Talkin' Baseball (MLB Podcast) - Red Sox Historic Winning In The Most Insane MLB Season

Episode Date: August 7, 2026

Shop Back to School at Amazon – and spend less on your kids!  https://www.amazon.com/backtoschool Use our code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/TALKIN2026 . Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount Try Gusto and get three months free when you run your first payroll: http://gusto.com/TALKIN #ad Protect your family with life insurance through Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/talkin. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. https://fanaticsmarkets.onelink.me/3MFw?pid=jomboy&af_dp=fanmarkets%3A%2F%2Fhomepage&af_channel=partnerships&c=jomboy_fmx&af_ad=youtube&af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Ffanaticsmarkets.com%2F%3Fpid%3Djomboy%26c%3Djomboy_fmx%26af_ad%3Dyoutube%26utm_source%3Djomboy%26utm_medium%3Dreferral%26utm_campaign%3Djomboy_fmx%26utm_content%3Dyoutube   Coach Trev is joined by Jolly Olive to recap the historic pace the Red Sox are on, the MVP debate heating up between PCA and Ohtani, Braves playing like the second best team in baseball, the Tigers may have been deadline winners and more!   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello and welcome to Talking Baseball. We got rid of the trash only Primo product here, baby. It's me and the olive. Let's go. Royce Lewis. Always. Always. I don't know.

Probably a single or something. Hello and welcome to Talking Baseball. Like I mentioned before, no trash here today. Jake, that's mean of me to say. He's on a boys trip. I actually always recommend people taking boys trip, talking baseball, presented by Fanatics Markets, where fans trade on sports,

Phanics Markets available now on the app stores. In his stead, we have one of my favorite baseball creators in the space. Jolly, I was going to call you the Vesper Martini, but that doesn't really make sense because you're in Olive. Got to be a dirty martini. How you doing, my friend? Never had a Vesper Martini in my day. I'll have to add it to the list.

Trev, I'm good. I'm excited to talk about baseball teams that are not the New York Mets. It's nice and refreshing for me. And we got a lot of important series that we got to get through today. A lot of important performances in the baseball world as we're getting down to it. The playoff chase is on. Well, you and I are in lockstep. The way you handled the guards for my twins, we'll get into that.

I don't know, Jolly. Anything else you want to get off your chest before we jump into it? No, I mean, I'm just happy to be here. You know, this is going to be my last serious ball talk. You got some important stuff coming up maybe? I know. You got some important stuff coming up maybe? Kind of the finale of my ball talk before I check out for the month of August.

So I'm really going to savor this show. I'm going to enjoy it. I don't know. I'm going to put you on blast here. Jolly's getting married. I love, Jolly. You love, love. You've always said it.

I truly do. I don't know what it is about me. I love my wife. You're going to love your wife when she becomes your wife. And that's, that's very special. So congratulations. Also, one last. thing before we get going. Father

Chris Rose already hopped on the registry. That's my guy. Oh, I need to get on there. Do I have the registry? Not thrown shade. Not thrown shade. I'll send it to you. Do I have the, do I have it? Do I have it? Do I have it? You didn't have it, so I'm not throwing shade on you. I'll send it to you. Yeah, once you send me the registry, bro. Don't get mad. Don't get mad. All right.

It's Friday, so we're going to start out in the A.O. How about we do that? Okay. And we are going to start out in Boston, where the Hannibal Lecters are bored with killing everyone so they started eating their own. You like that one. Jolly. Red Sox sweep the white socks in dramatic fashion. First two, they outscore the South

Siders 18 to 2 before completing the three gamer with an insane comeback win. Five different times they came back from a deficit. And that's the same amount of times they've lost in the last 36 games. What the Will Middlebrooks is going on out there. Hey, you know how you win games? Have your starter go seven Shetty. That's what happened in the Mariners Tigers series. Melton Wu and Valdez all did that, and that's the way the series went. Tigers take two or three, winning the bread games in an ALDS rematch. Benches cleared in game two and everyone just stared at each other.

Let's put that in the next CBA, Jolly. If you clear benches, do something fun. Detroit continues to win after truiting away scoobes and Mize. And how different would this AL playoff race look if they didn't go six in 20? in May. Dylan Dingler certified guy. How about the Dalton Varsho Bowl? It went down in Houston

and his old flame. Got the best of the Astros. Blue Jays, take the bread games. The Bebes navigate some paper cuts to go five and two thirds, one earned run in game one. And then Ernie Clement plays Hero in the tenth of the rubber match. Lean back on one. One time

Ernie Clement. Was I your favorite player at one point? Probably. Kitchen close. That thing was a bomb. Jay's by two, but Yordon is coming up in the bottom half, and of course he comes three, rips one down the line, and cruises in the second base with a double, or does he? Lucas guns him on a controversial, no slide. Ashos get one, but ultimately lose the game and the series.

Let's stay in Texas, where Arlington, you'll always have my heart, and the Rangers showed some heart, in a gutsy series win against the Giants. I used to be a resident of Texas. I'm not from you that, Dally. I don't know. They take two or three winning the final two. Webb and Lee carried the Giants in game one, making it six straight losses for the Rangers.

But Zeke Duran came to the rescue four runs driven in in game two, highlighted by a walk-off double to get Texas back on the right side. Five different players drove and runs in game three as the Rangers shut out the Giants six to nothing. And they maintain a half-game lead for the last wild card spot. Don't mean to spoil the standings, but they're 57 and 58. What are we doing? My Vap, Charlie, it's crazy to me. Speaking of crazy to me, the birds, they take two out of three from the Los Angeles Angels. Tyler O'Neill kind of had a hand in both victories.

Pete Alonzo, two-run single in game one. O'Neill with some breathing room with a pinch hit Homer in the eighth. Cade Povich, back. Made a start. Love that for you. Game two, Tyler O'Neill, Kobe Mellie. hit back-to-back homers in the fourth. And Trevor Rogers has actually been really good for the Orioles as of late.

Wins game two. They get the series and went two out of three Angels win the last game. My twins, what's going on, guys? We can't hit Randy Dobnack. We can't hit Noah Cameron. More on that later. Twins lose the first two games. Bobby Witt had three hits and two runs driven in and his return from his back injury.

Luckily, the twins. My twins snuck one out in dramatic fashion in game three Brooks Lee with the big knock, Bailey over with a nice start. Twins win that one four, three. They got to get back going, Jolly. They got to get back going. We're in Milwaukee. We face Mizorowski on

Sunday. It's going to be a tough one. And let's get to the best Western Road Warrior series where your Mets sweep the Cleveland Guardians and that is where we are

tangoing jolly. Mania gets the start against Joey Cantillo in game one. Luis Torrance, three for three with a three homer. Three-run homer. He's got four runs on the day. Bo Bichette, Carson Benj, also homered. How about game two? Brett Beatty, Jorge Polanco, back-to-back homers, and the third.

This is an extra inning game. Rochio misplays the ground ball. Bichette, RBI, single, and tenth. Stephen Kwan cannot get the bunt down in extras. Mets win game 265 before taking that last one. 13 to 16. And I got the read. Don't worry.

Life's a trip. Make the most of it with Best Western Jolly. You got them standings in the AL, Pap. I sure do, Trev. Shout out you stepping into a tough role with that burn. I kind of nailed it for being on. I nailed it. A lot of quippy lines. I liked it. We'll start.

Did you like my Hannibal Lecter line? I thought it was a strong starter for you. good. You need a good opener. We'll start in the Central because it's an A.O. Central pod. The Chicago White Sox still lead the division, 59 and 55. They lost three in a row to the Red Sox like you mentioned, but no one really took advantage of that. The twins got a game yesterday. They're up to 57 and 59, but the Guardians were also swept. So they are at the same record as your twins. Tigers, don't sleep on them. 56 and 59. Three and a half games out of the division, one out of the wild card. And the Royals, a bit of an afterthought, 20 games under. at this point, but they did get a series win. In the east, the Tampa Bay Rays, we'll talk about them in a little bit. They headed over to Colorado. They're 68 and 46.

New York Yankees still in second place, but a disappointing series loss we'll talk about in a little bit as well, 64 and 51. The Boston Red Sox are just a half game behind the New York Yankees at 63 and 51. Orioles, 56 and 59 in Blue Jays, 54 and 62. Still hard to believe that their last place in the cellar there. And then out west, it's kind of a battle of who wants it and no one really does. The Astros are 59 and 57, leading the division there, the Texas Rangers,

57 and 58, a game under, but in the playoff picture, Seattle Mariners, four games under a 56 and 60, but only three games out of the division, and then the Athletics and Angels kind of afterthoughts in that division as well. To recap the wild card really quickly, the Yankees and Red Sox, they're slated to match up for a second year in a row in the wild card series. they have the top two wild cards

spots there by a healthy margin and then it's just it could be anybody in this bottom half here. The Rangers have it currently but only a half game up with the Twins and Guardians only a game ahead of the Orioles and Tigers game and a half for the Mariners. It is open season for that spot. The last

wild card spot in the American League and those are your standing strip. Nobody better except for me we're going to start in Boston. That's what is going on out there. 31 and 5 in their last 36 games. That is the best 36 game record in Major League Baseball history.

That's a wild stat. Is that real? I just can't believe what they're doing out there. It's, I mean, there's some real stats here, Jolly. I think I'm just going to read some of these crazy Red Sox stats real quick, and then we'll kind of get into this series. during their 36 game streak, 31 and 5 in it again. They've scored 5.47 runs per game.

You score over 5 runs, you got a good chance to win a baseball game, but they've been doing that. They've hit 50 homers. Their rotation ERA is a 3-3. Their bullpen ERA is a 2-1. They got a plus 84 run differential. It just keeps going. It just keeps going.

