The Friday, August 28 Major League Baseball schedule featured all 30 teams, with 15 games completed across the league. The Yankees won a tense rivalry matchup with Boston, Philadelphia produced one of the night's biggest late-inning rallies, Milwaukee continued to own baseball's best record, and Baltimore needed extra innings to get past the Athletics.
Cincinnati Reds 10, Chicago Cubs 8
Cincinnati erased an early three-run deficit and survived a furious Chicago comeback to beat the Cubs 10-8 at Wrigley Field. Sal Stewart hit his 29th home run and collected his 102nd RBI of the season, setting a Reds rookie record. Tyler Stephenson's three-run homer highlighted Cincinnati's five-run sixth inning, and Elly De La Cruz added a two-run single in the seventh. Chicago pulled within one behind Pedro Ramírez's three-run homer and Seiya Suzuki's RBI double in the eighth before TJ Friedl supplied insurance with a ninth-inning homer. Cincinnati improved to 64-71, while Chicago fell to 76-59.
Los Angeles Dodgers 2, Detroit Tigers 1
Tarik Skubal made an emotional return to Comerica Park as a Dodger, but Los Angeles needed a late rally to beat his former team 2-1. Detroit rookie Max Clark tripled home the game's first run in the fifth inning. Miguel Rojas tied it with an RBI single in the sixth before Freddie Freeman delivered the go-ahead single in the eighth. Tanner Scott closed out the victory for his 20th save. The Dodgers moved to 81-54, while Detroit dropped to 62-72.
Washington Nationals 9, Miami Marlins 2
Washington broke the game open with five runs in the third inning and rolled past Miami 9-2. Brady House supplied the biggest blow with a three-run homer, his 10th of the season. Harry Ford homered later, Dylan Crews contributed a two-run double and Daylen Lile added an RBI triple. Jackson Kent earned his first Major League victory for Washington. The Nationals improved to 64-73, while Miami slipped below .500 at 68-67.
Kansas City Royals 3, Cleveland Guardians 0
Michael Wacha delivered one of the strongest pitching performances of the night as Kansas City shut out Cleveland 3-0. Wacha recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts while keeping the Guardians off the scoreboard. Salvador Perez drove in the game's first run, and Carter Jensen provided breathing room with a two-run homer in the ninth. Steven Cruz finished the shutout for his sixth save. Kansas City improved to 61-75, while Cleveland fell to 68-67.
Houston Astros 3, New York Mets 1
Hunter Brown struck out 10 as Houston held the Mets to one run in a 3-1 victory at Citi Field. New York took the lead on Carson Benge's RBI double in the fourth, but Houston responded in the sixth. Daulton Varsho drove home two runs with a single before Yainer Diaz added another RBI single. Josh Hader recorded his 20th save as Houston improved to 68-67 and the Mets dropped to 60-75.
Tampa Bay Rays 9, San Diego Padres 4
The Rays used a five-run fourth inning to take control of their 9-4 win over San Diego. Yandy Díaz opened the scoring with his 20th homer and later drove in another run during the fourth-inning outburst. Cedric Mullins contributed an RBI single and later hit a solo home run, while Junior Caminero also drove in a run. Jackson Merrill homered for San Diego. Shane McClanahan earned his 10th win as Tampa Bay improved to 80-54.
Toronto Blue Jays 8, Seattle Mariners 1
George Springer went 4-for-4 with a home run and scored three times as Toronto overwhelmed Seattle 8-1. Dylan Cease struck out eight over six innings, allowing only one run and four hits. Nathan Lukes and Kazuma Okamoto also homered for Toronto, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. contributed an RBI double. Seattle's only run came on Dominic Canzone's first-inning homer. Toronto improved to 66-70 while Seattle fell to 64-71.
Atlanta Braves 6, Colorado Rockies 4
Atlanta built an early four-run lead and held off Colorado for a 6-4 victory. Michael Harris II was at the center of the Braves' offense, hitting an RBI double in the second and a two-run homer in the fifth. Sean Murphy, Drake Baldwin and Mauricio Dubón also drove in runs. Raisel Iglesias recorded his 29th save as Atlanta improved to 80-55. Colorado dropped to 52-83.
