The Scottsdale Scorpions of the 2026 Arizona Fall League just got a big upgrade. It was announced on Sunday that 21-year-old outfielder Zyhir Hope, one of two big pieces in the Detroit Tigers trade of Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers, will play in the Fall League this season. This will be his second run in the Fall League after playing in 2024 as well. Rafael Neda, the Milwaukee Brewers’ Complex League manager and minor league field coordinator, will manage the Scorpions this fall.

Hope finished the regular season with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves after the trade, and played at that level in both organizations. He hit 29 home runs and stole 26 bases, posting a combined 128 wRC+ with a 25 percent strikeout rate and an 11.1 percent walk rate. There were some struggles making the transition after the trade, but Hope is finishing the season at a torrid clip with three home runs and an OPS of 1.094 in 10 games in September.

Currently, MLB Pipeline has Hope as the Tigers top ranked prospect, while others prefer Bryce Rainer. Either way, that duo is 1-2 in the system, apart from a few sites that still have 28-year-old River Ryan listed as a prospect or haven’t updated as Max Clark cleared the 130 at-bats threshold to graduate from prospect status.

There is a lot to like in Hope’s game. He gets the barrel to the ball to all fields, and is just a hair shy of 70 grade raw power at this point. Combined with above average speed, a quality arm from right field, and a pretty disciplined approach at the plate, and you have a future power hitting outfielder who provides value defensively and on the basepaths as well.

The big question in his case is whether he can trim a little more swing and miss from his game. At just 21 years old and having been bounced around from the Cubs to the Dodgers to the Tigers over the past two seasons, he has had a lot to deal with, and yet he continues to do a lot of damage and take his walks. The strikeout rate is still a little higher than we’d prefer, but for a player his age already at the Double-A level, he’s doing just fine. The raw power and natural loft in his left-handed swing, and his ability to hit the ball hard in all parts of the zone bode well for him being a pretty productive big leaguer either way, but until he trims a bit more swing and miss from his game there’s still a fair amount of risk in the profile.

In that sense, he and Rainer are similiar prospects. Both provide value with their glove and on the bases, and both possess huge power for their age. But in both cases they need to address a few elements of their approach to strike out less as they advance. Hope is certainly further along than Rainer in that regard, but he’s also more experienced. Neither is the type of can’t miss, pure hitter that McGonigle and Clark were as they came through the ranks in recent years. However, they aren’t one dimensional sluggers either and could do major damage in the middle of the Tigers’ order in the years to come.

Last season, the Tigers sent Kevin McGonigle to the Fall League to work on his defense with Alan Trammell. Max Anderson and infielder Jack Penney also went to the Fall League for similar reasons, as both McGonigle and Anderson were too advanced as hitters for the caliber of pitching you tend to see in the desert. The Fall League is used largely to give extra reps to players who missed time during the season, and there are often a lot of pitchers just building up reps and not really very dialed in as the five week season gets underway in early October.

The Tigers haven’t made any other announcements about their Fall League roster. They do have several pitchers who missed a lot of time, but returned to throw well in July and August. Whether former top draft picks like Owen Hall, Paul Wilson, or Michael Massey will attend to try and build on their late season progress remains to be seen. Lefty Jake Miller, already on the 40-man roster, has missed nearly the whole season, but whether he’ll be available in October is pretty unclear. Maybe the best option is right-hander Kelvis Salcedo. The 20-year-old has outstanding stuff, among the best in the whole of the Tigers’ system, but he battled some minor injuries throughout the year and only managed 36.2 innings. He finished the season healthy and throwing well, so it would be great to see him get the call.

One other interesting possibility is catcher-first baseman Josue Briceño. After wrist surgery that cost him the first half of the season, Briceño got right back to destroying Double-A pitching. A 15 game promotion to Triple-A Toledo got off to a shaky start, and then he sprained an ankle on a slide on August 30 and hasn’t played since. Depending on the severity of the injury, he may not be available when the Fall League starts, but if he is, getting him some more reps to close out the season, especially at first base where he’s likely bound but hasn’t played a whole lot yet, might be a wise idea. On the other hand Briceño absolutely destroyed Fall League pitching in 2024 as a 19-year-old, winning league MVP as well as pulling off the Triple Crown, so it may not be worth much other than to get him some added defensive reps.

