The Buzz · August 14, 2026
The Buzz — Friday, August 14
From an Iowa cornfield to a near no-hitter to an 85-pitch complete game, the slate was louder than mid-August usually gets. Five players made the noise — here is the number under each.
Kyle Schwarber
The take Two homers into the Iowa corn, and the league lead with them
The cornfield is the image everyone will carry, but the number is 37 — major-league-leading home runs after a two-homer performance that pushed the Phillies past the Twins 7-1 in Iowa. The leadoff blast came on the third pitch from Taj Bradley for his 36th of the season; the fourth-inning two-run shot made it 37. Luke Keaschall got a glove on the second one above the wall and the ball still found the corn.
This was not a novelty act in a novelty park. It was Schwarber's sixth multi-homer game of the season and his second in less than a week, after two against the Blue Jays on the prior Sunday. The Field of Dreams gave him the backdrop. The swing has been doing the work for weeks.
Kyle Schwarber cards on eBay →(paid link)
Cade Cavalli
The take Nearly no-hit Cubs over eight scoreless
The first fifteen Cubs went down in order, and by the time Michael Busch singled with two outs in the seventh, the no-hitter was already the story. Cavalli finished eight scoreless on 103 pitches, allowing one hit and two walks with ten strikeouts in a 7-0 win that ran his record to 10-5.
The stretch says the same thing. Across his last nine starts he is 6-1 with a 2.36 ERA and a .203 opponents' average, with seven straight quality starts — the longest active streak in the majors. This is a first full season after Tommy John surgery, and that streak in August is not a pitcher wearing down — it is a pitcher building.
Cade Cavalli cards on eBay →(paid link)
Braxton Ashcraft
The take First career CG: 10 Ks, 85 pitches vs Marlins
Eighty-five pitches for a complete game is the number that should stop you, more than the ten strikeouts. Ashcraft faced the minimum until Owen Caissie's leadoff homer in the ninth, needed only 64 strikes across nine innings, and became the first Pirate to throw a nine-inning complete game since Mitch Keller on May 6, 2024. He is 12-5, a 2026 All-Star, and the Pirates' win leader. The complete game is part of the role he already fills. Three double plays did the rest.
Braxton Ashcraft cards on eBay →(paid link)
Byron Buxton
The take Buxton back from IL, straight into center field for Iowa
The Twins did not send him on a rehab assignment. They activated Byron Buxton from the injured list Thursday, put him in center field, and batted him second — no DH-only restriction, no cautious bench role. Manager Derek Shelton said he would return to center field, and the lineup card confirmed it.
This is his second IL stint this season for the same right hip impingement, after 14 games on the shelf since July 29. A club cautious enough to shelve him twice for the same joint is now clearing him for full defensive duty on activation day. Buxton worked out Monday, ran the bases, hit on the field, felt good Tuesday, and was on the roster Thursday as the 27th man for the Field of Dreams game.
The production explains the urgency. Buxton is slashing .263/.320/.544 with 25 home runs in 82 games — already the third-most in a season for his career. The risk is a hip that has put him on the IL twice since July. The reward is the bat and glove the Twins skipped a rehab assignment to get back on the field, in center, not at DH, on the first day.
Byron Buxton cards on eBay →(paid link)
Shohei Ohtani
The take Raking at the plate, rehabbing the knee — both can be true
The crowd wants to talk about the home run chase and the rehab, and both are real — but they are not the same story. Ohtani's 27th home run of the season, a two-run go-ahead drive in the third inning, decided a 4-2 win over the Royals on August 12 and completed a series sweep. He is hitting .292 with a .937 OPS and 74 RBI, sixth in the National League in home runs.
The pitching side is separate and slower. He has not pitched since July 3 because of left knee discomfort, but he has progressed to long toss beyond 200 feet and simulated mound deliveries, with a realistic chance of September starts. He is fully active as the designated hitter — the knee is a pitching problem, and the distance between those two timelines is exactly what the DH was built for.
Shohei Ohtani cards on eBay →(paid link)
What lasts past the highlights
Schwarber's cornfield homers are the moment, and Buxton's activation was the theater Iowa demanded. Ashcraft's complete game came in a 13-1 laugher, and Ohtani's two timelines will resolve on their own schedule. Cavalli is the one with staying power — 10-5 with a 2.36 ERA over his last nine starts and the longest active quality-start streak in the majors, in his first full season after Tommy John surgery. If the next six weeks hold, the Nationals have the rotation anchor they have spent years looking for.