“Enzo, Enzo, Enzo, in your head” was how delirious Manchester City fans regaled Enzo Fernández, who after a star role in a memorable victory has instant cult hero status.
This 199th derby was won by Erling Haaland’s ninth strike in the fixture but the visitors’ totem was their new No 17. He was the key nuisance in a goal ruled out initially for offside and which the video assistant referee overturned when ruling that Fernández was not distracting Lisandro Martínez when Josko Gvardiol’s ball came over. The Argentinian, too, was an emblem of the fight Maresca’s team carried to Manchester United after Phil Foden appeared to turn the game the hosts’ way on 22 minutes.
GOING FOR THE SWEEP: This is the 15th of the Cubs’ 49 series in which they have won the first two games. They are 7-7 in series which had a third game: 6-1 at home, 1-6 on the road. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
CUBS vs. BUCS: This is the first time in the Cubs’ last seven series at home against the Pirates that they have won the first two games. Before this weekend, the Cubs were 9-11 when hosting the Pirates since Sept. 19, 2023. Before that, they had gone 31-10 since June 8, 2018, sweeping six series, one of four games. The last sweep was June 15, 2023, by scores of 11-3, 10-6 and 7-2. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
THE IMPORTANCE OF SCORING FIRST: The Cubs are 51-22 when they have scored first, including 26-8 at home. They are 72-23 when they have scored at least four runs, 70-33 when they have made at least seven hits, 70-38 when they have hit at least one home run and 72-41 when they have earned at least three walks. They did all of those things yesterday. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: The Cubs trail the Brewers 10-8 going to the ninth. Sammy Sosa homers, his 62nd, to make it 10-9 and after a double by Henry Rodriguez, Gary Gaetti singles in pinch-runner Jason Maxwell to tie the game. With two out in the bottom of the 10th, Mark Grace hits a walk-off homer for an 11-10 victory. It happened 28 years ago today, Sunday, Sept. 13, 1998.
Matthew Boyd had a bit of a rough patch in August, but has thrown well in two September starts, both of which were against the Brewers. The numbers aren’t great for September — 4.38 ERA, 1.216 WHIP — but both of those starts include runs charged to him after he left the game.
He faced the Pirates July 24 at PNC Park and allowed one run in seven innings. Do that again, Matthew.
Bubba Chandler has had an up-and-down year in his first full MLB season.
He’s been much better in the second half. First half: 19 games (18 starts), 4.77 ERA, 1.452 WHIP. Since the All-Star break: nine starts, 3.21 ERA, 1.112 WHIP. Much of the improvement has been cutting way down on walks. He had 55 walks in 94.1 innings before the ASB. Since then, in 47.2 innings — just about half what he had before — he’s walked just 15.
His only start against the Cubs this year was May 27 at Wrigley Field. He allowed eight hits and four runs in five innings.
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The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - MARCH 23: Johan Oviedo #29 of the Boston Red Sox takes the mound for the first inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on March 23, 2026 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Remember Johan Oviedo? He’s not so much the forgotten man of the Red Sox pitching staff (that’s very much Tanner Houck) he’s more like the guy we never even got to meet in the first place. But, like Houck, he is working his way back and hopes to contribute the big league team at some point. He’ll make a minor league rehab appearance on Thursday. He’s ahead of Garrett Crochet in the rehab race, but Chad Tracy is still being non-committal about what role, if any, he may play this year. “Accumulating volume, getting his feet wet back out there will be important, and then we’ll go from there,” Tracy said. “But upbeat probably. It’s a long journey for some of [these injured pitchers]. So when they finally get to get back onto a mound, it’s exciting — on a mound in a real game.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
Ranger Suarez had a much shorter and much less intense stint on the injured list, but it still took him a wile to work his way back into form when he returned to the mound. After back-to-back gems, he finally looks like his old self, to which he credits a mechanical tweak. “Before, I was leaning forward, so I wasn’t able to locate my sinker,” Suarez said. “Today, my sinker was on point, so that was a pitch that was working for me. I was able to establish that pitch to open my secondaries.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
As for Crochet, he threw another bullpen on Friday and got his velocity up to around 93.5 MPH. “Looked good,” Chad Tracy said. “Added in some sweepers, which was good. I think last time he added in cutters. He added some sweepers, so he keeps adding pitch types, and looked good. Just briefly checked in with him, and he said he felt good, which is good news.” (Scott McGlauglin, WEEI)