They're 13-0 in their last. 13 games versus the White Sox, the Dodgers, and Tampa Bay, all leading their divisions. That's just, it's just wild. They won 17 consecutive games versus teams above 500. They've won nine straight series. This team was dead in the water, and here they are. I know we keep having to have this discussion.

We've talked about how good they've been, but they keep going. I don't think they're going to stop either. Yeah, the hot streak's still hot. I mean, Wilson said it when they were in Sacramento and he was like, yeah, I know the winning streak's over, but we're going to start another one. And they did, like right after he said that, even though he got hurt in the middle of it. I mean, Trev, you mentioned the crazy stats. They can just keep going. The biggest thing for me is that they're taking care of the AL East, man.

They're 13 and 0 in their last 13 games against division opponents. Obviously, this White Sox series was different from that. But, you know, 7.15 runs per game in those games. And I mean, they're getting pitching as well. It's just they're doing everything and like sometimes you throw around the phrase team of destiny. This team feels like such a team of destiny right now, man. Their trade deadline was I think really symbolic of where they're at of like Marcella Meyer got traded for a reliever. Eric Miller who's nasty, but like the beginning of the season was defined by these young guys and their struggles.

And now this Red Sox team is just kind of hungry dudes who were in AAA who want it, who got these like weird. You know, reputations because of trades they are in. We're going to talk about some of those traded guys in a little bit. And they just feel like a team. They feel like a collective unit where there's no one star. Everyone has their role and they do it well. And they're just,

they're so much fun to watch right now. They feel like a team because they're winning every game. Like things are good when you're playing like this. And it is, you mentioned like what we thought was going to be this team. We thought it was going to be the young pup, Roman Anthony, Marcel O'Myer, whatever.

Christian Campbell, that was kind of a last year thing. Sure. But it's turned into, what I've said this a bunch now, but I think it keeps ringing true, especially Sunny Gray, strike out eight over six scoreless, 14th win as a Boston wrestler. I think that trade right there has kept them alive.

The Sunny Gray Wilson Contreras trade, because these guys are leaders, man. And I've said it before on this show, The things were down in the dumps for them. You think they want to keep losing? Like, these guys are winners, man, and they have that mentality. And we saw Wilson Contreras, and he was getting a lot of shit for kind of like his attitude and like getting on the plate, causing scuffles.

But whatever happened, he got the team riled up. And now I think what's really indicative of this team is the game in game three, when you have Siegler, Connor Wong, Monasterio, and Williur, Brayu, each had multi, RBI games for them. So it's like that to me is what we're seeing here. Obviously, Caleb Durbin turnaround has been incredible. And that's been a big part. When he was struggling, that was tough for them.

He's in their lineup. And they had a lot of outs in that lineup. But they don't anymore because they're, they're crushing the ball. Caleb Durbin, 950 OPS since June 18th. That's the third best in the AL only behind, Jordan Alvarez and junior Caminero. It's wild, man. They have a complete roster, jolly.

They do. And I like that you shout out some of the other guys that had those big hits. The game three, by the way, in this series, if you fell asleep early last night, it's one of the best games of the year. The Red Sox tied the game five separate times in that contest. And you mentioned, you know, Anthony Siegler when I was watching, seeing him fired up on second base for, you know,

tying the game in like the fourth inning. Like they just, they're so damn hungry. And it's cool because you get to see it just. juxtaposed to another team that has played with hair on their, like hair on fire this year, the White Sox, they've been no slumps. Like, they've also felt like a team of destiny at times. And I tweeted last night, but it felt like two teams that like refused to lose were just going at it in a regular season contest that ultimately in the grand scheme of things isn't going

to mean all that much. But it felt like a playoff game. It felt like a playoff game watching these two teams going at it last night. And the Red Sox, obviously, they just feel unbeatable right now. But that's the hallmark of a. really good team. When you get contributions from the bottom of your lineup, when you get fired up moments from guys that are coming off the bench or playing in platoon roles and stuff like that, when your bullpen is just kind of quietly doing it. Obviously, it didn't happen in this

game for them. But before this, it's just everything about their vision is coming together later in the season. And there was a lot of talk, a lot of clips. I'm in some of those clips, too, about how out we were on the Red Sox and this vision. And it just goes to show that you never, you never really know until you play the full 162 what everything's going to look like. Yeah, I mean, I think it was shocking when they were losing so much. Like I was saying, I mean, their pitching staff is really, really good. And they had the players offensively to do it.

Some of those guys, when they were losing, bottom four, those guys were automatic outs. Like the lineup looks completely different right now, too. Everyone's healthy, ready to go. Obviously, not Roman Anthony, but we'll see how that ends up. Right now they're clicking. I had something else. Oh, yeah, we got to give a little white sucks here.

Chase Mijroth, love you, bro. I would sign up for this series in the postseason and the heartbeat. I think these two teams are a lot of fun to watch. Davis Martin, who's been struggling like crazy after a really nice start to the year, thinks he's tipping pitches. So his quote is, we're going to go back and see what the tip is and how long we've been doing it, and that's going to answer some questions. If it doesn't, we still have to make some better pitches,

but it would explain something. So he's struggling. 7.21 ERA over his last nine starts, nine straight starts without a win for him. So he's got to get back. If they can find him tipping pitches, that's like a sigh of relief if you're a pitcher. Because they're like, okay, then it wasn't, I'm just bad.

They know what pitch is coming. That makes it very difficult. But as you mentioned, or yeah, you read the standings today. White Sox, still in first place, got a kind of, push this one to the side and move forward because right now you ran into a buzz saw yeah and they got kind of a big test coming up they've got three winning teams coming up in their next five series i don't think this is a sign of things to come for them i think they like you said ran into a bus saw here but the starting pitching is definitely a concern davis martin's been struggling as of late

no shultz has never really found his footing in this prolonged stretch for them and i think the biggest gut blow was uh louise castillo kind of having a disappointing debut because he's going to be a big piece of the puzzle for their second half. They got to find the inning somewhere. We got to see Huasca Brazabon come over and pitch last night in a big, a big spot there. But yeah, for the White Sox, I'm not at all really concerned about their offense. It's more so.

Can they get, you know, quality five or six from their starting pitching day in and day out? Because I really do think that's going to determine what this team looks like in the final two months. I'm going to let you wrap on your Mets here in a sec. I want to note the Guardians and the White Sox who are, you know, battling in the L. Central, they face off starting today.

The White Sox have 16 of their next 19 in Chicago. That's 13 games against wait what? Oh, never mind. I was reading this completely differently. I thought they were playing the Guardians a bunch.

They're going to be in Chicago for a long time. Yeah, they got six coming up against Cleveland and the Reds. Yeah. I was like, wait a second. Okay. This episode is sponsored by Seat Geek.

Covering baseball every day means it's go time. Emily playoffs are around the corner and the NFL is almost here with the NBA not too far behind. If you want to actually be there for any of it, you need Seat Geek. Seatkeek is the number one rated ticketing app with over 35 million downloads and more than 70,000 events listed. You got Major League, Concerts, National Football League, Festivals, you name it. And as MLB's official ticket marketplace, every baseball ticket you buy is fully guaranteed and instantly fulfilled right into your account. And of course, we got a code for you. Use code talking 2026 for 10% off your next set of MLB tickets at Seatgeek.

That's 10% off any MLB tickets with promo code, Talkin 2026. Click the link in the description to download the app and have the code automatically added to your account so you can use it later. Thanks, Seatkeek. I will now let you have the floor about your Mets sweeping the guardians. Thank you very much, by the way. That helped my twins. Yeah, I mean, it called me by surprise for sure. I'm still watching every day because I'm a sicko and I love my team,

even though it's kind of going to be a nothing second half. Six new guys join the Mets roster. A lot of them relievers because that's what the Mets traded the most of. And it was cool. I mean, the big story for me and the big story across baseball, which is nuts because it was a 29-year-old making his big league debut on a team in last place in August. Jeffrey Yan came up, looked electric, touched 100,

just absolutely nuts that he is pitching, and it's perfect that he's in a Mets uniform. I loved it. I mean, his story is absolutely incredible, working odd jobs through his 20s after he couldn't get a shot in the big leagues, pitching an indie ball, and then finally finds his way all the way back up to the big leagues

and looked really good. I think this Mets team was definitely just playing a lot looser now that the expectations have fully dissipated for them, and it looked like they were having fun out there. The rookies continue to do the, their thing. Carson Benj went 4.50 to dead center. But honestly, in a lot of the moments of this series, it did feel like the Guardians just kind of played under what we expect of them. Kate Smith never really has looked sharp in the past month or so for them, kind of a lot of shaky

outings. They had an opportunity to win game two there. Again, it was an error that kind of caused the blown save, but still he looked shaky up until that point. Walked Marcus Semion, gave up a double to Jorge Polanco, two guys that have been almost automatic outs this year. It's been tough. And I mean, for the guardians themselves, you know, not getting the bunt down in the ninth inning, Stephen Kwan, that was another pivotal moment. An extra is there. It's just, they're in a bit of a weird funk right now. They've lost 11 of their last 14.

Their half game behind Texas, so I still think they're a better team then. But in the ALE Central, man, it's a really hard to draw up who I think is going to be holding the crown at years end, because if you had to ask me right now, it's weird to say, even though they sold up the deadline, the tigers look like they kind of have the most momentum going for them, and we're going to talk about them in a little bit. but swept at home against the Mets is not something you want to say in 2026 and that's what happened to Cleveland. I agree with you about the AL Central each of these teams fighting for it, which I'd say four teams now. I don't think the royals are in there, but tigers, they have their flaws.

