Fernando Tatis Jr. wasted no time making his presence felt Tuesday against the Mets. He opened the game with a homer, then later in the bottom of the inning erased a sure grand slam from Francisco Lindor with one of the best robberies of the season.
Elsewhere, Milwaukee turned a tight game into a rout in a hurry. Bryce Miller and Kyle Harrison were trading zeroes through four innings before the fifth blew up on Miller for five runs.
That was just the start. The Brewers piled on with five more in the sixth, two in the seventh, and then nine in the eighth to finish with 22 runs.
The outburst matched a franchise record for runs and set a new club mark for margin of victory. Milwaukee also got a huge lift from the bottom of the order, with Garrett Mitchell going 4-for-4 and the final four hitters in the lineup combining to go 12-for-21.
The Cubs kept the White Sox from spoiling the script again in the Crosstown Series. White Sox manager Will Venable chose not to let Pete Crow-Armstrong decide it this time, but that only opened the door for Alex Bregman.
After Carson Kelly doubled and PCA was intentionally walked, Bregman delivered the walk-off single. It gave the Cubs back-to-back walk-off wins in the series and pushed them to a major league-leading 13 walk-off victories, which matches a Cubs team record over the last 50 seasons.
On Wednesday, they’ll try to complete the sweep with trade deadline pickup Clay Holmes on the mound.
Houston is set to hand the ball to a new face tonight. Prospect Ethan Pecko is expected to make his MLB debut against the Angels, though the Astros will first need to select his contract, meaning a roster move is coming since their 40-man roster is full.
Pecko has posted a 4.57 ERA across 20 minor league appearances this season, with more than a strikeout per inning and an average walk rate. The Astros are looking for help in the rotation after Ronel Blanco was sent down and Tatsuya Imai moved to the bullpen, and Pecko gets a favorable first test against an Angels lineup that ranks last in wRC+ against right-handers this month.
In Other News...
Brewers Suddenly Have A Shortstop Concern Fans Can't Ignore
The Brewers had no trouble taking care of the Mariners in a historic 22-0 rout, but the biggest follow-up for Milwaukee came away from the scoreboard. Joey Ortiz was part of the offensive surge, going 2-for-4 with three runs scored and a walk, and he stayed in the game through the final out as the club rolled to one of its most lopsided wins in recent memory.
Even so, Pat Murphy said Ortiz is dealing with a twisted ankle, leaving Milwaukee to watch a position that already has some uncertainty. Starting shortstop Cooper Pratt is on the injured list with a hamstring strain, though he has begun a rehab assignment, so the Brewers are in the awkward spot of tracking one shortstop's recovery while monitoring another's health at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Roster Squeeze Is About To Hit Some Familiar Names
August has pushed the Brewers into some uncomfortable roster math, with infield injuries to Cooper Pratt, Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz creating the kind of short-term scramble teams dread. The picture is starting to shift, though, as Pratt, outfielder Sal Frelick and reliever JoJo Romero all move closer to returns and the club has to decide how to make the pieces fit again.
Jonathan Ornelas, Brandon Lockridge and Bryse Wilson are among the names most exposed as the roster tightens, and Wilson has already been designated for assignment. Pratts return is expected soon, which puts Ornelas in the most precarious spot, while Frelicks comeback could force another choice in the outfield and send Lockridge back to Triple-A. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Trade Is Already Raising Questions For One Frustrating Reason
The Brewers have already seen one of their recent bullpen gambles take on a little extra intrigue. When Milwaukee sent reliever Mark Manfredi to Colorado in the deal for Antonio Senzatela, it was the kind of move teams make hoping the long view will sort it out, with one arm helping elsewhere and the return piece eventually settling in.
Instead, the early read has been messy on both sides. Manfredi has been moved onto the Rockies major league roster in short order, while Senzatela has also struggled to find his footing in Milwaukee, leaving the trade looking less like an immediate solution and more like another reminder that deadline-style decisions do not always reveal their value right away. [Read more 🡒]