The fact that the pitching staff has been able to withstand so many injuries is a testament to the depth compiled by Craig Breslow, and the performance of guys like Peyton Tolle in particular. Tolle is arguably the best Red Sox rookie starter in several decades. “Just considering [it’s his] first full season, and the evolution of his stuff and how he uses it, being able to take on more innings and still looks very strong while he’s doing it, [the] strikeout numbers, the ERA. He’s been just a steady force as a rookie pitcher in the rotation,” said Chad Tracy. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
If Tolle keeps it up, he may one day find himself the recipient of baseball’s highest honor. No, I’m not talking about induction to the hall of fame, I’m talking about having a street in suburban Utah named after him in this random development that was obviously planned by a Red Sox fan:
toured houses today and there’s a random subdivision in utah where all the streets are named after red sox players??? pic.twitter.com/5em0Vylu3Z
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 08: Bubba Chandler #36 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Rate Field on September 08, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Bucs are back in action today for the final game of their Chicago trip, where they swept the White Sox but are in danger of being swept right back by the Cubs. They the travel to Milwaukee after that. With the team’s playoff hopes fast dried up, let’s see how the team finishes the year without much to play for.
Sunday afternoon marks the final time this season that the Cincinnati Reds will have to line up across from the Milwaukee Brewers. Given that the Beermakers have dropped 33 runs on Cincinnati pitching in just the last day and a half, that’s perhaps the most welcome news any of us could get even knowing that the rest of the Reds schedule for 2026 seems equally as daunting.
Before the Reds can slink back south to Great American Ball Park to face the Los Angeles Dodgers for the bulk of the work week, they’re going to have to deal with Milwaukee a final time – this time with lefty Robert Gasser getting the start. Fortunately, they’ll be sending ace Chase Burns to the bump to begin this one, though as his most recent outing (3.0 IP) dictated, he’ll be on a very, very short leash as his innings are managed.
First pitch in this Sunday matinee is set for 2:10 PM ET, also known as ‘right in the middle of the Bengals/Bucs game,’ so plan accordingly.
Sep 12, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Tyler Kinley throws towards first base in the sixth inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Josh Boland-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Detroit Tigers (69-79) vs. Colorado Rockies (55-93)
Time/Place: 12:10 p.m., Comerica Park SB Nation Site:Purple Row Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network Pitching Matchup: RHP Jackson Jobe (1-2, 4.45 ERA) vs. RHP Gabriel Hughes (0-7, 5.81 ERA)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 08: Andrew Painter #24 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during the game between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, September 8, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Trevor Hayes/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
After playing some awful baseball in the first two games, the Phillies will attempt to salvage the finale of their series in Atlanta.
Andrew Painter will start for the Phillies. The rookie will attempt to improve on his two starts against the Braves earlier in the season when he gave up eight runs in 9.2 innings.
Grant Holmes goes for Atlanta. The righty shut the Phillies out for six innings when he faced them on Monday.
Game time is 1:35 PM and will be televised locally on NBCSP as well as ESPN Unlimited.
Sam Surridge scored an equalizer in the first minute of second-half stoppage time for visiting Nashville SC, who played Inter Miami to a 2-2 draw on Saturday evening.
Surridge’s goal, his second of the evening and 15th of the season, came after Shak Mohammed’s shot was saved by Dayne St Clair. Surridge was in position to put home the rebound to help Eastern Conference-leading Nashville steal a point on the road against second-place Inter Miami.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JULY 26: Ryan Jeffers #27 of the Minnesota Twins reaches first base on an RBI infield single against Nick Kurtz #16 of the Athletics during the eight inning of the game at Target Field on July 26, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Easiest, when half the roster sits on the IL relegated to rooting from the dugout, is to blame the training and Strength & Conditioning staff. Yet this is a bit of a simplistic and knee-jerk reaction. Which trainer is to blame for Jamie Arnold taking a line drive to the face?
