August 12th, 2025

⚾ Headlines Around the League

Astros 7, Red Sox 6 — Javier Shines in Return, McCormick & Urías Go Deep as Houston Holds On

Brewers 7, Pirates 1 — Milwaukee Notches Second 10-Game Win Streak of Season

Rangers 7, Diamondbacks 6 (F/10) — Texas Erases Five-Run Deficit, Wins on Jake Burger’s Pinch-Hit Walk-Off

Yankees 6, Twins 2 — Warren’s Gem and Four Solo Homers Fuel Bronx Bounce-Back

New-Look Padres Keep Rolling, Close in on NL West Lead

Happy Tuesday!

MLB just dropped their updated Top 100 and Team Top 30 prospect rankings. I love when this happens because I am a total baseball nerd heart. If you’re into tracking the game’s future stars, you can check those out here:

The main story from Monday was the Brewers staying red hot, winning their 10th straight. This is their second double-digit win streak of the season. Tomorrow we get a must-watch matchup: Freddy Peralta vs. Paul Skenes as Milwaukee goes for 11 in a row. Should be a fantastic game.

Over in Houston, we got two big homecomings. First up was Alex Bregman, back in his old stomping grounds for the first time since joining the Red Sox. And of course, he wasted no time making an impact, ripping a two-run shot into the Crawford Boxes in his first at-bat. His next trip to the plate? Booed like no tomorrow. Check out the return and homerun here:

Then came Carlos Correa’s return, and this one was special. I’m a sucker for great fan/stadium moments, and this absolutely delivered.

Out west, the Giants… yeah, I don’t even know what to say anymore. They can’t pitch, they can’t hit, and they’re in full-on second-half collapse mode. Classic.

Meanwhile, the Padres are rolling and have now closed the NL West gap to just one game behind the Dodgers. And with the Giants now below .500, San Diego will probably take the rest of this series without breaking a sweat.

Oh, and do yourself a favor, watch Mason Miller’s stuff from last night. I have no idea how anyone is supposed to hit that.

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday and thanks for reading First Pitch!
- Ryan

🔥 Notable Performances

Hitting

Pitching

📊 Final Scores and Highlights

Astros 7, Red Sox 6

Cristian Javier’s first start since Tommy John surgery was backed by big swings from Chas McCormick and Ramón Urías as the Astros edged the Red Sox in an emotional night at Daikin Park. Alex Bregman’s homecoming blast gave Boston an early lead, but Houston’s middle innings power surge and a gritty bullpen effort sealed the win.

🔑 Key Moments

• Bregman makes instant noise in return — The former Astro was greeted warmly by the crowd before sending a towering two-run shot to left in the first inning, giving Boston the early edge and quieting the Houston dugout.

• Correa strikes back in first game back — Carlos Correa, returning to Houston as an Astro for the first time since the trade, punched an RBI single through the right side in the third to get Houston on the board.

• Walker flips the score — Moments later, Christian Walker laced a two-run double into center, scoring Correa and Jeremy Peña to put the Astros in front for good.

• McCormick’s long-awaited blast — In the fourth, Chas McCormick unloaded on a pitch for his first homer in nearly a year, a no-doubt two-run shot to left-center that pushed the lead to 5-2.

• Urías joins the party — Ramón Urías added another jolt an inning later, hammering a two-run homer to make it 7-2 and cap Houston’s three-inning offensive burst.

• Boston battles back — Abraham Toro’s solo homer in the seventh was followed by Roman Anthony’s two-run blast, slicing the Astros’ lead to one and putting the tying run on deck.

• Sousa slams the door — With the dangerous Anthony back up in the ninth and the go-ahead run at the plate, Bennett Sousa struck him out swinging to end the game and secure the save.

