LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani is out of the Dodgers lineup on Sunday for a fourth straight day, but has progressed enough that he could start again at designated hitter as early as Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds. But it’s becoming increasingly likely that Ohtani does not pitch again this season.

Ohtani has dealt with left knee and right biceps issued for months, which has kept him off of the mound in game action since July 3. Recently he was also dealing with a neck injury that affected him while batting. Since his last home run — on August 18 at Coors Field in Denver — Ohtani has six hits in 49 at-bats, with 19 strikeouts. His last game was Wednesday, when he walked once and was hit by a pitch, but also struck out four times.

On Saturday, Ohtani hit in the batting cage throughout the game against the Washington Nationals, and continued to feel better. He also hasn’t thrown in the last week, not even plyo balls that had been part of his between-bullpen work.

“The no throwing I think is beneficial, the four days has been beneficial,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “Then at some point in time, we’ll just kind of monitor day to day and make sure we don’t get to that point where it was at four or five days ago.”

Prior to this weekend, Ohtani missed more than one game in a row only once — in April 2025 with two games on the paternity list for the birth of his first child. Ohtani this season has faced 340 batters while pitching and has batted 592 times, his 932 total plate appearances involved in 15 percent more than the next-most in MLB, the 808 batters faced by Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara.

There was an outside chance Ohtani might have pitched an inning in the series finale against the Tigers in Detroit on August 30, but he reported discomfort in his knee and biceps and wasn’t yet cleared to pitch. Now, with three weeks left in the regular season, and the Dodgers wanting to make sure their best hitter is available and highly-functioning at the plate, pitching might not be in the picture for the remainder of this season.

Roberts was asked if Ohtani has been ruled out from pitching.

“Not officially, but obviously if you’re looking at the calendar and how much he’s thrown in the last week, I think we can all do the math,” he said.

When asked to clarify if Ohtani might even be used as an opener in the postseason, even if only for an inning or two, Roberts said, “I think that’s unlikely.”

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers on Sunday placed catcher Dalton Rushing on the 10-day injured list with right elbow discomfort. The irony here is Rushing wasn’t expected to catch while active this month, but aggravated his partially torn UCL during pregame workouts on Saturday.

“He’s not going to swing for a few days, and then will build up to the swinging progression,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “Then at that point and time he could take some at-bats on a rehab assignment, and we’ll see where we’re at.”

The move was backdated to Saturday, so the earliest Rushing could be activated is September 15.

It was always a long shot that Rushing would catch again this season, but now that’s been officially ruled out. He also won’t do any sort of throwing progression.

“For us, for Dalton, it’s more we’ll get through this year, building up the hitting, then kind of see where the offseason takes us,” Roberts said.

Eliezer Alfonzo was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City, so the Dodgers will carry three catchers for the time being. Roberts said this will allow Hunter Feduccia to be used at times as a left-handed pinch-hitter when he’s not catching.

It will also free up Will Smith to be used solely as a pinch-hitter in days he doesn’t start behind the plate. Since getting activated from the injured list, Smith will have started four of the six games including Sunday night. In the two other games — Wednesday and Saturday — Smith was used as a pinch-hitter and remained in the game to catch the final inning both times.

Though Shohei Ohtani could return to the lineup as early as Monday, Smith could be considered for some starts at designated hitter down the stretch, though Roberts cautioned the Dodgers want to be mindful of Smith’s ramp up after missing three and a half months on the injured list.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers (66%) will look to complete a sweep over the Washington Nationals tonight when these teams face off at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif.

With their offense heating up against left-handed pitchers in particular, I'm backing the home team to finish the job with my Nationals vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks for Sunday, Sept. 6.

Who will win Nationals vs Dodgers today: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (48%)

For help understanding probabilities, see our odds calculator.

Andrew Alvarez is not pitching as well as the surface stats indicate. His 2.36 ERA over the last month comes attached with a 4.02 xFIP and 4.28 SIERA, red flags that suggest regression is coming.

The Los Angeles Dodgers sit fifth in xBA and seventh in xwOBA vs. lefties during that span. They are in good form and can bring Alvarez back to earth.

Justin Wrobleski has pitched to a 3.41 ERA at home. He should be adequate against a Washington Nationals lineup ranking 26th in xwOBA against southpaws the past 30 days.

Play to 49%.

COVERS INTEL:The Dodgers own the league's best winning percentage against below .500 teams. They're also 38-13 vs. teams under .500 who allow more runs per game than the MLB average.

Nationals vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (49%)

Alvarez has posted a 4.41 xERA over 10 starts in hitter-friendly conditions this season, and favorable weather is projected tonight.

The Dodgers have hit lefties better than righties of late, and can look forward to facing a poor Nationals bullpen when Alvarez departs. Only Seattle’s bullpen owns a worse ERA than Washington's (5.53) the last month.

Wrobleski pitches well in stretches but is vulnerable to power. He has allowed 1.45 HR/9 this year, and the Nationals have more pop with the recent return of James Wood.

Target the Over to 52%.

Nationals vs Dodgers home run prediction: James Wood (22%)

Wood hits for a ton of power against pitchers of both handedness. While he’s more productive facing righties,the power numbers vs. southpaws (17.3% barrel rate, 53.8% hard-hit rate) are still outstanding.

He has faced Wrobleski three times in his young career. He walked in one of them, and homered in the two at-bats.

Wood has four hits in three games since rejoining the lineup but is yet to leave the park. This is a good spot to change that.

