PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 12: Josiah Hartshorn #27 of the Chicago Cubs takes batting practice before the MLB All-Star Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the South Bend season over, first baseman Josiah Hartshorn, shortstop Angel Cepeda and outfielder Michael Gupton were promoted from South Bend to Knoxville.
Knoxville second baseman Drew Bowser, second baseman Dom Krupinski and right-hander Jacob Wallace were moved to the Development List to make room.
Terrific start tonight for Braxton Garrett, who allowed just one unearned run on two hits over five innings. Garrett walked two and struck out four as he picked up the win.
First baseman Kevin Alcántara hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning. It was his 20th home run this year, 21st counting the one in the majors. Alcántara went 2 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored.
Second baseman James Triantos doubled twice in a 3 for 4 night. He drove in two.
Third baseman Owen Miller went 3 for 5 with a stolen base. He drove in one and had one run scored.
DH Owen Ayers was 2 for 5 with a double. He had one RBI and scored one run.
Right fielder Chas McCormick opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning. McCormick went 2 for 5 with a double.
Center fielder Justin Dean was 2 for 5 with two runs scored.
Starter Jake Knapp allowed one run in the first, one in the second and three more in the third. Knapp’s final line was five runs on three hits over 2.2 innings. One of those hits was a solo home run in the first and another one was a three-run home run in the third. Knapp walked five and struck out two.
Grayson Moore relieved Knapp in the third inning, retired the next seven batters in order over the next 2.1 innings and got the win. Moore struck out two.
Tyler Schlaffer gave up two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it close, but then he retired the side in order in the seventh. That left things up to Tyler Ras, who was six-up, six-down in the eighth and ninth innings for the save. Ras struck out four.
Catcher Ariel Armas hit a two-run home run in the third inning, his seventh on the season. Armas went 1 for 5.
DH Alex Ramírez went 3 for 4 with two walks and two steals. He scored once.
Center fielder Kane Kepley was 2 for 5 with a walk and four steals. Kepley scored twice.
In his Double-A debut, shortstop Angel Cepeda went 2 for 4 and scored one run.
Right fielder Josiah Hartshorn also made his Knoxville debut. Hartshorn was 1 for 3 with two walks and a sacrifice fly. He also stole a base. Hartshorn had two total RBI and scored one run.
Smokies baserunners went 11-for-11 in stealing bases tonight. Second baseman Alex Madera was 1 for 2 with three walks and two steals. He scored one run. Shortstop Karson Simas was 1 for 4 with a walk and two more steals. Simas scored one run and drove in one.
The 19-year-old Hartshorn’s first hit in Double-A.
#Cubs No. 1 prospect Josiah Hartshorn picks up his first Double-A hit and RBI in his first at bat! pic.twitter.com/MDS4UZ8poF
BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 11: Sonny Gray #54 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday, September 11, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Joe Sullivan/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
We said the Royals were pesky. They came in and proved it in Game 1.
Kansas City beat the Red Sox 3-2 at Fenway Park on Friday night. Not a great start to a series that matters. The Royals had no business being three up through three innings in this ballpark against this team—and yet there they were.
Sonny Gray was the story, and not the good kind. Kansas City touched him for 10 hits across six innings and scored all three of their runs before the third inning was over. Sal Perez’s two-out single in the first got past a diving Caleb Durbin down the left field line. Then Carter Jensen’s double in the third went high off the Monster, and Vinnie Pasquantino followed by finding the hole right past a shifted-up Nick Sogard to make it 3-0. Three runs. None of them were bloops—decent contact, all of it—just well-placed at the worst possible time.
Gray settled in after the third—and yes, technically this was a quality start, six innings and three earned, which is almost funnier than getting shelled would have been—and the bullpen held Kansas City scoreless in the eighth and ninth, including stranding a runner at third with one out in the top of the ninth. But the damage was already done.
The Sox made it interesting in the fifth. Mickey Gasper, playing DH, led off with a laser into the bullpen—his ninth of the year, because that’s what Evil Mickey does—to make it 3-1. Then Wilyer Abreu doubled off the Monster to knock home another run and cut it to 3-2. A laser and a Monster shot in the same at-bat sequence, and suddenly the comeback math was right in front of them. Seth Lugo had been hittable all night, and now the crowd was into it. You could feel the thing tilting.
Then it didn’t. Nolan Hoffman replaced Lugo to start the sixth, and Kansas City’s bullpen—Hoffman, Connor Thomas, Nate Pearson, Steven Cruz—held the Sox to nothing the rest of the way. The Royals are a bottom-five bullpen by ERA in baseball. The Sox had four innings to score one run against them and couldn’t do it. Eight hits for the game, two runs. It has nothing to do with Gray.
Evil Mickey could hit double-digit home runs at this rate. Nine already. It feels unfathomable for a catcher-slash-DH who wasn’t supposed to be this kind of bat, but here we are.
The Rays clinched a playoff spot tonight. Other teams are punching tickets to October. The Sox still have the lead and still control their own destiny—but it’s nut up or shut up time. Boston needs to be next.
Studs
Mickey Gasper
Nine home runs now. DH or catcher, doesn’t matter—Evil Mickey finds a way. The solo shot in the fifth didn’t win the game but it started the only momentum the Sox could muster all night.
Wilyer Abreu
Two hits, including the RBI double that made it a one-run game. Willy showed up. The rest of the lineup needed to find a way to push one more across.
Duds
Sonny Gray
Six innings, three runs, ten hits. Gray didn’t blow up, but he never had command of the game either. A team with a losing record put up 10 hits against him at Fenway. Not the kind of start you need when this series matters.
The Sox Offense vs. a Bottom-Five Bullpen
The Sox had the momentum after the Abreu double. They couldn’t do a thing with it. Kansas City’s bullpen is one of the worst in baseball by ERA, and Boston got four innings against them and came away scoreless. Not one run. That’s the dud of the night. That has to change tomorrow.
Play of the Game
Gasper’s shot to start the fifth. It was the moment the game flipped from a comfortable Royals win to something Boston could actually take. They just couldn’t finish the job.
Sep 11, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) celebrates after a home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
What looked like a good night for the Phillies, a night in which they were able to sneak a few runs across the plate against Chris Sale, turned into a bullpen nightmare.
It started off a little rough for the Phillies, Aaron Nola serving up a home run to Matt Olson that somehow clanged off the fair pole in left field to give the Braves a quick 1-0 lead.
From there though, Nola was really good. He looked to be struggling with his grip all night long, constantly going back to the rosing bag, to the mound, anywhere to get a good hold on the baseball, but something worked and he kept getting outs.
On offense, he got all the help he needed in the second inning. Sale got the first two outs with ease, then let his foot off the gas. He gave up a single to Edmundo Sosa, walked Bryan de la Cruz and hit J.T. Realmuto with a pitch to load the bases for your favorite Hill and mine, Derek. Doing what he seemingly has done all year long, Hill delivered with a bases clearing double that put the Phillies up 3-1.
Chris Sale loads the bases with two outs in the 2nd. Derek Hill hits a bases-clearing double to make it 3-1. pic.twitter.com/yMK6rt0jsc
Sale was so good that the Phillies amassed only four hits all evening, two in this inning, but they made them count.
From there, there was a pitcher’s duel in place between the starters. Both made it into the seventh inning, Sale completing his, Nola needing some help to finish his. Austin Riley homered in the seventh to chase Nola from the game, but Jose Alvarado came in to lock things down in that frame, followed by Alex McFarlane in the eighth to keep the game 3-2.
