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No one at the major league level has seen more of Nate Lavender’s fastball than Luis Torrens, whose job catching the new Mets reliever has gone from challenging to almost comical. 

In the first days of Lavender’s major league life, the ball jumped on Torrens a bit faster than he expected. Now from his crouch, he is watching opposing hitter after opposing hitter go through the same adjustment process. 

“I feel like the hitters know the numbers, the metrics, but actually when they’re going to face him, you see weird takes against the fastball,” Torrens said this weekend before the Mets’ 9-5 loss to the Giants on Saturday at Citi Field. 

Hitters will seek out the four-seamer and then get the exact pitch they were looking for. And yet they don’t swing because it is already upon them. 

“They go like, ‘Oh f–k, that’s the fastball,’” Torrens said with a smile. 

With a funky delivery that sneaks up on seemingly every hitter he has seen, Lavender has emerged as not just a nice piece but among the most dominant relievers in the sport since his call-up. 

Entering Saturday’s 9-5 loss to the Giants at Citi Field, Lavender had been the third-most valuable reliever in baseball — according to FanGraphs’ version of WAR — since debuting Aug. 4, a touch behind Houston’s Josh Hader and Pittsburgh’s Mason Montgomery. 

His numbers have been otherworldly, carrying a 0.00 ERA this season, the 12 consecutive scoreless innings to begin his career the second-longest such streak in team history. The lefty had faced 44 batters and allowed just eight to reach (five hits, three walks) while striking out 14. 

No, Lavender has not come out of nowhere: He was a rising prospect with the Mets before injuries (notably 2024 internal brace surgery) struck, went to the Rays as a Rule 5 project and was returned in December because injuries (notably 2025 bone spur surgery) struck again. 

But his fastball continues to seem to come out of nowhere, a weapon that has barely been touched and apparently barely been seen — all while averaging a touch over 92 mph, one of the slower four-seamers in the majors. 

“But it plays like 97 [mph],” Torrens said. “It’s a heavy, heavy 92.” 

The heaviness is a product of deception and extension, neither of which was necessarily a goal, Lavender said, but happy accidents that have helped him since he was a child whose father just wanted him to stay healthy. 

The pride of Hudson, Ill., had to develop a good fastball as a kid because, well, Dad said so: He didn’t want his son throwing breaking balls and risking injury. If Lavender wanted to throw a different pitch, “Throw a changeup” was the advice. 

“I’m sure there’s remnants [in my delivery] of that kid in there that just picked up a ball,” Lavender said, “and that’s just the way I naturally throw it.” 

He fought one of those natural instincts as a freshman at the University of Illinois, where a pitching coach worked with him to shorten his arm path to protect against injury. Previously, he would reach back so his arm would lag behind the rest of his body, and then lift it at a bit under a 90-degree angle before releasing. It was a long whip-around, and the shorter arm path would help keep him healthy (a hope whose irony Lavender acknowledged). 

A side benefit: With such a short path, there is very little time for hitters to pick up the ball. 

And so as a professional, Lavender’s left hand goes from glove to behind him to delivery in remarkable speed. His body hides the ball, then his right, gloved arm serves as another blocker before his head is the final shield, the ball whipping out from behind his cap and then bearing down on the batter, a fastball that averages just 92.7 mph but holds hitters to 2-for-25 with 10 strikeouts entering play. 

“I wouldn’t say I’ve necessarily always tried to hide the ball well,” the 26-year-old said, “I think it’s just been a byproduct of my natural delivery and then just trying to keep the body in good positions.” 

Adding to hitters’ discomfort is Lavender’s 6-foot-2, long stature. His right, lead foot gets far down the mound, which makes for an elite amount of extension. By the time the ball leaves his left hand, he is an average of 7.1 feet closer to the plate, among the best in the majors. 

Lavender is aware that his extension is a strength, but it’s not one that he said he has cultivated. 

“I think it’s just part of my natural stroke to the plate,” he said. 

Both the natural and the learned arm path have teamed to turn a 2021 14th-round selection who leads with a fastball that hasn’t touched 95 mph into one of the best relievers in the game for the past month and a surefire, real piece for the 2027 Mets. 