Nationals vs Dodgers weather

Temperatures are expected to hover around 80 with slight winds blowing out. Boost to the bats.

Nationals vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Nationals 35% | Dodgers 66%
• Run line: Nationals +1.5 (53%) | Dodgers -1.5 (48%)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (49%) | Under 8.5 (52%)

Nationals vs Dodgers trend

The Over is 4-0-1 in Washington's last five games against a left-handed starting pitcher. Find more MLB betting trends for Nationals vs. Dodgers.

How to watch Nationals vs Dodgers and game info

Nationals vs Dodgers latest injuries

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The San Diego Padres powered their way past the New York Yankees 4-3 with a big first inning at Petco Park on Sunday, Sept. 6.

Fernando Tatís Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to produce an early lead against pitcher Gerrit Cole and the Yankees. All three homers came before the Yankees recorded an out.

Cole managed to weather the storm and stay in the game for seven innings. He allowed six hits and four earned runs, while striking out three.

San Diego's Luis Campusano hit a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning that proved to be the difference. The Yankees attempted to rally in the top of the eighth inning, scoring three runs.

When Bryan Woo had his 13-strikeout performance against the Angels on September 13, 2025, the Mariners’ social team anointed him “Leonardo de Wooski” with tiny art emoji, a nickname that his teammates (okay, Bryce Miller) have enjoyed poking fun at ever since. But today’s performance might have surpassed even that baker’s dozen of strikeouts, where Woo went six innings and gave up two runs. Today, trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Athletics, Woo went eight innings, the first time a Mariners starter has gotten to that mark since George Kirby did it on June 29th, shutting out the A’s en route to a 2-0 win.

Today A’s starter Gage Jump pitched half as many innings as Woo and had one more whiff, but Woo effectively throttled the A’s over eight innings, allowing just one hit while striking out nine. He mixed his secondaries heavily, getting the A’s hitters to pound the ball into the ground – nine of his outs came via groundout, and the furthest any A’s hitter got a ball to travel was Jeff McNeil, who threw his bat at a changeup and was rewarded with a 310-foot soft flyout.

Woo’s changeup featured heavily today against the A’s lefty-stacked lineup; he threw it 14% of the time, over double his usual usage, using the pitch to generate many of those groundball outs or foul balls to put hitters in bad counts. Once he had them on the ropes in those counts, Woo was able to effectively mix his fastballs and sweeper for the putaway shot.

“I’d say it’s a feel thing, most of the time,” said Woo. “It’s what’s working that day, what feels good. Keep the line of communication open, and mix and match from there. But today, everything felt good, so it just made things a lot easier for us.”

Woo was aided in his big day by batterymate Jhonny Pereda, who not only called a good game for Woo but also made some instrumental ABS challenges. One came early in the game in the third inning, on a low-stakes challenge with two outs that nonetheless represented the difference between a 1-0 and an 0-1 count (it would end up an inning-ending strikeout) – and was risky, given that the Mariners were already down to one challenge after Weston Wilson had challenged and lost in the previous inning.

“It’s gotta be close, for a walk or a strikeout. If it’s early, I gotta be 100% sure. If we’ve got two strikes, I go even when I’m like, 80% sure,” said Pereda. “But it’s pretty hard because the ABS changes every time, for every batter. So you gotta know who’s hitting and find the top [of the zone]. Early, it’s pretty tough to to call a challenge at the top or the bottom of the zone, because you don’t know.” So on that 0-0 pitch he was? “100% sure, yes.”

Pereda’s other challenge deserves just as much attention as any of Woo’s strikeouts. Pereda put the Mariners’ final challenge of the day on the line in the seventh after Woo got into a long battle with Lawrence Butler, whose 14-game hit streak was snapped today by Woo. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Woo spotted a slider on the outer edge that home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn ruled a ball; Pereda challenged and won, and Woo went on to get Carlos Cortes to ground out softly on a changeup for a clean seventh.

“The challenges today were huge,” said Woo. “[Pereda’s] been awesome. He’s just very open to, how do I get better? How do I help you? What do you like for setups? What do you like for sequencing locations? He’s just a sponge, and that’s all you can ask for from your teammates, that they want to be the best they can.”

“There was also one I wanted to challenge,” said Woo. “It was a ball, so that was also great by him.”

Meanwhile, the Mariners scuffled to get anything going against A’s starter, lefty Gage Jump, the first time through the order, with the only damage a leadoff single from Randy Arozarena. They did start to make some noise the second time through, though: Dominic Canzone led off the inning with a nice left-on-left single and Julio Rodríguez followed that up with a single of his own, breaking an 0-for-13 stretch. That brought up up Cal Raleigh, who had narrowly missed a home run in his first at-bat. Cal kept it fair this time but settled for a single, bringing home Canzone, trucking around the bases as fast as a pair of Easter hams on legs can. It was a nice piece of hitting from Cal on a curveball down as Raleigh continues to rebuild what’s been his worst season as a big-leaguer.

“I feel like [Cal’s] very balanced and a little bit more of a pure hitter right now,” said Dan Wilson postgame. “Still getting a chance to hit the ball out of the ballpark at times, but I feel like he’s in a really good spot as far as what he’s looking for. His plan is good. He’s swinging the bat and doing the things you need to do offensively in the batter’s box, and it’s really showing, and that’s a tribute to the work he’s put in and the work the hitting guys have put in with him.”

