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One night after the Brewers clinched their fourth straight NL Central title, they were back in action. And while one might think the team would let up a bit a day after taking care of business and holding their first big celebration of the season, one would be wrong. On Wednesday night, the Brewers did exactly what they’ve been doing all season: never giving up. It would’ve been easy for the team to roll over when Logan Henderson faltered and the bullpen surrendered a lead, but that’s not in this group’s DNA. When all was said and done, the Brewers eked out another close victory as they continue their march to the league’s best record.

Pittsburgh starter Jared Jones, who is not short of firepower, came out of the gate throwing gas and getting whiffs as he struck out Brice Turang, Jackson Chourio, and Jake Bauers in order. Henderson faced the minimum in the first despite a leadoff single by Konnor Griffin, who was caught trying to steal second for the last out of the inning.

After Jones got William Contreras and Christian Yelich to start the second, the Brewers put together a very Brewers-y rally. Joey Ortiz, Luis Lara, Andrew Vaughn, and Cooper Pratt strung together four consecutive singles, the latter two of which scored the game’s first two runs, and Milwaukee was out to an early lead.

The Pirates tried to answer with a two-out rally of their own in the bottom of the inning, when Ryan O’Hearn and Ronny Simon singled and doubled after Henderson struck out the first two batters of the inning. But O’Hearn was held at third, and Jacob Gonzalez popped out harmlessly to end the inning.

That was most of the action until the bottom of the fourth, when Henderson’s first blemish came on one of those scary Oneil Cruz home runs, the kind that go 113 mph and look flat on their way out. Milwaukee had an immediate answer, though: in the top of the fifth, Pratt led off with a single, stole second, and scored on a Brice Turang double which made it 3-1.

Pittsburgh, though, got to Henderson a bit in the bottom of the fifth. Again with two outs, Griffin doubled and the next batter, Brandon Lowe, popped a two-run homer that tied it — it was almost a shock, given how well Henderson has been pitching. For just the third time all season, Henderson had allowed three runs.

The bullpens got involved in the sixth. Yohan Ramírez had no trouble in the top of the inning, but JoJo Romero, in for the bottom of the inning, gave up a solo homer to Rafael Flores Jr., which gave the Pirates their first lead of the night.

But here’s where the Brewers decided they wouldn’t let it get away from them. In the top of the seventh, Turang walked, Chourio singled, and Bauers walked to load the bases with nobody out. A fielder’s choice from Contreras gave the Pirates the first out, but the captain came through: with the infield pulled in, Yelich got a single past third baseman Jared Triolo and down the left-field line for a single. Two runs scored, and Milwaukee was back on top, 5-4.

The Brewer bullpen bent but did not break after that. Senzatela gave up a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh, and with one out, his replacement, Shane Drohan, gave up another. But Drohan got perpetual Brewer nemesis Bryan Reynolds to ground into a 4-3 double play which ended the inning. Milwaukee’s double play defense showed up again in the eighth: after Cruz hit a leadoff single, Drohan was replaced by Uribe, who erased him with a double play from Flores Jr. that killed Pittsburgh’s momentum.

Despite some hard contact, the Brewers didn’t add on in the eighth or ninth, and they turned their 5-4 lead over to Trevor Megill. He closed the door, as he has done so many times this season: strikeout, strikeout, groundout. Brewers win.

It wasn’t exactly a standout day for the Brewer offense—Pratt, with his two singles, was the only Brewer with multiple hits. But it was a balanced attack, as every Brewer starter had a hit, and that 10-hit barrage (with some timely hitting in there) was enough to get the Brewers over the line. That was good news for Henderson, who wasn’t quite at his typical excellent best, but who led the team to victory anyway.

The Brewers have already clinched almost everything they can clinch, but why not get greedy? They’ll go for a sweep tomorrow with Kyle Harrison back on the bump (that’ll be interesting) at 11:35 am central time.

The Atlanta Braves took on the Chicago Cubs today in hopes of clinching a playoff spot. It would have required them to win and then get some help with hoping either the Diamondbacks or the Padres lost.

JR Ritchie was called up to pitch the game to give some extra rest to the rotation and try to prove his recent performance in AAA where he had twenty-four strikeouts to only three walks in his past two starts was legitimate enough to keep him in the rotation for the rest of the season.

The start did not go as hoped. So much so that it almost begs to wonder if Ritchie may be dealing with the yips.

The game did look promising at first for the Braves. After the first two hitters were retired, Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies had back-to-back singles. However, Michael Harris was not able to get the job done on line out to Ian Happ in LF.

Ritchie struggled from the get go. He walked Crow-Armstrong. He was able to get Suzuki to ground into a double play but then again surrendered a walk. Bregman then doubled to score a run but was then thrown out in a pickle between second and third.

In the second the Braves got a single out of Riley, but that was the only offense that Shota Imanaga and crew allowed. Ian Happ then led off the bottom of the second with a double off of Ritchie, but fortunately he was able to settle down and induced ground out and pick up two strikeouts.

The Braves were up to the top of the order in the again in the third, but they were sat down in order. It is hard to win games that way. In the bottom of the third, Ritchie picked up another strikeout and only gave up one hit. The bad news is that the hit was a HR to MVP front runner Crow-Armstrong to put the Braves down by two.

Imanaga really settled in for the Cubs and retired the side again in the fourth to make it eight straight. Ritchie continued his trend on the night. Not giving up many hits, but when he did, they were big ones. Alex Bregman led off the bottom of the fourth with a HR to put the Cubs up by three, and that was the only offense of the inning.

Imanaga continued to dominate the Braves by retiring the side yet for the third straight inning, to include two more strikeouts. The fifth inning was the worst for Ritchie. After a pop up he gave up a single and then Crow-Armstrong hit a triple to plate a run. Ritchie then hit Suzuki to put runners on the corners. Ritchie then got another strikeout thanks to a successful challenge by Sean Murphy, but then Alex Bregman had a triple of his own to plate two and put the Cubs up six. This led to Ritchie’s replacement Dylan Dodd coming in to finish out the inning. Ritchie’s final numbers were six ER on seven hits, on two walks and five strikeouts. It should also be of note that six of those hits were extra base hits.

The Braves finally broke the seal in the sixth when Ronald Acuña doubled, and was moved over to third and then scored on two consecutive groundouts. This pulled the Braves within five. Albies then struck out to end the top half of the sixth. Owen Murphy then came in to pitch the sixth. He gave up a walk, but that was the only base runner. He picked up one strikeout in the inning.

The Braves were able to score one more run when Mauricio Dubón hit his third triple of the season and then scored on a groundout, but that was the only offense for the Braves in the seventh. Murphy stayed in the game to pitch the seventh and instantly gave up a HR to PCA which was his second of the game and forty-fourth on the year. Murphy settled down to retired the rest of the hitters to include a strikeout of Suzuki.

Acuña had a single in the eighth, but it was the only offense for the Braves. Weiss decided to leave Owen Murphy in the pitch the eighth to basically let him eat innings in a lost game. He gave up a double right away to Tyrone Taylor. He got Hoerner to fly out, but then started to give away bases like they were free. Conforto singled to score a run, followed by Pedro Ramírez having a single of his own. Carson Kelly then also singled to load the bases. Finally Weiss took Murphy out of his misery and brought in Brent Suter to face the red hot Crow-Armstrong with the bases loaded. Suter was able to buckle down and get PCA to strikeout on a slider outside of the zone and then got Suzuki to groundout to finally end the eighth.

The Braves may not have had much offense, but one fun thing that happened is Ozzie Albies led off the ninth with one of the longest at-bats of his career. He saw thirteen pitches, to include fouling off seven straight pitches and ultimately walked on a fastball way out of the zone. This seemed to lead to Ryan Rolison losing some control. Harris worked a 3-1 count and then singled. The Cubs wisely then made a pitching change to bring in Ryan Zeferjahn. Dubón was not deterred and hit a double, his second extra base hit of the night, scoring a run to bring the game within five. This brought up Austin Riley who struck out. Sean Murphy was able to plate a run, but it was a groundout. Yazstrzemski came in to pinch hit, but grounded out to end the game. Braves lose 4-8.

The bad news is the Braves lost. The good news is that they are not depending on Ritchie. He was more of a fill in. Dubón and Acuña had a nice night with the bat as well, but four runs is hard to win with against a high octane offense with one of their best rotation arms on the mound.

The Braves now move on to face the Houston Astros as their pursuit of a division crown continues.

Pete Alonso’s return to Queens produced yet another clap of thunder. 

A night after crushing career homer No. 300 — and taking a rare curtain call for a visiting player — the slugging first baseman capped the Orioles’ three-game sweep in his old stomping ground with a re-Pete. 

Alonso’s first-inning homer helped send the Mets to a 7-1 defeat at Citi Field, extending their losing streak to four games. 

Xzavion Curry, replacing Robert Stock in the rotation, surrendered six earned runs over three innings, deflating the Mets before they could get started. Stock was placed on the injured list before the game with numbness in his fingers, which was determined to be a circulatory issue. 

Alonso, who left the Mets for a five-year contract worth $155 million last winter, finished the series 2-for-12 with two homers. His blast in the ninth inning against Kodai Senga on Tuesday tied the game before the Orioles won in the 11th. 

On this night, Alonso again was cheered loudly but wasn’t asked to take a curtain call following his homer. 

“I am beyond thankful for all the support, and it was really fun to play,” Alonso said of the series. “I feel like New York will always be a place where it feels like homecoming — it doesn’t matter whether it’s here or at Yankee Stadium. The whole city of New York is … meaningful.” 

Chris Bassitt (who was Alonso’s teammate on the 2022 Mets) stifled his former team by allowing one earned run over 6 ²/₃ innings. Marcus Semien drove in the only Mets run with a single in the fourth. 

It won’t get any easier for the Mets, with the Phillies — who are battling for a National League wild-card berth — set to begin a four-game series at Citi Field on Thursday. 

“We just got behind 6-0 and didn’t have the quality of at-bats that we’re accustomed to having,” interim manager Andy Green said. “Occasionally in baseball, the best thing you can possibly do is turn the page and go attack the next team,… and we’ll have that opportunity to do that [Thursday].”

In a September full of roller coasters, between scoreboard watching and the contest at One Trop Drive, one could compare it to Busch Gardens’ SheiKra.

Entering today, the New York Yankees trailed Tampa Bay by 3.5 games in the AL East, and played the Minnesota Twins at 12:40 PM EST.

After a ninth inning game-tying Anthony Volpe double and four extra-inning lead changes, the Twins held off the Yankees in the 13th inning by the final score of 5-4 on a Victor Caratini single.

By 5 PM, the Rays knew they could take advantage and gain a full game in the standings, and, boy, did they deliver.

Coming into tonight’s contest, Tampa Bay ranked 24th in MLB against left-handed pitching with a .684 team OPS.

By the end of the second inning, facing A’s lefty Brady Basso, the Rays had four doubles resulting in four runs. 4-0 Rays.

After the second inning, Nick Martinez ran into a little turbulence, allowing hoers to Tommy White and henry Bolte for the A’s to cut the lead in half.

Those would be the only runs Martinez would allow, as he went five innings, striking out three on only 72 pitches.

With Ian Seymour (79), Griffin Jax (67), and now Nick Martinez (72) throwing less than 80 pitches and allowing two runs or less, it appears that the Rays may be trying to get them more rest as the team prepares for the postseason.

Shea Langeliers would plate another for the A’s to bring it to 4-3, but the law firm of Kevin Kelly, Cam Booser, and Cole Sulser shut the door, with Kelly and Booser earning holds and Sulser earning a save, respectively.

The Flappy Boys win their fifth straight as well as earning another series win, and play again tomorrow at 1:10 PM EST from Tropicana Field. Drew Rasmussen toes the slab opposite old friend of the program Jeffrey Springs.

After hitting a game-tying home run on Tuesday night, Pete Alonso’s 1st-inning homer on Wednesday kick-started a long-ball barrage that propelled the Orioles to a 7-1 win over the Mets.

It took eight plate appearances against his former team for Alonso to finally hit his 300th career home run Tuesday in Queens. It only took one plate appearance Wednesday for Alonso to launch number 301. After fouling off back-to-back 2-2 pitches from Mets starter Xzavion Curry, Alonso destroyed a hanging curveball to put the Orioles up 1-0 in the 1st.

And just as the Polar Bear’s homer Tuesday propelled the O’s to an extra-inning victory, his long ball Wednesday set the tone for another Baltimore victory.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand started off the 2nd inning by reaching on a double after a pop-up down the left-field line dropped between a trio of befuddled Mets. After Samuel Basallo hit a groundout to the right side to send CES to third, it looked like the O’s might manufacture a run. Instead, Curry left a slider over the plate to Jeremiah Jackson, who blasted a homer to left for the second game in a row.

The homers would continue to fly in the 3rd inning. After Alonso and Gunnar Henderson picked up two quick outs to begin the inning, Coby Mayo worked a five-pitch walk to extend the frame. Curry then fell behind CES 2-0 and tried to beat the Orioles’ 3B with a 90mph fastball at the top of the zone.

Encarnacion-Strand was all over the fastball, though, hitting the ball so hard over the left field fence that Mets’ LF Juan Soto didn’t even bother to move. One pitch later, Samuel Basallo pounced on a splitter left in the heart of the plate, sending a moonshot over the CF fence for back-to-back solo shots.

The early offensive onslaught made life easy for Orioles starter Chris Bassitt. The 38-year-old former Met largely breezed through 6.2 innings. He started his evening with two quick outs against Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, with Alonso making a diving stop to steal a single from Soto. Bo Bichette would reach on a high chopper down the third-base line and moved to second after an errant throw by CES. The runner didn’t faze Bassitt, who got Carson Benge to fly out to left to end the 1st.

Bassitt would repeat that feat in the 2nd. After two quick outs from Jared Young and Marcus Semien, A.J. Ewing slapped a single to left to extend the inning. After Ewing stole second, Bassitt again stranded a runner in scoring position as Brett Baty struck out looking on a high curveball.

The veteran right-hander breezed through the 3rd inning, opening the frame with back-to-back strikeouts of Luis Torrens and Lindor. Soto then finished Bassitt’s first 1-2-3 inning with a flyout to right.

The only blemish on Bassitt’s outing came in the 4th inning. The Orioles’ righty started the inning by getting Bichette to ground out and Benge to fly out. He’d then get ahead 1-2 on Young, only to lose him to a six-pitch walk. A Bassitt balk gave the Mets their third runner in scoring position. He then left a 2-1 sinker at the top of the zone to Semien, who served it into left field to push across the Mets’ only run.

From there, Bassitt went into cruise control. He pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the 5th, punctuating the frame with a strikeout of Lindor. He mowed through the heart of the Mets order in the 6th on 10 pitches, clinching his fifth quality start of the season.

After his starter only needing 77 pitches to get through six innings, Craig Albernaz sent Bassitt back out there for the 7th. For the first time all game, the leadoff hitter reached against the vet, as Young lined a single to center. Bassitt would set down the next two hitters, but a two-out single from Brett Baty finally chased him from the game. After fellow former Met Anthony Nunez came in and struck out Luis Torrens, Bassitt’s line closed at 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 6 Ks.

The O’s would get an unnecessary insurance run in the 9th, finally pushing across a run without the ball leaving the park. CES led off the final frame with double sprayed down the right field line for his third extra-base hit of the evening. Basallo then picked up his second hit of the night, sending a 109mph laser to right field for an RBI single. After the brief rally in the top of the inning, Yennier Cano entered in the bottom of the 9th and worked around a two-out single to clinch the Orioles’ sweep of the Mets.

The win puts the Orioles 2.5 GB of the AL’s third wild card spot heading into this weekends series against baseball’s best team, the Brewers. Afte the Guardians beat the White Sox earlier on Wednesday, the O’s are now chasing Chicago for that final playoff berth. Chicago starts a four-game set against the Tigers tomorrow, and a loss in the series opener would put the O’s only 2 GB heading into Friday.

Facing a bullpen game against the Washington Nationals should have resulted in a lot of offense for the Phillies. But despite drawing 13 walks, the Phillies’ offense couldn’t seem to get going, and could only manage to score three runs. Fortunately, those three runs were plenty because Zack Wheeler was dominating, and led the Phillies to a 3-0 win.

The Phillies had a chance to establish a sizeable lead in the first. Facing reliever Jared Simpson, with one out, three straight batters walked, and Alec Bohm brought one of them home with an RBI single. Luis Arraez walked to force another run home, which prompted the exit of Simpson. Riley “The Great” Cornelio entered and retired J.T. Realmuto and Brandon Marsh to end the threat.

I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but the Nationals’ pitchers spent the majority of the game not throwing strikes, and the Phillies not making them pay for it. Yes, they walked 13 times overall, but it probably could have been even more than that as the Phillies’ batters bailed them out by repeatedly swinging at balls out of the zone.

The offense might have been frustrating, but Zack Wheeler was not. Whatever issues he was dealing with a few weeks ago seem to be behind him as he was in complete control on Wednesday. In his seven innings, he gave up just four hits, and two of those were infield singles.

The Phillies gave him a little more breathing room in the seventh when Bryce Harper singled and Arraez hit a double to make it 3-0.

Unfortunately, a double play kept them from scoring any more in that inning, and another double play in the ninth, killed a bases loaded, one out threat.

It ended up not mattering. Jose Alvarado came in after Wheeler, and while it’s too much to hope that he’d pitch a clean inning, he was able to work around the one walk he issued to deliver a scoreless frame.

Jhoan Duran was asked to preserve the shutout, and he did so with little difficulty, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

At this point in the season, every win is important, and this win allowed the Phillies to creep closer to securing a playoff spot. They’ll attempt to creep a little closer on Thursday when they travel to New York to begin a four-game series against the Mets.

The Mets' spot starter let up four homers and the offense mustered seven hits in their 7-1 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday night.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Pete Alonso, receiving a standing ovation for the third night in a row, took Xzavion Curry deep in the first inning to give the O's an early 1-0 lead. It wouldn't be the last homer Curry would allow, as former Mets prospect Jeremiah Jackson launched a two-run shot in the second. 

In the third, Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run shot and then Samuel Basallo followed up with a solo shot. 

-- Robert Stock was originally scheduled to start, but was placed on the IL. Curry was called up to start and was not effective. He allowed six runs on six hits and one walk across three innings. However, the relievers behind Curry did their job, especially Jefrey Yan. The southpaw was recalled Wednesday when the Mets placed Daniel Duarte on the IL and he pitched three perfect innings. Jack Weisenburger pitched two scoreless innings before giving up a run in his third and final inning of work.

-- Chris Bassitt was on the mound for the Orioles and the former Met had one of his best starts of the season. The right-hander went 6.2 innings -- tying a season-high -- allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out six. 

-- Marcus Semien had the only RBI for the Mets, an RBI single in the fourth that scored Jared Young. Francisco Lindor went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts but remains at 299 home runs for his career. A.J. Ewing went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. He was the only Met to have a multi-hit game.

Game MVP: Chris Bassitt

Bassitt gave Baltimore just what they needed. After the O's had to use seven relievers in Tuesday's win, Bassitt gave Baltimore length and effectiveness.

Highlights

An RBI single for Marcus Semien pushes across the first run of the game for the Mets pic.twitter.com/TneDJ2yW36

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 17, 2026

Jefry Yan strikes out the side in the 6th pic.twitter.com/2hwEjdUk5r

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 17, 2026

Jack Weisenberger picks off Colton Cowser on the third disengagement! pic.twitter.com/628EjmmIHR

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 17, 2026

What's next

The Mets start a four-game series with the Phillies on Thursday. First pitch is set for 7: 15 p.m.

Nolan McLean (11-9, 3.24 ERA) will take the mound against Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.69 ERA). 

Shohei Ohtani’s aching right arm. Freddie Freeman’s throbbing right knee. Edwin Díaz’s disastrous form on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment.

Whatever problems surfaced in recent weeks, the Dodgers were able to convince themselves they could overcome them.

The reason: Even with Ohtani unable to pitch, they had the most talented starting rotation of this era.

Suddenly, that source of comfort is a major concern.

Blake Snell departed his start in Cincinnati on Wednesday after just one inning with what was described as a tight left groin.

Consider that Tyler Glasnow traveled directly home from Miami rather than to follow the Dodgers to Great American Ball Park for their four-game series against the Reds, and there are reasons to be worried.

Very worried.

With an inconsistent offense and combustible bullpen, the Dodgers were going to be heavily dependent on their starting pitching in the playoffs.

That rotation could now be unraveling.

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The last time Snell strained his left groin was when he was pitching for the San Francisco Giants in 2024. He was sidelined for a month.

For what it’s worth, Snell is convinced this particular injury isn’t severe and plans to make his next start, according to people familiar with this situation. 

“Stopped before it got too bad,” one of the people said.

Then again, weren’t similar claims once made about Ohtani?

As for Glasnow, he remains on track to pitch on Friday.

Manager Dave Roberts said Glasnow skipped the Cincinnati leg of the trip to better prepare for his starting assignment at Dodger Stadium against the San Francisco Giants.

“Get him acclimated to Pacific Standard Time,” Roberts said.

By sending Glasnow back to Los Angeles, the Dodgers spared him a three-hour flight from Miami to Cincinnati.

Glasnow was sidelined for 3 ½ months because of back problems, and Roberts intimated something could be wrong with him after his most recent start. In his last two appearances, the 6-foot-8 right-hander gave up a combined eight runs, 11 hits and seven walks in 10 innings.

The questions about Snell’s and Glasnow’s health came at a time when the rotation was coming together before the postseason.

Snell in particular was sharp after returning from an elbow cleanup that cost him three months. Before his early departure on Wednesday, Snell was 4-0 with a 1.04 earned-run average since he was activated from the injured list on Aug. 11.

Snell wasn’t the only Cy Young Award-caliber pitcher rounding into shape.

The day before Snell scaled the mound, it was Yamamoto’s turn to do so, and last year’s World Series Most Valuable Player pitched seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Reds.

The seven-inning start was the third in a row for Yamamoto, who improved his record to 14-8 and lowered his earned-run average to 2.51.

“I feel really good and I don’t have any physical problems,” Yamamoto told reporters in Japanese. “I want to treat practice each and every day with importance and go into October in the best condition.”

The opening game of the series was started by Tarik Skubal, the two-time Cy Young Award winner who was acquired from the Detroit Tigers before the trade deadline.

Skubal pitched seven scoreless innings of his own in a 4-1 victory over the Reds. In his previous start, which was also against the Reds but at Dodger Stadium, Skubal pitched 7 ⅓ innings.

“Just getting in a rhythm,” Skubal said.

Just last week, the Dodgers had a playoff rotation that would have looked to other teams like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Now, there’s a chance they could be forced to send Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan to the mound in playoff games.

The Dodgers could conceivably win a championship with a rotation of Yamamoto, Skubal, Sasaki and Sheehan but that would require their offense to be productive.

How much can the Dodgers count on that, considering the physical problems Ohtani and Freeman have encountered? And how would using Sasaki as a starter instead of a reliever affect their bullpen?

Snell removed himself from his start on Wednesday so the Dodgers wouldn’t have to find out. The question is whether he did so in time. Their season depends on it.

The Dodgers needed one win to clinch their 13th NL West title since 2013. Instead, they were forced to go with an impromptu bullpen game, and the Cincinnati Reds slugged their way to a 6-2 victory on Wednesday.

The Dodgers created havoc on the base paths in the first inning, as a single and two walks helped load the bases against left-hander Andrew Abbot, but Miguel Rojas flew out to center field to keep the game scoreless.

In his first start at Great American Ball Park since tossing a no-hitter with the San Francisco Giants in 2024, Blake Snell allowed a two-out single to Sal Stewart, only to pick him off trying to advance to second base in a scoreless first inning. That inning was all that Snell could go on Wednesday, as he ended up leaving early due to left groin tightness, leaving the bullpen to do the heavy lifting. Blake Treinen worked around a leadoff baserunner in a scoreless second inning in replacement of Snell.

After Mookie Betts connected for his second single against Abbot in the third inning, Will Smith brought home the game’s first run with an RBI double off the base of the right-center field wall.

