CARDINALS WATCH: Joshua Báez became the first player with three homers in his MLB debut.ANGELS WATCH: Reid Detmers struck out 11 over eight scoreless innings.MARINERS WATCH: Cole Young homered and drove in four runs in Houston.GUARDIANS WATCH: Cleveland recorded the 10,000th win in franchise history.METS WATCH: Francisco Lindor completed a four-run comeback with a walk-off single.<

Joshua Báez Makes MLB History With Three Homers in His Cardinals Debut

DatabaseBall Daily — August 16, 2026

MLB Daily Edition for August 16, 2026 Featuring Games from Yesterday August 15, 2026

Player of the Day

Joshua Báez, St. Louis Cardinals — Báez made major-league history by becoming the first player to hit three home runs in his MLB debut. The 23-year-old homered on the first pitch he saw, went deep in each of his first three at-bats and drove in five runs as St. Louis beat the Cubs, 8-4, at Wrigley Field.

Top Stories

  • Báez authors a debut for the ages: Joshua Báez hit three home runs in his first three major-league at-bats and drove in five runs for St. Louis.
  • Detmers dominates: Reid Detmers struck out 11 over eight scoreless innings in his 100th career start as the Angels edged Kansas City, 1-0.
  • Seattle answers Houston: Cole Young homered, collected three hits and drove in four runs as the Mariners bounced back with a 10-5 victory.
  • Arenado doubles up: Nolan Arenado hit two home runs and drove in four as Arizona routed Atlanta, 10-3.
  • Cleveland reaches 10,000: Joey Cantillo allowed one hit over six innings as the Guardians recorded the 10,000th victory in franchise history.
  • Lindor walks it off: Francisco Lindor completed the Mets’ comeback from a four-run deficit with a ninth-inning single.

Last Night’s Scoreboard

White Sox 4, Tigers 3 — Andrew Benintendi’s eighth-inning single scored the deciding run as Chicago won its second straight in Detroit.

Cardinals 8, Cubs 4 — Joshua Báez hit three home runs in his major-league debut and drove in five.

Blue Jays 4, Yankees 1 — Charles McAdoo had two hits and two RBI as Toronto handed New York its third consecutive loss.

Giants 7, Rockies 1 — Drew Gilbert went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI, while Logan Webb struck out seven over six innings.

Mets 5, Nationals 4 — Francisco Lindor delivered a walk-off single after New York erased an early four-run deficit.

Orioles 4, Rays 3 (10 innings) — Tyler O’Neill singled home Colton Cowser with the go-ahead run in the 10th.

Marlins 8, Reds 4 — Jakob Marsee went 4-for-4 with a home run, and Miami scored five times over the final two innings.

Guardians 6, Padres 1 — Joey Cantillo held San Diego to one hit over six innings in Cleveland’s 10,000th franchise victory.

Mariners 10, Astros 5 — Cole Young had three hits, a three-run homer, four RBI and three runs.

Phillies 9, Twins 1 — Alec Bohm went 5-for-5 and Bryson Stott hit a three-run homer during a seven-run fifth inning.

Red Sox 4, Pirates 0 — Sonny Gray struck out seven across seven scoreless innings, and Wilyer Abreu homered.

Diamondbacks 10, Braves 3 — Nolan Arenado homered twice and Ildemaro Vargas added a three-run shot.

Brewers 4, Dodgers 1 — William Contreras and Joey Ortiz supplied the home runs behind six strong innings from Jacob Misiorowski.

Angels 1, Royals 0 — Reid Detmers threw eight scoreless innings before Nolan Schanuel delivered the game’s only run in the eighth.

Rangers 5, Athletics 3 — Wyatt Langford went 3-for-4 and broke a tie with a two-run homer in the fifth.

Game of the Day

Cardinals 8, Cubs 4 — Joshua Báez turned his first major-league game into a piece of baseball history. He crushed a 449-foot, two-run homer on the first pitch of his first plate appearance, added a solo shot in the fourth and hit a two-run homer to right in the sixth. Báez finished 3-for-4 with five RBI, becoming the first player ever to produce a three-homer MLB debut.

Big Bats

  • Joshua Báez, Cardinals: Three home runs and five RBI in his major-league debut.
  • Nolan Arenado, Diamondbacks: Two home runs, four RBI and three runs.
  • Cole Young, Mariners: Three hits, a three-run homer, four RBI and three runs.
  • Alec Bohm, Phillies: Went 5-for-5 with an RBI and two runs.
  • Jakob Marsee, Marlins: Went 4-for-4 with a home run and two runs.
  • Drew Gilbert, Giants: Three hits, a home run, three RBI and two runs.

Dealing

  • Reid Detmers, Angels: Eight scoreless innings, two hits, no walks and 11 strikeouts.
  • Sonny Gray, Red Sox: Seven scoreless innings, six hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.
  • Joey Cantillo, Guardians: Six innings, one hit, one run and seven strikeouts.
  • Emerson Hancock, Mariners: Seven innings, two runs and eight strikeouts.
  • Jesús Luzardo, Phillies: 6 2/3 innings, one run and nine strikeouts.
  • Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers: Six innings, one run, one walk and six strikeouts.

Who’s Hot

  • Chicago White Sox: Two straight wins and a 4 1/2-game lead in the AL Central.
  • Philadelphia Phillies: Back-to-back wins while strengthening their National League Wild Card position.
  • Arizona Diamondbacks: Two consecutive victories in Atlanta, including Saturday’s seven-run win.
  • Baltimore Orioles: Two straight one-run wins over the AL East-leading Rays.
  • Toronto Blue Jays: Consecutive victories over the Yankees have moved them within a half-game of an AL Wild Card spot.

