If Saturday's preseason finale was any indication of the team's preparedness ahead of the regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers ought to hope they got the last of their unsightly mistakes out of their system before the games start to matter.
Despite dressing effectively their entire opening night lineup, the Flyers lost 5-1 on Saturday night to a Capitals team dressing a roster comprised entirely of AHL veterans, prospects, and one NHL-caliber goalie in Charlie Lindgren.
The Flyers dominated the run of play the way they should have, out-shooting the Capitals 33-13 through the first two periods, and taking a 1-0 lead through Jamie Drysdale just 31 seconds into the second period.
At the same time, the power play went 0-for-4, including a four-minute double minor, and a few second-period mistakes blew up badly in the Flyers' faces.
First, goalie Aleksei Kolosov mishandled a puck at the side of his net, and defenseman David Jiricek, who Kolosov had his back to, had already begun skating away in anticipation of a breakout.
Kolosov lost the puck, though, and the play came around to Jiricek's side, where Andrew Cristall was able to fumble the puck into the net despite Jiricek's best efforts to try and cover for Kolosov.
Jiricek and Kolosov were at the scene of the crime a second time just three minutes later. Nick Seeler and Jiricek miscommunicated who would play the loose puck, and while Seeler took it and attempted to skate away, he deferred immediately to Jiricek, who tried to awkwardly backhand out of pressure.
Unfortunately for him and the Flyers, the blind pass went right to Maxim Schafer, who inexplicably beat Kolosov on the short side on a one-timer.
Just over halfway through the third period, Jiricek's high-stick on Cristall put the Capitals on the power play, with Ethen Frank beating Kolosov on the short side again immediately after the faceoff.
Jiricek was mostly at fault for the second goal as he made a foolish play under pressure, but the first was on Kolosov, and the third was on him for taking the penalty and the penalty kill (and Kolosov) for failing to come through.
Comparatively, Tyson Foerster and Porter Martone took tripping and roughing penalties, respectively, but the spotlight wasn't on them, and the pucks didn't go in with them in the box.
For Jiricek, it was a rough night compounded by a series of unfortunate plays, but this is part of the development process for the former No. 6 overall pick and the Flyers, who went out of their way to get him via trade.
"Yeah, he had a tough night," Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said of Jiricek after the game. "Three or four guys had a tough night. But, being a pro, you gotta bounce back. We'll get to it, get some video, make him understand some things. I mean, you're going to have a tough night. You just got to make sure you stay consistent."
Seeler, Jiricek, and Matvei Michkov all finished with -3 ratings on the night for the Flyers.
Capitals forwards Theodor Niederbach and Lynden Lakovic punched shots by Kolosov in the third period to put the Capitals up 5-1, allowing the undermanned squad to run away with this game in stunning fashion.
"That wasn't a great effort by us tonight. I think we let it get away from us, and could have definitely made it look a little less ugly," Flyers forward Owen Tippett said after the game. "But we're super confident, especially coming off the year we had last year, and morale's high. We've had a good camp and it's great to be back with all the guys."
The Flyers will practice again on Sunday and Tuesday before their regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m., and then it's officially go time.
“I’m actually glad we lost 5-1. It’s a little humbling, which is good for us," Tocchet said. "Sometimes you’re not as good as you think you are.”
Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Flyers made headlines for perhaps the wrong reasons when, despite defeating the Boston Bruins 2-0 in the preseason, Trevor Zegras was whistled for a highly unusual penalty.
Halfway through the game, Zegras, 25, had his number called for a penalty immediately after a Flyers offensive zone faceoff, which was explained by the officials only as "improper wearing of equipment".
As we came to find shortly thereafter, the actual foul Zegras committed was having his jersey tucked in his pants, and a penalty was assessed following a prior warning from the officials earlier in the game.
Both Zegras and head coach Rick Tocchet were very matter-of-fact about the incident after the game, with Tocchet muting his displeasure and saying "we can't have a penalty like that" when the regular season starts.
But, that's all water under the bridge... for now, and the Flyers, as well as some Flyers fans, decided to have some fun with it ahead of Saturday's preseason finale against the Washington Capitals.
For pregame warmups, the Flyers emerged from their locker room with mostly everyone tucking their jersey in their pants, including Porter Martone, captain Sean Couturier, Tyson Foerster, Cam York, and Jamie Drysdale.
The Flyers tucked in their jerseys for warmups after Trevor Zegras was penalized for tucking his jersey last game 😂 pic.twitter.com/JOxPTLj9nd
A Flyers fan seated near the glass was also spotted with a plain sign that read, "I have my jersey tucked for you, Z!"