The Dodgers received a reality check over the weekend, as Shohei Ohtani’s absence became noticeable, their high-leverage relievers imploded and Tyler Glasnow looked nothing like the dependable postseason starter they expect him to be.

But their visit to Miami wasn’t a complete loss.

Their three games against the Marlins confirmed a belief that has grown over the course of the year: They have a real offensive weapon in Josue De Paula, the rookie who blasted an upper-deck home run Sunday in an otherwise disheartening 6-4 loss.

De Paula can hit.

Like, really hit.

That much is already obvious, so much so that the very nature of the 21-year-old’s September call-up has changed.

What was initially expected to be a cup of coffee is now an audition.

An audition for a spot on the playoff roster. An audition for a starting role in the outfield next season.

The left-handed-hitting De Paula offers the Dodgers the kind of offensive jolt they never got last year, when their season had to be saved by the unlikeliest of home-run heroes in Miguel Rojas.

With Ohtani and Freddie Freeman likely to be playing in October with serious physical limitations, De Paula could be more of a necessity than a luxury for the Dodgers.

At very least, he’s a pinch hitter with a bat that’s like Thor’s hammer.

While his shortcomings as a defender and baserunner rule him out from starting in the Dodgers’ postseason opener, he could be a last-ditch option to replace Kyle Tucker or Teoscar Hernández in the lineup at some point if either of them stops hitting. Or he could be the emergency designated hitter in a worst-case scenario in which Ohtani isn’t healthy enough to play.

On the day he was officially promoted from Double-A Tulsa, De Paula said of making the playoff roster, “That’s always in the back of your head. But I don’t want to get too ahead of myself right now.”

The Brooklyn-born De Paula certainly doesn’t lack confidence, his demeanor reminiscent of his basketball-playing relatives Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair.

In the first week of spring training, I asked De Paula if he thought he could reach the majors this season.

“I think it’s highly likely,” he said.

At the time, De Paula had played only four games above Class A.

There was nothing fake about the bravado.

Called up to the major leagues for the first time on Friday, he looked right away as if he knew he belonged.

He was hitless in his first two games in Miami, but he stayed within himself. He remained patient. He controlled the strike zone. 

The result: Four walks in his first 11 plate appearances.

“I just gotta keep doing me,” De Paula said. “My first two days, I loved my at-bats even though I didn’t get the results. I felt like the results were coming really soon, so I just feel like I need to stick with my approach and good things are coming.”

He was right.

In his first time up in the series finale Sunday, De Paula picked up another walk. 

A couple of innings later, De Paula stayed alive by fouling off a 2-2 pitch just off the outside edge of the plate. The next pitch was a 98-mph fastball on the inside part of the plate, and De Paula turned on it, sending it soaring into the second deck above the right-field wall for a three-run homer.

De Paula turned to the Dodgers’ bench and pounded his chest. When he returned to the dugout, he howled as he high-fived a gauntlet of teammates.

“I was just enjoying the moment, man,” he said.

De Paula doubled to right-center field in his next at-bat, after which Kiké Hernández replaced him in left field for defensive purposes.

“Not surprised,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I’m really not. I don’t think anyone in our organization is surprised as far as how he was going to conduct an at-bat.”

The Dodgers know what that means in the long term. They will have to create a place for him in their outfield next season, most likely at the expense of Teoscar Hernández, who turns 34 next month and has one year remaining on his contract.

Less certain is how he factors into their short-term plans. The final two weeks of the regular season will help them determine that.

The return of a pitcher who has missed over a year due to injury is cause for celebration within a team — a moment of gratitude toward and validation for the pitching, training and medical staffs and a moment of reflection and appreciation from the pitcher. 