They have left opposing hitters muttering at a 92.7 mph four-seamer. 

“I’m thankful that that deception’s in there,” Lavender said, “and I can use it to my advantage.”

Shohei Ohtani is not the Dodgers’ only pressing injury concern.

Shortly before first pitch on Saturday, the team scratched Max Muncy and Dalton Rushing (who was set to serve as designated hitter in Ohtani’s absence) from its starting lineup for that night’s game against the Nationals.

The good news: The team announced that Muncy was only “sick,” averting a more serious issue with its veteran third baseman.

Rushing, on the other hand, was battling “right elbow discomfort” — the same elbow in which he suffered a partial torn ulnar collateral ligament last month.

Rushing had been playing through the issue since the start of this week, returning to the active roster for hitting-only duties –– as a pinch-hitter and as an option at DH.

But now, his status is in doubt again, with the Dodgers awaiting MRI results to know whether he will need to return to the injured list.

Rushing originally hurt his elbow a month ago, getting diagnosed with his slightly torn UCL after feeling pain while warming up for an Aug. 2 game.

While his injury had left his chances of catching again this year doubtful, he had been going through a throwing progression recently in hopes of getting back behnid the plate before the end of the season.

His scratch Saturday, however, came after he was seen playing catch in the outfield pregame.

“He was doing some early throwing today, and it just kind of flared up,” Roberts said. “I think we’ll kind of put a pin in throwing for now … I still believe that hitting is on the table. We’ll just see how it feels tomorrow.”

If Rushing is forced onto the injured list, they Dodgers will almost certainly call-up another left-handed bat to replace him. Highly-touted prospect James Tibbs III figures to be one potential option, after getting consideration for a promotion when rosters expanded at the start of the month. However, outfielder Ryan Ward and infielder Hyeseong Kim present alternatives who are already on the 40-man roster.

“Possibly,” Roberts said when asked if an IL stint was likely for Rushing. “I think depending on how the scan comes back.”

Muncy, on the other hand, is dealing with a much less concerning issue that came out of the blue.

The slugger has been struggling lately, mired in a 1-for-22 slump over his last eight games. On the season, though, he has been one of the Dodgers’ most consistent hitters, batting .245 with 26 home runs, 68 RBIs and a .826 OPS.

Roberts said they would also evalaute how he is recovering on Sunday before deciding if he can return to the lineup.

Following the team's 9-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants on the afternoon of Saturday, Sep. 5, Mets interim manager Andy Green reflected on the contrasting performances of two key rookies, starting pitcher Zac Thornton and center fielder A.J. Ewing.

Thornton allowed four home runs in the game, two apiece from star slugger Rafael Devers and righty shortstop Christian Koss. The six earned runs he allowed today was a season-worst mark for the rookie southpaw, although he did also strike out six batters.

"Obviously, the home runs there, it's not what he's looking for," said Green. "The wind was blowing them out; they took advantage of that at the plate and we didn't."

"There were some middle-of-the-plate pitches that got hit... Six strikeouts show some encouraging trends, but still more barrels than he'd like today," he continued.

Thornton, still just 24 years old, showed maturity beyond his years, taking accountability for the mistake pitches but refusing to change the "pound the zone" approach which has brought him success this season.

"My cutter shape was fine, I just didn't have the location for it," Thornton admitted. "But I'll continue to throw strikes... it's baseball, this can happen to a lot of people."

Green agreed with Thornton's assessment of his cutter, the pitch he uses most frequently (30.6% of the time).

"I don't think that he got that cutter inside enough to speed [the Giants batters] up," Green stated.

On the other end of the rookie performance spectrum today, Ewing went 1-for-2 at the plate with a 407-foot homer in his first at-bat of the game. He also drew two walks.

"I love the two walks as much as the home run," Green said of Ewing after the game. "He deserves credit... I think that's indicative of him being in a good spot and trusting who he is."

Among qualified hitters, Ewing's strikeout rate (26.4%, in the 16th percentile) and walk rate (9.0%, in the 46th percentile) are both below league average, and improving in those areas could be key to further fulfilling his potential.