Tocchet admitted after Thursday night's game against Boston that the Flyers were warned weeks in advance of the NHL's stricter enforcement of the jersey tuck rule, and Zegras just so happened to end up as the first example tagged by the league's iron fist.
Players will invariably have their jerseys ride up their backs and behind their pants during game action, but the rule is that they cannot start their shifts that way, as good or bad a rule as it may be.
The rules are the rules and Zegras broke 'em, but the Flyers got their fun out of it in the end.
The Carolina Hurricanes announced on Friday that they had signed goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov to a two-year contract extensions, tying him to the organization through the 2028-29 season.
"I very happy," Kochetkov told The Hockey News. "It was long talks about contract and I'm very happy to be done. Now I can focus just only on hockey. I very happy."
According to Kochetkov, contract negotiations began soon after the end of the season and so it was a long process in terms of finding the right term and dollar amount.
"Lots of options," Kochetkov said.
However, he and the team found that sweet spot last week and after shaking hands on the deal, Kochetkov's representation ironed out the remainder of the details, eventually finalizing it all on Thursday.
"Agent call me after game against Nashville and say 'We good,'" Kochetkov recalled.
The Russian netminder is heading into his fifth season as a full-time NHLer, but the first one where he could potentially be the team's number one option.
With the departure of Frederik Andersen in the offseason, Carolina no longer has a proven veteran and so the crease is completely up for grabs between Kochetkov and second-year NHLer Brandon Bussi.
And given what we've seen from him throughout his career, allowing Kochetkov to not stress over playing for a contract may be the best thing for a goaltender that has routinely struggled with the mental side of the game.
However, Kochetkov has been vocal about how he's approaching this season with a different mindset than previous ones.
"After last season, I never think about 'I want this many games,' or stuff like that," Kochetkov said. "I just try and think about practice, recovery and next day. Nothing more because all my career, I looked too far every time. At first, I want to go to the NHL. After that it's I want to be first goalie, I want to play more, blah, blah. When you're older and you see a little bit of a different angle of your life and your game, now I just want to be excited for what I do and play games. That's what I think about."
Kochetkov has been away from NHL hockey for quite a while after undergoing hip surgery back in December, but now with two preseason games under his belt, he feels he's getting closer to his level.
In those two games, Kochetkov saw 61 shots, allowing 10 past him, five in each game.
In talking about his play, the Russian goalie was honest about where he feels his game is at.
"Tough to say," Kochetkov said when asked about how he felt about his game. "I don't want to talk about excuses or anything like that. First game, I feel like it was good. Second game, a little bit feels tough the first half of the game. Just need to find my game. Need a little bit of time to find what I do. I no want talking about [the fact that it's been a] long time no play. It's true. Just now, preseason done and I want play real game and see how is it. I think need a couple games and then all good."
To be fair to him, he hadn't played in an NHL game in over nine months before those showings and the most decorated defender in front of him in those games too had been Mike Reilly.
I thought he showed well the athleticism and anticipation that makes him such a high-ceiling netminder and he had really strong periods of play.
But for him, it's about finding more consistency and not having those lapses in play.
"With PK, I do feel he has the ability to be an elite goalie in this league," said Canes goalie coach Paul Schonfelder to team reporter Walt Ruff. "I see the talent. But with that being said, it is his third or fourth full year here, and now it’s time to take the bull by the horns. He’s going to get his chance to come in, and we have an idea of what he can do, but he’s got to take advantage of the opportunity that he has with it being just him and Bus here and really grab hold of it.”
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I thought many of you would like to follow along this evening with the two games that could affect the Cubs’ postseason position, since the Cubs are off today.
Here’s what you need to know about the Phillies/Rays and Padres/Diamondbacks games.
Rays at Phillies, 6:15 p.m. CT
Griffin Jax, RHP (Rays) vs. Aaron Nola, RHP (Phillies)
Nola is going on two days’ rest and he threw 88 pitches three days ago.
DETROIT — Justin Verlander made a teary farewell, accompanied by his 7-year-old daughter as he left a major league mound for the final time in the Detroit Tigers’ 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
Eduardo Valencia hit a game-ending, two-run homer off Mason Montgomery (6-4) in a three-run ninth that included Kevin McGonigle’s RBI groundout.
Verlander allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings with one walk and six strikeouts in his 91-pitch outing. The 43-year-old right-hander was making his second start of the year and first since March 30 in a season derailed by a sore hip and hamstring injury.
