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Regular readers know that I’ve followed one of the great Cy Young horse races in recent memory, with Cam Schlittler going great start-for-great start with the Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease. We got a little bit of separation this week, as the Athletics touched up Cease for four runs in five innings on Monday, and then Schlittler allowed just a solo shot in seven frames against the Rockies on Tuesday. Cam has crept just ahead by fWAR, enjoys a considerable lead in bWAR, and right now I think would end up at the top of most voters’ ballots.

But something struck me in the aftermath of Cam’s night against Colorado, the same night that Aaron Judge returned to the lineup. Cam Schlittler isn’t just the Cy Young favorite, but he’s built himself an MVP case. No pitcher has won the award since Clayton Kershaw for the 2014 Dodgers, and the last AL winner was 2011 Justin Verlander. Yordan Alvarez is in the hunt for the first Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera, Bobby Witt Jr. is probably the best overall player in the league, and if Junior Caminero tops the AL in home runs and plays on the Junior Circuit’s best team, he probably gets his share of votes too.

And yet here’s the thing: Cam stacks up fairly against all three of them!

Let’s take Yordan, who I think has the inside track on the award right now. Schlittler’s 0.1 fWAR back, a difference that is literally negligible, and more than three-quarters of a win better by bWAR. Alvarez’s candidacy is based around the Triple Crown, probably being the best hitter in baseball, and dragging what we thought was a finally-deflated Houston Astros team to a division title. Crappy AL West or not, that is exactly the blueprint for an MVP, if one for a slightly older voter.

Should Alvarez not win the Triple Crown, he loses a bit of his case, though he’s likely still the best hitter in the game on a division winner, one who will have played in the neighborhood of 155 games. That’s the big thing both undercutting Witt’s MVP claim while bolstering his position as best all-around player — the Kansas City shortstop has only played 128 games at time of writing, yet leads the league in fWAR and bWAR among position players. With a solid-but-not-spectacular 18 homers and 124 wRC+, the parts of his game beyond hitting are doing the heavy lifting there as well. All that and the fact that the Royals are so bad work against him when it comes to end of season awards though, and Bobby seems cursed to be the Dave Stieb of shortstops.

Junior Caminero, fittingly, is the junior candidate in this slate, trailing the rest of the field pretty clearly by WAR. The home run totals (an AL-leading 39 as of the time of writing) and the Rays’ season of devil magic help fill in some of the gaps that would otherwise leave him a downballot vote-getter that helped a lot of people’s fantasy teams, and in the end he might be just that. Great season, frightening player, but more of a top-five finisher than taking home the hardware.

Cam Schlittler leads the entire AL in bWAR, position players or no. He is virtually tied for third in fWAR. Perhaps most key to his case is the way this Yankee team has been beaten up, with four of his fellow starters seeing IL time this year. The Yankees came into the season with more starting pitching than they needed, and it ended up being just enough, with a chunk of that being because Schlittler has been so reliable, not missing a single start. Virtually every member of the regular starting lineup, save Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt, has been injured or demoted in some form this year, and the Opening Day center fielder, DH, and second baseman might not even finish the season on the big-league roster.

Through all that, the consistent, balancing force has been Cam’s right arm every five days.

MVPs are built on a combination of statistical success and compelling narrative — Aaron Judge’s 2022 was at that point his career-best season, but the chase for 62 is what pushed him over the line. Cam has the total value arguments, and certainly if you can make a compelling case for MVP you have to be the favorite for the Cy Young. Moreover, him being at 25 the stabilizing energy for a team that could very well have completely fallen apart, he may end up higher than you think on the ballot that means the most.

Good morning, LSB.

The Rangers lost another last night, a 9-1 stomping by the Diamondbacks.

Evan Grant writes that…yeah, that might just about do it for this version of the Texas Rangers.

Kennedi Landry writes about Wyatt Langford faltering down the stretch.

The Rangers thinning bullpen continues to be a source of stress.

Josh Jung appears to be on the brink of a return, for whatever that’s worth.

That’s about it for this morning. The Rangers look to stop the bleeding tonight in Arizona with….Kumar Rocker on for Texas. Sigh.

Have a good weekend!

Maureen Mullen at MLB writes that Jac Caglianone took some BP on Friday.

Jac Caglianone took on-field batting practice before Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox at Fenway Park for the first time since suffering a Grade 1 flexor strain in his left elbow in Saturday’s loss to the Blue Jays.

