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PHOENIX — It was more than an hour since New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler threw a pitch Saturday evening, and he was still upset with himself.

He had another strong performance in the Yankees’ 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, one that just about every starter in baseball would take − but they’re not Schlittler.

They’re not demanding perfection.

They’re not having one of the greatest seasons in baseball history.

So, when you give up just three hits and one earned run in six innings, it’s not good enough.

Not when you’re cruising to the Cy Young award with a 14-6 record and 1.94 ERA, yielding no more than one earned run in 22 of 32 starts, the best mark in Yankees history.

The 24-year-old has looked like Bob Gibson on the road, yielding an insane 1.16 ERA, the third-lowest in MLB history in a pitcher’s first 17 road starts. The only pitchers with a lower road ERA are Gibson in 1968 and Claude Hendrix in 1914.

Still, Schlittler didn’t care about any of that. All he knows is that the Yankees lost on Pavin Smith’s pinch-hit, two-run homer in the ninth inning, and he blamed himself.

On the day the @Dbacks celebrate the 2001 World Series Champions, they walk-off the Yankees! pic.twitter.com/8iwz678wHU

— MLB (@MLB) September 20, 2026

He was livid that he couldn’t field a bunt in the fifth inning by Tim Tawa, and paid the price by giving up a two-run triple to Jordan Lawlar, with both runs unearned, coughing up a 2-1 lead. And after the Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth, he ran into control problems, throwing eight consecutive balls, and gave the lead right back, 3-3.

His night was over after six innings.

And, for the first time since Aug. 3, he gave up more than one run in a game, even though two of the runs were unearned.

“I mean, I wouldn’t say I really gave them a chance,’’ Schlittler said. “That one’s kind of on me, so I’ll take the blame for that. Made an error there, let up two runs.

“I mean, that’s baseball, but yeah, that one’s on me.’’

The loss all but mathematically eliminates the Yankees’ hopes of catching the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East lead, even with a four-game series scheduled next week at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees (89-65) are five games back with just seven games remaining, with the Rays’ magic number dropping to 4.

“I mean, there’s still a chance,’’ Schlittler said, “but we got to play our (butts) off a little bit.’’

The reality is that the Yankees would have to sweep the Rays, needing to win all four games to win the tiebreaker, and still would need help.

“Mathematically, probably pretty tough,’’ Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger said, “but you never know. … I mean, they’re playing tremendous baseball so it’s tough to climb up in the standings if they keep winning, right?

“So, mathematically, pretty tough, but got to keep on rolling.’’

The Yankees realize winning the AL East certainly has an inherent advantage with a first-round bye, which would give slugger Aaron Judge four more recovery days. But if they’re going to win their first World Series since 2009, they’re going to have to do it the hard way.

“The goal is obviously to win the division, rest your guys, get those extra off-days,’’ Bellinger said. “But ultimately, the World Series champion has come out of the wild card, so keep on fighting for the division, and we got to keep on rolling.’’

More: Aaron Judge would 'like to be back by the postseason' but has no timeline for Yankees return

While the Yankees know it’s unrealistic to believe they can still win the division, they can at least start thinking about setting up their rotation for the postseason.

They can have Schlittler make one more start, perhaps even limit his innings, making sure he’s plenty rested, knowing that if they’re going to be playing deep into October, they’ll need to jump on his shoulders. He’ll be starting Game 1 of the postseason for them, being only the ninth pitcher in the 21st century to complete a season with a sub-2.00 ERA.

The Cy Young award belongs to him.

But he wants a World Series ring to go along with that hardware.

“The expectation is to make the playoffs,’’ Schlittler says, “and the expectation is to win a championship. That’s what I care about.’’

The Yankees know he’s special, putting on the greatest season by a Yankees pitcher since Ron Guidry in 1978, and know that when he takes the mound in October, he fully expects to win.

“He's a healthy combination between mature and immature,’’ Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I say that affectionately because look, he's really confident (in) what he does, which is a critical component to playing this game at this level. But he also doesn't take himself too seriously.

“I think he has a really good way of not being overwhelmed by really good results, which obviously he's had a lot of. Or even the moments and times where he struggled, he processes it real well, kind of matter-of-fact, and moves on.’’

The reality now is that the Yankees will be a wild-card team, and will host the Boston Red Sox in a best-of-three series at Yankee Stadium.

They also will have the greatest pitcher in the American League at their disposal.

“I’ll be ready,’’ Schlittler says.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cam Schlittler laments what he couldn't do for Yankees with AL East hopes slipping away

The Twins made their remaining loyal contingent suffer through a blown lead and another loss in extra frames, as the Angels took the third game of the series.

Walker Jenkins continued his tear, leading off the third inning with a single. This would enable Luke Keaschall to bring him home on a one-out double; Keaschall would then swipe third base (19), in turn enabling him to cross home plate when Austin Martin grounded out to short.

That 2-0 Twins lead was expanded a bit in the next inning, with Victor Caratini bringing home Brooks Lee with a two-out knock, after Lee had doubled his way onto second base.

The Angels would do their part to make sure most of tonight’s runs were clustered within the middle innings. Joe Ryan, who had kept Los Angeles off the board for the first three frames, coughed up a two-run homer to Jose Siri that brought the Halos to within a run. But noted “noted power hitter” Ryan Kreidler bopped his eighth bopper of the season to snatch the two-run lead right back to lead off the fifth.

Angel starter Reid Detmers and Twins arm Joe Ryan both went five innings, with Ryan giving up two runs on seven hits while Detmers allowed four runs on six hits; both struck out five, and Ryan’s was the only free pass allowed between either starter.

Caratini added another RBI single for an insurance run in the eighth, a decision that revealed itself as quite useful after Yoendrys Gomez let in a pair on a two-run Adam Frazier double in the home eighth, bringing the Angels to within a run. In a titanic battle, Kody Funderburk induced a Mike Trout GIDP to clean up two of Gomez’s inherited runners, and A.J. Minter was tasked with the ninth.

This did not work out! (A dream ballet ensues, which communicates to the reader that Minter served up a game-tying homer to Vaughn Grissom, knotting the score at 5-5 with one out in the ninth inning.)

So, we snap back to reality with another extra-inning game at Angel Stadium. In the top of the tenth, Brooks Lee moved ghost runner Ben Ross over to third on a first-pitch sacrifice fly. Then, after a sequence that nearly saw two Twins beaned by pitched and fouled balls, Royce Lewis flew into a twin killing, as an up-the-line throw from right fielder Josh Lowe was sent home on a ball shallow enough to still get Ross trying to score from third.