"It felt good to feel that contact again," Ewing said of his round-tripper, his first since July 8th.

"It's all about sticking to a plan and an approach, that's how good things happen," the 22-year-old rookie concluded.

For the most part, Zac Thornton has taken advantage of chances afforded by a lost Mets season and run with opportunity.

Saturday, his gait slowed to a stumble.

The lefty, who has been one of the real curiosities of the second half while pitching far better than his pedigree, became victim to a laser show from Giants batters in a 9-5 loss in front of 30,046 at Citi Field.

Thornton’s 12th major league start was his worst, serving up four home runs in five innings — after letting up a total of seven in his initial 61 ⅓ innings — from Giants hitters who clearly looked to pounce early in the count.

Rafael Devers and Christian Koss needed to see just seven pitches from Thornton to launch four home runs, the unlikely pair of bash brothers (Koss, the No. 9 hitter, entering with four career home runs) teaming to knock out Thornton after he was charged with six runs on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts.

The book is out on Thornton: He throws strikes, having walked more than two batters in just one of his starts.

He can see opposing hitters are adjusting.

“You see a lot of teams game-plan for that and try to get on my stuff early in counts,” said Thornton, who does not envision such contact leading to home runs this often in the future. “I’m going to continue to do what I do: Throw strikes in the zone. You get beat every once in a while.”

Each Thornton start serves as an audition for next season. It is possible he enters this offseason as a depth option whom the Mets pencil in to the Triple-A Syracuse rotation next April.

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It is possible Thornton — who had not allowed more than four earned runs in a start until Saturday — pitches his way, in September and in camp, to a No. 5 job likely behind Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Sean Manaea and a winter addition.

A 2023 fifth-round pick who pitched serviceably but not superbly with Syracuse, Thornton does not have the velocity to put away many batters.

He has to mix, think and locate to be successful, which he largely has during an impressive major league run in which he owns a 3.53 ERA.

But Devers and Koss were guessing early and guessing correctly, launching homers off four different pitches.

Devers, the second batter of the game, pulled a third-pitch cutter to right for the first run; Koss turned on a second-pitch fastball that was about shoulder-high — far out of the zone — and swatted it to left for a two-run shot in the third inning; Koss added another in the fifth, keeping a first-pitch sweeper just fair and tucking it inside the left field foul pole; before Devers, two batters later, got a first-pitch slider on the outside edge and went with it for an opposite-field shot.

“Not what he wanted. Not the outing that I think he was solving for,” interim manager Andy Green said. “… The kind of outing that I know will leave a sour taste in his mouth because he’s a competitor and then he wants to get back after guys and miss barrels and hit handles more frequently.”

The St. Louis Cardinals will try to achieve the baseball equivalent of a Rocky Mountain High Saturday night as they do battle with the Colorado Rockies in game 2 of the weekend series. Matthew Liberatore gets the start for the Cardinals while the Rockies give the baseball to RPH Mason Adams. First pitch is set for 7:10pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

After dropping the series opener to the St. Louis Cardinals (71-71), the Colorado Rockies (54-87) look for some magic on Harry Potter night at Coors Field.

The Rockies seemed to have yesterday’s game in hand, surging to a 6-4 lead after a strong sixth inning and carrying that into the top of the ninth. A three-run dinger swung the game late and proved to be the Rockies downfall as they lost by one.

Rookie Mason Adams is still searching for his first decision despite two productive starts. So far, he’s been able to maintain a 3.00 ERA and is giving up an average of four hits a game. A four-seam fastball and sinker are his two primary pitches, but he’s also seen success mixing in a curveball with a 51% whiff rate. After playing in two low-scoring games, he’ll try for the hat trick with the hope of more run support this time around.

Matthew Liberatore takes the mound for the Cards. This year, Liberatore is 5-13 over 27 starts with a 5.41 ERA, a 1.47 WHIP, and 141 strikeouts. He’s struggled in the back half of the season, going 0-7 with a 6.37 ERA since the All-Star break in July. His last outing was a 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in which he gave up four earned runs on six hits.