And yet they could have added another run in the ninth, but another baserunning blunder, this one by Bryce Harper, prevented them from pushing a leadoff double across the plate to get an all important insurance run that would have been important.
To close out the game, having used Jhoan Duran two days in a row, Don Mattingly was loathe to using him yet again, so Jonathan Bowlan was given the save assignment on the evening. He could not get the job done, giving up two singles that weren’t exactly scalded, but were put in the right spot (and were aided by a bad error in center field by Hill) to allow the Braves to tie the score at 3. Bowlan was able to get out of further trouble by getting Ronald Acuna to fly out and Olson to ground out, but the game went to extra innings, still knotted up.
Once the inning began, Justin Crawford was summoned to face Raisel Iglesias and on the first pitch of the at bat, he drove him Bryson Stott to take the lead.
Chase Shugart was the choice to close the game down in the bottom half of the tenth, yet could not get the job done. With a runner on second, a ground ball to second baseman Luis Arraez and a flyball to Justin Crawford got the run across and tied the game once more, sending the game to the eleventh. There, Arraez was able to drive home pinch runner Garrett Stubbs for the fifth run of the game for the Phillies, but even with loading the bases, that’s all they would get. Shugart got Austin Riley to begin the inning, then was relieved by Brooks Raley. He was able to induce a pop up from Dom Smith, but Ha-Seong Kim of all people, he of the .135 batting average, delivered the game tying hit.
Ha-seong Kim ties the game in the 11th with the Braves down to their final out! pic.twitter.com/G90QV0IiiG
He hurt us, or you. (Photo by Andrew Ritter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Well, that wasn’t worth staying up for, was it? The Twins walked the leadoff hitter four times, you’re not gonna win too many games that way. Inning-by-inning notes:
1: Taj Bradley decides that walking the very-fast Steven Kwan is a good idea. Hey, it works out; flyout, strikeout, and forcing Jo Adell into Chasing Pavements Baseballs.
The Twins are all like “are we still playing” “um I guess I’m up to bat” “I wonder what leftovers I want tonight maybe the pizza maybe the fries, except leftover fries are soggy unless you crisp them up in the oven, so probably pizza then, I can eat that cold” “oops I struck out”
2: Since a leadoff walk worked well last time, Taj does it again. To Travis Bazzana. The name Travis always sucks unless you’re an unhinged taxi driver, but Bazzana is cool. It works again, flyout flyout popout.
Hey points hey! Kody Clemens with the single and Royce Lewis with the RBI double. (Matt says RBI stands for “Royce batted in.”)
Boy it would be nice to see him get back to something like he used to be next year. He won’t, because we can’t gave nice things. Like hits with runners in scoring position; Twins 1-0
3: Three for three, Taj! Five-pitch walk to Brayan Rocchio. When I hear the name on the radio my ears perk up; any relation to the late, enjoyable columnist Mike Rokyo? No such luck. Because walking every leadoff batter isn’t challenging enough, Taj does it again with one out. Is he working on a knuckleball or something? (He is not.) Eh, it’s Water Under The Bridge as Taj gets Adell to ground out to end the inning.
Walker Jenkins is young and can develop, and he’s a good fielder. Right now him reaching the Mendoza Line would be a gift from heaven. (He strikes out here). Parker Messick accidentally ON PURPOSE plunks Kaelen Culpepper (no, it wasn’t on purpose); nothing comes of it.
4: Sigh; Taj will not walk the leadoff hitter in all nine innings. The good news is it’s because Bazzana get a single instead, so the degree of difficulty fun is still with us. Hey, DP time! 4 unassisted. Lewis catches the liner and steps on the bag.
Hey we can get a walk, too! Josh Bell leads off with one. Nothing comes of it. THE TWINS WANNA EAT THEIR COLD PIZZA DAMMIT
5: Hey Taj can have a 1-2-3 inning! Nobody tell him or he’ll make it a habit.
This time it’s Austin Martin with the leadoff bunt. Because Walker Jenkins is currently hitting like a pitcher, the Twins do the smart thing and have him bunt… oh wait, nobody knows how to do that anymore so he uselessly flies out instead. Doesn’t matter, neither of the following two guys get hits anyways.
Ryan Jeffers gets the leadoff single; there’s a fielder’s choice, and then LHP Tim Herrin comes in. Clemens singles off him. Pop out for Lewis; strikeout for Brooks Lee.
7: Bazzana with the leadoff single off thrilling new acquisition A.J. Minter. Minter then thrills us more by giving up a long dong to Angel Martínez. Yay trade deadline yay, obviously ownership CARES now.
Eric Sabrowski in to pitch; he plunks Austin Martin. THIS TIME Jenkins bunts; badly, but it gets Martin to second. Luke Keascchall flies out; slider specialist Hunter Gaddis comes in. Culpepper ties this baby up! Nobody else wants to contribute, so tied 2-2
8: Minter gets the first guy, then Shelton’s Magical Arm Barn brings in Jeff Hoffman, just back from Ishtar. Clemens make a nice play to snag the grounder by Ramírez, and Lewis a nice dig out of the dirt to take the throw. Boy, hings aren’t Easy On Me for Addell; it’s his third strikeout.
Gaddis keeps throwing that slider and it keeps working. It’s gonna be hard to win a bullpen battle with these guys.
9: Yoendrys Gómez for the Twins. Walks the leadoff guy (AGAIN!) David Fry’s another guy who can’t bunt worth s**t; he tries and pops it to Gómez. But then Angel Martínez doubles; it’s second and third with one out. Gómez walks some pinch-hitter I never heard of. Then Gómez throws a wild pitch and everybody moves up a base. Then… ballgame.
Rocchio clears the pitches with a double. Mike Rokyo would never have done that to us.
Some Twins come to the plate but it’s purely Frozen Pizza Time. Twins lose.
With the loss, the Twins are now 5.5 games out of the last wildcard spot, chasing four teams. It was right for the team to announce that Byron Buxton is gonna have hip surgery next week; this season’s cooked.
Studs: Taj (kinda): 6.0 IP, 1 H, 4 BB, 0 R. Duds: Minter, Gómez, front office and ownership.
COTG go to Zach with Attenborough photo, Name-Game with a sound assessment, Matt for rewriting some lyrics, and nagurskiinnortheast with a story about Aragorn, son of Arathorn. Thanks to everybody who joined in on a nice end-of-summer night.
Tomorrow’s game is at 3:10; it’ll be our own Connor Prielipp against TBD (bullpen day). Expect long man Slade Cecconi to take a few innings.
After returning to Petco Park from a disastrous road trip, the San Diego Padres had their backs against the wall. Squandering an opportunity to put distance between themselves and the other Wild Card hopefuls, the Padres had to have a successful home stand to remain in contention for a playoff spot.
Their home versus road pattern has been evident throughout the season; the Friars are not a good road team. Their 32-39 road record, seven games under .500, is the worst for any team with a winning record except the Chicago White Sox (eight games under). The Pirates are the only other winning team with a losing road record, and they are three games under.
Home success
In a home stretch that featured the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals, the Padres took two of three from NY and swept a three-game set against the Nationals. Going 5-1 over the set allowed them to keep in step with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who also played winning ball over the past week. After falling behind Arizona by as much as 1.5 games in the Wild Card standings, the Padres battled back and now lead by a half-game.
Suffering several long slumps, the offense can fairly be called streaky at this point in the season. The frustration with the team’s underperformance has also resulted in some fans booing them at times during the past month. This has been especially true with some of the pitching performances from the newly acquired starters.
With both Robbie Ray and Casey Mize struggling in several starts since their arrival, the team has not gotten the boost fans were hoping for at the trade deadline. The combined streaky offense and issues with the starters have contributed to the team not achieving what everyone hoped when the season began.