Lowe would lead off the home tenth in one of those quintessential baseball situations, but managed to strike out on a bunt foul off fellow lefty Taylor Rogers, now the sixth Twin reliever in the game. But after some intentional walk and pinch-hitting shuffling, a double steal put the winning run at third and brought Derek Shelton’s infield in.

Thankfully, Taylor Rogers remembered what a great closer he used to be, and struck out two straight Angels to usher the game into its 11th inning, as the clock struck midnight back home in Minnesota. Unthankfully, a word spawned by the constraints of after-midnight blog recap writing, the Twins could not get Royce Lewis’ ghost runner to cross home, and handed the Angels another chance to walk it off.

Shelton clearly read my Mike Trout walk-off comment from the preview, and he handed Trout first base to start the home 11th. Wade Meckler committed one of those Manfred-era cardinal sins, flying out on the first pitch he saw and failing to advance either of Los Angeles’ free runners, but Rogers would hit Grissom to load the bases with one out and move the winning run to third anyway.

With the bases loaded and one out, Jenkins moved in from center to help form a five-man infield. Rogers got another big-money strikeout, then fell victim to Lady Luck; a first-pitch sharp grounder from Christian Moore doinked off Rogers’ body and dripped away into no-man’s-land, bringing the winning run across before anyone had a chance to reach it.

So, the Twins give away a late 5-2 lead to the Angels, leading to the second walk-off loss to the Halos in three days (or four, if you’re counting from somewhere in the country that does not reside on the west coast.) The best Minnesota can do is even the series, and due to tiebreakers, the Chicago White Sox can officially eliminate both the Detroit Tigers and the Twins with a single win tomorrow. Joy!

STUDS:

RP Taylor Rogers (1.2 IP, H, R, 2 BB, 4 K)

1B Victor Caratini (2-for-5, 2 RBI)

CF Walker Jenkins (2-for-4, R, BB)

DUDS:

RP Yoendrys Gomez (0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, K)

RP A.J. Minter (IP, H, ER, HR)

C Ryan Jeffers (0-for-5)

Brandon Pfaadt was taking the mound for the Diamondbacks in the second game of this increasingly crucial series against the New York Yankees. He and the Snakes were going up against Cam Schlittler, the presumptive American League Cy Young Award winner for this season. We got utterly hosed last night by the Yankees last night, after dropping two of three to the Marlins, while the damned Padres just keep on winning. I’d forgive you if you didn’t have us winning this one on your bingo card tonight, because I certainly didn’t. If you were to claim, though, that not only did you have us winning, but you had us winning on a Pavin Smith pinch-hit walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth? You would be lying. Pure and simple.

And yet, happily and hilariously, here we are!

The game started late, due to a truly lovely celebration on the field of the 25th anniversary of the Diamondbacks’ World Series victory over the New York Yankees, who happened to be our opponents tonight. A ton of players from the 2001 club attended and appeared on the field. Bob Brenly came down from the broadcast booth to throw out the first pitch, which he bounced to 2001 Diamondbacks catcher Damian Miller, who in a cool side note was reunited with one of his old catcher’s mitts from back in the day, that some equipment guy had found in a box somewhere. It was pretty cool, all of it. There was some hope, at least in the early remarks in the Gameday Thread, that the invocation and evocation of the 2001 team would inspire their 2026 counterparts to rise to the occasion tonight.

It didn’t look great in terms of that in the early going. Schlittler was tough, no-hitting us through four frames with his only blemish being a four-pitch walk to Corbin Carroll in the bottom of the second that led to nothing. Brandon Pfaadt, meanwhile, matched him through his first two innings of work before getting a little wobbly in the third with a one-out walk and a subsequent single that seemed like they might be harbingers of another One Big Inning, though thankfully he managed to settle down and put up a zero.

Brandon retired the side in order in the fourth, but opened the fifth with back-to-back singles, a really good bunt that catcher Gabriel Moreno made a fantastic play on to cut down the lead runner at third, and then a third single to load the bases. Somewhat surprisingly, manager Torey Lovullo decided that he’d seen enough, and pulled Pfaadt at that point, and it was likely very good that he did. Justin Martinez relieved him, and quickly recorded the final two outs on fly balls to left, the first of which allowed the runner on third to tag and score. But it could have been a whole lot worse. 1-0 New York

Unlike what we’ve seen a lot of recently, the Diamondbacks actually answered right back in the bottom of the fifth. Nolan Arenado broke up Schlittler’s no-hitter by lining a one-out single to left. Tim Tawa tried to bunt Arenado to second, but wound up on first base thanks to Schlittler booting it for an error. That brought Jordan Lawlar to the plate, who promptly lined a triple into the alley in left-center:

That scored Arenado and Tawa, to give us a lead! 2-1 DBACKS

The lead, sadly, turned out to be short-lived, as Kevin Ginkel took the mound for the top of the sixth and further cemented his status as the weak link in the Diamondbacks’ September “A” bullpen. He got the first out easily, but then gave up a solo shot to Heliot Ramos. He then got the second out, and then gave up a solo shot to Austin Wells. So that was no bueno. 3-2 New York

Apparently, however, we had decided we weren’t going to go gentle into that good night this evening, which was nice to see. Schlittler helped out, walking Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno on eight pitches total to start the bottom of the sixth. Geraldo Perdomo laid down a bunt on the left side of the infield that he managed to beat out for a single to load the bases with nobody out. Corbin Carroll then hit a sacrifice fly to deep left that allowed Marte to score and the other runners to advance. Moreno and Perdomo were left standing on second and third, sadly, as Arenado and Tawa each struck out, but at least we weren’t trailing anymore. 3-3 TIE

And then it was fully onto the bullpen for both teams. Brandyn Garcia pitched a scoreless seventh for us, and recorded two outs in the eighth before giving way to Juan Morillo, who recorded the final out and then pitched a scoreless top of the ninth. The Yankees, meanwhile, trotted out a succession of bullpen arms who all apparently have ERAs below 2.00, which was annoying. Despite that, we got a leadoff single from pinch-hitter Ildemaro Vargas to lead off the seventh (but he was stranded), and a leadoff single from Gabi and a two-out single from Arenado in the eighth (but both of them were left stranded).

