Worldwide Sports News

Heading into Game 162 of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, two postseason spot are still up for grabs.

In the AL West, where the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are deadlocked at 80-81. Because Houston holds the tiebreaker, Texas faces a must-win scenario while praying for an Astros loss to steal the division crown. No matter which teams prevails, it will be the worst record for a playoff team in a 162-game season MLB history.

Meanwhile, the National League wild card race has been chaotic. The Arizona Diamondbacks erased a massive September deficit against the Philadelphia Phillies. Holding the tiebreaker, a D-backs win coupled with a Phillies loss punches Arizona's postseason ticket – and absolute despair in Philadelphia.

Here's a live look at the standings entering the final day:

ESPN | Jorge Castillo: The Yankees and Red Sox will face each other in the playoffs for the seventh time. It’s a rematch of last season’s AL Wild Card Series when Cam Schlittler memorably burst onto the national stage with eight shutout innings and 12 strikeouts to seal the series in the decisive Game 3. Castillo selects five of the most pressing questions facing the Yankees roster with less than 72 hours before the series gets underway.

Obviously atop the list is the availability of Aaron Judge, who hasn’t played since straining his right calf on September 16th. Aaron Boone declared that Judge would not be available for the Wild Card Series, something that the three-time MVP disputed the next day. Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham’s availabilities are also up in the air but both are said to be “knocking on the door.” Third base starter isn’t set in stone, with Anthony Volpe taking reps at the hot corner in the final days of the season amid Ryan McMahon’s offensive woes and regressing defense. Neither is the Game 1 starter, Boone said to be between presumptive AL Cy Young Cam Schlittler and Max Fried. The bullpen also has question marks with the injuries to Fernando Cruz, Ryan Weathers, and Clarke Schmidt and the signs of fatigue after heavy workloads for Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn.

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty and Jen McCaffrey ($): The Red Sox have plenty of questions of their own, mainly focused on the health of some of their star contributors. Willson Contreras has been Boston’s best hitter but hasn’t played since getting hit on the hand by a pitch on September 17th, the player himself saying his availability is uncertain. It’s also unclear whether Garrett Crochet will even make the roster — the southpaw has been out since April with a shoulder injury and only just threw his second live batting practice. Roman Anthony will certainly be playing, the question is which version shows up after he missed most of the season with a torn finger ligament.

This series will likely be decided by the performance of the pitching staffs. Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, and Ranger Suarez have all given the Yankees trouble this year, while Schlittler, Fried, and Gerrit Cole are equally if not more capable of dominating a game. Both teams have three-headed monsters at the backs of the bullpens, Headrick, Blackburn, and David Bednar opposed by Tyron Guerrero, Garrett Whitlock, and Aroldis Chapman.

New York Post | Mark W. Sanchez: Until August, Austin Wells had the lowest batting average and OPS of any hitter with at least as much playing time as him. However, since the trade deadline he posted an .800 OPS and 127 wRC+ including four home runs in nine games entering play Sunday. Wells feels that the turning point was the 15 days he spent on the IL with cervical headaches. With the affliction in the rearview mirror, Wells maintains that he is seeing the ball better and has been able to make a mechanical tweak in his swing, rewarding the Yankees’ decision to not pursue a catcher via trade.

Yahoo! Sports | Michael Whitaker: Justin Verlander called curtains on what has been a remarkable 21-year career. The likely future first ballot Hall of Famer was limited to just two starts in 2026 after suffering hip inflammation and a hamstring injury, but was able to make one last start in front of a sold out Comerica Park crowd, allowing two runs and striking out six over 5.1 innings. CC Sabathia, who himself was just honored with a Monument Park plaque and his No. 52 being retired by the Yankees, took time to congratulate his soon-to-be fellow Hall of Famer, calling Verlander “one of the best to ever do it.” Verlander had many memorable moments against the Yankees in his storied career, including his 2011 ALDS Game 3 start and 2012 ALCS Game 3 start with the Tigers as well as a pair of wins with the Astros in the 2017 ALCS to take home MVP honors. Congratulations on an incredible career, JV!

Starting in centerfield for what is all but assuredly his penultimate game with the Seattle Mariners, Randy Arozarena carried Randyland with him once again. I wonder what goes through his mind.

I often wonder this, in fairness, whether it’s while hopscotching away from 2-0 pitches, filling out a bingo card as he rounds the bases on a big fly, or trotting into the corner, following a Gentleman‘s Double™️. What does the kid from Cuba, later choosing Mexico to represent in the World Baseball Classic, think of home?