The recent winning stretch featured some standout performances from a couple of important contributors.
Luis Campusano shines
The performance of catcher Luis Campusano has not been one of the areas of concern for this team. Campusano started the year as the primary backup to Freddie Fermin. The confidence expressed in him by manager Craig Stammen was viewed with skepticism by many. Up until this season, Campusano was not valued by the two previous managers of the Padres. His focus was seen as inconsistent, and his defense unreliable. Even though scouts believed he would hit in the big leagues, his previous two managers had no confidence in him.
Stammen, who pitched to Campusano early in the catcher’s career, expressed confidence in his ability. The new manager and his coaches worked to mentor and support the young catcher.
Although he was sidelined during the middle of the season with an injury, Campusano has broken out as the second half of the season arrived.
In his first 16 games of the season, Campusano hit .366 with a 1.178 OPS and 10 RBI. He missed most of May and all of June with a broken toe and an oblique injury. Returning in July, he hit .326 with an .869 OPS. After an August slump that saw him hit .250 with only four extra-base hits in 17 games, Campusano has gained momentum in September and almost single-handedly beat the Yankees during those three games. Going 4-for-7 over the first and last games of the series, Campusano hit two home runs, had three RBI, and threw out four base runners attempting to steal. His second homer was a walk-off, winning the series for the Padres.
The Padres pitchers have all complimented his work behind the plate, and he has been the personal catcher for both Michael King and Walker Buehler.
Jackson Merrill gets in step
Much has been made of the off-and-on nature of Jackson Merrill’s third season in MLB. He has shown flashes of his five-tool talent but has also struggled for consistency at the plate. His average pre-All-Star break was .219 with a .350 slug. Since then, Merrill is hitting .292 with a .583 slug.
On Aug. 10, MLB Network broke down the drastic difference between the first and second halves of Merrill’s season.
Highlighting his ability to hit pitches in and outside the zone shows how exciting his future is. Merrill has made the necessary adjustments as the season has developed and is one home run away from his first 25 homer/25 stolen-base season.
In the final game of the home stand, Merrill had a career day against the Nationals. Going 4-for-5 with 2 home runs and six RBI, Merrill added a triple and a single to his total hits for the day while leading the Padres to a 9-2 win and a sweep, sending them off to San Francisco on a happy flight.
Nick Pivetta surprises us all
Padres starter Nick Pivetta walked off the mound during his rehab start with Lake Elsinore on Aug. 4 with discomfort in his right elbow. At that point, most of us were sure that would be the end of his season. His rehab continued but was slow-played, and his next two rehab starts with Lake Elsinore and El Paso seemed to indicate an end-of-season return, if any.
The Padres played a game against the New York Yankees on Sunday, Sept. 6. In his post-game comments, manager Craig Stammen responded to a question regarding the following day’s starter versus the Washington Nationals. He dropped the bomb that Pivetta would start that game.
Over five innings pitched and 63 pitches, Pivetta looked like the starter who dominated in 2025. Allowing two hits and no runs, Pivetta struck out two with no walks. He earned his first win since April and showed another reason for optimism for the remainder of the season.
Joining Michael King and Walker Buehler as consistent starting pitchers for the Friars, hope surged for a successful finish to the 2026 season if Pivetta can keep it up.
With Pivetta’s return, Randy Vásquez gets bumped to the bullpen. He provides added depth and talent to an already excellent bullpen. It also gives the ‘pen another long-reliever/swing man to go with lefty Kyle Hart and bumps Griffin Canning into a mop-up role.
Two-hole problems
The Padres have had an issue with their two-hole hitter for a lot of the season. Since the loss of Luis Rengifo, who hit second for 62 at-bats with a .290/.343/.452 line, the second hitter in their lineup is 6-for-45 (.133 average) with two walks. The second spot in the lineup has a .654 OPS for the season, which is the worst in MLB.
Of the hitters to bat second outside of Rengifo, Samad Taylor, Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts come to mind.
Taylor hit second for 13 games before being injured and had a .306/.424/.347 line.
Cronenworth has been in that slot for 35 games and 140 at-bats with a .229 average, a .294 OBP and a .615 OPS.
Bogaerts has hit second in eight games and 32 at-bats, hitting .188 with a .235 OBP and a .454 OPS.
At the start of the season, Merrill hit second until his early-season struggles pushed him out of the top three spots. In his 23 games and 97 at-bats, Merrill hit .227 with a .272 OBP and a .653 OPS.
Taylor is the obvious choice to hit in the two-hole now that he has returned to the lineup. His .390 OBP in 109 at-bats is tops on the team. It should be his job to lose.
20/20 history
For the first time in Padres history, they have two 20/20 players in the same season. Both Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. have 20 or more home runs and stolen bases this year. There have been 17 20/20 seasons for Padres players since the team started. These players have achieved that status: Dave Winfield in 1978 and 1980, Joe Carter in 1990, Derek Bell in 1993, Steve Finley in 1996, Reggie Sanders in 1999, Ryan Klesko in 2000, Mike Cameron in 2006, Will Venable in 2013, Wil Myers in 2016 and 2017, Tatis Jr. in 2021, 2024, and 2025.
Roster changes and injury updates
Miguel Andujar was in Arizona for most of August, working through rehab after his right wrist fracture healed. On Sept. 8, he was sent to the El Paso Chihuahuas for a rehab assignment. He has played in three games with 12 at-bats with a .167/.167/.333 line and has one RBI.
RHP Jason Adam had a 30-pitch bullpen Monday, Sept. 7, and will progress to live BP followed by a first rehab game on Sunday.
Jhony Brito was sent to Triple-A with the activation of Nick Pivetta. Catcher Blake Hunt was DFA’d to clear a roster spot. He has since been released.
Gavin Sheets, placed on the injured list for a sprained left foot (AKA plantar fasciitis), is in a walking boot and beginning to remove the boot for baseball activities. He could have surgery in the offseason.
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson could be back in the team’s lineup in a week, manager Craig Counsell said before Friday’s game with Pittsburgh.
Swanson, a smooth-fielding two-time All-Star, went on the injured list on Monday, Aug. 17 with a a left oblique strain he suffered taking an awkward swing during a loss to St. Louis on the previous day. Swanson had been expected to miss four weeks.
Counsell said Swanson’s rehab has been progressing smoothly and that the 32-year-old infielder would continue working with the Cubs at Wrigley Field during their weekend series against the Pirates.
Barring a setback, Swanson would join Triple-A Iowa for rehab games on Tuesday and Wednesday, and “(we) then hope to have him active Friday (Sept. 18) in Cincinnati,” Counsell said.
Swanson is hitting .216 with 18 homers and 66 RBIs in 119 games. In his 11th season, he played at shortstop in 117 games this season and has a .987 fielding percentage.
Swanson twisted awkwardly after swinging and missing a Hunter Dobbins’ high fastball in the third inning against the Cardinals on Aug. 16. He stepped outside the batter’s box, talked briefly with Counsell and training staff, then exited to the dugout.
After the game Swanson told reporters, “Never have I had a soft tissue injury in my whole professional career.”
Nico Hoerner, two-time Gold Glove winner at second base, has moved to shortstop with Swanson sidelined.
Sep 11, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; Members of the 2001 New York Yankees stand with Brielle Saracini and her husband Sean McGuire, during the pregame cermonies for the 25th anniversary for September 11th prior to the game between the New York Mets and New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
NEW YORK (AP) — Twenty-five years ago, Brielle Saracini was 10 years old and trying to cope with losing her father, Victor Saracini, the pilot on United flight 175, which was taken over by the 9/11 hijackers and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Spurred on by a friend, she wrote a letter to Derek Jeter, met the Yankees captain at Yankee Stadium and formed a lifelong friendship.