So the Yankees will celebrate the impending return of Clarke Schmidt. But immediately afterward, they will begin determining how much he can help a team that needs it. 

“I think he could be huge,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday before claiming the Subway Series with a 2-0 win in The Bronx. 

Schmidt finished up his rehab assignment Saturday and is expected to be activated sometime in Minnesota for a series that begins Monday. 

For what will be his first game since July 3, 2025, after which he required Tommy John surgery, Schmidt acknowledged his excitement level is “very high.” 

“Obviously this has been a long journey,” said Schmidt, who proudly added he has his “bags packed” for the road trip. “So a lot of anticipation, and it’s going to kind of probably feel like a debut when I go out there.” 

But it won’t be a debut. It will be Schmidt, who went down as a starting pitcher, returning as a reliever who quickly enters a competition for an October roster spot and serious innings. 

Virtually the only relievers assured of spots on the Yankees playoff roster are David Bednar, Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick (with even Tim Hill’s spot somewhat in doubt). Otherwise, the Yankees have around a dozen arms seeking to separate themselves, a group to which Schmidt belongs. 

In five minor league outings, the 30-year-old faced 26 batters and struck out 11. He allowed three earned runs (all three in his first two appearances) in seven innings in which he let up six hits and walked one. He aimed a four-seamer on the outside of the plate Saturday and glanced up and saw “95, 96” on the radar gun, which reinforced that he felt ready. 

“It was really quality, and I just noticed that my [pitch] shapes kept getting better and better each outing,” Schmidt said. “And this last outing I was like, ‘OK, I feel like my arm’s moving really quick. My body feels really good mechanically.’” 

Schmidt, who has been a reliever in the past, will not return as a traditional bullpen arm. He won’t be asked to go back to back, at least not immediately, and likely will not go longer than two innings. 

But if those one- or two-inning bursts go well, a talented arm who had owned a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts before going down last year would elevate from nice story to needed relief. 

“I think he’s throwing the ball really well,” Boone said. “His stuff’s really good right now. I feel like it has been for the last month. So, I think he definitely could be an interesting guy for us down there, and hopefully that’s the case.” 

Spencer Jones (1-for-3), who launched a long single to the right field wall, has hit safely in 13 of his past 15 games and is slashing .396/.455/.583 in the span. 

Giancarlo Stanton continues hitting and participating in hitters meetings, but there is “nothing imminent” regarding a return, Boone said. 

Stanton suffered his third calf strain of the season, and first in his left leg, nearly four weeks ago. There is no guarantee he returns this season. 

Boone did not have much of an update regarding Trent Grisham, who is “doing some running stuff” after straining his hamstring Sept. 4. 

Boone said he did not know whether Grisham would be able to return during the regular season. 

Boone walked with a limp and a soft brace on his knee and said he would have to see a doctor. He hurt himself playing long toss with Aaron Judge in Anaheim, and the knee worsened Saturday night. 

“The last time this happened, we ended up with Alex Rodriguez,” a reporter cracked.

This has become an issue lately so I’d like to address why you’ll never see me blame a St. Louis Cardinals loss on a single player. I understand why many want to assign blame, but I have some serious reasons why I don’t believe in it.

When you think of some of Major League Baseball’s most infamous late game blunders, game 6 of the Boston Red Sox/New York Mets World Series probably comes to mind. Everyone remembers Bill Buckner’s error as Mookie Wilson’s ball went through his legs at first base allowing the Mets to win the game and eventually the World Series. Here’s something to consider. Do you know that the Boston Red Sox had 13 hits in that game, but stranded 8 runners on base? You never hear about all of those Red Sox RISP, but Bill Buckner lived with this moment the rest of his life and did it with grace, I might add.

