⚾️ Braxton Ashcraft PIT ⚾️
Master Class Efficiency: Ashcraft threw 8 full innings on just 80 pitches, walking zero batters.
Back-to-Back Workhorse Starts: Coming off his first career complete game against Miami on August 13 (a 3-hit, 10-K performance), he became the first Pirates pitcher since A.J. Burnett in 2012 to toss a complete game and follow it up with at least 8 innings in his next start.👍
MLB Players of the Night (08/17/26)
Shohei Ohtani (DH, Los Angeles Dodgers)
Statline: 4-for-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Highlights: Powered the Dodgers to an 11–5 victory at Coors Field against the Rockies. Ohtani launched back-to-back home runs—his 28th (428’ & 30/30 HR/Park) and 29th (452’ & 30/30 HR/Park) on the season. Both of those taters were no-doubters !!!
Logan Henderson (SP, Milwaukee Brewers): Delivered the best outing of his young career, working 7.0 innings of 1-run ball against the high-powered Los Angeles Dodgers lineup. He allowed just 3 hits while striking out 6 to pick up his 7th win of the season. His season stats are as follows: 7W 2L 2.70ERA 63.1IP 75K 0.868WHIP Wow !!!
AND
Jake Bauers (1B/DH, Milwaukee Brewers): Powered the Brewers past the Dodgers with a standout 4-for-4 performance, driving in 2 key runs with an RBI single and an RBI double to lead Milwaukee to a 6–2 victory.
His season stats are as follows: 104H 21HR .275BA 71R 70RBI 9SB .384OBP .884OPS and 142OPS+ … Stellar !!!
These two are just two who have been drafted or trade for by the Brewers - making them one of the best teams and organization in the MLB !!!
Joshua Báez STL
He delivered an extraordinary, historic performance in his Major League Baseball debut, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
August 15 Stat Line
Line: 3-for-4, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R
Game Story:
1st At-Bat: Blasted the very first pitch he saw in the majors from Matthew Boyd an estimated 449 feet into the bleachers.
WKMG
2nd At-Bat: Hit a solo home run down the left-field line.
WKMG
3rd At-Bat: Drilled a third home run to the opposite field.
WKMG
4th At-Bat: Lined out to left field in the 8th inning to end his run.
Báez became the first player in modern Major League Baseball history to hit a home run in each of his first three at-bats.
Chase Burns CIN SP
Burns picked up his 14th win of the season in a 1–0 pitching duel against Sandy Alcantara. His mint gem performance stat line was as follows:
Innings Pitched (IP): 7.0
Hits (H): 4
Earned Runs (ER): 0
Walks (BB): 0
Strikeouts (K): 8
Whiffs: 13 (30.2% miss rate)
With his 14th victory, Burns pulls even with Sonny Gray for 2nd place in MLB wins, trailing only Philadelphia's Cristopher Sánchez (15). Cy Young candidate ???
Rafael Flores Jr. (C, # 43 Pittsburgh Pirates)
Backing Ashcraft's gem, Flores exploded late in the game with back-to-back three-run homers in the 8th and 9th innings to turn the contest into a 13-1 blowout.
Stat Line: 2-for-5 | 2 HR | 6 RBI | 2 R and threw out the speedy Ruiz at second for his first thrown out runner of the season, job well done ! 👍
Gunnar Henderson (BAL)
Went 3-for-3 with a 2-run home run (his 19th of the year) and made a stellar backhanded defensive play to power the Orioles past Minnesota. Stellar night on a disappointing season for himself and the rest of the O’s.
Jacob Wilson (SS, ATH)
Played his 111th consecutive errorless game at shortstop, breaking Mike Bordick's 2002 mark (110) for the longest errorless streak by a shortstop in MLB history. This incredible feat unfortunately going under the radar in the baseball community - think about all these greats that did not achieve this. Here are some names: Ozzie Smith (The Wizard of Oz), Mark Belanger (The Blade), Omar Vizquel, Cal Ripken Jr., & Luis Aparicio to name a few greats. Well done Jacob - keep it up.