J.P. Crawford kept the line moving with a single to bring home Julio, and then Naylor singled to re-load the bases. Unfortunately, Weston Wilson, despite having the handedness advantage, struck out on three pitches, putting some pressure on rookie Michael Arroyo. Arroyo, in swing mode on his debut day, struck out on a 99 mph fastball from Jump, and Jhonny Pereda couldn’t come up with a big two-out hit, capping the damage at just two runs for Woo to work with – and all the offense the Mariners lineup would be able to scrape up against an A’s bullpen that looked steady as it has all season, combining to cover the rest of Gage’s outing with four innings of shutout, one-hit, six-strikeout ball.

But two runs would be all Woo would need, even despite a pair of walks to former Mariner Donovan Walton (we believe in being nice to former teammates, Bryan, but not that nice). A well-timed mound visit from Pereda in the eighth—after Woo had issued the second walk to Walton but rebounded to strike out Alika Williams on three pitches, all straight heat—helped push Woo over the finish line for his best start of the season, and Andrés Muñoz came in to put down the top of the A’s lineup in the ninth, getting two groundouts and a strikeout on that nasty changeup.

But today’s game belongs to Woo, painting a vintage masterpiece in a month where the rotation has been disappointing. Maybe by strikeouts alone it’s not Leonardo da Wooski; personally, I prefer the modernists anyway (Woossily Kandinksy, PabWoo PicassWoo, Francis WOOBAcon).

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Yankees fans and fans across the country.

As we celebrate Labor Day Weekend, the final big milestone of the regular season, Yankees fans have focused on just one question: when will Aaron Judge return to the field? After all, the Yankees Captain has not taken the field since May 31st due to a stress fracture in his ribs, and his absence single-handedly turned the lineup from arguably the best in baseball into arguably the worst. Their 12.2 fWAR and 116 wRC+ through May 31st ranked first and second in baseball, respectively, while their 6.7 fWAR and 90 wRC+ rank 25th and 29th (yes, that’s right — the Yankees lineup put up almost twice as much fWAR in two months with Judge as they did in the three-plus months since!).

We had some major news about Judge’s return over the past two weeks. It was first reported that No. 99 could skip a rehab assignment and return straight to the Bronx; then, on Friday night in San Diego, James Smyth reported that Judge took live batting practice on the field for the first time since the injury.

With these updates in tow, we opted to poll the fanbase on whether or not they think it’s a good idea to let the Captain forego rehab games. And, while not exactly unanimous, the results were conclusive: Yankees fans want Judge back in the lineup ASAP.

From my vantage point, I understand both options. On the one hand, this offense has looked downright pitiable without arguably history’s greatest right-handed hitter, and it’s clear to me that his presence in the lineup has warped our perception of some of the team’s other hitters (as his presence drastically elevates the performance of literally everyone else in the lineup). At the same time, though, the Yankees are 8.5 games up in the Wild Card race and 4.0 games behind in the division. Would it be nice to go on a run and challenge the Rays for the top spot in the American League? Absolutely. Would having Judge in the lineup for as many games as possible help that cause? Certainly. Is the juice worth the squeeze? Well….uh…maybe, maybe not.

That said, even if he does skip a rehab assignment, it’s not like the Yankees will be throwing him into full action without any preparation. Even beyond the fact that he’ll be hitting in the batting cage, running down fly balls in the outfield, and generally just doing normal baseball activities in preparation, the organization will carefully monitor his activity, and it’s not unlikely that you’ll see the team give him plenty of rest and DH days until he’s fully ramped back up. It doesn’t matter how he looks on September 15th at the end of the day, but on September 28th — and, hopefully, long beyond.

This week’s SB Nation Reacts poll results are brought to you by FanDuel.

Labor Day is the traditional end of the Minor League season, but that’s gone a bit by the wayside with the reorganization of the minors in 2021. However, Labor Day is late enough this year that the regular season ends today for South Bend and Myrtle Beach. However, South Bend’s season will continue next week in the playoffs.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were tariffed by the Columbus Clippers (Guardians), 6-3.

In his second rehab start with Iowa, Justin Steele pitched two innings and allowed one run on two hits. He struck out one and walked no one. Steele threw 27 pitches and 18 were strikes, so he was finding the strike zone. Steele’s velocity on his four-seam fastball was 90-to-92 miles per hour.

Kohl Franklin then pitched the next two innings and got the loss after giving up a three-run home run to Kahlil Watson. Franklin’s final line was three runs on two hits and walk. He struck out one.

Jaxon Wiggins pitched the ninth inning and coughed up a run on one hit and one walk. It was the first run Wiggins has allowed over nine relief appearances stretching over nine innings. He struck out one.

Left fielder Jordan Nwogu cranked a solo home run in the second inning and a sacrifice fly in the eighth for two total RBI. He was 1 for 3.

Right fielder Justin Dean doubled twice in a 2 for 4 game. He drove in one.

Third baseman James Triantos was 2 for 4.

As a Michigan Wolverine, Nwogu loves terrorizing Columbus.

Dean with an RBI double after the Guardians messed up a rundown.

For the first time in his career, Kevin Alcántara played first base. He was 0 for 4 at the plate though.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies got in the eyes of the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 6-5. The Smokies now have a two-game lead over both Rocket City and Birmingham with six games to play. Of course, it doesn’t make any difference as the Smokies won the first half already, but it would be nice to win both halves.