Which brings us to the bottom of the ninth. Vargas, taking his second plate appearance, drew an eight-pitch walk off Michael Fulmer. Jordan Lawlar then struck out swinging. That brought Pavin Smith to the plate, pinch-hitting for Jose Fernandez, who’d come on to pinch-hit for Lars Nootbaar in the seventh. And here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, that we’ve all been waiting for, even if we didn’t know it until the moment it happened:

Maybe there was a little bit of Luis Gonzalez 2001 magic that Pavin soaked up during the pregame celebration? Could be. Who knows? Whatever works! 3-2 DBACKS FINAL

Win Probability Added, courtesy of FanGraphs

Aces: Pavin Smith (1 AB, 1 H, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, +36% WPA)
Kings: Brandyn Garcia (1 2/3 IP, 0 R, +17% WPA), Juan Morillo (1 1/3 IP, 0 R, +17% WPA), Gabriel Moreno (3 AB, 1 H, 1 BB, +13% WPA), Ildemaro Vargas (1 AB, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, +13% WPA)
Deuces: Kevin Ginkel (1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 HR, -26% WPA), Tim Tawa (3 AB, 1 R, 2 K, -15% WPA)

Given how things have been going lately, especially on Saturdays and especially given that an increasing number of “Turn out the lights” type posts have been cropping up on the Feed, I would say that tonight’s Gameday Thread was pretty well-attended, with 195 comments at time of writing. By popular acclaim Comment of the Game goes to Trappkory, for this possibly broken-clock pronouncement which I can nevertheless confirm was posted just before the big moment in the bottom of the ninth:

As I noted in the thread, you called it! Well done!

And once again, we head into Sunday looking for a win to take the series. An increasingly recovered Corbin Burnes goes for us, Will Warren goes for the Yankees, first pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm AZ time. It’s the last home game of the regular season, and TheRealRamona has the guest recap, so I hope you can join us as we once more try to stave off elimination and chart a path to a postseason berth!

The Padres and Cubs won today, but the Phillies lost, and given the odd fact that the day started with all three current NL wild card teams tied, it means that we didn’t lose any ground, and we in fact gained a game on one of those teams! Remember, you don’t need to outrun the cheetah, you just need to outrun at least one other person who is fleeing from the cheetah. And oddly enough, in a weird sort of way, we are now the cheetah. So go cats! And Snakes!

As always, thanks so much for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!

It was a beautiful offensive performance from the Guardians today. The bats appear to be heating up at the right time. The Guardians scored 12 runs on 15 hits and 3 home runs. Angel Martinez went 4-5 with two home runs and is up to a .255 AVG with an OPS of .759 on the season. Chase DeLauter went 2-5 with a HR and is now hitting .290 with an .821 OPS. We also saw multi hit performances from Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, and Jo Adell. If the Guardians lineup can stay hot, they should have no problem making the playoffs.

Nobody is happier about the offensive performance tonight than Tanner Bibee, who really struggled in a must win game. He was only able to go 4.2 innings and surrendered 6 runs on 12 hits with only two strikeouts. His ERA on the season is up to 4.35. I had previously felt confident in Bibee starting a potential playoff game, but now I’m really starting to feel uneasy about it.

The Guardians will go for the sweep tomorrow. It will be Gavin Williams vs Jack Perkins at 1:40 pm ET. This is another must win game for the Guardians as the White Sox are just one game back of the division.

When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier this week that the best was yet to come, his expectations were centered on the offense.

In the Dodgers’ 10-4 rout of the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, that better version of the offense was on display, putting together a pair of three-run rallies in back-to-back innings to take pressure off the pitching staff.

Before that breakout started in the fifth inning, it was a back-and-forth game.

Dodgers left-handed starting pitcher Tarik Skubal pitched only five innings, tied for his shortest start with the Dodgers. And he surrendered four runs, the worst mark of his Dodgers tenure.

Read more:Swanson: Dodgers have no choice. They must hope Tyler Glasnow can trust himself in the playoffs

Entering the game, Skubal appeared to be peaking. His past two starts, both against the Reds, were some of his most efficient.

That efficiency, however, regressed against the Giants (64-91).

Though he got through the first two innings without giving up a run — thanks in part to a diving catch by right fielder Kyle Tucker in the gap to end the first — he issued two-out walks in each.

The Dodgers’ offense used that time to mount a lead. Leadoff hitter Mookie Betts, who finished the day with three doubles and a single, hit the first of those doubles in his first at-bat, and Max Muncy authored his own to drive in the first run.

The next inning, rookie Josue De Paula’s walk, and singles from Alex Freeland and Betts combined to push in another run.

Then Skubal began to struggle. With a runner on second and one out, he pitched to a full count against designated hitter Victor Bericoto. Skubal missed down the middle with a fastball, and Bericoto sent it 425 feet to center field. It landed on the netting on the other side of the wall to tie the score.

The Dodgers’ offense, coming alive in September, struck back in the third. Catcher Will Smith hit his second home run in as many nights, launching the second pitch of the inning into the left-field stands.

The Giants took a different approach to tie the score for a second time. After back-to-back singles, they used back-to-back sacrifice bunts to advance the runners and score another run.

Then the two teams traded runs again. Betts put the Dodgers (95-60) up with an RBI double in the fourth. Skubal gave up back-to-back doubles in the fifth.

That marked both the end of Skubal’s start and the beginning of the Dodgers’ offensive onslaught.

The Dodgers brought seven batters to the plate in the fifth, and all but one reached base. Tommy Edman hit a two-run single. And pinch-hitting Miguel Rojas almost matched him, but Giants left fielder Turner Hill made a perfect throw to nab Edman in a close play at home to end the inning.

Betts’ and Smith’s bats stayed hot to open the sixth with a leadoff double and one-out RBI single, respectively. The Dodgers took advantage of the Giants’ sloppy infield play to load the bases for De Paula, who lined a two-run single into shallow center field.

Those were the kinds of stifling rallies that had defined the Dodgers’ offense earlier in the season, when they were scoring regularly in double digits.

The Dodgers’ 15 hits Saturday were their most in a game since July 2 against the San Diego Padres, and just two shy of their season high.

Read more:Shaikin: Frank McCourt fired him as Dodgers GM. For Dan Evans, and for Montreal, a second chance?

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Entering tonight with a taxed bullpen and a starting pitcher fresh off the injured list, the Colorado Rockies managed to battle back from an early deficit to earn a victory on a day of celebration for Todd Helton, a franchise legend.

Manager Warren Schaffer described the game as “one of my favorite wins of the season” in his post-game press conference, and it’s not hard to see why he would feel that way as the Rockies bested the Seattle Mariners, 5-3.

