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Craig Kimbrel's return to the Atlanta Braves was promising in Friday night's 5-4 loss in extra to the San Francisco Giants. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning while giving up a hit and a walk. He stuck out a batter to end the inning.
If he pitches that way every time he comes out to the mound, the Braves are in that much better of a position to win. With the way the bullpen imploded the day before, seeing just keep an opponent scoreless is a great start.
However, the team remains out of sync, as evident by the loss. One thing goes right while something else goes wrong.
They scored four runs, which should have been a plus too. However, other problems meant it wasn't enough. They found themselves behind early, 3-0. Two fielding errors in the first didn't help either and one of the runs was unearned. A cleaner defensive inning could have meant a 4-3 win to bounce back and start the road trip on a high note.
Spencer Schwellenbach had a poorly timed rough first inning to complement the errors. He allowed three singles, a walk and a wild pitch. Errors might have extended the inning and allowed them to happen, but he still contributed to a messy inning nonetheless.
Heading back to the offense for a moment. Even when they scored four runs, they had a lot of the same issues we've seen all season. They went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. The top half of the lineup outside of Matt Olson had a poor performance. Remove Olson, and the first four batters in the lineup went 2-for-17. That's not going to cut.
Three scoreless frames in the game had at least one runner in scoring position. Manager Brian Snitker made the peculiar decision to put Drake Baldwin in to pinch hit for Nick Allen while no one was on base with one out. He then had to be subbed out for Luke Williams, who ended up being the guy at the plate for a bases-loaded situation in the top of the 10th.
It gets frustrating when these games are so winnable and they find ways to remain in the loss column. They can get the credit for actively trying to make changes, but the Braves have now dropped five straight and have lost 12 of 15. The damage controls in place aren't working.
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Milwaukee Brewers Force Paul Skenes Into Unfiltered Admission About Brew Crew After 14-0 Beatdown
Perhaps Superman Paul Skenes has found his kryptonite
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes may continue to be one of the top contenders for the National League Cy Young Award, but there is one place where he has appeared mortal this season. On Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Brewers did to Skenes what they have done to plenty of MLB pitchers in 2025 ... put up big offensive numbers. For the second time this season (Skenes also pitched in Milwaukee on June 25), the Brewers forced him from the game after just 4.0 innings on Tuesday night, logging six hits and four runs during his time on the mound. Both of those performances came at Milwaukee's home stadium (American Family Field) and both are now Skenes' shortest outings of the season. While another NL Central team has put up more runs against Skenes this season (the St. Louis Cardinals nicked him for five runs in 6.0 innings on April 8), no other team has had the same kind of success over multiple starts by Skenes in 2025 as have the Brewers inside their home stadium. In all this season, Skenes has given up 10 hits and eight runs in 8.0 innings in Milwaukee. It was his third career outing on the road against the Brewers, with his lone 2024 start representing arguably the best outing of his rookie season. On July 11, 2024, Skenes struck out 11 and didn't allow a hit over 7.0 innings as the Pirates would eventually post a 1-0 victory. Tuesday's short outing was highlighted by a pair of Milwaukee home runs, including a leadoff solo shot by Sal Frelick that quickly set the tone for the Brewers. While Milwaukee's hit parade helped raise Skenes' ERA on the season to 2.13, it's hardly any reason for concern in a season where the 23-year-old right-hander is still a heavy favorite (-600) to win the NL Cy Young Award, per BetMGM. Skenes struggling in Milwaukee is likely more yet another stamp of approval on the Brewers' potential to be a threat once the postseason arrives. With an 18-4 record since the All-Star break entering Tuesday, Milwaukee has taken over the NL Central race from the Chicago Cubs. So what's the good news for Skenes? This is Pittsburgh's last trip to Milwaukee this season and the next-to-last series for the Pirates against the red-hot Brewers. Milwaukee will visit PNC Park for a three-game series on Sept. 5-7, and if Skenes gets a chance for revenge against Milwaukee, there couldn't be a better place for him to take the mound. This season, in 11 starts covering 68.2 innings, Skenes has a 1.70 ERA in the Steel City.
Jordan Love's thumb surgery comes at inopportune time for Packers
The Green Bay Packers have a cause for concern with Jordan Love in the preseason. The quarterback suffered a thumb injury during the Packers' 30-10 loss to the New York Jets on Saturday. Love went 1-of-5 passing for seven yards and took a sack for -3 yards in the defeat. Both of his drives ended in punts. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Love is set to have surgery on his thumb after seeing how it held up at practice on Monday. General manager Brian Gutekunst believes Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Detroit Lions. "Gutekunst sounded adamant that Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Lions," Schneidman wrote. "Hit his left hand on a helmet on that half-scramble vs. Jets. Wanted to see how it felt at practice yesterday and decided to get it fixed to avoid future issues. Will be with team in Indianapolis. "Brian Gutekunst says Jordan Love is having a procedure done on his left thumb. It’s a 'ligament thing.' Hurt it in the preseason opener. Gutekunst hopes he returns to practice next week." The injury comes at an inopportune time for the Packers. Love and the majority of his receivers have not been in sync during training camp and in the preseason game. Like last season, Packers' receivers have dropped passes during practices and did so in the preseason opener against the Jets. Green Bay needs Love on the field, gaining chemistry with his pass-catching targets, including first-round pick Matthew Golden, before it plays the Lions.