On Friday, as New York commemorated the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Saracini threw out the ceremonial first pitch with Jeter watching from the mound before the Yankees hosted the crosstown Mets.
“I remember just talking about anything and everything and anything that kind of came through my mind that day and you just made it so comfortable and I remember just feeling normal for a day, which was hard to do,” Saracini said while sitting next to Jeter at a news conference. “The odds were stacked against me that day but I remember just taking a minute and just having normal conversations and just feeling like a kid.”
Jeter remembers trying his best in a tough situation.
“When we invited her to the stadium, you really don’t know what to say,” Jeter said. “So I don’t even know if I said ‘I’m sorry’ or anything like that. I just tried to make her day feel special and I remember introducing her to all the players and bring her down and you just try to make her feel as comfortable as you possibly can.”
Toward the end of a nearly 30-minute ceremony, Saracini and husband, Sean McGuire — he wore a Mets jersey — threw to Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger. McGuire also lost his father on 9/11; the couple met at a camp for kids whose parents died in the attacks, and they married in 2017.
As Saracini and McGuire made their tosses, Jeter along with former teammates Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius, and their manager, Joe Torre, stood behind them.
During the ceremony, highlights of the Yankees’ 2001 postseason run were shown, including Jeter’s walk-off homer in Game 4 of the World Series that earned him the nickname “Mr. November.” The Yankees fell short in their bid for a fourth straight title when Luis Gonzalez singled off Rivera to give the Diamondbacks their only championship.
In the weeks before the ceremony, various members of the Yankees visited three fire stations in Manhattan. Earlier this week, several Yankees — including manager Aaron Boone — visited the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site.
Friday marked the second time the Mets and Yankees played on Sept. 11. The Yankees beat the Mets 8-7 at Citi Field on the 20th anniversary in 2021.
“Baseball is a constant. Every day there’s a new game. You wake up, and you get to try again.”
The words, from Brielle Saracini, were a perfect encapsulation of what Friday night in New York City was all about. The Yankees and Mets took the field at Yankee Stadium on the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on a night filled with remembrance and celebration of the city and the lives lost. But it was also a celebration of baseball.
“I certainly understand the weight of today, having two New York teams here playing,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone before the game. “Having lived through being a baseball player at the time, knowing the role that baseball played at the time, it feels like an honor to go out there tonight.”
“It gives you an immense amount of gratitude for what we do get to do for a living,” reflected Mets interim manager Andy Green. “This game has played a part in this country’s healing... It’s not just been distractions or entertainment, but it’s been something that communities coalesced around, and it's made an impact on lives that goes far beyond the team you root for.”
Nowhere was that more evident than in the presence of Brielle Saracini, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch after the Yankees held a pregame ceremony recognizing the New York Police Department, the New York Fire Department, the Port Authority Police Department, Tuesday’s Promise, and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Brielle and her husband, Sean McGuire, who also threw out a first pitch, were both 10 years old when their fathers were killed on September 11th. Brielle’s father was Captain Victor Saracini, who was the pilot of United Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, where Sean’s father, Patrick, was working.
Three days after the tragedy, Brielle wrote a letter to Derek Jeter, detailing her family’s loss. When Jeter received the letter, he invited Brielle and her family to a game on September 26th, and a lifelong friendship was formed. Two years later, Brielle and Sean met at Camp Better Days, which was established to provide support for children who lost a parent on September 11th. Almost 16 years to the day after their fathers were taken from them, Brielle and Sean were married.
But Brielle doesn’t know if any of that would have happened without baseball.
“I've heard a lot of ballplayers say we didn't know if we should play or if it was the right thing,” she said after throwing out the first pitch. “It's amazing to think that, if the season wasn't finished, how my entire life and trajectory would have changed. I can't imagine a scenario of baseball not being played because it meant so much to so many people.”
After the events on the morning of September 11th, Major League Baseball canceled all games. The National Football League, which had just completed Week 1 of its season two days earlier, postponed all games for Week 2. When Major League Baseball restarted play on September 18th, Derek Jeter was one of the players who was unsure whether he should be on the field.
“As an athlete, it was the first time that I said to myself, ‘Why am I even playing?’” Jeter recalled. “Obviously, the games got canceled, and my initial thought was, ‘We're not going to come back and play. What does baseball mean?’ And then you have a chance to meet a lot of family members who've lost loved ones…and then you realize from the stories that they've shared. [Brielle] even said in her letter, the memories that they have at Yankee Stadium, her and her dad, or going to games, or being a Yankee fan. That's when you realize that our job was to at least try to give people something to cheer for for a few hours a day.”
“I understand the position,” added Brielle. “Looking back now, I can't imagine if somebody said, ‘Okay, go play a baseball game.’ You know, bigger things were going on, but that's definitely what the country needed and what the country united around. It became this special thing that healed me. It healed 10-year-old Brielle.”
So 25 years later, Yankee Stadium filled with fans carrying American flags or enlarged photos of people who lost their lives on September 11th. Fans held signs about unity or signs that were replicas of those from 25 years ago, reading, “America Fears Nobody. Let’s Play Ball.”
In the hours before the game, the Yankees' blue “NY” logo, filled with white stars and outlined in red, stood out in the grass behind home plate just like it did on September 25th, 2001, when the Yankees returned home to play the Rays. The view it saw beyond the center field fence was slightly different, but the green of the grass, the blue of the sky, and the white of Yankee Stadium’s classic facade remained the same.
Sep 11, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; A special logo is displayed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of September 11th prior to the game between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
In some ways, today was an eerily similar day to the one 25 years ago. The sky was a clear blue. The sun was shining brightly. The exuberance of summer was still in the air. That’s one thing that will always stick with anybody who was old enough to remember being in New York on September 11th. It really was a perfect New York day at a time in our lives when a beautiful day couldn’t help but fill you with optimism. Today’s sun was shining just as brightly, but the luster wasn’t quite as luminous. Perhaps because it reminds us of 25 years ago. Perhaps because we’ve lived through too much in the intervening years.
“It's hard to believe it's been 25 years,” reflected Jeter. “In some sense, it's been a long time. But in another sense, it seems like it was just yesterday because some of the memories are so vivid in your mind, and I think they'll always be vivid in your mind because that was a day that changed the world forever.”
Memories of that night, following the chaos, are as clear to me as if they happened a few weeks ago. I can still remember being 16 years old and aimlessly wandering the streets of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn with friends trying to process what had happened. A collection of us were stranded, unable to get back across the river and into Manhattan. We were generously taken in by a classmate’s family for the evening, but we couldn’t go home and we sure as hell couldn’t sleep, so we wandered. We sat in playgrounds in the dark. We walked the strangely quiet streets of the neighborhood, and found ourselves over at the Promenade, staring across the East River at a New York City skyline that would never be the same again.
Up until that point, things had felt rather predictable. Same school schedule on the same days. Same practices. Same afterschool activities. Now, my home in downtown Manhattan was behind a series of security checkpoints. My parents would soon have to put tape over the windows to keep out dangerous toxins and the smell of charred…everything. To go home and see my family, I would need proof of residence that I didn’t have and would need to get from school the next morning.
But how do you reconcile a moment where nothing happened to you and yet everything happened to you?