Twins surely have their flaws. Same with the Guardians. And the White Sox, a couple debuts, a couple debuts, Joe Adele reaches three times in his Guardians debut. Nate Lowe hits a three-run homer in this series. so that's good to see if you're a Guardians fan, but you end up getting swept by the Mets, by some, you know, uncharacteristically not being able to play kind of small ball,

not catch the ball, can't get the bun down, all those good things. Big thing to watch out for for the Guardians. One last thing, sorry, Trev. Travis Bizana hitting a little bit of a cold stretch here. His last 14 games is hitting 216, slugging 235. They need him to go. Like when he first got called up,

Rosie, you know, said the importance of him kind of coming up in being an immediate impact, which he was, but definitely hitting a snag post all start break so far. Say on hell, he now's name, because he had a nice four hits in his majorly debut. Go Cleveland,

go. I actually don't because I'm a Twins fan. Let's move on to those aforementioned tigers. They take two out of three from the Mariners, and this basically was, if your starter was good, you won. Troy Mountain's been fantastic. for the tigers and then if you kind of look at their rotation still it's like all right we can we can

get this done and i'm i'm with you on the tigers where i am i'm getting scared of uh like you trade scoops and my let's all rally around each other and go for it like um almost like we got nothing to lose mentality uh it's a little scary uh for me these mariners man i keep waiting on them to go I look at the roster. I watch them play. I think there's a very good team in there. But it's just not showing it.

It's just not showing it. You get beat 8-0 and 11-0. You score four runs in this series. You score four fucking runs, man. Like, it's just, I don't get it. I don't know what's going on there. But Edgar Martinez, let's go, man. Get those guys hot.

Yeah, I believe in them. It's been the same story all year from them, man. And I mean, since the second half began, JP Cross. He's got a 130 batting average. Cal Raleigh's kind of back to doing, you know, 20-26 Raleigh things after a nice little hot stretch there. They're just not getting enough offense. Even Nailer, who's been better as of late in the second half still,

they need more from him. Whereas on the Tiger side, I'm starting to understand what they did at the trade deadline. The day of, it was shocking. Scoobel was gone and then Mize went at the buzzer. But they're getting Job back this weekend, Jackson Job, who's supposed to be a very important piece for them long term. They should be getting,

Flaherty back somewhat soon. Verlanders are on the corner. So they have pitching. They have six starting pitchers with all three of those guys healthy. And they didn't really deal from their offense, which isn't obviously their strongest suit, but they're getting enough from it in terms of guys like Max Clark coming up and making an impact, Kevin McGonagall and guys like that. Like they, this can still very much be a playoff team, even though they sold it the deadline. It would be one of the few playoff teams ever to sell up the deadline and make the playoffs afterward. But if the tiger's offense is scoring, eight runs a game for six straight games after game one in this one.

There's your formula, man. And I think the unsung hero of this series, obviously, but the season as a whole, Trev, how many people are going to finish ahead of Dylan Dingler in the AL MVP race? Because it's August, and he's still doing it. He's got 26 home runs and 22 doubles on the year and is one of the most gifted defensive catchers in the game. He's been a massive piece of the puzzle for the Tigers this year and a reason they were able to overcome that four and 22

stretch that you mentioned before. This might be a top five MVP vote getter for me. I agree. Especially you consider what he's doing offensively as a catcher. You mentioned the defensive ability as his same as well. This reminds me a little bit what's going on now with the Tigers and

maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here, but 2024 pitching chaos. All they had was Terrick Scoobal essentially. And they kind of have that type of dominance right now in Troy Mountain. I don't think you're getting ahead of yourself, by the way. I think he is really fucking.

So is this just the type of baseball that like AJ Hinch likes to play? Or is this what they want to do? Because I think you have, you have Troy Melton, but you also have Framber Valdez who like, he can run off a hell of a run here at the end of the year. And then, yeah, you start, you know, the bullpen maybe not as good as it was, but their bullpins are so fickle and fluid. Like, who knows?

What if they get on a hot streak? Like, this just seems like the type of baseball that Detroit likes to play and they're showing it again. I don't know, man. It's just a ton of guys that can give them like multiple innings. Like when Drew Anderson gets kicked back to the bullpen with more, with a more healthy unit and then Tyler Holden obviously has been there forever. I just, it's hard to doubt them like Cater Montero once he's back in the picture as well.

Like their bullpen can become a strength very quickly as soon as that rotation gets healed up. They're getting one guy back this weekend. They're going to get more soon. I would not count this team out by any means. leave cater alone put him in the starting rotation that's been my they like moving cater around i don't know why he he's he is he is he is the havier asa sod of the tigers or is habier is sod the cater montero of the cubs i don't know um some more mariners stuff um sick they've lost 16 or the last 25 games uh and only 10 of those 25 games were against a playoff teams and now they start um a

stretch of 18 games in a row of teams that are in a playoff position. So this might be like, this is, this is the stretch right here. This is, this is either you go or you don't. You're absolutely right. And I feel like with them and the Blue Jays, it feels like they've had this weird cloud hanging over them because of just these crazy ends to their season last year. It shouldn't have to define you, but as a baseball spectator, it has felt like that for, you know, watching these teams go through the motions this year. The Mariners can rewrite a lot of of feelings, though, with a nice stretch coming up here. Speaking of those Blue Jays, Jolly, they take two out of three from the Astros.

Astros are an interesting team. They're in first place in the A.O. West. They get a 7 to 2 victory in game two, but this one was Blue Jays, and a lot of it was my guy, Ernie Clement. I talked about the homer. Do we have video of that Homer, Bobo? First pitch of the 10th. try they try to beat him inside and he just I mean I don't you don't see Ernie Clement hit balls

like this that's an all-star trip come on I love Ernie Clement we we chopped it up on the red carpet I'm happy from I was I'm not going to say anything bad about Ernie Clement okay if he hits this ball in the World Series okay that's a low we're not we're not talking salary cap or you know yamamoto that's so different that's insane that you would say that you lost give a fucking break trevor he's so true jeff i don't always agree

with you brother jeff but i agree with you holy shit love that love that uh astros came into this series on a six game winning streak uh they actually out hit the blue jays in that uh first game but they were all singles so beaver was able to kind of like navigate. They had a bunch of chances. Couldn't get it done in game one. And this was a really funny series because you have Taylor Tremel who thinks he hits a home run in game one. This is tough. It just runs around the bases until someone, I don't know when he found out.

He only found out. I think like when he was crossing home plate he found out because he even did like to thank God right before he touched on plate. It's a tough clip. He all, but he said that third base coach, you know, he didn't say anything to him. So like that's kind of that. is kind of tough. But then in game two it's an absolute moon shot. He's got a one daughter since July 26. It's been good for him. He's been

doing well. You know, Blue Jets kind of out of it. Trey is Savage has to exit the game. Left knee, he left in the bottom of the third. Kind of like a period of like buckle on a warm-up pitch. We're showing Tremel right here. He's like, did I hit one? What?

What? What? It's tough. Yeah, I mean, I'm going to go more Astros on this angle. I mean, Hunter Brown, you know, the no hit bid broken up in the six here. It looks like he's starting to get back in the swing of things. His last three starts, 18 and two thirds, 2.41 ERA and 20 strikeouts. Christian Javier gave them a nice outing. He kind of started out in the bullpen, didn't look great in his first start,

looked better in this one, gave them a quality start. But they've been matching the ball, man. Jeremy Pena very quietly in the second half, seven home runs already, 375 badden clip. He's been a nice compliment to Yord. who's been doing his thing all year. The Astros are, they're just a strange team to evaluate because it doesn't really feel like they're particularly strong in any area,

but they have really top heavy pieces in every part of their team, like Yordon and Pena, like Hunter Brown at the top of the rotation, hate or closing out games. So it's interesting. I still think they feel like the best team in the ALS just because the Mariners can't get out of their own way. But there's an opportunity for a team to catch up and, you know, really pursue that crown.

we'll say. Two games over 500 for the Astros. Really a really bad April set them back. They were 8 and 18 in April. They've been above 500 every month since then. 15 or 14 May, 16 and 11 in June, 13 and 10 in July, now 3 and 2 in August. So they've kind of just been steady right above 500, getting over that disastrous April.

It's going to be, you know, this whole AL season, we keep saying it, but it's kind of a mess, Charlie. The rest of these series, we can kind of go through pretty quick. Rangers take two or three from the Giants, and that's kind of obvious. Zeke Duran, like I mentioned, Big Game 2, and then the Rangers shut out the Giants in that third game. They're two games, another one game under 500, still in a playoff spot.

We'll keep monitoring them. My twins, I'll be quick on them as well. they face the royals like back-to-back weeks Randy Dobnick and Noah Cameron have just been dominant against them and they were able to sneak one out in that third game thanks to a big hit by Brooks Lee

and now I am in Milwaukee calling the game this night big series for the twins if they want to get back into it but I think that's it for the AI I think we can move on to the NEO unless you got any last words one thing on Rangers Giants just shout out Cody Bradford

long way back for him from injury. 679 days since he last through a big league pitch came up through four and a third innings, nowhere in run. So that was a nice story there. Orioles disappointing a little bit there, not taking care of business. But they're still in the thick of things as well.

Tyler O'Neill kind of coming alive for them. Shout out Zeke Duran. Shout him out, baby. Joey Gallo, Charlie. Let's do it. We are going to start out in the windy city. Los Angeles, Dodgers, what is you doing, baby? You're on a little bit of a down turn. The Cubs end up getting

the sweep of the Dodgers. 10-5-game 1, 5-1. Game 2 is a spoil Scoob's debut, and then a great 7-6 victory for them in game 3. Cubs hit four homers, an answer to 30 first inning hole with two runs in each of the first three innings to take a 6-3 lead in game one. The last game was awesome. It was like PCA versus Shohei Otani, leadoff homers, dueling leadoff homers, if you will. That's the first time in MLB history. Both teams let off with a left-on-left homer. Okay.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the Otani. Pete Crow, Armstrong, MVP race. Cubs playing really good right now. Dodgers in a little bit of a lull, see if they can get out of it. The Dalton-Feeley Ryan Cohen series kind of disappointed, or maybe it's just exactly what it was supposed to be. The San Diego Padres and the Diamondbacks split the series. They alternate victories.