Liberatore took on the Rockies just a month ago, with Colorado coming out on top 8-6 as Liberatore surrendered five runs on nine hits, including a home run. Despite the stretch of losses, he’s continued to rack up strikeouts, tossing nine in that game against the Bucs, and seven and nine more in the two games before that.

The home crowd saw these teams combine for 13 runs and 19 hits last night. Through his first two starts, Adams has been effective and avoided that level of fireworks (knocking on the wood nearest me). The Rockies’ bats will hope to stay alive and take advantage of the best pitching matchup they’ll see, at least on paper, this weekend.

First Pitch: 6:10 p.m. MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Cardinals SB Nation Site:Viva El Birdos

Lineups:

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Zac Thornton entered today’s game with a 2.93 ERA in 11 starts. It’s been quite the surprising season for the rookie lefty, who has managed those impressive topline numbers despite boasting less than flashy stuff and underlying peripherals. Alas, those topline numbers look a little bit worse after today’s game, as Thornton underwent his worst start as a major leaguer, and the Mets were not able to work themselves out of the hole he put them in, resulting in a 9-5 loss to the Giants.

San Francisco struck within minutes of the game’s start, as Rafael Devers socked Thornton’s fourth pitch of the afternoon over the right field wall for a one-out solo homer. The Mets answered back in the bottom of the second when A.J. Ewing—who has been struggling mightily in the second-half—socked a two-out, two-run homer off Giants starter Anthony Molina. That gave the Amazins a 2-1 lead, but unfortunately they would not hold it for long. Thornton surrendered a lead-off single in the third inning, followed by a two-run blast to Christian Koss to put the Giants back in front.

Thornton went on to retire his next eight batters, right up until Koss—who entered today’s game with just one homer this season—came to the plate again in the top of the fifth, and he hit his second home run of the afternoon. Not to be outdone, Devers came up two batters later following a single and socked his second home run of the day. Thornton surrendered one hit—a double from Bryce Eldridge, the fourth straight two-out hit of the inning—before finally retiring the Giants, but it was now a 6-2 ballgame.

Meanwhile, the Mets’s bats did little against Molina after Ewing’s homer (that hit in fact remained the only one surrendered by the Giants through six innings). Both teams went to their bullpens in the sixth inning—albeit with Molina’s final line looking a lot better than Thornton’s ugly one (5 innings, 7 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 6 runs). Chris Devenski was the first reliever up for the Mets, and he did his job by tossing two scoreless innings. The bats finally got something going in the bottom of the seventh, when two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out. Francisco Alvarez struck out swinging for the second out, but the Mets then finally got another run on the board when Brett Baty walked to bring in a run and make it 6-3. Alas, the potential tying run was stranded, as Francisco Lindor grounded out to first to end the threat.

And the Giants quickly acted to make sure the Mets would not continue to claw their way back into the game. Jefry Yan took the mound in the top of the eighth and issued a one-out walk to Eldridge, followed by a two-run homer from Osleivis Basabe. That made it 8-3, but San Francisco still wasn’t quite done. Justin Hagenman pitched the ninth, and just like every non-Devenski Mets pitcher of the day, he surrendered a homer—this one a one-out solo shot for Grant McCray. That made it six dingers for the Giants, in case you weren’t keeping count.

The Mets did get some meaningless runs in the ninth. Jared Young and Ewing got on via a single and walk, respectively, and with two outs Baty struck an opposite field shot that bounced off the top of the left field wall—inches away from being a home run. It ended up just being a two-run double—not that it would have made much of a difference either way. Lindor subsequently flew out to end the game.

The Mets will now go for the series win tomorrow, with Christian Scott taking the mound.

SB Nation GameThreads

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Box scores

MLB.com
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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: A.J. Ewing, +26% WPA
Big Mets loser: Zac Thornton, -39% WPA
Mets pitchers: -42% WPA
Mets hitters: -8% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: A.J. Ewing two-run homer in the second, +21.8% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Christian Koss two-run homer in the third, -19% WPA

The Mets lost Saturday's game to the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field by a score of 9-5.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- After a string of strong starts by Zac Thornton, the rookie left-hander had his first clunker after giving up six earned runs on seven hits in five innings. Four of the seven hits he allowed were home runs – the first Met pitcher to give up four long balls in an outing since Jose Quintana in 2024.