A lot has been made of Riley O’Brien’s recent failures to close out games and those blown saves are real and deserve analysis and scrutiny. However, I still maintain that you can’t pin those losses solely on him or any other player in the Cardinals lineup. As much as I’d like to forget it, let’s look back at the Saturday night game when Riley O’Brien gave up a 2-strike 2-run homer to Randall Grichuk of the White Sox. During that game, the St. Louis Cardinals stranded 9 runners on base. Cooper Hjerpe allowed 4 earned runs in relief. However, it’s typical of a closer to bear the brunt of the blame when a game goes wrong. When I mentioned the Cardinals bullpen as being one of the most prominent problems in Saturday’s loss, I saw numerous comments on social media throwing hatred at just O’Brien. I will never tell anyone how they should feel about something, but this issue in particular is one I wish fans would rethink.

I have seen some in the past make reference to the infamous Donnie Moore 1986 home run he gave up to Dave Henderson in game 5 of the 1986 ALCS as being key to his eventual suicide. That is a grossly oversimplified story that doesn’t really do justice to the struggles that Donnie Moore dealt with in his life. He was apparently a very troubled man that dealt with depression before and after that infamous moment in 1986. One baseball game was not his problem, but it does bring to light the humanity behind all players.

Do I think that Riley O’Brien should be the St. Louis Cardinals closer moving forward? I’m in the camp that says no. Do I think he’s the lone problem in many of these late-game Cardinals losses? No way. We can discuss roster construction all day and I’ll never get tired of it. I will not, however, be a part of laying blame on a player when a game goes wrong, though.

I want to be clear that I’m not talking about regular baseball fandom behavior. If you go to a game and want to boo a player because you’re not happy with what you’re seeing, I have no problem with you. My wife and I went to a Cardinals/Yankees game in 2004 and yelled “Roids!” at Alex Rodriguez along the third base line all game. Good times. I’m also not calling out criticism of players. I hate all of the blown saves by O’Brien and Soriano as much as the next person. I’m just not willing to place complete blame for team failure on them. There’s a difference between that and expressing hatred for the player as a person.

I cannot think of any baseball game in history that has been solely lost by one individual. I also can’t think of any baseball game that has been solely won by an individual. I was always told that you win as a team and you lose as a team. Enough with this desire to scapegoat someone.

The Mets announced their 2026 Player Development Awards on Sunday with two top prospects headlining the honors.

They recognized infielder Mitch Voit as the Player of the Year and LHPJonathan Santucci as the Pitcher of the Year.

Additionally among the player honors, outfielder Cleiner Ramirez was named the Mets' DR Academy Player of the Year while RHP Abner Meza was named DR Academy Pitcher of the Year.

The recipients -- including field and gameplay coordinator David Adams (Minor League Staff Member of the Year), lead DSL hitting coach Bryce Wheary (DR Academy Staff Member of the Year) and senior scout Cesar Aranguren (Marlin McPhail Scout of the Year) -- are set to be honored in a pregame ceremony at Citi Field before Monday's 7:10 p.m. start on SNY against the Baltimore Orioles.

Voit, who turns 22 on Sept. 30, spent the 2026 season with High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton. In 29 games since his July 27 promotion, he slashed .347/.430/.517 with two home runs and 18 RBI.

Voit is No. 5 overall on the Mets' farm in SNY's latest ranking of the top 30.

Santucci, 23, is the Mets' top pitching prospect on SNY's midseason list.

He earned his promotion from Binghamton to Triple-A Syracuse on July 28 after posting a 3.57 ERA in 19 games while striking out 120 and allowing an opposing batting average of .213. He has 37 strikeouts in seven starts over 29 innings with Syracuse.

Heroes, zeros and the inside pitch from the Yankees’ 2-0 win over the Mets on Sunday in the Subway Series in The Bronx:

Hero

In a series in which both teams threw six starting pitchers who ranged from interesting to high-octane, Cam Schlittler was easily the best of the bunch while shutting down the Mets over six scoreless, one-hit innings. 

Zero 

After igniting the Mets fans in The Bronx with a home run Saturday, Juan Soto on Sunday went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. After his second, against David Bednar in the ninth, particularly loud jeers followed him to the dugout. 