Connor Schultz started and held the Lookouts to just one unearned run on four hits over four innings. Schultz struck out three and walked one.

Yenrri Rojas came on to pitch the seventh inning and retired the next nine batters in order and picked up the win because Schultz didn’t go five. Rojas struck out one over those three innings.

First baseman Miguel Useche hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. It was his 13th of the season and sixth with Knoxville. Useche went 1 for 4.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez doubled the Smokies lead to 4-0 with a two-run home run in the second inning. Ramírez was 2 for 5. It was his 15th home run this year.

DH Andy Garriola homered with the bases empty in the third inning, his 22nd on the season. Garriola went 2 for 4.

Shortstop Alex Madera was 2 for 4 with an RBI double in the third inning.

Catcher Ariel Armas was 2 for 4.

Usche’s home run went far.

Ramírez’s home run looked like it touched the clouds.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs finished their regular season with a 10-5 loss to the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins).

Anhuar Garcia started and gave the Cubs three innings. He was touched for three runs on eight hits. Garcia struck out three and walked no one.

Luke Alwood took the loss after he gave up three unearned runs in the sixth inning, all coming after two were out. Right fielder Kade Snell dropped a shallow fly that would have ended the inning. I think Snell may have lost it in the sun, but he got his glove on it and it bounced right out. Alwood’s final line was three unearned runs on one hit and three walks over 1.2 innings. He struck out two.

First baseman Josiah Hartshorn hit two doubles and walked once in a 2 for 4 game. Hartshorn drove in three runs and scored once. He finished the season with a South Bend Cubs record 85 RBI after his promotion and he had 110 total in 122 games.

Shortstop Angel Cepeda was 2 for 5 with an RBI double.

Second baseman Jose Escobar went 1 for 3 with a walk and an RBI single.

Escobar’s RBI single.

Cepeda’s RBI double.

Josiah Hartshorn just keeps driving in runs.

South Bend finished the second half in third place with a 38-28 record after winning the first half. Their overall record was 77-51, which was the best record in the Midwest League.

South Bend will start the best-of-three playoffs on Tuesday in the Quad Cities against the River Bandits. Games 2 and 3, if necessary, will be in South Bend on Thursday and Friday.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Pelicans season finale was rained out.

The Pelicans finished the second half with a record of 23-40, which puts them in last place in the Carolina League South Division. Their overall record was 50-77 which was again last in their division, but at least it was better than Delmarva, who finished in last in the North Division.

SAN DIEGO — Back-to-back-to-back turned out not to be the ultimate backbreaker. 

But the fourth home run that Gerrit Cole allowed on Sunday was. 

Cole gave up three straight homers to begin his outing, and while the Yankees staged a late rally to account for those three runs, it still was not enough as they fell to the Padres 4-3 in the series finale at Petco Park. 

The four solo shots off Cole, on a day when the lineup was stymied by former teammate Michael King, sank the Yankees and cost them a chance to pick up a game on the Rays with time running out to do so. 

After wrapping up a 3-3 West Coast trip — including potentially their last series without Aaron Judge — the Yankees (81-62) flew home trailing the Rays by four games for the division with 19 games left, while the Red Sox crept within 2 ¹/₂ games of them for the top AL wild card. 

“I think we got some work to do,” Cole said. “We’re within striking distance of our goals.” 

King, in his second career start against the Yankees after he was the centerpiece of the trade return for Juan Soto, tossed six shutout innings. He gave the Yankees a chance to get back in it late, as he lost his command in the fifth inning and loaded the bases with two outs, but they were unable to take advantage as Cody Bellinger flew out to end the threat. 

Then, after Cole gave up his fourth home run of the day to Luis Campusano to put the Padres (75-68) ahead 4-0 in the seventh inning, the Yankees mounted a comeback in the top of the eighth against lefty Adrian Morejon. It included an RBI double from Spencer Jones, his latest left-on-left success, and an infield single from pinch hitter Amed Rosario that turned into two more runs with an assist from Morejon’s throwing error, pulling the Yankees within 4-3. 

But after José Caballero, pinch running for Rosario, was thrown out trying to steal second by Campusano — who threw out all four runners that tried to steal on him in the series — Jasson Domínguez flew out to squash the rally. 

“They made a play on us, but we’re not going to stand over there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We got to try to get into scoring position there.” 

Mason Miller then slammed the door shut on the Yankees in the ninth. 

In between the home runs that bookended his seven-inning outing, Cole settled in, though the damage was done. 

“It obviously happened quick in the first inning, but I didn’t think we were out of it for a second, because Gerrit went out there and did his job for the rest of the game and pitched really well and gave us a chance,” Jones said. “We just didn’t come through.” 

Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the bottom of the first by taking an outside curveball the other way, belting it into the right field seats for the 1-0 lead. Jake Cronenworth followed by going to the opposite field as well, slicing a 97 mph, middle-in fastball down the left field line and keeping it just fair and high enough to hit off the first story of the Western Metal Supply Co. Manny Machado then crushed a 97 mph fastball to dead center field, a 416-foot blast that put the Padres ahead 3-0 in the blink of an eye. 

“They put really good swings on the ball,” said Cole, who came within a few feet of giving up a fourth straight homer to Ty France. “The curveball kind of squirted out to Tatis. Thought Machado took a great pitch out, unbelievable swing. And I thought Cronenworth took a pretty good 2-1 fastball and put a good swing on it.” 