Quintana returns

José Quintana’s return to the mound started off looking very good.

He got both JP Crawford and Randy Arozarena to strike out swinging to begin the game. Dominic Canzone worked the count full before walking on a pitch right at the top of the zone that was close enough that it may have been turned into a strike had Hunter Goodman challenged it.

Instead, Canzone walked to first and was immediately driven in on Cal Raleigh’s 23rd home run of the season.

Quintana navigated through the second inning without allowing any additional runs, but it wasn’t without drama. Michael Arroyo singled on a soft fly-ball blooper with one out. Lazaro Montes came up after Arroyo and grounded out on what may have been a double-play ball that unluckily deflected off of Quintana’s foot. Connor Norby was able to adjust and salvage the play to get a single out at first but the inning continued.

The third inning featured Quintana allowing a home run by Randy Arozarena that would land in, essentially, the same spot that Raleigh’s had in the first.

The Mariners weren’t done with just that homer, however, and Canzone would immediately reach base on a soft single to left once Arozarena finished his trot around the bases. Quintana got Raleigh to pop up for the second out of the inning before Julio Rodriguez singled and advanced Canzone to third.

Josh Naylor then hit a hard liner to right center field that would have been at least a double if not for a very difficult running catch from Cole Carrigg that ended the inning.

Quintana came back out for the fourth and was able to set down the side on just an additional 14 pitches. The only hard contact was a liner from Montes that was caught on a good play by Rumfield at first.

Given his long stint on the injured list, Quintana was relieved before the fifth after having reached 70 pitches. He ended his return outing with four innings pitched with three runs (all earned) on five hits and a single walk.

Speaking to reporters after the game Quintana did not hold back on what being able to finish the year on the mound meant to him:

“It’s huge for me. Especially when you have an elbow issue. I know the process I’ve been doing for a while and want to say thank you to the Colorado Rockies organization for giving me the chance to be back and waiting for me to be healthy. It was a long process and for me I just feel lucky and blessed to get this opportunity. I know how hard I’ve been working to be in this position right now but it’s huge to finish strong, to finish pitching and enjoy this time with the team. I missed it for a long time.”

The offense gets the job done

The first couple innings of the game for the Rockies lineup were relatively quiet. Connor Norby hit a soft single in the first, and Kyle Karros managed a walk in the second, but the rest of the Rockies lineup was unable to drive either in.

Jake McCarthy got the Rockies on the board in the third inning by taking advantage of a series of rushed throws from the Mariners defense.

First, he hit a very soft ground ball that Mariners catcher Raleigh attempted to field on his own but missed the mark with his spinning throw to first that sent the ball sailing to right field, allowing McCarthy to reach third base safely.

Norby came to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly to shallow right field. The throw from Canzone went to the plate in an attempt to catch McCarthy, and it looked like it was going to before it hit the ground just in front of the awaiting Raleigh, who failed to block it.

McCarthy came in to score the Rockies first run of the game.

The next couple innings saw Mariners starter Bryce Miller settle in with the Rockies hitters unable to find an answer. A Zac Veen walk was the only Rockies baserunner throughout either of the fourth or fifth innings.

As the Rockies lineup got its third look at Miller in the sixth, however, they appeared to finally be figuring him out. Norby struck out to start the inning but was followed by hard ground singles from both TJ Rumfield and Hunter Goodman to produce only their second runner in scoring position to that point.

With the scoring threat established, Miller was relieved by Carlos Vargas after 89 pitches. Vargas went on to get Cole Carrigg to ground into a fielder’s choice and induced a groundout from Karros to end the inning and the threat from the Rockies.

As deflating as the sixth inning felt at the time, it wouldn’t take long before the Rockies would once again get some runners in scoring position. In the seventh inning, everything started to fall apart for the Mariners pitching.

It started off innocently enough with a Mickey Moniak lineout and an innocuous single from Veen. Adael Amador came in to pinch hit for Tovar, and the wheels started to come off for Mariners reliever Vargas.

During the Amador at-bat Vargas appeared notably pre-occupied with attempting to keep Veen at first who ultimately didn’t attempt a steal. Amador, however, took the opportunity to smack a single of his own, and Vargas was pulled for Jose Ferrer.

Ferrer’s outing lasted only four pitches.

McCarthy hit a sacrifice grounder that scored Veen. The inning should have ended the next batter after Norby hit a ground ball to third that was bobbled by Mariners third baseman Wilson. With the gifted extra out, Rumfield came to the plate and smacked an RBI single.

As Goodman and Carrigg prepared to hit, Mariners manager Dan Wilson puller Ferrer in favor of righty Cooper Criswell. Despite the platoon disadvantage, Goodman was able to work a walk that loaded the bases before Carrigg drove in the go-ahead runs on a single to shallow right center.

Karros walked the bases loaded again but the inning finally came to an end on a Moniak ground out to short. When the dust had settled on the seventh inning, the Rockies had scored four runs and were winning 5-3.

The bullpen seals the win

After Quintana exited following the fourth inning, Nick Frasso took over in the fifth to face the top of the Mariners lineup the third time through the order.

He induced a sharp lineout to third from Crawford before striking out Arozarena. Canzone worked a full count before Frasso walked him. Frasso didn’t allow the long at bat and having a runner on first phase him, however, and managed to strike out Raleigh to end the inning the very next batter.

Rodriguez hit a double on a liner to left to open the sixth against Frasso. It soon looked like trouble after Naylor hit a popfly to advance Rodriguez to third. Then came a hard line drive towards left field by Arroyo . . . that was intercepted by a leaping Karros at third. Before Rodriguez had time to react, Karros tagged third and ended the inning on an unassisted double play.

Juan Mejia took over in the seventh and promptly produced the quietest two innings for Mariners hitters in the game to that point.

Other than a soft two-out double to left field from Raleigh in the eighth, Mejia shut down every hitter that came to the plate for two straight innings. After the game, Schaeffer heaped praise on Mejia’s performance saying “Everyone knows that when he goes back out a second time that’s been a struggle for him. Tonight he was nails. Not a pitch under 97.”

It was an open quesiton as to who would take the ball in the ninth inning. According to manager Warren Schaeffer Jordan Romano was willing to pitch for a third day in a row but was “sick as a dog.” So, instead, Schaeffer turned to another reliever that had pitched both of the previous two games: Brennan Bernardino.

Even though their usual closer wasn’t available, the Rockies still took the opportunity to make a show of Bernardino entering for a save opportunity.

