CLEVELAND, OHIO - JUNE 01: Cleveland Guardians mascot Onion wins the hot dog derby during the sixth inning of the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on June 01, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I went to game two of the ALDS today by myself.
I am a Guardians Season Ticket Holder, but in my 10-12 games a year, I always take 1-2 of our kids (ages 7, 6, almost 4, and 2). So, today was different. I got a scorecard because keeping score controls my emotions and competitive anxiety. I sat down and started talking to the older gentleman on my left who tolerated my various insights into the game very kindly.
On my right, I allowed a White Sox fan to sit in my assigned seat so he could sit next to his friends. White Sox fan person (a “boss” of some sort) was not profane or abusive. But, he very clearly had only started paying attention the past two weeks, at most. Yet, there he was, standing and screaming in joy as the team I live and die with daily failed to secure a crucial victory. His joy did not appear to be any less than mine would have been despite my significantly superior emotional investment. So… why am I bothering?
At some level, it has to be that I get joy from this. Seeing Anthony Kay spike a throw and allow two runs was joyous. 11 strikeouts from Gavin Williams was a thrill of hope for a weary world to rejoice in. Jo Adell gave me an electric moment where I thought he had deposited one in the bleachers. I do truly revel in the feelings these events produce.
But, at another level, it’s a longing to be part of something bigger and to succeed. Is Cleveland going to be a good place for me and my family to live? That’s a group project. Are we going to survive the threats of A.I., climate change, resurgent fascism, persistent totalitarianism, biological warfare and the billionaire oligarchs that profit from it all as a society? That’s a group project. I’m rooting for us. Watching my baseball team win gives me just a little glimmer of hope that winning the actual important games is possible. It makes me a believe a collection of wildly diverse people with their own special talents and roles can do impossible things when the Guardians beat the Angels on a Wednesday night.
But, the Guardians did not win tonight. The baseball Sabrowski threw to a hitter with a 19 wRC+ vs LHP caught an inch too much of the plate and landed just 36 inches fair. The ball Kwan hit to left field was almost misplayed by Antonacci and landed just inches within his glove. The ball that seemingly hit Jose was just half an inch from being obviously a hit and resulting in two runs when Adell hit his smash… glorious victory just inches away… leaving me with crushing defeat.
When I got home, our three-year old, Zalee, asked me if the Guardians won. I said, “No, but Onion won the hot dog race!” And she squealed in delight. Her primary interest in the game is if Onion wins the hot dog race. When we go to games, she is as disappointed if Onion loses as I am if the Guardians Lose.
In the big scheme of things, is my joy really that much more significant than hers? Is my disappointment more crushing? If I had to guess, I’d assume the opposite is true. Seeing her felt-covered hero of condiment fame triumph is a more significant epochal milestone for her than a World Series title would be in my 43 years on this globe.
But, I suppose I will be successful in teaching her to love this wonderful, awful, joyous, soul-crushing sport like I do (if the aformentioned billionaires let us watch it again next season, of course). Someday, Zalee will cheer, cry, thrill, deflate, and scream like I do. And, the reason that’s ok is that it will be something that reminds her and me that we are in this thing together. That we don’t win without the other feeling joy and pride, and we don’t lose without the other feeling pain and humiliation. And, that’s life. And that’s humanity.
The Guardians didn’t win today. But, Onion did. She swung her purse at the last second and broke the finish line by inches before Ketchup. So, rejoice, Zalee. It’s a good night, after all.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 05: Junior Caminero #13 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates after hitting a double against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning in game two of the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field on October 05, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I hate Tropicana Field. I know many of you do too. If you are not a Yankees fan and are doing what I am also guilty of doing—reading the reactions of salty fans after playoff losses—grab your popcorn. This is the good stuff you’re probably looking for.
It blows my mind that baseball games in 2026 are played at places like this. It honestly blows my mind even more that this place was destroyed by an act of God two years ago, was rebuilt despite plans to replace it in the near future, and is being used for big playoff games. The roof is baseball-colored; there is statistical proof that teams other than the Rays struggle defensively here due to a lack of experience; the turf leads to weird hops that cause more errors to be committed against the Rays than any other team in baseball. It’s the strangest home-field advantage in baseball, and one that the Rays ran roughshod over to take advantage of a Yankees team that was just not focused from the jump tonight—and one that, to be clear, absolutely deserved this atrocious loss, even if it was played in the baseball version of Elysian Fields.
Alright, enough of my anger-filled soapbox. The Yankees set the tone for this one with three brutal first-inning errors, played shoddy defense the rest of the night, and just got Rays’d. Any opportunity they had to use their speed or slap hitting, they used it. The Yankees were not prepared. Aside from two home runs from Ben Rice and an oh-so-close deep flyout from Cody Bellinger with the bases juiced, the offense was dead again in a 5-2 loss that puts the season on the brink.
When you get no-hit for nearly eight innings the game before, you desperately want to get the monkey off your back early the next night. The quality of contact was good in that first inning against Freddy Peralta, with a Ben Rice warning-track flyout and a scorched lineout from Cody Bellinger, but the Yankees went quietly in the first before the utter chaos of the bottom half.
On just Cam Schlittler’s second pitch of the game, Yandy Diaz hit a soft Trop chopper to Ryan McMahon, which he promptly booted after misreading the hop. Jonathan Aranda then lined a single up the middle for the one real hit in the inning. Needing a double play, Schlittler got Junior Caminero to spike a ball into the turf that was snared by George Lombard Jr. for a brilliant flip for a forceout. Unfortunately, Jazz Chisholm Jr. decided to throw the ball into the dugout with no chance to turn two, giving the Rays the early lead.
