saints are 5-12 ATS as a home underdog.

— Buccaneers
Tampa Bay has made the playoffs five of the last six years.
QB Baker Mayfield is 60-65 as a starter, 2-3 in playoff games.
Todd Bowles is 64-77 as a head coach, 1-3 in playoff games.

NFC West
— Cardinals
Arizona has made the playoffs once in the last ten years.
QB Jacoby Brissett is 20-45 as a starter; when does rookie QB Beck start?
Last four years, Cardinals are 7-17 ATS in divisional games.

— Rams
Rams have made the playoffs seven of the last nine years.
QB Matthew Stafford is 127-124-1 as a starter, 53-31 with the Rams.
Sean McVay is 102-63 as a head coach, 10-6 in playoff games.

— 49ers
49ers made the playoffs five of the last seven years.
Since 1997, 49ers are 0-5 in NFC title games.
Kyle Shanahan is 91-72 as a head coach, 9-5 in playoff games.

— Seahawks
Seattle made playoffs 10 of last 14 years, winning two Super Bowls.
QB Sam Darnold is 52-42 as a starter, 3-1 in playoff games.
Mike Macdonald is 24-10 in two years as head coach, 3-0 in playoff games.

— Phillies 7, Nationals 3
Phillies hit seven doubles in the first three innings.
Cristopher Sanchez is the first 15-game winner this year.
Luis Arraez is 5-for-13 with four RBI in his first three games with Philly.

— Cubs 3, Blue Jays 2 (11)
Pete Crow-Armstrong stole third, scored walk-off run when throw went into LF.
Alex Bregman hit a two-run homer for the Cubs.
Cubs have a 5.5-game lead for the NL’s #1 Wild Card slot.

— Mets 13, Guardians 6
Mets had 18 hits; they swept this three-game series.
Foster Griffin allowed five runs in four IP in his Cleveland debut.
57-59 Guardians are half a game out of the last Wild Card spot.

Guardians have played 17 games this year starting all lefty/switch-hitters; they’re the only major league team that has done that this year.

— Brewers 5, Pirates 2
Dustin May gave up two runs in 6 IP in his Milwaukee debut.
Jackson Chourio/Gary Sanchez homered for the Brewers.
Pirates lost seven of their last ten games.

— Tigers 11, Mariners 0
Dillon Dingler homered for the third game in a row.
Detroit has scored 8+ runs in seven of their last eight games.
Mariners were shut out for the 11th time, tied for most in MLB.

— Angels 4, Orioles 1
Zach Neto hit a three-run homer in the first inning.
Four Angel relievers got the last 13 outs, allowing one hit.
56-59 Orioles are a game out of the last Wild Card spot.

— Red Sox 12, White Sox 11 (13)
Caleb Durbin had the walk-off single for Boston.
Boston has won 8 in a row, 31 of its last 36 games.
Luis Castillo allowed five runs in 4 IP in his White Sox debut. 

— Famous birthdays, August 7th:
Fred Brown, 78
Wayne Knight, 71
Joe Cocozzo, 56
Charlize Theron, 51
DeMar DeRozan, 37

Tommy Kahnle, 37
Mike Trout, 35
Josh Smith, 29
Kyler Murray, 29
Jalen Hurts, 28

— Modern baseball; Cardinals’ 1B Alec Burleson hit three home runs Monday, then didn’t start in Tuesday’s game. He doesn’t platoon; this made no sense.

— Pirates P Paul Skenes has a 6.26 ERA in his last eight starts.

— There are reports that part of the reason the Red Sox traded IF Marcelo Meyer was that there was personal tension between Meyer and OF Roman Anthony.

— Panthers 33, Cardinals 30
Rookie QB Haynes King ran for the winning TD as time expired.
Rookie QB Carson Beck was 15-19/188 passing for Arizona.
Lot of offense; total yardage was 425 for Arizona, 378 for Carolina.

— There are 10 NFL teams who have head coaches this season.

— Last three years, Tennessee Titans are 1-7 ATS as a favorite.

— Last four years, Indianapolis Colts are 8-4 ATS as a home favorite.

— Jacksonville Jaguars were +13 in turnovers last year, part of why they were 6-3 in games decides by 8 or fewer points. 

— Last three years, Houston Texans are 11-16 ATS as a favorite.

— 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, Phillies, Arizona

— Nationals 10, Phillies 4 (11)
CJ Abrams hit a two-run triple in the 11th inning.
P Miles Mikolas then knocked in a run with a safety squeeze bunt.
Phillies have a one-game lead for the last Wild Card slot.

— Orioles 5, Angels 2
Trevor Rogers allow three hits in 6+ IP.
Tyler O’Neill/Coby Mayo hit back/back home runs.
Baltimore is 17-10 in its last 27 games; they’re half-game out of the last Wild Card slot.

— Red Sox 4, White Sox 0
Wilyer Abreu homered for the fourth time in three games.
Sonny Gray gave up 3 hits in 6 IP; he is 14-2, 2.78 this season.
Boston has won 7 in a row, 30 of its last 35 games.