It was not the first time Cole had given up back-to-back-to-back home runs to lead off the first inning of a start. He also did it June 9, 2022, against the Twins, a game the Yankees ended up coming back to win. 

They nearly pulled off the same feat Sunday before coming up short, in part because Cole gave up another home run to Campusano in the seventh — on a 95 mph fastball down the middle that the catcher crushed 433 feet — and because King pitched his way out of jams. 

“Disappointing we couldn’t get to him,” Boone said. “We couldn’t get that big hit today to get back in the game in the middle of the game. I thought we had the right at-bats against him, we just couldn’t break through.”

Christopher Morel was facing the other direction, which did not stop Jonah Tong from coming up behind him and hugging him. Continuing his way around the room, Tong tapped Juan Soto on the shoulder, and Soto grinned as the two embraced. Sean Manaea got his own big hug and then left the clubhouse chatting with the outgoing pupil he grew close to last year.

Tong is back in the major leagues, his arrival in Queens on Sunday providing some life and plenty of smiles to a team that is as fond of the young right-hander as the team’s fanbase.

In terms of staying in the major leagues, Tong’s audition begins — and will not end — Monday in Miami.

The Mets will give a prolonged chance to a top prospect who has followed a rocket-ship 2025 with a roller-coaster 2026.

“There’s so many things that we have control over in our career, and sometimes there’s just lessons that need to be learned,” Tong said Sunday morning before the Mets’ 4-2 win over the Giants, “and I’m just really excited to see the person that I’ve become out of it.”

As a person, the now 23-year-old has not withered under various unflattering spotlights. He soared his way to the majors last season before he probably was ready and then struggled (7.71 ERA) in five games for a club that finished a win shy of the postseason. He returned this spring juggling pitching projects that also were not ready, as evidenced by a 6.00 ERA with Triple-A Syracuse as late as July 9.

Mixed in there were a couple shots with the big league Mets in late May and early June, which ended with a 3 ¹/₃-inning, five-run dud in Seattle that underscored that he would not be the player who saved the 2026 Mets.

If he demonstrated last year that he can handle success, Tong — who said he now is a “better person” — is now attempting to demonstrate he can handle failure.

“I’m the same kid I was last year as I am this year,” said Tong, who will be formally added to the roster Monday. “I think the only difference is I just have a boatload of experience I didn’t have last year. And honestly, the support system I have outside of baseball and in baseball, they’re my family. So, I appreciate them and lean on them a lot.”

As a pitcher, though, there is no doubt he has changed.

Last year he bulldozed his way through the minors primarily with a four-seamer that dropped from the sky, hitters unable to get their bat on a pitch thrown from such an extreme, over-the-top angle, along with a changeup that looked like the four-seamer before it dived to the bottom of or below the strike zone. He mixed in a curveball, but essentially he was a two-pitch pitcher — which mattered when he was promoted to Queens and major league hitters only had to plan for two pitches.

So this spring Tong worked further on his curveball and developed a cutter to make himself a more complete pitcher. Along the way, his arm angle dropped: He threw from an almost impossibly high 64-degree angle in the majors last year, while he used a less-extreme 51-degree angle during his brief stint this year.

The change might help his breaking stuff and may hurt his fastball effectiveness, but the best angle probably remains a work in progress.

“I think I’m pretty happy with how I am,” Tong said of his arm angle. “I’m not really too focused on that.”

He is happy, too, with the results of late, and perhaps he is figuring out what works. Seven of his past eight outings with Triple-A Syracuse have been strong, a stretch in which he owns a 2.20 ERA and opposing hitters are batting .185 against him. He still is walking too many (20 in 41 innings), but the stuff has begun to tick up.

Interim manager (and former/future player development exec) Andy Green said he lost and then refound his changeup, which Tong said he has done simply by throwing it more.

“It’s just more getting comfortable with it again,” Tong added. “Like everything, pitching is based on feel, and I felt like I’ve been in a really good spot with that and other pitches and happy with how things have been going.”

He has found more comfort, too, with the cutter, which has held opposing batters to a .174 average and .530 OPS in the span.

He has shown enough that he has earned another chance, which will comprise more than one start. Tong is now in the rotation.

“He’s going to continue to post when it’s his turn to pitch, and he hasn’t really had that knowledge at any point in time in his short big league career — it’s always been: You come up here and you throw a few innings and then you’re probably going back,” Green said of Tong, who has an opportunity to demonstrate to the Mets that he belongs in a 2027 rotation conversation that includes Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Zac Thornton and Manaea.

Not that Tong is looking toward 2027 just yet.

“I’m starting Monday,” he said, “and I just can’t wait for that.”

The Yankees lost the rubber-game to the San Diego Padres on Sunday, falling by a score of 4-3.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- It was an inauspicious start by Gerrit Cole in this one after he allowed back-to-back-to-back home runs to the first three batters of the game in Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado which gave the Padres a 3-0 lead in the blink of an eye and brought Petco Park to a frenzy.

Cole settled down after that and gave up just two singles until the seventh inning when the long ball reared its ugly head once again. Leading off, Luis Campusano rocketed one to left-center field for San Diego's fourth homer off Cole which extended its lead to 4-0. The right-hander ended his outing by retiring the next three hitters and going seven innings for just the third time this season.

Three of the four home runs allowed by Cole came on his four-seam fastball and he's now given up 17 home runs in 111 innings across 19 starts this season.

