Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

The Phillies offense is not playing particularly well right now. There are multiple hitters mired in if not exactly slumps, then at least not hitting well. Personnel changes aren’t really going to happen at this point in the season, so the only real solutions that they might have are lineup changes.

Mixing things up isn’t really an M.O. of this Phillies roster, but were you the manager, which lineup changes would you consider?

Moving Trea Turner down in the lineup, maybe moving Bryson Stott up? Moving Luis Arraez down, Alec Bohm up? There are a myriad of things they could do if they weren’t so ironclad in their ways.

Happy Monday, everyone. The Tigers are riding the high of their weekend series sweep against the Rockies, and hoping to take those good vibes into the week ahead. We’ve got plenty of little news bites to keep you busy on a Monday, with some highlights including the Tigers’ hopes of seeing Justin Verlander make at least one last start before his retirement; a touching letter from Keider Montero who has just hit the paternity list; and a look at some of the players who have made the biggest differences (for better or worse) for their teams this season.

All that and more below, so let’s just jump right into it.

Detroit Tigers News

• Justin Verlander may be on the path to making at least one final start this season before he retires at the end of the year. Verlander threw off the mound on Saturday, throwing harder than he has all season. Manager A.J. Hinch is hopeful that Verlander will be ready to start over his celebratory retirement weekend at the end of September. Hinch said, “We’re aiming for that weekend, which we know will be an emotional and important weekend for him.” To help him further prepare, he will likely throw a bullpen session or simulated game over the coming weeks. While nothing is certain yet, the Tigers and Verlander seem ready to do whatever it takes to have him make one last start before he walks off the field one last time. To read more of the AP article, click here.)
• A really lovely message from Keider Montero.

And congrats to Keider, who has welcomed a new family member.

• Some Fiesta Tigres highlights.

• Former Detroit Tiger Jonathan Schoop has been sentenced to 30 months for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

MLB News:

• A look at Pete Crow-Armstrong and his push for NL MVP.
• The revival of Teoscar Hernandez couldn’t come at a better time for the Dodgers.
• A roundup of the baseball stories that stood out to Ben Clemens at FanGraphs this week.
• What does the decline of starting innings mean for baseball?
• The positives and negatives of being a dad while also being a professional baseball player. ($)
• Mike Shirley, scouting director for the Chicago White Sox, has resigned amid verbal harassment allegations. ($)
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finally got his first home run at home for the season.
• The teams that have defied expectations this season, for better or worse.
• The DBacks have DFA’d Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
• The Red Sox have activated Willson Contreras from the IL.
• Why Walt Weiss deserves to be manager of the year. ($)
• A look at some of the most disappointing players of 2026.
• And, conversely, the 10 players who made the biggest positive difference for their teams.
• How the Yankees honored the memory of 9/11 during the Subway Series. ($)
• Revisiting the trade deadline five weeks later.
• Rafael Devers’ season is over due to a core muscle injury.
• Byron Buxton will undergo season-ending hip surgery. ($)
• Love things like this.

• This worked out well.

• Sometimes, there is definitely crying in baseball.

Hat tip to AG88 for pointing this out.

Right now, there’s a four-way race for top batting line on the Braves:

• Matt Olson leads in wRC+ with 124. He has a .354 wOBA and a .355 xwOBA. However, he’s really struggled in September, yesterday’s homer aside, and you have to go back to the start of August for him to have a then-on xwOBA of .350.
• Next is Drake Baldwin, with a 121 wRC+ and an xwOBA underperformance (.351 wOBA, .362 xwOBA). Baldwin has also struggled a bit in September, and has honestly been pretty meh (league average-ish in both wOBA and xwOBA) since he was on fire in July (after struggling mightily in his return from the Injured List).
• Ronald Acuña Jr. has the same xwOBA as Baldwin, but is underperforming it just a tiny bit more, for a 120 wRC+. He’s been on fire so far in September (189 wRC+), though that’s come with a big xwOBA overperformance in about two weeks’ worth of games: .453 wOBA, .367 xwOBA. Still, that xwOBA is better than what his teammates on this list are managing.
• And then there’s Michael Harris II, who leads the position players in fWAR, with a 119 wRC+ and a .347 wOBA that’s slightly higher than his .340 xwOBA. Harris has been terrible in September (60 wRC+, .259 wOBA, .301 xwOBA), and has honestly been pretty bad inputs-wise from July-0nward. It’s just been hard to tell because he was underhitting his inputs a lot while hitting really well early in the season, and getting lucky while struggling at the plate since. While it’s probably not going to be Harris because he neither has inputs better than the other guys, nor is it his to lose outputs-wise, he could easily run a heater for two weeks anyway.

Acuña’s recent relative performance uptick suggests it could be him. But, it’s not his to lose right now. It really might come to the wire for this quartet. What do you think?

