Pregame Pepper
Three time MVP Mike Trout has homered on his birthday three different times . . .
Trout, in the big leagues since 2011, has never played in a post-season game his team won . . .
Chris Sale’s ejection Sunday, before the finale of a three-game Braves-Yankees series even started, was the second of his career and only one since April 23, 2015, when he was playing for the Chicago White Sox . . .
Sale’s pre-game remarks to the umps Sunday followed a balk call that ultimately made the difference in a 5-4 Yankees win over the Braves . . .
Slumping closer Raisel Iglesias blew a save last weekend at Yankee Stadium when he allowed three hits, a walk, and a hit batsman — and made a two-base throwing error — in two-thirds of an inning, failing to protect a 2-0 Atlanta lead . . .
The outing, the continuation of a long skid that started July 1, was directly responsible for the end of the eight-game winning streak the Braves brought to the Bronx . . .
Ex-Brave Max Fried, facing his old mates for the first time since defecting via free agency, matched six scoreless innings with Atlanta import Tyler Mahle . . .
The Braves have now had two Mahlers (Mickey and Rick) and one Mahle (Tyler) . . .
Atlanta now has matching left-handed Dylans (Dodd and Lee) in the bullpen.
Leading Off
Why Arizona Could Be the Dodgers’ Biggest Post-season Threat
By Allen Settle
The Arizona Diamondbacks secured the season-series edge over the vaunted Los Angeles Dodgers with a 4–2 victory last Sunday, August 9. The D-backs, who have shown little fear of the back-to-back World Series champions, finished the year with an impressive 7–6 record against their NL West rivals.
As things currently stand, the Dodgers remain poised to capture their fourth consecutive (and 12th in the last 13 seasons) NL West title. But for this modern-day dynasty, there may be one final showdown with their pesky rivals, this time on baseball’s grandest stage.
On paper, Arizona is one of the few clubs in baseball with enough offensive firepower to contend with Los Angeles. The trio of Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, and Geraldo Perdomo is capable of matching the star power of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts. Meanwhile, veterans like Nolan Arenado and Ildemaro Vargas, combined with budding stars such as Gabriel Moreno and Ryan Waldschmidt, give Arizona the lineup depth to match up with virtually any offense in MLB.
If healthy, however, the Dodgers hold a decided advantage on the mound. Two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell’s return has provided a significant boost to the rotation, but the status of Ohtani as a pitcher and Tyler Glasnow remains uncertain. The club is also carefully working Edwin Díaz back into a high-leverage bullpen role, with mixed results so far.
On the other side, the Diamondbacks are expected to welcome 2021 Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes back to the rotation in late August or early September. The ace is already throwing bullpen sessions as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. His return, combined with a breakout season from All-Star Eduardo Rodríguez, who has posted a dazzling 1.88 ERA in four starts against the Dodgers this season, could give Arizona a rotation capable of going toe-to-toe with Los Angeles.
As a cherry on top, former closer Justin Martinez is also expected to return by late August, providing an upgrade over the recently-released Paul Sewald. His return would allow arms like Brandyn Garcia, Kevin Ginkel, and Juan Morillo to settle back into more natural roles in the bullpen.
The Diamondbacks have played the Dodgers with confidence, energy, and, most importantly, success. If injuries, age, fatigue, or prolonged slumps continue to plague the defending champions, there may not be a team in the National League better equipped to dethrone the juggernaut than Arizona. Those chances only improve if Burnes and Martinez return anything close to their previous form.
The other top NL contenders have notable weaknesses of their own. The Brewers have struggled in the postseason, particularly against Los Angeles. The Braves and Cubs possess plenty of offensive firepower but appear to lack comparable depth at the top of their rotations. And while the Phillies have plenty of star power, the bottom half of their lineup lacks the same level of impact.
That makes the Arizona Diamondbacks perhaps the most under-the-radar team in baseball, and one of the most intriguing candidates to play Cinderella in the 2026 MLB postseason.