Before taking a regular rotation with the last hitting group, Caglianone also hit in the indoor batting cage and shagged balls in right field.

While manager Matt Quatraro could not say whether or not Caglianone would be available to pinch-hit Friday, he was encouraged by the progression of his right fielder.

Rex Hudler is done with his Royals broadcasts this year, writes Pete Grathoff.

David Lesky looks at potential Rule 5 decisions the Royals may need to make this offseason, such as what to do with Gavin Cross.

We all know much more about Cross. He was picked ninth overall in that same 2022 draft and just reached Omaha for the first time this season. It was a combination of injuries and poor play, though it’s fair to wonder if one informed the other. He didn’t have his first multi-hit game until May 10, but eventually made an adjustment to add a toe tap to his swing. Even though he’s hitless in his last two games, he’s hitting .291/.338/.563 since the start of June with 16 home runs and 13 doubles. He came back from another injury on August 26 and has 25 strikeouts in 52 plate appearances since then, but before the injury had a 43-game stretch where he was hitting .337/.390/.639.

I don’t know if he’s figured out how to hit or not. I do know he’s a solid defender in a corner and can probably cosplay as a center fielder for a game or two still. Guys like Cross don’t get picked a ton because the strikeouts are probably concerning, but he has real power, and I think he’d probably get picked if there is a draft. My question is if the Royals would rather simply use him as part of a trade before that and not worry about it, but I can’t predict the future, so I’m very much on the fence if I’d add him. I think I would, but I go back and forth.

Dayn Perry at CBS Sports looks at which managers could be on the hot seat, such as Matt Quatraro.

He’s probably fine because his contract runs through 2029. That said, the Royals are in last place and will have a losing record for the second straight year under Quatraro. He needs to rebound in 2027, but he’ll likely keep his job for now. 

Job status: Probably safe

The Royals hosted a 9/11 stair climb that draws over a hundred first responders and veterans.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is not slowing down.

The players that leveled up and made huge impacts this year for their teams.

The Blue Jays call up former Royals farmhand Rudy Martin Jr. to make his MLB debut and designate Jesus Sanchez for assignment.

Byron Buxton is out for the year following hip surgery.

Joe Posnanski asks what happened to the .300 hitter?

Which players have opt outs this offseason?

The Rays put in a claim on outfielder Luis Robert Jr. when he was on waivers.

MLB premieres a new documentary about the Mets taking the field following 9/11.

How a Michael Cuddyer home run kept a teammate off American Airlines Flight 11 on 9/11.

The NHL has some work to do if they want to give Texas another team.

The new Chiefs stadium will not be named Arrowhead.

Election officials ban certain public workers from trading on prediction markets ahead of midterms elections.

Harrison Ford will not be in Blade Runner 2099.

A handful of people have an unlimited pasta pass to Olive Garden.

Your song of the day is Fleetwood Mac with Tusk.

Sadly, the minor league season is winding to a close with only Springfield and Memphis still playing. I thought now would be a good time to check out how last year’s draft class fared in their first professional season. 

First Round (5th overall) – Liam Doyle, LHP

Doyle started the season slow, but ended up with a very solid stat line to finish out his first full season. Remember, the Texas League is an extremely hitter-friendly environment with a league ERA of 5.03. His K% of 30% was excellent (league average 24.3%) and his BB% of 12.5% was slightly elevated (league average 11.3%). It may not have been the year that some hoped for from Doyle, but he stayed healthy and got better as the season progressed. Over his final eight starts, Doyle had a 1.50 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 42 innings against just 16 walks and one home run allowed. 

Doyle was tasked with developing his secondary pitches this year to supplement his electric fastball, so if you buy into the narrative that his slow start was a product of reworking his repertoire, you can come out of 2026 feeling like Doyle’s campaign was a massive success. If you prefer the negative interpretation, you can see an overall stat line that is good rather than great with the high-effort delivery and elevated walk rate leaving the relief risk still a very real concern. 

Here is how Doyle stacks up against the next two pitchers drafted.

Seth Hernandez got off to an excellent start across 74 innings in his debut season. As a high schooler, Hernandez was probably not a real consideration for the Cardinals, but if he keeps up his current trajectory, this could turn into a painful miss that we look back on for a long time.