I’m at this ceremony because I’m covering a baseball game; a relatively innocuous contest between an eliminated Mets team and a Yankees team that is locked into a playoff spot. I see Cody Bellinger hit a three-run home run in the second inning to give the Yankees a commanding 4-1 lead over the Mets. I jot it down for a recap, but I think about the real reason I was asked to attend this game. Which is where my existential question comes into play.
In many ways, nothing happened to me on September 11th. I wasn’t hurt. My home wasn’t buried in dust. I didn’t lose any loved ones. On the other hand, my life irrevocably changed in ways I sometimes don’t acknowledge.
Around 9 AM, I was pulled out of what I believe was a Journalism class in the school computer lab to head to the chapel where we had assemblies. There were rumblings of planes hitting the World Trade Centers, and I remember somebody saying, “It was terrorists.” I also remember that we all scoffed. Terrorists were not real to us. Not then. It was something limited to movies. Now we know all too well.
But perhaps baseball can help us to remember what it was like before too.
“I think it's great to have ceremonies like this,” offered Jeter. “We get a chance to reflect on it. You look at some of the players that are here who were born after September 11th. I think it's very important that we make sure that we teach them the history and what happened, how the world changed.”
Nolan McLean, who started the game for the Mets, was born just one and a half months before September 11th. Six members of the Mets and one member of the Yankees were born after September 11th, including Francisco Alvarez, Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, and George Lombard Jr.
“I talked to our players a little bit,” said Boone. “Some of our guys went to fire stations recently. A lot of us went to Ground Zero recently.”
Yesterday, Yankees players, coaches, and staff had the opportunity to visit the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to pay their respects to the nearly 3,000 victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The Yankees also brought back members of their 2001 World Series team, not only to share memories with current players but to honor the team and the city that showed so much resilience after the attacks. Joe Torre, Jorge Posada, Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Mariano Rivera, and Jeter all took the field before the game. They also spoke in a video package about how special it was to return to the field that fall after such an unbelievable tragedy and feel the city pushing them deeper into the playoffs. Although they would ultimately fall short against the Diamondbacks, Jeter specifically mentioned that the team’s grit and back-to-back comeback wins in Games 4 and 5 at home mattered more to him than another title.
“There's some things that are much bigger than just the game we have the privilege of playing and being a part of,” admitted Green. “There’s an opportunity to have some kind of cathartic moments in your life when you step back and think about what really matters and what some people have been through. It centers you; it re-centers you. It keeps you going.”
In that sense, baseball doesn’t matter at all, and it also matters so much. Winning and losing a game is not a life-or-death endeavor. For the fans in the stadiums and in front of the TV, their favorite team winning will not cure an illness, make rent easier to pay, or put food on the table. But it can heal a broken heart and bring communities together.
That was certainly the case in the fall of 2001.
Even before the Yankees made their deep postseason run, baseball returned to New York City on September 21st at Shea Stadium. Only days earlier, Shea Stadium had been used as an emergency supply relief center and a place for Ground Zero volunteers who came from out of town to sleep. Then, on September 21, 2001, Mets catcher Mike Piazza came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning with a runner on base and the Mets trailing the Braves 2–1. Piazza drilled a fastball to straightaway center-field for a dramatic, go-ahead two-run home run, and Shea Stadium shook in the way only Shea Stadium could.
Mike Piazza's home run in the first baseball game on New York soil after the attacks on September 11th helped a nation heal. pic.twitter.com/6do5WqA0hy
Weeks later, the Yankees, who won the American League East, began a playoff series against the Athletics. Even if you weren’t a Yankees fan, their World Series run was thrilling for all New Yorkers. Maybe you weren’t actively rooting for them to win, but you also weren’t overly angry if they did. That may not seem like much, but it’s a lot more than you realize in this city.
Every night when a game was on, we knew the city was watching. We needed it. As Brielle recounted, it gave us a sense of normalcy, “a sense of comfort and predictability in a very unpredictable scenario.”
But, perhaps more importantly, baseball gave us a break from “a time where we all just felt the gravity of the situation that was rooted in hate,” reflected Brielle. “To be able to flip that around and find a bright spot, you know… It gave us something to cheer about. [It] gave us something to look back on.”
In a sense, baseball has always done that. It has survived through all of our country’s highs and lows. It’s been there when we’ve broken barriers and when we’ve broken down. It bonded us together when moments threatened to fracture us. Maybe we’ve taken it for granted, but we should never forget the way that baseball has brought us together and helped us heal. Perhaps it can also continue to show us that we’re capable of doing that on our own if we choose.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Junior Caminero hit a game-ending, two-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays clinched a playoff berth with a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
Caminero’s 417-foot shot to left-center off Bryan Abreu (6-4) was his 40th of the season and sparked a joyous celebration at the plate. The 23-year-old hit 45 homers in 2025, his first full year in the majors, and he joins Aaron Judge as the only active major leaguers with consecutive 40-homer seasons.
AL-best Tampa Bay (88-59) became the first team in the majors to secure a playoff spot.
Bryan Baker (2-2) worked a scoreless ninth.
Victor Mesa Jr. homered in the fifth for the Rays, but that was one of only two Tampa Bay hits through eight innings.
In the ninth, Jonathan Aranda doubled off the right-field wall with one out. He was replaced by pinch-runner Jonny DeLuca, and Caminero walked it off on the next pitch.
The Astros scored in the fourth against Drew Rasmussen when Isaac Paredes doubled and came home on a grounder by Yainer Diaz.
Rasmussen worked seven innings, allowing eight hits. He struck out four and walked none.
Opener Miguel Ullola worked the first for Houston, Bryan King got the next four outs and Ethan Pecko worked the next 5 2/3 innings before giving way to Abreu in the ninth.
Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez, who is chasing the AL triple crown but trails Caminero by two homers, missed the game after twisting his right ankle in Thursday’s win at Philadelphia. Manager Joe Espada said the injury isn’t considered serious.
Up next
RHP Peter Lambert (8-8, 3.67 ERA) starts for the Astros on Saturday against Rays LHP Ian Seymour (9-6, 4.33).
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 11: Samuel Basallo #29 of the Baltimore Orioles looks on during the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Friday, September 11, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Michael Chisholm/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
If the 2026 Orioles are going to pull off a September surprise to find their way into the postseason, they’re going to need a lot less drama than they got in their game against the Blue Jays on Friday night. It should look easy when you manage to score seven runs. The O’s rattled off six straight hits against Max Scherzer in a five-run second inning and that should have made it simple. It wasn’t simple. The game ended with the tying run at the plate. The Orioles held on and got the win, though, taking the series opener, 7-4.
Those who tuned in late to the game missed the start of the scoring. Dylan Beavers, batting leadoff for the Orioles, only needed to see two Scherzer pitches before he got one that he liked, blasting his seventh homer of the season over the right field fence. The O’s took this 1-0 lead and never trailed or even had a tie game from that point on.
This is not to say that Orioles starting pitcher Chris Bassitt cruised through the game, or even through the first inning. After retiring the first batter he saw, Bassitt gave up a single to George Springer and a walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., building a possible real rally. Vlad Jr. was very quickly caught napping off of first, with O’s catcher Samuel Basallo firing a back pick that Pete Alonso was able to smoothly tag into Guerrero. It’s a good thing he did this, too, because Bassitt walked that batter, Alejandro Kirk. Without the runner getting wiped out, that would have made it bases loaded with only one out.
Basallo’s back pick was a bit of a makeup for him after he blew one of the Orioles ABS challenges for the game during the Guerrero walk. Basallo and ABS challenges came back as the inning ended: Bassitt threw a strikeout pitch to Nathan Lukes that the umpire missed. Basallo raised his hand as though he intended to challenge, then decided he didn’t want to possibly lose two challenges in the first inning. The umpire took up the challenge anyway even though Basallo didn’t tap his helmet; fortunately, it was strike three and the inning was over. Too bad, Lukes!