After Brandon Lowe hit a foul popup starting the sixth, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch walked from the dugout toward the plate and pointed toward the seats. Genevieve Verlander, wearing a Tigers jersey with her dad’s name and number, sprinted to the mound and hugged her father, who reached down to embrace her and started shaking and sobbing.
Verlander finished 266-159 in 557 starts with a 3.33 ERA and 3,560 strikeouts, eighth on the career list.
Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead on solo homers by Brandon Lowe in the fourth and Nick Gonzales.
Javier Báez hit an RBI double in the sixth, and Bryan Reynolds extended Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-1 with a run-scoring triple in the eighth.
Jacob Waguespack (2-2) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Pittsburgh (81-80) needs one win for its first winning season since 2018.
The Pirates’ Kirby Yates made his first career start after 517 relief appearances. The 39-year-old right-hander allowed two hits over 1 2/3 innings in what he said might be his final game.
Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz left in the third inning. He fell awkwardly while trying to field McGonigle’s bloop single in the first.
Egor Chinakhov takes the first penalty of the game, Pittsburgh kills it off and has a fun Novak-Crosby-Malkin line coming after the PK. It works out, Crosby gets into space and fires a slapshot right under the bar. 1-0.
Not long after that the Pens double their lead. Bryan Rust drives to the net and the puck goes to the mixer out front. Hendrix Lapierre chops at it, no dice. Ville Koivunen gets a hack from in front and it pops into the net. 2-0.
The Penguins appeared to score twice in the second period but both goals got taken away after review from Buffalo challenges. Evgeni Malkin scored but there was goalie interference to wipe it away. Then the first line of Crosby, Robertson and Rakell made a nice play with Rakell scoring but Crosby was offside for the entry.
Bryan Rust pulls up 20 seconds into a shift and leaves the ice and game. The Pens quickly announce he will be out for the rest of the game.
Silovs looks a lot better than his first preseason game, and that combined with the Buffalo review team keeps the score the same in the middle frame. Shots are 20-16 BUF through 40 minutes.
Third period
Malkin takes a penalty, the Sabres get their first goal on the power play on a lateral pass that changes the angle on Silovs enough to beat him.
The Sabres pull the goalie late and that makes it easy for Nick Robertson to knock in a pass from Rakell to set the final at 3-1.
Some thoughts
Rust’s status matters more than anything seen this game. Gotta agree with Rod Brind’Amour that the preseason is meaningless and ought to be abolished. The Pens have lost all of Blake Lizotte, Ben Kindel, Justin Brazeau and now maybe Rust over items that didn’t count in front of stands that were 1/5 full at most. What are we even doing here?
Crosby was perfectly pedestrian in his first preseason game but looked very much like Sidney Crosby today. Take that, father time!
If I had to choose the players most likely to surprise the average Joe or wildly exceed expectations this season my choices would be Nick Robertson and Declan Carlile. Robertson is just a flat out good little player. Carlile looks like the best parts of Ryan Shea and Parker Wotherspoon with his size, skating and calmness handling the puck.
Night and day performance for Silovs compared to his first exhibition outing where he gave up seven goals on not very many shots. The rebound issue was better, he looked more engaged and was plenty effective. He’s a goalie with some ups and downs, all signs pointing up going into the regular season after today’s impressive performance. Don’t blame anyone for wondering just exactly what will be next though, given his variability that has been on display in the past week.
Really liked how Rutger McGroarty played today. Not sure that is going to tip the balance for him actually making the team out of camp, but he looks like he’s ready to play in the NHL when he needs to be called upon. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t look like that is happening right away.
Koivunen is a tough player to analyze. There’s something about either his stance or the way he’s hunched over and his skating that makes him look awkward. However, he was effective today. He’s not an aesthetically pleasing player to the eye, relative to the absolute smoothness and way most NHL players naturally carry themselves the way he operates with a hitch in his skating stands out. If he can hack it, he can hack it but there’s something odd in his game. Nice to see him get rewarded at the net with a goal, he did that a lot last year and the pucks weren’t going in. Hopefully that’s a boost to the confidence and can fuel him for this season.
It almost defies reason but somehow Lapierre only won 2/18 faceoffs today. Crosby only took 17 himself. You won’t see those splits repeated in the next game when it counts.
Similarly, Korczak and Girard skated over 20 minutes today. Karlsson played less than that. Makes it tough to assign too much value to what it means about the Girard-Korczak paired being labeled the second group. We’ll believe that when it’s seen that they play more than Kris Letang during the season.
