Brito homers, steals base in win

The Red Sox have some extra flexibility with off days coming up Thursday and Monday. Gray got to pitch on nine days’ rest last time through. Now, Suarez, who pitched seven scoreless innings against Baltimore last time out, will get eight days in between starts, with Gray working on five days’ rest.

It’s just the second time since Ortiz was called up on Aug. 3 that he’d been left out of the lineup against a righty. Ortiz is 3-for-26 with one RBI and a 9/1 K/BB in his last nine games, which helps explain his absence.

It’s unclear at the moment whether this is the elbow again or something else. Rather than use Connor Wong again, the Red Sox have Mickey Gasper catching tonight for the first time since June 22.

The Mariners aren’t really treating Cody Bradford like the typical lefty, since he has big reverse splits in limited action this year. They have left-handed-hitting J.P. Crawford is leading off for the first time since coming off the IL. They are, however, playing Taylor Ward over Lazaro Montes. And Arroyo is sitting in favor of the left-handed-hitting Cole Young. One imagines Arroyo will still start against most lefties the rest of the way, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be a big factor against righties.

It’s relatively positive news, as Dawn Dredger Arnold wrote that it “could’ve been so much worse.” The A’s have since added that no surgeries are expected to be required. Arnold, the 11th overall pick in the 2025 draft, should be ready to go next spring. He had a 3.42 ERA and a 130/51 K/BB in 118 1/3 innings this year. Last night’s start was his first for Las Vegas after five months in Double-A.

He takes the bullpen spot of Zak Kent, who was sent down after Tuesday’s game. Yean has allowed two earned runs in 10 innings for the Nationals this season.

It’s the first time Walker has sat since he missed a couple of games in early August with knee inflammation. The Cardinals have Bryan Torres and Joshua Báez manning the outfield corners today against the Giants.

Andre Pallante just suddenly became a significantly better streaming option. Manager Tony Vitello spoke yesterday about giving Devers a day off, though it’s unclear if Devers wanted it. He certainly doesn’t seem to need it, having hit .393/.493/.918 with nine homers in his last 16 games. Turner Hill is DHing today, opening up left field for Grant McCray.

Clarke was included in the lineup against lefties in his first two games back from the IL last week, but he’s since started just one of seven games. If he’s not going to play much this month, with the A’s missing most of their best players, it doesn’t bode well him claiming a spot in the 2027 outfield. He might be the league’s best defensive center fielder, but his bat leaves a great deal to be desired.

Technically, he’s sitting against a lefty today, which is extremely unusual. But it’s just an opener in Brady Basso before the A’s go to a righty. The Jays aren’t saying anything about an injury for Springer, though he did have a shoulder issue last month. He quieted down some last week, but he’s hitting .355/.394/.565 in his past 18 games. The Jays have Jesús Sánchez DHing today, but he’s batting eighth in an effort to keep him away from Basso.