The game swung heavily in the Orioles direction immediately after that and never turned back around. The big second inning rally began with Gunnar Henderson delivering a leadoff single. The next five batters all got hits as well, with Heston Kjerstad driving in a run, and Colton Cowser and Beavers each driving in two.
For Scherzer, this turned out to be a regrettable career first: In his 498th MLB game, he gave up six straight hits for the very first time. The future Hall of Famer pitched three more innings after this, finishing with six runs allowed in five innings. He has a 6.38 ERA for the season. The career clock may have struck midnight on the 42-year-old.
With a big early lead for the Orioles, a person who was not familiar with the 2026 squad might be fooled into thinking that they could cruise through the rest of the game. This was not, of course, the case. The third inning got interesting for the Jays after a hard ground ball ate up Henderson; Toronto eventually loaded the bases with two out in the inning. One good swing could have made this a much different game.
The Jays did not get that one good swing, at least not there. They did get it leading off the fourth inning. Third baseman Kazuma Okamoto blasted off Bassitt’s 1-0 pitch. Okamoto has pretty much been as advertised in his first MLB season after signing from Japan, with a low batting average and a lot of strikeouts but also a lot of homers. This was #31 on the season.
Bassitt had an elevated pitch count for much of his time in the game and battled to even make it through five innings and put himself in line for the win. He ended up giving up two runs on six hits and three walks over five. This would have been a better stat line if Bassitt had come out of the game after five. Manager Craig Albernaz pulled off one of his specials in leaving Bassitt in to start the sixth, then pulling Bassitt after a single and a double.
Coming out of the bullpen to defuse the situation, reliever Josh Walker did the job. A strikeout and a groundout mostly ended the threat, even as the groundout scored the man from third to make the score 6-2. Walker finished the inning by getting a flyout to Cowser in center. Things did not get out of hand. Or at least they didn’t get out of hand in that inning.
Coby Mayo gave the Orioles some insurance with two outs in the seventh inning, hitting a solo home run to make the score 7-2. This was Mayo’s 23rd home run of the year, and crucially, it came off of Jays righty Braydon Fisher, who’s been a good pitcher out of the Jays bullpen this season. Mayo is now slugging .576 over his last 30 games, .654 over his last 15, and .826 over his last seven. This has included him starting to show power against righties in addition to lefties. If he can finish strong, that will be a positive to take into next season.
Ideally, this would have been the last thing worth writing about in the game. Alex Hoppe, called upon to finish off what was then a 7-2 game, had other plans. The Orioles reliever got two outs easily and then just could not get the third out. He threw a total of 20 pitches after getting two outs, any one of which might have ended the game. They didn’t end the game, and in fact brought it much closer. Jays center fielder Brett Bateman got a two-run home run in there to make it 7-4, and Hoppe let the next two guys on base, too.
Albernaz called upon Rico Garcia to finish it off. Garcia had Alejandro Kirk foul off four pitches before hitting an easy grounder to second base that finally ended the game. It’s Garcia’s eighth save of the season.
The Orioles are now 72-76. They pulled back a game on one of the teams ahead of them by beating the Jays. Whether they can gain on the Rangers or Guardians depends on results still to come after I post this recap. All the Orioles can do is win – probably 11 more times if they want to make it. They have a chance to do that until they’ve blown too many games.
The series continues on Saturday afternoon at 3:07. Kyle Bradish makes the start for the Orioles. As of this writing, the Jays have not listed a starter.
**
It is a longtime tradition on Camden Chat to proclaim a Most Birdland Player after each Orioles victory. What is Most Birdland? Each person must decide for themselves. Sometimes, this is the same as the most valuable player and sometimes it is not. Who is your choice in this game? Make your nomination in the comments below.
Sep 11, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Andrew Vaughn (28) and shortstop Cooper Pratt (12) celebrate after first baseman Jake Bauers (9) hit a home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the second inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Milwaukee Brewers came into tonight’s contest needing merely to win to clinch a playoff spot.
They looked motivated.
An all-out assault on Cincinnati’s pitching, whether it was starter Andrew Abbott or any of the relievers who followed him, led to eye-popping offensive numbers from the Brewers. Pair that with an extremely encouraging start in which Dustin May, who is vying for a postseason rotation spot, cruised through six scoreless innings, and the Brewers put on quite a show as they officially punched their postseason ticket.
They did not need much time to turn this one into a laugher. After a quick top of the first from May, Jackson Chourio picked up right where he left off against the Cubs and whacked a double into left. Brice Turang then bunted for a single, and with runners on the corners, William Contreras hit a sacrifice fly to center that gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead. Andrew Vaughn was up next, and he crushed a 92 mph fastball right down the middle for another double to left, scoring Turang from first.
Abbott worked out of the inning by getting Jake Bauers and Luis Lara, but it didn’t take long before the Brewers put more pressure on him. After a 1-2-3 second for May, Cooper Pratt and Garrett Mitchell started the bottom of the second with back-to-back singles. After Joey Ortiz flew out, we were back to the red-hot Chourio, who cracked one into the right-field gap. It bounced off the warning track and went over the wall, scoring Pratt from second and putting runners on second and third with one out. After a mound visit, Turang, who’d dropped down a bunt for a hit in the first, swung away—and did not miss. A changeup in a bad spot ended up in the Reds’ bullpen, and Milwaukee’s lead was up to six on Turang’s lefty-on-lefty violence.
That wasn’t all in the second, though; with two outs, Vaughn singled and Bauers, in his second at-bat, also got one off the lefty, a two-run shot to center, and it was 8-0 Brewers after two.
Back on the mound in the third, May continued to cruise with another three-up, three-down inning. Abbott was done after two innings, and reliever Julian Garcia was able to put up a zero in the third despite a single from Ortiz. Garcia even managed to get Chourio out!
Sal Stewart picked up his second single in the top of the fourth but that was all against May. In the bottom of the inning, the Brewers kept their foot on the gas. Turang drew a walk to start the inning, and after hard line drives from Contreras and pinch-hitter Christian Yelich (with the lefty Abbott out of the game) went for outs, Bauers singled and some sloppy fielding allowed Turang to score all the way from first.
In the top of the fifth, Luis Lara decided that the Brewers would flex on both sides of the ball. Eugenio Suárez led off the inning with a drive to right that would’ve been a homer, but Lara got up and pulled it back—fooling everyone in the process. Two batters later, May had another 1-2-3 inning, and was just two over the minimum through five.
If things weren’t out of hand by the bottom of the fifth, they certainly were before the inning was over. Mitchell, Ortiz, and Chourio started the inning with consecutive singles, scoring Mitchell on the third. Turang followed with an RBI double (and was replaced by David Hamilton as a pinch-runner, just to get him off of his feet), and Contreras—the last Brewer starter without a hit—lined a two-run single to center. Reds pitcher Luis Mey finally got a couple of outs with strikeouts of Yelich and Bauers, but Lara single and Pratt walked to load the bases with two out. Up stepped Mitchell, who blasted the Brewers’ first grand slam of the year.
Through five innings, the Brewers had a 17-0 leadand 20 hits. That will do.
The other major positive about the game was that Dustin May was having a great night. He had to work through a little trouble in the sixth when with two outs he walked Elly De La Cruz and Pratt was given an error when he had trouble with a hard ground ball from Stewart, but a JJ Bleday groundout ended the inning. That ended up being May’s last inning, as he didn’t need to keep going with the game so lopsided: he allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out six on an efficient 84 pitches in six shutout innings (with a nod to Lara and his home-run robbery).
