Last Night in Sports: August 20, 2026

St. Louis scored six runs in the top of the ninth to outlast a Cincinnati rally, the Angels put up 18 on Houston, and the Raiders overcame a 17-0 hole to win their preseason opener in a nine-game MLB Thursday.

MLB — August 20, 2026 (9 games)

• Atlanta Braves 2, Chicago White Sox 0
• Seattle Mariners 4, Milwaukee Brewers 7
• Toronto Blue Jays 5, Tampa Bay Rays 1
• Athletics 2, Kansas City Royals 6
• San Francisco Giants 2, Cleveland Guardians 5
• St. Louis Cardinals 10, Cincinnati Reds 9
• New York Yankees 6, Baltimore Orioles 1
• Washington Nationals 0, Texas Rangers 2
• Los Angeles Angels 18, Houston Astros 3

St. Louis Cardinals, 10 — Cincinnati Reds, 9. St. Louis (66-63) trailed 5-4 entering the ninth, scored six runs in the top half to seize a 10-5 lead, then held on as Cincinnati (61-67) answered with four runs in the bottom of the ninth to fall one run short, 10-9.

Los Angeles Angels, 18 — Houston Astros, 3. The Angels broke the game open with six runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth, out-hitting Houston 18-8 in a rout that was over well before the final pitch.

Quick Hits

• Atlanta Braves, 2 — Chicago White Sox, 0. Chicago managed one hit all game in the shutout, with Atlanta scoring single runs in the third and seventh.
• Milwaukee Brewers, 7 — Seattle Mariners, 4. Milwaukee's six-run first inning held up despite Seattle answering with two runs each in the second and fourth; the Brewers out-hit the Mariners 11-6.
• Toronto Blue Jays, 5 — Tampa Bay Rays, 1. Toronto scored in three separate innings while Tampa Bay's lone run came in the fourth; the Blue Jays out-hit the Rays 12-5.
• Kansas City Royals, 6 — Athletics, 2. Kansas City spread runs across the first, third, fourth, and fifth while the Athletics' only scoring came in the fifth; the Royals out-hit Oakland 12-8 despite two Athletics errors.
• Cleveland Guardians, 5 — San Francisco Giants, 2. Cleveland's three-run first held up after San Francisco's only runs came in the fourth; the Guardians out-hit the Giants 9-5.
• New York Yankees, 6 — Baltimore Orioles, 1. New York scored in the third, sixth, and eighth while Baltimore's only run came in the fifth; the Yankees out-hit the Orioles 11-4.
• Texas Rangers, 2 — Washington Nationals, 0. Texas held Washington to a single hit all game, scoring in the third and eighth.

NFL Preseason — August 20, 2026 (2 games)

• Las Vegas Raiders 22, Houston Texans 20
• San Francisco 49ers 41, Los Angeles Chargers 17

Las Vegas Raiders, 22 — Houston Texans, 20. Houston led 17-0 after the first quarter of both teams' preseason opener, but Las Vegas answered with 3 in the second, 7 in the third, and 12 in the fourth to complete the comeback.

• San Francisco 49ers, 41 — Los Angeles Chargers, 17. San Francisco's 20-point second quarter put the preseason game away.

What to watch tonight

A seven-game MLB Friday runs from a 4:10 PM ET getaway-day game in Milwaukee to a late finish at Camden Yards. NFL preseason continues with two more games.

• MLB: St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies, 6:40 PM ET. St. Louis (66-63) visits Philadelphia (70-58) a night after the Cardinals' six-run ninth beat Cincinnati.
• NFL: New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers, 7:00 PM ET. Preseason play continues at Acrisure Stadium.

Full details in the Tonight preview.