New York Yankees 1, Boston Red Sox 0
One run was enough for the Yankees in a tense rivalry game at Yankee Stadium. Paul Goldschmidt's third-inning solo homer accounted for the only scoring as New York beat Boston 1-0. Cam Schlittler threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and recorded his 200th strikeout of the season, becoming the fourth-youngest pitcher in Yankees history to reach that mark. Cody Bellinger also made a crucial throw to the plate to preserve the lead. David Bednar earned his 31st save. New York improved to 76-58, while Boston fell to 73-61.
Milwaukee Brewers 6, Texas Rangers 1
MLB-leading Milwaukee continued its strong season with a 6-1 victory over Texas. Rookie Logan Henderson was outstanding, allowing only one hit over seven innings while striking out seven and walking none. Danny Jansen's third-inning solo homer was the only hit Henderson surrendered. William Contreras drove in three runs, Christian Yelich collected three hits and Jake Bauers reached base five times. Milwaukee improved to an MLB-best 84-51, while Texas fell to 66-69.
Chicago White Sox 7, Minnesota Twins 4
Chicago jumped on Minnesota for four runs in the first inning and eventually came away with a 7-4 victory. Andrew Benintendi opened the scoring with an RBI single before Colson Montgomery launched a three-run homer, his 28th of the season. Minnesota answered quickly with home runs from Brooks Lee and Kody Clemens and tied the game 4-4 in the second. Benintendi's RBI double in the third put Chicago back in front for good. The White Sox improved to 71-63, while Minnesota fell to 64-71.
St. Louis Cardinals 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 1
Cardinals rookie Quinn Mathews earned his first Major League victory with 5 2/3 innings of one-run baseball in St. Louis' 4-1 win over Pittsburgh. Mathews struck out seven and walked only one in his first MLB appearance at Busch Stadium. Jimmy Crooks supplied a two-run homer in the third inning, while Nathan Church added a sacrifice fly. St. Louis improved to 68-68 and remained within reach of the National League wild-card race. Pittsburgh fell to 65-71.
Philadelphia Phillies 5, Los Angeles Angels 3
Philadelphia produced one of the night's most dramatic finishes, scoring four runs in the ninth to beat the Angels 5-3. The Angels led 3-0 after the first inning and still held a 3-1 advantage entering the ninth. Wade Meckler appeared to preserve the lead by robbing Bryson Stott of a potential go-ahead home run, but the Phillies loaded the bases with two outs. Edmundo Sosa then hit a 404-foot grand slam, the first of his career, to put Philadelphia ahead 5-3. The Phillies improved to 75-60, while Los Angeles lost its fifth straight and fell to 52-83.
Baltimore Orioles 4, Athletics 3 — 10 Innings
Baltimore needed extra innings before pulling out a 4-3 victory over the Athletics. The Orioles carried a 2-0 advantage into the seventh before Jonah Heim homered and Lawrence Butler tied the game with an RBI single in the eighth. In the 10th, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Coby Mayo delivered consecutive run-scoring singles to give Baltimore a 4-2 lead. Zack Gelof brought Oakland within one in the bottom half, but rookie Alex Hoppe finished the game for his first Major League save. Baltimore improved to 66-69.
Arizona Diamondbacks 10, San Francisco Giants 6
Arizona finished the night by beating San Francisco 10-6 in a high-scoring NL West matchup. Lars Nootbaar opened the game with a leadoff homer, while Corbin Carroll's two-run homer and Tim Tawa's three-run shot powered a five-run third inning that gave Arizona a 6-2 advantage. The Giants battled back to 6-5, but Ildemaro Vargas delivered a two-run single during another Arizona rally in the sixth. The Diamondbacks improved to 71-64, while San Francisco fell to 55-79.
Friday's results left Milwaukee with the best record in baseball at 84-51. The Dodgers moved to 81 victories, while the Rays and Braves each reached 80 wins. The Yankees' shutout of Boston also strengthened New York's position heading into the final month of the regular season, while Philadelphia, Chicago and Arizona all picked up victories with postseason implications.