Brock Burke was Cincinnati’s pitcher in the sixth and he had a 1-2-3 inning—the first of the night for the Reds—despite a 106 mph, 349 foot line drive from Contreras. May’s replacement in the seventh was the newly recalled Garrett Stallings, and his only blemish in the inning was a walk to Suárez.
It was position player time in the bottom of the seventh, and of course Jose Trevino, the Reds’ backup catcher, threw a 1-2-3 inning. In the top of the eighth, Bo Naylor came on at first base—notable, because in 347 career games in the big leagues, he’d never appeared in the field anywhere other than catcher. Stallings was perfect in the top of the eighth, and after Trevino had shut down the Brewers in the seventh, the Brewers got to him in the eighth—singles by Ortiz and Chourio were followed by a three-run homer by Contreras, giving the Brewers a 20-0 advantage.
At 32.3 MPH pitch velocity, that is the slowest pitch hit for a home run in the StatCast Era. https://t.co/nZjsJiFAID
Stallings completed his third scoreless inning—he’s now got 11 scoreless innings to start his major-league career—to finish off the Reds.
Quite a box score to peruse, but a few highlights:
Chourio had four hits, his fourth four-hit game since August 27th. Two were doubles. His batting average is up 23 points since August 15th.
Turang went 3-for-3 with a double and a homer before being lifted for a pinch-runner.
Vaughn was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI.
Bauers had two hits including a two-run homer.
Contreras was the last Brewer starter to pick up a hit, but he finished 2-for-5 with a homer and six RBI.
Lara had two hits and robbed a homer.
Mitchell was 3-for-5 with a grand slam and three runs scored.
Ortiz also had four hits, all singles. Speaking of batting averages, Ortiz was hitting .188 at the end of May and is now at .263.
Add in the combined shutout for May and Stallings, and the Brewers made quite the statement as they clinched their eighth playoff berth in the last nine years.
The Brewers are still playing for a bye and home field advantage in the playoffs, and they haven’t yet clinched the division, though they can do so in a matter of days—the earliest possible day being Sunday, if they were to sweep the Reds and the Pirates took the next two from the Cubs.
The series continues tomorrow when Brady Singer starts for the Reds. The Brewers haven’t announced any starters moving forward, so stay tuned to see who ends up on the mound.
Josue De Paula jogs back to the dugout after flying out in his first big league at-bat in the second inning of the Dodgers' 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday night. (Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
“He’s gonna swing at strikes, take balls, put together good at-bats,” Roberts said before De Paula made his major league debut Friday in the Dodgers’ 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins.
Sure enough, when De Paula stepped into the batter’s box at Loan Depot Park, he wasn’t tempted to swing at the first-pitch curveball that dipped below the zone. He didn’t bite on the slider that missed high and outside.
He forced Marlins starter Ryan Gusto to throw into the zone. And after De Paula had worked a full count, swinging at a pair of fastballs and fouling off the second, he sent a slider to right field.
Though it was a flyout, the moment was momentous: De Paula had completed his first major league at-bat.
“I always had it in the back of my mind it could happen,” De Paula said of making his debut this year. “But I never tried to think too much about it. But when it did happen, I wasn’t really thinking about it because we really only had about four days left before the [double-A] season ends. So I was just thinking — four days, playoffs and then go home.”
Instead, the Dodgers selected De Paula’s contract from double-A Tulsa and put Shohei Ohtani on the 15-day injured list. To clear room on the 40-man roster, they transferred left-hander Eric Lauer from the 15-day IL to the 60-day.
The Dodgers (90-57) don’t have a more specific diagnosis for Ohtani’s right biceps injury, Roberts said. The team simply listed it as inflammation. And that lack of clarity makes it difficult to map out his return.
“We’re really going off of how he feels,” Roberts said. “And I think there’s a good amount of communication going on, which led us to the IL, given how he’s felt. And then going forward, take a few days [off] from swinging the bat, and then let’s sort of reevaluate in the coming days and see what works.”
In the meantime, De Paula will get a chance to show what he can do with his bat. Roberts envisioned the rookie serving as the designated hitter for all three games against the Marlins (72-76).
De Paula estimated that 15 people, including his parents, attended his debut. They watched the Dodgers trim their magic number to five.
Dodgers starter Blake Snell, who hasn’t given up more than one run in any of his seven starts back from surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, was stifling on the mound. He held the Marlins to one run and four hits in 5⅔ innings, lowering his ERA to 1.91.
“The goal, at worst, is definitely six [innings] for me,” Snell said. “I also know that I can go seven, eight, nine. I know I’m able to do it. So for me not to, I’ve just got to get more efficient early in the game. I feel like once I get past the first couple innings, I start cruising and start figuring it out.”
Kyle Tucker powered the Dodgers’ offense, finishing a double shy of the cycle while recording a season-high five RBIs. He drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning. Then he tripled in the sixth and scored on a single by Will Smith. He topped it off with a grand slam in the seventh to seal the Dodgers’ season-high eighth straight win.
Kyle Tucker, center, celebrates with Tommy Edman, left, and Max Muncy after hitting a grand slam in the seventh inning. (Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
“Just trying to stay on top through the ball, stay up the middle or left-center,” Tucker said about unlocking a better swing. “Just keep the body from flying open.”
De Paula batted No. 7 and worked full counts in his first two at-bats. He drew a walk in the fourth.
De Paula gave a glimpse of his base running ability — he had 31 stolen bases in double-A this season — as he raced to second and touched the base before the tag came down. But his hand came off as he slid past the bag, and after a replay review, he was called out. He’s still seeking his first hit, but he proved the Dodgers’ confidence in his ability was well placed.
“He’ll be in there [Saturday] and the next day,” Roberts said, “and he’ll get his first one soon enough.”
De Paula, 21, has been pushing for a promotion with his play at the plate for months. He had a .948 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in double-A and went on a power spree starting at the end of July, hitting 11 of his 27 home runs before his promotion.
De Paula is expected to get regular at-bats at DH, with possibly some time in the outfield. He has some familiarity with his teammates and coaches after being at spring training the last two years.
Josue De Paula is caught stealing after being tagged out by Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez in the fourth inning Friday. (Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
Hitting coach Aaron Bates said De Paula’s calmness in the batter’s box stood out.
“It’s a ‘wise beyond his years’ kind of thing,” Bates said. “Just very polished in the sense that there’s no panic when he’s in the box — especially for a young hitter. You see young hitters try to swing faster or catch up or swing harder. He’s got a great temperament about him as far as the way he goes about it. And I think this year he was able to kind of put it all together.”
De Paula pointed to improvements across the board — defensively, physically, mentally.
“It was a lot of visualization and concentration, holding focus,” he said before the game. “Practicing that, I felt it would help focus in on what I have to do and not distractions. I feel it’s going to help me on the field.”
Freeman out of lineup
Freddie Freeman was out of the lineup because of a sore right knee for the second straight game.
“Turf [field], flight, travel, just smart to give him one more day,” said Roberts, who initially hoped Freeman would return to the lineup Friday.
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 11: Kyle Tucker #23 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a sacrifice fly in the third inning during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on Friday, September 11, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Kelly Gavin/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Kyle Tucker hit a crucial seventh-inning grand slam to power the Dodgers (90-57) to a 6-2 win over the Marlins (72-76) Friday night in Miami.