Pete Alonso returns to Citi Field on Monday night as a member of the Orioles, when he'll suit up in Queens as an ex-Met for the first time.

When Alonso has his first place appearance in front of tens of thousands of Mets fans, many of whom spent parts of June chanting his name when he was hundreds of miles away, he'll almost certainly receive a thunderous ovation that makes clear how beloved he was during his time in Flushing. 

In the months since frustrated fans chanted Alonso's name, in what felt like a combination of longing for what was no longer there and disgust over the Mets' play at the time, things have changed -- though not enough to rescue New York's season.

The Mets are 29-23 since the All-Star Break, and have actually played .500 ball (59-59) since May 1, which was shortly after an agonizing 12-game losing streak that derailed their year.

Most of the losses during that streak came because New York's offense didn't have enough punch, as it mustered two runs or fewer in nine of those defeats.

And when you dissect why the Mets' season went haywire, one thing that comes to mind is that there was perhaps too much risk and too much change -- something owner Steve Cohen discussed last month.

Of all that change, which impacted both the roster and the coaching staff, some moves stand out as clear missteps, while others were sound.

For one, it would be absurd to blame president of baseball operations David Stearns for the failures of Freddy Peralta, whose FIP since being traded to the Rays (4.25) is right around where it was during his brief time in New York (4.46). 

Stearns choosing to move on from fan favorite Brandon Nimmo has been panned by many because of the struggles of Marcus Semien. But getting out of the final two years of Nimmo's contract was shrewd, and moving on before the season has allowed the Mets to have both Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing in the outfield with Juan Soto.

While Nimmo is still a slightly above average offensive player (his OPS+ entering play on Monday was 115), he has continued to regress defensively.

The Mets letting Edwin Diaz go, which seemed highly questionable at the time, looks different now. Diaz has missed most of the season due to multiple injuries, and has been ineffective while displaying diminished velocity in the 13.2 innings he has pitched -- with an unsightly 11.85 ERA and 2.56 WHIP.

The move that was the most puzzling at the time and remains perplexing now wasn't simply letting Alonso go. It was that the Mets did not properly replace him.

Even if you disagreed with the decision (as I did) to not retain Alonso (while not really making any effort to do so), you could kind of see the front office's logic.

Alonso was entering his age-31 season, did not play a position that was terribly valuable, and would likely regress offensively (perhaps in a major way) before the five-year, $155 million contract he signed with Baltimore ended.

But it can be argued that the Mets were too calculating. That they didn't properly appreciate Alonso's value beyond his bat -- his connection to the fans, his ability to play nearly every game nearly every season, and his understanding of what it took to play and deal with the scrutiny in New York.

While aiming to reshape the offense after Alonso's departure, the Mets brought in Jorge Polanco (22 OPS+ in 37 games before undergoing season-ending ankle surgery), Luis Robert Jr. (96 OPS+ in an injury-riddled tenure before being waived), and Bo Bichette (who has been tremendous over the last four months after acclimating).

As far as Alonso, he's been himself.

Entering play on Monday, Alonso was slashing .269/.363/.499. with 35 home runs, 24 doubles, an AL-leading 100 RBI, and 89 runs scored.

Alonso's OPS (.863) and OPS+ (143) this season are both better than they were during his seven-year tenure with the Mets (.857 and 135, respectively).

And unsurprisingly, Alonso had played in all 150 games.

This offseason, the Mets will again attempt to fill the void left by Alonso's departure.

Jared Young has done a solid job as the somewhat unexpected primary first baseman this season, but he has hit just nine home runs and does hit well against left-handed pitching -- making him an unlikely fit as an everyday player on a contending team.

The free agent market doesn't have too many intriguing names, though star Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato could be one to keep an eye on.

That will all come later, though.

For now, the focus is on Alonso's return to Queens, which coincidentally comes with both he and Francisco Lindor on the cusp of reaching 300 career home runs, as both of them enter play on Monday sitting on 299.

What a fun ride it would've been if they were chasing 300 together on the Mets. But it was not in the cards. And as Alonso receives cheers this week, the Mets will start preparing to replace him -- again.

After wrapping up the Subway Series against the Mets, it’s now time for the Yankees to head back out on the road. Starting tonight, the Yankees will be in Minnesota to take on an old friend in the Twins. The Yankees’ dominance over the Twins over the years has been well documented, and the team could use that again as they try to track down the AL East title.

Meanwhile, at one point, the Twins were in the playoff hunt in the weak AL Wild Card race. Technically, they’re still somewhat within shouting distance of the final spot, but they’re running out of time. After a Trade Deadline where they made some moves, the Twins put up a 10-17 August and will now need to catch fire down the stretch. They’re 4-7 in September and have lost Byron Buxton for the season, so a playoff berth is now rather unlikely.