The defensive inning from hell continued when a three-pitch strikeout from Liam Hicks was overturned into a catcher’s interference. Awarding a batter a base for a check-swing catcher’s interference is dumb, and I will forever believe that. The speedy Chandler Simpson ripped a ball to second for what looked like a tailor-made double play, but an awful throw from Chisholm pulled Lombard off the bag. The rookie shortstop somehow managed to tap the bag after to avoid a fourth error in the inning, and Cam survived the inning from hell with only one run allowed.
We got more Trop shenanigans when Spencer Jones hit a ball a mile high off the C-ring in center field, which was caught by Victor Mesa Jr. Objectively, almost every other team drops that ball because of their lack of experience reading fly balls here, but the Rays caught it, naturally. Two more quick outs had Peralta rolling through two.
Jonny DeLuca golfed an 0-2 curveball in the dirt for a leadoff double in the second, but was stranded on a trio of groundouts surrounding a two-out walk. The bottom of the order went down quietly as well, giving Peralta a perfect game through three innings just one night after Rasmussen’s brilliance. At this point, I’m not sure the vibes could get much worse.
Schlittler continued to grind through the third, allowing singles to Caminero and Simpson, but got out of a jam after a 108.5 mph scorched grounder from DeLuca was fielded cleanly by Lombard to end the threat. Just one batter later, with the Yankees entering their 13th inning of the series with just one hit, Rice allowed everyone on the team and in the fanbase to breathe for a second, smashing a leadoff home run in the fourth to tie the game at one.
Bellinger followed with a single, but was stranded by the next three hitters. Schlittler responded to the desperate gasp for a shutdown inning, retiring the Rays in order with help from a surprisingly solid play by Trent Grisham in center field. Peralta seemed to be cruising again after retiring the first two in the fifth, but things got interesting after a bullet double by Austin Wells and a gritty walk by Ryan McMahon. The ever-aggressive Kevin Cash pulled him for Cam Booser, betting on his lefty specialist to neutralize the best hitters on the team.
He walked Rice on five pitches to bring up Bellinger with the bases loaded. This was the moment. This was where the Yankees could show who they were. For a brief second, it seemed like they would. The All-Star left fielder absolutely pummeled a bad 0-2 fastball to deep center field. 102.9 mph, 405 feet. In 12 ballparks, it’s a grand slam. In some others, it’s off the wall. Unfortunately, as has happened all too many times in the postseason in the Judge era, the big hit fell just a few inches short, landing harmlessly in the glove of DeLuca.
It’s the type of gut punch that takes the air out of a fan, and maybe it took the air out of the team. It’s not how baseball works, but maybe it is. Schlittler allowed a bullet single (that Jones maybe should’ve caught?) and a bullet double from Caminero to set up second and third with nobody out. Usually, a team’s cleanup and five-hole hitters wouldn’t be conducive to 55 and 65 mph choppers that bounce two feet in front of home plate in RBI opportunities, but these are the Rays. Both runs scored on back-to-back Baltimore chops that the Yankees had no chance of getting an out at the plate on, even if Lombard had defended the latter cleanly. That gave the Rays a 3-1 lead.
The frustration didn’t end there. After Brent Headrick entered and struck out Mesa, we got another Trop chop grounder to Lombard. Due to the bounce the ball took and the speed of DeLuca, he had to rush the throw, which forced a long stretch from Luis García Jr. If the play was made cleanly, DeLuca would’ve been out by an eyelash, which tells you how perfect they had to be, but García couldn’t squeeze the throw, and everyone was safe. Another error. One batter later, Richie Palacios hit a two-run single to effectively ice this one, making it 5-1 Rays.
We then hit a weird point in the game. Ian Seymour came in for the Rays as a lefty bulk reliever, but Aaron Boone elected to keep his righties in the dugout. As a fan who was resigned to the outcome after the Palacios single, it seems like nothing, but damn, that’s pretty rough of your manager to be so apathetic in this spot. The lineup had no pulse against him in some rough matchups.
Playing out the string, John Schreiber tossed a scoreless sixth, Ryan Weathers and Paul Blackburn combined for the seventh, and Blackburn and David Bednar combined for the ninth. For the offense, all they had left was another home run for Rice, who continues to have a postseason to remember while his teammates give him no help, like 2018 LeBron.
Bryan Baker got the save in the ninth, 1-2-3, to solidify Game 2 for the Rays. If the Yankees want to win this series and get to the ALCS, they must win three straight against a team they’ve struggled against all year and win a game at Tropicana Field on Saturday after going 2-7 there to start this season, Bleak, I know.
There will be baseball played on Wednesday. After that, it’s up to the Yankees to decide. Game 3 will be at Yankee Stadium at 8 pm EDT. It’s Max Fried (pending the birth of his child) against a pitcher to be determined, but it will likely be Nick Martinez.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Richie Palacios hit a two-run single in a four-run fifth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays took advantage of New York’s sloppy defense, beating Cam Schlittler and the Yankees 5-2 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in their AL Division Series.
The Rays are one victory from reaching the American League Championship Series. Game 3 in the best-of-five playoff is Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
Ben Rice hit a pair of homers for the Yankees, who are on the verge of elimination — which would extend their World Series drought to 17 seasons. They were dominated by Drew Rasmussen in the series opener and have scored just two runs in two games with three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge out of the lineup due to a calf injury.
The small-ball Rays chased Schlittler, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner, in the fifth aided by New York’s defensive miscues.
