FREE! THURSDAY AUGUST 6

FROM THE BILL CHUCK FILES

The season ends on September 27.

There are CC Sabathia #52 days of play remaining

THE RED SOX KEEP WINNING

I admit it, I know nothing about baseball. I thought I did. You thought I did. But it turns out that I don’t. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how the Red Sox have turned their season around to this degree.

On June 24, the Sox were 32-46, comfortably mired in fifth place in the AL East. They had been outscored by 7 runs by their opponents. They trailed the first-place Yankees (48-31) by 15.5 games. The Yanks had outscored their opponents by 113 runs.

Since then, Boston is 30-6, the best record in baseball. They have outscored their opponents by 81 runs. They are in third place. They trail the second-place Yankees, who have gone 17-20 over this stretch and been outscored by 30 runs, by one game. They are tied in the loss column.

In the AL East, the Yankees are 64-51 and are 4.5 games behind Tampa, which is 68-46. The Red Sox are 62-51 and are 5.5 games behind Tampa.

In the AL Wild Card hunt, the Yankees are tops and lead the Guardians and Rangers, who are both 57-58. The Red Sox are the number two seed, a game behind New York, and are 6.0 games ahead of Cleveland and Texas, who are tied for the third seed. Lurking behind them are the Orioles, who are 56-58, tied in the loss column with Cleveland and Texas and just a half-game behind them. The Twins and Mariners are both 56-59. They are one game behind Cleveland and Texas. Wait, I’m not done with under .500 teams still very much in the hunt. The Tigers are 55-59, a half game behind the Twins and Mariners and 1.5 games behind Cleveland and Texas. Even the defending AL champion Blue Jays are still alive. They are 54-61, three games behind the Guardians and Rangers in the loss column. And in case you’ve gotten lost in all this, the Guardians and Rangers are tied for a Wild Card spot right now.

Those are the facts. How the Red Sox turned their season around, turned the American League around, turned baseball around is beyond me. I clearly know nothing about baseball. Go ask someone smart. Ask someone who has graduated from Yale and majored in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. Go ask Craig Breslow, the “smartest man in baseball.”

THE DODGERS HAVE LOST SIX IN A ROW

The Dodgers have lost 6 in a row for the first time since they lost 7 last July. You don’t need to worry; they are safely ensconced in first place in the NL West. Their 8.0 game lead over Arizona is the second-largest divisional lead in baseball. The Braves lead the Phillies in the NL East by 8.5 games. Their magic number to clinch the division is 40.

They have the third-best record in baseball, 2.5 games and three in the loss column behind the Brewers, who are 71-43.

However, and this is a big however, they are now a half game behind the Braves, who have won seven in a row and at 69-45 are tied in the loss column with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have the third-best record in baseball, the third-best record in the NL, and when it comes to first-round postseason byes, two is company, three is a crowd. If you finish third in the league standings, you play the second-seeded Wild Card team in an opening round. That means increasing your chances of elimination and using more pitchers.

So even though the Dodgers seem inevitable for the postseason, positioning matters, and the Dodgers’ losing games matter. While the Dodgers have gone 4-8 in their last 12 games, the Braves have gone 9-3 (the Padres have as well), and picked up five games on Los Angeles. That’s a lot in less than two weeks.

To be honest, the Dodgers’ losing streak really doesn’t matter. And while I’m sure they don’t like losing, quite frankly, they just want to get through the remaining 47 regular season games injury-free.

Tuesday night was an important night for this team and not just because it was the debut of their newly acquired ace, Tarik Skubal, who did what the Dodgers expected from him. He threw a 6.0 IP Quality Start, allowing 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and a Dansby Swanson homer. He threw 85 pitches, 51 for strikes. He had retired eight Cubs in a row before a one-out walk to Seiya Suzuki. Bregman then doubled over the head of Kyle Tucker, who looked like he misplayed the ball. With two down, Bregman scored the deciding run of the game on a Baltimore chop. It was a bad-luck run scored against Skubal.

More importantly that night, Blake Snell went 3.2 IP for Oklahoma City and wasn’t sharp in his fourth rehab start. He threw 73 pitches (41 strikes), struck out three, walked four, and allowed three runs on five hits, including two homers.

Additionally, another key member of their staff, righty Tyler Glasnow, who has been on the IL since May, completed two scoreless innings with Single-A Ontario. He threw just 16 pitches (12 strikes) and threw another simulated inning in the bullpen to get closer to the planned pitch count of 30. Glasnow struck out one and allowed one hit. He should have three rehab starts remaining to reach the Dodgers’ preferred five innings and 75 pitches. His next start is likely to take place on Sunday. The game against Ontario featured rehabbing Padres Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta on the other side.

The Dodgers’ goal is to have a healthy postseason rotation of: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the 2025 World Series MVP; Tarik Skubal, the two-time Cy Young Award winner; Blake Snell, the two-time Cy Young Award winner; and Shohei Ohtani or Tyler Glasnow, Justin Wrobleski, or Eric Lauer.

While everyone else may have been scrambling at the trade deadline for bullpen help, the Dodgers have whoever is not their fourth starter, plus Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Edgardo Henriquez, and closer Edwin Diaz. Other choices include Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart, or Kyle Hurt. Teams can only carry 12 pitchers, but the Dodgers get a 13th due to Ohtani’s dual status.

But it is not just the key injuries to pitchers (and that includes Ohtani’s troublesome knee) the Dodgers are following.

Since June 6, the Dodgers are 28-23 (.549). They are hitting .262, which is also what they are hitting on the season, which leads the NL. They are scoring about five runs a game, very close to their season average. However, through June 5, their team ERA was 3.03, the best in the NL, allowing 2.97 runs per game. Since June 6, their team ERA has been 4.64, 12th in the NL, allowing 4.84 runs per game.