— Rays 4, Rockies 0
Tampa Bay swept a series for the 11th time this season.
Nick Martinez got 17 outs; he is 11-3, 2.55 this season.
Tyler Wells got four outs in relief, all strikeouts.

— Cubs 7, Dodgers 6
Pete Crow-Armstrong homered twice, had four RBI.
Shohei Ohtani homered twice, had three RBI.
Dodgers have lost their last six games.

— Blue Jays 5, Astros 4 (10)
Ernie Clement hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning.
Houston led this game 3-0 after five innings.
Astros still lead Texas by 1.5 games atop the AL West.

— Mets 6, Guardians 5 (10)
Mets tied game in 9th inning on a Cleveland error.
Bo Bichette knocked in winning run in the 10th inning.
Angel Genao went 4-for-5, in his first MLB game.

— Braves 4, Marlins 1
Bryce Elder allowed one hit in seven IP.
Drake Baldwin went 2-for-4 with two RBI
Atlanta has won seven in row, leads NL East by 8.5 games. 

— Famous birthdays, August 6th:
Jerry Golsteyn, 72
Stephanie Kramer, 70
Dale Ellis, 66
David Robinson, 61

Vera Farmiga, 53
Seneca Wallace, 46
Hunter Greene, 27
Jared Jones, 25

NFL trends……..
— Last three years, Dallas is 11-6-1 ATS vs NFC East opponents.

— Chiefs are 0-5 ATS in their last five visits to Denver.

— Lions are 13-4 ATS in last 17 games as a road favorite.

— Last two years, Eagles were 6-0 ATS as an underdog.

— Under Dan Quinn, Washington is 8-3 ATS as a home favorite.

— Last two years, Chargers are 10-1-1 ATS vs AFC Went opponents.

— Last two years, Raiders are 11-17 ATS as an underdog.

— Buffalo covered its last five games against the Jets.

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

There were some familiar faces in unfamiliar places Tuesday, the first night after the trade deadline:

— Phillies 5, Nationals 0
Luis Arraez was 2-4 with two RBI in his Phillies debut.
Jesus Luzardo allowed four hits in eight IP.
Washington star James Wood (oblique) went on the IL.

— Cubs 5, Dodgers 1
Tarik Skubal gave up two runs in 6 IP (85 PT) in his Dodger debut.
Dansby Swanson/Nico Hoerner homered for the Cubs.
Javier Assad got 17 outs, allowed only four hits.

— Rays 9, Rockies 7 (11)
Freddy Peralta gave up 7 runs in 3.2 IP (71 IP) in his Tampa Bay debut.
Liam Hicks hit a grand slam in his Tampa Bay debut.
Colorado had bases loaded one out in bottom of 10th, but didn’t score.

— Red Sox 14, White Sox 2
Wilyer Abreu homered twice, Caleb Durbin hit a grand slam.
Red Sox have won six in a row, are 24-3 in their last 27 games.
Boston ended this one early, scoring six runs in the first inning.

— Rangers 5, Giants 4
Ezequiel Duran drove in four runs, had a walk-off double.
Corey Seager was 3-for-4, scored twice.
Texas is one game out of last Wild Card slot, 2.5 games out of AL West lead.

— Orioles 3, Angels 1
Cade Povich pitched six scoreless IP in his first start since May 7th.
Pete Alonso hit a two-run aingle.
Tyler O’Neill hit his third pinch-hit home run this year.

— Mets 6, Guardians 2
9th-place hitter Luis Torrens hit a three-run homer in the second inning.
Sean Manaea got the win, despite allowing 12 baserunners in six IP.
Cleveland is 57-57, three games out of first in AL Central.

— Famous birthdays, August 5th:
Bruce Coslet, 80
Bernie Carbo, 79
Maureen McCormick, 70
Patrick Ewing, 64

Otis Thorpe, 64
Jonathan Silverman, 60
John Olerud, 58
Mark Mulder, 49

Carl Crawford, 45
Nick Martinez, 36
Braxton Garrett, 29
Anthony Edwards, 25

— Tigers 8, Mariners 0
Troy Melton allowed three hits in seven IP.
Greene, Dingler, Torres all homered for Detroit.
Tigers are 54-58, but are only two games out of last Wild Card slot.

— Braves 1B Matt Olson played in his 895th consecutive game Tuesday, tied for the 8th-longest streak in MLB history:

2,632- Cal Ripken Jr
2,130- Lou Gehrig
1,307- Everett Scott
1,207- Steve Garvey

1,152- Miguel Tejada
1,117- Billy Williams
1,103- Joe Sewell
895- Stan Musial/Matt Olson

— Colorado Rockies signed OF Mickey Moniak to a two-year, $16.5 contract extension.

— Obscure trivia: There have been 464 sets of brothers who both played in the big leagues.

