August 11th, 2025

⚾ Headlines Around the League

Brewers 7, Mets 6 — Collins’ First Career Walk-Off Completes Wild 5-Run Comeback for Ninth Straight Win

Blue Jays’ Late HR Surge, Rookie’s Ice-Cold Save Deny Dodgers Sweep

Padres 6, Red Sox 2 — Cease Shines as San Diego Tightens Playoff Grip

Raleigh Ties Bench with 45th Homer as Mariners Sweep Rays

Cardinals 3, Cubs 2 — Gray Dominates, Pagés Delivers as St. Louis Inches Closer in Wild Card Race

Astros 7, Yankees 1 — Altuve’s 250th Homer Fuels Houston’s Bronx Beatdown

What a weekend across MLB! There is a lot to cover from Sunday’s action, so let’s dive right in.

The Brewers just keep rolling, winning their ninth straight. The Mets jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but the Brew Crew rallied and got it done. Milwaukee is now 34-9 since June 19 and holds a 6-game division lead over the Cubs. Unreal what they have done over the last couple months.

On top of that, Isaac Collins has been on an absolute tear over his last 20 games, hitting .387 with nine extra-base hits and 17 RBIs. In my opinion, he’s now the front-runner for NL Rookie of the Year, though Drake Baldwin is still right there. Check out the walk-off homer he hit last night to seal it for the Brewers:

As for the Mets… yikes. They’ve dropped 11 of their last 12 and seven straight. For a team with supposed World Series aspirations after giving Juan Soto a massive deal, they look nowhere close to October-ready. The offense has been streaky at best, the starting pitching has been bad, and it’s all snowballing fast. I wouldn’t be shocked if they call up a rookie like Nolan McLean to start a game this week just to try and spark some life. They’ll have 3 at home vs. the Braves and 3 vs. the Mariners this week. The Mariners will be a tough series so hopefully they are able to take a few from Atlanta and get rolling.

Speaking of New York teams struggling… time for our daily Yankees hit piece. Another loss, this time with the Astros running them out of the Bronx on Sunday. In classic Boone fashion, he tried to fire up the boys by getting ejected for arguing balls and strikes and the hot mic caught a few choice words. Here’s the clip:

Lastly, a cool moment out of Seattle. The Mariners honored Ichiro this weekend, and on Sunday he threw out the first pitch to none other than Randy Johnson. Two Hall of Famers, two icons, sharing a moment. Check out the awesome and hilarious first pitch here:

Hope everyone has a great start to their week. Thanks for reading First Pitch
- Ryan

🔥 Notable Performances

Hitting

Pitching

📊 Final Scores and Highlights

Brewers 7, Mets 6

Milwaukee shrugged off a 5-0 deficit and a depleted lineup to sweep the Mets, winning their ninth in a row behind William Contreras’ two-homer night and Isaac Collins’ storybook walk-off blast.

🔑 Key Moments

• The Mets jumped ahead quickly when Juan Soto punched a sharp RBI single up the middle to bring home Francisco Lindor.

• Brett Baty added to the early cushion, turning on a pitch and launching a solo homer deep to left-center to make it 3-0.

• Cedric Mullins, in his first homer as a Met, lifted a high fly over the left-center wall, stretching the lead to 5-0 and quieting the crowd.

• William Contreras sparked the Brewers’ climb back with a solo homer to left, giving Milwaukee life in the fourth.

• Joey Ortiz kept the rally alive later in the inning, threading a two-out single past a diving Pete Alonso to plate two runs and trim the deficit to 5-3.

• Contreras struck again the next frame, this time sending a two-run shot to right to make it a one-run game and bring the stadium to its feet.

• With the Brewers down to their last four outs, Ortiz delivered again — a two-out, game-tying single through the right side, knotting it at 6-6.

• Collins, a Rule 5 pick turned breakout star, stepped in to lead off the ninth and crushed the first walk-off homer of his career to right, setting off a raucous celebration.

📊 Notable Stats

Brewers

• William Contreras: 3-for-4, 2 HR (11, 12), 2 R, 3 RBI

• Isaac Collins: 3-for-5, 2B, HR (8), 2 R, RBI

• Joey Ortiz: 2-for-4, 3 RBI

• DL Hall: 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Mets

• Juan Soto: 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB

• Pete Alonso: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R

• Brett Baty: 1-for-4, HR (12), R, RBI

• Cedric Mullins: 1-for-4, HR (16), R, RBI

Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 4

Toronto’s offense came alive late, erasing a one-run deficit with three clutch homers in the final two innings, before rookie Mason Fluharty stared down Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts to lock down his first career save and avoid a sweep.

🔑 Key Moments

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. put Toronto on the board early, ripping an RBI double to center that scored Bo Bichette and gave the Jays the first lead of the day.