Arozarena is the defining player for the Mariners this year. A star in search of a solar system. Not bright enough alone, nor gravitationally engrossing to draw adherence from his compatriots, but just shy. The Kyle Seager of Mantua.

I wonder what Arozarena must have thought of his flanking companions. To his left, the field’s right, his erstwhile countryman. Lazaro Montes, gifted with the physicality Randy lacked and was overlooked for accordingly time and time again. A child, yet a fellow father in a foreign land. No player who has made the journey that Montes or Arozarena have can claim life to be comfortable, but Montes brings a joi de vivre few from any rearing can muster. A bilingual titan at 21, if he were not so muscle-bound, Montes might be a diplomat-to-be. Montes went 1-3 with a walk and clubbed a RBI double for the game’s first run. Arozarena’s compatriot in right has just one more night to absorb the wisdom and the perspective of his elder. For one night, Arozarena was nearer for Montes than he may ever be again.

The compact, quixotic Cuban from the Pintar del Rio region, the westernmost tip of an island famed for its participation in this nation’s pastime and resistance to its sphere of influence on all other fronts. Arozarena excelled as a youth in his father’s sport before pursuing the first choice of his homeland. His younger brother maintained the family commitment to soccer, but Arozarena must have known the path to prominence lay on the path of Tony Oliva and not the pitch.

Did Michael Arroyo know the same? His homeland of Colombia is no stranger to baseball brilliance, but Edgar Rentería taught the country to consider baseball mere decades ago, while Valderrama, Falcao, and James would be names familiar to every child. And yet, he chose baseball, faithful to his family’s favorite sport in defiance of his country, more Raiko Arozarena than Randy.

A month ago, when the season rested on a hopeful bed of nails, Arroyo arrived briefly in the M’s clubhouse. Arozarena welcomed him, with gifts of gear and good nature. Perhaps he saw a slice of his younger brother to his right as he glanced to left field tonight. Both hitters shone tonight as they have at every opportunity this year, Arozarena 2-5 with a double, Arroyo a clean 3-5.

They filled the bases for Seattle on a night things seemed easy, then crushingly grim, then smooth again. The M’s leapt out to a 4-0 lead before fear filled their hearts, as southpaw Kade Anderson wore a 104-mph-hued friendship bracelet he did not request from Angels INF Christian Moore. Though initially maintained after his fourth-inning exit, and mercifully deemed safe with merely bruising, Anderson’s exit beckoned the better natures of the rest of the Mariners.

José Ferrer wore the shame of pitching in front of this defense again one last time, and decided to stitch his own patch upon it. Facing the first real threat from Anaheim all day, he hurtled a ball wide, then watched as a single to center became a multi run mess thanks to a credited error to Arozarena that more accurately was an on target throw with a short hop which Cal Raleigh couldn’t corral. Ball after ball testing the infield yielded runs, and it seemed certain that Seattle and it’s beleaguered bullpen would cede the night to fate.

Instead, a glimpse of another world. A better world. A world of safe surprises and risks rewarded. A world of world where Taylor Ward finally has a big moment for his new club, lashing a two-run single to drive in Arroyo and Cole Young. A world where J.P. Crawford follows with a two-run smash off a southpaw to double the lead and double up on Anaheim. A world that could be ours, without too much trouble and a few turns of the calendar pages. A world where the Mariners win 8-4 and it’s meaningful, like every day in this world is to Randy, to Lazaro, to Michael Arroyo, to Kade Anderson.

It took a while for the Oklahoma City Comets to find their offense, but they did. Alek Thomas hit a three-run double in the 10th inning, giving the Dodgers’ Triple-A team a 5-3 win over the Rochester Red Wings, a Washington Nationals affiliate, on Saturday night in the Triple-A championship game in Las Vegas.

James Tibbs III (108) and Mike Sirota (100) led Dodgers minor leaguers in walks this season, so it’s only right that they walked to open the 10th inning, joining free runner Josue De Paula to load the bases with nobody out against Clayton Beeter, who was drafted by the Dodgers in the second round in 2020.

Thomas then drove a ball 99.5 mph to the wall in left center, clearing the bases for Oklahoma City’s first lead of the game.

Thomas in four games this postseason had a .500 on-base percentage in 21 plate appearances, including two hits and a hit by pitch on Saturday.

Seth Halvorsen inherited two runners on base with one out in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game, and escaped the jam, getting the game to extras. Then he got the final three outs in the 10th to close out the win, allowing the free runner to score but nobody else.

Halvorsen, named a Pacific Coast League All-Star earlier on Saturday, struck out Leandro Pineda for the final out, securing Oklahoma City’s win over the International League champs.