— Home plate ump Andy Fletcher had a rough night in the 13-7 St Louis-New York game Monday night; teams challenged six of his pitch calls. All six calls were overturned.

— On the other hand, home plate ump Jim Wolf had a very good game in Seattle Sunday; teams challenged only two of his 151 pitch calls. None of the calls were overturned.

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

Wrapping up baseball’s trade deadline:
— Phillies acquired 2B Luis Arraez from the Giants, along with P Caleb Kilian, for a couple of young pitchers.

As a result, Phillies’ infield defense is going to be re-shuffled:
1B- Alec Bohm
2B- Luis Arraez
SS- Trea Turner
3B- Bryson Stott
RF- Bryce Harper

— Arraez has won three batting titles, has a good chance for a fourth one this year, but he has also played on a lot of different teams, for such a good hitter:

2019-22: Twins
2023-24: Marlins
2024-25: Padres
2025-26: Giants
2026: Phillies

— Red Sox traded for C Adley Rutschman, hoping to upgrade behind the plate; they gave the Orioles three of their top five prospects. Lot of people on social media, including some baseball pundits, were wowed by how much Boston paid to get Rutschman.

Rutschman is hurt right now; he hasn’t played since July 18th.

— Mets traded away 8 major leaguers, plus a minor leaguer; in return, they acquired 13 minor league prospects. Monday they added six minor leaguers to their 26-man active roster. 

— Texas P Jacob deGrom exercised the no-trade clause in his contract, wouldn’t let the Rangers trade him away from Arlington.

Someone on ESPN suggested that deGrom gets taxed less than he would if he played home games in a different state (Florida? California?), which he why he put the kibosh on the trade.

— San Diego added a pair of starting pitchers, Robbie Ray from the Giants, Casey Mize from Detroit. Ray is 10-6, 3.08 in 21 starts this year; Mize was 4-6, 2.70 in 16 starts for the Tigers.

— Pirates fortified their bullpen, adding Luke Weaver/Kirby Yates. Weird seeing the team with the #2 payroll (Mets) trading a guy to Pittsburgh at the deadline.

— Cleveland added P Foster Griffin from Washington, OF Jo Adell from the Angels, and Nathaniel Lowe from the Reds. Little surprised to see the Nationals trade Griffin away; he is having a very good season.

— Cubs worked hard to hard to upgrade their pitching; they acquired starters Clay Holmes, Braxton Garrett and reliever Ryan Zeferjahn- they also acquired OF Tyrone Taylor.

— Tampa Bay improved its catching, adding Liam Hicks; they also acquired reliever Tyler Wells, as well as starter Freddy Peralta.

Rays now have a SS named Taylor Walls, and a P named Tyler Wells.

— Famous birthdays, August 4th:
Billy Bob Thornton, 71
Barack Obama, 65
Roger Clemens, 64
BJ Surhoff, 62

Clyde Simmons, 62
Abigail Spencer, 45
Brady Singer, 30
Henry Bolte, 23

— Cardinals 13, Bronx 7
Alec Burleson hit three home runs, had six RBI.
St Louis blew a 6-0 lead, then scored seven runs in the 8th inning.
New York’s bullpen gave up nine runs in six innings.

— Pirates 4, Brewers 3
Brewers are 1-6 vs Pittsburgh, 18-5 vs the rest of the NL Central.
Spencer Horwitz hit a three-run double for the Pirates.
Pittsburgh is three games out of the last Wild Card slot.

— Rays 13, Rockies 9
Junior Caminero hit two home runs, scored three times.
Rays had scored a total of 12 runs in their previous eight games.
Tampa Bay leads the AL East by 3.5 games.

— Phillies 6, Nationals 3
Trailing 3-0, Derek Hill hit a grand slam in the 7th inning.
Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer in the 8th inning.
Washington 1B Abimelec Ortiz hit his first major league HR.

— Cubs 10, Dodgers 5
Cubs hit four home runs; they led 6-3 in third inning.
Justin Wrobleski gave up seven runs in 4.1 IP.
Dodgers have lost four games in a row.

— Giants 5, Rangers 1
Jung Hoo Lee hit two home runs, had three RBI.
Logan Webb allowed five hits in six shutout IP.
Rangers have lost six games in a row.

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

Baseball’s trade deadline is Monday at 6pm; it’ll be interesting to see who gets traded where…….

— Cubs acquired P Kevin Gausman from Toronto, for two minor leaguers. This year, Gausman is 5-10, 4.38 in 23 starts; he might make his first start for the Cubs Thursday against the Blue Jays, in a makeup game from an earlier rainout.

— Mets traded P Freddy Peralta to Tampa Bay, for three minor leaguers. This year, Peralta was 5-9, 4.99 in 22 starts for the Mets. Hopefully, Tampa Bay’s infielders will play better defense in his starts than the Mets did.

— Bronx acquired 2B/1B Luis Garcia Jr from Washington, in exchange for four right-handed pitchers. This year, Garcia has hit 23 homers, has 76 RBI and a league-best .560 slugging %age.