Unsung hero

Leadoff hitter Ben Rice opened the Yankees’ afternoon with the only run the club would need, visiting the short porch for his 38th homer of the season. 

Key stat

1.95: Cam Schlittler’s ERA, which would be the fourth sub-2.00 ERA by a qualified Yankees pitcher since 1913 

Quote of the night

“Special weekend for the city. As much as the fans don’t like each other, I feel like they came together for this weekend and enjoyed something special. … It was a little frustrating [Saturday] just hearing all the Mets chants. I wanted to make sure I could come in here today and kind of shut that down.” 

— Cam Schlittler

Rangers 7, D-Backs 6

• And the Rangers win their first road series since June 29-July 1 in Cleveland!
• Are we hyped?
• That was also a little more exciting that I’d have preferred.
• It did feel like from the outset that the Rangers were going to have success in this game. A line drive single by Justin Foscue to start things off, followed the second-longest home run of Corey Seager’s career, will do that.
• Statcast had the Seager homer at 458 feet. Only once in his career — back in 2021, with the Dodgers — has Seager hit the ball farther.
• Its also tied with Bryce Eldridge for the 28th longest home run hit this season in the majors.
• Its the third longest home run hit at Chase Field this season.
• Its the longest home run hit by a Ranger this year. Jake Burger’s 447 foot shot against the Tigers on July 5 was the previous high.
• Gabriel Moreno homered off of Cal Quantrill to lead off the fourth, making it a 2-1 game, but then the Rangers capitalized on clownball in the top of the fifth to make it a comfy game.
• Justin Foscue reached on an E5 by Nolan Arenado, on a ball that took a bad hope. A line drive Corey Seager single was followed by a Josh Jung single that Lars Nootbar…well…

• If you don’t want to watch the video, Jung looped it into left field, where Nootbar was coming in for it. He pulled up, realizing in couldn’t make the catch, but then had the ball bounce between his legs and behind him, allowing both Foscue and Seager to score. Brandon Nimmo later blooped a two out single into no man’s land to bring home Jung, and Texas was up 5-1.
• Two more came across the next inning, with Danny Jansen doubling home Ezequiel Duran, Evan Carter pinch hitting for Foscue and smoking it but right at Jordan Lawlar in center, then Seager drilling a single to bring home Jansen.
• Seager even advanced to second on the throw, leading Dave Raymond and Mike Bascik to comment on how good, physically, Seager is feeling. Feeling good Corey Seager is a good thing.
• Because I’m feeling good about this game and this win, we will not talk about the relievers, other than to note that Robert Garcia did good work in the eighth in the second of back-to-back outings, a good sign, given both how long he was on the injured list as well as how badly the Rangers need quality relief options right now.
• Quantrill had thrown just 65 pitches through six, and there seemed to be some question as to whether he’d come back out for the seventh, despite the low pitch count. Quantrill did come out, though he was pulled after allowing a Geraldo Perdomo single.
• Post-game, it was reported Quantrill was dealing with back tightness, which is why he didn’t go longer.
• Meanwhile, the Astros of Houston lost, putting the Rangers a game back in the American League West, though really two, since the Astros have the tiebreaker. The Guardians won, meaning the Rangers are two back in the Wild Card, and the Blue Jays won, which means the Jays are still a game ahead of Texas among the teams chasing the Guardians. Fortunately, Texas has the tiebreaker advantage against both Cleveland and Toronto.
• Toronto, I will note, plays three games in Arlington Friday through Sunday, with Cleveland no doubt hoping there’s a split and neither team sweeps.
• Before Toronto is Boston. On the plus side, the Rangers are facing Boston at the Shed. On the minus side, Boston is 82-68 this season, with the third best record in the American League. On the plus side, they are eight and a half back in the division, four and a half back for the first Wild Card spot, and six games up on Cleveland for the third Wild Card spot, so while they are not going to be treating the games like exhibitions, their postseason berth and seeding seems pretty well sewn up.
• Cal Quantrill touched 95.7 mph with his fastball, averaging 94.2 mph, and 95.9 mph with his sinker, averaging 94.0 mph. Tyler Alexander’s fastball reached 93.9 mph. Robert Garcia topped out at 94.7 mph with his fastball. Jacob Latz’s fastball maxed out at 96.8 mph.
• Corey Seager’s had a 110.3 mph home run, a 106.3 mph single, and a 105.8 mph single. Elias Diaz had a 109.6 mph line out. Evan Carter had a 105.8 mph fly out. Danny Jansen had a 104.4 mph double. Brandon Nimmo had a 102.5 mph single.
• Now an off day before starting a nine game homestand. Let’s spend the next 48 hours enjoying the win.