Jonathan Aranda lined a single to start the inning and Junior Caminero ripped a double to right-center. With the infield drawn-in except second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., who was standing several feet further back on the dirt, Liam Hicks hit a bouncer to second that scored Aranda for a 2-1 lead. Chisholm’s only play was at first because he wasn’t all the way in like the rest of the infielders.
Chandler Simpson then hit a grounder that shortstop George Lombard Jr. booted, scoring Caminero to make it 3-1. It was initially ruled a hit and then changed to an error and eventually a fielder’s choice. Brent Headrick replaced Schlittler and struck out Victor Mesa Jr. After Simpson stole second, Jonny DeLuca reached on a grounder when Lombard’s throw to first was wide for New York’s fourth error.
Palacios followed with a hard single to center that increased Tampa Bay’s lead to 5-1.
That was plenty of support for one of the best bullpens in the majors.
Freddy Peralta allowed one run and three hits in 4 2/3 innings, Cam Booser pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and Ian Seymour gave up one run on Rice’s solo shot in three innings. Bryan Baker finished with a perfect ninth for his second save in two games.
Schlittler, who was 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA and dominated Boston in the opener of the wild-card round, lasted 4 1/3 innings. He allowed four runs — two earned — and six hits. Schlittler only fanned two.
Rice sent a 2-2 changeup into the right-field seats to tie it at 1 in the fourth, ending New York’s scoreless drought in the ALDS. Rice hit 41 homers in the regular season. His drive awakened Yankees fans in the ballpark, who were drowned out by Rays fans until that point.
But a sellout crowd of 40,226 was mostly full of cowbell-ringing Rays fans who reveled in New York’s misery.
Peralta retired the first two batters in the fifth before Austin Wells ripped a double and Ryan McMahon walked. Booser replaced Peralta and walked Rice to load the bases but the lefty escaped trouble when Cody Bellinger flied out to the warning track in center.
The Yankees made three errors in the first inning but Schlittler limited the Rays to one run. New York became the first team to commit three errors in the first inning of a postseason game since the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the 1975 AL Championship Series against Boston, according to Sportsnet Stats.
Off the catwalk
Yankees rookie Spencer Jones hit a towering flyball off a catwalk at the quirky Trop that was caught by Rays right fielder Mesa for an out in the second inning. Jones kept running around the bases as the ball rattled around and fell to Mesa, who ran over to make the catch in center. DeLuca thought he was camped under it in center field but started pointing upward when the ball hit one of the two rings high above the field and below the roof. Mesa caught it several feet in front of DeLuca. Umpires conferred and confirmed the out, per the stadium’s ground rules.
Up next
Yankees LHP Max Fried (5-5, 2.80 ERA) and Rays RHP Nick Martinez (15-6, 3.10) are the projected starters for Game 3.
For the second time in three years, the Yankees had a disastrous defensive game in the postseason and it cost them again, this time in a 5-2 loss to the Rays Monday night in Game 2 of the AL Division Series.
The Yanks made four errors in the loss, leading to three unearned runs, and they now teeter on the brink of elimination, down two games to none in the best-of-five series. Game 3 is set for Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
Two years ago, the Yankee defense collapsed in Game 5 of the World Series against the Dodgers and they were eliminated. But even that game only featured three Yankee errors – in the box score, anyway.
Monday’s debacle was only the fifth time the Yankees have made four errors in a single postseason game. The last time was in the 2019 ALCS against the Astros.
The Yankees have scored only twice so far in the series, on two solo home runs by Ben Rice Monday night. No Aaron Judge, who is out with a calf injury, certainly doesn’t help.
Here are the main takeaways...
-- Yankee starter Cam Schlittler was not nearly as brilliant as he’s been in his previous postseason outings. He lasted just 4.1 innings and allowed seven hits and four runs (only two earned). He struck out just two and didn’t have a strikeout until the fourth inning and got only seven swings-and-misses. He also walked one. His career postseason ERA rose from 0.87 to 1.44.
-- The Yankees defensive implosion started in the very first inning and set a dubious club record for errors in a single postseason frame – three. The Yankees had never had three errors in one October inning and this is the 61st postseason appearance in the Yankees’ existence. The Yanks last committed three errors in an inning in any game on Aug. 21, 2025 against the Red Sox. The last time it happened in any postseason game was Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS when the Rangers did it in a loss to the Blue Jays.
-- Ryan McMahon, who has a fine defensive reputation, though he has not had his best season with the glove, made the first miscue when the leadoff hitter, Yandy Díaz, hit a topspin bouncer to him that McMahon muffed. Jonathan Aranda followed with a single and then Junior Caminero hit what could’ve been a double-play grounder to short. George Lombard Jr. made a not-that-graceful flip to the bag and Jazz Chisholm Jr. grabbed it and threw wildly to first. Díaz scored and Caminero went to second.
Then it seemed like Schlittler had Hicks struck out, but, upon replay review, Austin Wells was called for catcher’s interference – his mitt was clearly in the path of Hicks’ bat. That was the third error of the inning. They nearly had a fourth – Chisholm fielded Simpson’s grounder but threw high to second base, pulling Lombard off the bag. But Lombard got back in time for a force out. Schlittler got a grounder from Victor Mesa to mercifully end the inning. The Yankees only allowed one run, but all the gaffes forced Schlittler to endure some tense moments and extra pitches.
-- The Rays scored four runs in the fifth inning and knocked out Schlittler. They got some weak contact and used their speed to exploit it. Poor Yankee defense helped, too. Aranda started the inning with a single and Caminero followed with a ringing double. With the infield mostly in – Chisholm was further back than the rest of the infielders – Liam Hicks hit a grounder that was slow enough to allow Aranda to score.
