MLB

• Rays 8 Angels 3
  • I can’t get over how good Drew Rasmussen has been this month. I know Kevin Cash loves deploying at least several relievers per game, but it’d be nice to also see the righty pitch deeper into games. He deserves it with his 1.59 ERA in August.
• Cardinals 8 Cubs 3
  • Yeah, let’s go ahead and give Paul Goldschmidt the NL MVP. His .339/.420/.637 slash line does all the talking, but the first baseman also leads the NL in WAR with 7.1.
• Phillies 4 Reds 0
  • Aaron Nola is a very good pitcher, so a run output of zero is understandable in this game, but the Reds have been downtrodden since the decent run they had midseason. Kyle Farmer is a decent player, but he should never be batting third for an MLB team.
• Mets 3 Rockies
  • The Mets were -480 to win this contest — one of the biggest single-game MLB favorites I can remember. It’s quite easy for a team like the Mets to beat a team like the Rockies, especially at Citi Field, when Jacob deGrom is on the bump.
• Blue Jays 6 Red Sox 5
  • Any hope Boston had of playing baseball extending deep into the month of October has pretty much vanished after this four-game losing streak. For the Red Sox, a big winter awaits. Contract talks between the club and Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, and possibly even J.D. Martinez loom.
• Astros 6 Twins 3
  • The Orioles are doing just fine, but I’m still a bit perplexed as to why the organization shipped Trey Mancini off to Houston. The 30-year-old sports an OPS of .821 since changing postal codes.
• Yankees 13 Athletics 4
  • Maybe getting talented slugger Giancarlo Stanton back into the lineup will be all the Yankees need. Stanton drove in three runs yesterday, and should be able to take some pressure off a somewhat slumping Anthony Rizzo.