Well that was certainly fun, wasn’t it? Series finale notwithstanding, the Atlanta Braves did exactly what they needed to do against the Philadelphia Phillies in order to essentially close the door 99 percent of the way on the NL East. This was a massive series where the Phillies honestly needed nothing less than a sweep and a series win was the bare minimum.

While the pressure was on the Phillies, the Braves still all of the incentive in the world to essentially finish things with a strong performance in the weekend series. Sure enough, the Braves got the job done — both in dramatic fashion and dominant fashion in the two wins that they picked up. Now it’s time to go into detail as to how Atlanta was able to pull it off. Let’s get into it, folks.

Friday, September 11

Braves 6, Phillies 5

This was quite possibly the most exciting win of the season when you consider the opponent, the circumstances and the implications for the rest of the season. The Braves trailed in the ninth, tenth and eleventh innings but still came out on top in improbable fashion.

This had to have been an incredibly painful way to drop a game for the Phillies since it honestly felt like a golden chance for them in a series where they could ill afford any setbacks. Derek Hill hit a bases-clearing double in the second inning to go up 3-1 and Aaron Nola did his part to make sure that that lead held up.

Philadelphia’s lead held up until the ninth, which is when a base knock from Mike Yastrzemki gave them some life and then Derek Hill misplayed a ground ball in center field that allowed pinch runner DaShawn Keirsey Jr. to speed around the basepaths to score the tying run. The Braves had two outs to potentially end it right there but Jonathan Bowlan got out of it for the Phillies and so we went to those fateful extra innings.

Justin Crawford came through with a pinch-hit single to put the Phillies back in front? So what? Mauricio Dubón’s sacrifice fly brought pinch-runner Brewer Hicklen home from third base to cancel it out. Luis Arraez somehow (and frustratingly) went the other way on a 99-mph pitch inside from Didier Fuentes to put the Phillies up again? Who cares? Ha-Seong Kim came up huge against Brooks Raley with Atlanta down to their last out in order to tie the game up again. That set the stage for Drake Baldwin, who lined a gapper out to right center for a walk-off double that shook Truist Park to its core.

Saturday, September 12

Braves 12, Phillies 2

Hoo boy, did this feel good or what? It especially felt good to see the Braves lay the smack down on the Phillies after what happened in the first inning. Perhaps Bryce Harper and the Phillies were still feeling some type of way after both Friday’s contest and Ronald Acuña Jr.‘s extended home run trots because Harper took his longest trot of the season after he hit a dinger in the first inning. It felt like the Phillies had thrown down the gauntlet and were reminding Atlanta that they were still here to fight for this division, no matter what the odds said.

Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Atlanta proceeded to bring the boom once the fourth inning rolled around. With Jesús Luzardo scratched from this start, the Phillies were going with a bullpen game in this one and the fourth inning saw Brooks Raley take the baton from opener Tim Mayza. Raley then proceeded to receive a rude welcome to the game after Ronald Acuña Jr. decided to show Harper what a real home run trot looked like after he hit a dinger of his own.

That was only the beginning of the carnage in the bottom of the fourth inning, as a combination of good hitting and overall poor performance from the Phillies both on the mound and on defense led to this being a breakout inning for the Braves. Once the smoke cleared, Atlanta had put up eight runs on the board and considering how Tyler Mahle was going, this one was essentially done once that crooked number went on the scoreboard.