-- Campusano's home run proved to be pivotal as New York's offense, which had been shut out for the first seven innings against former Yankee Michael King (six innings) and Bradgley Rodriguez (one inning, 2 Ks), scored three times in the eighth inning to draw closer.

Spencer Jones got the Yanks on the board with an RBI double as he continues to impress and then pinch-hitter Amed Rosario drove in two with a single to the pitcher Adrian Morejon who threw the ball away on his throw to first base that allowed both runners to score and cut New York's deficit to 4-3.

The Yankees ran themselves out of the inning, though, when pinch-runner Jose Caballero was thrown out at second trying to swipe the bag. New York challenged the call but it was upheld. Jasson Dominguez ended the inning with a lineout.

-- Facing closer Mason Miller in the ninth, the Yanks got the tying-run on base after Austin Wells walked, but Miller struck out Ben Rice to end the game -- one of three strikeouts the closer had in the frame -- and earn him his 33rd save of the year.

Game MVP: Luis Campusano

Highlights

Gerrit Cole allows back-to-back-to-back home runs to open the game pic.twitter.com/zoGXEuYJT6

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 6, 2026

Spencer Jones gets the Yankees on the board! pic.twitter.com/aGXHULcvy9

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 6, 2026

Two runs score for the Yankees and it's 4-3! pic.twitter.com/smjlGwt2dx

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 6, 2026

What's next

After a day off on Monday the Yankees are back in action on Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies as the start of a six-game homestand. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

RHP Cam Schlittler (12-6, 2.04 ERA) takes on RHP Gabriel Hughes (0-6, 6.19 ERA).

The Athletics faced the Seattle Mariners in the series finale of their four-game series. The Mariners avoided a four-game sweep, salvaging the final matchup with a 2-0 victory behind a career-best performance from Bryan Woo. The Bay Area native faced little resistance from the A’s offense in the two-and-a-half-hour ballgame.

Early Pitching Duel

Both Woo and A’s starter Gage Jump opened with three scoreless innings. In the bottom of the first, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh came close to giving his team the lead, but his home run attempt hooked foul. Woo was sharp early, not allowing a baserunner the first time through the A’s lineup. Jump matched his counterpart, preventing the hosts from taking an early lead.

Athletics center fielder Henry Bolte led off the fourth inning with a single, recording the visitors’ first hit against Woo. The A’s failed to capitalize on the game’s first opportunity with a runner in scoring position, as Lawrence Butler grounded out to strand Bolte at second.

Mariners Strike First

Jump ran into trouble in the bottom of the fourth, allowing five straight singles to open the inning. RBI singles by Raleigh and JP Crawford gave Seattle a 2-0 lead. Jump showed his resilience by striking out the next three batters to minimize the damage, although it took him more than 40 pitches to finish the inning.

Jump’s day ended after that long inning, as right-hander Seth Johnson replaced him in the bottom of the fifth. Johnson struck out the side, showcasing the electric arsenal that could make him a long-term part of the Athletics’ bullpen. He finished with four strikeouts over two scoreless innings of relief. Fellow right-handers Scott Blewett and Yunior Tur followed with scoreless innings, keeping the A’s deficit at two runs.

Wooo: Seattle’s Pitching Dominant

Woo continued his dominance over the A’s, completing a career-high eight scoreless innings. The Mariners right-hander allowed just one hit and two walks while recording nine strikeouts and nine groundouts. A’s hitters returned to their impatient ways, consistently swinging at early-count pitches and producing several soft-contact outs against a pitcher the team has been unable to solve since he broke into the majors with Seattle.

Seattle closer Andrés Muñoz secured his 25th save of the season and finished off his team’s one-hit shutout by retiring the A’s in order in the ninth inning.

Moving Forward

The loss drops the Athletics back to 30 games below .500, but it does little to diminish the positive momentum from winning a four-game series against the Mariners.

Tomorrow, the Green and Gold return to Sutter Health Park to begin a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Left-hander Jacob Lopez, who has been the A’s most consistent starter lately, will take the mound to open the homestand. He will be opposed by Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease, a candidate to win the American League Cy Young Award.

Appropriately for a series with two struggling lineups and strong pitching staffs, the Yankees and Padres battled to the margins in Sunday afternoon’s rubber game. The contest could hardly have gone off to a worse start for the Yanks, as Gerrit Cole surrendered home runs to each of the first three batters he faced. The Yankee offense wasted a lot of good chances against old friend Michael King, and it seemed like a sleepy loss was in order.

New York, to their credit, made good on a rally in the eighth inning, but were foiled by Friday night’s walk-off hero. Padres catcher Luis Campusano, not long after giving San Diego a key insurance run with a solo shot of his own, threw out the would-be tying run attempting to steal second, and Mason Miller struck out Ben Rice representing the go-ahead tally in the ninth to turn the Bombers away at the door. Another close game slipped away from the Yanks along the margins.

The temperature at first pitch in San Diego was 81 degrees with cloudy skies—hardly the weather in which you would expect balls to fly out of the yard. And yet the Padres’ power bats were switched on from the jump. Leading off, Fernando Tatis Jr. took Cole the opposite way for his 20th home run of the season to strike the opening blow.

The next batter, Jake Cronenworth. stayed back on his fastball and got enough of a piece to line it to the opposite field. It had enough zip to stay fair and clear the wall for a second straight homer. Cronenworth had been mired in an 0-for-22 slump before that swing.