Many people were surprised that the Cardinals took Doyle over Jamie Arnold. At the time of the draft, Arnold was seen as one of the higher-floor pitching prospects available. He also put up a solid debut season, but still looks like a pitchability back-of-the-rotation arm without Doyle’s upside. 

Second Round (55th overall) – Ryan Mitchell, OF

Mitchell had an odd debut season. Drafted out of high school, he was seen as one of the more polished prep bats available. While his excellent plate approach and feel for the barrel showed up, he struggled mightily to make contact. On the positive side, he played all year as a 19-year-old at Palm Beach and carried a solid 112 wRC+. On the negative side, he carried an alarming 33.1% strikeout rate. While he did manage to hit 13 home runs, his ISO was only .135 and his exit velocity metrics were below average. 

To put Mitchell’s season into perspective, here is how he stacks up against the next two high school bats taken in the draft.

Becker was an even bigger over-slot signing than Mitchell and played more than half of the season in the Complex League before struggling to a 65 wRC+ in his 29 Low-A games. Moss had a solid season but did not show much in the way of power. Mitchell will clearly need to show a ton of development in either the power or contact portions of his game, but he did enough to stay on the prospect radar in his first season. 

Competitive Balance B (72nd overall) – Tanner Franklin, RHP

After being drafted, Franklin quickly became one of the most hyped prospects in the system thanks to his 70-grade fastball and the knowledge that the Cardinals would try him out as a starting pitcher. He more than lived up to the hype in his first full season. Franklin ramped his innings up from 38.2 at Tennessee to 105 while advancing all the way to Double-A Springfield. 

Even with the innings increase, Franklin seemed to maintain his velocity as the season progressed and was still hitting triple digits in his Springfield debut. I assume he will start next season back in Springfield, but at his current trajectory, he could factor into the St. Louis pitching plans sometime in 2027. 

Third Round (89th overall) – Jack Gurevitch, 1B/3B

Gurevitch has had an excellent first pro season as well. His 30 home runs rank 23rd in the minors. He torched Palm Beach for 28 games, putting up an absurd 109.9 mph 90th-percentile exit velocity and maxing out at 115 mph. After being promoted to Peoria, he kept the party going with 17 home runs in 59 games. In Springfield, he has finally encountered some resistance with a strikeout rate of 40% and a wRC+ of 79.

It is a super volatile profile for Gurevitch. He will be limited to a corner infield position, and according to scouting reports, third base may be a stretch. Still, he has some of the best raw power in the minor leagues, so if he can keep his contact rates up, he has middle-of-the-order upside. All things considered, Gurevitch has increased his prospect stock significantly with his showing this year. 

Fourth Round (120th overall) – Cade Crossland, LHP

The Cardinals went $100K over-slot to grab Crossland in the fourth round. He obviously struggled with command as evidenced by his 16.5% walk rate, but he did cut it to 12.1% after being promoted to High-A Peoria. Crossland topped out at 98 mph in college, so there is hope he has more in the tank from a velocity standpoint, but he averaged only 92.1 mph during his time at Palm Beach. Crossland’s changeup is his calling card as he averaged 19.3 inches of armside movement with the pitch and used it as his primary strikeout weapon. For perspective, this would rank second in the MLB behind Devin Williams’ 20.7 inches. 

Crossland will surely be given a chance to continue starting next year, but with an outlier secondary pitch, he could be an interesting bullpen option down the road. 

Fifth Round (150th overall) – Ethan Young, RHP

The Cardinals again went over-slot in the fifth round to bring Young into the mix. Like Franklin, he was a reliever in college who the Cardinals planned to try out as a starter. Young gets an incomplete grade as he was limited to just ten starts because of injury. He did make it back for two starts to finish the year, so he should be healthy heading into 2027. Despite the inflated 7.26 ERA, the underlying metrics looked good with a 35.3% strikeout rate against an 11.3% walk rate. 

Young was the last of the big bonus prospects in the draft, so I won’t spend as much time going through the remaining picks. 

Other Pitchers

The Cardinals targeted interesting fastballs later in the draft with less focus on command or polish than in years past. While none of these pitchers set the world on fire, there could still be some interesting stuff to work with. 