Allen Settle is an MLB writer who has never given up his passion for the beautiful game of baseball! He is an IBWAA member who has written as a contributor for the Fansided network, covering the New York Mets and Miami Marlins. You can connect with him on X at Meg.
Between the Lines
Oy! Edwin Diaz Does Not Deliver for Dodgers
By Dan Schlossberg
Lavishing big bucks on pitchers is always a gamble. That especially applies to relievers.
Consider the case of Edwin Diaz, once considered the most indispensable player on the Mets.
He’s been a disaster ever since joining the Dodgers on a three-year, $69 million deal in free agency.
Despite a 2.93 ERA and 144 saves in six-plus seasons with the Mets, the two-time NL Reliever of the Year has done nothing to justify a dime of his signing.
Diaz, 32, started the week with an ERA of 10.80 in 12 games — including an 18.00 mark in his first three August outings. It jumped to 11.57 last night, when he yielded three hits and three earned runs, blew his fourth save, and took the loss in a critical defeat by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Díaz was placed on the injured list on April 20 to remove loose bodies in his right elbow and missed over three months. Prior to landing on the shelf, the right-hander struggled at the start because of loose bodies in his prized right elbow.
But he hasn’t been much better since surgical repair.
The Dodgers thought signing Diaz would plug the biggest void on the varsity roster but so far, they were wrong.
They were also wrong about Tanner Scott last season, though L.A. waltzed to its second straight world championship anyway.
As Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained, “If we can’t trust Edwin Diaz in the postseason, then we’re going to have big problems. So I have to give him every opportunity to get comfortable, get back, cut his teeth, dust the rust off — whatever way you want to look at it — in that role.”
Entering play Thursday, Diaz had a lifetime average of 14.5 strikeouts per nine innings plus a 2.97 ERA. He also had 259 career saves — an impressive total for someone of his age. The three-time All-Star has twice finished in the Top 10 for the Cy Young Award.
That’s the guy the Dodgers thought they were getting when they gave him a three-year, $69 million contract that paid the highest annual average ever given a relief pitcher.
When he’s good, he’s lights out. But when he’s bad, he’s in big trouble.
He yields only 6.3 hits per nine innings but has also thrown 57 home run balls — including a recent ninth-inning, two-run shot by Arizona rookie Ryan Waldschmidt that won a game for the D’backs and extended the losing streak of the struggling Dodgers to seven games.
Diaz missed the entire 2023 season after breaking his leg while celebrating a Team Puerto Rico victory in the World Baseball Classic. And he missed the first half of this season after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his prized right elbow.
Since the Dodgers enjoy a huge lead in their division — eight-and-a-half games over San Diego on Thursday morning — they have ample time to let Diaz recapture his former form. But what if he doesn’t?
Diaz could join the long list of pitchers who suddenly lost their skills, often because of advancing athletic age, overuse, or unexpected injuries. That list includes Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright, Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Wayne Garland, and many more erstwhile stars.
HtP weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is the author of 43 books, including Hank Aaron biographies written 50 years apart. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
A Writer’s Moving Tribute to Jeff Kent
By Dan Schlossberg
The best thing about covering such events as Hall of Fame Induction Weekend is running into fellow writers who are old friends — people you see only occasionally but wish it were more frequently.
That’s why I was so glad to see Alyson Footer of MLB.com in Cooperstown last month. She’s a gifted writer with roots in Houston, which is where I first met her while ghost-writing Making Airwaves: Sixty Years at Milo’s Mic, the autobiography of the late great Astros announcer Milo Hamilton.
After she posted Facebook memories of her encounters with newly-minted Hall of Famer Jeff Kent when both were in Houston, I asked her permission to reprint them here.
So I devote this space to her words this week:
By Alyson Footer
One more 2004 memory, and then we’ll return to our regularly scheduled 2026.
Jeff Kent signed with the Astros as a free agent before the 2003 season, and he brought with him a reputation that he would admit today was well-earned — standoffish, a little prickly, and, at times, downright strange.