With the two teams set to take the field tonight, let’s take a look at the expected pitching matchups for the next couple days.

Monday: Will Warren vs. Dean Kremer (7:40 pm ET)

With the rotation crunch of the playoffs coming up, Warren has gotten some bullpen days in addition to starts, but he’s been pretty good in his recent starts. Dating back to August 19th — which does include 2.1 scoreless bullpen innings — Warren has a 2.22 ERA and 3.84 FIP, striking out nearly a batter per inning. He’s still the obvious choice to move to the bullpen once the rotation goes to four pitchers for the postseason, but he’s been pretty excellent as far as fifth starters go.

The former Oriole Kremer was traded to Minnesota at the deadline this year. He was very poor in Baltimore this season, and has only been slightly better since the trade. In seven starts as a Twin, Kremer has a 4.79 ERA and a 4.00 FIP, issuing 3.5 BB/9.

Tuesday: Max Fried vs. Bailey Ober (7:40 pm ET)

Although he should be nearing it in this start, Fried hasn’t been fully stretched out in terms of pitch count since returning from the IL. That proved an issue in his last outing, as he went only 3.1 innings against the Rockies while struggling with control. His IL stints and things like that have led to a very weird stat: Fried hasn’t been the winning pitcher of record since April 27th.

With a 98 ERA+ on the season, Ober has been, well, pretty much average. That’s been a step up from a down 2025, but a step below the early years of his career. Even though he has been around for a couple years now, the Yankees have only faced him once, scoring three runs in five innings in a game in 2024.

Wednesday: Carlos Rodón vs. Zebby Matthews (1:40 pm ET)

While like Fried he needed some time to get stretched back out, Rodón has been on a nice little run since coming off the IL. In the five games since then, he has a 2.25 ERA and a 3.81 FIP. The best of those games probably came over the weekend against the Mets, as he struck out eight, allowing just one earned run in 6.1 innings. He always has the tendency to nibble a little bit and drive up his pitch count, but he still has yet to allow more than three runs in a start all season, and you’ll always take that.

The delightfully named Zebby Matthews is in his third season in the big leagues, having once been rated as a top 100 prospect. However, his MLB career has not been great to this point. He has the ability to strike batters out, but a 5.45 ERA isn’t great. This has been the best year of his career to this point, but he still has a 4.98 ERA and a 4.98 FIP

Meet the Mets

The Mets dropped the final game of the 2026 Subway Series, but they ended up with a series split for the year and nobody is infected with legionnaires disease, yet.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post

The Baltimore Orioles are coming to Citi Field tonight and you know what that means, don’t you? Pete Alonso is coming with them for his return to Queens.

If you’re looking for bright spots in Sunday’s game, you won’t find a ton, but Brett Baty’s good afternoon and Christian Scott having a competent battle with the future Cy Young are two of them.

When the World Series ends, the most important clock starts for the Mets as Bo Bichette will officially be in decision time on his opt-out.

Prior to his final game at Yankee Stadium, the Yankee Stadium kitchen baked a cake and dozens of cupcakes for Howie Rose and the rest of the media.

Mitch Voit and Jonathan Santucci were crowned the Mets Minor League Hitter and Pitcher of the Year.

Around the National League East

In the rare position of making a late comeback of their own against someone’s weak bullpen, the Nationals scored four times in the eighth inning and handed the Angels a 6-5 loss.

The second late-game clobbering in the NL East on Sunday, the Phillies scored seven times against the Braves bullpen in the eighth inning of a 9-4 win and got back to within five games of Atlanta and first place.

You like late comebacks? Well, we got one more if you’re feeling really spicy. The Marlins rallied for four runs in their bottom of the ninth inning against Tanner Scott and Brock Stewart, giving Miami a 6-4 victory and assuring the first home run of Josue De Paula’s career will never be shown on Dodgers Classics.

Before their big comeback, the Marlins inducted Dontrelle Willis into their team Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony.

Around Major League Baseball

After Sunday’s Subway Series game ended, New York City health officials revealed that Yankee Stadium’s cooling tower tested positive for Legionella bacteria.

Josh Hader, Mason Miller, and Jacob Misiorowski all have some of the fastest fastballs in the sport, but their ultimate sneaky weapon is an infrequently used change-up.

With his start against the Mets in the books, Cam Schlittler tied Jacob Misiorowski for the lowest ERA in Major League Baseball at 1.95.

His Cy Young case is good, but as far as Cam Schlittler winning the MVP goes, Aaron Judge isn’t in his corner on that one.

Peyton Tolle pitched an immaculate first inning for the Red Sox and even took the time to smile into the camera before throwing his ninth consecutive strike.

The Detroit Tigers and Justin Verlander are hoping that the future Hall of Famer can end his career with one final start at Comerica Park before the season wraps up.

Rafael Devers’ 2026 will end on a three-game home run streak as a core muscle injury and the upcoming surgery to correct it have closed the book on his season.