Chandler Simpson later hit a soft grounder to short that Lombard couldn’t backhand and another run scored. The scoring on that play was changed several times, but it was ultimately scored a fielder's choice. But Lombard then made a throwing error to further prolong the inning and Richie Palacios added a single after an eight-pitch bout with reliever Brent Headrick that scored two more runs.
-- The Yanks went nine up, nine down the first time through their batting order as Rays starter Freddy Peralta looked sharp. But Rice tied the score at 1 with a 372-foot drive over the right-field fence. Rice connected on the fourth of four consecutive changeups from Peralta. Rice also homered in the eighth inning, giving him four home runs in four games this postseason.
-- In the fifth, the Yanks had a big chance with two outs, but could not cash in. Wells lashed a double into the right-field corner that looked a lot like the ball he hit in Game 1 and got thrown out trying to stretch into a triple. He wisely stopped at second this time. McMahon then worked a walk in a tough, seven-pitch at-bat. He was the last batter that Peralta faced. He came out with Rice coming up to the plate.
Rice worked another walk against southpaw Cam Booser, which brought up Cody Bellinger, who was 11th in MLB this season with a .340 average with runners in scoring position. Bellinger hit a deep fly ball to the warning track in center that held some hope, but it was caught.
-- Peralta, the former Met who got his pitching together in Tampa Bay, lasted 4.2 innings and allowed one run and three hits. He struck out three and walked one. The outing lowered his career postseason ERA from 4.32 to 4.03.
Highlights
BEN RICE! The Yankees finally have their first run of the ALDS! https://t.co/b7uVHF7PeQ
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - OCTOBER 05: Junior Caminero #13 of the Tampa Bay Rays is congratulated by Victor Mesa Jr. #25 after scoring a run during Game Two of the American League Division Series presented by Booking.com between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Monday, October 5, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
How important is the second game in a five-game series? Sarah Langs from MLB.com reminds us that winning the first two games of a five-game series is a significant leg up:
New York apparently did not get the memo the way they booted and threw the ball around for several innings in this contest. The bottom of the first inning saw three errors made on the infield with Ryan McMahon booting a routine hopper from Yandy Diaz to lead off the game followed shortly by a throwning error by Jazz Chisholm Jr and one more still when Austin Wells interfered with a swing by Liam Hicks. Despite the extra outs and the traffic on the bases, the sole run came on the errant throw allowing Diaz to score:
The second and third inning for the Rays was more traffic on the bases, but Cam Schlittler once again buckled down and stranded everyone. Through those first three innings, the Rays were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position in this game and 0 for 13 in the series. Ben Rice made the Rays regret the lack of production with a homer to lead off 4th inning on a poorly located changeup:
That home was quickly followed up by a line drive single by Cody Bellinger just past a diving Taylor Walls, but Peralta buckled down to strand him getting Spencer Jones (more on him shortly) and inducing an infield flyout to George Lombard Jr. The Rays went down somewhat quietly in the 4th with both Palacios and Walls striking out before Yandy Diaz scalded a baseball to the right center gap that Trent Grisham gracefully ran down. That batted ball was 103 off the bat with a .540 expected batting average, but more importantly, it was the loud contact that had mostly been absent in this contest the first two times through the batting order.
The fifth inning was the key moment of this contest, for both teams. In the top of the fifth, the Yankees mounted a two-out rally when Austin Wells hit nearly the same type of ball he did in Game 1, but did not have the same delusions of grandeur. That double was followed by walks to Ryan McMahon and Ben Rice before Cody Bellinger came very close to a grand slam. His 405-foot flyball would have been a home run in 12 parks, but Tropicana Field was just big enough to hold it in:
This Cody Bellinger shot was a home run in 12/30 ballparks
The Yankees would need about five minutes to regret how the top of that inning played out. The inning would begin with Aranda singling on a ball hit 109.1 MPH with a .650 expected batting average, but also looked very catchable in the moment by Spencer Jones. As it turns out, the data agreed as Jones had a terrible jump on the ball and let it play him rather than making the aggressive play like we saw Chandler Simpson do in his moment of game 1:
That hard hit was followed by a harder 112.4 MPH double to the right-center gap by Junior Caminero giving the Rays three consecutive 100+ batted ball events off Schlittler, but it would be the softest hit of the night that would drive in the first run of the inning. Liam Hicks would get absolutely tied up by a cutter, but the 55.1 MPH ground ball to second was perfect for the contact play with Aranda running because Chisholm Jr was the only infielder not up on the infield seam:
That event was followed by a fielder’s choice contact play by Simpson driving in Caminero. That would chase a frustrated Schlittler for the evening birnging in Brent Hendrick to strike out Victor Mesa Jr before the fourth error of the game by the Yankees extended the inning allowing the Rays to plate two more runners after both Simpson and DeLuca stole second base around the Mesa Jr strikeout on a Richie Palacios single that came after him swinging at ball 4 in a 3-0 count:
That would be the last hit with a runner in scoring position on the evening as the only other run in the contest would come on Ben Rice’s second solo home run of the evening.
Kevin Cash employed four pitchers on the evening: Freddy Peralta, Cam Booser, Ian Seymour, and Bryan Baker and it could be said Seymour was the best one of the evening. Peralta fought through 4.2 innings of work despite not having his best changeup. Peralta had 12 whiffs on the evening, but just three of those came off his changeup. Cash made the decision to pull Peralta at 66 pitches rather than allow him to face Rice a third time. Booser ended up walking Rice before getting the close-call from Bellinger before giving way to Seymour. The starter turne reliever worked three innings striking out 4, walking none, and the second Rice solo shot was the only blemish and baserunner of the appearance. Baker then came in for the 9th to secure the save with a 1-2-3 appearance.