Payton Graham (RHP) made his return from Tommy John surgery, which has to be seen as a positive. He flashed a plus fastball with 19 inches of induced vertical break and topped out at 97.4 mph. Ty Van Dyke (RHP) got some attention early in the season by posting a 1.64 ERA at Palm Beach across his first seven starts, but had more pedestrian numbers upon his promotion to Peoria. Jake Shelagowski (RHP) was the Cardinals’ annual prospect no one had heard of on draft day out of Division II Saginaw Valley State. He posted solid numbers and popped 98.7 mph on the gun before his season was cut short by an injury in June. Dylan Driessen (RHP) averaged over 20 inches of induced vertical break on his fastball and topped out at 98.7 mph. He pitched exclusively out of the bullpen, but could be an interesting name to watch if he can get the walks under control. 

Other Hitters

On the hitting side, none of the late-round picks broke out in the way that Deniel Ortiz did from the 2024 draft. There might be a utility player in this group, but the early returns are a bit boring.

Outfielder Matthew Miura posted elite Chase and Whiff rates but did not show any power in his debut. Miura is a good defender and runner capable of handling center, so there might be some upside here, but a fourth or fifth outfielder track looks most likely. Jalin Flores skipped straight to High-A. He played all over the infield and seems capable of handling short, so he could carve out a future as a utility infielder. 

Overall, I think you have to be happy with the class’s performance. Tanner Franklin and Jack Gurevitch both had legitimate breakout seasons. Liam Doyle stayed healthy and showed positive momentum. Cade Crossland also finished strong and could be ready for Double-A in his second season. Of the high-bonus crew, only Ryan Mitchell and Ethan Young had disappointing seasons, but neither struggled in a way that should cause them to be written off completely. This has been one of the most encouraging minor league seasons in recent memory for the Cardinals, and the 2025 draft class was a big part of the success. 

Home sweet home. The Cubs returned home and the offense produced 12 runs. Another blowout win. Another double digit run scoring game. The Cubs did what they do best. They were patient. They moved the line. They all contributed. WPA is a fickle friend. It’s a hard curve that anyone ended up with a negative score. That’s the cruel fate of early results when the game gets lopsided quickly. Over the course of nine innings, every Cub with more than one plate appearance contributed as did every pitcher who threw an inning. My friend always used to say someone had to make the outs.

I’m throwing in my proverbial white towel. We enter this last “block” of games, a tortured grouping as the two off days in the middle make it not terribly blocky. It starts with a resounding win. Many times after a game like this, I’ve noted the lack of utility of such a game. My thoughts don’t change. The Cubs aren’t more ready to win games in October because of a game like this. But, that reality has already been served. This team isn’t going to be “ready” for the postseason.

I still don’t think that means they are an automatic out. The team has playoff experience. It has a ton of talent. It has confidence. It has its league’s best player. For this year, at least. It has a chance. But it’s shortstop will surely be playing himself back into game shape and competitive groove. And he wasn’t having a great season in the first place. Its starting pitching is good, not great. Its bullpen is in disarray and there isn’t enough runway to sort out roles or get confidence back.

This organization certainly didn’t set out to be a team that tries to just flip the switch come October. The Dodgers certainly have all the looks of a team that turned it on when the calendar got to September. I expect the Yankees to follow suit. It shouldn’t be surprising to those of us who have followed the “inclusive postseason” team sports. It shouldn’t surprise that there is a growing amount of “get there at the end.” We’ve watched teams across all of the other major sports tread water and then turn it on at the end. It won’t really be noticed with the Dodgers. But that’s a team whose talent level is probably at about 115 wins that is going to win around 100. Heck, it’s very possibly too little, too late, but the Blue Jays are making a late playoff push. The Astros, the Guardians and the Padres have all made some level of late push. All of these teams have a ton of October experience.

The Cubs don’t belong in that group. They made it last year and they won a series. But it hasn’t been a storied history of late. That mini rebuild took some time and had some near misses. But injuries have crushed this team. Relying on too many pitchers with injury history or not, this team has suffered a staggering number of injuries. You had to figure it was coming on some level after last year’s team was pretty generally healthy. This team has been pretty generally not.

