Continuing Coverage of Major League Baseball (MLB)

August 1, 2026 MLB Players of the Day

American League

Randy Aronzarena went 2-for-4, with a solo homer and a ninth-inning double that resulted in him scoring the game-winner in a 4-3 Mariners’ win over visiting Minnesota Saturday.

Arozarena walked in the first inning and scored the second of Seattle’s four runs, adding a second-inning homer before capping the night off with his 23rd double of the season.

Seattle evened the series with the rubber match Sunday. Both teams are three games back in their respective divisions.

AL Streaks: Astros, won 5; Angels, lost 5.

National League

In a battle of bottom-dwellers, the Rockies took a second straight home field win from the Royals, thanks to a pair of home runs from catcher Hunter Goodman who went 4-for-5 with five RBI in a 12-6 Colorado win.

With the August 3 trade deadline looming, Goodman would appear to be on the want lists of most of the contenders. A catcher who hits right-handed, with power, Goodman’s 33 homers is tied with Philly’s Kyle Schwarber for the league lead. He may not be wearing a Rockies’ uniform for long.

In a blockbuster trade deal, the La Dodgers secured Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers, sending pitcher River Ryan and a pair of minor league prospects, Brady Smith and Zyhir Hope, to the Tigers.

NL Streaks: Diamondbacks, Braves, won 4; Nationals, lost 4.

July 31, 2026 MLB Players of the Day

American League

Dillon Dingler’s eighth inning grand slam capped off a seven-run frame for the Tigers Friday, leading to a blowout, 13-1 victory for Detroit over the A’s at Heath Sutter Park in Sacramento, California.

While Dingler’s big blow - his first career grand slam - was one for the highlight reels, the Tigers have reason to believe they will be in the wild card and/or the AL Central race for the rest of the season. That means speculation over the immediate future of ace hurler, Tarik Skubal, may come to an abrupt end at the trading deadline on August 3rd.

The rationale for the Tigers remaining competitive is that they recently welcomed Javier Baez back from injury. Baez had been missing since the end of April. Having his bat back in the lineup is a major development. Since his return three games ago, he’s batting .571 (8-for-14) with five RBI, three of them coming in Friday’s win over the A’s.

Friday’s debut of rookie Matt Clark was impressive, as the highly-touted outfielder went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI. Barring injury, and a healthy Skubal, the Tigers appear poised to make a run at the division crown or the wild card, where they trail by 3 1/2 games for the final spot.

While the Tigers are still 6 1/2 out in the AL Central, they will have plenty of opportunities over the final 50 games of the season, with seven games each against the Guardians and White Sox, and six against Minnesota. A sweep of the stumbling A’s over the weekend would go a long way toward the Tigers remaining a serious contender in the AL while putting to rest trade deals for Skubal.

ESPN gives Skubal a 90% chance of being traded to either the Dodgers, Braves, Brewers, Cubs, Phillies or Rays. Detroit’s front office - to say nothing of the players on the field - might have other ideas.

AL Streaks: Astros, won 4; Angels, lost 4.

National League

With their fourth straight loss, Pittsburgh’s season may be coming to an early end.

Sal Stewart crushed a two-run homer in the fourth inning and singled home two more runs in the eighth before scoring the game-winner in an 8-7 Cincinnati win over the visiting Pirates Friday night. Stewart has 23 home runs on the season and leads the majors with 84 RBI.

Pittsburgh fell to 2 1/2 games off the last wild card spot and may be either a buyer or seller heading into the trade deadline. It’s hard to tell. A total of eight teams remain in the hunt for the second and third wild card. The Cubs, +5 in the standings, seem to have the #1 spot sewn up. Even the Reds, in last place in the NL Central, are just two games behind Pittsburgh, so the outcome of their weekend series, with games Saturday and Sunday, may be a determining factor for both.

The Reds have taken the first two games.

NL Streaks: Braves, Diamondbacks, won 3; Phillies, Pirates, lost 4.