The Diamondbacks win game 1 and 3. Padres win game, 2 and 4. Tim Tawa, say his name. Three run, home run in the fourth. That was the decisive swing in game 1. Brandon Fought, been really, really good. Padres get to Erod in game 2. They scored three runs in the top of the first and second inning.

So they get nine runs and 16 hits total. And you know what? We'll talk about more of this series. Can't wait to get Dalton on the sticks. That's usually what we do when the dimebacks come into play. Bring in Dalts. So he tells us what's going on. Brewers take three of four from the pirates.

And that's kind of obvious. Pirates kind of heading the wrong way. Brewer's best team in baseball. That's basically what we're saying here. Kyle Harrison struck out 10 over five innings in game three. How about Logan Harrison, Henderson, excuse me. He's excellent again in game two. Six innings pitch, two earned runs.

Jackson Chu Urio went three for four, the solo homer to tie the game in the third and an RBI single in the fourth in game two. Man, the Brewers are just really good. I can't wait to watch them. I got Mizorowski on Sunday. Washington Nationals, sorry, season going the wrong way. Philadelphia, Philly. We're going to have more on this later on.

My guy Luis Arise, heads over. Phillies take three out of four. The only game the Nationals won was that game three. Took them 11 to do it, but they end up running away with it. 10-4. Phillies dominate the rest of the way. Aranola, okay, I see you with the quality. Hezuz-Lazardo dominant.

Antio Painter looked pretty damn good in his four innings pitch. And then Christopher Sanchez goes five and with two earned runs in that final game. Cardinals take two of three from the Yankees. Yes, yes, I can't wait to hear you talk about Cam Schlittler in his quotes because it's going to be really toxic Jolly. And my favorite type of Jolly is toxic. Game one goes 13, seven Cardinals. Yankees win that second game. Two, oh, Josh Chisholm, solo homer in the bottom of the second. How about George Lombard Jr.? I'm sure we're going to talk about him? He looks good. Are we getting ahead of ourselves in the Bronx probably. Cardinals take two or three. Go Allie Marmal. Go. Braves sweep

the Marlins. And I think we're going to have to have a pretty extensive talk about the Braves and what they've been able to do. Pretty dominant series here. They win the first game four two, four one second game before a beat down 113 in game three. They broke it open with a five run bottom of the six in that last game there. Ronald Lucuna Jr. went deep twice. I saw this. one guy in Instagram, like trying to figure out his swing. I'm going to have Teddy start swinging like Ronald Lucuna Jr. More on that. Maricio DuBond, 4 for 4 in game 3.

Love that for him. Tampa Bay Reyes sweep the Colorado Rockies. That's obvious. We'll talk about that in a bit. Cincinnati Red sweep the A's not so obvious, but did you watch? Probably not. Let's get into it. Jolly.

Give me the standards in Vienna. Look at that timing on Trevor Ploof. I did it. God. That's sensational, Trevor. It really is. We'll start out west. The Los Angeles Dodgers still on top, but no longer a double-digit division lead. Does it matter? Probably not.

There's 69 and 46. The Diamondbacks jump into second place with a series split. They're 61 and 55. Padres still kind of lurking. 60 and 56. We'll see Giants and Rockies. Unfortunately, it does not matter. The Braves on an eight-game heater.

swept the Miami Marlins, like you said. They're 70 and 45, keeping the Phillies at bay, who are also playing some good baseball right now at 62 and 54. The Marlins fall back to 500. What a roller coaster of a season that they have had. Nationals, five games under. Boy, that happened quick. They were having a nice year.

And the Mets complete afterthought, 16 games under. Only 11 out of the wild card. We're coming. We're coming, folks. The Central, the Brewer still hold a five and a half game lead at 72 and 43, but the Cubbies kind of feel like they're playing. their best ball of the year right now post deadline at 67 and 49 cardinals still tread and water nice series went on the road for them who knows what the second half will hold at 57 and 58 the reds jump

the pirates out of the cellar 56 and 58 with four games in a row for them the pirates probably the biggest disappointment post deadline in the national league so far they are now three games under for the first time this year the nil wild card picture it is a lot prettier than the al one full of teams that feel much more like they, I don't know, belong in the playoffs, not to be T word. Cubs have the top ball cart spot there with a six-game cushion. It looks like they're going to be part of things in October. The Phillies, a one-game cushion ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks at 62 and 54. Dimebacks have that last spot right now with the Padres right behind them after a series split.

After that, it's Marlins at 500. A lot of Enal Central teams definitely still in the conversation there. But another bad series from any of those teams and another good series from any of the teams in position and they could become an afterthought pretty quick, but definitely feels a little bit more competitive in the National League, and those are your standings. What jolly. All right, guys, this one's brought to you by ethos. Look, when you're a father, the only thing you really care about is making sure that your

family is taking care of. And ethos does that with life insurance. The moment I got that done, it was a massive weight lifted off my shoulders. and ethos makes getting life insurance fast and completely online. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and get same-day coverage. No medical exam. You just answer a few health questions online. You can get up to $3 million in coverage with some policies as low as $30 a month.

Again, it's 100% online. So there's no agent to call, no doctor's office to visit, no weeks of waiting. Ethos helps protect the people who depend on you. And it takes about as long as watching a half inning. So take 10 minutes to get covered today with life insurance through ethos. Get your free quote at ethos.com slash talking. That is eth-h-h-os.com slash talking. Application times may vary and rates may vary.

Nobody better play. Let's just go straight to this Cubs sweep. Dodgers now swept in back-to-back series. Lost the last six games. Two and eight in their last 10. Game one, they got out to a hot start. three runs in the first five pitches of the game Otani single, Pahas single,

then Edmund with a three-run homer. I love Tommy Edmund. He's got 16 homers and 74 career games against the Cubs. But then what I think is some of the most, I think we should track this stat maybe more often. And I don't know what it would say, but I think it has such a meaningful impact on games. Can you answer back?

Answer back innings and then shut down innings are so important. And the Cubs did that. As I mentioned, game one, two runs in each of the first three innings. That's huge. You get down, but you answer back. That's how you regain momentum. And whenever I'm calling games, man, you could feel it in the stadium when that happens.

Carson Kelly had a big challenge on the called third strike. Ends at winning that overturned to a walk. It was bases loaded. So a run scores. Michael Bush follows with a two-run single, watching it right here. And that's so important, man. And I love, I love, or I don't love, I can't wait to see how much we start to value challenges and guys that are good at it.

Yeah, I mean, this literally determined an entire game almost with the amount of insurance they got after, got three runs. And, and you know, like sometimes it takes a lot of balls, a challenge. In this situation, it's like a no-brainer. You got to do it. You got a couple left. It's the big part of the game, do it. Real quick, we'll go game two.

Terrick Scuba goes six innings pitch to earn runs So he has a quality start for them He ends up striking out Pete Gromstrong In his first batter for the Dodgers That's cool freezes them on a sinker Kind of erratic With his pitches Gets out dueled essentially by my guy

Javier Assad we talked to them Five and two thirds one earned run A bunch of ground balls Which is what you need to do if you're a Cubs pitcher Because you got that defense behind him Here's that Terrick Scoobel K. Sorry, PCA. Not bad.

Dodgers only had four hits in the game, so that's not going to get it done. Game three, I think, is kind of the game of this series. This is the Pete Cromstong versus Shoahe-O-Tani game. What did you see? What do you got? I mean, first of all, Electric, Wrigley Field on a Wednesday day game, looks borderline sold out, which is just so awesome to see.

Like, Riggly Field, being electric is really good for. for baseball. Shoi Otani against Shota Imanaga is just a fun matchup and like how many times has he done this? The lefty lefty thing is insane. I can't believe it's the first time that that's ever happened in big league history. But also like, is this just baseball script writers cooking a little bit? PCA leading off as well.

It feels a little bit too scripted from my liking. Poor Eric Lauer who got to keep his rotation spot after a big deadline for the Dodgers, but did not have a good first outing of the second half here. And obviously this kind of leads to the whole PCA, show a MVP debate, right? Because that's kind of been a hot button topic. For me, like, I think that there are too many people that are doubting even the credibility of saying PCA is very much in this conversation, which I think is wrong.

But I still am in the firm position of he's got to go out there and get it. I mean, showy still leads the league in OPS for National League and also pitched 14 starts this year. So he has, I think, a certain leg up. But PCA, if he undoes what he did last year and has a monster second half instead of disappearing into the background, like he's done so far in the second half for the Cubs. He's got a 171 weighted runs created plus in the second half in 20 games right now. If he keeps that up, I mean, there's definitely, I think, a longer conversation that needs to be had.