This team is going to trust fall into the postseason. There are no pillars, no crutches to lean on. I mean not “no” things to lean on. Their defense is at least in the conversation for historically great. Their center fielder is a superstar having a storybook season. There is a lot of experience and lot of talent. In Alex Bregman, Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes, they added to a locker room that already had Dansby Swanson with significant postseason experiences. Daniel Palencia had the amazing opportunity to close out the WBC. When the brightest lights shine, they’re going to roll out there. They probably aren’t going to be favorites. Craig Counsell is going to look at them. He’s going to ask them to just try to win one inning at a time. Don’t look ahead. Don’t focus about who’s going to throw the last inning, take the last at bat. Look to who is going to get the ball now. Whose turn it is to move the line.

Execute. Be the player you can be. Be the team you can be. It ain’t over until it’s over.

Three Positives:

• It’s always good when I could list the whole team. It starts with Shōta Imanaga. He had a rough first inning, allowing a triple among three hits. He was bailed out by his catcher on a caught stealing. Then he settled down and allowed two over six. Somehow the worst start he’s ever made versus the Pirates.
• Fellow countryman Seiya Suzuki had three hits, one a triple, and scored three runs.
• Michael Busch had a single, double, sacrifice fly and drove in three runs. He also scored two.
• Yep. I’m cheating. Alex Bregman had three hits, needing only a triple for the cycle. He drove in two and scored two.

Game 148, September 11: Cubs 12, Pirates 2 (82-66)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Carson Kelly (.194). 2-3, 2B, HBP, 2 RBI, R
• Hero: Nico Hoerner (.093). 2-5, 2B, RBI
• Sidekick: Shōta Imanaga (.092). 6 IP, 2 R, 4 K

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Pedro Ramirez (-.057). 1-4, 2B, 2 R
• Goat: Pete Crow-Armstrong (-.033). 1-4, BB, RBI, R
• Kid: Michael Conforto (-.028). 1-3, SF, RBI

WPA Play of the Game: Carson Kelly’s two-run double with two outs in the second gave the Cubs a two run lead. That’s a lot of twos. (.192)

Pirates Play of the Game: Konnor Griffin’s triple leading off the game. (.091)

Note: 23 of 79 WPA events in this game were worth .000.

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 147 Winner: Michael Conforto 27 of 36 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Alex Bregman +27
• Pete Crow-Armstrong +24.5
• Michael Conforto +17
• Carson Kelly +16.5
• Ben Brown +13.5
• Jameson Taillon -13
• Seiya Suzuki -15
• Nico Hoerner -15
• Dansby Swanson -17
• Caleb Thielbar -18.5

Scoreboard Watching: Diamondbacks win (Cubs up 3). Padres win (Cubs up 2.5). Phillies lost (Tied and Cubs hold tiebreaker).

Up Next: Game two of the three-game set. Clay Holmes (6-7, 2.83) starts for the Cubs. Holmes is 2-3 with a 3.51 as a Cub. He’s coming off of his worst start as a Cub, allowing eight runs over four innings to the Marlins. Small sample size alert, but he’s allowed one run in 18 innings of work at home at Wrigley.

Paul Skenes is just 10-11 with a 3.83. Those numbers aren’t awful, but a real step down for him. It’s worse than that if we go back over his last 15 starts. In that span he is 4-6 with a 4.78. In two starts against the Cubs, he is 0-2 and has allowed eight runs (six earned) in 10.2 innings of work. He was quite good in his last start, shutting the Angels out for 5.1 innings and picking up a win. He only made four starts in August and hasn’t thrown 100 pitches since July. Don’t be surprised if he is on a short leash.

The Dodgers on Friday called up phenom Josue De Paula, their top prospect, and placed Shohei Ohtani on the 15-day injured list. Those were the expected moves, and took care of the active-roster component. But to make room on the 40-man roster for De Paula, the Dodgers transferred left-hander Eric Lauer to the 60-day injured list.

Lauer had been on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation since September 2, one day after allowing seven runs in three innings in his worst start since joining the Dodgers. Moving him to the 60-day injured list means Lauer won’t be eligible to pitch in the postseason. His 2026 campaign has concluded.

The 31-year-old left-hander was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays on May 17 after Lauer was designated for assignment by Toronto, with the Jays paying all but $600,000 of his remaining $3.1 million salary the rest of the way. The Dodgers won each of Lauer’s first nine appearances with the team, a stretch in which he did not allow more than three runs in any outing.