📊 Notable Stats

Houston Astros

• Cristian Javier: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR

• Ramón Urías: 3-for-4, 2B, HR (9), 2 R, 2 RBI

• Chas McCormick: 1-for-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, R

• Christian Walker: 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R

Boston Red Sox

• Roman Anthony: 2-for-5, HR (3), 2 R, 2 RBI

• Alex Bregman: 2-for-4, HR (15), 2 RBI, R

• Abraham Toro: 1-for-3, HR (7), RBI, R

Brewers 7, Pirates 1

Milwaukee kept its foot on the gas Monday, rolling past Pittsburgh to reach 30 games over .500 and become just the 10th team in the Divisional Era with multiple double-digit win streaks in a single season. Jose Quintana dealt six strong innings, Christian Yelich and Brice Turang went deep, and a relentless offense piled on with timely hits and small-ball execution.

🔑 Key Moments

• Brice Turang wasted no time setting the tone, crushing his first career leadoff homer to dead center and sending American Family Field into an early frenzy.

• Joey Bart briefly pulled Pittsburgh even with a solo shot in the third, but the tie didn’t last long.

• Christian Yelich answered in the bottom half, launching a towering solo blast to center for his 22nd of the year, putting Milwaukee right back in front.

• With two outs in the inning, the Brewers strung together four straight singles — capped by RBI knocks from Sal Frelick and Brandon Lockridge — to stretch the lead to 4-1.

• Isaac Collins kept the momentum rolling in the sixth, ripping an RBI triple down the right-field line after it deflected off the first baseman’s glove, padding the cushion to 6-1.

• Andrew Vaughn caught the Pirates off guard with a surprise squeeze bunt in the fourth, perfectly rolling it past the mound to bring home another run.

• Jose Quintana held the Pirates to just three hits and one run over six innings before the bullpen shut the door with three hitless frames.

📊 Notable Stats

Milwaukee Brewers

• Jose Quintana: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, HR

• Brice Turang: 1-for-4, HR (11), RBI, BB

• Christian Yelich: 2-for-4, HR (22), RBI, R

• Isaac Collins: 2-for-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R

• Sal Frelick: 1-for-4, RBI, R

• Brandon Lockridge: 1-for-4, RBI, R

Pittsburgh Pirates

• Joey Bart: 1-for-3, HR (2), RBI, R

• Bryan Reynolds: 1-for-4, 2B

• Jared Triolo: 1-for-3

Rangers 7, Diamondbacks 6

The Rangers flipped the script Monday night at Globe Life Field, rallying from their largest deficit of the season to stun Arizona in extras. Nathan Eovaldi, usually untouchable, was roughed up for five runs, but the Texas bats roared to life behind Wyatt Langford’s long-awaited blast, Rowdy Tellez’s late-game heroics, and Jake Burger’s pinch-hit dagger.

🔑 Key Moments

• Tyler Locklear started Arizona’s power parade, drilling a solo homer to left that gave the D-backs an early lead and quieted the crowd.

• Corbin Carroll kept the momentum rolling, smashing a two-run homer before Geraldo Perdomo followed with one of his own in back-to-back fashion, putting Texas in a 5-0 hole by the third inning.

• Blaze Alexander’s sixth-inning laser seemed to bury the Rangers further, stretching the deficit to 6-1 and pushing win probability firmly in Arizona’s favor.

• With the game slipping away, Wyatt Langford unloaded on a 107.7 mph three-run homer — his first in a month — to cut the gap to 6-5 and ignite the comeback.

• In the ninth, Rowdy Tellez crushed a 413-foot solo blast, his sixth career game-tying homer in the ninth inning or later, to even things at 6-6.

• The bullpen delivered shutdown innings, giving the offense one last shot in extras.

• In the 10th, Jake Burger — in his first pinch-hit at-bat since joining Texas — lined a single to left, scoring Sam Haggerty and sealing the walk-off win.

📊 Notable Stats

Texas Rangers

• Wyatt Langford: 1-for-4, HR (16), 3 RBI, R

• Rowdy Tellez: 1-for-4, HR (13), RBI, R

• Jake Burger: 1-for-1, RBI (walk-off)

• Corey Seager: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB

• Nathan Eovaldi: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3 HR

Arizona Diamondbacks

• Tyler Locklear: 2-for-5, HR (2), RBI, R

• Corbin Carroll: 2-for-5, HR (26), 2 RBI, R

• Geraldo Perdomo: 2-for-5, HR (12), 2 RBI, R

• Blaze Alexander: 1-for-4, HR (3), RBI, R

Yankees 6, Twins 2

The Yankees snapped out of their recent funk with a complete performance at Yankee Stadium, leaning on Will Warren’s dominant start and a barrage of solo home runs to handle the Twins for their eighth straight win in the matchup.