The flurry of injuries that decimated the A’s felled so many key players both on the big league roster and the minors. The list produces a pretty good team: Brent Rooker, Luis Severino, Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, JT Ginn, Leo De Vries, Jamie Arnold, all out for the season, and now Gage Jump likely following suit. Denzel Clarke and Zack Gelof also have missed appreciable time along the way.
That’s insane, but the injuries fall into various buckets so let’s examine the buckets…
Fluky and unpreventable
Kuroda-Grauer, who was humming along when one not-so-fine day he fouled a ball off of a ball and ruptured his testicle, and Arnold, whose cheek and sinus bones could not withstand a line drive that creamed them on the fly, suffered injuries absent any potential blame (other than perhaps not insisting every player wear a cup). These injuries demonstrate how not everything can be a referendum on the adults in charge.
Unrelated to preparation or diagnosis
Gelof’s knee laceration, incurred while sliding hard into the side wall where there was wire netting, is an example of an injury that cannot be traced to stretching, conditioning, or anything related to the preparation or diagnosis of the human body.
The same can be said of the unfortunate play where a poor Gelof throw caused Kurtz to get tangled up with the runner going by and the 1Bman’s thumb was a casualty of the collision. Most likely Wilson’s shoulder injury, the result of diving for a ground ball, also falls into the category of a “a baseball play” in which a perfectly conditioned body could still suffer the malady.
Most likey, Langeliers’ injury was also “just one of those things” as he tore a meniscus running the bases. One can question the strength and conditioning program when a player’s body doesn’t hold up to an ordinary event, but most often it’s just that if you run the bases 1,000 times 999 of those times it will go smoothly and once in a while it just doesn’t.
Ordinary injuries with room for questions
Now we get into the gray area, where you can easily say, “That injury happens around MLB all the time” and yet you can also ask, “Could it have been prevented?”
Rooker injured his knee, but it was not a single event. Rather it was pain that worsened over time, starting with a bone bruise contusion. A cortisone injection and rehab were supposed to alleviate the problem, but didn’t and subsequently tests revealed an articular cartilage tear and loose bodies in his left knee, leading to season ending surgery. Certainly there is room to ponder a misdiagnosis or poor decision-making along the way, but it’s not a slam dunk to draw any particular conclusion.
Soderstrom is another example where a player went down with a known injury, in this case a hip impingement, then tried to come back and “play through it” only to punt soon after and shut it down. One can reasonably question the wisdom of this decision, given how inevitably Soderstrom succumbed to surgery soon after.
Similarly, De Vries had a known shoulder issue that affecting his throwing at SS but continued to play for quite some time before eventually shutting it down, being diagnosed with a labrum tear and having surgery that will likely keep him sidelined for about 8 months. This is an especially troubling arc considering that had De Vries undergone surgery 6 weeks earlier he might be ready for the start of the 2027 season — but we also don’t know exactly when the labrum tore so we are left with as many questions as answers.
Severino, Ginn and Jump fall into a common category: arm injuries for pitchers because, well, pitching is really bad for the arm. Ginn’s is an elbow impingement, Jump’s shoulder soreness from impingement, Severino’s shoulder strain the most significant. Did the A’s staff do anything wrong failing to prevent these injuries from happening?
One could always ask whether the “between starts” regimen is the best possible one — teams differ around how bullpen sessions, long toss, treatment and the like are managed — and perhaps there could be better communication to catch problems in the earliest stages. (For example, Jump threw a fastball 91 MPH last night which could have been seen as a big red flag but went on to throw a couple dozen more pitches before exiting.) But pitcher arm injuries are hardly an “A’s special” and in fact the A’s have not been hit any harder than their opponents in this regard.
Post-injury response
Rooker and Soderstrom are examples of a puzzling response to managing an injury, De Vries possibly as well at the minor league level, but they are not the only ones.
Lawrence Butler looked very slowed down the first half of 2026 following his knee surgery and you wonder if the A’s whiffed not easing him in with a rehab stint at AAA and a more gradual return to full time RF duty with the big league club. Last year saw Wilson try to play through a hand injury that left him clearly diminished and both Wilson and Max Muncy had injuries from HBP in which a fracture wasn’t properly diagnosed the first time.