It was an exciting night in Miami with pregame buzz surrounding the MLB debut of Dodgers top prospect Josue De Paula. De Paula went 0-for-3 on the night. He flied out to right fielder Esteury Ruiz in his first major-league at-bat. In his second at-bat, with one out in the fourth, the 21-year old drew a walk. In his third at-bat, De Paula grounded out to first baseman Kyle Stowers.
Blake Snell put together another solid night on the mound, only allowing 1 run on 4 hits to the Fish. Otto Lopez singled against Snell in the first, but Smith gunned down Lopez at second on a steal attempt to end the inning. The Marlins got more base runners on in the second against Snell, but he was once again able to pitch around the traffic to get out of the inning unscathed.
Tucker has been getting hot at just the right time for the Dodgers after an abysmal year at the plate.
The Dodgers manufactured a run in the top of the third. Tommy Edman drew the leadoff walk, and Max Muncy singled. Kyle Tucker’s sac fly gave Snell a 1-0 lead.
De Paula got thrown out on his first MLB steal attempt with two outs in the fourth. His hand came off the bag, and his leg was touching the tag. After a manager’s challenge, the call was overturned, and the inning was over.
After he brought in the first Dodgers run with a sac fly, Tucker tripled with one out in the top of the sixth. Smith drove in the second run of the night for L.A. with a single off Gusto.
The Marlins broke through with two outs in the sixth against the Dodgers bullpen. After Javier Sanoja singled against Snell, Dave Roberts replaced him with Evan Phillips. Agustín Ramírez put together a solid at-bat against Phillips and ultimately came out the winner with an RBI double to make it 2-1.
The Dodgers loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with two outs against the Miami bullpen. Tucker, who had two hits on the night, crushed a grand slam versus Cade Gibson. It was his first grand slam since summer of 2023.
The Fish added a second run to their tally in the bottom of the eighth against Blake Treinen. Javier Sanoja led off with a triple, and Owen Caissie brought him home on a sacrifice fly.
Edgardo Henriquez closed the door in the home half of the ninth to secure the Dodgers their 90th win of the season. Their Magic No. to clinch the NL West is now down to 4.
The Dodgers and Marlins continue their series Saturday at loanDepot Park (1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA). It will be a battle of the Tylers when Tyler Glasnow (4-0, 3.12 ERA, 0.88 WHIP) counters Tyler Phillips (5-6, 3.51 ERA, 1.33 WHIP).
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 11: Carlos Rodón #55 of the New York Yankees looks on during the game against the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium on September 11, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A Subway Series game on the 25th anniversary of September 11th was always going to bring about some pomp and circumstance and a chance for New Yorkers of all fandoms to come together and pay tribute.
However once the first pitch is thrown, both sets of fans want their team to win above all else. In the series opener, the Yankees’ fans were the ones that got to celebrate.
On the mound, Carlos Rodón was very good. He ended up going 6.1 innings, allowing two runs (only one earned) on three hits and a walk, while striking out eight. At the plate, the Yankees got to Mets’ starter Nolan McLean for a couple runs, including a big three-run homer from Cody Bellinger. That proved enough to give the Yankees a 6-4 win in the Subway Series opener against the mets.
The Yankees started out the game in close to perfect fashion. Ben Rice and Bellinger started with singles, followed by an Aaron Judge walk to load the bases. The inning didn’t turn out as good as it could’ve after that, though. Spencer Jones brought home one run with a single, but the bases were stranded loaded, including an inning-ending double play by George Lombard Jr.
Naturally right after that, the Mets immediately answered. Mark Vientos walked and two batters later, Marcus Semien singled, with a Jones misplay allowing them to move up a base each. That error would allow Vientos to score on a ground out, tying the game.
However, the Yankees’ offense had a reply waiting. While the first two hitters of the second went down in order, Anthony Volpe continued his nice start since returning with a single. Ben Rice followed that with a single, having used ABS to successfully overturned a strike three. That kept the inning going for Bellinger, who took a three-run shot out to right field.
Rodón settled in a bit after that and the Yankees eventually tacked on more. Rice led off the bottom of the fifth with a homer. They again missed out on an opportunity to add more, though.
In the sixth inning, Rodón got one out before allowing a single, which would be the end of his day. Paul Blackburn came in and got two outs, but a walk and a single got the Mets a run back. Brent Headrick came in for him and got out of the inning with a nifty catch on a comebacker.
Headrick then came back out for the eighth, but much like Blackburn in the inning before, he got himself into some trouble. A single and two walks loaded the bases with just one out, leading to Aaron Boone going to David Bednar for a potential five-out save. He got the first two, but a Semien sacrifice fly scored one run before the inning ended.
With the Yankees’ lead dwindling, they were in need of some insurance in the ninth. Luis García Jr. and Jones each hit a single, with George Lombard Jr. then bunting them up a base. Ryan McMahon then dropped in a single that only scored one run, as pinch runner José Caballero had to hold up to make sure the ball wasn’t caught. The hit did provide some insurance, but it did end up keeping the Yankees from more in the inning.
With Bednar back on for the ninth, the inning got off to an iffy start when A.J. Ewing hit a laser of a home run into the second deck in right field. A Francisco Lindor single later in the inning meant that Juan Soto came to the plate as the potential tying run, as the narrative decided not to use subtext. However, Bednar got Soto to ground into a game-ending double play to take round one of the set.
The Rays are back in the postseason for the first time since 2023 as the club rallied late against one of the better relievers in baseball in the 9th to walk off the Astros 3-1.
This game was two hours and twenty-two minutes long, but the 9th inning was the main event. Through the first eight innings, the teams combined for two runs coming off a sacrifice fly by Yanier Diaz in the 4th and yet another Victor Mesa home run in the 5th inning:
The Rays offense was not able to generate any other offense outside that solo shot against the quartet of Miguel Ullola, Bryan King, and Ethan Pecko, Pecko’s setup on the mound and his approach was reminiscent of how Robert Stock shut the Rays down in the last homestand. Rasmussen remained undefeated since the All-Star break even if the outing was a bit of a grind. He threw first pitch strikes to 15 of the 27 batters faced and scattered seven singles as well as a double to former Ray Isaac Paredes in the outing. He was behind in more counts than usual in his outing, but grinded through this outing with the help of a couple of timely double plays. The Rays remain undefeated in games when Rasmussen starts as he continues to embrace the role of staff ace in 2026.
Rasmussen gave way to Tyler Wells and Bryan Baker to get the last six outs and that duo permitted two runners to reach base while stranding them both to set up the 9th inning. Joe Espada brought in Bryan Abreu to begin the inning and had Josh Hader warming up, which we will revisit momentarily. Abreu entered this contest limiting hitters to a .187 average while striking out 30% of the batters he has faced.
Abreu struck out Yandy Diaz on a high inside fastball to get the first out. Jonathan Aranda then worked a 1-1 count and got a cutter that found too much of the plate and came within a foot of hitting a walk-off home run, instead settling for a double:
That brought Junior Caminero to the plate with a base open and Liam Hick on deck. Logic would have said to put Caminero on base and bring in Hader to either face Hicks or force Cash to likely pinch hit with Ryan Vilade. Hader has held hitters to a .114 average this season, but Espada stuck with Abreu who attempted to announce his presence with authority to Junior Caminero. Abreu chose poorly:
Caminero’s 40th home run on the season was his first career walkoff. He has now hit 40 home runs in consecutive seasons and is the first player in nearly 30 years with multiple 40+ homer seasons before the age of 24. It was a fun comeback with two well-struck baseballs in the 9th thereby equaling the team’s output through the first eight innings of the game. The Rays hold serve in the standings as the Yankees defeated the Mets in the first game of the Subway Series as they celebrate for one evening while staying focused on higher aspirations this month.