This went so poorly for Philadelphia that they had gone to Garrett Stubbs for relief work in the seventh inning. Garrett Stubbs is not a pitcher and the Braves lineup essentially took turns trying to take potshots at Stubbs while he was out there for 1.1 innings. Michael Harris II was the one who got the big knock, as he tagged the right-field pole for a three-run dinger that put icing on the cake for a beautiful series win for the Braves.

Sunday, September 13

Phillies 9, Braves 4

Considering what the divisional odds currently look like, I was half-tempted to simply put ‘Who cares’ in this section but alas, I have to document this contest for due diligence. This one was a 2-2 game heading into the eighth inning but you could argue that the Braves should’ve had more than those two runs at that point. Atlanta left 11 runners on base and only went two-for-eight with RISP. In fact, the Braves had a chance to go ahead in the seventh when Atlanta had two runners in scoring position with two out. Ozzie Albies flew out harmlessly and the Braves ended up rueing that missed opportunity in the immediate near future.

That’s because Philadelphia put a seven-spot on the scoreboard in the eighth inning. Dylan Lee gave up four runs on four hits and things didn’t get much better for the Braves when Victor Mederos entered the game. Mederos gave up three runs of his own and once the smoke cleared, Atlanta found themselves in a seven-run hole right after they had an opportunity to go up.

Atlanta didn’t go down quietly, as Matt Olson did give the Phillies a two-run dinger as a parting gift but they didn’t go out loudly enough to make a serious comeback. Again, the Braves didn’t necessarily need this one for the division but it sure would’ve been nice to see Atlanta finish this one off with their brooms. Instead, they just had to settle for the series win — and five out of seven against the Phillies here in September. Sweet.

So at the end of this run of seven games out of 10 between these two divisional foes, our Braves ended up coming out of it as the clear winners. They got the split in Philadelphia across four games and then they won the series here in Cobb County. The Braves now have a five-game lead (essentially six thanks to the tiebreaker) with 12 games left to play — there would have to be a disaster of mammoth proportions in order for the Braves to not enter the Postseason as NL East champions.

Atlanta did exactly what they needed to do across these two series in order to tighten their grip on the divisional lead and now they are in a fantastic position as far as that race goes. FanGraphs now has Atlanta at a 99.2 percent chance of winning the division and PECOTA has it at 98.1 percent. The divisional advantage is clearly in Atlanta’s hands as the season starts to wind down.

At this point, the main question has to be whether or not the Braves can catch the Dodgers for the second seed in the National League. Atlanta is two-and-a-half games behind the Dodgers in the standings (and again, you can make that one-and-a-half thanks to the tiebreaker) and while the schedule is certainly in LA’s favor (the Dodgers have four games with the Reds, six games with the Giants and three games with the Padres in between their two series with San Francisco while the Braves have to face the Cubs, Astros, Reds and Marlins), I’m not going to say that this particular race is over.

The Dodgers just got done dropping a series in Miami (which should serve as a warning to the Braves with a trip to Miami looming) and they haven’t exactly dominated the Giants this season. They have had success with the Reds and the Padres, so there’s that. The point is that the Braves have no reason to take their foot off of the gas.

Thanks to their efforts this weekend, they’re getting closer and closer to finishing off the division and they’re still within striking distance of getting one of the top-two records in the National League. There’s still plenty to play for between now and the end of the month and the Braves have played themselves into really good shape here in the halfway point of the final month of the regular season. Let’s see what happens going forward!

The Royals game in Boston was delayed by almost three and a half hours, but in the late innings, dropped the series finale at Fenway Park, 4-1.

The game started with Red Sox starter Payton Tolle throwing an immaculate inning. 9 pitches, 8 fastballs and a sinker from Tolle sat the Royals down.

For the most part, the game was rather uneventful early. Caleb Durbin hit a solo homer over the monster off Noah Cameron in the second, putting Boston up 1-0.