The Triple-A championship game has been played since 2006. This is the first time a Dodgers affiliate has won it.

Long road coming

Oklahoma City didn’t score for the first seven innings and were hitless in their first seven at-bat with runners in scoring position, and were down 2-0 entering the eighth inning.

Mike Sirota, playing in just his sixth game in Triple-A, singled home James Tibbs III, who walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Third baseman Ryan Fitzgerald, who led all of the minors in hits this season, struck out in his first three at-bats on Saturday before doubling off the wall in left center in the eighth to bring home Sirota with the tying run.

Zach Ehrhard had three more hits on Saturday to cap a stellar postseason. The outfielder had three doubles and a home run in the three-game Pacific Coast League championship series, and in four postseason games reached base 13 times in 21 trips to the plate, including nine hits in 17 at-bats, with six runs scored and five runs batted in.

Stretching out

Emmet Sheehan didn’t pitch badly, but he was laboring for the first time in his last seven starts between Triple-A and the majors. He didn’t pitch a clean inning until the fifth, and his six hits allowed matched the total for his previous three starts combined, all with the Dodgers and spanning 17 1/3 innings.

Even with all the traffic on base — Sheehan walked three batters and hit another — he still struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings and only allowed two runs. He also threw 90 pitches, keeping Sheehan fully stretched out should the Dodgers need his services at some point in the postseason.

Kyle Hurt, optioned to Triple-A on Wednesday, relieved Sheehan with two runners on and one out, then escaped the sixth inning with a single pitch, inducing a 3-4-1 double play. Hurt added a perfect seventh inning with a strikeout, giving him 1 2/3 scoreless frames on Saturday, after he pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts in Thursday’s win over Las Vegas that won the PCL title for Oklahoma City.

Keeping things close

While Oklahoma City took a while for the offense to get going, they did provide some standout plays with the leather, including this diving stab and throw from third base by Fitzgerald in the fifth inning.

Noah Miller continued his excellent play at shortstop with his diving stop up the middle in the seventh.

Saturday particulars

Oklahoma City 5, Rochester 3

Home run: Rochester 1B Liover Peguero

WP — Seth Halvorsen: 1 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 1 unearned run, 1 strikeout

LP — Clayton Beeter: 0 IP, 1 hit, 3 runs (2 earned), 2 walks

That concludes the 2026 minor league baseball season.

The Diamondbacks came into tonight with a golden opportunity. Several golden opportunities, actually, given that by the time our game against the Padres was underway, the Phillies were already well on their way to getting decimated by Tampa to the final tune of 12-1 Tampa. We had a chance to achieve our first 7-game win streak since 2017, we had the chance to go into the final game of the season needing only a last-game win or a loss by Philadelphia to punch our ticket to the postseason, we had a chance to secure a final series win, as well as the season series win against San Diego, with a game to spare. Walker Buehler was going for the Padres, which made things look pretty good on paper; it was a bullpen game for us, with Taylor Clarke opening for us, which also looked pretty good on paper. Alas, however, it was not to be.

Things didn’t start off great, with Buehler setting us down in order on 10 pitches to start things off, and then Clarke retiring Fernando Tatis Jr. for the first out before surrendering three straight singles and a hit batsman to give the Padres the early lead. He managed the second out on a popup on the infield, but Torey Lovullo replaced him after that with Jonathan Loaisiga, who ended the threat, but with us trailing. 1-0 San Diego

We started to make a bit of noise in the top of the second, thanks to a leadoff Geraldo Perdomo walk and a Corbin Carroll single to left to put runners on first and second. Then Padres catcher Ethan Salas tried to pick Carroll off first but threw the ball away down the right field line, which allowed Gerry to score and tie things up. 1-1 TIE

Loaisiga pitched a clean second, retiring the Padres in order, and the Diamondbacks took their first lead in the ballgame in the top of the third. Tim Tawa led off with the a single to left off the glove of shortstop Xander Boegarts, advanced to second one out later on a slow Ketel Marte groundout, and scored on a Gabriel Moreno single to right. 2-1 DBACKS

Johnny Lasagna couldn’t hold the lead though, allowing the Friars to take the lead back in the bottom of the frame thanks to a leadoff triple to center that Tim Tawa lost in the lights, followed after some extra foolishness by a slow grounder to first that scored the run. Kevin Ginkel came on to relieve Loaisiga, and promptly surrendered a Jake Cronenworth popup to shallow center that both Tawa and Perdomo lost track of and allowed to drop for an RBI double. 3-2 San Diego