Benardino got Naylor to ground out to start the inning before Arroyo reached first on a fly ball to right. Bernardino ensured that the Mariners savior from Friday night would not repeat his ninth inning heroics for a second game in a row with a four-pitch strikeout of Montes.

A two-out strikeout from Wilson earned the Rockies their 57th win and Bernardino his third career save.

Celebrating Helton

This electric win came as a fitting tribute to Colorado Rockies legend Todd Helton for whom a statue was unveiled before the game.

Helton was invited onto the field before the game for an additional honorary ceremony and threw out the first pitch to his daughter.

In the bottom of the third inning, Helton was invited into the Rockies television broadcast booth and talked about both the process of posing for the statue creation process joking that he “cramped up a little but” needing to hold his iconic pose for so long.

While Helton was watching McCarthy score the first Rockies run of the game, he spoke to his time on the 2007 Pennant-winning Rockies team and his celebration at catching the final out of the National League Championship series. About the fan response to that rare image of emotional response from him on the field Helton joked, “If I would have known it meant that much to people, I would’ve done it for 17 years. When you’re winning, it’s easy to be happy.”

Given how happy the crowd in the stands at Coors Field sounded tonight watching the Rockies win, Helton may just be on to something.

Up Next

Tomorrow night the Rockies will face the Mariners for the final time this season.

On the mound for the Rockies will be Tomoyuki Sugano facing Kade Anderson.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 MT.

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The Dodgers and San Francisco Giants kept things neck-and-neck through the first half of Saturday night’s contest, but the Dodgers rattled off six unanswered runs in a 10-4 victory.

After Tarik Skubal allowed a two-out walk to Giants designated hitter Victor Bericoto, Jung Hoo Lee attacked the first pitch he saw into the right-center field gap, but a diving play from Kyle Tucker got Skubal out of the inning with the game remaining scoreless.

We see you, Kyle. 👀 pic.twitter.com/bsKTXtoVyS

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 20, 2026

Mookie Betts started things off in the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff double, and Max Muncy cashed him in with a two-strike, two-out RBI double to give the Dodgers the first lead of the game. Betts would come through again in the bottom of the second inning, lacing an RBI single the other way to plate Josue De Paula and make it a 2-0 Dodger lead.

Skubal worked his way around two baserunners for a scoreless top of the second inning, but after allowing a one-out single to Turner Hill in the top of the third inning, Bericoto launched a 3-2 fastball deep over the center field wall, tying the game at 2. Will Smith wasted no time giving the Dodgers the lead again, hammering a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the third inning, giving him his second home run in as many games.

Will for the lead! pic.twitter.com/qxMOIQDpBR

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 20, 2026

The Giants responded with a pair of leadoff singles from Andrew Knizner and Osleivis Basabe to begin the top of the fourth inning. A bunt from Christian Koss moved both men into scoring position, and a squeeze bunt from Jonah Cox plated Knizner to tie the game at 3.

The Dodgers would get another one-run lead thanks to an RBI double from Mookie Betts in the bottom of the fourth inning— his second double and second RBI of the game. The Giants wouldn’t let Skubal settle in for the top of the fifth inning, as Bericoto and Lee both doubled to tie the game at four.

Saturday turned out to be Skubal’s worst outing of the season, let alone as a Dodger. Skubal managed to complete five innings of work but allowed a season-high four earned runs, while his three strikeouts on the night were the fewest in any start since striking out three on August 14 of last season against the Minnesota Twins.

Despite the poor start, the Dodgers put Skubal officially in line for the win as Teoscar Hernández ignited a two-out rally with an opposite-field single. Kyle Tucker and Josue De Paula each followed with a walk, and Tommy Edman snapped out of a 1-37 funk with a go-ahead, two-run single to give the Dodgers their first multi-run lead since the third. Miguel Rojas knocked a pinch-hit single to bring home De Paula, but Edman was thrown out at home attempting to make it a four-run inning.

Tommy clutch. pic.twitter.com/Wb7VJqpJ7T

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 20, 2026

Evan Phillips recorded the first clean inning of the night in relief of Skubal in the top of the sixth inning, and the Dodgers responded with another three-run inning, capitalized by a two-run single by De Paula and giving the Dodgers a six-run cushion.

After a scoreless inning from Alex Vesia in the seventh inning, Edwin Díaz came in for his second consecutive game since returning from injury, pitching a scoreless top of the eighth inning while picking up a pair of strikeouts.

Mookie Betts finished Saturday going 4-4 with three doubles and two RBI, reaching base five times after a walk in the seventh inning. Betts is now 10-12 (.833 average) over his last three games with three doubles, two home runs and five RBI.

With their win over the Giants, the Dodgers maintain a four-game lead over the Atlanta Braves for the no. 2 seed in the National League. They still trail the Milwaukee Brewers by two games for the top seed.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Victor Bericoto (5); Will Smith (9)
• WP—Tarik Skubal (11-7): 5 IP, 8 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
• LP—Yunior Marte (0-1): 4 2/3 IP, 8 hits, 6 earned runs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers wrap things up against San Francisco on Sunday (1:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA) before hosting the San Diego Padres for their final regular season home series beginning Tuesday. Both teams have yet to announce their starters.

The Braves now have a magic number of 1 for the division title and it would take a collapse of truly epic proportions for them to lose the division at this point. While they do of course have to avoid that collapse, it’s fair to say that they can turn their eyes to the postseason and prioritize lining things up optimally for their playoff appearance. Lean on non-playoff starters a little longer to preserve the bullpen, lean on those low leverage arms a bit more, give your stars a day or two off. This next week is about what happens in the week afterward.

Braves News

Robert Suarez is set to pitch in Gwinnett on Monday, as he appears set to return to the team just in the nick of time for the playoffs.

The Braves have brought themselves to the brink of winning the division with another win Saturday night, as their magic number sits at one.

MLB News

MLB.com published a stat for 9 teams in clear playoff position that they think could matter in the postseason.

Aaron Judge is hoping to return from his calf injury in time for the playoffs, but it isn’t a guarantee.

The Mariners appear likely to be moving on from their manager after a disappointing 2026 season.

The Pirates and Brandon Lowe have mutual interest in staying together moving into next season.

One would figure that with Cam Schlittler going on Saturday night, this would be the game for the Yankees to win if they had any hope for a last-ditch AL East comeback, but something about Arizona wore down the likely Cy Young Award winner tonight. The Snakes were pesky, annoying, and other terms my editors won’t let me use while in the batter’s box tonight, finally breaking through on a Pavin Smith walk-off home run, to win it, 5-3.