— Atlanta Braves acquired P Tyler Mahle from San Francisco, in exchange for a minor league pitcher. This year, Mahle is 3-9, 5.13 in 18 starts, but he’s on a better team now.

— Astros 7, Rangers 3
Yordan Alvarez went 4-for-5, with two RBI
Astros scored four runs in the bottom of the 7th.
Houston leads the AL West by 2.5 games.
Rangers are 55-57, have lost five games in a row.

— Mariners 7, Twins 6
Colt Emerson had a walk-off single for Seattle.
Seattle led 6-0 in the 8th inning, blew the lead, then won at the end.
George Kirby threw seven shutout IP for the Mariners.

— AL West standings:
Astros 58-55
Rangers 55-57, 2.5 GB
Mariners 55-58, 3 GB
A’s 45-67, 12.5 GB
Angels 43-69, 14.5 GB

— Famous birthdays, August 3rd:
Martin Sheen, 86
Lance Alworth, 86
Todd Christensen, 70
Mike Gminski, 67
Mackey Sasser, 64

Kevin Elster, 62
Michael Ealy, 53
Troy Glaus, 50
Tom Brady, 49
Todd Gurley, 32

Dante Fowler, 32
Zac Gallen, 31
Derwin James, 30
Alec Bohm, 30
Luis Robert, 29

— There is an NFL game on TV Thursday night; Panthers-Cardinals from Canton, OH at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

— Guardians 5, Diamondbacks 0
Gavin Williams gave up one hit in 5.2 IP, striking out 10 guys.
Diamondbacks didn’t get a hit until the sixth inning.
Arizona had bases loaded in 6th/9th innings, but didn’t score.

— White Sox 9, Rays 1
Anthony Kay threw 6.1 scoreless IP.
Tampa Bay still leads the AL East by 2.5 games.
White Sox lead the AL Central by 3.5 games.

— AL Central
White Sox 59.52
Guardians 57-56, 3 GB
Twins 56-57, 4 GB
Tigers 54-58, 5.5 GB
Royals 46-67, 14 GB

— Bronx 2, Cubs 1
Gerrit Cole got 17 outs, gave up four hits and a run.
Jose Caballero hit a two-run homer.
Cubs were 1-9 with runners in scoring position.

— NL Central standings:
Brewers 69-42
Cubs 63-49, 6.5 GB
Pirates 56-57, 14 GB
Cardinals 55-57, 14.5 GB
Reds 53-58, 16 GB

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

— Saturday night, Dodgers acquired Tarik Skubal from Detroit, for three prospects:

OF Zyhir Hope
P River Ryan
P Brady Smith

Most people on the Interweb are saying the Dodgers underpaid.

— White Sox are buyers at the trade deadline; they acquired P Luis Castillo from Seattle, in exchange for a relief pitcher, a journeyman OF and a minor league catcher. 

Castillo is 33 years old; he is 3-9, 5.06 in 20 games this year, 2-5, 5.07 in 11 starts away from Seattle’s pitcher-friendly ballpark.

— Rays 1, White Sox 0
Drew Rasmussen pitched six shutout IP, struck out 10 guys.
Nick Fortes knocked in the only run, with a 5th-inning single.
Tampa Bay leads the AL East by 3.5 games.

— Marlins 6, Mets 2
Liam Hicks reached base four times, had two RBI.
Marlins have stolen 2+ bases in a game 35 times this year.
Mets honored the 1986 World Series championship team before the game.

— Red Sox 3, Dodgers 2
Ceddanne Rafaela homered his first two times up.
Peyton Tolle allowed 11 baserunners in 6 IP, but only two runs.
Red Sox are 22-4 in their last 26 games.

— Phillies 5, Orioles 0
Cristopher Sanchez threw six shutout IP, struck out 11 guys.
Sanchez threw 99 pitches; only nine were hit in fair territory, only two were hits.
Phillies lead San Diego by a game for the NL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Padres 6, Giants 5
Jake Cronenworth had a walk-off single to end the game.
Giants are 26-27 at home, 21-36 on the road.
San Diego is 19-15 against its NL West rivals.

— Rockies 12, Royals 6
Hunter Goodman homered twice, had four hits, five RBI.
Top four hitters in Colorado’s lineup went 11-20, with 8 runs scored, 10 RBI
Royals OF Lane Thomas was pulled from this game in 4th inning; he got traded to Atlanta

— Famous birthdays, August 2nd:
Joanna Cassidy, 81
Butch Patrick, 73
Perry Tuttle, 67

Cedric Ceballos, 67
Mary-Louise Parker, 62
Mike Venafro, 53

Grady Sizemore, 44
Paul DeJong, 33
Kristaps Porzingis, 31

College football knowledge
— Under Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs are:
22-36-1 ATS as a home favorite.
22-16 ATS as a road favorite.

— In his career, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is:
10-5 ATS as a home underdog.
10-20 ATS as a road underdog. 