But not to worry, the Diamondbacks were ready to take the lead right back themselves. With one out in the top of the fourth, Nolan Arenado was hit by a pitch with one out and was forced at second by a fielder’s choice groundout by Pavin Smith. James McCann stepped into the batter’s box and after getting ahead 3-0 on Buelher, deposited a middle-of-the-plate fastball just over the wall in pretty much straightway center field for a two-run homer:

So that was fun. 4-3 DBACKS

Sadly, however, that was the last fun we were going to have for awhile, as the bullpen cracked, and basically broke, in the next three innings. Jose Cabrera took the mound for the bottom of the fourth, put two runners on, and then watched Manny Machado go yard. 6-4 San Diego

Nevertheless, he came out for the fifth as well, because he was supposed to be our “bulk” guy today, but he gave up another longball, followed by two more base hits, which earned him the hook after four outs recorded. Juan Morillo came in and got the final two outs, but not before another run scored from third on a groundout. 8-4 San Diego

Dennis Santana came out for the seventh, and allowed two more runs to score, thanks to three singles and a walk. To be fair, he pitched the eigthth as well, and sat down the top of the Padres’ lineup in order, but things were pretty out of hand by then. 10-4 San Diego

Meanwhile, the Padres’ bullpen had gotten involved in the game in the top of the fifth, and while they allowed traffic in every inning, none of that traffic found its way home, as the Diamondbacks hitters were kept in check until, somewhat unexpectedly, San Diego closer Mason Miller came out to pitch the ninth. And he was not sharp.

Tim Tawa didn’t wait around, going oppo on the first pitch he saw for a line drive single into shallow right. That turned the lineup over for Lars Nootbar, who walked. Ketel Marte than lined a single to left to load the bases. Somewhat oddly, Torey Lovullo sent Adrian Del Castillo, newly up from Reno, to pinch-hit for Moreno, and ADC promptly struck out. I assume that Torey was playing the lefty-righty matchup there, but Moreno’s bat has been fire while Del Castillo has been languishing back at AAA for god knows how long at this point, and having the first MLB pitcher he’s faced in months be a flamethrower like Miller didn’t seem like it would go well. That said, we weren’t done yet, as Miller walked Perdomo to bring in a run. Corbin Carroll then rolled over to second for a fielder’s choice that scored Nootbaar. Nolan Arenado, with an 11-game hitting streak on the line, then singled to center to score Marte and advance Carroll to third. Ildemaro Vargas, who’d pinch-hit for Pavin Smith in the eighth, came to the plate as the tying run, but alas he struck out to end the ballgame. 10-7 San Diego FINAL

Loss Probability Added, courtesy of FanGraphs

A Whale of a Player: James McCann (4 AB, 1 H, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 2 K, +21% WPA)
King Salmon: Gabriel Moreno (3 AB, 1 H, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, +12% WPA)
Fish Food: Jose Cabrera (1 1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K, -45% WPA), Taylor Clarke (2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 HBP, -12% WPA)

Sadly, due to some late afternoon discombobulation that left me in a diabetic low blood sugar fugue state for the first three innings or so, I never managed to stop by the penultimate Game Day Thread of the regular season, which made me sad. We seem to have had banner attendance, though, with a whopping 583 comments at time of
writing. I’m not quite sure what all was going on in the thread this evening, but the two top comments by popular acclaim both seem to be hitting the same theme, so rather than choosing between them, I’m going to split the CotG between Diamondhacks and onedotfive, for these two statements that I very much agree with:

Damn straight. It sucks to lose one-run games, but we win more of them than we lose, and it is indeed magical that, given where we were two weeks ago or a month ago or, really, coming into this season, that we’ll still playing to get into the postseason tomorrow, in game 162. Speaking of which.

So, About Tomorrow….

So, besides two essentially meaningless early games, first pitch for every single game 162 happens at the same time, which is 12:05pm AZ time. Michael Soroka is going for us, and the Padres, having clinched the home field advantage that comes with grabbing the top wild card spot, haven’t announced who’s going to be taking the mound for them. This is significant, because while San Diego has been playing for seeding position in the first two games, they have nothing whatsoever to gain or lose tomorrow, whatever happens in our ballgame. So we may very well see them resting all their starters, and most of their “A” bullpen, and running out a bunch of filler guys to go up against us while we’re going to be playing for our lives.

Meanwhile, the Phillies are going to be playing for their lives as well, hosting Tampa at what, by the weather forecasts, seems like it’s going to be a very waterlogged Citizens’ Bank Park. The Phillies are pretty much in the same boat we are, but the Rays are not. The Rays have already secured their top AL seed and their first-round bye. As such, they have no real incentive to rest starters or send out trash pitchers to the mound, because they’re going to have plenty of downtime during the bye and plenty of time to order their ALDS starters in whatever sequence they desire. So I’d say, in terms of opponents and opponent motivation tomorrow, it seems like it’s advantage Diamondbacks.