This time, I can tell you what has happened. June 5 was the last game that catcher Will Smith played due to an inflamed disc in his neck. The Dodgers are 30-18 when Smith catches. They have a .204 BAA when he is behind the plate. Manager Dave Roberts estimates Smith needs three to four more weeks of ramping up and a rehab assignment before returning, targeting a late August return.

Dalton Rushing had been Smith’s backup this season. The Dodgers are 36-23 when Rushing catches. They have a .222 BAA when he is behind the plate. Rushing has a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right throwing elbow. His chances of catching again this season are considered very unlikely.

To manage the catching shortage, the Dodgers acquired catchers Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia at the deadline. Both have had prior stints with the Dodgers, so there is familiarity with the team and some of the pitchers, but the dropoff between these two and Smith and Rushing is significant. I only know that because I went to the Billy-Ball bullpen and checked with Jason Starrett, who is my personal Mason Miller, coming up the critical saves. Take a look:

What was terrifying for the Dodgers was that yesterday Freddie Freeman left the game in the 5th inning after fouling a pitch off the knob of his bat, which made contact with his hand/wrist. Post-game X-rays confirmed no fractures or structural damage, and he is expected to play tomorrow against Arizona.

LEADING BATTERS SINCE THE ALL-STAR BREAK

THE BRAVES HAVE WON SEVEN IN A ROW

The Braves picked up their season-high seventh straight win last night at Truist Park, beating the Marlins. The Braves have won five out of six series since the All-Star Game. I’m a little less excited about this streak since the Braves’ victims have been the Mets, Nationals, and Marlins, but you gotta beat the teams you gotta beat, and the Braves have done that.

Since the end of June, which was a miserable month for them going 9-14, the Braves have the best record in the NL.

TEAMS THAT HAVE PLAYED .600+ BASEBALL SINCE JULY 1

THE CUBS ARE REALLY GOOD

I don’t bet. I don’t really root for a team. I just love finding good stories for Billy-Ball. But I have seen a number of very good teams recently, and I'm most impressed with the Cubs.

Yesterday, the Cubs completed a three-game sweep of the Dodgers.

THE CUBS HAD A VERY PRODUCTIVE DEADLINE

At the All-Star break, the Cubs’ rotation consisted of Colin Rea, Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon and David Peterson. They added a pair of two-time All-Star right-handers, Clay Holmes and Kevin Gausman, and lefty Braxton Garrett. They also have Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown on the injured list. Using the Dodgers as a model, the Cubs hope to use some of their surplus starters in relief roles in the postseason. They also added outfielder Tyrone Taylor from the Mets.

The Cubs are the No. 1-seeded Wild Card team. At 66-49, they trail the Brewers (71-43) by 5.5 games in the NL Central. Their outstanding play isn't recent. Over the last 63 games, the Cubs are 37-26, just like the Dodgers. Only the Brewers have a better record in the NL (39-23).

Over the 115 games the Cubs have played, they are tied for the MLB lead with the Dodgers in OBP at .339. They lead the majors with 494 walks. Last season, through 115 games, they had 386 walks. I attribute the improvement in part to the addition of Alex Bregman. No, he doesn’t have a hundred walks on his own, but he does work with the young players on the Cubs.

Shortly after signing, he requested reports on his new teammates from the Cubs’ front office and met with player‑development staff to understand organizational philosophy and where he could help. Jed Hoyer noted that Bregman “does it in the right way” rather than overstepping coaches.

Bregman seems to have been a difference-maker for Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is having an MVP season. Cubs manager Craig Counsell has credited Bregman’s conversations with PCA as part of why Crow-Armstrong’s plate discipline against left-handed pitching. PCA is hitting .302 against lefties this season, with a .419 OBP and a .937 OPS. Last season at this time (through 115 games), Crow-Armstrong was hitting .193 against lefties, with a .222 OBP and a .636 OPS.

PCA keeps bringing up Bregman in his newfound approach regarding thinking through first‑pitch breaking balls, game situations, and when not to chase even when something “looks good.”

In the just-completed three-game sweep of the Dodgers, we got to see PCA vs. Shohei Ohtani go head-to-head in their NL MVP battle. Here’s how they did:

FYI

Yesterday, the Braves first baseman Matt Olson played in his 896th consecutive game, breaking a tie with Stan Musial for the eighth-longest run on MLB’s career list. His next target is Joe Sewell, who played 1103 games in a row.

According to our friends at Elias Sports, the Red Sox have now won nine consecutive series, their longest streak in 114 years, dating back to Aug. 4-Sept. 15, 1912.

According to my friend Jayson Stark, the Red Sox's first 30 wins took 73 games; their last 30 wins took 35 games.

According to the great Sarah Langs, Jefry Yan threw 5 pitches at 100.0+ mph, topping out at 101.1 mph. He’s the first Mets pitcher to throw a 100+ mph pitch this season.

According to the brilliant Katie Sharp, Yankees homers on a 0-2 count this season consist of Ben Rice (June 21 vs CIN) and George Lombard Jr. (Aug 4 vs STL).

According to @NumbersMLB, the Mariners RHP Seranthony Domínguez and the White Sox RHP Luis Castillo have the rare distinction of taking the jersey number of the player for whom they were traded AND having it be the same jersey number

AND THEN THERE’S THIS

Good luck to one of the greats in the booth.

SEINFELD INSTEAD OF GREEN DAY

Rather than showing you Green Day singing, this is way more fun.