— Last six years, Alabama is 28-10-1 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer is 7-1 ATS as an underdog.

— Since 2016, Oklahoma is 7-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Sooners lost their last four bowl games, giving up 32 ppg.

— Under coach Elko, Texas A&M is 7-17 ATS as a favorite.
Last four years, Aggies are 4-15 ATS in non-conference games.

— Last three years, Tennessee is 9-14-1 ATS in SEC games.
In his career, Josh Heupel is 25-11 ATS in non-conference games.

— Home team won/covered last six LSU-Ole Miss games.
New LSU coach/former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin brings his Tigers back to Oxford September 19th, which should be good theater.

— Under Shane Beamer, South Carolina is 16-9 ATS as a favorite.
Road team covered last eight Georgia-South Carolina games.

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

— Orioles 6, Phillies 4
Baltimore scored four runs in bottom of the 7th inning.
Orioles went 15-8 in July; they’re 2.5 games out of the playoffs.
Phillies are 3-10 since the All-Star break.

— Diamondbacks 4, Guardians 1
Arizona scored four times in top of the 8th inning.
Diamondbacks are 13-5 in their last 18 games.
Cleveland lost seven of its last nine games.

— White Sox 6, Rays 1
Chicago hit four home runs off of Nick Martinez.
Erick Fedde allowed only four hits in his five IP.
Tampa Bay leads the AL East by 2.5 games.

— Marlins 5, Mets 3
Kyle Stowers homered for the second game in a row.
Joe Mack was 2-for-4, with two RBI.
Freddy Peralta was scratched; he is supposed to be traded this weekend.

— Astros 11, Rangers 2
Astros are 9-1 in last 10 games; they moved into first place in AL West
Yainer Diaz was 4-for-5, hit a homer, scored twice.
Isaac Paredes hit his 15h home run of the season.

— Red Sox 9, Dodgers 4
Ceddane Rafaela hit a two-run homer in the 7th inning.
Shohei Ohtani hit his 24th home run of the season.
Willson Contreras got hit in the head by a pitch, eventually left the game.

— Twins 5, Mariners 3
Luke Keaschall hit the go-ahead double in the 7th inning.
Twins/Cleveland are tied for AL’s last playoff spot.
Seattle has lost eight of its last ten games.

— Famous birthdays, August 1st:
Terry Kiser, 87
Greg Gross, 74
Kiki Vandeweghe, 68
Greg Bell, 64
Pat Carter, 60

Gregg Jefferies, 59
Edgerrin James, 48
Adam Jones, 41
Madison Bumgarner, 37
Austin Rivers, 34

— First round pairings for the Maui Classic basketball tournament, in November:
Clemson vs Ole Miss
BYU vs Washington
VCU vs Providence
Arizona vs Colorado State

— Seattle pitcher Bryan Woo’s home/away splits:
Home: nine starts: 6-0, 2.20
Away: 12 starts: 1-8, 6.71

— When the Mariners played in Dodger Stadium earlier this week, Julio Rodriguez was wearing earplugs. Apparently after you’ve had a concussion, loud music isn’t good for your equilibrium, and Dodger Stadium is well-known for having very loud music.

Rodriguez wasn’t wearing earplugs when the Mariners played at home Friday night.

— RBI leaders in the major leagues:
84- Sal Stewart, Cinc
83- CJ Abrams, Wash
82- Yordan Alvarez, Hous
79- Jordan Walker, StL
76- Luis Garcia, Wash

— Orioles traded P Dean Kremer to Minnesota Friday night, for OF Jhomnardo Reyes, the Twins’ #24-ranked prospect. Reyes is playing in the Class A Florida State League. Kremer was in his 7th year for Baltimore; he is 1-4, 6.50 in seven starts this year.

— Chicago White Sox, the last four years:
2023: 61-101
2024: 41-121
2025: 60-102
2026: 58-51

I think Will Venable is going to be AL Manager of the Year

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

— Twins 4, Royals 3
Kody Clenens hit a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning.
Minnesota didn’t get a hit until the sixth inning.
Noah Cameron allowed one hit in 8 IP for the Royals.

— Cubs 4, Cardinals 2 (10)
Alex Bregman knocked in the winning run with a double.
Bregman was 9-18 with six doubles and a HR in this four-game series.
Cubs are sitting comfortably atop the NL Wild Card standings.

— Rays 3, Rangers 2
Cedric Mullins hit a game-winning homer in 8th inning.
Seven Tampa Bay pitchers combined to allow only two hits.
Rays starter McClanahan left after 3 IP (back tightness).

— White Sox 2, Bronx 1 (11)
Tristan Peters ended the game by drawing a bases loaded walk.
Game was scoreless after nine innings.
New York its 1-8 this season in extra inning games.

— Mets 4, Marlins 2
Mets scored twice in bottom of the 8th; Luis Robert had the game-winning hit.
Miami led 1-0 after five innings behind the pitching of Eury Perez. 