Cameron got out of a bases loaded jam in the 4th, with a double play ball. The Royals had 1st and 3rd with two outs in the 5th, but Nick Loftin grounded out to end the inning.

In the 6th inning, Bobby Witt Jr. singled to start the inning, Jac Caglianone was hit by a pitch, making it 1st and 2nd, but Salvador Perez flew out, and Michael Massey and Matthew Lugo struck out to end the inning.

Noah Cameron was great, throwing 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, 1 run, a walk and striking out 4.

Isaac Collins and Luke Maile walked to start the 7th, Tyler Tolbert then blooped one to center, but Collins got a bad read and was thrown out at third on a force play. Carter Jensen pinch hitting for Loftin, bailed him out though, smacking a single down the line to tie it at 1. Jr. struck out with runners on the corner and Vinnie Pasquantino, pinch hitting for Cags, flew out to deep center to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 7th, Craig Kimbrel came in, got a flyout, but walked Durbin, who then stole second base. He also walked Nick Sogard. Connor Thomas came in and struck out Andruw Monasterio, but the lefty Roman Anthony singled in the go-ahead run.

The Royals went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 8th. Nate Pearson got the bottom of the 8th and gave up a one-out single and double, Trevor Story smacked a 2-run single, making it 4-1 Boston.

In the top of the 9th, Aroldis Chapman came in and walked the first two batters, but struck out Tolbert, Jensen and Witt to end the game.

The Royals fall to 66-84, they are off tomorrow, but play in Houston on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. CT.

It is admittedly easy to find yourself questioning just about every single inch of the process that got the Cincinnati Reds to their current position in last place in the National League Central. It’s even easier to do so when they got outscored 34-1 across a two-game span (and allowed another 13 runs the following day).

Last place. A whopping -145 run differential.

The astonishingly bad decision to acquire Ke’Bryan Hayes last trade deadline, the use of funds on Eugenio Suarez and Brady Singer and the rest of the bullpen, the continued inability to develop hitters aside from Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart. Giving up Mike Sirota and a comp pick for one famished season of Gavin Lux.

The poor moves that have been made tend to add up in a hurry. That’s how a team ends up not only in last place, but projected to remain there if and when baseball actually gets to playing next year, too, through the looming lockout.

Despite all of that, it appears the Cincinnati Reds don’t have many plans to make changes. In fact, they’re leaning hard into the same continuity that has led them through an era of zero division titles, zero postseason wins, and more last place finishes in the division than one can remember.

So says Gordon Wittenmyer of The Enquirer, who reportedly earlier on Sunday that the Reds don’t appear to be intent on making changes to the group who’s in charge of making decisions on how to run this baseball franchise.

That means Nick Krall and Brad Meador are expected to still sit atop the hierarchy. That means that future Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona isn’t going anywhere. While we’ve not seen pitching guru Derek Johnson for months during the season, it seems as if the Reds would like to make sure he sticks around, too.

The Reds entered play on Sunday ranked dead last in defensive runs saved. They ranked third-worst in collective FIP (ahead of only the lowly Athletics and Colorado Rockies). They ranked fourth-worst in team wRC+ offensively at 93, just a hair above being in dead last – that’s 91.

Fielding, pitching, and hitting seem to rank pretty highly on the list of things baseball teams should try to do well if they’re intent on winning games. Fielding, pitching, and hitting are three areas where the Reds are either the worst, or nearly the worst, in the entire sport. And it now appears as if the same group who assembled this team from the ashes of the 2022 rebuild is going to get another chance to rebuild it in their image – or, even more shockingly, will get to run it back with no changes whatsoever.

The Cincinnati Reds!

A’s 8, Mariners 7

The first winds of fall: Randy Arozarena, +0.43 WPA
Falling on your butt: Andrés Muñoz, -0.49 WPA

Game Thread Comments of the Day

Like every Mariners fan, I’ve been having a lot of feelings about Rizzs this season, but we’ll be in good hands.

And a bonus GTCOD, a late entrant from the captain.