• The Dodgers answered with star power of their own — Shohei Ohtani launched a no-doubt solo shot to right-center, and just two batters later Freddie Freeman followed with one of his own to swing the lead in LA’s favor.

• Ty France kept Toronto close in the sixth, dropping a soft RBI single into right field to cut the Dodgers’ advantage to 3-2.

• The eighth inning flipped the game — Guerrero Jr. crushed a 422-foot blast to center to tie it, and Addison Barger immediately followed with another homer to right-center to put the Jays ahead for the first time since the first inning.

• The Dodgers battled back, drawing a bases-loaded walk from Freddie Freeman to tie the game at 4-4 heading into the ninth.

• Ernie Clement wasted no time reclaiming the lead, smashing the first pitch he saw over the left-center wall for a go-ahead homer.

• The ninth inning brought peak drama — with the bases loaded and one out, rookie Mason Fluharty struck out Ohtani on nine pitches and got Betts to ground into a forceout to slam the door.

📊 Notable Stats

Blue Jays

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: 2-for-4, 2B, HR (19), 2 R, 2 RBI

• Addison Barger: 1-for-4, HR (18), R, RBI

• Ernie Clement: 1-for-4, HR (8), R, RBI

• Mason Fluharty: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K, 1st career save

Dodgers

• Shohei Ohtani: 2-for-4, HR (41), 2 BB, R, RBI, SB

• Freddie Freeman: 1-for-3, HR (14), 3 RBI, 2 BB

• Tyler Glasnow: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K

Padres 6, Red Sox 2

Dylan Cease delivered his sharpest outing in weeks, Luis Arraez drove in two, and the Padres’ bullpen slammed the door to secure a key win in their postseason chase.

🔑 Key Moments

• Luis Arraez broke the game open with a soaring two-run double to center, bringing home Freddy Fermin and Fernando Tatis Jr. as Petco Park erupted in approval.

• Fernando Tatis Jr. added to the cushion with a sharp RBI single to left, capping a relentless Padres rally before being cut down trying to stretch it into a double.

• With the Red Sox threatening in the seventh and the bases loaded, Jason Adam stepped in and fanned Ceddanne Rafaela, setting the tone for the escape.

• Adrian Morejon followed Adam’s lead, freezing Abraham Toro with a called third strike before blowing away Roman Anthony to leave the sacks full and the Red Sox deflated.

• Cease exited to a standing ovation after six dominant frames, his slider and fastball overpowering Boston hitters all afternoon.

📊 Notable Stats

San Diego Padres

• Dylan Cease: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

• Luis Arraez: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI

• Fernando Tatis Jr.: 2-for-3, RBI, BB, 2 R

Boston Red Sox

• Brayan Bello: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

• Wilyer Abreu: 2-for-4

• Trevor Story: 1-for-4, R

Mariners 6, Rays 3

On a weekend filled with tributes to Ichiro Suzuki, the Mariners took his message to “seize the moment” literally, jumping on the Rays with a four-run first inning and never looking back to complete their second straight sweep.

🔑 Key Moments

• The sold-out T-Mobile Park crowd was still buzzing from Ichiro’s pregame tribute when Cal Raleigh stepped up and delivered a thunderous two-run homer into the right-field seats, his MLB-leading 45th of the season, tying Johnny Bench for the second-most by a primary catcher in history.

• Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor reached right after Raleigh’s blast, and an aggressive double-steal attempt forced a balk, moving both into scoring position. Eugenio Suárez seized the moment, ripping a two-run single up the middle to make it 4-0 before the Rays recorded an out.

• Chandler Simpson tried to spark Tampa Bay with a leadoff triple in the third, eventually coming home to cut the deficit, but Bryan Woo stranded more traffic with back-to-back strikeouts to escape further trouble.

• Ha-Seong Kim’s solo homer in the fourth trimmed Seattle’s lead to one, but Woo bore down, retiring the next seven batters he faced to keep the momentum on the Mariners’ side.

• In the seventh, Naylor provided breathing room, crushing a line-drive solo shot to right in just his second game back from a shoulder issue.

• Dominic Canzone put the finishing touches on the win in the eighth, lacing an RBI single to right to push the lead to three and all but seal Seattle’s seventh straight victory.

📊 Notable Stats

Seattle Mariners

• Bryan Woo: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 K

• Cal Raleigh: 1-for-5, HR (45), 2 RBI, R

• Josh Naylor: 1-for-2, HR (15), RBI, 2 R, BB

• Eugenio Suárez: 1-for-4, 2 RBI

• Dominic Canzone: 2-for-4, RBI

Tampa Bay Rays

• Ha-Seong Kim: 2-for-3, HR (2), 2 RBI, BB

• Chandler Simpson: 2-for-5, 3B, 2B, R

• Adrian Houser: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

Cardinals 3, Cubs 2

Sonny Gray continued his role as the Cardinals’ ace and good-luck charm, delivering seven strong innings to help St. Louis edge the Cubs and move within 3 1/2 games of the final NL Wild Card spot. Pedro Pagés provided the big swing, and the Cards’ bullpen held off a tense ninth-inning rally to secure the series win.