It only took until the 75th home game of the Blue Jays’ season, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finally hit his first home run at home on the year.

Missing the first two games of the weekend and watching his triple crown get further away, Yordan Alvarez returned to the Astros’ lineup on Sunday for a quick appearance.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 2020, the Wilpon family agreed to sell the Mets to Steve Cohen.

Though the Braves did take care of business over the weekend, the Braves were unable to earn the sweep as the Phillies won Sunday’s game. But while this one game was disappointing, the Braves have to be pleased with the spot they are in to earn another NL East division title. They are now up five games (essentially 6 with the tie-breaker) with 12 games left. If Atlanta can get a split or better on this week’s tough road trip, they should be able to win the division with games to spare and prepare for the playoffs.

Braves News

Robert Suarez continues to make positive and notable progress in his return from injury. He is now in the midst of completing live bullpen sessions, and likely will complete another this week. That could allow for him to reasonably target a return to action before the regular season ends.

Luke Sinnard led the charge in another 15-K effort for a Braves minor league staff over the weekend.

MLB News

The long wait is over. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finally hit a home run for the first time all season in Toronto.

Cam Schlitter continues to look like the AL’s best pitcher every time he takes the mound.

The Giants placed Rafael Devers on the 60-day IL.

A few stories to start your Monday morning, as the Dodgers shift their road trip from Miami to Cincinnati.

Josue De Paula played his first three major league games over the weekend, but before stepping into the box for the first time on Friday was already displaying controlled confidence. From Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:

“Nothing I feel I really have to change especially on the offensive side. Just do what I know how to do,” he said, acknowledging that he doesn’t think making a bid for a spot on the postseason roster is out of the question.

“Yeah. I mean, that’s always in the back of your head too. But I don’t want to get too ahead of myself now. I’m trying to focus on the now and having fun while I’m here.”

De Paula walked at least once in all three games, then lowered the boom on Sunday with a three-run home run for his first major league hit, then added a double.

“I’ll never forget it,” De Paula said of his home run on Sunday. “It was awesome.”

Even with De Paula graduated to the majors, the Dodgers still have a slew of exceptional outfield prospects in the minors, including Eduardo Quintero and Charles Davalan. Jesse Borek wrote about the High-A Great Lakes prospect trio of Quintero, Davalan, and shortstop Emil Morales, and the great seasons they had.

Mookie Betts on Saturday hit the 10,000th home run in Los Angeles Dodgers history. Dodgers historian Mark Langill last week wrote about infielder Dick Gray, who hit the first LA Dodgers homer back in 1958.

Hannah Fry at the Los Angeles Times on Sunday wrote about the two weeks of turbulence for Los Angeles-area sports owners, including Dodgers owner Mark Walter selling the Lakers less than a year after buying them (amid ongoing federal investigations), Rams owner Stan Kroenke buying the Angels, and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer getting suspended by the NBA for salary cap circumvention involving Kawhi Leonard.

I missed this a few weeks ago, but Brady and Trey Ebel, first-round picks of the Milwaukee Brewers in the last two years had a connected moment in the minors. Brady and Trey, the sons of Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel, were fixtures at Dodger Stadium during summers when they were at Corona High School, often practicing on the field.

Brady Ebel started the season in Class-A Wilson in North Carolina, and on July 19 started at shortstop and was hit by a pitch and scored in a six-run first inning. The game was suspended by rain with two outs in the top of the first inning and a 2-0 count on Brady, batting for a second time in the game already. Play wasn’t resumed until August 25, and by then, Brady was promoted to High-A Wisconsin. So Wilson put Trey Ebel in for Brady to complete the plate appearance, and he took two more balls to work a full-count walk, which was credited to Trey.

From MiLB.com:

“I was in the cage this morning, and when they sent out what we’re gonna do for the game, I was like, ‘No way! This is crazy,'” Trey said after the game. “How cool is that? I don’t know if that’s been done before, having the younger brother finish [an older brother’s] at-bat. I’m super stoked.”

This March, I was struggling to get that new-season thrill for the Tampa Bay Rays. The last two seasons were slogs, and frankly I didn’t see a lot suggesting this year would be better. Maybe Shane McClanahan would be healthy. Maybe Yandy could continue to be a league leading hitter even as he aged. The off season acquisitions didn’t have me picturing October baseball either. Nick Martinez? Ben Williamson? Ryan Vilade? These guys were going to going to get us the 10 + additional wins needed to make the post-season?

The one thing I was sure about, with all my years of baseball wisdom, is that a team playing Chandler Simpson every day was a team headed nowhere. No shade on Chandler as a human being. He seems like a lovely young man! I love his enthusiasm and his work ethic! His speed is otherwordly!