Conditioning
We don’t know why Denzel Clarke keeps suffering soft tissue injuries, particularly to his hamstrings, but this issue cropped up again while rehabbing a separate injury (bone bruise). Last season, Clarke missed significant time after injuring his right adductor muscle rounding 3B to score on a base hit.
All bodies are different and you shouldn’t be too quick to judge who comes to the party with a little more baby fat than his peer. Nonetheless it’s hard to imagine that Kurtz wouldn’t benefit from a slightly more svelte physique and Butler came to camp looking like he had “bulked up” in ways that only hampered his mobility.
Just looking at all the bodies on the field it’s not hard to imagine where some improvements could be made in the “strength and conditioning” realm — but fans are also far from strength and conditioning experts and players have considerable say in how they manage their own bodies.
Like I said, when you take a deep dive you are left with more questions than answers. But it’s the internet, so here’s where you get to weigh in with what you think the answers are despite the apparent murkiness of the landscape. The only part we are all likely to agree on is that the A’s have a far better team on the IL than they can put on the field, and if the team is to be competitive going forward that script needs to flip. Somehow.
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 24: Michael Harris II #23 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates after hitting a two-run double in the sixth inning during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Friday, April 24, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kathryn Skeean/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It’s getaway day for the Atlanta Braves, but not before one last regular season contest against the Philadelphia Phillies. With the series secure, the Braves have the opportunity to make it a truly nightmarish weekend for our NL East foes and break out the brooms this afternoon.
There are some changes to the lineup for Walt Weiss’ club, but the name atop the batting order made me laugh. We’ve been let down in 2026 with the first-world complaint of not being able to complete a sweep in a series finale. But Michael Harris II leading off and in line to get the most at-bats off of RHP Andrew Painter is a deliberate choice – no foot off the gas here.
As noted in the preview, Michael has only faced Painter thrice, but is rocking that 1.000 / 2.333 / 3.333 slash line. A late scratch on April 24, Mike was clutch incarnate with a pinch-hit, two-out, two-RBI double off Painter to give the Braves the lead in an eventual Atlanta win. Let’s hoping he can add to his legend more here this afternoon.
Ronald Acuña Jr. will still bat second but get a day off from the field today. Matt Olson is working his way out of his slump with some promising signs and will continue to in the three-hole, but that glove is still gold at first base. Drake Baldwin will catch for Grant Holmes and hit cleanup. Mauricio Dubón will follow and man left field. Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley are at their usual bases and hitting sixth and seventh, respectively. Mike Yastrzemski returns to the lineup after going 3-for-3 with a walk in Friday’s showdown. Ha-Seong Kim will complete the infield at shortstop and hit ninth.
They optioned reliever Grant Holman to reinstate LHP Tanner Banks from the injured list, giving their beleagured bullpen a fresh arm and depriving us of a Grant Holmes vs. Grant Holman matchup.
This series has given us electric and heartburn-inducing moments as well as as some rare enjoyable AND comfortable baseball. What does today’s matinee bring? Hopefully, some brooms. First pitch for Braves-Phillies is at 1:35 pm ET.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 25: Mj Melendez #1 of the New York Mets at bat during the fourth inning at Citi Field on June 25, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A real barn burner, but another Syracuse win. Eight different Mets patched it together on the mound, and they did just enough to support the offense. MJ Melendez followed up his four hit night with two more long balls. Billy Amick added his sixth at Triple-A (though he’s batting only .221). Emilien Pitre had two more hits and a walk to get his OPS back above .800 at the level. It’s been a loss of a season for the organization across most levels but there are some interesting things happening in the minors down the stretch here.
The offense had more errors than they had runs. They had nearly as many caught stealings as they had hits. Obviously not what you want. Gabe Davis continues to look like a savvy trade acquisition though, so that’s a plus.
BRONX, NY - SEPTEMBER 12: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees at bat during the game against the NNew York Mets on September 12, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in the Borough of the Bronx, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Consistency should not lower appreciation for what the Yankees have accomplished over the last decade-plus, and there is no better time than in a late-season series against the Mets to point that out. The Mets have been throwing money at their problems for a few years now, and somehow new problems keep coming up. That advantage that benefits both of these teams only goes so far, and if we look back on their campaigns in 2026, it’s interesting to see how each team handled the absence of their top player.