🔑 Key Moments

• In the opening frame, Cody Bellinger set the tone by launching a solo homer to right-center, giving the Yankees an early lead and energizing the crowd.

• Two innings later, Giancarlo Stanton crushed a center-field blast for his 440th career homer, tying Jason Giambi on the all-time list and extending the lead.

• On the very next swing, Ben Rice followed with a no-doubt shot to right, marking back-to-back jacks and pushing the Yankees up 3-0.

• The Twins finally broke through when Byron Buxton sent a solo shot to left-center in the sixth, but Warren kept them in check.

• Trevor Larnach added another solo homer for Minnesota in the seventh, trimming the deficit to one.

• The Yankees answered immediately in the bottom half as Trent Grisham lined an RBI single and Aaron Judge punched another to left, stretching the lead to 5-2.

• Jazz Chisholm Jr. put the exclamation point on the night with a towering solo homer to right-center in the eighth.

• David Bednar closed the door with a clean ninth to seal the bounce-back win.

📊 Notable Stats

New York Yankees

• Cody Bellinger: 1-for-4, HR (21), RBI, R

• Giancarlo Stanton: 2-for-4, HR (11), RBI, R

• Ben Rice: 2-for-4, HR (17), RBI, R

• Jazz Chisholm Jr.: 1-for-3, HR (20), RBI, R, SB (15)

• Will Warren: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 2 HR

Minnesota Twins

• Byron Buxton: 1-for-4, HR (24), RBI, R

• Trevor Larnach: 1-for-3, HR (16), RBI, R

Padres 4, Giants 1

The Padres closed the gap in the division race to just one game behind the Dodgers, riding strong pitching from Yu Darvish and key hits from the bottom of the order — including a go-ahead swing from Freddy Fermin in the seventh.

🔑 Key Moments

• Jackson Merrill broke the scoreless deadlock with a rope to right, his double plating Fernando Tatis Jr. and pushing Manny Machado to third.

• The Giants answered quickly when Rafael Devers crushed a no-doubt solo shot to left-center, tying things at 1 and waking up the Oracle Park crowd.

• Gavin Sheets opened the seventh with a double, and Jake Cronenworth followed by bouncing a single through the right side to push San Diego back in front.

• On the very next pitch, Freddy Fermin turned on a fastball and sent it screaming over the left-field wall for a two-run homer — his first as a Padre — stretching the lead to 4-1.

• With the game in lockdown mode, Jeremiah Estrada, Mason Miller, and Robert Suarez combined for three spotless innings, Miller striking out the side in a dominant eighth.

📊 Notable Stats

Padres

• Yu Darvish: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR

• Jackson Merrill: 3-for-4, 2B, RBI

• Freddy Fermin: 1-for-4, HR (4), 2 RBI

• Jake Cronenworth: 1-for-4, RBI

Giants

• Rafael Devers: 1-for-4, HR (23), RBI

• Logan Webb: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR

Other scores around the league:

Phillies 4, Reds 1
T. Walker: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 SO, 1 BB
A. Abbott: 7.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 6 SO

Tigers 2, White Sox 1
C. Paddack: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 SO, 1 BB
T. Alexander: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 5 SO, 1 BB

Royals 7, Nationals 4
C. Estevez: 1.0 IP, 1 BB
S. Perez: 2-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Cardinals 3, Rockies 2
M. Mikolas: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 SO, 1 BB
K. Leahy: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 2 SO

Angels 7, Dodgers 4
J. Soriano: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 6 SO, 2 BB
Z. Neto: 3-3, 3 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI

Rays 7, Athletics 4
R. Pepiot: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 SO, 2 BB
J. Caminero: 3-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI

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