Marlins are 55-55, 2.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.

— Braves 5, Nationals 4
Washington led 3-0 in the fourth inning.
Ozzie Albies’ two-run single in the 6th inning was a game-winner.
Atlanta leads the NL East by seven games over the Phillies.

— Reds 3, Pirates 2
Elly De La Cruz was 3-for-4, with three doubles.
Brandon Lowe knocked in the winning run with a fielders’ choice.
Pirates are 55-55, 2.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.

— Famous birthdays, July 31st:
Leon Durham, 69
Mike Bielecki, 67
Scott Brooks, 61
Dean Cain, 60
Andre Ware, 58

Gus Frerotte, 55
Chris Weinke, 54
Gabe Kapler, 51
Tim Couch, 49
David Blough, 31

NFL notes/trends……..
— New Orleans Saints signed WR Chris Olave to a four-year contract extension worth up to $132M; he caught 100 passes last year for 1,163 yards and nine TD’s.

— San Francisco 49ers signed WR Deebo Samuel to a one-year deal with $7M; last year he caught 72 passes for 727 yards and five TD’s for Washington, after playing the six years before that with San Francisco.

— Last 11 years, Buffalo is 23-18-1 ATS as a non-divisional home favorite.

— Last four years, Bengals are 13-6 ATS as a road favorite.

— Last four years, Green Bay is 5-14-1 ATS as a road favorite.

— Since 2019, Texans are 10-18-1 ATS as a home favorite.

— Last four years, Chiefs are 7-16-1 ATS in divisional games.

— Last three years, Eagles are 5-8-1 ATS as a non-divisional home favorite.

— Seahawks are 21-5-1 ATS in their last 27 road games.

— Commanders are 0-5 ATS in their last five visits to Dallas.

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

Las Vegas Raiders announced that veteran QB Kirk Cousins will be the #1 QB as the teams opens training camp, ahead of Indiana rookie Fernando Mendoza.

This brings up an interesting question, that appears to have no right answer; when is the best time to make your rookie QB the starter?

— Patrick Mahomes didn’t start a game until the last game of his rookie season; that seems to have turned out pretty well.

— Troy Aikman went 0-11 as a rookie QB; he started the first four games, and the last seven, but he wound up with a 105-75 record, winning three Super Bowls. Obviously, he is in the Hall of Fame.

— David Carr started right off the bat for the 2002 Houston Texans; he went 23-56 with the Texans, was only a starter for 5+ years. First time I heard the term “shellshocked” referring to a quarterback who was on a bad team.

— Dan Marino is obviously a Hall of Famer; he didn’t start a game until Week 6 of his rookie season. He led the Dolphins to the Super Bowl the next year, had a great career.

— Jared Goff didn’t start until Week 10 of his rookie year; Sean McVay came in for his second season and Goff was 44-30 under McVay, is 50-35-1 for Detroit.

— Peyton Manning started right off the bat; Colts went 3-13 his first year, but he wound up 150-77 with Indianapolis, won a Super Bowl.

— Three years ago, Carolina drafted Bryce Young, started him right away; they’ve gone 14-31 in his starts.

— Last year, Tennessee Titans started rookie QB Cam Ward all 17 games last year, went 3-14; they fired their coach after their season. Brian Daboll is the Titans’ new OC, which figures to help a young quarterback.

— My opinion is this; it has to be overwhelming to jump from college to the NFL; sitting and observing a veteran quarterback has to be beneficial. After the bye week seems like a good time to begin a new chapter. We’ll see what the Raiders do with Mendoza; their bye week this year is Week 13, kind of late to do that. I’m guessing we’ll see him around Week 9.

— Famous birthdays, July 30th:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, 79
Billy Paultz, 78
Efren Herrera, 75
Ellis Valentine, 72

Clint Hurdle, 69
Ricky Horton, 67
Laurence Fishburne, 65
Chris Mullin, 63

Lisa Kudrow, 63
Terry Crews, 58
Hillary Swank, 52
Jake McCarthy, 29

— Braves 2-1, Mets 3-0
Total of only six runs scored in this doubleheader.
Carson Benge had the game-winning hit in the opener.
Chris Sale allowed two hits, struck out nine in the nightcap.

— Marlins 8, Phillies 6
Phillies led this game 6-0 in the fifth inning.
Griffin Conine’s 8th inning homer was the game-winner.
Phillies are 3-9 since the All-Star break.

— Orioles 10, Tigers 9 (12)
Detroit led this game 7-0 after the fourth inning.
Colton Cowser had the game-winning hit for Baltimore.
Spencer Torkelson hit his 100th career home run for Detroit.

— Royals 4, Twins 0
Randy Dobnak got his first MLB win in five years.
Tyler Tolbert doubled, homered, scored two runs.
Minnesota is 1.5 games out of the last playoff spot.

— Cardinals 3, Cubs 2 (10)
Ivan Herrera’s two-run double was the walk-off winner.
Only the third for the Cardinals in their last 12 games.
Dustin May gave up one hit in his five scoreless IP.