I think I was a little intimidated by him, but at the same time, I liked him. I sensed his outward demeanor wasn’t telling the whole story. Good family. Educated. Generous. Smart.
I kept my distance as much as I could while also needing his quotes and insight, as is the case for any reporter-player dynamic. Through the gruffness, I saw a decent human. He had such a nice family. Raising really good kids. To borrow a phrase from more modern times, the math wasn’t mathing.
He was almost always professional, making sure he was regularly available to the few of us who covered the team at home and on the road. Over the years, I always laughed and said Jeff and I bonded over our shared intolerance for stupidity. Neither of us were very good at playing that “game within the game” — where you sometimes have to wade through the b.s. in baseball to get what you need. I liked his realness, and I think he appreciated mine.
I remember one time saying to him, “I’m on to you. If you’re not careful, I’m going to ‘out’ you as a nice guy.” He laughed. (And then scowled and turned away, always staying in character.)
The Astros’ Game 7 loss in the NLCS in 2004 was the worst post-game scene I’ve ever witnessed in my career. It was 100 times worse than their World Series loss the next season. Most players were crying. It was completely devastating. They had the series. And then, in a blink, it was over.
So I’m standing in the clubhouse, trying to figure out how I’m going to put this into written words. And I see Jeff Kent, standing at his locker, motioning for me to come over.
He thanked me for my good work and professionalism. He told me he appreciated my diligent approach to my job. He wished me well.
Jeff wanted to stay with the Astros beyond that season, but I think he already knew it was probably not happening. (And it didn’t — he signed with the Dodgers that winter.)
That encounter always stuck with me. It was just so unlike him, and it came at the lowest, most awful moment, in those first minutes after the Game 7 loss.
When Jeff was elected to the Hall of Fame in January, I felt like I really needed to go to Cooperstown and cover the induction. We send only a couple of reporters every year, and I’m not even a reporter anymore. But I threw my hat into the ring and went for it.
So here’s how Induction Week went for Jeff Kent -- he did just short of a billion interviews, and he never got through a single one without crying. Every time he spoke publicly, he cried. I don’t want to say this is the Jeff Kent I knew in 2004, but this version was a heck of a lot closer than anything he tried to convince us he was all those years ago.
I loved catching up with him in Cooperstown. We had a lot of laughs; he was gracious and thoughtful. His soft side became one of the main storylines of the weekend. I like to think I scooped everyone 22 (!) years ago when I sensed there was way more to this guy than the scowling, distant person he tried so hard to be.
I didn’t take many pictures in Cooperstown. I just wanted to be present. But here is one snapshot I took of Jeff as he started his pre-ceremony media session the day before the induction (spoiler alert: he cried):
Alyson Footer was a Houston beat writer before joining MLB.com.
Extra Innings
When this week began, only five of the 15 American League teams had won more than they lost. So how are they going to send six teams into the post-season? . . .
Craig Kimbrel, one of a half-dozen veterans released when their teams were unable to find trade partners before deadline, has hooked on with the Kansas City Royals — his 12th major-league team and third this year (after Mets and Rays) . . .
The Los Angeles Angels compounded the felony of bad trading by firing highly-respected pitching coach Mike Maddux (brother of Greg) and several colleagues . . .
Former Mets infielder Jose Iglesias has traded his glove for a mic — on Broadway. For the next six weeks, he’ll be the narrator for the Tony award-winning show Buena Vista Social Club — and didn’t even apply for the spot . . .
Meanwhile, there’s always something happening in the minors that’s better than anything going on in the majors. For example:
Pioneer League linescore:
Know Your Editors
Here’s the Pitch is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles the Monday issue with Dan Freedman [dfreedman@lionsgate.com] editing Tuesday and Jeff Kallman [easyace1955@outlook.com] at the helm Wednesday and Thursday. Original editor Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com], does the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Former editor Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] is now co-director [with Benjamin Chase and Jonathan Becker] of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, which publishes this newsletter and the annual ACTA book of the same name. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HtP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.
Just an outstanding Here's The Pitch. A start-to-finish great read.