I mean, PCA is approaching what could be a 40-40 season as the best defender in center field of anyone right now. 26-home runs, 29 stolen bases, 937 OPS. Feels like an MVP caliber season to me, but, you know, a lot of game left to play. It's hard to call right now. 4040s is I think that's that's a lot 3030s obviously in play did it last year he had 31 homers 35 stolen bases last year it seems like he's going to be doing that every single year he's only 24 years old it's ridiculous it's ridiculous only 24 years old it's I think about this often because I've known PCA for a while now and him like going up against almost like a mythical figure in show hey otani and putting himself in a position where we can be having to have this discussion is awesome there was a john hayman interview he was talking to um why am i forgetting this guy's name who's who's the guy that does like all the stats on mb network like the real uh nerd if you will uh bren kennie yes bryan kenny sorry very good you know and he was saying

and i actually kind of agree with him here and maybe i'm just off base and i just liked the argument because it was fun he's he was talking about how like war overrates center fielders or gives them more than any other position and maybe overrates the defensive metrics in center field and and we've just seen these seasons pop up from center fielders and even Brian Kenny was like maybe you have a point there so I thought that was interesting I don't really have anything to add on to it I mean I think there's a significant claim there because I mean if you look at specifically with fan graphs war which if you don't know anything about war

fan graphs war something to know about it is that a very highly values defense and pique or Armstrong right now on their leaderboard has two more war than any other position player at seven point eight versus second place you are on alvarez who's at five point seven um i i understand the angle there for sure i mean pique armstrong right now is pacing for the first 11 war season in like 20 years like it hasn't happened in a very long time but i also think that he is that cal ber of player. Like I do think Pekre Armstrong is transcendently good, especially when he's hitting the way he is because, you know, watch the guy play center field on a day-to-day basis. You'll see it too. Cubs fans can attest to it. I understand what they're saying, though,

because at the same time, you want more to value different things more like, say, you know, a hitter who's walking the way show A does and still making hard contact the way show he does. I understand all of that. But I don't think it's unfair in any way. I don't think it values Interfield any more than it values a catcher who's terrific on defense like Dylan Dingler, who's also having a great year by war standards or a shortstop like we see year in and year out, if that makes sense. Yeah, a lot of value there. I think there is a discrepancy between OAA and DRS with PCA.

And saying all that, this guy's having a freaking phenomenal year. And I'm curious to see how voters feel. If Showhead doesn't come back and pitch anymore, which I believe he will. If he doesn't come back and pitch, he had a dominant, first half stretch or you know whatever it was 13 starts uh is that enough in my mind the way i think about it is forget every year that's ever happened before because i feel like that becomes show hey otani fatigue if a guy came and did that and this was the first time it's ever happened we would be so amazed and you'd give him the MVP so you know i take away from that what you will

context matters though i know what you're saying also take away the dodgers jay just got swept twice in a row. And I like it. I like it. I want them beatable. They are beatable. It's baseball. And it's, you know, we'll see how they answer back.

Mookie Betts, nice four-hit game. He's been struggling as of late. Freddie Freeman has X-rays on his hand. Foul tip pitch got him on the right hand. X-rays came back negative. Freeman says he's okay. I mean, Treve, you mentioned beatable. They're the third best team.

the national league right now. As if the season ended today, the Dodgers would be in the wild card round like they were last year. They played the Reds in the wild card round last year. So definitely beatable, but obviously postseason games are where it matters most. Before we move on, I just want to shout out a couple things, Cubs-wise. One, Kevin Alcantra came up at his first big league home run in the second inning of that first game, big home run there. Big for him, because he's kind of been in like trade rumors every year for the Cubs and they never really found that suitor. So now he's just part of the team and for him to contribute in that way, have a big moment there. It was really cool. I was happy to

see that. The Cubs pitching staff kind of feels like it's been held together by cardboard and spit for a little bit, but it's getting the job done right now. Javier Assad, you mentioned in game two there. Peterson's been great since coming over with the terrific defense behind him. Matthew Boyd coming back has been huge. They have five starting pitchers with at least 10 innings and an ERA under 2.1 in the second half. So every day, they've been getting quality outings and they haven't been facing you know, easy teams to beat like the Los Angeles Dodgers here. So really cool stuff that's going on in Wrigley right now. We mentioned Team of Destiny at the top.

It feels like the post-deadline Cubs are starting to get a little bit of magic going. It's starting to get a little bit of fire. Who knows? Maybe they catch the Brewers. You never know what's going to happen. Wow. Boyd and Imenaga sneaky. You're right.

Have been really good for the Cubs. Love that. Does Dalt want to get on here, talk snakes, Padres? Give you a 90 seconds to kind of a rapper. Dalt's not here. he's not here where is he no one wants it less he he always works from home on fridays oh okay you know sundays be nice i'm on the road i'm on the road getting it done doll sheesh dog all right let's jump into this series then debacks win game one um tim tawa shout out puts about three nothing in the bottom

of the fourth uh and the the podros never really threatened here end up losing the game five to one And then the second game is kind of all Padres. They open up an 8-0-0 lead in the top of the 7th. Arizona Storms back a little bit. Nolan Aeronado, 2-run-homer. James McCann, 2-run-homer, kind of answer back, 8-4. Jake Cronerworth with the insurance run RBI single there on the top of the night. They win that one.

9-4. I guess game 3 is kind of a runaway for Arizona. They get up 10 to nothing before. a couple swings by the Padres and then in game four Jolly it ends up being all Padres there as they get up three nothing by the third and then add on late to win five one Brandon fought I think is really important for the D-backs he goes six and two-thirds no earned run ends up giving one unearned and since being recalled from AAA on June 30th six and no with a one

five and seven starts. And I like when he's pitching, well, he's got a little bit of gusto, a little bit of FU, and I kind of like that. So seven earned runs allowed total in his last 40 and two-thirds innings. He's been one of the best pitchers in the National League as ever since he's came back. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of coincided with a little bit of a second half dip from Erod. They've really needed fought to be their, I mean, stopper every fifth day. I mean, they're relying on a ton of young, unproven pitching right now.

You saw it in this series with Cole Drake and Mitch Bradwood, a great star for them, seven innings, no one hit, nine strikeouts. He said he couldn't feel his legs by the end of it. He was so fired up, which is really cool to see. Game four was a massive win for the Padres, though, because if they had lost that, they would have fell to four and six against Arizona on the year, and that tiebreaker probably is going to prove to be massive in the end year playoff picture there. They got one more series.

at Petco, which will determine the season long head to head for them. But getting that last game win and doing it with the bullpen like they've been doing all year long, that was really cool. Four relievers, five scoreless innings, two hits, no walk, seven strikeouts. Learn the name, Bradley Rodriguez. He's absolutely nasty for the Padres and probably will be for a long time. But a split in this series just kind of felt inevitable between these two teams. They feel very even right now.

The Padres definitely had a more explosive trade deadline, getting Robbie Ray and Casey but the latter there, a tough debut. You know, three and two thirds, seven runs. It's not going to get it done. They need much more from him. Obviously, it's his first outing. We'll see what comes of it. But juxtaposed to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who, in my opinion, had a really

disappointing trade deadline after winning their way into a buyer conversation. They only ended up getting Lars Neupar there. This was a big series for them, even just to split because they got enough good pitching. We know that the offense is there for them. And I think they're going to be in this conversation, well, longer than I really did expect at the beginning of the season. Brewers take three out of four and all these games, kind of like Brewer's fashion.

They win by, or excuse me, they lose in the first game by one run, four to three, then really get fortitude by them next two days to win four to two before winning five to in game four. Game one, Pittsburgh scored four of its runs in the third and fourth and then kind of just like held on. Milwaukee tried to make it close there in the end. Andrew Vaughn had two-run single in the six. Bubber Chandler pitched well, Pirates bullpen. They have some, I've said it all along.

They've been really bad, but they do have like armed talent back there. Emilio Duval comes in in this one. So Soto, Deval, and Mason Montgomery combined for three and a third score their sendings with seven cases. I mean, they have to have that for them to go anywhere. they're kind of ahead of the wrong way. And then the brewers kind of do what the brewers do

in the last three games. Dustin May makes his Brewers debut, six innings pitch, two earned runs. You got to love to see that. Paul Skeen's still like not the dominant guy that we've just come to expect.

He goes in game three, in he goes five innings pitch, three earned runs, walks four people. Very, very interesting dynamic going on in there in Pittsburgh because those starters have to be, they have to be who we think they can be.

The offense is going to be good. They didn't show up this series, but overall they've been great. If you're not getting the starting pitching, mix that in with, yeah, we got in some bullpen help, but the starters have to be better

than they have been, especially in this series. Yeah, I'll jump in Brewerside pretty quick. They're getting their starting pitching as per usual. Curious to see what Brandon Sprout's role will be, now with some new arms on the block, but Dustin May, after kind of a shaky first inning.

It looked pretty strong for them. Ryan Cohn sent in our trade deadline stream. I didn't see it then, but I see it now. He looks like a brewer. He just looks like he fits in that uniform, which is weird because he's been wearing a division rival uniform all year long. But obviously, Kyle Harrison will hope for good injury news on him,

left with some cramps after striking out 10 batters and five innings. And Logan Anderson, another nice quality start. He bounced back from injury as well. If the brewer's pitching staff just stays healthy, I think they cruise to the best record in the National League again because they're all offense has their identity and has been doing it all year, even with some Christian Yelch struggles. Pirates side, much more disappointing, a lot more question marks. You kind of touched on it with their offense.

That's been a powerhouse unit all year long at one point. They were top three and runs scored at the end of the first half. They're not getting the same production in the second half so far. Brandon Lau has been the guy for them all year long and has been really the only guy hitting consistently in the second half. Get that extension done, by the way. Do not let him leave Pittsburgh, man. That would be such an FU to the fans.

But Brian Reynolds has kind of disappeared in the second half so far, slugging under 300 O'Hern. Same story. He's been hurt as well. They need the offense to go because when you score four runs and then two runs, three games in a row here, it's not going to get the job done. Skeens, obviously, is a big story for them too.