Then there was Manny Machado, who was responsible for the Padres’ lone run last night. Machado got better wood on his homer than either Tatis or Cronenworth, slamming it deep over the center field wall to make it back-to-back-to-back jacks for San Diego to begin their offensive effort. That this was a disorienting start to a Gerrit Cole start the way he’s been cruising lately is an understatement.

Ty France very nearly made it four consecutive with his own high fly all the way to the warning track in center, but it mercifully stayed in the yard. To Cole’s credit, he rallied from that stunning start, refusing to allow the deficit to expand, even when an ugly Jasson Domínguez error on a routine base hit to right put a runner on third base for free.

Meanwhile, the Yankees failed to make good on two great opportunities to score. In the second inning, they brought the tying run to the plate in the person of George Lombard Jr., who grounded into a force play. With the rally still alive, Ryan McMahon came up with two in scoring position, but King got him to roll over on the changeup to retire the side.

The Yankees wouldn’t get another good shot at getting on the board until the fifth, with a rally which began on a double to right field by Lombard. King managed to get to two outs before he started missing his spots, and before long he’d walked a pair of Bombers to load the bases for Cody Bellinger—just about the first guy you’d want in that particular spot if you’re Aaron Boone.

But Bellinger got overaggressive, swinging at the first pitch King threw, popping out to right to leave the bases loaded and allow their old friend to escape with no damage on his line. He would make it unscathed through the sixth to extend his personal scoreless innings streak to 21.2. I’ve always been fond of Michael King, and I’m happy to see him succeed, but the Yankees should have put up a couple of runs on him today at the very least. They failed to cash in their chances.

To be fair to the Yankees, they were also continually hitting into hard luck. Both Spencer Jones and Luis García Jr. hit wall-scrapers that died at the warning track. In the fourth, Jazz Chisholm Jr. lined a comebacker directly at King, who snagged the ball and easily doubled off García at first. Then in the sixth, Domínguez roped a line drive which threatened to extend a rally with Jones aboard, but Cronenworth made a slick diving catch to once again send the Bombers packing.

These near misses were particularly hard to swallow since the Padres’ greatest team strength is their bullpen.

Bradgley Rodriguez, for instance, entered action in the seventh with a 1.99 ERA. That’s a tough foe for the bottom of the order to solve while trailing 3-love. They didn’t. Rodriguez retired them in order on 11 pitches.

And if you thought a 3-0 deficit was going to be a tough ask to rally against, try 4-0.

Cole had performed brilliantly after the first-inning barrage, keeping his pitch count in control while doing his best to keep the Yankees within striking distance. But he finally coughed up one last mistake in the bottom of the seventh inning. Campusano slugged his second home run of the series out to left on a 2-1 fastball that caught far too much of the strike zone.

This game marked the first time in 11 starts that Cole allowed more than three runs in a start. He very nearly extended that streak even with the nightmare beginning. And that fourth run was about to start mattering real fast.

The Yankees lineup faced a tough lefty who reportedly saw interest from the Yankees this trade deadline: Adrian Morejón. But they were up to the task, quickly getting two aboard for the grooving Spencer Jones. Jones snuck a grounder just inside the third base bag for a double to finally get the Yankees on the board and put two more runners in scoring position. A solidly struck base hit would likely bring the Yankees back within a run.

Or, as it turned out, a very weakly struck base hit.

Amed Rosario came off the bench to hit for Jazz Chisholm Jr. and tapped a swinging bunt along the third base side. Morejón probably should have held onto the ball and cut his losses, but his vain attempt to record the out at first resulted in a low throw which skipped into foul ground, scoring both runners and thinning the margin down to 4-3.

José Caballero pinch-ran for Rosario and immediately decided to force the issue, racing toward second base with Domínguez at the plate. But Campusano, continuing to play hero for the Padres, gunned Caballero down at second to neuter the Yankee rally. Domínguez lined out to center to retire the side.

And not to beat a dead horse, but trailing by a run against Mason Miller is definitely not where you want to be. The best closer in baseball struck out Lombard, then a savvy ABS challenge by Campusano—enough of this guy—turned a ball into a strikeout of McMahon.

That set up two down with Austin Wells at the plate. Miller fell behind the Yankee catcher 3-0, then battled back to work the count full. The payoff pitch missed low and in, setting the stage for Ben Rice to take on the Reaper.

Rice battled valiantly, working the count full, but Miller snuck a slider past him which landed directly on the outside edge to secure the strikeout and dash the Yankees’ hopes of a comeback. A tough loss to swallow.

The Rays lost to the Rangers, but the Red Sox won in Baltimore. The Bombers have struggled mightily to gain any ground in the divisional hunt—they’ll have to content themselves with a 3-3 split of the final West Coast trip (excluding the Arizona detour next week), and get ready to fly home.

Enjoy Labor Day tomorrow, everyone! The Yankees will have the day off as they return to their native time zone, then they’ll host the Rockies and Mets in the upcoming homestand. Cam Schlittler will face fellow righty Gabriel Hughes on Tuesday at 7:05pm ET.

Box Score

The Rockies scored early and late, but ran into a buzzsaw of Cooper Hjerpe making his MLB debut in the middle. Kyle Leahy was chased after 2.2 innings, but it didn’t matter. And as they do, they attempted to battle back late. Jake McCarthy broke through in the eighth with a solo homer, and he drove in two runs in the ninth, but ultimately Rockies pitching (and defense) gave up too many runs to overcome. 17 of the 18 combined runs scored on two outs.