But you can’t be a major leaguer with speed as your only tool, and we saw that last year. Simpson was pretty terrible in the outfield. This was clear from the eye test — his speed may have disguised just how bad he was at finding the ball — and defensive stats like Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) which had him at -4 for the 2025 season.

As for hitting: Simpson has always shown great contact skills, and he seldom strikes out (although he also doesn’t often walk). But he has no power. I mean none. Usually when we say a guy doesn’t have power we mean, say, Taylor Walls, who will still manage to run into 3-4 home runs and a handful of hard hit doubles in any given season. But Simpson has never hit a ball out of a major league park, and even his doubles and triples tend to be grounders hit to just the right outfield corner.

I figured this skill set — bad defense, slap hit singles and stolen bases — didn’t add up to a starting outfielder.

But now the Rays are a playoff team and Simpson is their everyday left fielder. What is striking is what has changed, but also what has not changed.

Simpson reportedly worked hard this off season to improve his defense. Now we always hear these stories of players striving to address weaknesses, but all too often the effort doesn’t much matter. This time, however, it did. This year Simpson is rated at 8 Defensive Runs Saved. Statcast gives him high ratings (93 out of 100) for his range, although his arm remain a weak spot. Those of us who watch him daily no longer think of his routes to fly balls as Oregon Trail like adventures. His becoming an average or better defender has given this outfield a completely different look.

I have also been thinking that Simpson’s offensive skills have shown improvement, but then I checked the numbers and his line this year is similar to last. With half a month to go his batting average and OBP are slightly higher than at the end of last season, but not dramatically higher. Counting stats like total hits or stolen bases are higher this year, but since he spent parts of 2025 in the minors he’s simply had more at bats. He still has no power, he still neither walks nor does he strike out.

One improved metric does stand out: he has nine sac bunts this year compared to three last season. This difference, I think, helps us build a narrative about Simpson’s key offensive role this year. His game hasn’t changed, but the team’s offensive approach has changed around him, making his skills more central to many of those small ball wins. When the Rays score three on a few singles, a couple of stolen bases and a sac bunt you know that Chandler was in that mix.

I don’t know what kind of career Simpson will have. A pure speed player is always one hammy pull away from losing his edge. I’m also not sure whether a team can afford to have a corner outfielder with absolutely no power over the long run. But in 2026, this is clearly Chandler Simpson’s team, one built to take advantage of the speed, energy and discipline he brings to the field.

Welcome to week 25 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!

1. Milwaukee Brewers (93-57); 5-1 this week; 100.0% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)

The Brewers locked up their postseason spot and have a magic number of just two to clinch the NL Central after they swept the Cubs and took two of three from the Reds in a strong homestand.

William Contreras led the offense with three homers and 12 RBIs, while Jake Bauers, Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, and Brice Turang added two homers each. Chourio also led the team with 13 hits overall, including three doubles.

Most of the Brewers’ rotation had a strong week, as Robert Gasser, Logan Henderson, Jacob Misiorowski, and Dustin May combined for 27 innings across five starts (Gasser made two), allowing just three earned runs and striking out 31. Garrett Stallings picked up a save with three shutout innings in Milwaukee’s 20-0 win over the Reds, while JoJo Romero, Chad Patrick, and DL Hall also turned in scoreless

Milwaukee now departs for their last road trip of the season, as they’ll visit the Pirates, Orioles, and Phillies for three games each over the next week and a half.

2. Chicago Cubs (83-67); 2-4 this week; 99.0% chance to make postseason

The Cubs are hanging in the fight for the top NL Wild Card spot, as they’re currently tied with the Phillies at 83-67 this season. Chicago was swept by the Brewers to begin the week but bounced back to take two of three at Wrigley against the Pirates.

Pedro Ramírez led the offense with two homers and two doubles this week, while Alex Bregman led the team with eight hits, including a homer and three doubles. Michael Busch, Miguel Amaya, and Pete Crow-Armstrong also homered.

Shota Imanaga had the only quality start of the week, going six innings with two runs allowed and four strikeouts. David Peterson went 4 1/3 innings with one run allowed and four strikeouts, while Javier Assad, Aaron Civale, Colin Rea, Ryan Rolison, and Trent Thornton combined for 11 1/3 scoreless innings for the bullpen, striking out 11.

Chicago now hosts the Braves for three games before visiting the Reds for three games over the weekend.

3. Pittsburgh Pirates (75-75); 4-2 this week; 0.1% chance to make postseason

The Pirates had a solid week as they’re on pace to finish at (or above) .500 for the first time since 2018. They spent the entire week in Chicago, sweeping the White Sox and dropping two of three against the Cubs.

Five players had a homer this week, including Oneil Cruz, Rafael Flores, Ryan O’Hearn, Bryan Reynolds, and Esmerlyn Valdez. Cruz led the team with nine hits and drove in five, while Flores added eight hits.