Who’s Not

  • New York Yankees: Three straight losses and just one run scored Saturday in Toronto.
  • Kansas City Royals: Five losses in their last six games after being shut out by the Angels.
  • Tampa Bay Rays: Consecutive one-run losses to Baltimore after their nine-game winning streak ended Friday.
  • Atlanta Braves: Back-to-back home losses to Arizona by a combined 12 runs.
  • Minnesota Twins: Two straight losses and seven runs allowed in Philadelphia’s fifth inning Saturday.

Team Trends

  • Brewers: Improved to an MLB-best 76-48 with a 4-1 road victory over the Dodgers.
  • White Sox: Own a 4 1/2-game AL Central lead after taking the first two games of their series in Detroit.
  • Rangers: Moved within two games of Houston in the AL West by winning as the Astros lost.
  • Mets: Won their second straight despite falling behind 4-0 in the first inning.
  • Guardians: Reached 10,000 franchise wins while limiting San Diego to one hit.

Standings Watch

Milwaukee owns baseball’s best record at 76-48 and leads the NL Central by four games over Chicago. The Dodgers hold an eight-game advantage over Arizona and San Diego in the NL West, while Atlanta leads Philadelphia by 7 1/2 in the NL East. Tampa Bay remains 6 1/2 games ahead of New York in the AL East. The White Sox lead Detroit by 4 1/2 in the AL Central, and Houston’s AL West margin over Texas is down to two games.

Injury & Transactions Report

  • Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Toronto placed the first baseman on the seven-day injured list with a concussion.
  • Joshua Báez: St. Louis recalled Báez from Triple-A Memphis before his historic three-homer debut and optioned César Prieto.
  • Jakob Junis: Texas activated the right-hander from the 15-day injured list and designated Marco Gonzales for assignment.
  • Blake Treinen: The Dodgers sent the right-hander on a rehabilitation assignment.
  • Yusei Kikuchi: The Angels sent the left-hander on a rehabilitation assignment.
  • Sebastián Rivero: The Angels placed the catcher on the 60-day injured list with a left hamate fracture.

Today’s Games

  • Orioles at Rays — 12:15 p.m. ET — Trevor Rogers vs. Freddy Peralta
  • Red Sox at Pirates — 1:35 p.m. ET — Patrick Sandoval vs. Lake Bachar
  • Diamondbacks at Braves — 1:35 p.m. ET — Michael Soroka vs. Bryce Elder
  • Yankees at Blue Jays — 1:37 p.m. ET — Ryan Weathers vs. Dylan Cease
  • Nationals at Mets — 1:40 p.m. ET — Jake Irvin vs. Christian Scott
  • Padres at Guardians — 1:40 p.m. ET — Casey Mize vs. Tanner Bibee
  • White Sox at Tigers — 1:40 p.m. ET — Sean Burke vs. Drew Anderson
  • Marlins at Reds — 1:40 p.m. ET — Eury Pérez vs. Nick Lodolo
  • Phillies at Twins — 2:10 p.m. ET — Andrew Painter vs. Dean Kremer
  • Cardinals at Cubs — 3:15 p.m. ET — Hunter Dobbins vs. Edward Cabrera
  • Rockies at Giants — 4:05 p.m. ET — Gabriel Hughes vs. Blade Tidwell
  • Rangers at Athletics — 4:05 p.m. ET — Cody Bradford vs. Jacob Lopez
  • Royals at Angels — 4:07 p.m. ET — Noah Cameron vs. Ryan Johnson
  • Brewers at Dodgers — 4:10 p.m. ET — Logan Henderson vs. Tarik Skubal
  • Mariners at Astros — 7:20 p.m. ET — Bryan Woo vs. Hunter Brown

All times Eastern. Probable pitchers are subject to change.

Today’s Matchups to Watch

  • Logan Henderson vs. Tarik Skubal: The teams with the two best records in the National League finish their four-game set in Los Angeles.
  • Bryan Woo vs. Hunter Brown: Seattle and Houston close a dramatic AL West series after splitting the first two games.
  • Ryan Weathers vs. Dylan Cease: Toronto goes for a three-game sweep that would tighten the AL Wild Card race and extend New York’s slide.
  • Hunter Dobbins vs. Edward Cabrera: Joshua Báez returns to Wrigley one day after the first three-homer debut in MLB history.
  • Michael Soroka vs. Bryce Elder: Arizona can complete a road sweep and continue gaining ground in the NL Wild Card race.

Stat of the Day

Three: Joshua Báez hit three home runs in his major-league debut, becoming the first player in MLB history to accomplish the feat.

Quick Hitters

  • Joshua Báez homered on the first pitch of his first major-league plate appearance.
  • Báez hit his three home runs to center, left and right field.
  • Reid Detmers made his 100th career start and earned his first home victory in 22 home starts.
  • Cleveland recorded the 10,000th victory in franchise history.
  • Michael McGreevy allowed no earned runs over six innings in St. Louis’ win.
  • Francisco Lindor’s ninth-inning single gave the Mets their second straight victory.
  • William Contreras accounted for three of Milwaukee’s four runs with a homer and two runs scored.

Yesterday at a Glance

  • Games completed: 15 of 15
  • Total runs: 123
  • Highest-scoring game: Mariners 10, Astros 5 — 15 combined runs
  • Extra-inning games: Orioles–Rays
  • One-run games: Four
  • Shutouts: Red Sox 4, Pirates 0; Angels 1, Royals 0
  • Largest margin: Phillies 9, Twins 1 — eight runs
  • Best power performance: Joshua Báez — three home runs in his MLB debut
  • Best pitching performance: Reid Detmers — eight scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts