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It was supposed to be a pie stroll.

Another starting pitcher asked too much of the bullpen behind him, the lineup struck out 18 times, and Dan Wilson eventually got ejected in the Mariners 6-4 loss to the A’s on Thursday. Julio Rodríguez also stole three bases to become the first player ever to begin a career with five consecutive 20-20 seasons. But the personal milestone went uncelebrated, as the Mariners dropped their series opener against baseball’s worst team. It will not be a perfect September in Seattle after all.

Anderson got the start for the third time in his career. I was curious how long his leash would be. He’d never thrown more than 80 pitches in a game the minors, then he threw 81 in his debut (which was one or two or several too many). He threw 85 in his second start, though couldn’t quite make it through five full innings before getting the hook. The Mariners are desperate for length from their rotation these days, as they try to limit exposure for the worst bullpen in the majors.

Anderson was fairly efficient in getting through 4 2/3 innings at just 64 pitches, though I wouldn’t describe him as better than OK. He gave up a solo homer in the first on a middle-middle fastball to Zack Gelof. In the second, he gave up a leadoff walk and a pair of singles to load the bases with nobody out; he limited the damage to just one run with a double play and a K. He gave up a leadoff single in the third, got another double play, gave up another single, then got a pop out to escape. Then he breezed through the fourth and the first two outs in the fifth. Again, it was pretty OK.

That’s when the A’s lineup turned over for a third time. Anderson walked Henry Bolte on four pitches, gave up a rocket single to Gelof, allowed him to steal second, and gave up another rocket single to Lawrence Butler to plate a pair of runs. The A’s took a 4-3 lead.

Anderson eventually finished the fifth inning at 79 pitches. His day was done: five innings, four runs, seven hits, two walks, three strikeouts, and eight whiffs. It never felt easy. There were flashes of his pedigree at times, with the occasional big curveball freezing its victim, or a slider inducing a whiff way out of the zone, or a fastball somehow blowing by several batters at just 93 mph. Unfortunately, he also completely lost the zone at times, and caught too much of it at others. The A’s struggled to square him up, but they rarely struggled to put the ball in play.

“Tonight doesn’t hold up to the standard I put on myself and my teammates put on me. Just a little unacceptable tonight,” Anderson said postgame. “The [in]ability to put dudes away when I should have and walks is not really part of what I am as a pitcher. So I’ve got to clean that up.”

I have less heartburn about the Mariners letting Anderson work through these types of growing pains in the majors now that they have a couple extra arms available in the bullpen, to at least ensure his shorter outings don’t butterfly effect their way into Weston Wilson pitching. 

But… we quickly saw why the Mariners need starters to work deeper into games. Carlos Vargas came on for the sixth and gave up a solo homer to Donovan Walton (of all people) to make it 5-3. Vargas then hit Brian Serven (who?), which led to warnings for both dugouts, which led to a Dan Wilson’s latest “Portraits in Exasperation,” which led to Wilson watching the rest of the game from the clubhouse. Vargas gave up another single but escaped without more damage.

Gabe Speier was great in the seventh, striking out the side in order. But Eduard Bazardo couldn’t manage a clean eighth, giving up a run on a walk and three singles. Hoby Milner gave another run on a pair of doubles in the ninth. The A’s collected seven runs on 14 hits and three walks. The Mariners have had the worst pitching staff in the majors for two months. Fair or not, Anderson is now part of it.

The offense was nearly good in this one. They picked up nine hits, drew eight walks, and generally made the A’s miserable at the plate. They also struck out 18 times, and couldn’t seem to collect on their incessant threats.

They hopped on A’s starter Jack Perkins immediately. Randy Arozerana walked to lead off the first, Julio doubled to score him, Cal Raleigh singled to make it two, Cole Young singled behind him, and Lazaro Montes singled to make it three runs in the first. J.P. Crawford loaded the bases with a walk to bring the ninth man to the plate, and it looked like they might end this one early. But Brock Rodden went down swinging on an admittedly pretty cool dropped third strike play that you don’t see a lot, and the threat was over.

That wound up being the first of several missed opportunities. The Mariners got a pair of walks in the second but couldn’t score. They got a pair of walks in the third but couldn’t score. They successfully chased Perkins after just three innings, but they ultimately let him off easy, with seven of his nine outs coming via the K.

After losing the lead in the fifth, the Mariners clawed a run back in the sixth. Arozarena doubled down the left field line, Canzone singled behind him, and Julio made it 5-4 on what should have been a hit, if not for a spectacular effort from Alika Williams to keep the ball on the infield.

But as the bullpen made the task taller and taller, the lineup came up shorter and shorter. The Mariners started a two out rally in the seventh; Arozarena struck out to end it, incidentally throwing his bat down the third base line. They started a one out rally in the eighth; neither Josh Naylor nor Cole Young could deliver. They went in order in the ninth, losing 7-4.

As Jake Mailhot noted in the series preview, the A’s have been the worst team in the majors for quite some time. This was the first game in the final stretch of the season, where the Mariners face the easiest strength of schedule in the majors. That would seem ideal, given they need to play just about perfect the rest of the way if they want to win the division, or even finish with a winning record. They even had a bit of momentum, stealing a series in Boston to begin September with a perfect 2-0 record. Everything was aligned for a miraculous comeback, the one we’ve been waiting for the last five months. But no step forward goes unpunished in this 2026 Mariners season.

It was supposed to be a pie stroll!

The Dodgers stared in the eyes of a third straight defeat, but a walk-off double by Teoscar Hernández lifted the Dodgers to a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

The Cardinals were the first to strike against Tarik Skubal, as after St. Louis put the first two men on with a pair of singles, Joshua Báez smacked the third single of the inning through the right side to bring home José Fermín.

Skubal managed to work a scoreless second inning with a pair of bookend strikeouts while leaving two men on, but the Cardinals broke through in the top of the third with a pair of two-out singles from Leo Bernal and Ramón Urías, plating Iván Herrera and doubling the Cardinal lead. Skubal found himself in a groove over his next two innings, but once again put two men on in top of the sixth inning. After striking out Nathan Church for the second out of the inning, Dave Roberts went to the bullpen, pulling the left-hander after 5 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals accounted for 10 hits against Skubal— all singles— which tied his career high for the most hits allowed in a single start. It was the first time Skubal couldn’t complete six full innings since he tossed five against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 11. The Cardinals wouldn’t get an extra-base hit until Jordan Walker’s double against Evan Phillips in the top of the seventh inning.

For a Dodgers team that struggled to hit with guys in scoring position the game prior, Thursday’s matchup replicated those same misfortunes. The Dodgers scratched across a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the first inning, third inning and fifth inning against rookie Quinn Mathews, but each time, the offense found a way to be their own obstacle. The Dodgers were able to tack on one run against Mathews, with a wild pitch to Freddie Freeman in the fifth inning sailing past Herrera to plate Tommy Edman in the fifth.

The Dodgers continued to trend in the wrong direction in the bottom of the eighth inning, as they had the bases loaded against right-hander George Soriano. Soriano got Dalton Rushing to go down swinging for the final out to help the Cardinals escape trouble and send the Dodgers to a 1-26 (.038) clip with runners in scoring position their two most recent games.

Tommy Edman finished Thursday with four hits against his old ballclub, and the switch-hitter collected eight hits across 15 at-bats over the three games. His fourth hit was a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning to put the tying run on first base against Riley O’Brien. Mookie Betts would follow Edman with a walk to put both the tying and go-ahead runners on for Teoscar Hernández. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Hernández punched a sinker into the left-center field gap, scoring both and saving the Dodgers from the jaws of defeat. The Dodgers now have six walk-off wins on the season.

The Dodgers and Atlanta Braves are now both four games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the National League, with the Braves holding the tiebreaker after sweeping the Dodgers in Atlanta.

Game particulars

• WP—Brock Stewart (1-2): 2/3 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts
• LP—Riley O’Brien (3-7): 1/3 IP, 2 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers continue their homestand with a three-game weekend series against the Washington Nationals beginning Friday (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Jackson Kent faces Blake Snell.

The Athletics played spoiler with a 7-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners in a nearly three-and-a-half-hour series opener. The A’s pitching staff overcame eight walks with 18 strikeouts, while the offense scored early and late in the team’s 55th victory of the season.

Gelof Lifts Off Early

The A’s took the lead immediately against Mariners starter Kade Anderson. The second batter of the game, left fielder Zack Gelof, hit his 16th home run of the season, a solo shot to right-center field, putting the A’s up 1-0 before the Mariners came to bat.

Back and Forth We Go

The Mariners answered right back. A’s starter Jack Perkins walked Seattle’s leadoff hitter Randy Arozarena, who proceeded to score on Julio Rodríguez’s RBI single. The next batter, Cal Raleigh, hit an RBI single, putting the Mariners up 2-1. With two outs, Lazaro Montes hit an RBI single, bringing home the Mariners’ third run of the first inning.

Seattle sent all nine batters to the plate in the first inning, forcing Perkins to throw 40 pitches. The inning could have been worse had A’s catcher Brian Serven not made a smart play to record the third out at home after a wild pitch.

A’s GIDP Merchants

Seeking a response of their own, the A’s first three batters reached in the bottom of the second, setting up a bases-loaded no-out opportunity.

What transpired next was not surprising to anyone following the A’s this season. Shortstop Alika Williams grounded into a double play, bringing home the visitors’ second run of the game, but grinding the rally to a halt. Anderson then struck out Max Muncy to escape the jam with his team still leading.

In the third inning, Gelof hit into the A’s MLB-high 116th double play of the season, while right fielder Lawrence Butler extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Perkins’ command issues continued, but he worked through traffic to complete two scoreless innings after the three-run first.

Perkins was done after three innings. He allowed three runs on four hits, striking out seven while walking five. That combination highlights the right-hander’s talent, but also the work he needs to do to harness his stuff.

A’s Turn the Tides

The A’s generated a two-out rally in the fifth inning against Anderson. With runners on second and third, Butler lined a two-run single up the middle to give the A’s a 4-3 lead.

Right-hander Scott Blewett pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts in relief of Perkins.

A’s Add On

In the sixth inning, the Mariners turned to their bullpen with right-handed reliever Carlos Vargas replacing Anderson. With one out, pinch-hitter Donovan Walton hit his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot to right-center field that extended the Athletics’ lead to 5-3.

Lead Held For Now

The Mariners opened the bottom of the sixth with two straight hits against new A’s reliever Chris Roycroft. Arozarena scored Seattle’s fourth run on Julio Rodríguez’s RBI force-out. Williams made a nice stop on the play to get at least one out. Roycroft retired the next two hitters, stranding the tying run on second base.

Roycroft got the first two outs of the seventh before letting the next two hitters reach. Right-hander Luis Medina entered and struck out Arozarena to end the inning, stranding the tying run at third.

Insurance Runs!

Seeking insurance runs, Jeff McNeil led off the eighth inning with a single against Mariners reliever Eduard Bazardo and advanced to second when Walton walked. With two outs, Muncy grounded an RBI single to left field, scoring McNeil and restoring the A’s two-run lead. The visitors had a chance to score more, but Gelof grounded out with the bases loaded.

Medina returned for the bottom of the eighth. He walked two batters, raising the A’s pitchers total to eight walks tonight. The Mariners wasted another scoring chance as Medina locked in to complete a scoreless inning.

The A’s scored a seventh run in the ninth inning against left-hander Hoby Milner on back-to-back doubles by Jonah Heim and McNeil.

Left-hander Hogan Harris retired Seattle in order in the bottom of the ninth, securing his 14th save of the season and giving Blewett his first win in the majors this year.

The Athletics will look to win their third straight game tomorrow night. Rookie right-hander Kade Morris will start for the A’s, while the Mariners will counter with right-hander Logan Gilbert.

The St. Louis Cardinals were not intimidated to be facing off with Tarik Skubal and the Dodgers. They came out of the gate swinging – literally – and Quinn Mathews did his part to give the Cardinals a fighting chance Thursday night in Los Angeles. They came so close to sweeping the Dodgers, but the last half-inning of the game would betray them.

St. Louis jumped on Skubal in inning 1. I don’t know this for a fact, but I suspect there was a strategy to try to drive up Tarik’s pitch count. José Fermín singled on the 7th pitch of his at-bat leading off the first. Iván Herrera followed that with a single of his own on the 6th pitch he saw giving the Cardinals runners on first and third with nobody out. After Jordan Walker struck out on a high fastball, Joshua Báez did not swing for the fences, but instead smartly drove a ball through the right side of the infield for a single giving the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead.

It looked like it might develop into something bigger as Leo Bernal barreled the first pitch he saw, but the laser beam off his bat went directly into Mookie Betts glove at short which doubled off Herrera at second as he wandered too far off of the base.

Tarik Skubal’s pitch count reached into the 50’s by the top of the 3rd inning and the Cardinals bats were making almost constant contact and it resulted in another run. Herrera led off the top of the 3rd with a single. Three batters later, Leo Bernal smacked a firm single to center giving St. Louis runners at first and second with two outs. Ramón Urías came up with a clutch two-out single to left which scored Herrera giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

Quinn Mathews ended up in a jam in the bottom of the 3rd inning not all of his own making. The official scorer gave Tommy Edman a single leading off the bottom of the 3rd, but the reality is it was the result of a lack of communication between the infield and right field which has been problematic as of late. Mathews did strike out Mookie Betts for the first out, but Teoscar Hernandez added a single giving the Dodgers runners at first and second with just one out. After Freddie Freeman flew out to left, Quinn walked Will Smith to load the bases. It’s a good thing that the soft liner from the next batter Rojas ended up in Ramon Urias glove at third to end the inning with no Dodger runs scored – just the way we like it.

Potential trouble again reared its head in the bottom of the 5th inning when Tommy Edman led off with a single. Quinn Mathews then walked Mookie Betts to give the Dodgers runners at first and second with no one out. Teoscar Hernandez grounded into a fielder’s choice with the force at second, but no double play. That brought up the always dangerous Freddie Freeman. It wasn’t Freeman that knocked in the first LA run, but a ball that got away from Pedro Pagés to the backstop for a passed ball and the Cardinals lead cut in half at 2-1. Mathews was able to nurse a groundout out of Freeman for the second out and then escaped the inning when Will Smith flew out to Nathan Church to end the inning with his pitch count barely below 100.

Quinn Mathews final line for the night was solid and probably could have been even better if a couple of defensive plays had been made behind him that weren’t. He gave St. Louis 5 innings allowing just 4 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 4 and walking 4. The high number of walks is the only real wart on his effort Thursday night.

Thursday night was the perfect example of why Tarik Skubal is so good. The Cardinals collected 10 hits against him going into the 6th inning when Leo Bernal lined another single into center to leadoff the inning, but he managed to tighten up his pitch efficiency and only began to approach the 100 mark at the end of the top of the 6th inning. Yes, the Cardinals were in double digits for hits, but they were scattered and St. Louis only milked two runs out of it all. He didn’t have his best stuff Thursday night, but he kept the Dodgers in the game going into the later innings. Manager Dave Roberts finally lifted him with 2 outs and 2 on in the top of the 6th inning when he reached 102 pitches. Oli Marmol countered the Dodgers bringing in right-hander Henrique out of the bullpen by pinch-hitting Alec Burleson for Pedro Pagés. As Burleson worked the count full, Henrique bounced a ball to the backstop which allowed both Cardinals runners to advance to second and third. That ended up resulting in nothing as Burleson was called out on a ball that looked like it was out of the strike zone, but he chose not to use an ABS challenge and that was it for the Cardinals top of the 6th.

Cade Winquest was the first arm out of the Cardinals bullpen in the bottom of the 6th inning. He handled the Dodgers with no problems and no baserunners – just the way we like it.

The Cardinals tried to add to their lead in the top of the 7th inning. I’m not blaming Herrera for St. Louis not scoring, but he used a challenge with one out in the top of the 7th that was fairly obviously a ball that clipped the strike zone and the ABS challenge proved that true. He eventually grounded out, but Jordan Walker smoked a two-out single to left center and then Joshua Baez was hit by a pitch in the belt buckle which sounds worse than it really was. That gave the Cardinals runners at first and second with Leo Bernal up. He ended up striking out looking on a four-seam fastball that looked like it might have been inside. He started to tap his helmet, but then realized that St. Louis was out of challenges and walked back to the bench for the end of the Cardinals 7th with no runs scored.

Ryne Stanek entered the game in the bottom of the 7th. He got Freeland to fly out for the first out and struck out Tommy Edman for the second. Mookie Betts lined up ball up the middle that it looked like Ryne caught with his foot. He didn’t as he tossed the ball to first for the final out of the inning, but I still don’t know how Stanek caught that ball. When the TV broadcast FINALLY showed a replay after the hot dog commercial break, the ball appears to have ricocheted off of the mound into his glove. Thank you, weird physics.

After the Cardinals failed to score in the top of the 8th, it was George Soriano on the mound for St. Louis in the bottom of the 8th to face the middle of the LA lineup. He gave up a leadoff walk to Teoscar Hernandez and two outs later a walk to Max Muncy giving (literally) the Dodgers a runner in scoring position. George then threw 3 straight balls to slumping Kyle Tucker before registering a strike, but ended up walking him anyway to load the bases. That brought out pitching coach Dusty Blake to the mound for a conference where I hope the phrase “NO MORE FREAKING WALKS!” was uttered. Whatever was said apparently worked as Soriano struck out Dalton Rushing for the final out of the inning to end the Dodgers 8th. Whew!

I don’t speak for the Cardinals fanbase, but I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t alone hoping that the St. Louis lineup would add a run or two in the top of the 9th inning to lower my blood pressure by a few meters. Alec Burleson led off by striking out looking which wasn’t ideal. Fermin grounded out weakly to the pitcher for the second out which also wasn’t according to my (and probably others) wishes. It was up to Iván Herrera to keep the Cardinals from going into the bottom of the 9th with merely a one-run lead. He came SO close to succeeding as he drove a ball to the left field wall, but not over as it was caught so to the bottom of the 9th we go with a perilous one-run lead.

The bottom of the 9th was in closer Riley O’Brien’s hand. He got Freeland to flyout innocently to center for the first out. Former Cardinal Tommy Edman was next. Edman hit a sharp single to left and represented the tying run at first base. He ended up stealing second when a ball nearly hit the next batter Mookie Betts, but it didn’t matter at the moment when he ended up walking giving the Dodgers the potential winning run on base. Teoscar Hernandez was next up. On a full count, he ripped a game-winning double into the left-centerfield gap scoring 2 and giving LA a 3-2 victory. Dodgers win and we lose. Baseball has a way of breaking your heart, doesn’t it?

The St. Louis Cardinals head east from California, but not that far east as they’ll land in Denver on Friday for a weekend series against the Colorado Rockies. Andre Pallante returns from the injured list to the mound for the Cardinals while the Rockies will give the ball to Ryan Feltner. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sent a text message to Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday night informing him that he wasn’t going to be in the lineup Thursday in the series finale against the Cardinals.

Ohtani responded with a salute emoji, Roberts said.

“At the end of the day, he wants to be in there,” Roberts said. “But I’m not going to just put him in there because of the name on the back of his jersey.”

That could be a push-and-pull situation for the rest of the season, as Ohtani continues to manage lingering pain in his right biceps and left knee.

The uncertainty surrounding Ohtani’s health — even though Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 3-2 win Thursday that an injured list stint was “unlikely” — raises questions about the team’s plans.

It’s difficult to fully map out the Dodgers’ rotation plans without knowing whether Ohtani will pitch again this season. And the offense won’t be at its best until he has shaken his slump — Ohtani has just two hits in his last six games after hitting just .241 in August.

The Dodgers’ offense dipped back into the doldrums on Thursday — before Teoscar Hernández delivered a two-run walk-off double in the ninth to avoid the series sweep.

“I think great players always feel that their X percentage is better than the next person and they want to be available,” Roberts said. “There is a kind of trusting the player versus taking it out of their hands.

“I’ve had a lot of practice with Clayton [Kershaw]. And Shohei, I think it’s just more of trying to weigh the downside and what potential harm that could do for him and the ballclub versus it’s something that is what it is. That’s just trying to get as much information as we can from the training staff and hear what Shohei has to say.”

Ohtani, who was not made available to speak to reporters Thursday, has not given an interview in over two weeks. He declined requests for comment through a Dodgers spokesperson twice last weekend.

Though Ohtani’s left knee has been the biggest impediment in his return to pitching — his last pitching start was July 3, and his throwing program has stalled twice since receiving an injection to address swelling and soreness — his right biceps is now a problem.

Ohtani reported that the area from his biceps to his neck was bothering him Wednesday night, Roberts said. That was why he kept shaking out his arm.

“It feels like an ebb-and-flow type thing,” general manager Brandon Gomes said of Ohtani’s biceps issue, which has flared at least two other times this season. “It’s hard to recover in August and September, so it’s like just being mindful of if he needs a day here and there, and having those conversations. He’s just one of one, and you can’t say, ‘Well, this guy feels this, therefore Sho’s going to be the same.’ So we have to treat it as a unique case.”

Both the biceps and knee injuries have lingered for months. But Ohtani hasn’t missed two games in a row all season, let alone landed on the IL.

“I think it’s just really hard to say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna knock something out in X amount of days,’” Gomes said. “But l think not having Shohei in the lineup for 10 days, or whatever it would be, is something that we would prefer not to do, and it really hasn’t even been something that we’ve discussed.”

Gomes also pushed back on the assumption that Ohtani’s struggles at the plate are connected to his physical ailments, even though the two have coincided.

“I just think there’s also just ebbs and flows of the season, and what to attribute things to and what not to is just too hard to say,” Gomes said. “We haven’t had any indication that he’s not feeling good enough physically to go out and play.

“I also think he’s a victim of his own greatness, of ... if Shohei struggles for a bit and then it’s up in arms. Like I said, I don’t think there’s anything overly concerning at this point. We’ll continue to monitor and have conversations and see how he feels.”

If the Dodgers don’t put Ohtani on the IL, giving him consecutive days off could make sense. Roberts said he’ll make that decision Friday, after discussions with Ohtani and the training staff.

Read more:Why Tarik Skubal thinks Stan Kroenke could turn Angels into coveted home for free agents

The Dodgers (83-57) also have put off a decision regarding whether Ohtani should pitch again this season. But Roberts said this latest development would be “part of the math.”

Said Gomes: “Once again, we’ve got to see how he continues to feel. At some point, if it’s a, ‘Hey, the upside outweighs the downside,’ then we shut it down. Doc has said this, we’ll continue to say it: We’re not going to … compromise [his offensive performance]. But right now, not feeling that that’s necessarily a thing. We just don’t have enough information to feel strongly on that.”

Though it’s not a huge sample size, Ohtani restarted his throwing progression with catch play on Aug. 8. In 23 games since then, he’s posted a .704 OPS during his worst offensive month of his season.

The addition of left-hander Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline also took some of the pressure off Ohtani to return to pitching.

“It was an opportunity that our guys saw, and grateful that a deal was worked out,” Roberts said. “You look at where Shohei’s at, and Roki [Sasaki is] throwing a bullpen tomorrow but on the IL with the blister, so having a [frontline] starter [in Skubal] is huge. And then also getting to know the player, and how he has already impacted our guys, we’re very fortunate.”

Skubal started Thursday, and held the Cardinals (70-71) to two runs. But he battled traffic all night, as he gave up 10 hits. Skubal exited with two outs in the sixth inning, his pitch count already up to 102.

In Ohtani’s absence, center fielder Tommy Edman hit in the leadoff spot. He had four of the team’s six hits and scored two runs — one on a wild pitch in the fifth inning, and one on Hernández’s walk-off double. Hernández accounted for the team’s other two hits.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

BALTIMORE — They came to salute Adley Rutschman. And he came to bury the Baltimore Orioles. With a smile, of course.

In his first game back at Camden Yards since the Orioles dealt their franchise catcher to the division rival Boston Red Sox one month ago, Rutschman stepped away from the batter’s box in the top of the first inning. His old walk-up song, Kid Cudi’s “Alive,” blared from the sound system.

The crowd rose, and Rutschman doffed his helmet and successfully quelled the tears he was worried would come.

“It was special, just to kind of feel that love,” says Rutschman. “It was really cool. Emotional moment, and really special.

“A really, really special moment.”

And then Rutschman got in the box, took a pair of pitches from former batterymate Brandon Young and promptly deposited the third into the right field seats, 377 feet from home.

Five innings later, he did it again, wrecking a Young first-pitch sinker for his second home run of the game. In the eighth inning, he passed on some inside information on former teammate Yennier Cano to Nick Sogard, who responded with a go-ahead two-run homer.

And by night’s end, the cheers for Rutschman at Camden Yards were long gone.

He was the enemy now. And he just led them to a 6-5 victory Thursday, Sept. 3 in a game that was crucial to the Orioles’ wild-card hopes.

Despite falling behind early, the Royals fought back thanks to the arm of Michael Wacha and timely hits by Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone to win the third and final game of their series against the Miami Marlins, 7-3. The win improves the Royals record to 63-78.

Which means, of course, that the Royals will avoid a 100-loss season, something that a) I didn’t think we’d have to worry about at the start of the season, and b) I very much worried about at the end of July.

The Marlins started hot, setting a franchise record with an extra-base hit in the first plate appearance in each of the first four innings. Heriberto Hernandez led off the game with a home run to left center. Miami could’ve added more in the inning, but Otto Lopez ended up out at home to end the inning. The Marlins extended their lead in the second when Jakob Marsee, who began the inning with a double, scored on Joe Mack’s single, making it 2-0 after 1-and-1/2 innings.

In the bottom of the third, the Royals struck back. After Isaac Collins popped up after an eight-pitch battle, Kyle Isbel singled before Carter Jensen smoked a line drive by the second baseman. The ball reached the wall as Isbel scored and Jensen cruised to third. Two batters later, Caglianone ripped a double to right, driving in Jensen and knotting the score.

But it didn’t stay tied long. Leading off the top of the fourth, Agustin Ramirez launched one over the wall to dead center for his third home run of the year. Wacha retired the next three in order, and the Marlins offense never threatened again.

The Royals grabbed the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth when Jensen continued his hot streak. After homering twice yesterday and tripling earlier in the game, Jensen, with Isbel once more on first, homered again, his 22nd of the season, putting the Royals up 4-3.

So remained the score until the bottom of the eighth when Jensen led off the inning with a double before moving to third on a groundout by Bobby Witt Jr. Cags drove him in again, this time with a liner right over the pitcher’s glove. Salvador Perez then joined the fun with a double to left, scoring Cags. Tyler Tolbert pinch-ran for Perez, stole third, then easily scored on Vinnie Pasquantino’s double to right.

Suddenly, the Royals were up 7-3.

Wacha obtained the win, improving to 9-8, as he tossed yet another quality start. He threw six innings, gave up six hits and two walks, allowed three earned runs (two of which came on homers) while striking out seven. He didn’t look great, but he fought through it, minimizing the damage.

Craig Kimbrel followed before becoming sick on the mound. Nate Pearson replaced him with 1-and-1/3 scoreless innings before Steven Cruz wrapped up things in a non-save situation. All told, the bullpen pitched three innings and only allowed one baserunner.

Kansas City offensive numbers: seven runs on 11 hits, six of which were for extra bases, one walk, and five strikeouts. Jensen finished a single shy of the cycle.

Up next, the Toronto Blue Jays come to town. The Royals just faced the Blue Jays in Toronto, taking two of three. With a win tonight, Toronto improved to 70-71. They are tied for the third and final Wild Card with the Rangers.

Time for the Royals to spoil that.

Left-hander Doug Nikhazy joins Triple-AIowa from the ACL Cubs.

Iowa right-hander Connor Noland goes to the Development List.

Smokies left-hander Jackson Brockett was activated off the Development List.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs sunk the Columbus Clippers (Guardians), 4-2.

It was a bullpen game today for the I-Cubs. Evan Taylor started and gave Iowa 2.2 scoreless innings. He allowed one hit, walked one and struck out three.

Jaxon Wiggins relieved Taylor in the third inning and posted his seventh-straight scoreless relief appearance. He did, however, allow two hits and walked one over 1.1 innings. Wiggins struck out one.

The win went to Jayden Murray, who relieved Wiggins and pitched two scoreless innings. Murray allowed one hit. He walked one and struck out three.

Ethan Roberts pitched a scoreless ninth and got the save. Roberts gave up one hit. He did not walk anyone and struck out two.

The big blow in this game was a three-run double by catcher Ethan Hearn in the top of the seventh. Hearn went 2 for 4.

Left fielder Jordan Nwogu went 2 for 4 with a run scored.

DH Chas McCormick was 2 for 3 with a walk and one run scored.

Hearn’s triple.

The other run scored on an RBI single by Kevin Alcántara, who was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were extinguished by the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 13-3.

Grant Knapp turned in a great start, giving the Smokies five scoreless innings on just three hits. Knapp struck out four and walked no one.

Jackson Brockett gave up two runs in the sixth and five more in the seventh as part of a ten-run seventh inning for the Lookouts. Brockett took the loss with seven runs, six earned, on two hits over 1+ innings. Brockett was wild, walking six and striking out four.

Left fielder Carter Trice was 2 for 5 with an RBI double. He also scored one run.

Second baseman Alex Madera went 2 for 4 with a walk and an RBI single.

Here’s all three Smokies runs that scored in the third.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs grilled the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins), 7-5.

Starter Nazier Mulé pitched 3.1 innings and surrendered two runs on three hits. It was the kind of start that Mulé used to have a lot as he struck out five and walked six. It took Mulé 76 pitches to get through 3.1 innings and he only had 44 strikes.

Ethan Bell pitched the final 1.2 innings. He gave up the go-ahead run for Cedar Rapids in the eighth when he allowed an inherited runner to score on a single. However, Bell struck out the other five batters he faced.

Kade Snell hit a pinch-hit, walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. Snell now has nine home runs this year.

Third baseman Matt Hallbach was 2 for 3. He reached to lead off the bottom of the ninth on catcher’s interference and then scored on Snell’s home run.

Center fielder Leonel Espinoza was 1 for 3 with a walk and an RBI single. He scored twice.

Here’s Espinoza’s single.

Snell’s walk-off blast.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans turned off the Columbia Fireflies (Royals), 5-1.

Kevin Camacho started and picked up the win after going five innings and allowing just one run on six hits. Camacho struck out six, walked one and hit one batter.

Fenuel James had three scoreless innings of relief. James gave up just one hit. He walked one and struck out four.

For the second-straight night, DH Caden Sorrell homered. Tonight he hit a three-run home run in the third inning. It was Sorrell’s fifth home run of the year. Sorrell went 1 for 4.

Third baseman Juan Tomas was 2 for 4 with a steal. He scored on Sorrell’s home run.

Highlights.

The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Tampa Bay Rays scored zero runs.

After suffering embarrassment at the hand of the A’s yesterday, the Rangers needed to rebound against the team topping the American League. Turns out, it was an easy task for Cal Quantrill.

I’ve been making a bit of hyperbolic sport about Quantrill’s ascension from long relief afterthought to rotation savior in just a manner of weeks but eventually it stops being fodder to mine for laughs and veers fully into being impressive. We’ve arrived at that destination. The Rangers turned to Quantrill to be the series tone-setter tonight and the newly risen ace delivered in spades.

Quantrill kept the AL-best 83-win Rays off the board over his 95 pitches which got him through seven innings of spotless work. To help Quantrill earn a victory, the Rangers broke the scoreless tie with a two-out RBI hit by Justin Foscue off Rays left-handed starter Shane McClanahan.

McClanahan hadn’t been the losing pitcher in a game since right after the All-Star break when he was tagged with a loss back on July 19 in Boston. The Rangers made sure to pin a second loss in the second half on McClanahan when they added three runs in the bottom of the fifth, all with two outs again.

Logan O’Hoppe singled to lead off the inning and scored on a two-out RBI single from team MVP Ezequiel Duran. After Duran stole stole second, Corey Seager crushed a lefty-on-lefty dong to give Quantrill all the wiggle room he never even needed.

The Rangers added a couple more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth while Jakob Junis and Chase Silseth combined to pitch the remaining two scoreless frames.

There are plenty of hurdles remaining for Texas in the season’s final weeks but you couldn’t ask for a better way to start this series against the AL’s best.

Player of the Game: Quantrill dominated the league’s best squad with seven innings of shutout ball with just a couple of hits allowed and two walks. Quantrill struck out five Rays and earned his seventh win of the season in his 13th start of the year.

Up Next: The Rangers and Rays are back at it tomorrow evening with RHP Kumar Rocker set to take the mound for Texas opposite right handed old friend Nick Martinez for Tampa Bay.

The Friday night first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

Patrick Zalupski should do a roll call for the next ownership group meeting because Cal Quantrill is a majority statistical owner of the franchise. Quantrill, with his effort tonight, is now 4-0 lifetime against Tampa Bay over seven starts as he led the Rangers to a 6-0 win over the Rays.

Quantrill does not light up the radar guns in today’s game of velocity, but his combination of command and repetoire has given the Rays and the league fits this summer:

The Rays last faced Quantrill on July 28th and were held to a single run with just over five innings of work. Quantrill worked seven complete tonight while barely breaking a sweat scattering two singles and two late walks while striking out five. The two singles came on consecutive plate appearances with two outs in the third, but Chandler Simpson was unable to extend the two-out rally. The two walks came in the 7th inning as Quantrill, but Jorge Mateo was unable to move the traffic and allowing Quantrill to spin seven shutout innings on the evening

The righty has now pitched to a 2.34 ERA over his last 11 starts since taking over for the injured Jack Leiter in the rotation. He generated just nine swings and misses in the contest, but primarily used an up/down approach in the zone with his two fastballs while extending the zone with his splitter to get a lot of soft contact in the contest:

The game was never particularly close given the Rays only had a runner reach second base three times on the evening, but the Rangers broke the game open in the the 5th when Shane McClanahan left a changeup up and over the plate. Seager had twice hit deep flyballs off the lefty, but this one went six rows deep into the bleachers:

McClanahan had just five swings and missed in this contest, which was his lowest single-game total of the season. Casey Legumina finished the final three innings of the contest allowing the final two runs while the offense picked up just one more hit by Diaz after the consecutive singles by Fortes and Diaz back in the 3rd inning. A Jonathan Aranda hat trick accounted for half of the six strikeouts on the evening in a game that felt as close as the 73-0 football game I watched on my other screen this evening.

The Mets are hardly alone in having issues at catcher.

But for a team that’s long waited for Francisco Alvarez to establish himself, its patience has been tested again.

Since Alvarez caught his fourth straight game Aug. 11, the Mets haven’t started either Alvarez or Luis Torrens more than two games in a row.

It’s as much an indication of Alvarez’s struggles on both sides of the ball as it is Torrens’ dependability.

And with catchers being such a difficult commodity to find, the Mets could take the duo into next season, but that was never the plan.

Alvarez was expected to get the bulk of the playing time, with the organization hoping he could become more consistent — and healthy.

Alvarez — nearly four years after making his MLB debut with the Mets late in the 2022 season — continues to be prone to both lengthy slumps and injuries.

Lately, he’s found his struggles with the bat.

As the Mets enter their homestand Friday against the Giants at Citi Field, Alvarez is back in an ugly slump, just 5-for-51 with a pair of doubles, four walks and 29 strikeouts in his past 16 games.

Torrens, meanwhile, after getting off to a brutal start to the season, has a .753 OPS since May 10.

The Mets signed him to an extension during the season and held on to him at the trade deadline.

But while they know what they’re going to get out of the former Yankees prospect, Alvarez remains a mystery.

Typically worse against left-handed pitching than versus righties, Alvarez this season has had an especially rough time when facing southpaws, with a .583 OPS, compared with .757 against righties.

Only four of the 124 righty hitters with at least 100 plate appearances against lefties have been worse.

He’s also struck out a career-high 30.6 percent of the time.

The Mets claimed right-hander Cameron Weston from the Orioles and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse.

The 26-year-old has made one appearance in the majors, tossing an inning for Baltimore in May. He spent most of this season with Triple-A Norfolk, where he’s been mostly ineffective.

To make room on the 40-man roster, catcher Shawn Ross was designated for assignment. Ross was picked up off waivers from the Pirates last month.