Cam Schlitter came into this game talking about how games at Tropicana Field feeling like a home game because theRays don’t have a strong home atmosphere. For one inning, Schlitter’s statements were validated as that top of the 5th was quite loud on the broadcast but the air fell out of the visiting fans just as Bellinger’s flyball fell short of the wall. Aaron Boone needed to use five relievers behind Schlitter, whose defense did him no favors asking the young pitcher to throw more stressful pitches earlier than he or the pundits expected before the contest. Yankee fans have the thousand yard stare wondering how their road field advantage slipped through their fingers heading back to The Bronx with as many runs as they have losses to show for their efforts in Tropicana Field in this series.
CLEVELAND — The White Sox are returning to Chicago one win from advancing to the American League Championship Series for the first time in 21 years.
Braden Montgomery lined a two-run double down the right-field line in the sixth inning for the go-ahead runs and Sean Burke allowed one hit in 5 1/3 innings of impressive relief as the White Sox rallied past the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in their AL Division Series.
Game 3 is Wednesday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field, where the White Sox have two chances to do something they haven’t done since 1906 — clinch a postseason series at home.
“They’ve been waiting 120 years, so maybe we can do it this year,” said Grant Taylor, who worked 1 1/3 innings and allowed one hit as he got his second straight save. “I think it’s going to be unbelievable. Those fans deserve it. They’ve been with us for three years of 100 losses and they’ve been with us a good bit this year giving us a lot of support as we’ve gone through this. So being able to give them a postseason game is going to be pretty special.”
The surprising White Sox improved to 4-0 in these playoffs — all on the road — and are one win from reaching the ALCS for the first time since winning the World Series in 2005. Chicago became the first team to reach the postseason after three straight 100-loss seasons, including a post-1900 record 121 defeats in 2024.
“Our club has been confident the entire year, regardless of the previous result,” manager Will Venable said. “They come in ready to play and turn the page. Now, we’re really excited to get playoff baseball to our fans.”
Munetaka Murakami hit an RBI single in the fourth to get Chicago within 2-1. Chase Meidroth added an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-2.
Jo Adell hit an RBI triple in the eighth and Chase DeLauter had two hits for the Guardians.
Gavin Williams struck out 11, tied for second-most by a Cleveland pitcher in a postseason game. But the offense failed to produce for the second straight game.
“We have had two-game stretches like this all year and we come right back. I’ve got a lot of faith in this offense. I have a lot of faith in this team,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. Like I said, this team plays its best with its back against the wall.”
3-run sixth propels the White Sox
The White Sox went ahead with a three-run sixth.
Miguel Vargas led off with a base hit to chase Williams and advanced to second on a groundout. Randal Grichuk drew a walk before a wild pitch by losing pitcher Erik Sabrowski with Tommy Pham at the plate advanced the runners to second and third. Pham flied out to shallow left before Montgomery jumped on a first-pitch fastball to drive in the go-ahead runs.
Montgomery celebrated at second base before scoring on Meidroth’s single to right.
“I was just ready for something to attack, and I was ready for his hardest stuff. I gave myself my best chance to succeed,” Montgomery said. “I can’t even describe how it felt. It’s exhilarating. I was just taking it all in.”
Burke silences Cleveland’s bats
Burke came on with one out in the third. After Travis Bazzana walked with one out in the fourth, the right-hander retired 13 straight batters until DeLauter got a base hit to end Burke’s night.
Burke struck out six and threw 83 pitches, including 53 strikes, to earn the win.
“I was able to settle in and find my groove,” Burke said. “I’ve had openers before, but not in this situation, so I talked with a lot of guys. It’s just normal baseball when you get into that game.”
Taylor entered and allowed an RBI triple to Adell before Nathaniel Lowe flied out to end the eighth.
Guardians get on the board quickly
After getting shut out Saturday, the Guardians struck quickly with a pair of runs in the first.
Steven Kwan led off with a single and José Ramírez walked before Chase DeLauter’s grounder off opener Anthony Kay moved the runners to second and third. Sean Newcomb came on and intentionally walked Adell to load the bases. Lowe hit a high chopper to drive in Kwan, but Newcomb threw it wide of the bag at first, allowing Ramírez to score on the error.
It marked the first time in four games this postseason the White Sox were behind.
Kay faced three batters and threw 17 pitches, including eight strikes.
Williams strong early
Williams didn’t allow a hit until Kyle Teel led off the fourth with a single.
The right-hander allowed two runs and four hits in five-plus innings. He had eight strikeouts in the first three innings and became the first Cleveland pitcher to strike out five straight in a postseason game.
When USA TODAY Sports reached out to ESPN, a representative declined to comment.
In his playing days, Kidd was a nine-time All-Defensive player, a 10-time All-Star and was the 1994-95 Rookie of the Year. He spent time with the Phoenix Suns, the then-New Jersey Nets and played one season with the New York Knicks. He was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks and won the 2011 NBA championship with them. He coached the Mavericks from the 2021-22 season until this spring when he and the team "mutually agreed to part ways."
Kidd, 53, has twice been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: as a player in 2018 and again in 2025 as a member of Team USA's gold-medal winning 2008 Olympic team.
Kidd first became a head coach with one season at the helm of the Brooklyn Nets with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry on the roster. He had a stint with the Milwaukee Bucks but was fired midway through his fourth season there. He also spent time as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers where he helped guide the team to the 2020 NBA championship in the Bubble.