Right off the top, I need to be grumpy about something. Nobody likes West Coast games and nobody likes the fact that every time the Yankees are on the West Coast, they play more night games than day games. This goes double for West Coast Yankee fans, because the beautiful thing about cheering for an East Coast team is that they start playing when you get off work, or when you’re just finishing your Saturday morning coffee, the game takes three hours and you have the evening to yourself. That doesn’t happen on these trips.

Now, the Diamondbacks were celebrating the only World Series title in history, 25 years ago this season. I get it, you want to have a special event, the team isn’t very good so the end of the season starts to drag a little bit, you want a little spice. I even respect the cheek of waiting until the Yankees are in town. What I don’t respect is being completely incapable of running a functioning ceremony. The Yankees have Old-Timers’ Day every year, they designate a special start time and at that time, the festivities have concluded and we can get down to the reason we’re all here, to watch a baseball game, which I don’t think is an unreasonable expectation at a baseball stadium with a baseball team in town.

The Diamondbacks started their pregame ceremonies at 4:30pm local time, with a scheduled 5:10pm first pitch. They absolutely blew past that in a way that, in my opinion, was both unprofessional and downright insulting. The four clocks I have ready access to in my apartment agreed: Brandon Pfaadt didn’t throw his first offering to Ben Rice until 5:42pm. This was an absolute joke of a start to the series’ second game. That all this happened in a city I’m predisposed to dislike already was…whatever the anti-cherry on top. I also firmly don’t like the existence of Phoenix as a city in general so I was always going to be ticked off watching this one.

I said in the game thread that we had maybe begun to develop outsized expectations for Cam Schlittler. He’s been so good, for long enough, that we needed to remember the player on the other team all drive nice cars and live in nice houses too. While Cam did get through 4.1 innings without allowing a hit, the Diamondbacks pushed a pair of runs across in the fifth. Nolan Arenado reached with a one-out single, before Tim Tawa attempted to give himself up with a sac bunt. Schlittler couldn’t corral what should have been an out though, an error that put two men on, and No. 9 hitter Jordan Lawlar made him pay:

Funnily enough, because Schlittler was charged with that error, both of the runs were unearned, and he still hasn’t allowed more than a single earned run in eight starts now. He entered with a 1.95 ERA and departed with a 1.94 despite a more uneven outing than the norm. The Yankees would tie the game the next inning, but all those extra pitches taxed his right arm, and I think had a major impact on what would happen in the sixth.

Speaking of tying the game, Heliot Ramos was brought to New York because of his opposite-field power. He stunk in his first taste of East Coast baseball, but has looked much more representative in his last 20 games, and flexed that oppo pop within moments of Schlittler getting back in the dugout:

Corbin Carroll ran down a sinking Anthony Volpe liner for the second out. It was a very nice play that loomed larger when Austin Wells stepped to the plate:

Wells is getting hot at the right time, with three home runs in his last five games and he’s actually been a league average hitter since August 1st! The nice thing about being a good defensive catcher is if you can just not embarrass yourself at the plate, you’re a major asset for your team.

The good vibes only lasted until Schlittler got back on the mound though. I think the error and the triple shook him up a little, and we’ve seen this happen before. Cam is a high-energy guy, and when that energy is less than positive I do think he gets a little in his own head and starts to overthrow. He walked the first two batters of the inning on eight total pitches, completely uncompetitive at-bats that are just so out of whack with what he’s done so far this season.

A soft Geraldo Perdomo bunt with two strikes loaded the bases, and Cam did seem to lock in at that point. Corbin Carroll did bring in the third Snakes run of the game — and the only earned for Cam — but the ace got both Arenado and Tawa to whiff to end the threat. It was a weird one for Schlittler tonight, but six innings and one earned run is what the line reads.

The bullpen wasn’t exactly dynamite in Cam’s stead; the Diamondbacks have the third-lowest strikeout rate in baseball and their ability to grind out at-bats showed, even if the Yankees got through eight innings keeping the game tied at three. This was a long, miserable game, and wasn’t helped by the fact the Yankees couldn’t really find the nine-run spark that they showed on Friday.

If nothing else, I got to re-hate Michael Fulmer, and all those feelings from 2016 sprung forth anew. He walked the leadoff batter to open the ninth, and gave up the walk-off dinger to Pavin Smith:

The division race is functionally over with the Rays’ win earlier today, as they restored their five-game lead. Get yourself set for the Wild Card, lock up home-field advantage for that series, and don’t get yourselves hurt. The Yankes finish this series tomorrow with Will Warren on the hill. First pitch is supposedly at 4:10pm Eastern, but we’ll see.

Box Score

The Yankees were walked off on Saturday night by the Arizona Diamondbacks, losing by a score of 5-3.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- We pick this one up in the fifth inning after both teams couldn’t get anything going through the first four. Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe opened the frame with back-to-back singles and Jose Caballero loaded the bases with another single. Ben Rice followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home the game’s first run and give New York a 1-0 lead.

-- The lead was short lived, though, after the Diamondbacks scored two in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run triple by Jordan Lawler. Both runs were unearned against Cam Schlittler who didn’t help his own cause with a fielding error on a sacrifice bunt in the inning.

-- New York quickly tied things up in the sixth on Heliot Ramos’ solo home run and then re-took the lead after Wells hit his 13th dinger of the season. Both long balls came against reliever Kevin Ginkel after starter Brandon Pfaadt went 4.1 innings.

-- However, Schlittler couldn’t make it stick and immediately allowed another run in the bottom half of the inning after loading the bases with no outs on two walks and a single before Corbin Carroll’s sacrifice fly.

-- The right-hander struck out the next two batters to end his night. His final line: 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K on 98 pitches (61 strikes). He lowered his season ERA to 1.94.

-- Things stayed knotted at 3 apiece until the bottom of the ninth when Pavin Smith walked things off with a two-run homer off reliever Michael Fulmer.

Game MVP: Pavin Smith

His walk-off sent the Dbacks fans home happy.

Highlights

Heliot Ramos ties the game with a solo shot! pic.twitter.com/pBJCMNpFv5

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 20, 2026

ALL TOO WELLS.

Austin Wells gives the Yankees the lead! pic.twitter.com/ozXAVFxkBo

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 20, 2026

What's next

The Yankees close out their series with the Diamondbacks on Sunday with a 4:10 p.m. first pitch.

RHP Will Warren (10-6, 3.89 ERA) goes up against RHP Corbin Burnes (0-0, 5.87 ERA).

