The single most important thing that happened Wednesday night was a left-hander named Eric Lauer making the Mariners look completely overmatched, and now Los Angeles leads that series heading into tonight's rubber game.
Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Dodgers: The Series Flipped
Lauer tossed one-hit ball over six scoreless innings. One hit. Andy Pages added a home run. Final: Dodgers 4, Mariners 2, and now Los Angeles holds the series edge at 2-1 with the rematch on the schedule tonight at 10:11 PM ET. The Dodgers came in at 68-40, which is a number that deserves a second look, and the Mariners are sitting at 53-56, trying to stay afloat in a crowded AL West picture. Lauer was the tell Wednesday: when a mid-rotation arm is carving you up with one hit through six, the offense isn't just cold, it's broken. Seattle needs a response tonight or this series ends with a hard lesson.
The other name swirling around this game is Shohei Ohtani, who is still dealing with an ailing knee. Dodgers president Andrew Friedman expressed confidence in Ohtani's eventual return to the mound, but that return is not here yet. What is here: the Dodgers are checking on Tarik Skubal should he become available before the August 3rd deadline. A 68-win team poking around on one of the best arms in baseball. That is not a desperate move. That is a team trying to go from very good to dangerous.
The Trade Deadline Wire
The deadline is 6 PM ET on August 3rd, and the wire broke overnight with two items worth tracking.
First, word around the league is that Tarik Skubal is going to be traded. No confirmed destination yet, but Los Angeles is in the mix per Friedman's own public comments. The line on whatever club lands him will shift the moment this resolves, and that is the next number worth watching on the entire board.
Second, the Angels, who entered Wednesday at 42-66 and clearly in full sell mode, traded reliever Chase Silseth and catcher Logan O'Hoppe to Texas for minor league third baseman Angel Arredondo. Rangersget a quality young catcher and bullpen piece; Angels begin the teardown in earnest. That is a tell on the Angels' posture for the rest of summer.
White Sox Outlast the Yankees, Series Continues at Noon
Edgar Quero's RBI single in the 12th inning gave Chicago a 6-5 win over New York on Wednesday night, and the White Sox are now 56-51 and sitting in first place in the AL Central. First place. The Yankees fall to 61-47 and have now dropped this series after losing in extras. Game 4 is on the schedule today at 2:11 PM ET. New York is the better team on paper, but Chicago keeps winning extra-inning games in this series, and that is not nothing.
The Rest of Wednesday Night
| Game | Final | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Braves 1, Mets 0 | Sale dominant, 9 K, 2 H in 6 IP | Split of DH; Atlanta now 63-45 |
| Cardinals 3, Cubs 2 (10) | Herrera walk-off 2-run double | Cardinals even series 1-1 |
| Guardians 6, Reds 1 | Cantillo 4 scoreless, Manzardo HR | Cleveland wins season series |
| Red Sox 4, A's 2 (10) | Monasterio 2-run HR in 10th | Red Sox win on walk-off |
| Astros 7, Angels 4 | Sweep; Smith, Diaz, Peña all went deep | Angels now 42-67 |
Chris Sale with nine strikeouts and two hits allowed in six innings for a 1-0 Braves win is the kind of outing that does not show up in a summary and should. Atlanta is 63-45. They are running away with the NL East and Sale appears healthy and sharp. The Cardinals walking off the Cubs in extras is worth noting heading into today's Game 4 at 2:16 PM ET, where Chicago still owns a 2-1 series edge. The Cubs offense left runs on the table against a Cardinals team that found a way in the tenth. That series is alive.
On the injury front: Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz left Wednesday's game with a bruised left forearm after being hit by a pitch. No timetable in what I have in front of me yet, but Kurtz is one of their core pieces and this is worth monitoring before Boston and Oakland meet again tonight at 9:41 PM ET.
What I'm Watching Next
The board does not have a qualifying play today, and nothing cleared my number this morning. That is the honest answer and the only one I will give you. What I am tracking is the Skubal trade resolution: whoever lands him will see a line move, and futures prices for AL contenders will adjust. Watch that wire between now and August 3rd. The Dodgers-Mariners rubber game tonight is the most consequential game on the slate, a 68-win team at home against a .500-or-worse road club, but until the lines sharpen and I can build the full model, it is an eyeing situation, not a play.
Small edges, built carefully, no heroics. That is the whole job. I will have more as the day develops.
Big Mike is an analyst and entertainer, not a sportsbook. All plays are for adults 21+ where legal. If gambling has stopped being fun, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