The 2026-27 NBA season tips off on Oct. 20 with three games. The Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons face off in an afternoon tilt, followed by an evening doubleheader which begins with LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers visiting the defending champion New York Knicks. Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs host two-time consecutive Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in a rematch of the Western Conference Finals to cap things off.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MARCH 26: Manager Oliver Marmol #37 of the St. Louis Cardinals chats with St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom prior to a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day at Busch Stadium on March 26, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I have been a St. Louis Cardinals fan for more than five decades and I have lived through many different eras of losing seasons, championships and everything in between. I can’t recall any of them being more unclear about what the expectations should be for an upcoming season than the one that will hopefully begin in the Spring of 2027.
I think it’s safe to say that most of us were pleasantly surprised by the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals. The results of a poll that I shared after the final game of the season seems to back that up as a vast majority gave the team a B grade or better for the 2026 season.
Only 7% of those who voted gave the Cardinals a grade less than C for the 2026 season. Why? I think most of us had a realistic understanding that the roster would be full of young players being given the opportunity to either prove they belong or proving they don’t. Along the way, we saw a remarkable comeback season from Jordan Walker including an iconic and unexpected Home Run Derby victory. We also saw JJ Wetherholt establish himself as one of the game’s best defensive second basemen with a big potential offensive upside. Alec Burleson muscled up and led the league in RBI’s and Joshua Baez had one of the greatest Major League debuts with his 3 home run introduction against the Cubs. The late season appearance of Leo Bernal had many of us believing we were witnessing the new St. Louis Cardinals catcher for years to come.
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, though. Nolan Gorman regressed and may very well be on his way out of the organization. Matthew Liberatore struggled. The bullpen was a train wreck during the second half of the season. While Jordan Walker’s season was a positive, there are legitimate concerns about his swing decisions late in the season starting to resemble 2025. However, all things considered I think that most of us felt like the Cardinals season went at least slightly better than we expected. When all was said and done, a 77-85 record wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.
What are your expectations for the 2027 St. Louis Cardinals season?
I have so many questions about what the Cardinals should do this offseason. Based on what Chaim Bloom said during his end-of-season press conference, I think he’s anticipating that many fans are not going to understand what phase this rebuild is in.
“This is a dangerous time…especially during the summer, when we were playing well, I heard plenty of comments about how we were back on track, or maybe ahead of schedule. We may have exceeded some other people’s expectations, but in my view, there’s nothing that happened this year that should tempt us to lose focus on our goals.”
Will Chaim Bloom continue to acquire more prospects or will he start adding to the Major League roster? I expect it will be a combination of both. A majority of our community said that the bullpen should be the priority in 2027 and I don’t necessarily disagree. I’d expect at the very least that the Cardinals will add some arms to eat the middle innings. What about third base or centerfield solutions? Will St. Louis trade from their catching depth to fill one of those voids?
There are many current roster questions, too. Will the St. Louis Cardinals continue to give Ivan Herrera opportunities behind the plate or is he a trade candidate? What about Alec Burleson? The Cardinals have 2 more years of control with two seasons of salary arbitration remaining. He said he’s “all ears” if the team wants to talk extension. Should they lock him up and make him a part of the emerging Cardinals core or consider trading high on his performance this year? What about the Cardinals starting rotation? My expectation based on the post-season press conference is they plan for Matthew Liberatore to be a starter again in 2027. Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy and Kyle Leahy should be locks for the starting rotation and hopefully Leahy will not be limited to a smaller number of innings like he was in 2026. I’d prefer that the Cardinals find a reliable starter or two and have Liberatore return to a middle innings solution, but I highly doubt the team is considering that as an option.
I have watched Chaim Bloom’s post-season presser multiple times and I feel like he’s struggling with messaging about what the 2027 St. Louis Cardinals season will look like. I understand that he’s likely not done rebuilding the farm system with prospects, but will the larger part of the fanbase support another season of rebuilding without additions to the Major League roster from outside of the organization from trades or free agent signings? I’m hopeful that there will be some combination of both. I think that many believe the St. Louis Cardinals to be at least a .500 team in 2027, but does that include the front office? It will be interesting what else is said by Chaim Bloom during the offseason to manage those expectations. More importantly, what he DOES before Spring Training 2027 will tell us even more.
The team announced that Max Strus suffered a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot during Sunday's preseason game. He will be re-evaluated in four weeks, which means he will miss the start of the season.
This is a rough start for Strus, who missed the majority of last season with a foot injury (a fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his left foot, which required surgery). He returned for a dozen games at the end of the season for the Cavaliers, then had a larger role for them in the playoffs, which prompted the Clippers to send a pick to Washington to obtain him as part of a five-team trade this summer that saw Los Angeles send out John Collins.
Look for rookie Keaton Wagler, as well as Gradey Dick, to get more run with Strus out.
As noted by Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points, the Clippers have what would be a solid five-man regular-season rotation lineup all out injured already: Jordan Miller (shoulder surgery), Bradley Beal (knee), Strus, Brandon Ingram (partially torn Achilles) and Yanic Konan Niederhauser (foot). Four of them — Miller, Strus, Ingram and Niederhauser — are all expected to miss the start of the season.
The Knicks played their first game since winning Game 5 of the NBA Finals, as the starters shook off some rust and the bench fought to earn minutes in a 120-97 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Here are some takeaways...
-- Mike Brown went with the starting lineup that won the NBA Finals on Monday night: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns. The Sixers and Nick Nurse took a different approach as LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid all sat out; leaving him with VJ Edgecombe and Jaylen Brown as the only regular-season starters in the lineup.
-- Former Knick Ariel Hukporti, who signed with Philadelphia over the summer, also started for his new team. Unfortunately for Hukporti, the big man took an awkward fall in the first quarter and grabbed for his ankle. Knicks and Sixers players gathered around him and helped him to the locker room. He did not return to the game.