Confession time: I didn’t expect the Mariners to win this game against the Rockies, but not in the way the Mariners did eventually lose this game to the Rockies. Not to sugarcoat things, 2026 Bryce Miller has been a rough watch this season, almost as rough as watching the 2026 Mariners. Miller has been on a particularly tough stretch of road lately, and the combination of 2026 Miller plus Coors Field felt like a recipe for a true TOT (Tough One Tonight). It did become a TOT eventually, but none of that was Miller’s fault.

Instead, Bryce Miller turned in his best start since…July 31st against the Twins? I’m actually going to argue this was significantly better than that start, as Miller gave up no earned runs – the one blemish against him wasn’t his fault, coming as a result of two errors by his catcher and right fielder that resulted in a free run for the Rockies.

Other than that, Miller did markedly better in several key performance indicators: he still collected five strikeouts, but he was more efficient with his pitch count, able to work into the sixth inning for the first time since August 12th against the Yankees. A primary way he was able to do this was by competing better in the zone, cutting down his walks and being more aggressive on the plate, putting his five-walk performance against the A’s behind him and issuing just two walks (still not ideal, but better). Miller did some especially effective sequencing, setting up his four-seamer up in the zone with his splitter and cutter before going to the kill shot at the top of the zone. Here’s a good example of this: he has Rumfield 0-2 having gone four-seam in, a splitter up but on the plate for a called strike two, another split Rumfield, late, fouled off, and then he goes top rail with the heater for the K:

Miller talked postgame about how he planned pregame knowing that his splitter and slider were two pitches that work well in the high-altitude environment of Coors Field, but his primary focus this week was on getting back his fastball command and “putting it where it needs to go.” All those pitches worked well together tonight, and when the Rockies did make contact, it wasn’t hard contact – he had just one hard-hit ball against him, from power threat Hunter Goodman, in the first inning, that landed harmlessly in Julio Rodríguez’s glove, and then nothing after that.

“He was a different guy out there tonight,” said manager Dan Wilson postgame, to which I say yes and no: he wasn’t 2026 Bryce Miller, but he was the version of Bryce we’ve seen in the past. That’s good!

Unfortunately, because this is the 2026 Mariners and nothing can be just Good, the offense and bullpen couldn’t back up Miller’s strong start. On the one hand, the offense was extremely unlucky; the Mariners’ xBA in this game was, in the eighth inning, .278 to the Rockies’ .213. On the other hand, it’s literally the Rockies pitching staff, guys, and the Rockies were starting José Quintana, who is old enough to have had an AIM screen name, making his first start since May 24th. So. That plus some sloppy defensive play – pick a struggle, fellas – adds up to a pretty disappointing loss.

Thanks to Miller’s strong start, the Mariners were actually able to hold on to a lead in this game until the seventh. They got on the board early after Dominic Canzone smartly worked a two-out walk in the first and Cal Raleigh followed that up by absolutely demolishing a 3-1 sinker in the fat part of the plate. Initially this ball was ruled to have traveled 472 feet before the no-fun Statcast folks walked it back to a mere 459, but that’s still the longest homer of Cal’s career by the length of about one Cooper Criswell, or two Brock Roddens in a trenchcoat.

Put this in the dictionary for “no-doubter.”

But other than a Randy Arozarena solo homer – his 26th, as he continues to push towards a career-high in long balls – the Mariners offense was silent. Again, though, that was enough, until it wasn’t. The Rockies were able to tie things up in the seventh simply by exploiting the Mariners’ greatest weakness: putting the ball in play and forcing them to play defense. Zac Veen singled against Carlos Vargas, who threw Veen a cutter right in the heart of the plate, followed by another single to pinch-hitter Adael Amador, who got a hold of a sinker on the plate in a full count. With just one out and the lead still a narrow two runs, Dan Wilson brought in José Ferrer to try to get some ground ball outs. He did get Jake McCarthy to ground out softly, but it was essentially a functional bunt allowing Veen to score. Connor Norby then tapped a nubber on a slider right down the middle to Weston Wilson at third, who looked like he slipped a little trying to field the ball, extending the inning. That proved costly when TJ Rumfield singled on the fist pitch he saw from Ferrer, another sinker on the plate, bringing home the game-tying run. Wilson went to the bullpen again, this time summoning Cooper Criswell, who walked the first hitter he saw, Hunter Goodman, the best power threat in the Rockies’ lineup, bringing up hotheaded but impressive young rookie Cole Carrigg. (How dire was it? Cal Raleigh, not the cozy-touchiest catcher in baseball, put his arm around Criswell during the post-walk mound meeting.) In a full count, Criswell delivered a pitch right on the plate and Carrigg hit it into center for a two-run single. 5-3 Rockies, and that’s where things would stay as the Mariners offense continued to sputter and falter.

At this point, a loss is just a loss as we continue to march towards the end of this cursed season. It’s a bummer to have wasted a good outing from Bryce Miller, but hopefully Miller will be able to carry some of this momentum forward. Tomorrow Kade Anderson takes the ball, and I have a similarly bad feeling about the rookie in Coors Field. Hopefully I’ll be as wrong about that as I was about this, but maybe with a slightly better outcome for the offense. And as a reminder, if you’re in the Seattle area, come join us tomorrow for some silly fun times on the softball field plus a postgame watch party at Growler Guys. We promise it’ll be more fun than the 2026 Mariners season.

You would be forgiven if you felt a bit of Deja vu watching Saturday night’s St. Louis Cardinals game as it felt a lot like Friday night’s game as the Washington Nationals jumped out to another quick lead early against Michael McGreevy. It would become a much different game at the end, though. Late in the game the Nationals would do everything they could to help St. Louis including numerous errors and base physics would even come to the Cardinals rescue, but only until the game would slip away in extras.

By the time McGreevy had the first out in the top of the 1st inning, the Washington Nationals would already be leading 2-0. James Wood led off with a single followed by a Dylan Lile who lifted an 88 mph Michael McGreevy cutter and deposited it into the plants just above the center field wall for a 2-run homer. To add injury to insult, Nathan Church slammed into the centerfield wall in the process and took a few minutes to get up and be checked out by manager Oli Marmol and the trainer to make sure he could stay in the game. McGreevy would throw 34 pitches before the top of the 1st mercifully ended with the Nationals only scoring 2 runs as they threatened to score more stranding runners on first and third.