Seth Halvorsen was the next man up out of the bullpen, but he was unable to keep the Dodgers in front as he allowed a two-out, two-run home run to Elly De La Cruz to give the Reds their first lead of the series. It was the fifth home run for De La Cruz against the Dodgers this season, and he has driven in all three runs for the Reds against Los Angeles this week.

Both Tommy Edman and Betts worked a walk against Abbott to begin the top of the fifth inning, but the Reds southpaw got two straight outs before being pulled after tossing 98 pitches over 4 2/3 innings. Julian Garcia needed just one pitch to get a weak fly ball out from Teoscar Hernández to escape further trouble.

Bobby Miller made his first big league appearance since tossing three innings against the Washington Nationals on September 6, tossing 2 1/3 innings on 47 pitches while allowing a run via a solo home run from Dane Myers to give the Reds a two-run lead.

The Dodgers proceeded to load the bases again in the top of the sixth against Garcia, and Edman cut the deficit to one run by bringing home Kyle Tucker on a groundout to first. Tejay Antone came in to face Mookie Betts with two on and two outs, and a leaping catch by De La Cruz at short helped the Reds get out of the jam with their lead intact.

Miller allowed a single to Stewart before plunking Tyler Stephenson to put the first two hitters on base to begin the top of the sixth inning. He managed to get one out before being pulled for Alex Vesia, and the Reds capitalized with a bloop RBI single from Juan Brito to give the Reds a two-run lead once again.

The Reds put runners at the corners against Jack Dreyer with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Sal Stewart connected for his third single of the game, driving home Matt McLain from third base to make it a three-run lead for Cincinnati. A walk to Eugenio Suárez loaded the bases, and pinch-hitter T.J. Friedl knocked home De La Cruz to make it a four-run lead, but a strong throw from Tommy Edman gunned down Stewart at home for the third out.

Left-hander Kris Bubic made his Dodgers debut on Wednesday, pitching a scoreless eighth inning while allowing just one hit and picking up his first two strikeouts with his new team.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Elly De La Cruz (28), Dane Myers (7)
• WP—Julian Garcia (3-3): 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
• LP—Seth Halvorsen (1-2): 1 IP, 2 hits, 2 earned runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers wrap things up in Cincinnati on Thursday (9:40 a.m. PT) before they head back home for their final homestand of the regular season. Brady Singer goes for the Reds while the Dodgers have yet to announce their starter.

The Athletics faced the Tampa Bay Rays, looking to even the series and force a rubber match Thursday afternoon. The Rays staved off the A’s comeback attempt, prevailing 4-3 in another tightly contested affair between these two small-market clubs.

Rays Strike First

A’s left-hander Brady Basso struggled this evening. After recording the first two outs of the bottom of the first inning, he allowed three consecutive doubles, giving the Rays a 2-0 lead. Tampa Bay scored two more runs in the second inning to double its advantage. Meanwhile, Rays starter Nick Martinez was sharp early, retiring the first six hitters he faced.

Athletics Start Comeback Attempt

In the bottom of the third, the visitors began their comeback against Martinez. Playing in his hometown, first baseman Tommy White led off the inning with his third career home run, a solo shot that just cleared the left-field fence.

With two outs, fellow rookie Henry Bolte hit his 11th home run of the season, a solo shot to center field that cut the deficit to 4-2.

After allowing the first two batters of the bottom of the third to reach safely, Basso retired the next two hitters. Right-hander Seth Johnson replaced him and struck out Jorge Mateo to strand the two inherited runners. Johnson kept the score unchanged, striking out four Rays over 2 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings of relief.

A’s Inch Closer

For a second straight night, the Rays removed their starter after five innings, likely as a precaution with the playoffs around the corner. Martinez could have pitched deeper into the game, having throwing just 72 pitches over five innings while allowing two runs. Right-hander Kevin Kelly took over in the sixth.

The first batter he faced, Athletics second baseman Jeff McNeil, doubled to left. McNeil promptly scored the A’s third run on designated hitter Shea Langeliers’ RBI single to center. Kelly rebounded to strike out the next three hitters, preserving his team’s one-run lead.