Jared Jones turned in another strong start, going seven scoreless with just a hit and two walks allowed, striking out eight. Lake Bachar continues to function as an opener, going 1 2/3 scoreless innings, while Paul Skenes went seven frames, allowing two runs and striking out four. Mason Montgomery led the bullpen, picking up three saves over three scoreless innings.

Pittsburgh now returns home for their final homestand of the season, hosting the Brewers, Royals, and Cardinals for three games each over the next week and a half.

4. St. Louis Cardinals (74-76); 2-4 this week; 0.0% chance to make postseason

The Cardinals had a rough week, as they were swept by the lowly Giants in San Francisco before taking two of three from the White Sox at home.

Leo Bernal led the squad with two homers as part of a six-hit week, adding a double and driving in seven. Alec Burleson had the only other homer, also doubling twice and driving in six. Joshua Báez and Nathan Church each added three doubles.

Michael McGreevy made a pair of solid starts, spanning 12 2/3 innings with four runs allowed (three earned) and 10 strikeouts. Quinn Mathews went six innings with two runs allowed and four strikeouts, Andre Pallante went five innings with one run allowed and four strikeouts, and Kyle Leahy worked three scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Luis Gastelum, Gordon Graceffo, and Ryne Stanek combined for 11 scoreless innings for the bullpen, striking out 11.

St. Louis wraps up their last homestand of the year this week, as they’ll host the Giants and Nationals for three games each.

5. Cincinnati Reds (70-79); 1-5 this week; 0.0% chance to make postseason

The Reds had another rough week, as they were swept by the Dodgers in Los Angeles and dropped two of three against the Brewers in Milwaukee, salvaging the series finale on Sunday.

Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suárez each slugged three homers this week, with De La Cruz adding three doubles as part of a nine-hit week. Juan Brito also homered, and Sal Stewart added seven hits (all singles).

Chase Burns was just about the only bright spot for the rotation, making a pair of starts totaling six innings with two runs allowed and 10 strikeouts. Tejay Antone, Brock Burke, and Emilio Pagán combined for six scoreless innings out of the bullpen, striking out four.

Cincinnati now heads home for the last time in 2026, as they’ll host the Dodgers for four games and the Cubs for three games.

Good morning, baseball fans!

A new week of San Francisco Giants baseball starts today, with the team heading back out on the road for the last time this season.

First up is a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, followed by a day off on Thursday and then a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I would usually pick a Dodgers series for the one that I’m most interested in this week. But given the way things are going, and the way things went against the Cardinals last week, I’m picking that series.

Which series are you most interested in this week?

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants begin this series against the Cardinals this afternoon at 4:45 p.m. PT.

Good morning, Purple Row!

Today and tomorrow, we are trying something a little different with our morning lineup. Rather than having one singular Rockpile that contains a feature story, minor league recap, and links to Rockies news, we’re going to split it into three parts:

• Scaling the Rocks at 6am MT: Links to Rockies and MLB News
• Rockpile at 10am MT: Daily feature story
• Daily Pebble Report at 12pm MT: Minor league recap from the night before
  • We will still have the weekly Pebble Report feature story on Tuesdays, but that will be renamed the “Pebble Report Spotlight.”

You’ll still get the same information, but it’ll be broken into smaller chunks instead of one long thread.

This is not something we’ll run regularly at this time, as we’re still in the experimentation phase, but we just wanted to make you aware.

But on to what’s happening!

Country Roads, Take Me Home

Yesterday, the Rockies lost once again, pushing their losing streak to seven games as they went 0-6 on their road trip and were outscored 46-17.

Today, they embark on their final homestand of the season. They will play four against the San Diego Padres, three against the Arizona Diamondbacks and three against the Seattle Mariners. Then, they will embark on a quick three-game road trip to end the season against the Chicago White Sox.

The quest for 63 wins is still alive, but it is exponentially more challenging than it was a few weeks ago. The Mariners are the only team not in the thick of a playoff race, so it will be a brutal push to the end.

Rockies News & Links

• Hill’s calm demeanor has roots in pee-wee football | MLB.com — Jaden Hill has been a stalwart in the Rockies bullpen this year, and Thomas Harding asked him about his origin story. For Hill, it came from growing up playing pee-wee football and learning how to not only find weaknesses in his opponents, but also stay calm in the face of danger.
• With Goodman raking, but Rox reeling, backstop focused on bigger picture | MLB.com — The Rockies lost 11-7 after a spectacular late-inning bullpen implosion. In the midst of it, though, Hunter Goodman hit his 38th home run of the season. Thomas Harding asked Goodman to shed light on his accomplishment, and how the team is dealing in the midst of a streak that has seen them lose seven in a row, 11 straight on the road, and 19 of their last 24.
• Rockies GM Byrnes talks ups and downs of Colorado’s season | MLB.com — Rockies GM Josh Byrnes was in Detroit over the weekend and offered his insights on the current Rockies situation, as well as their 2026 season as a whole. He identified three shortcomings (offense, defense, pitching) and one strength (Warren Schaeffer).
• Ryan McMahon’s reunion ‘normal baseball, while Gabriel Hughes faces off with Aaron Judge | Denver Gazette ($) — Kevin Henry traveled with the Rockies to New York when they faced the Yankees last week. He was able to connect with old friend Ryan McMahon, who was facing his old team for the first time since being traded at the 2025 deadline. Additionally, he asked Gabriel Hughes about facing Aaron Judge, who had just been activated off the IL on Tuesday, and Connor Norby about what makes for a stellar batting practice (something that helped Norby get in the starting lineup on Tuesday).