The first homer Thornton allowed came in the first inning when Rafael Devers took him deep as the second batter of the game to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Thornton struck out the next two batters to end the inning.

In the third inning, No. 9 hitter Christian Koss, a much less likely candidate, hit a two-run shot off Thornton that put San Francisco ahead, 3-2. Once again, the lefty retired the side in order from there to limit the damage. Thornton even struck out the side in the fourth and struck out seven on the day.

However, things unraveled for the youngster when he went back out in the fifth. After retiring the first two, Koss ambushed Thornton on the first pitch and hit a solo shot for his second home run of the game and just his third of the season (sixth of his career). 

A single by Jonah Cox brought up the red-hot Devers who entered the game with four home runs over his last five games, including a home run on Friday night, and the lefty slugger took Thornton deep for a second time, this one a two-run smash that extended the Giants’ lead to 6-2.

Thornton finished the inning and then his day was done. He threw 82 pitches (59 strikes) and saw his ERA climb more than half a run from 2.93 to 3.53.

-- The Giants went on to hit two more home runs against New York’s bullpen. Osleivis Basabe hit a two-run homer against Jefry Yan in the eighth and Grant McCray hit a solo home run off Justin Hagenman in the ninth for a total of six on the day, returning the favor after the Mets hit five on Friday.

-- Offensively, New York got on the board in the second inning on A.J. Ewing’s two-run home which gave the team a brief 2-1 lead. That was the Mets’ only hit for much of the game until the seventh inning where they loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Francisco Alvarez struck out for the second out and after Brett Baty walked to force in a run, Francisco Lindor grounded out to first base to end the threat.

New York finished with five hits, two off the bat of Jared Young.

Game MVP: Christian Koss

We'll give the nod here to Koss over Devers simply because his performance was much more unlikely.

Highlights

A.J. Ewing puts the Mets ahead with a 2-run homer! 💪 pic.twitter.com/BySDD48Sdz

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 5, 2026

Zac Thornton strikes out the side in the 4th inning 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ibeaiP0zXw

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 5, 2026

Brett Baty draws a bases loaded walk to bring in a run! pic.twitter.com/Hir2tyWdsm

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 5, 2026

A 2-run double off the top of the wall for Brett Baty pic.twitter.com/6hjtiSAEVk

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 5, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Giants close out their three-game series on Sunday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1:40 p.m. on SNY.

RHP Christian Scott (4-4, 3.80 ERA) goes against LHP Cesar Perdomo (0-0, 2.25 ERA).

Go Rays!

Friday night was a tough pill for the Yankees to swallow, losing to the Padres in extra innings after managing to take the lead against arguably the game’s most dominant reliever. With the Rays marching onward atop the AL East, knotting up this series is crucial, and the team will need to quickly move on from that hard loss yesterday. They face yet another left-handed pitcher in Robbie Ray, and counter with a southpaw of their own in a national-broadcast faceoff from San Diego.

Because it’s me, and the Baseball Gods (or just my editors) have it out for me personally, I am once again doomed to cover a Carlos Rodón start. I must once again attempt to reconcile his actual performance on the field, which has been quite good as long as he’s been healthy in 2026, with how unpleasant I find watching him pitch. He’d be on pace for a three-win season if he didn’t have those two IL stints, with a 3.20 ERA and 3.74 FIP that both go just fine with being the No. 4 pitcher in a rotation this deep.

Rodón has gone just 12.2 innings in his three starts since that most recent IL trip, as the team seems committed to making sure recovery is permanent, at least for 2026. In those three outings though, he’s been dynamite from an ERA basis with a 2.84, even if the walks have been a problem. Command is often the last thing to return after injury, and getting the ball in the strike zone will need to be a priority for Carlos today.

Ray, meanwhile, has had a weird year split between the Giants and Padres. He’s suppressed runs well, with a Pi ERA, but he’s put up the second-lowest strikeout rate in a full season of his career as well as a walk rate a point and a half above his career baseline. There’s a bit of a Robbie Ray bubble, and the Yankees could turn around some of their LHP misfortune this year by popping it.