The biggest thing is walks. He's walking five batters per nine in the second half and four starts so far. So it kind of doesn't feel like anything's been really resolved there. The back end of the rotation, They just suffered a Mitch Keller injury and they didn't get anybody at the deadline. So I wonder what that anchor situation looks like. They brought in Luke Weaver for the bullpen, but they haven't been able to use them yet because of losing to the Brewers here. So curious to see what the pitching staff looks like in the second half.

I think I agree with you that the offense will be there and there's arm talent in the bullpen. But I just, I feel very iffy about this Pirates team. Their defense doesn't do them any favors in terms of their pitching staff as well. and their schedule is not going to get any lighter. They faced a lot of lighter schedule in the first half. And I hope that there's no falloff. I want them to compete. I want that for Pittsburgh fans.

Pittsburgh being relevant in a playoff picture long term is good for the sport and is really fun to watch. But this was not an encouraging series at all against a team that they've been beating this year in the Milwaukee Brewers. You talk about that rotation. Here's Jared Jones on his own start. Terrible, just about any word you can think of that means bad.

that's what I think. Then you mentioned Paul Skeens. His ERA is up to 396 on the year. It's 625 since July 1st. And then Braxton Ashcraft, who like has like all the stuff in the world. Yeah. It's an absolute stud. He's allowed 11 homers in his last seven starts,

681 over that stretch. They're not getting what was supposed to be their strength. And that is coincided with some loss. there. Milwaukee, on the other hand, you mentioned 72 and 43. So there are 29 games over 500. That's the best they've been all year. 22 and 11 in the division. We were showing the graphic earlier. Best starters, ERA and all of baseball at 336. Nice debut by Dustin May. Then Sansa, a scintatella, cool note on him. He arrives 30 minutes before the game in game two. Call him out of the pen, score the seventh, gets the hole. boom got to love that absolutely that's a cool story there and one of the few trades the Rockies actually made this year which is wild to think about um phillies take three or four kind of obvious uh against the nationals uh game one uh derrick hill how about that we don't talk about him enough go ahead grand slam in the seventh uh before that it was a hit by pitch and two walks

to load it uh so he hits that homer brys harper hits a two runner Homer in the eighth after that. Hill also had a great catch in the eighth. Bryce Harper gets the first ball of the game, first pitch of the game hit to him out back and right field. So a nice Philly's victory there

as they're trying to like, you know, get back on that trajectory they want to be on. Louisa Rice comes for game two. More on him later. I don't want to go too much into it, but he's been great. Hedges Lazzardo looked awesome in this game. Eight innings pitch, 7Ks. we've read the stat before but we're going to continue it here

46 and 18 are the Phillies when Lazzardo, Wheeler, or Sanchez starts. Yeah, that feels like a really good formula for winning.

You guys use the term medicine on the show a lot. I think the nationals are just the Phillies medicine. They kind of have been for a while. They're eight and three against them this year and now facing them at home

is a good thing as always. Aaron Noah quietly been pitching a little bit better as of late and I think that that deserves to be mentioned in that starting pitch conversation and Andrew Painter recall from AAA again four innings not not a deep start but one on run one walk four strikeouts that's definitely an encouraging sign uh the Phillies you know

the pitching is going to be there really curious about the way this defense looks in the second half you mentioned Harper got the first ball hit to him all right is playing second base has been good defensively this year but I wonder if the you know scouting sticks based on whatever they were doing in San Francisco with Ron Washington but the Phillies playing the nationals you always lean that way, considering the recent track record. I'm glad that you brought up Derek Hill, though. Like, sneaky, like, awesome story. He's been playing center field for the Phillies for a decent stretch now. He's been hitting. He's got an 814 OPS on the year, nine homers on the year and 12 stolen bases. And of course, pretty much every series, it feels like he makes an absurd catch. So 30-year-old

journeyman, kind of finding a spot on a playoff team. That's a really cool story. It is a cool story. I had one more note on this. Oh, yeah, Michaelis, Miles Michaelis, he ends up getting in your service time. He ends up getting in a bat because they scored so many dang runs, putting the sack, bun down. I guess it's just really funny to see pitchers hitting again.

You just did an interview with Sean Mania asking him. Yeah, I did. He missed hitting. And I can't believe he said yes, because he has a horrendous swing. Hey, it's got three knocks in the show. Come on now. I love it.

I love Manaya. I do. Yeah, the nicest guy ever, probably the nicest player I'll ever talk to. Yeah, he's great. He truly is great. Big boy, too. Yes. Dude, I look tiny next to him.

And where's he from, like, Indiana or something, right? I think so. You got to check that out. It doesn't really seem like he should be from Indiana, but he is. Yeah, he's from it. Yeah, he nailed it. Valparaiso, Indiana. Not in my book.

All right. Not in my book. Go Phillies go. More on Louisa Rise a little bit later. Today's episode is sponsored by Gusto. Every baseball team has a front office so the players can focus on the game. Gusto does that for small business owners. Gusto is an online payroll and benefit software built for small businesses.

It's all in one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use so you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere. Beyond payroll, you get health benefits, 401K, commuter benefits, options for nearly every budget. Hit a tough HR situation. you get direct access to HR certified experts. Trusted by over 500,000 small businesses. Try Gusto today at gusto.com slash talking and get three months free when you run your first payroll.

That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash talking. One more time, gusto.com slash talking. Cardinals take two out of three Burleson, game one. Cardinals win that first one, 13 and 7. He goes three for five with three two-run homers, all three different pitchers, six runs driven in, career highs and runs driven in and total bases. And, you know, he was part of some deadline rumors. It doesn't end up getting dealt and has an incredible game there. First NL player with a three-homer game at Yankee Stadium since Interleague play began in 97.

And it's the first Cardinal to do it since Ivan Herrera in 2025. This is Cam Schlittler's shortest start of the year, three innings pitch, three innings pitch, 83 pitches, walks five people. He still has the AL lead in ERA at a 226, but yeah, tough one for him. And then, you know, we get George Lombard, big game in game two, and then the Cardinals win that rubber game, three run at the end. Base is loaded in one out in the six. this is what I'm talking about what challenge is.

Spencer Jones gets walked, but then Ivan Herrera challenges it, changes it to a strikeout. They give up one run in the ending instead of everything, kind of snowballing on them. So Cardinals go into the Bronx, take two or three from the Yankees,

Boston going this way. Very interesting. What did you see here? I mean, I'm not going to bring up the Cam Schluittler quote like you thought I would, because that's not what this show is about. No, actually like a ton to chew on from this series. I mean, one, the Cardinals going into Yankee

Stadium and getting a series one is massive. But game one, is it going to be a yearly tradition that the New York Yankees can't play a normal game the first game after the trade deadline? Last year, it was the 15 to 14 whatever game in Miami where there was errors and comebacks and Duval and Caboero and right field. I'm sure if you saw some highlights, it'll jog your memory. This year, it's a miraculous comeback, a Luis Garcia Jr. home run. Everyone's comparing them to Robinson Canoe, but the true symbolism of the Yankee's trade deadline was that they didn't

get a reliever, and it showed up immediately by blowing the lead and ended up losing 13 to 7. It's a close game. It didn't look like that at the end there. Cam Schittler, a little worried. His recent stretch has not been as Cy Young caliber here. Game three was pretty disappointing. I was there with some buddies watching the game. Miserable night in New York, rainy,

muggy, not a fun night. And the Yankees play definitely kind of represent. presented that. One thing I do want to mention, and it was a stat that someone sent to me. Ben Rice, so recently he's been struggling a lot, no hits in August so far, since Aaron Judge went down, and this is since June 1st. He's hitting 218 and 241 played appearances, the 766 OPS. Not exactly the All-Star play that we were seeing from him in the first half. I definitely feel like the lineup protection being missing there for Ben Rice has been notable. Hopefully the trade deadline acquisitions of Garcia and Ramos can provide something there because when Ben Rice was going,

this team was really going as an offensive unit. He was getting in those MVP conversations. They need him to start mashing the ball again. Yankees pitching. It's been there in the rotation, hasn't really been there in the bullpen. And the offense really, they really disappeared the series.

I love George Lombard. He looks great. I don't want to give him too much credit because I feel like we always do this with the young guys. Let's just give them a little bit of time. He sure looks the part. So I'm happy for Yankee fans. They've been calling for this move for quite some time.

a nice swing right there on a breaking ball makes a couple good plays joes mcfly is breaking down defensive highlights i'm so glad you mentioned that that was absolutely insane why are we kicking him while he's down he's already in triple a leave him alone yankee fans are insane i guess in a good way i guess in a good way they are even we had some people calling out jose mcfly not naming him but you know it was wild was it you was it you was I wasn't me. It was some MLB alumni. I won't name names though.

Okay. Okay. Interesting. Yeah, this is, yeah. I did like one of the clips that came out from Yanks. They did say that if they had, they'd show going when judge first came up, some of their quotes would be terrible,

like in terms of like how they aged, which like it's good to self-acknowledge that sometimes, but also like, just let the kid play. All right? Just no more, no quick comparisons. Just let Lombard be Lombard. barred for two months here. Okay. The Brave sweep the Marlins and maybe that kind of seems obvious because the Braves are on a heater. They've won eight straight. They had a 10 gamer in September 25. So it's

the longest winning streak since. They got the 70 wins. They have a growing NL East lead eight and a half games there. It's their largest since the middle of June Jolly. They've been crushing it since the Allstra break, 15 and 5, heading into that, I don't know if you remember, but they were really struggling. We lost 19 of 28 heading into it. We're kind of saying, hey, what's going on? Not really. You know, this is the Braves.

They have a good team, but they have been crushing it, and this is no different here. Grant Holmes, six scoreless, and then Bryce Elder, one hit over seven innings. That's how you're going to get it done. And then Acuna, he hits two homers, first one, kind of a little. We got to show that, right? Yeah. I mean, the Marlins outfield defense is pretty good.