— Diamondbacks 3, Pirates 0
Eduardo Rodriguez allowed five hits in his 8th IP.
Gabriel Moreno hit a two-run homer.
Right now, Arizona would be one of the Wild Card teams.

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

— I never eat at McDonald’s anymore; used to eat there a lot, but their prices are ridiculous now. I go there once a year now, and Tuesday was my day for 2026.

Two filet-o-fish sandwiches and a vanilla milkshake…….$21.87, which is why I don’t go there anymore. Plus, the convenience store near my house makes way better milkshakes than they do.

— Diamondbacks 8, Pirates 7 (12)
Arizona led this game 6-0 in the 8th inning.
James McCann had the game-winning hit for the Snakes.
Arizona takes over the last Wild Card slot in the NL

— Twins 3, Royals 2
Royce Lewis hit an opposite field, 2-run, walk-off double.
Twins won despite hitting into five double plays.
Minnesota is half a game out of the last Wild Card slot.

— Nationals 8, Blue Jays 6
Washington led 7-2 in the 4th inning.
Toronto starter Bieber faced nine batters, walked six of them.
Nationals are a game out of the last Wild Card slot. 

— Tigers 14, Orioles 0
Troy Melton allowed three hits in his seven IP.
Detroit scored in every inning.
Eduardo Valencia homered twice for the Tigers.

— It turns out that newly-acquired 2B Curtis Mead broke his wrist when he was hit by a pitch in his second at-bat Monday night. No bueno for the Red Sox, or my fantasy team. Seems like these days, hitters struggle getting out of the way on inside pitches.

Boston gave up a starting pitcher to get Mead, who now might be out for the year.

— Marlins 1, Phillies 0
Sandy Alcantara allowed four hits in 7 IP.
Kyle Stowers homered for the game’s only run.
Phillies are 3-8 since the All-Star break.

— Famous birthdays, July 29th:
Mike Starr, 76
Dan Driessen, 75
Scott Wedman, 74
Dave LaPoint, 67

Pepper Johnson, 62
Ryan Braun, 46
Dak Prescott, 33
Cole Young, 23

— A’s 4, Red Sox 3
Backup C Serven hit his first MLB homer since 2022.
Gage Jump allowed three hits in his six shutout IP.
Tommy White went 4-for-4, scored twice.

— Padres 8, Rockies 7
Xander Bogaerts had the walk-off sac fly for the Padres.
Fernando Tatis had his first career five-hit game.
San Diego is 1.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot.

— Astros 3, Angels 2
Yordan Alvarez had the game-winning single in 9th inning.
Angels have lost five of their last six games.
Houston is 54-55, two games out of first in AL West. 

— Cubs 10, Cardinals 2
Chicago led this game 7-0 in the second inning.
Last two nights, Alex Bregman is 7-10, with a HR, three doubles.
Cardinals have lost nine of their last 11 games.

— Mariners 7, Dodgers 6
Seattle hit five HR’s, two by Dominic Canzone.
Mariners are 1.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot.
Dodgers/Milwaukee are tied for the best record in the NL.

— Bronx 3, White Sox 2
Gerrit Cole allowed four hits in six scoreless IP.
David Bednar gave up two runs, but still got his 22nd save.
White Sox lead the AL Central by 1.5 games.

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

— Pirates 3, Diamondbacks (10)
Brandon Lowe’s third hit of the night was a game-winner.
Merrill Kelly got 17 outs, allowed an unearned run.
These teams are tied for the NL’s last Wild Card spot.

— Marlins 8, Phillies 7
Marlins scored three in the 9th, ended their 12-game losing streak.
Heriberto Hernandez homered, had 3 RBI for Miami.
Phillies are only 3-7 since the All-Star break.

— Rangers 7, Mariners 3
Joc Pederson homered in his first two at-bats of the game.
George Kirby gave up seven runs in four IP.
Kumar Rocker got 20 outs, allowed only four hits.

— Cubs 7, Cardinals 3
Alex Bregman hit a home run and two doubles.
Nico Hoerner had four hits, including a home run.
Cardinals are 1.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot.

— Astros 6, Angels 4
Angels choked away a 4-2 lead in 9th inning, making two errors.
Walbert Urena allowed one run in 6 IP, but the Angels’ bullpen sucks.
Astros moved back into second place in the AL West.

— Giants 3, Brewers 0
Tyler Mahle allowed three hits in his six IP.
Despite the loss, Brewers lead NL Central by six games.

— Famous birthdays, July 28th:
Sally Struthers, 79
Doug Collins, 75
Carmelo Martinez, 66
Elizabeth Berkley, 54
Hannah Waddingham, 52

Manu Ginobili, 49
DeMeco Ryans, 42
Walker Buehler, 32
Trey Yesavage, 23
Malik Nabers, 23

— Get well soon to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who was in what sounds like a fairly severe car accident recently. His injuries include:

broken nose
three broken ribs
broke his hand
40+ stitches in his face
severe concussion

Week 1 NFL subplots:
— Since 2005, Week 1 underdogs of 8+ points are 26-9 ATS.