Paul Goldschmidt returns to the top of the lineup and starts at first base today, while Ben Rice moves down to cleanup after his big night on Friday. So-called lefty specialist Amed Rosario will be at second base, but the Yankees have clearly seen the writing on the wall with righty-hitting Ali Sánchez, and will start Austin Wells behind the plate. The hometown(-ish) kid Spencer Jones is back in center as well, with Trent Grisham going on the IL and Jasson Domínguez taking Grisham’s roster spot.

It’s a Yankee game on a weekend, so there’s gotta be one national broadcast in the mix. Tonight’s contest is on FOX.

How to watch

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, CA

First pitch: 7:15 pm ET

TV/Streaming: FOX

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 – NYY | KWFN 97.3, XEMO 860 – SD

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Game Two with the Royals. Another blowout would be a good thing. Blowout in favour of the Jays, of course.

Tiedemann is back, Taillon is on the DL.

And the team is admitting that Patrick Corbin and Cody Ponce won’t be back this season.

They need someone to start next Wednesday in Taillon’s spot against the A’s. If you want the job, send in a tape of your latest start to the Jays’ front office.

Lineups. I would like to see Keys in the lineup sometime soon.

Go Jays Go.

The Royals have lost three of four games since September started. After a hot couple of weeks to finish August, some of us were dreaming about the playoffs, but their odds are back down to 0% after a recent peak of 0.2%, so it’s hard to even dream. Tonight’s game promises to make things that much harder.

Seth Lugo is pitching for the Royals. Through the first half of the season, he had a serviceable, if not particularly good, ERA of 4.56. Since the All-Star Break, though, he has allowed 33 runs in only 49.1 innings for a 6.02 ERA. That number includes a career-worst nine runs allowed in his start earlier this week against Cleveland, and has raised his season ERA to an unsightly 5.03. This mirrors his 2025, though not to the same extreme, when he allowed a 2.67 ERA in the first half and a 7.51 ERA in the second half before going on the IL. His second halves were worse, though still good, in 2024 and 2023 as well. At this point, it must be taken as a given that Lugo wears down as the season continues. That alone would be a problem, though the pattern of extremes in the past two years makes it even worse for a team counting on him to anchor a competitive team next season while currently being set for the highest salary in 2027.

In good(?) news, the Blue Jays will start Max Scherzer. Scherzer took the loss while facing Lugo last week in Toronto; both struggled, but limited runs, though Lugo just did it a bit better. However, while Lugo was having a career-worst outing against the Guardians, Scherzer was pitching his best game of the season against the Mariners. He pitched seven shutout innings, allowed only two baserunners, and struck out ten. Overall, Scherzer has been trending up as the season has gone along, with a 3.62 ERA and 2.88 xERA over his past six starts, even with a dud against the Rays mixed in there.

Lineups

Kyle Isbel gets a rare day off. Nick Loftin also gets the day off. That forces Isaac Collins to the nine-hole and sees the Royals bat four lefties in a row with six total in the lineup. Might be a sneaky good choice, knowing that the Blue Jays leaned heavily on both of their lefty relievers yesterday and might be unable or unwilling to use them today.

This is the type of game where, if you look at it on the surface, the Orioles don’t stand a chance. Suddenly, they are on a four-game skid that could turn into a downward death spiral as the schedule gets tougher. Their opponent has been one of the best team’s in the league since the start of July, and they have their ace on the mound coming off yet another fine month (2.40 ERA in August) as part of a Cy Young-worthy season.

But if you dig deeper…well, it doesn’t get much better. The Orioles have a .588 OPS so far in September, and they are averaging three runs per game, which is all bad. Good luck with that!

Heston Kjerstad will be getting his first big league start of the season, an attempt to add another lefty and some power to an Orioles lineup that could use it. But he won’t be in the DH spot. That belongs to Jackson Holliday, who is batting .203/.238/.301 since the start of August. Yikes. He was good in the Colorado series, but that has not carried over to this weekend just yet. Maybe something changes here.

Chris Bassitt is coming off of a tough outing in Sacramento, where he allowed five runs across 5.2 innings. The Orioles won anyway, and credit to Bassitt for batling after some early struggles. The veteran still knows how to pitch, but don’t expect him to shutdown the opposition. The Orioles lineup will need to provide some support. That has been hard to come by lately.