I don't know what the hell happened here. That's just nuts. That's like, I needed one of those. I needed some more of those in my career. I love their reaction. It's so good. How's that happen?

Yeah. I don't know. I don't get it. But the Braves have been playing really, really well as of late. They have the second best record in all the baseball. Screw you, Dodgers. Do we need to be talking more about the Braves? Or like, I almost, I almost put them

in the Dodgers category of like, yeah, we're just, we're waiting to October for them. But is that fair to Braves fans? I don't know. I mean, yes and no. Like, they had a really disappointing trade deadline. Alex Anthopoulos, he bought one time in 2021 and it helped them win the World Series. And he hasn't really done it again since. And I just never understand it. He thinks he can always do that, just like bring in like some bit pieces. Because if you remember that deadline wasn't like some yeah no I mean it was a bunch of rentals it was Peterson Rosario Deval I understand that but this year he literally did nothing like they got Tyler Molly so they added him to the rotation we'll see what comes to that but

outside of that nothing added to the offense with the bullpen but the Braves they have already a very complete team it was a pitching staff worry for them a little bit in July it seems like they're starting to regain their footing a bit here Chris Sale like is gonna win NL Say Young is that is that safe to say like I feel like we're trending towards that a little bit here outside of the Mizorowski debate. But they've been getting better starts as of late, and that's kind of just going to be their key for the second half.

Can they get good pitching day in and day out? I do worry for them playoff time, because Chris Sale, you obviously hand him the game one ball. Your game two starter, I think is Tyler Molly, who I don't think is a bad pitcher. But in terms of some of the teams we talked about, even in just this episode alone, that's a lot of competition in the National League

with a lot of top heavy pitching there. So I'm curious to see what their plan is moving forward, and if someone else can emerge or return from injury for them down the stretch and stay healthy enough to beat that game two starter. But if they put up, you know, 11 runs like they did in the last game, I guess it won't matter much because their offense is just a wagon. Last two, Jolly, we're just going to skim through here. Ray's sweep the Rockies, that's obvious.

Congrats to my guy, Mickey Moniac, who got a little extensions having a baby, very happy for him. He's worked hard, became a really good player. That doesn't matter. You still, I mean, you lost. You lost all three games. Bay Reyes, best at record in the AL. Or is that true?

I will check for you. Yes, yes, it is. By far. You're the standards guy, you know. Yeah. 68 and 46 for them. The next closest is the Yankees at 64 and 51. And then the Reds sweep the A's and both teams just not really doing it.

Do we have to, yeah, Red's four out of the wild card. They'd be only a half game out if they were in the AL, they're not, Jolly. So I think it's best if we just move on to the next segment of the show. And that is standout performances. It's time for standout performances. Standout performances. This guy stood out for Trev. Say what? Okay. Jolly, go ahead. What do you got? I'm giving my standout performance to the one and only.

Troy Melton, baby. He needs to be talked about. Back to back starts with seven shut. He went to Seattle, did it again. He's not striking out a lot of guys, but kind of a really fun watch, regardless, still pounding the strike zone, pigeon deep into these games. Seven innings, three hits, two walks, four strikeouts, no runs allowed. He's been on a heater in 11 starts this year. 74 innings, 1.58 ERA and 64 strikeouts to 23 walks. he's kind of been the answer for the Tigers in terms of what will we do post scubel it looks like this is going to be the guy the Tigers young pitching is a lot of fun like I said before we'll see Job this weekend but Troy Melton I love it I love watching him pitch give me more every fifth day he's my standout I love that for you jolly Troy freaking Melton and you know what's funny is we are going to go dueling AL Central pitchers I'm going with Noah Cameron eight innings pitch two hits one earned run over my twins uh this guy has kind of been a menace um his last three games 23 innings pitched uh one earned run in those 23nings pitch only six hits allowed that's a point

three nine two of those starts guess what they've come against my twins back to back starts 16 innings pitch against the twins four hits one earned run three walks 16 k's uh it it hurts a little bit He did that to the Tigers. If he only had to pitch against the AL Central, he'd be a Siong candidate. But unfortunately for him, he has to pitch against other divisions. So 437 ERA on the year, but he's been pitching really, really well as of late. In the month of July and now into August, he's got a 315, 40 innings pitched. He's got one blow-up start against the Padres where he gave up seven in five.

other than that he's been really, really good. So we'll see if that continues for him, but it's just fresh in my mind, and he really has stifled my twins. And they're hot offense. Don't forget, this is a pretty good offense. It's not bad. Years past, you'd be like, that's obvious.

Like, no, this is the team that scores the most runs in the AL. So there is my standout. Go, Noah Cameron, go. And it could have been anybody jolly. We could have had Randy Vasquez, Ryan Weathers, his pitch really good. for the New York Yankees. Your guy Carson Benj,

who you're saying is better than JJ Weatherhole. Just noticing some numbers, Treve. You just noticed. It could have been Riley Green. It could have been Willi or Breu. It could have been Tim Tawa. Let's find out if these guys are on Enfuego.

Dark Nasty's on Fuego. That means I'm on fire, baby. Like Waco. It's time for InFuego, powered by Amazon. like Amazon helps you get maximum value out of every dollar this back to school season. We're talking about the players who have been delivering maximum value on the field. In Fuego is loaded this week, Trev. And of course, Dalton started out with my guy. Luis Torenz is our first name in the series. Five for seven, two home runs, seven RBI.

He did not get the memo that we're trying to lose in the second half. He's on fire. Ezekiel Duran, you mentioned him at the top of the show a little bit. He's been sneaky, a wonderful player for the Rangers this year can play everywhere, and he can also mash 7 for 12 in the past series with three doubles, a homer, and 5 RBI. Zeke Tovar of your rocks, they did get swept, but it wasn't his fault. Seven for 11, a double, a homer, and two RBI. And then say his name again, Tim Tawa in the series, seven for 16 against the Padres, two bombs and five RBI plus five runs scored.

But now let's get to the big boys. Who's been doing it all week? of course it's a l mvp winner dylan dinger who went 12 for 30 four home runs 10 rbi i call him the yordaun alvarez of catchers folks hitting 278 with an 877 ops on the year 345 batting clip with two outs and runners in scoring position i want that guy on my team just like i want say don raphael on my team as well also your a lmvp we might as well just throw him in there 10 for 27 with a 370 batting clip four home runs like who would have thought that pop is in the chamber two stolen bases as well four home runs against the dodgers last weekend tied for the most against the dodgers this season and he plays in the american league league league league plays in the american league league league league is all the way back because i'm seeing the name royce lewis in front of me i guess i'll read it 10 for 23 435 average three home runs five rb i's that minorly extent it's a blip in the grand scheme of things because royce louis is all the way back he has an 11 game hit streak nathaniel low New trade acquisition on the block for the Cleveland Guardians 10 for 25 this past week with three doubles, a home run and eight RBIs.

And Trev, because you said it so beautifully, do you mind just saying it one more time for me, the final name on today's list? Oh, yeah. Oslavis, Basabe. Beautifully read six for 20 this past week, a double three home runs and eight RBIs for your San Francisco Giants. That is who is in Fuego, brought to you by Amazon. Yeah, thanks to our partners at Amazon shop back to school at Amazon and spend. less on your kids. I mean,

your luck, dude. Thank you for Enfuego. Excellent job. That's a way to bring the show up. I'm going to bring it down like Jake always does with. Batters who are struggling. Hey, man, you've been struggling lately.

It's time to pick it off. Gosh, I hate doing this segment. Smyrland Valdez, Ofer 16 on the week. Hitless since July 30th. One multi-hit game since the All-Star break 12ks in that 0 for 16 that's tough Jackson holiday I want to believe baby I want to believe

one for 17 though seven K's he's batting just 172 and facing the starting pitcher for the third time in the game since 2025 that's the second lowest in majorly baseball among hitters with at least 400 total plate appearances that's supposed to be when you get after it jolly he ain't getting after it you mentioned mentioned Ben Rice, one for 17 for him. Yes, the Yankees need him. They need a lot to come back off of the injured list, or else Boston is going to be putting them in the rearview mirror shortly.

Cody Clemens, my hero of season, clutch God, as we call him. Two for 23, though, on the week. 212 OPS, but he faced Noah Cameron a few times, and Randy Dobnack a few times. You know, you can't hit those guys. everybody knows that. For the two weeks, Nassim Nunez of the Washington Nationals goes four for 43. That's tough one. I've been there.

Don't worry about it. He has 6Ks in that, excuse me, 7Ks in that, that doesn't seem right, only 7Ks and 43 or bats, whatever. Ian Hap, Happer, we love you. I'll deliver you a ball of wine if you need it. Your team's been winning six for 48 for him. That's a 125 average.

only three runs driven in in the two weeks. He's gotten on-base percentage of just 228 against left-handers this season. That's tied for the lowest in Major League Baseball. Bring me in. We'll work on the right-handed swing. I got you. Send me some tape. Nathan Lucas.

He's the guy that threw out Yoran Alvarez on that beautiful play. But he's six for 44 with a 136 batting average over the last two weeks. 9Ks 413 OPS. Brian Rokio, playoff Rokio got started high. hasn't happened for him in the second half. 6.443 as of late, only two runs driven in. He was a clutch guy for a long time. First half, 276 with a 750 OPS.

Second half, 176 average with a 494 OPS. Those are the guys who are struggling. And look, we want you to be better. Before you know it, you'll be on in Fuego. We're going to skip the IL today because I just don't want to do it. Good. And when Jake's here, I get to do whatever the hell I want.

So Jolly. Let's get everyone's weekend started with. Award. It's time for awards brought to you by Seat Geek Jolly. Where are you going? Treve, I got a loaded one. You ever seen the Fresh Prince of Bel Air? Yes.