Athletics left-hander Drew Rom pitched the bottom of the sixth, making his first relief appearance since his re-call from Triple-A Las Vegas. He recorded two outs after allowing a leadoff double before making way for right-hander Scott Blewett, who secured the final out of the scoreless inning.

White turned in his best game in a while, accumulating three-hits. He opened the seventh inning with his second single of the game, but Kelly quickly shut down the potential game-tying rally. Athletics left fielder Carlos Cortes has yet to make the most of his everyday playing time, while it is difficult to expect much offensive production from third-string catcher Brian Serven.

Rays’ Bullpen Seals the Deal

After the A’s failed to score in the top of the eighth against Rays left-hander Cam Booser, Blewett and left-hander Hogan Harris combined to keep it a one-run game heading into the ninth inning.

According to Martin Gallegos, A’s beat reporter for MLB.com, Harris became the fourth A’s reliever since 2012 with at least 70 games pitched and 15 saves in one season. Can you name the other three players?

Right-hander Cole Sulser, not All-Star closer Bryan Baker, entered for the save opportunity. Leading off the ninth, A’s third baseman Zack Gelof just missed a game-tying home run, hitting a 407 foot fly out to center field. Sulser retired the side in order, securing his third save of the season and another series victory for the American-League best Rays.

Takeaways and Preview for Tomorrow’s Game

Back-to-back one-run losses sting for the A’s, especially after recording several close wins during their last homestand. Even though their run of series victories came to an end, tonight was another encouraging competitive display against a really good team. The Athletics’ bullpen did not allow a run, Bolte’s strong second half continued and White performed well in front of family and friends.

The Athletics will try to avoid a season sweep against the Rays Thursday afternoon. Left-hander Jeffrey Springs is expected to take the mound against his former team. The Rays will counter with right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who has formed a formidable duo with Martinez at the front of their rotation this season.

MINNEAPOLIS — For a few teasing moments Wednesday afternoon, it looked as if the Yankees might sneak away with a sweep in a game that was overshadowed by Aaron Judge’s early exit with an injury.

Like when Anthony Volpe lifted a two-run, two-out double to tie the game in the ninth inning.

Or when Ali Sánchez gave the Yankees their first lead of the day with a single in the 10th inning. Or when José Caballero put them back on top with a sacrifice fly in the 11th.

Or when they loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the 12th and looked primed to break the game open for good.

Instead, they just delayed the pain and frustration until the bottom of the 13th, when a bouncing ground ball slipped under the glove of George Lombard Jr. and sent the Twins to a 5-4 win at Target Field.

“Obviously a lot of good things, but not enough good things,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Tough one, obviously, when you got a chance to sweep and heading into an off-day. But we got to get over that and get ready for a good Diamondback club.”

On a day when Judge left the game in the top of the sixth inning with right lower leg tightness, the Yankees dropped to four games back of the Rays (pending their Wednesday night game) for the division with 10 games to play.

The walk-off “single” came off the bat of Victor Caratini against John Schreiber, and while it took a bounce off the mound, Boone acknowledged it was a play Lombard “expects to make and we know he can make.”

But the Yankees had plenty of other chances to win the game before it got to the 13th inning, even after they mustered just four hits through the first eight innings against right-hander Zebby Matthews and the Twins bullpen.

That best one came in the 12th inning, when they loaded the bases with no outs for Heliot Ramos, who had pinch hit for Judge in the sixth inning.

Ramos did just about the worst thing possible by hitting a chopper back to the mound, where Travis Adams started a 1-2-3 double play before Sánchez struck out to squash the threat.

Schreiber pulled off a Houdini escape in the bottom of the frame on just two pitches, when he intentionally walked the leadoff man, picked off the automatic runner at second base and then got an inning-ending double play.

Before the game went haywire, Carlos Rodón was solid, giving up two runs across six innings, extending his franchise record with a 25th consecutive start in which he has allowed three runs or fewer.

The left-hander’s velocity was down across the board in his first three innings but started to tick back up by the fourth inning.

“I just started off a little slow, a little tight,” Rodón said, indicating that was not totally out of the norm. “It loosened up on me going out the next few innings, so that was nice.”