Other games to keep an eye on:

• Tigers at Guardians, first pitch 6:10
• Rays at Rangers, first pitch 7:05
• Blue Jays at Royals, first pitch 7:10

Orioles lineup

1. Jackson Holliday (L), DH
2. Blaze Alexander (R), 2B
3. Gunnar Henderson (L), SS
4. Pete Alonso (R), 1B
5. Samuel Basallo (L), C
6. Heston Kjerstad (L), RF
7. Christian Encarnacion-Strand (R), 3B
8. Dylan Beavers (L), LF
9. Colton Cowser (L), CF

RHP Chris Bassitt (6-4, 4.97 ERA)

Red Sox lineup

1. Roman Anthony (L), DH
2. Mickey Gasper (S), 1B
3. Wilyer Abreu (L), RF
4. Trevor Story (R), SS
5. Nick Sogard (S), 3B
6. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (R), 2B
7. Jarren Duran (L), LF
8. Eli White (R), CF
9. Connor Wong (R), C

RHP Sonny Gray (16-4, 2.82 ERA)

The Colorado Rockies announced today that they have selected the contract of infielder Vimael Machín and outrighted Tyler Freeman to Triple-A Albuquerque after he cleared waivers.

Machín has had a successful season for Triple-A Albuquerque. Currently, he is slashing .290/.317/.445 with a .816 OPS. Machín has 190 total bases that include 12 home runs and 22 triples in 427 at-bats.

The native of Humacao, Puerto Rico, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 10th round of the 2015 MLB Draft. He has also played for the Oakland Athletics and the Baltimore Orioles.

In other moves, the Rockies are placing utility player Willi Castro on the Injured List. Castro is suffering from plantar fasciitis in his left foot in addition to some discomfort in his right knee.

Castro has played third base almost exclusively since third baseman Kyle Karros went on the IL under concussion protocol.

As a reminder, yesterday the Rockies claimed LHP Hayden Harris off waivers from the Atlanta Braves. He is currently in Albuquerque, which required the Rockies to make the roster move that removed Freeman from the 40-man.

It has been a difficult season for utility player Tyler Freeman, who has had two stints on the IL. After he completed his most recent rehab assignment, he stayed with the Isotopes. Currently, he is slashing .289/.365/.422 with a .787 OPS. This likely points towards the Rockies hoping to get extended looks at their young position players as the season wraps up.

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TONIGHT’S GAME: The first-place Houston Astros (73-69) will play the middle game of their three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks (74-68) tonight in a nationally televised game at Daikin Park.

Rookie RHP Ethan Pecko (1-0, 6.23 ERA) will get the start for the Astros, the fourth of his Major League career, opposite RHP Brandon Pfaadt (7-2, 3.49 ERA) and the Snakes.

TONIGHT’S BROADCASTS: Tonight’s game will be nationally televised by FOX with Wayne Randazzo and John Smoltz on the call. For tonight’s game only, the English radio broadcast will be on KTRH 740 AM with Robert Ford and Josh Reddick behind the mic. As always, the Astros Spanish radio broadcast features Francisco Romero and Alex Treviño on TUDN 102.9 FM.

SLOW AND STEADY RECOVERY: Since starting the season with a 20-31 record after 51 games, the Astros are 53-38 (.582) in their last 91 games (since May 22). That is the second-best record in the AL in that span, behind the Red Sox (55-38).

ABOUT THE RECORD: At 73-69, the Astros are a season-high four games over .500 and have tied their season-high with a 3.0-game division lead. The Astros are 8-3 over their last 11 games.

YOUNG ETHAN: RHP Ethan Pecko, 24, is coming off his first Major League win, which he earned on Aug. 30 at NYY (2ER/5IP). Pecko, the Astros #3 pitching prospect per MLB.com, combined to post a 4.57 ERA (42ER/82.2IP) with 86 strikeouts in 20 games (18 starts) in the minors this season, including 17 games at Triple A. He was originally a sixth-round pick by the Astros in 2023.