Have you? Yes. First of all. You probably watched the new one. Have you watched the new one? Easy with that. Easy with that. Don't derail my war before it's even started.

Trev, what's the most iconic scene in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air? Oh, there's a bunch of them. When he's yelling at his dad and he starts crying, and what does he say? But the most iconic scene, the most iconic scene is when he's standing in the living room and nobody's there. Okay, that's fair. But you nailed it the first time.

And I was going to ask you. Yeah, you nailed it. And I was going to ask you, what is he saying that scene? Oh, gosh. He's blubbering a lot. I forget what he says. You get the quote? He does.

He does say, how come he don't want me, man? Oh, yeah. How come he don't want me? I'm giving out. Uncle Phil is there. It's a heartbreaker. I'm giving out the how come he don't want me award, Treve. Take me back to December 2022.

We got a 22-year-old in high A who had a nice year, but he gets flipped from the Atlanta Braves to the New York Yankees for a lefty reliever named Lucas Litke. who is a nice pitcher. Two years later, working my way up the system. I'm at AAA. I'm hitting well. I'm on the cusp. I'm going to be on the 40 men, probably make the roster in the next year.

The Yankees trade me to Milwaukee in a huge deal. Devin Williams is coming to the Bronx to close games. I finally make it on the roster last year for the Brewers. I'm a contributor. I'm in there every day. I have a nice rookie year. And then they trade me too. This time to the Boston Red Sox.

for Kyle Harrison. And for months this year, everyone is putting my face next to this guy's face because he's pitching so damn well for the brewers, as if that's somehow my fault. The How Camino-Wamie Award goes to Caleb Durbin, who woke up on June 16th with a 190 batting average and a 557 OPS for one of the worst teams in baseball.

And since that day, Trev, he's hit 33 and 433 games with eight home runs and a 9-56 OPS. And in turn, the Boston Red Sox have gone 34 and 8 since that day. When you think about the Red Sox's miraculous turnaround and all of their contributors, so many names probably come to your mind before the name Caleb Durbin. You think of Ceylon Raphael. You think of Sonny Gray.

You think of Wilson Contreras. You think of Eraldus Chapman. You think of so many talented players on this team. But for me, this is one of the biggest reasons why the Red Sox are starting to feel like a true World Series contender. because of the improved play of Caleb Durbin, who's 5-6-185. He's from my life, man. I feel like I'm watching myself up there.

That's my comp. I don't know, maybe. Something like that. He makes me feel some sort of way. And Trev, you know what's the best part about this whole thing? Look at the bottom six in weighted runs created plus by third baseman this year in terms of teams and how they've produced at third base. New York Yankees, 84 weighted runs created plus from third base is 24th.

Atlanta Braves, 81, that's 25th in baseball. 74 for the Milwaukee Brewers is second to last in baseball. All three of those teams could definitely use a Caleb Durbin right now. And instead, he's playing for the Boston Red Sox as one of the best contributors on the team and one of the unsung heroes of a magical season. So he will get the how come he don't want me award. Excellent award. I'm glad you brought up that quote.

I haven't, I don't know, I haven't watched Fresh Prince in a while. Olivia was putting that on for our kids. I don't remember exactly when that was. It wasn't too long ago a couple months ago. So we watched a few of the episodes, and it brought me back. What a great show. What a great concept for a show.

Based on a true story? Yeah, based on a true story. Yeah, but Caleb Durbin's been awesome. I mean, the Red Sox that you could, you know, close your eyes and point to anybody on the roster, and they're doing well right now. But I do like the Caleb Durbin because you get traded to a big market, and you struggle and that could be very daunting.

And, you know, he went, corrected some things with his swing. And before this all went down this year, we were calling him, could this be the next Dustin Prodoya? Not in the way and the impact the Pejoria hags. I don't think anyone's going to match that. But, you know, the scrappy underdog-type looking guy coming and leading in the infield, and he's been that as of late. They got a bunch of clutch performers on that team.

But watching Caleb Durbin turn it around has been definitely one of the bright spots for the Red Sox. I am going. Yeah, I'm going to go with the new kid in town award. Do you have any stories about being the new kid? I mean, when I first started here. That's cool. I don't really care because I have. Okay, cool.

Sounds good, man. I'll just check out. I'll leave. I can head out the door if you want, actually. I have a story about being the new kid in town. I went through seven years or eight years, I guess, kindergarten through seventh grade at a school. And for whatever reason, I don't even really remember the reason why. I had to go to a new school my eighth grade year.

So, you know, I walk into this school. I don't know a dang person. That's my first time being the new kid. I've been around the same kids for eight straight years. All of a sudden, I'm walking in, you know, to a gauntlet, man. And my first day, I'll never forget this. I'm not talking to anyone. Nobody wants to even be around me at all, which is, you know, that's pretty sad for a kid of that age. We get on the basketball court at lunch. And they're, and I'm like, I'm going to go play

basketball. What's up? There's this one kid in particular who looks like the guy, you know, he's like the athlete, the guy. He's got the ball. And somehow I end up on him. First, like, first, you know, back and forth in the game. He tries to do some move on me. I steal the ball from him and I go make a layup. And I'll never forget people in their reaction. I remember hearing one person say, I told you, I knew it, I knew it.

From that day forward, Jolly. Trevor Poof was born. A new kid, I was the cool kid. Did I get voted most popular in the yearbook? I did. It's not a big deal, Jolly. It's not a big deal. There's always something.

about the new kid. There's songs written about it. The new kid in town. He's always enticing. The girls love the new kid. They always do something a little different, mysterious about the new kid. I'm going to talk about a new kid who's not really mysterious because everybody knows him. He's been doing this his entire career. I'm going with Luis Arise and what he is going to mean for the Philadelphia Phillies. What does he do? In his first three games, he drives in four runs. Two runs in his first game, one apiece in his next two with a solo shot, which is awesome to see. But it's the energy that he's bringing to that Phillies clubhouse.

Derek Hill, love you. Louisa Rize is the guy there. And I think what we're going to see from him and why he's going to be so impactful for the Phillies is, a lot of their offense is very, very streaky. You're going to look for Harper to get hot with the homers and the extra base hits. You're going to look for Swarber to get hot with the homers. But a lot of times those guys in those offensive profiles can grow cold. They can strike out in big situations and kind of,

I don't want to call them rally killers, but at times there's a lot of rally killers in that lineup. The thing that Luis Arise is going to bring is he just gets hits. He doesn't strike out. They needed this kind of difference in that line. up to go. And I think, you know, we've gotten so far down the slug rabbit hole that we, you know, sometimes undervalue guys that pass the baton that can keep the momentum of an inning going. Watch any baseball game and tell me that doesn't matter. It does. Keep it going. Work a walk.

Have foul off some pitches, make the pitcher work harder and near a bat instead of going down on three or four pitches. That is Luis arise, besides the walk part. But he's going to a battle. He's going to continue to pass the baton. And more than anything, I think this Phillies roster, Jolly, they've been together for a long time. It hasn't gone stale, but when you're around the same guys, like the energy isn't always there. It starts to get a little monotonous. You trade for a guy like Louisa Rise. We saw the energy that he brought. And I truly believe that the Phillies go and are a real part of this energy. playoff race,

pennant chase type situation. Louisa Rise is going to be right in the thick of all of it, just because of the difference he'll make in that lineup. He's just a different, they don't have guys like this. They don't have any guys like this in the lineup, and now

they do, and it was so refreshing. I didn't have him going to Philly. I didn't see it. I didn't think they were going to make that move. But they were the team that probably needed somebody like this the most. they got him and it's immediately paid dividends. We talked about the series win against the nationals.

And I'm just really, really excited to see, you know, what he does going forward. But I'm almost positive that he is going to be one of, if not the biggest impacts in that lineup going forward. So go Luis de Rise, go. Great guy. Teammates love him. And being the new guy bringing the energy, I think is a lot of fun. Great award, Trev. I got two things on your word really quick.

One, what kind of superlative is most popular? That's nothing. That's nothing at all. Come on. And did you really win that? Can I get like photo evidence of that? I didn't vote for me. Is there a photo evidence of that?

I would like to see that. I doubt I have my eighth grade year of work, but you have to just trust me. Real convenient. I loved what you said about the offensive like fit of Louise Rice because I also didn't have him going to the Phillies. I had him going to an ALE's team. Treve, how about this? What was the story of their playoffs the last two years?

striking out in those big moments. How many times do you think the Phillies struck out in four games in last year's NLDS? Do you guess? Ooh, four games, NLDS. I'm going to guess 40. Close. 38. So about 10 strikeouts per game.

The year before in the NLDS, guess how many times they struck out in four games? 40. 38. Again. So pretty much the same story, two NLDS as in a row. And you know who never strikes out? Luis Arayas. So it's going to be a good fit.

And you're right. It's exactly what they needed. Yeah, I love it, man. So go Luis Rezgo. Go me for being most popular. Kind of been that way the rest of my life. Glue guy, Jolly. Guy lifts up everybody.

Use code talking 2026 for 10% off your next set of tickets at C Geek. Jolly, that was a lot of fun, man. I appreciate you feeling it. As always, just you're a ball nowhere. You and I, we know ball. That's what we do. We'll be back on Monday. Jake will be back from his fantasy boys trip.

Jake sucks. And he sucks. I'm checking out, Trev. I'm checking out. That's it for me. I'm happy for you, dude. I love, love. Congratulations.

Send me the register. I can't wait to send you a gift. I'm looking forward to it. Treve, I appreciate it. Baseball's over. Season's done for me. You can shave that beard for your wedding or what? Hell no.

I've got that drawline. Thank you.