-- Andre Drummond, Landry Shamet, Miles McBride, and Tyler Kolek were the first four players off the bench for Brown's group. Shamet picked up where he left off in the playoffs, making two threes right away.
Philadelphia led 33-32 after the first quarter as Brown led the way with a game-high 13 points. Anunoby played the most minutes out of the New York starters (10) and was second in points (six) behind Brunson (eight).
-- Brown played more of the bench in the second quarter, with Mohamed Diawara and Jordan Clarkson entering for the first time. The back-and-forth game continued as Brown and Caleb Love scored eight straight to put the Sixers up 58-51 and force a New York timeout with 4:29 left in the half. Philly's young guards continued to attack with Edgecombe converting the and-one layup over James Wiseman to go up double digits.
The Knicks were outscored 39-26 in the second quarter as Love nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer, taking a 72-58 lead into the half. New York allowed Philadelphia to shoot 53 percent from the field and 46 percent from three (11-for-24). Brunson and Anunoby were tied for the team-high with 12 points each, while Brown had 22 points for his new team.
-- The bench started the second half as Brunson and Co.'s night was done early, as was Brown's for Philly. New York's shooting struggles continued without their starters, failing to score a field goal for five-plus minutes toward the end of the third quarter and trailing, 93-79, heading into the fourth.
-- Overall, NY shot 38 percent from the field and 20 percent from three (8-for-41). Shamet led the bench with 10 points, while Diawara had eight points in 17 minutes. Fighting for a backup center role, Wiseman had eight points and five rebounds in nine minutes while Tony Bradley had two points in six minutes. Drummond scored six points with five rebounds and three blocks against his old team.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani sits in the dugout during Game 1 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
As the Dodgers mull potential lineup changes for Game 3 of the National League Division Series, manager Dave Roberts said he is “open” to moving Shohei Ohtani lower in the batting order.
In his three seasons with the Dodgers, Ohtani has batted first or second in every game he has started. However, as he has admitted he is trying to “manage” in the aftermath of knee and arm injuries, and as Roberts has acknowledged Ohtani is “not 100%,” the lack of success could compel the manager to replace him at the top of the lineup with a more productive hitter at some point.
“I would,” Roberts said Monday. “I would. I think it’s something that, you know, I think moving him from 1 to 2 — but going further than that? I’m open to it.
“And it’s something that if I do, I would obviously have the conversation with Shohei to explain why. And at the end of the day every conversation I’ve had with him is whatever’s best for the team, he’s all-in on. So I know that undoubtedly.”
The Dodgers are batting .215 through the first two games of the NLDS, with the Atlanta Braves scheduled to pitch left-handed ace Chris Sale in Game 3 on Tuesday. If the Dodgers lose, they would need to win back-to-back elimination games to advance beyond this series.
Roberts said the lineup changes he would consider include starting Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas, both of whom hit well against left-handers. That could mean infielders Max Muncy (0 for 7 against Sale, with five strikeouts) and Tommy Edman (0 for 11 against Sale) might not start.
Center fielder Andy Pages, who batted so poorly last October he was benched for the final three games of the World Series, is hitless in seven at-bats in this series, with four strikeouts.
“I’m gonna continue to give Andy leash,” Roberts said. “I believe in him. I feel that for us to win the World Series this year, we’re gonna need him to be an active part of our team.
Roberts said he did not envision benching catcher Will Smith, who is 0 for 8 in the series. The Dodgers’ backup catcher, Hunter Feduccia, is a career .205 hitter with no postseason experience.
But, even with the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup, the spotlight shines brightest on Ohtani.
Ohtani has not homered since Aug. 18. He hit .157 between then and the end of the regular season, striking out in 41% of his at-bats. In this series, he has two hits and two strikeouts in eight at-bats, and his inability to refrain from swinging at pitches outside the strike zone has become a glaring weakness.
“He’s not 100%,” Roberts said. “But, at the end of the day, he can still do a better job of staying in the strike zone.”
Ohtani hasn’t given the Braves a reason to challenge him within the strike zone.
“Everything orbits around Shohei, in the sense of his talent,” Roberts said. “And the Braves are going to enter with caution. And, so, knowing that, they’re going to continue to expand as long as we keep giving that to them. So until we show some discipline, they’re going to continue to kind of use that playbook.”
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The New York Yankees' Spencer Jones hit the ball into the roof at Tropicana Field in the second inning of Game 2 of the AL Division Series on Monday night. It came down in a glove.
That's an out at the Trop, even after it hits the ceiling.
Four catwalks ring the inside of the dome, labeled A through D from highest to lowest. They hold up the roof, along with the lights and speakers, and the hang over the field.
The ground rules split them in two. A fair ball that hits either of the lower rings, C or D, is a home run. A fair ball that hits either of the upper rings A or B is in play. If it drops, it's a live ball. If a fielder catches it, the batter is out.
That's what happened to Jones. It hit the B ring and Victor Mesa Jr. caught it.
This time, there was little hubbub, a stark difference from Game 1 of the NL Division Series, when the San Diego Padres' Ty France hit the roof of Milwaukee's American Family Field with one out in the bottom of the ninth, a runner on and the Padres trailing the Brewers 3-2. The ball ricocheted off a beam and was caught by left fielder Jackson Chourio for the second out.
The Padres moderately protested, but the ruling was in line with ground rules in Milwaukee, leaving it a mystery whether France's 105.3 mph fly, hit at a 49-degree launch angle, would have been a home run had it completed its flight unimpeded.