Tanner Gordon dealt with traffic

After a rain-shortened outing on Monday, Tanner Gordon was a bit up-and-down in his start. He dealt with some early traffic but had a 1-2-3 third and clean fourth.

In the first inning, he gave up a leadoff single to Bryan Torres but then got Iván Herrera to ground out to second. But then Alec Burleson hit a ball to right field that Troy Johnston laid out to catch.

Initially, it was called a catch. But the Cardinals successfully challenged, and that put runners on first and third with one out. Luckily, though, Gordon sat down Jordan Walker and Leo Bernal to end the inning.

Things didn’t get better in the second, however. Gordon recorded two quick outs of Joshua Báez and Nolan Gorman, but then Thomas Saggese doubled and Nathan Church singled to score him (eventually reaching second himself). But then Gordon struck out Torres to end the inning with minimal damage.

Things really fell apart in the fifth, though, in part due to questionable defense (more on that later). Gordon once again got two quick outs, but then Herrera singled, Burleson doubled, Walker walked and Bernal singled to score two runs. And with that, Gordon’s night was over with two men still on base.

“I thought TG was good,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “The main issue of the day was the inability to put hitters away. (There were) a ton of two-strike counts. The Cardinals scored nine runs with two outs. That six-run inning was two outs with nobody on, two strikes on the hitter, and then six runs later… So you have to learn from that and be able to put hitters away when you get two strikes. Give it to TG, he got a head ahead in a great way, but you’ve got to give credit to that team.”

5th inning defensive adventures

This series has not been a defensive showcase for either team. Unfortunately, it was on the Rockies’ end today. In the first inning, there was the non-catch by Johnston and he struck again in the fifth.

As noted above, after two quick outs, Herrera singled and then Burleson doubled. Jordan Walker then walked, and Leo Bernal singled to Johnston. He laid out again, but the ball went under his glove, allowing Herrera and Burleson to score.

Two batters (and two runs) later, Jimmy Herget replaced Gordon with two men on base. He immediately gave up a single to Joshua Báez, but an error by Cole Carrigg in center field allowed Báez to reach third (though the two runs were earned and charged to Gordon).

The biggest damage came on the next batter, though, as Nolan Gorman smacked a 426-foot home run to put the Cardinals up 7-5.

Six of their 10 runs came with two outs in the fifth, and all of their 10 runs in the game came with two outs.

The offense scored early and late, but not in the middle

The Rockies offense scored early and often, but they ran into a buzzsaw in Cooper Hjerpe making his MLB debut and didn’t record a hit (or a run) while he was on the mound.

To kick things off, Jake McCarthy singled and advanced to second on an error by Torres at second base. Then, Troy Johnston and Cole Carrigg struck out back-to-back, but TJ Rumfield doubled to score McCarthy. Moniak then singled to score Rumfield, but Adael Amador struck out to end the inning.

Fast forward past a 1-2-3 second inning, and the bats came out with two outs in the third. McCarthy flew out to center and Johnston struck out again, but Carrigg and Rumfield singled back-to-back to set the stage for Mickey Moniak, who smashed his 22nd home run of the year 436 feet to center field, putting the Rockies up 5-1.

That chased Kyle Leahy from the game, and Cade Winquest got Amador to ground out to end the inning.

After that, Hjerpe came in to start the fourth and did not allow a single baserunner across four innings. He became the second reliever in the Modern Era with 4+ perfect innings in his MLB debut (the other being some other guy named Max Scherzer in 2008). Hjerpe also struck out six of the 12 batters he faced, on top of Leahy’s six. In total, the Rockies struck out 15 times today and did not walk once.

“That guy was nasty,” Schaeffer said of Hjerpe. “The sinker was really good. It was just a tough angle and deception. We had a lineup full of lefties today, so it was tough on those guys. But he was great. That’s a great first outing for that guy. We had no answer for him.”

Luis Gastelum replaced Hjerpe in the eighth inning, and McCarthy took full advantage — launching a 435-foot homer into the second deck in right field to cut the lead to 10-6.

That was the first Rockies run to come with less than few outs.

“You name it, Jake does it,” Schaeffer said of his leadoff man. “He’s been fantastic for us this year, and I wouldn’t be more proud of him because last year wasn’t good for him. It’s a great bounce-back year for him, and he’s a leader behind closed doors. Everything you want in a baseball player, Jake McCarthy gives it to you.

And McCarthy stayed hot in the ninth, scoring two runs with two outs and two strikes to cut the lead 10-8. Hunter Goodman — who entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh — was hit by a pitch and then pinch hitter Zac Veen singled to center and advanced on defensive indifference.

Unfortunately, Troy Johnston recorded a golden sombrero to end the threat (and the game).

“I think the biggest thing is to be prepared as a pinch hitter,” Schaeffer said of Veen’s clutch hit. “He’s nonstop with his head in the iPad, talking with (Brett Pill) and (Jordan) Pacheco, getting ready for every single reliever that he could potentially face that night. He’s not pouting when he doesn’t play. He’s accepting his role, and I think there’s really something to that. And he’s been big for all three games. He’s always doing something good to help the team, and he’s been playing really good defense. I’m really happy with the place that Veener’s in right now.”

Up Next

The Rockies head out east one final time to take on the New York Yankees after an off day tomorrow. It’ll be a battle of young right-handers, as Gabriel Hughes is scheduled to face Cam Schlittler. First pitch on Tuesday is at 5:05pm MT.

See you then!

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