Around Baseball

• Diamondbacks designate Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for assignment | Arizona Sports — The Diamondbacks are pushing for a playoff spot, and cut ties with Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who was a key player in their 2023 World Series run. However, since then, he’s been injury-prone — including an ACL tear in 2024 — and the Snakes decided it was time to move on.
• The perks and heartaches of being a dad and an MLB player | The Athletic (Gift Link) — Stephen Nesbitt writes an excellent article about the joys and challenges of being a big leaguer and a dad. He spoke with 15 players about their experiences, including old friend Trevor Story.
• WPBL Takes Adaptability to the Next Level | Kick the Concrete — Purple Row’s own Joelle Milholm covered the WPBL this season for Kick the Concrete. This is her third article in the series, and she talks about the positional versatility of all the players. You can read her other articles here and here, as well as a feature she wrote for SB Nation.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Seth Lugo got back in the win column on Friday, writes Jaylon Thompson.

Lugo threw his four-seamer 38% of the time during his first trip through the order. The pitch also registered 6-of-9 first-pitch strikes, per Baseball Savant.

“I think, you know, it makes the hitters be a little more aggressive,” Lugo said. “So then, the spin and off-speed pitches tend to work better when they’re trying to hit fastballs. So we were trying to challenge early in the count and make sure they are quality pitches.”

Noah Cameron looked good in Sunday’s loss, writes Ken Powtak at MLB.com.

“He battles, that’s probably his Number 1 characteristic,” Quatraro said. “He’s exceptionally competitive and he’s been on a really good run here lately the way he throws the ball. He has a lot of confidence and we have a lot of confidence in him.”

Overall, Cameron threw 85 pitches, 57 for strikes, relying a bit more on his slider than usual.

“Obviously, a long first inning. I was thankful to get out of there,” he said.

Carter Jensen tied a Royals rookie record with his 24th home run.

“That’s a phenomenal record,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We know that he’s been on a tear here offensively as of late. So good for him. Not only that, but it tied the game.”

Jensen has 13 hits, five home runs and 10 RBIs in September. He leads all American League rookies in extra-base hits (57) and doubles (31). He also ranks second with 71 RBIs, and third with 24 home runs.

“He’s swinging the (expletive) out of it,” Royals starter Randy Dobnak said. “He can do it pretty well. And what he’s been doing is what he’s been doing all year. I mean, this month, he has four or five pumps. Just swinging it really well.”

And Bobby Witt Jr. is reaching milestones with his legs.

Witt began his day by beating out an infield hit before he stole second base for his 40th bag of the season. The All-Star shortstop, who reached that number for the second time in his career (49 in 2023), is one of just five players in franchise history with multiple 40 stolen-base campaigns. 

With 13 games remaining in the regular season, Witt is just two homers shy of the third 20 HR/40 SB season in franchise history. His 2023 campaign (30/49) and Carlos Beltran’s 2003 performance (26/41) are the only two to date.

Jac Caglianone returned to the lineup on Sunday.

“Yeah, definitely feel better,” Caglianone said pregame. “You know, with these, it’s different for everybody going through them. So I’m glad there was no IL (injured list) or anything like that. Still a few games left in the year, so I’m excited and very happy to be back.”

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep writes that Jensen is becoming a long-term star for the Royals.

Payton Tolle had an immaculate inning in the first against the Royals.

The Quad Cities River Bandits win Game 1 of the Midwest League Championship Series.

Former Royals pitcher Matt Strahm has knee surgery.

The Brewers and Rays clinch playoff spots.

Giants slugger Rafael Devers is out for the year with a core muscle injury.

The Diamondbacks designate outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for assignment.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits his first home run in Toronto this year.

Is the decline of starting pitcher innings bad for baseball?

The Tigers plan to have Justin Verlander start one more time this year.

Can Jose Altuve reach 3,000 career hits?

The Athletics interview Mike Rizzo and Billy Owens for their GM job.

The Giants ownership situation is complicated.

How the system traps and exploits Dominican baseball players.

Alexander Zverev beats Ben Shelton to win the US Open.