STARTING BLOCKS: Astros starters have a 1.69 ERA (5ER/26.2IP) with 29 strikeouts, a .151 opponent average (14×93) and a 1.09 WHIP in the first five games of this homestand. Stretching back over the Astros last 11 games, in which they’ve gone 8-3, Astros starters own a 2.83 ERA (17ER/54IP).

MEASURING UP: The Astros are within a streak of playing four straight teams with winning records (CWS, ARI, PHI, TB). The Astros are an American League-best 32-21 (.604) vs. teams currently at .500 or above. Some clubs that the Astros have winning records against include BOS (5-1), CHC (3-0), CWS (5-2), CLE (4-2), MIA (3-0), and TB (2-1).

VS. THE D-BACKS: The Astros have won nine of their last 10 games against the Diamondbacks, a streak that dates back to Sept. 29, 2023. This run includes a three-game sweep of the D-backs in Arizona last season from July 21-23, 2025.

RELIEVER OF THE MONTH: Announced earlier this week, LHP Josh Hader was named the AL Reliever of the Month for August. It is Hader’s ninth career Reliever of the Month Award and his third as an Astro. In the month, Hader converted all seven of his save opportunities, while going scoreless in his 13 total appearances and 14.1 innings pitched.

STREAKING: LHP Josh Hader has worked 20 consecutive scoreless appearances, spanning 21.0 innings (since July 21). This is the longest streak by an Astros hurler this season and the second-longest active streak in the Majors. Opponents are just 5×68 (.074) vs. Hader during the streak.

THE CLOSER: LHP Josh Hader recorded his 250th career save last night, becoming the 41st player in modern MLB history to reach 250 career saves. Hader has 23 of those saves this season, in 23 save chances, giving him the most save chances in the Majors this season without a blown save.

YOU’RE MY BOY BLU!: RHP A.J. Blubaugh, who’s tossed 14.0 consecutive scoreless innings, has taken a huge Major League lead in innings pitched as a reliever with 86.1, far ahead of second-place RHP Adrian Morejon (75.2IP) and LHP Aaron Ashby (75.2IP). The Astros have not had a reliever lead the Majors in innings pitched since RHP Doug Jones (111.2IP) in 1992.

TRIPLE THREAT: DH Yordan Alvarez, who is a solid candidate for the AL MVP Award, currently owns at least a share of the lead in all three Triple Crown categories. He enters tonight leading the AL in batting avg. (.317), while ranking tied for first in HR (37) and RBI (94).

Rare Feat: Since Carl Yastrzemski won the AL Triple Crown in 1967, there has been just one Triple Crown winner in the Majors, Miguel Cabrera in 2012 (AL).

THE HIT MAN: 2B Jose Altuve has 2,495 career hits, needing just five hits to reach 2,500 for his career. Among active players, Altuve ranks second in hits, trailing only 1B Freddie Freeman (2,586).

OUCH!: 3B Isaac Paredes was hit by a pitch for the 18th time of the season last night, which ranks sixth in the Majors. His 18 HBP are the most by an Astro in a single season since 2B Craig Biggio recorded 27 HBP in 2003.

BEHIND THE DISH: C Christian Vázquez has played in 999 career games as a catcher and is looking to become just the third active catcher to reach 1,000 career games behind the dish. He would join C Salvador Perez (1,427) and C J.T. Realmuto (1,382) in that exclusive group.

DOWN ON THE FARM: Astros prospect OF Caden Powell went 3×5 with two homers and five RBI for Class A Asheville in their 10-6 win over Greensboro last night. Powell, the Astros sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft, is having a strong minor league season, hitting .279 (114×408) with 18 doubles, 18 homers, 69 RBI, 30 stolen bases and an .823 OPS in 105 games for the Tourists.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1971 – The late RHP J.R. Richard records 15 strikeouts in his Major League debut, which is a franchise record and ties an MLB record for a players debut. He makes this debut in the second game of a doubleheader in San Francisco, which ends as an Astros 5-3 win.

Game Info

Game Date/Time:  Saturday, September 5, 6:15 p.m. CT

Location:  Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: FOX

Radio: KTRH 740 AM; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)