Juan Soto and Aaron Judge have combined to miss 136 games this season, a total of 51 for Soto and a whopping 85 for Judge. Although each offense is unique, it is reasonable to argue that the burden of the team’s production placed on these two is relatively similar. Judge theoretically should mean as much to the Yankees’ attack as Soto means to the Mets.
Before getting into the details, the one number that actually counts leans heavily in favor of the Yankees, as they went a very respectable 46-39 without Judge on the field in 2026. Meanwhile, the Mets basically owe their status as a below-.500 club and complete irrelevance in the NL playoff picture to Soto’s absence, possessing a putrid 20-31 record without their star hitter.
Strictly speaking, in terms of pure offensive production, the gap between these two teams in 2026 is not as large as the one that their record would seem to indicate. The Mets entered play on Saturday with a 97 OPS+, slightly worse than the Yankees’ 100 mark. Accounting strictly for the time without these gigantic hitters, the Yankees had a .684 OPS without Judge, while the Mets were at .673 without Soto. Part of what has hindered the Mets’ season even further is that Francisco Lindor has also missed a healthy chunk of time, playing only 90 games to this point — although we should note that this doesn’t create an incredible disparity in the comparison between the time without Judge and Soto since there was minimal overlap in the missed time of the two Mets stars.
It’d be a neat narrative if we could come here and talk about how the Yankees’ offense dealt with missing Judge in a far superior manner than the Mets handled Soto’s absence. That isn’t necessarily the case, even with the best efforts of Ben Rice. The Yankees’ offense without Judge had to lean heavily on their pitching staff to get those wins, often scoring just barely enough to make it. Only one of these pitching staffs possesses the tools to take over and carry a team, and the numbers back that up. It’s not the full picture, but the Mets accumulated a 4.24 ERA in the 51 games Soto didn’t appear in while the Yankees had an earned run average a full run lower at 3.22 when Judge was out.
Even with Soto potentially available for all of their games, the Mets probably didn’t have enough for a meaningful fight in the National League — and the Yankees possibly could have found their way to the postseason even without Judge for a single game. The discrepancy in these two teams’ records would seem to suggest that at least for 2026, the Mets are more reliant on Soto than the Yankees are on Judge. That’s not to say they shouldn’t be happy to have number 99 back; we shouldn’t lose sight of what this team accomplished in his absence and how much worse it could’ve been. After all, just look at the Mets.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 19, 2026: Will Bush #56 of the Houston Astros bats during the second inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Miami Marlins at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on March 19, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below. Check out the previous day’s recap here.
AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (71-71) lost 3-2 (BOX SCORE)
Hendrickson started for Sugar Land and went 7 innings allowing 3 runs, all in the third, while striking out 7 batters. The Sugar Land offense got on the board in the 5th inning on a Ferreras 2 run single. Roa tossed a scoreless 8th inning but the offense was unable to score again and Sugar Land fell 3-2.
Christian Roa, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (62-75) lost 6-1 (BOX SCORE)
Hicks got the start for the Hooks and went 4.2 innings but struggled allowing 6 runs on 9 hits. The Hooks offense got on the board in the 5th inning on a Bush solo home run. The bullpen tossed 3.1 scoreless innings but the offense was quiet the rest of the way as the Hooks fell 6-1.
New Test head coach’s arrival and Root’s calming influence as captain add to promising signs in the post-Stokes era
As Joe Root calmly ran the rule over the Test summer and reeled off the ways in which it had been “chaos”, “unusual” and “unsettling” for England, it felt telling that first among them was Ben Stokes calling time on his international career during a match and a series that were both still live at the time.
Cricketers announcing their retirement mid-game is nothing new. Heather Knight went on to do the same during the women’s Test at Lord’s two weeks later. Root is also too loyal to Stokes to question openly whether that scene-stealing exit before New Zealand’s win at Trent Bridge was entirely in keeping with his call for “selfless cricketers” four years earlier.