In this ALDS, there was no controversy. At least not for now.
It’s a line from the TV show Ted Lasso, of course. And whether you’re a Dallas Mavericks fan, or an FC Richmond fan, you understand.
The Dallas Mavericks were in the Finals just 838 days ago. That season was full of the kind of playoff moments you tell your grandchildren about.
Will you tell your grandchildren about the time Luka Dončić absolutely cooked Rudy Gobert on an isolation 3 to win a playoff game? I will.
Then the Celtics came along and made the Mavs look a little like Rudy Gobert trying to guard on the perimeter.
As a fan, you were likely devastated by the Luka trade. Then Anthony Davis gave two quarters of perfection, and suddenly hope was putting on a Beyoncé concert at the American Airlines Center.
And then… many fans expanded their sports-injury vocabulary.
Next, just when all hope felt lost, the Mavs, with a 1.8 percent chance, won the NBA lottery with a generational stud at the top of the class. Cooper Flagg arrived on a team that, at least in theory, was supposed to be competing for a playoff spot. Hope is all fans had last year — and all Nico Harrison had in his roster construction. It didn’t take long for the positivity to turn to complete darkness. Anthony Davis couldn’t stay healthy, there was continuous turmoil that led to Nico finally getting fired and there were casualties all around.
Now, a new regime has come into power. The Mavs certainly have some new energy. There’s a generational prospect entering his second season with an extra inch at his disposal. And, despite everything fans have been through, that dangerous little feeling is starting to creep back in.
Hope.
Are you ready to buy in again? Because there’s something else we learned from Ted Lasso: It’s not actually the hope that kills you. It’s the lack of hope. However, maybe Mavs fans should reconsider what they’re hoping for.
This is not the year to hope for the Larry O’Brien Trophy — or the NBA Cup — for that matter. That’s not what this season is about. The Mavs are building. The team’s average age is under 25, and there are plenty of players who are still figuring out exactly what they can become. This can be a fun team without being a contender. Maybe it’s about finding reasons to believe that the next great Mavericks team is taking shape right in front of us.
Here are five things that can provide real hope this year, with a meter to show how logical this hope is:
Let’s start with the obvious one.
Cooper Flagg takes a massive leap
Hope Meter:🔥🔥🔥🔥 4/5
Cooper Flagg is a Dallas Mav.
And for a franchise that has spent the last few years making many question the basketball gods, that feels like a pretty good place to start.
Fans get to watch this 19-year-old with extraordinary expectations figure out what kind of NBA player he’s going to become. Now, can he make that second -year jump?
For this hope to become reality, Cooper Flagg needs to, become an above-average 3-point shooter, assert himself as floor general at times and be transcendent at defense.
Kyrie provides nightly highlights
Hope Meter: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥5/5
Let’s not overlook the impact of having a healthy Irving back. This offseason, Masai Ujiri quoted Kevin Durant in says “there’s only one Kyrie Irving walking around in the world.”
That one Kyrie Irving bleeds blue these days, and provides electric energy that all basketball fans know too well. Even in losses, fans get to see Irving hitting transition 3-pointers, making sick left-handed hook shots at the buzzer, and cooking younger NBA stars that think they can come at the King of Handles. If Irving is the Irving that Mavs fans have come to know and love, then the games are must-watch — win or lose.
Young pieces become a young core
HOPE METER: 🔥🔥🔥 3/5
The Mavs took some swings on reclamation projects this off-season — and it’s not likely all the swings connect, but if a few do, the Mavs could have a real core.
The core candidates are Zaccharie Risacher, Max Christie, Morez Johnson Jr., Sergio de Larrea, Tarik Biberović, and Marcus Sasser. Maybe a couple of them take a massive leap. Maybe someone surprises us (Jett Howard). Maybe someone we thought would be important turns out not to be part of the long-term picture.
That’s the fun of a building season. Every game and gives us a little more information, and deeper into the season, there could be some real answers here — or more questions.
Dereck Lively II becomes a healthy top 100 NBA player
Hope Meter: 🔥🔥🔥 3/5
Ooooh, this is a dangerous one. And yes, the hope is still high, but don’t get too close to the fire, you might get burned. Fans will always remember who Dereck Lively II was in the finals run, with Lively’s big hair flopping around, creating chaos, grabbing boards and being a master facilitator.
Fans thought the Mavs finally had their forever center, but injury after injury has taken that away. This is a contract year, and it would be hard to question Lively’s dedication and work ethic.
The future is taking shape
Hope Meter: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 5/5
Maybe this is the biggest reason to be hopeful. The Mavericks don’t have to win the championship this year.
They don’t even have to convince that they’re one piece away from winning anything. nThis season can simply be about finding out what they have. What does Flagg become? Who fits alongside him? What does this coaching staff bring out in the roster?
Those questions are worth the hope they bring. It turns out it’s not the hope that kills you. It’s living for too long without any. And maybe this season, it’s about what you hope for.
Brooks led the NBA in technical fouls last season with 17.
In Monday’s game, Brooks was guarding Pistons forward John Collins in the paint with his usual physicality. He extended his forearm and made physical contact with Collins, who reacted in a “you see this” fashion with his hands upward.
On the same possession, Collins got an offensive rebound over Brooks, who started reaching for the ball and making more contact by reaching around Collins from behind.
Collins responded by facing Brooks and putting his hand in Brooks’ face with the ball.
They initially received double technical fouls. After review, Collins was called for a flagrant one penalty. Brooks went to the line and split two free throws.
Brooks is in his second season with the Suns while Collins is in his first with the Pistons.
The Suns had a 68-50 halftime lead.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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