Lauer had two blow-up starts — six runs in four innings on August 5 at Wrigley Field, September 1 at home vs. Cardinals — but mostly did everything that was asked of him, lasting at least six innings in seven of his 13 outings, including 11 starts. In all, Lauer had a 4.50 ERA and 4.48 xERA in 72 innings with the Dodgers. Combining his numbers with the Blue Jays, Lauer on the season had a 5.23 ERA and 5.03 xERA in 22 games, including 18 starts, with 72 strikeouts and 35 walks in 108 1/3 innings, with 26 home runs allowed.

Ohtani was officially placed on the injured list with right biceps inflammation, which is what manager Dave Roberts mentioned Ohtani aggravated on a swing in Monday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, the only one of an eight-game stretch in which Ohtani played.

The IL stint was backdated to Tuesday, which means Ohtani can be activated as early as Wednesday, September 23. That would leave five regular season games remaining for Ohtani to dial back in to get ready for the postseason.

By the end of the third inning, Friday’s game against the Padres didn’t seem to promise much of a contest. The tally: 7-1 in favor of the visiting San Diegans after a barrage of extra basehits and two-out knocks. A

nthony Molina, who looked somewhat sharp in the 1st with two strikeouts with his four-seam, ran out of ideas in the 2nd and 3rd. He pressed hard on that fastball and the Padres bats welcomed it. Jackson Merrill bounced an outside fastball over the wall for a ground-rule double to start the 2nd. Molina retired the next two hitters he faced but couldn’t find a way out of the frame cleanly. Dustin Harris deflected another elevated fastball to score Merrill. Freddy Fermin punched another 340 feet, easily scoring Harris from first.

Molina tried to adapt, shifting off his primary weapon his second time through the San Diego order, but nothing worked. Jake Cronenworth set the tone in the 3rd with a feisty 8-pitch scuffle that ended with a 107 MPH single off a change-up. Luis Campusano plated him by punishing a hanging slider. That double would be the first of four RBI extra base knocks in the inning. Seven Padres reached, five scored in all. Molina became less as a road-block and more as a facilitator, the operator of a fast food drive-thru, the In-N-Out at Tejon Ranch, taking each hitter’s order, efficiently moving the high-volume of customers from window to window before sending them on their way with exactly what they asked for.

As Molina’s fortunes plummeted, San Diego starter, Robbie Ray, making his first start against the Giants since his trade, steadied himself after a prolonged 1st inning.

After a run came in on a Bryce Eldridge single, the veteran lefty recorded two outs to strand two runners in the 1st, then cruised through the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th allowing just one walk.

If Molina was an In-N-Out employee, Ray worked at Del Taco. Any customers venturing into the drive-thru sat there waiting in lonely limbo. Cracks and discolorations obscured half the menu. No disembodied voice came from the speaker. At the first window, tinted glass, firmly shut. At the second window, orders were botched. You wanted a Crunchtada Tostada? Here’s an All-American Burgertaco instead. Harassed, harangued, or ignored — with Ray in charge any hope a Giant had of completing the trek through the drive-thru was abandoned. 

This performance was a much-needed step up, because Padre Ray has been a bit of a mixed bag. He posted a somewhat solid 3.42 ERA over his first 5 starts, though that’s a far cry from the dominant numbers he logged that raised his trade-value in the previous two months as a Giant. Bad habits have resurfaced. Fatigue has reared its head. Over 26.1 innings in August, he walked 16 batters and only struck out 19. His last start against the Yankees was his shortest of the season, giving up 5 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks over 2.1 innings pitched. 

So allowing one run on two hits over four innings was certainly some much needed sunshine for the southern California transplant. But those good vibes proved brief. Ray treated his old home crowd to a familiar sight in the 5th. A vintage Ray de-railing thanks to a couple of walks and a long-ball. Nice to be on the other end of one of those.  

A lead-off double by Andrew Knizner was followed up with back-to-back walks to Andrew Koss and Jonah Cox, loading the bases before the hottest hitter on the planet, Rafael Devers. Ray tried pitching him backwards. He started him off with a slider, low and away, for a called strike. The next pitch, in retrospect, was probably a palate cleanser. A distraction, a throw-away, a joke to set up something elevated and hard — but Devers ended up having the last laugh. The knuckle-curve lazily rolled out of Ray’s hands as it always does. It came in slow and low and much easier to track than the slider. Devers, as he has shown before, is an excellent golfer: Head down, eyes down, bat as driver, teeing off the plate. 