And now, it’s time for the season. It was a quick preseason slate but it feels pretty long after seeing Rust join the other players in the injury bay. Hopefully it will be more precautionary than anything else, either way the Pens will have to open the regular season on Wednesday in Philadelphia.
"It means a lot," he said through an interpreter. "Obviously, it's been a difficult year. We're already approaching the end of the season, but it means a lot to have this type of game. You've just got to continue to go out there and do your best and try to finish strong with the way the season turned out."
The 25-year-old infielder homered for the first time since May 1 in the Mets' 4-3 win at the Los Angeles Angels.
"I'm happy for him," Mets manager Andy Green said of Mauricio. "It's got to feel good, going deep from both sides of the plate. Played a really nice game, made a really nice backhanded play as well. So, I know it's been a long year with limited major league opportunity with him. So, we're very happy for him."
Mauricio slashed .261/.302/.493 with 18 home runs and 57 RBI in 71 games for Triple-A Syracuse this year before rejoining the Mets upon last Friday's recall.
"That did not surprise us at all," Green said of Mauricio's impact. "... It's really impressive pop. He took some pitches south of the zone and set up that home run, which is huge for him. We talked about it yesterday -- when he impacts the baseball, it's special."
Mauricio's 2-for-4, three-RBI performance rebounds from last Saturday's 0-for-2 return in the Mets' 10-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
"There's a lot of motivation to continue to build off of how we've been playing," Mauricio said through an interpreter. "It allows us to play strong, to play together. And I think, with that, it kind of inspires us to go out there next season with the same motivation, that same drive to continue to play well."
Mauricio, who debuted Sept. 1, 2023, before missing the 2024 campaign with a torn right ACL and logging 61 games with the Mets in 2025, made 19 appearances for New York this season while working through a left thumb fracture earlier this year.
"I think the injuries were the toughest part," Mauricio said through an interpreter, "but, at the same time, that's part of the game. This game has a lot of highs and lows, and I think the most important thing is to go out there and try to do your best and try to be successful with whatever situation you have."
What comes next for Mauricio on Green's Mets?
"When we think of him, there's two ways towards greatness," Green said. "One is shrinking the zone down, not chasing. And then the other is kind of the chase rate that's still high, but you're absolutely annihilating the baseball consistently. So, those two things give a path towards him getting better. I think he's always going to be aggressive. I think there's always going to be some element of chase there. If he does that type of damage, though, you can live with the chase."
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - SEPTEMBER 25: David Hamilton #6 of the Milwaukee Brewers is congratulated after scoring in the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field on September 25, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2026 regular season is drawing closer to the end. There are just two games left, the Brewers are working on their final tune-ups before the postseason. The St. Louis Cardinals are already making their plans for Cancun.
The Brewers showed the fight they still had as they put together a four-run eighth inning last night to get an 8-4 victory and their 101st win of the season. They’ll be looking for win #102 tonight.
However, also last night, third baseman Joey Ortiz was removed from the game with a nagging right knee bruise. Prior to tonight’s game, Ortiz went for an MRI. Pat Murphy told reporters that on top of the knee bruise, Ortiz had been dealing with an abdominal strain and a groin injury.
Jonathan Ornelas is with the club, but has not been activated. Murphy said the Brewers will operate a man down on their bench with Ortiz unavailable since they’re within 10 days of the NLDS and an IL stint would make him unavailable for that series.
On the mound tonight, the Brewers will have Dustin May, who is looking to make one final tune-up before the postseason. He’s been working on trying to find the right pitch mix and sequencing.
“It’s an opportunity for him to pitch well. It’s especially hard to pitch well against the team that knows you so well, but at the same time you know them. So I think it’s an opportunity…and I think he’ll take that head on.” Murphy said.
May has had a lot of short outings lately, though some of that has been by design or out of his control. Still, the Brewers would love to see May be able to fully stretch out and pitch a little deeper into this game and find the pitch mix that works well for him.
His counterpart tonight is Quinn Mathews, who has a 3.65 ERA on the season. He’s a left-handed pitcher, which means the Brewers are going with a largely right-handed lineup.
Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and Jake Bauers lead things off for the Brewers. William Contreras, Gary Sanchez, and Luis Lara form the middle of the order. Contreras is catching while Sanchez is the DH tonight. Then Cooper Pratt, Brandon Lockridge, and David Hamilton will round out the bottom of the lineup.
The Cardinals had a last minute scratch of shortstop Masyn Winn. Thomas Saggese is taking his place at shortstop and batting eighth. The top of the Redbirds lineup is led by JJ Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera again, with Alec Burleson batting third. Jordan walker, Leo Bernal, and Nolan Gorman form the middle of the lineup. Then Bryan Torres, Saggese, and Nathan Church round out the bottom of their order.