While we’re on the topic of stranding runners, let’s talk about the St. Louis Cardinals bottom of the 1st. It looked like there might be hope of an immediate bounce-back from that top of the 1st when Ivan Herrera drilled a one-out single to left. After Jordan Walker struck out, the Washington Nationals did everything they could to help the Cardinals create a rally as their shortstop Nasim Nuñez sailed a throw into (or it might have been over) the St. Louis Cardinals dugout when Leo Bernal grounded to short. Nationals pitcher also was charitable as he walked Thomas Saggese to load the bases, but Masyn Winn struck out further elevating the Cardinals RISP numbers.

As Michael McGreevy’s pitch count climbed into the high 80’s, he was taken out of the game after 4 innings. Justin Bruihl took over in the top of the 5th and had no issues shutting the Nationals down 1-2-3 with some help from Masyn Winn.

Bruihl would continue until 1-out in the top of the 6th when he left the game with one runner on base as Luis Gastelum was brought in. He would end up running into trouble as Chaparro reaching on an infield single. After Ruiz grounded into a fielder’s choice, Nuñez would also reach on an infield single scoring Vivas and giving the Nationals a 3-0 lead. Brycen Mautz was brought in to get the Cardinals out of that jam and he would also pitch his way out of a two-on potential Nationals rally in the top of the 7th escaping with no runs allowed.

That would prove important as the Cardinals would be given more gifts by Washington in the bottom of the 7th inning. Masyn Winn would reach on a throwing error by third baseman Vivas to leadoff the inning. After Nathan Church grounded out advancing Winn to second, Pedro Pages reached on an infield dribbler that the Nationals reliever Lovelady sailed over the first baseman’s head into right field scoring Winn and giving the Cardinals their first run making it 3-1 Washington. After Victor Scott II struck out, Jose Fermin came through with a clutch two-out single scoring Pedro and reducing the Washington lead to just 1 at 3-2 after 7 innings.

Brycen Mautz would pitch into the top of the 8th inning that would also include Ryne Stanek who would get the final two outs of the inning. After the Cardinals could not mount any kind of rally in the bottom of the 8th inning, George Soriano came in to keep the game close in the top of the 9th inning and he was successful.

For St. Louis to rally in the bottom of the 9th, it would depend on the bottom of the Cardinals lineup getting something started. Church, Pages and Scott II were the scheduled batters. The Nationals brought in Erik Tolman to try and lock down a Washington win. An inanimate object would smile upon the Cardinals fate in the bottom of the 9th when a ball hit up the middle by Nathan Church would careen off of second base into short left field allowing Church to reach scoring position at second to leadoff the inning. Pages was apparently given bunting orders at least for the first two strikes. Fortunately, after two unsuccessful attempts, Pedro snuck a single into left field which tied the game at 3-3.

JJ Wetherholt was brought in as the pinch-runner representing the potential winning run at first base. Manager Oli Marmol then sent up Alec Burleson to pinch-hit for Victor Scott II. Alex unfortunately struck out for the first out. That brought up Jose Fermin who managed to poke a single through the hole between second base and first moving Wetherholt up to scoring position at second. The Nationals decided to remove Tolman from the game bringing in RHP Cruz to face Herrera, but on the third pitch he nailed Ivan with a 100 mph fastball which loaded the bases for the very overdue Jordan Walker. All Jordan needed was a sacrifice fly to win the game for St. Louis. Unfortunately, he struck out even after the Nationals dropped a popup trying to gift the Cardinals another opportunity. All Leo Bernal could manage with the bases loaded and two out was a groundout to second to send the game into extras.

Riley O’Brien was the Cardinals pitcher for the top of the 10th inning as Tena was the Nationals “free” runner at second base to start extra innings. Riley got Abrams to fly out to start the 10th without advancing the runner and then he struck out Crews for the second out. However, Vivas smacked a single through the hole at short which scored Tena and giving the Nationals a 4-3 lead. The throw from Fermin in left did not come to second base which allowed Vivas to move up to second into scoring position. Riley O’Brien was able to overcome that by striking out Morales to end the Washington 10th.

Washington brought in Riley Cornelio for the bottom of the 10th. Leo Bernal was the Cardinals “free” runner at second. Thomas Saggese was first up with the goal of at least moving Bernal up to third. He managed that with a infield groundout that went over the pitcher and was handled by their third baseman. Masyn Winn tied the game with a single down the right field line, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Nathan Church was the Cardinals last hope to keep this game from going into an 11th inning. That hope was squashed as he lined out softly to short. 4-4 tie game as the Cardinals and Nationals dug deeper into the bullpens.

Gordon Graceffo was given the top of the 11th inning responsibilities. Morales was the free runner at second for Washinton. Ruiz led off the inning with a single to left which moved Morales to third with no outs. Nasim Nuñez was next up for Washington. He was walked by Graceffo which loaded the bases with no outs with the top of the Nationals order coming up. With Jacob Young at the plate, the Nationals would challenge a 2-2 strike call alleging catcher’s interference and replay would prove that true giving Young first base and Washington a 5-4 lead still with no outs. Graceffo would give the Cardinals hope as he struck out Lile for the first out. However, that hope would be short-lived as Tena would slap a single into left-center giving Washington a 7-4 lead. The Cardinals chose to walk Abrams intentionally to load the bases which brought up Dylan Crews. He lined a ball into the right-centerfield gap which looked like it would go to the wall, but Jordan Walker made a remarkable catch as it resulted in just a sacrifice fly scoring another run making it 8-4 Nationals, but it could have been a lot more.

The Cardinals bottom of the 11th would start with Nathan Church as the free runner at second base and JJ Wetherholt leading off. He smoked a single up the middle easily scoring Church and making it 8-5. Alec Burleson was next up for St. Louis. He hit a single up the middle in almost the exact same spot as JJ giving the Cardinals the tying run up to the plate in Jose Fermin with no outs. Cornelio ended up walking him to load the bases bringing up the potential winning run at the plate. Ivan Herrera unfortunately struck out for the first out. Jordan Walker was next. Could he make the tarps off crowd in right field go out of their minds with a moonshot? Well, that would have made a great moment, but it didn’t happen as Jordan struck out on yet another sweeper. Leo Bernal was the Cardinals final hope as the Nationals brought in RHP Will Dion to turn the switch-hitting Bernal around batting from the right side. Bernal popped out to right to end the game which turned out to be interesting at least.

The St. Louis Cardinals will wrap up their final homestand of the season Sunday as Quinn Mathews gets the start for the Cardinals while the Washington Nationals will assign starting duties to RHP Jake Irvin. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.