The grand slam changed the feeling of the game if not the eventual outcome. Molina still got the “L,” and Ray, who saw his way through the 5th, held onto the win. What looked to be a blow-out became a tense affair, requiring SD closer Mason Miller to survive some nervy moments to record his 35th save. Yunor Marte took the mound for Molina in the 4th and tossed five shutout frames. He stranded two runners in the 5th, worked around a bad pickoff throw in the 6th, as well as a lead-off triple by Fernando Tatis Jr. in the 8th  to keep the Giants offense within striking distance. 

And they had their chances too. Eldridge led off the 8th with a double but, mirroring Tatis, couldn’t get beyond third base. In the 9th, all with two outs, the Giants put the tying run on base and in scoring position against Miller. Tension ratcheted up when Jonah Cox reached on a bunt single, pushing Nate Furman to second, bringing Devers up as the winning run. The collision of power arm vs. power bat didn’t culminate in any explosive finality though, Devers worked a walk, passing the baton to the kid. Echoes of Wednesday’s comeback against St. Louis could be heard as Eldridge gained early count leverage with a 2-0 count. Visions of well-placed slap singles played in front of our eyes. Fans felt the warm spirit of Wilmer Flores descend, recalling his walk-off walk against Miller two seasons ago. As good as Miller has been, as bad as this Giants team has been, hope remained in its seats. 

But Miller found his way back into the at-bat with an elevated slider that clipped the top of the zone upon review. A tough break that seemed to completely change the dynamics of the confrontation. Eldridge seemed to shift onto his heels. Looking fastball, he chased at a terrible pitch well inside and down to even the count. He fought off the third consecutive slider at the bottom of the zone, and perhaps expecting a fourth, watched as a 102.8 MPH fastball zipped over the plate.

Just a devastatingly perfect pitch for strike three, for the 27th out, to squash a potential comeback, to end the game. 

Robbie Ray made his return to Oracle Park for the first time since being traded from the San Francisco Giants to the San Diego Padres at the Trade Deadline. He nearly squandered a 7-1 lead, but did just enough to limit the Giants and lead the Padres to a 7-5 win on Friday.

Ray had his typical outing where he issued hits and walks, but as has been the case since arriving in San Diego, he was unable to limit the damage. He allowed a first inning run but San Diego responded with two runs in the top of the second and five runs in the top of the third to give him a 7-1 lead. Ray worked through the bottom of the third and the bottom of the fourth without much issue, but found big trouble in the bottom of the fifth.

The right-gander allowed a leadoff double to Andrew Knizner and then issued back-to-back walks to Christian Koss and Jonah Cox. Rafael Devers came to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out and golfed on 0-1 knuckle curve over the right field wall to get the Giants back in the game with a grand slam to make the score 7-5. Ray bounced back to get the next three batters and completed his outing with five runs allowed on four hits through five innings. He issued four walks and had five strikeouts.

It was another disappointing outing for Ray in a Padres uniform. It followed his last outing against the New York Yankees where he lasted just 2.1 innings and allowed five runs on five hits. He also issued four walks in that game. Ray has now made seven starts for San Diego and has a record of 2-2 with a 5.35 ERA. He has allowed 29 hits but has alarmingly allowed 24 walks in 33.2 innings pitched. Ray also has accumulated 25 strikeouts over that time. Those are not the numbers San Diego or the Friar Faithful were hoping to see from the deadline acquisition, but the offense gave him just enough room to survive his return to his former home field.

Jackson Merrill was a big part of the Padres offense once again. He finished 3-for-5 at the plate with a double and two runs scored. Dustin Harris had his best offensive night as a Padre. He finished 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, two runs scored and two RBI. Freddy Fermin also chipped in with a two-hit game with two RBI.

San Diego will look to win the series and keep their playoff position when they play the second game of the series against San Francisco today at 1:05 p.m.

Padres News:

• San Diego had a big week with a bigger home stand that allowed them to climb back into playoff position.

• The El Paso Chihuahuas and San Antonio Missions both suffered losses.

• Mason McCoy returned to the big league roster with Ty France landing on the Paternity List.

Baseball News:

• The Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays each clinched playoff berths with wins on Friday.

• The Atlanta Braves rallied to get a win in extra-innings.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks got a blowout win over the Texas Rangers.

• Kyle Tucker led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins.

• The AL Central playoff race got tighter with the Chicago White Sox dropping their fourth game in a row.