USA wins its fifth consecutive women’s FIBA World Cup title.

This could be a good week to see the “false dawn.”

Prediction markets are becoming professionalized and harder to beat.

Burning Man is facing a midlife crisis.

Your song of the day is The Orwells with Who Needs You.

Triple-A: Memphis Redbirds (STL) 3, Norfolk Tides 2

The Tides fell, with starter Juaron Watts-Brown taking the loss. He didn’t pitch too badly, though, giving his team five innings with three runs allowed on six hits and two walks. The righty, acquired from the Blue Jays in 2025 in exchange for Seranthony Dominguez, had a 5.76 ERA in Double-A, but struggled to a 9.26 ERA in Triple-A over six starts. After JWB, Yaqui Rivera, Albert Suárez and Yosver Zulueta threw three scoreless.

The Tides scored their two runs in the sixth inning, courtesy of one big swing. Jud Fabian singled, ahead of one Creed Willems, who happily got a hanging curveball and went yard. It was the catcher’s eighteenth four-bagger this season. Other Tides batters who recorded hits were Christian Franklin, Silas Ardoin and Tavian Josenberger.

Box Score

Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 3, Richmond Flying Squirrels (SFG) 1

On their last day of the season, the Baysox pulled off a win with a three-run comeback in the eighth. But first we’ll start with pitching. Starter Patrick Reilly, reinstated in late July after Tommy John, posted a clean 5.2 one-run innings, bringing down his season ERA at Double-A to 3.63 ERA in eight starts. Reilly also struck out seven. Afterwards, 3 1/3 scoreless were tossed by a combination of Richard Guasch, Keegan Gillies, Alex Pham and Brock Moore.

This game was 1-0 Richmond until the top of the eighth, when the Baysox strung together the winning three-run rally. Griff O’Ferrall singled, Frederick Bencosme walked and then, with two outs, Wehiwa Aloy brought them all home with an Earl Weaver Special. That was all the offense the Baysox would get, and it’d be all they needed. O’Ferrall, Estrada and Aloy finished with two hits apiece.

Chesapeake ends its season 67-68, fifth in the Eastern League’s Southwest division.

Box Score

Today’s Schedule

• The Tides are off today, but they’ll pick back up on Tuesday, against the Charlotte Knights.

Fret not with that hovering malaise permeating from St. Petersburg’s aftermath. The ambient rawness of a series loss in Tampa is still fresh, but we have the perfect cure. It’s time to unveil my “All October Squad” throughout the various decades.

This might be the only list you’ll ever find without the likes of Bagwell and Biggio. Bagwell in 106 post season plate appearances, hit only .226 with a pair of home runs. Biggio also had two longballs over 167 at-bats, hitting just .234.   

The lineup card has been submitted to the home plate ump, so sit back and enjoy. Without further ado, here’s the best to do it for the Astros in October:

1.         George Springer.                                     CF.

Admit it, you miss hearing “Springer Dinger!” George’s epic 2017 Series in which he launched five home runs off Dodgers pitching is the stuff of legend. All told, he’d accumulate 19 HR, 38 RBI along with 43 runs across 63 post season games as an Astro.

2.       Alex Bregman.                                         3B.

88 hits in the postseason.    Enough said!

3.      Yordan Alvarez.                                         DH

The intimidation factor will always be there, as will stunning 3 run blast against Seattle in the 2022 ALDS.

4.      Jose Altuve.                                               2B.

Not surprising, the newly minted member of the 2,500 club, leads all Astros with 118 post season hits.   

5.      Carlos Correa                                       SS

Clutch. 18 home runs in 79 postseason games, with an engagement proposal on one knee to boot.

6.      Michael Brantley.                                LF

On his tombstone, it will say, “professional baseball hitter” Believe it or not, he actually has more postseason hits than Yordan, even with injuries cutting him short.

7.       Yuli Gurriel                                         1B

87 hits in 85 post season games.      

8.      Jason Castro                                      C

Go back and watch the 2021 postseason. Castro was clutch off the bench, registering a monster 1.159 OPS over 6 games.    

9.      Billy Hatcher                                   RF

Billy’s game tying solo home run in the 14th inning against the Mets is legendary. Every Astros fan remembers the left field foul pole shot! He also had 7 hits in that series with New York.    

SP     Mike Scott

Yes, Verlander has 10 wins in a Houston uniform, but Scott made his lone post-season appearance in 1986 count, so much so that he was named NLCS MVP even in the series loss. Scott’s combined stats from Games 1 & 4 are insane. Two complete games, 1 run allowed and 19 K’s.    

Closer:       Ryan Pressly

Shakira’s hips don’t lie and neither do the stats for Pressly. Simply put, he has the most saves in October for the Astros all-time with 14.    

Let us know your all-time Astros October lineup in the comments.