Jac Caglianone (KC):
Went 4-for-4 with two home runs, two doubles, as the Royals defeated the Cubs 6-3. Lumber Jac is a rare two-way talent and elite power hitter. He played internationally, representing Team Italy in their amazing run in the World Baseball Series.
2026 Stat Line:
2.7WAR 20HR .264BA 51R 49RBI .482SLG
Future is looking good for Cags !
Payton Tolle (LHP, Boston Red Sox)
Delivered the performance of the night, striking out 14 batters while allowing just 1 run over 6.0 innings in a dominant 13-1 victory over the Athletics.
Season Number Line:
WAR 1.8 W 7 L 6 ERA 3.20 IP 107 K 125 WHIP 1.10
Future is looking bright for the Tolleman 😁
Pete Crow-Armstrong #4 CHC
Pete Crow-Armstrong was on fire yesterday, out duelling Shohei Ohtani … STAT Line - 3/5 …
2 HRs 4 RBIs and 2 Rs. His performance lead the Cubs with a 7–6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field. PCA’s WAR 7.3 leads the majors. To think about that the Mets could of had him patrolling CF but traded him away (July 30, 2021: Traded by the New York Mets to the Chicago Cubs for Javier Báez, Trevor Williams and cash). Cubs Win ! Cubs Win ! Plus one cool baseball card pic !
Troy Melton (DET)
Tossed 7.0 shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners, extending his scoreless streak to 14 consecutive innings and leading Detroit to an easy 8–0 victory.
He has established himself as a dominant starter in the Tigers' 2026 rotation, carrying a 7–1 record, a 1.58 ERA, and 64 strikeouts in 74.0 innings pitched over 12 starts. He’s been a breath of fresh air this season during the Skubal leaving affair.
Alec Burleson (1B, St. Louis Cardinals):
Delivered three 2 Run Dongers in St. Louis' 13–7 victory over the New York Yankees. He hit those 2-run homers in the 1st, 4th, and 8th innings to tally 6 RBIs
Here’s the rub though … those two-run home runs were off three different pitchers (Cam Schlittler, Tim Hill, and Angel Chivilli). What a night to remember !
Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas & Colson Montgomery (CHW): The Three Bad South Siders
The White Sox trio each homered in Tampa Bay—the fifth time this season all three have homered in the same game. What a combo !!!
A special shoutout goes to my sister’s boyfriend Steve B. 🇬🇷 who gave me this autographed picture of the great Bobby Orr for my birthday. In this photo with Orr you have the pride of Sault Ste. Marie … Phil Esposito and Hawk forward Germain Gagnon. Interestingly, it’s the two teams that Orr played with. Got of love those straight bladed Victoriaville hockey sticks. Thanks 🙏🏻 Steve !
Luis Arraez #1 SFG
Luis Arraez went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs, raising his MLB-leading batting average to .331 last night.
Stat Line: 4-for-5, 1 SB, 2 RBI, 1 R
The Giants best off season signing of 2026 - unfortunately he’ll be moved to a playoff bound team.
Francisco Lindor (SS, New York Mets)
Finally Lindor goes off hitting wise and by far the best game for him this year. He launched two home runs and a triple while driving in 6 RBIs to power the Mets to a 14–3 rout over the Atlanta Braves.
Jacob Misiorowski #32 MIL
He struck out 12 of the first 13 batters he faced, including his first 7 straight to break the franchise record for consecutive strikeouts to start a game. Throwing 66 pitches over 100 mph, Misiorowski set an MLB pitch-tracking record for 100+ mph pitches in a single game while lowering his MLB-best ERA to 1.58
ASM 39 … First John Romita Artwork; Norman Osbourne Revealed as The Green Goblin. August 10th, 1966. Glad it’s in my personal collection 👍