Bryson DeChambeau divulges Scottie Scheffler's biggest advantage
We all know Scottie Scheffler is the best golfer on the planet by a fairly large margin, but what makes him so much more consistent than other stars in professional golf? Bryson DeChambeau, one of Scheffler's biggest rivals in major championships, thinks he knows the answer. In Tuesday's appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," DeChambeau detailed how Scheffler dominates the PGA Tour weekly. "He's got the best spin and distance control I've ever seen," DeChambeau said. "He controls the golf ball from a spin perspective so much better than everybody else. Like, if you're 175 yards out, and it's 10 miles [an hour] into the wind, he knows how to control the flight and spin to get that ball to land right next to the hole every time. Probably since Tiger [Woods], he's the best that we've seen." The stats confirm DeChambeau's breakdown. Scheffler has ranked first on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approach in three straight seasons. He also ranks first in proximity to the hole and greens in regulation percentage over the last four years. Iron play is Scheffler's superpower, but it wasn't always that way. "I played with him in college a bunch, and I've said it before, but he's definitely improved since college for sure," DeChambeau said with a chuckle. "It's impressive to see what he's done, and we're all aspiring to do that. That's something I've gotta get better at. I can hit it farther than him. I can hit it probably straighter than him. I can make just as many putts as him, but, really, it's about my iron play right now and wedges to get a little more consistent." Iron play is the biggest indicator of success in professional golf. If you're giving yourself more birdie chances from close range than anyone in the field, you're going to have the best chance to win by Sunday afternoon. No one is better at hitting specific distances more consistently than Scheffler. Just look at how accurate he is. DeChambeau has the best chance to catch Scheffler as the best player in the world because he's elite off the tee and on the greens, but that won't happen unless he makes a major improvement to his iron game.
Bills highly touted rookie might end up on injured reserve
The Buffalo Bills avoided the worst-case scenario with Maxwell Hairston, but the first-round pick still looks unlikely to begin the season on time. How much of the season he misses now looks like the key question. Hairston suffered an LCL sprain early in training camp. While this represented a significant break for the Bills after an ACL tear was initially feared, Sean McDermott said an IR stint to open the season is in play. Due to Hairston’s recovery timeline, McDermott confirmed (via The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia) the team will probably need to discuss the prospect of Maxwell opening the season on IR. On a positive note, McDermott said (via the Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski) Hairston is off crutches. Buffalo would have two IR options with Hairston. The team could use one of its two summer IR-return slots, which are available to teams before roster-cutdown day, to save a roster spot as Hairston continues to rehab. The Bills could also carry Hairston on the 53-man roster past cutdown day and then shift him to IR. The second path would be unlikely, as it is expected Hairston will be back to contribute as a rookie. He thus makes sense for one of the team’s August IR-return slots, which must be announced by 3 p.m. CT Aug. 26. Last year, the Bills used both their summer IR-return slots — which became available to teams beginning in 2024 — by stashing Matt Milano and running back Darrynton Evans on their injured list. This covered two of Buffalo’s eight injury activations. While Milano returned from IR late in the season, the Bills did not activate Evans and instead cut him. The team had aimed for Hairston to start opposite the recently extended Christian Benford, letting Rasul Douglas test free agency. While the two-year Buffalo starter remains available, the Bills have reunited with Tre’Davious White. The former All-Pro, whose career skidded off track due to ACL and Achilles tears, is moving toward a chance to start again. This represents a risk due to White’s recent form, but the Bills have been pleased with how the nine-year veteran has looked during camp. White is going into his age-30 season and struggled in four Rams starts, being traded (to the Ravens) in a seventh-round pick swap at the deadline. Baltimore used White as a backup in seven games. White started 82 games for the Bills from 2017-23. Buffalo also reunited with 28-game starter Dane Jackson this offseason; Jackson spent 2023 with the Panthers. Hairston missing this much practice time will likely affect his development. The Bills will not be eligible to designate the Kentucky product to return to practice until after Week 4. It would make sense Hairston hitting IR would lead to a longer absence than the four-game minimum, as the team would seemingly want him to ramp up during practice. The Bills could avoid this scenario by keeping Hairston off IR, using a week-to-week strategy that would allow for earlier practice work in the event he is ready.
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