The kicker, of course, because we lost tonight, is that not only do we need to beat the Padres tomorrow, the Phillies also need to lose to the Rays. We lose, or the Phillies win, and they’re in and we’re out. So it really is for all the marbles tomorrow, and we will need a final dollop of help from the baseball gods to keep our wacky and improbable season going into October.

So please join us in the Gameday Thread, as we celebrate the final game of the 2026 regular season, and cheer our Snakes to help get them back to October baseball, and to just enjoy what might be the very last regular season baseball any of us might get to watch for some time to come. We hope to see you tomorrow!

If this is my last recap of 2026, so be it….it’s been an uneven season, but it’s always a pleasure to write up these recaps and share the triumphs and defeats of the Diamondbacks with the lovely denizens of the Snake Pit. As always, thanks for reading. And as always, especially tomorrow, GO DIAMONDBACKS!

Mariners 8, Angels 4

Good King: Cole Young, .25 WPA

No Way: Jose Ferrer, -.43 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

Special double dose because I couldn’t choose

The Athletics faced the Houston Astros in the penultimate game of the 2026 MLB season. In a season full of blowout losses, how fitting that the A’s suffered another lopsided defeat, falling 13-2 as the team’s league-worst pitching staff once again failed to keep the ball in the ballpark.

Astros In Control Early

A’s starter Jack Perkins did not get through the first inning unscathed. With two outs, Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes hit his 25th home run of the season, a solo shot to left field that put the visitors ahead 1-0. Perkins rebounded to strike out the side in the second inning.

Houston increased its lead in the top of the third inning when shortstop Jeremy Peña’s 21st home run of the season, a two-run shot to center field off Perkins, made it a 3-0 game. Meanwhile, Astros right-hander Hayden Wesneski needed just 20 pitches to complete three scoreless innings. The A’s obsession with double-plays continued, as Wesneski induced a double play to end two consecutive innings.

A’s Comeback Begins

The Athletics generated their first scoring chance against Wesneski in the bottom of the fourth inning, loading the bases with one out. The hosts caught a break when Peña mishandled a potential inning-ending double-play grounder.

Zack Gelof hustled down the line for an RBI force out, bringing home Lawrence Butler for the A’s first run of the game. Peña made another mistake on that play, as his throw pulled the first baseman off the bag and allowed Gelof to reach safely. The A’s had a chance to score more, but Donovan Walton grounded out to strand runners at the corners.

Perkins Not Good Enough

Perkins failed to complete a shutdown inning in the fifth. With two outs and two runners on, Houston’s superstar designated hitter Yordan Alvarez hit his 42nd home run of the season, a three-run shot to right field that extended the visitors’ lead to 6-1.

One pitch before, A’s catcher Jonah Heim failed to challenge a pitch that appeared to clip the bottom of the strike zone. Instead Alvarez crushed Houston’s third home run of the night and the 10th allowed by A’s pitchers through the first 2 1/2 games of this season-ending series.

Perkins allowed six runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out nine, but that was offset by the three home runs he allowed.

Astros Cruising

Right-hander Scott Blewett entered out of the A’s bullpen to pitch the sixth inning. Blewett quickly found himself in a jam after the first two batters he faced recorded hits, putting runners on second and third with zero outs. Blewett struck out the next two Astros before left-hander Drew Rom replaced him and completed the houdini act.

With a five-run cushion, Wesneski cruised through six innings on 60 pitches. The Athletics plated a second run against Wesneski in the bottom of the seventh on first baseman Tommy White’s two-out RBI single.

A’s Relief Struggles Continue

Rom remained in the game for the seventh inning, allowing four singles and two more runs. With two outs, Lucas Spence’s RBI double brought home the third run of the inning, the Astros’ ninth, and sent Rom back to the dugout.

Right-hander Yunior Tur continued to look overmatched against major league hitters. In the eighth inning, Peña’s second home run of the night, a two-run shot, extended his team’s lead to 11-2. Two more hits made it a dozen runs for the Astros. The following inning, Spence hit his fourth home run of the series, this one off Tur.

With a double-digit lead, Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco pitched a scoreless final two frames, preserving the rest of his team’s bullpen for tomorrow’s high-stakes matchup.

The Athletics will look to win the season finale to earn a series split and potentially knock the Astros out of the playoffs. Right-hander Seth Johnson will serve as the Green and Gold’s opener, while the Astros have yet to reveal their starter.