— Jets @ Titans
Robert Saleh is the Titans’ new coach; from 2021-24, he was 20-36 coaching the Jets.

— Packers @ Vikings
Jonathan Gannon is the Packers’ new defensive coordinator; the last three years, he was 15-36 as head coach of the Cardinals, where one of his QB’s was Kyler Murray, who was 13-17 in those three years.

This year, Murray is competing with JJ McCarthy to be Minnesota’s starting QB.

— There are divisional games in Week 1 this season.

— Commanders @ Eagles
Eagles have won eight of their last 11 games vs Washington.

— Jim Bob Cooter is the Colts’ offensive coordinator; he was Peyton Manning’s backup QB in his college days, at Tennessee.

— Patriots @ Seahawks
Third time there is a Super Bowl rematch in Week 1 the next year. Last time was 2016.

— Broncos @ Chiefs
Is Patrick Mahomes healthy enough to play?

Denver won four of its last five games against the Chiefs, with the only loss by two points.

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

— Brewers 11, Rockies 2
Jacob Misiorowski struck out 12 of the first 13 batters he faced.
Misiorowski allowed a home run to Cole Carrigg in the fifth inning.
Rockies swung at 51 of his pitches, whiffed on 26 of them.

— Late Saturday night, Nationals traded 3B Curtis Mead to the Red Sox, for P Connelly Early.

Mead has 17 home runs in 87 games, has an .852 OPS in his break-out year; he can play 1B, 2B or 3B. The Green Monster should be to his liking.

Early is on the IL now with a minor elbow injury; he is 7-5, 3.44 in 17 starts this season.

— Trade deadline is 6pm next Monday, August 3rd; when news of the trade broke, a guy who does a Red Sox podcast on YouTube did an emergency podcast late at night. Red Sox play at Sacramento/Dodger Stadium this week; curious where Mead will bat in their order.

— Unusual facts:
Mead is from Australia, which means nothing, but it is interesting. 

November 20, 2019……Mead was traded by the Phillies to Tampa Bay, for Cristopher Sanchez. Nationals can only hope Early turns out nearly as good as Sanchez has been.

Red Sox will be Mead’s fourth team the last two seasons.

— Padres 5, Marlins 3
Manny Machado/Jackson Merrill homered in the 8th inning.
Mason Miller got his 27th save of the season.
Marlins have now lost a franchise record 12 games in a row.

— Phillies 11, Bronx 4
Bryson Stott homered, had five RBI
Phillies went 3-6 on their homestand (NYM, LA, NYY)

Cristopher Sanchez’s home/away splits this year:
Home: 12 starts; 8-1, 1.03
Away: 9 starts; 4-3, 4.97

— Toronto 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s home/away splits this year:
Home: 185 AB; no HR’s, 16 RBI, .656 OPS
Away: 186 AB; 6 HR’s, 28 RBI, ..757 OPS

— Famous birthdays, July 27th:
Mack Calvin, 79
Brian Kingman, 73
Gus Gerard, 73

Shane Rawley, 71
Alex Rodriguez, 51
Max Scherzer, 42

Ryan Tannehill, 38
Foster Griffin, 31
Drew Rasmussen, 31

— Arizona Cardinals’ QB Jacoby Brissett signed a new contract that guarantees him $15.5M this season, with a chance to get as a high as $21M, with incentives.

In his 10-year career, Brissett has started 65 games for five different teams (20-45).

— Braves 3, Orioles 2 (11)
Atlanta manager Walt Weiss did something very unusual in the 11th inning; Orioles had guys on 1st/2nd with two outs. Weiss walked Jackson Holliday intentionally to load the bases, putting the winning run in scoring position. Can’t remember ever seeing that before.

Tyler Kinley got the next hitter on a ground ball and Atlanta won a game where Baltimore had the bases loaded with no one out in the 10th inning- they obviously didn’t score.

— Rays 1, Guardians 0
Drew Rasmussen allowed one hit seven IP.
Cedric Mullins drove in the only run with a bunt single.
Tampa Bay is 38-15 at home, 24-28 on the road.

— Pirates 8, Cubs 7
Ryan O’Hearn hit a grand slam on his 33rd birthday.
Rookies Esmerlyn Valdez/Shawn Ross homered for Pittsburgh.
Pirates are 54-52, one game out of the last Wild Card spot.

— Nationals 10, Diamondbacks 7
CJ Abrams/James Wood both homered twice.
Abrams leads the major leagues with 82 RBI
Arizona C Gabriel Moreno has reached base in 42 straight games.

— Mariners 6, Rangers 4
Dominic Canzone/Randy Arozarena both homered in the 7th inning.
Texas bullpen allowed five runs in four IP.
Mariners moved within 1.5 games of the Rangers atop the AL West.

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