🔑 Key Moments

• Pagés sets the tone early — In the third inning, Pedro Pagés jumped on a pitch from Shota Imanaga and crushed a two-run homer to left-center, giving Gray a cushion to work with and energizing the Busch Stadium crowd.

• Shaw answers for Chicago — Matt Shaw brought the Cubs back even in the fifth, launching a two-run shot that knotted the game at 2-2 and briefly shifted momentum.

• Gorman’s clutch knock — With two outs in the seventh, Nolan Gorman lined a single to right, scoring Jordan Walker to put the Cardinals back in front for good.

• Cubs threaten late — Chicago loaded up pressure in the ninth with two singles, but a perfect throw from Pagés cut down Jon Berti trying to steal second, stalling the rally.

• Romero slams the door — JoJo Romero battled through the final outs, inducing a force play to end the game and lock down his eighth save of the season.

📊 Notable Stats

St. Louis Cardinals

• Sonny Gray: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 7 K

• Pedro Pagés: 1-for-3, HR (8), 2 RBI

• Nolan Gorman: 1-for-3, RBI single

Chicago Cubs

• Matt Shaw: 1-for-4, HR (9), 2 RBI

• Dansby Swanson: 2-for-4, R

• Shota Imanaga: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K

Astros 7, Yankees 1

Jose Altuve made Yankee Stadium his personal milestone stage, crushing his 250th career homer on the game’s fourth pitch to spark Houston’s 7-1 win in the series finale. Jason Alexander carried a no-hitter into the sixth and allowed just one hit over six dominant innings as the Astros wrapped a nine-game road trip on a high note.

🔑 Key Moments

• Altuve wastes no time making history — With boos raining down from the Bronx crowd, Jose Altuve jumped on the first pitch he saw and launched it over the left-field wall, notching his 250th career homer and silencing Yankee Stadium just four pitches into the game.

• Walker doubles the damage — In the third inning, Christian Walker ripped a two-out double to center, bringing Altuve around from first to give Houston a 2-0 cushion.

• Smith breaks it open — Facing a full count with two outs in the fifth, Cam Smith delivered a clutch liner to right for a two-run double, scoring Carlos Correa and Walker to make it 4-0 Astros.

• Correa adds the exclamation point — Leading off the ninth, Carlos Correa crushed a solo homer to left, stretching Houston’s lead to 5-1 and sealing the Yankees’ fate.

• Alexander’s gem sets the tone — Jason Alexander flirted with history, holding the Yankees hitless into the sixth and finishing with one hit allowed over six innings, guiding Houston to its 66th win of the season.

📊 Notable Stats

Houston Astros

• Jose Altuve: 2-for-3, HR (21), 3 R, RBI, 2 BB

• Christian Walker: 3-for-4, 2 2B, R, RBI, BB

• Cam Smith: 1-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI

• Jason Alexander: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K

New York Yankees

• Jazz Chisholm Jr.: 1-for-4, R

• Ben Rice: 1-for-3, BB

• Max Fried: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Other scores around the league:

Twins 5, Royals 3
R. Bergert KC P: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 8 SO, 1 BB
M. Tonkin MIN P: 2.0 IP, 2 SO, 2 BB

Athletics 3, Orioles 2
C. Povich BAL P: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 SO, 3 BB
E. Alvarado ATH P: 1.2 IP, 2 SO, 2 BB

Reds 14, Pirates 8
N. Marte CIN RF: 3-5, 3 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI
S. Steer CIN 1B: 3-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI

Braves 7, Marlins 1
J. Wentz ATL P: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 SO, 3 BB
M. Olson ATL 1B: 2-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Tigers 9, Angels 5
C. Mize DET P: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 SO, 2 BB
K. Carpenter DET RF: 2-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI

White Sox 6, Guardians 4
D. Martin CHW P: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 SO, 3 BB
K. Manzardo CLE 1B: 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI

Phillies 4, Rangers 2
Z. Wheeler PHI P: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 7 SO, 3 BB
J. Duran PHI P: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO

Nationals 8, Giants 0 (THE GIANTS ARE SO BAD)
M. Gore WAS P: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 10 SO, 1 BB
C. Abrams WAS SS: 2-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Diamondbacks 13, Rockies 6
A. Del Castillo ARI DH: 3-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
B. Pfaadt ARI P: 5.0 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 2 SO

Like this newsletter? Help us keep the content free by sharing our newsletter and supporting our sponsors.

Thanks for reading!