The Buzz — Sunday, August 23

JJ Bleday

The take Bleday hit cycle as Reds beat Diamondbacks

Bleday doubled in the first, tripled in the third, singled in the fourth, and homered in the sixth — the cycle completed in his first four at-bats, which is the part that separates a feat from a full-game grind. The home run was his 21st of the season.

It was the eighth cycle in Reds franchise history and the fourth in MLB this year, but the company is not what carries this one. Elly De La Cruz also went 4-for-6 with a home run, falling a triple short of his own cycle, and the Reds beat Arizona 11-5. The cycle is the headline. Two near-cycles in one lineup in one game is what tells you the Reds offense is the story, not just one man's night.

JJ Bleday cards on eBay →(paid link)

Luis Robert Jr.

The take Robert Jr. two-homer revenge vs old Sox in Mets win

Six seasons with the White Sox, traded in January, second game back at Rate Field, two balls over the fence — the revenge angle is not something the crowd invented. Robert went 2-for-5 with a two-run shot projected 405 feet in the third and a solo blast at 417 feet in the seventh, his first two-homer game since August 16, 2024 and the eighth of his career.

The Mets matched a season high with five home runs — Bo Bichette, Carson Benge and Luis Torrens joined in — and beat the White Sox 10-5. Robert drove in three. The night delivered everything the storyline promised.

But Robert is also a player who missed three months with a lumbar spine disc herniation, activated from the 60-day IL on July 20, and is hitting .318 with a .682 slugging percentage over 14 contests since. That is a real hot streak from a player whose $20 million team option the Mets are expected to decline. The revenge game is the story the crowd will remember. The option is the decision the Mets will make when the season is over — and one night against the team that traded you does not change that math.

Luis Robert Jr. cards on eBay →(paid link)

Randy Arozarena

The take Arozarena walk-off HR steals show on Anderson debut

Arozarena became the seventh player in MLB history with a leadoff homer and a walk-off homer in the same game, and that is the number that outlasts the debut. Kade Anderson's first start was fine — three earned in 5 2/3, five strikeouts on 81 pitches — but the night belonged to the man who took the first and last swings. The walk-off traveled 404 feet to straightaway center off Cubs closer Jacob Webb, erasing a 4-2 deficit in the ninth. Seattle stood at 62-68, three games back in the AL West. A great night, not a pivot.

Randy Arozarena cards on eBay →(paid link)

Dylan Cease

The take Cease took no-hit bid into 7th in Jays' Yankees win

The no-hitter lasted 6 2/3 innings and ended the way most of them do — a clean single by Jazz Chisholm Jr. with two outs in the seventh, not a cheap bleeder or a misplay. What survived the bid was the line: two hits, one run, eight strikeouts, and the five walks that muddied the night without undoing it. Cease threw 111 pitches, and only 60 were strikes.

The start that matters more than the bid is the season it sits inside. Cease is 8-5 with a 2.37 ERA and 209 strikeouts — the most in the American League — in a Cy Young race with Cam Schlittler. Nathan Lukes' solo homer in the eighth won it 4-3. The no-hit bid is the headline. The 2.37 is the case.

Dylan Cease cards on eBay →(paid link)

Tarik Skubal

The take Skubal's first Dodger win after early runs, 11 Ks

The three-run first was all Pittsburgh got. Skubal gave up the early damage, then retired 18 of his final 19 batters — 11 strikeouts over seven innings, one off his season high — for his first win as a Dodger in a 4-3 final. He was 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA in three starts since the trade. One start does not validate a deadline deal, but this was the first one that looked like the reason they made it.

Tarik Skubal cards on eBay →(paid link)