Can the Brewers get win #102 and keep pushing this wins record? Can Dustin May prove he’s trustworthy for Game 3 of the NLDS? We’ll find out, starting with first pitch at 6:10 PM.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 25: Casey Mize #32 of the San Diego Padres walks to the dugout after pitching the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park on September 25, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After stunning the rival Los Angeles Dodgers with a series win this week, the San Diego Padres returned home to face the Arizona Diamondbacks. They clinched on Thursday night, which might have had something to do with Friday night’s debacle of a game. Starter Casey Mize pitched four innings, surrendering seven runs (yes, you read that right). Mize’s ERA raised to 4.32 on the season after posting a 2.70 ERA before joining San Diego. He was placed on the 15-day IL ahead of today’s game.
Even still, the offense didn’t do much to back him up. By the time Mize departed, the score was 7-2. The final score was 11-4. Four runs isn’t nothing, but it’s peanuts compared to 11. Most of those Arizona runs came via command issues. The Padres walked eight batters in, with Kyle Hart and Jason Adam loading the bases via five walks. San Diego needs just one win to clinch home-field advantage for the upcoming Wild Card series. They’ll need better performances tonight to do so.
Taking the mound
Ryne Nelson (AZ) v. Walker Buehler (SD)
Nelson is likely to fill out a bulk relief role for the Dbacks tonight, with a reliever serving as the opener ahead of him. He’s pitched decent this season with a 4.80 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 86 1/3 innings. He was a starter for most of the year before transitioning to the bullpen in September.
The right-hander struggled in his last start against the Padres. Nelson surrendered six runs in five innings of work. He gave up two home as well. Still, it seems likely that Arizona uses him after he pitched in relief on Sunday versus the New York Yankees. Even though Nelson pitched last night, he only threw 12 pitches to record one out. His arm should still be fresh.
Buehler is coming off of a stellar performance against the Miami Marlins on Sunday. The veteran righty pitched into the seventh inning and had given up no runs in the first six. Unfortunately, Buehler surrendered a three-run shot to end his scoreless bid. That said, it was still a great performance from the Padres starter.
It seems likely that Buehler starts a potential Game 3 for San Diego. In a win-or-go-home spot, there’s not many pitchers who have shown they can be trusted more than him. He owns a 3.53 ERA in his last seven games and has surrendered three or fewer runs in every starts he’s made since July 21.
Batter up!
The strange thing about last night’s game is that San Diego’s offense has two more hits (10) than Arizona’s (8). Despite that, the Dbacks scored seven more runs than the Friars. Of the second-stringers put in, Sung-Mun Song had the most eventful night. Song went 2-for-2 and scored a run after replacing Jackson Merrill in the seventh inning.
Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
Dustin Harris, LF
Manny Machado, 3B
Ty France, 1B
Jackson Merrill, CF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Luis Campusano, DH
Jake Cronenworth, 2B
Freddy Fermin, C
Machado fouled a pitch off himself quite painfully last night. It’s possible he could take an off day tonight in order to keep him fresh for the upcoming playoff series on Tuesday. Either way, Machado has seemed to be playing with an injured hand lately. He’s DH’d in three of the last seven games.
Relief corps
With Mize departing after four, San Diego got creative. David Morgan, Kyle Hart, Jason Adam and Wandy Peralta covered the final five frames for the Padres. They did so to varying degrees of success. Peralta threw two perfect innings, and Morgan pitched a scoreless fifth. Hart was on his way with two outs but walked three before allowing a three-run double. Adam struggled in his second appearance back from the IL, walking two and allowing a run.
The positive side is that it leaves the Friars with options for tonight. The Padres have Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez available out of the ‘pen. All are high-leverage options. The best-case scenario for San Diego is to clinch home-field advantage tonight so that they can rest their top players ahead of Tuesday’s Game 1.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 25: Bryson Stott #5 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts after a double play in the second inning during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park on September 25, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A.J. Hinch has made plenty of pitching changes, but Saturday, he gave this one to someone else.
After Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe popped out in the sixth inning Saturday, the Detroit Tigers manager signaled to the stands and Justin Verlander's daughter, Genevieve, sprinted out to the mound to get her father.
Justin Verlander was already crying as she closed the gap to the mound quickly. He bent down and wrapped her up in a hug that lasted about 15 seconds as the crowd around him rose. When he stood back up, he took his daughter's hand and walked off the mound for a final time.
It was the final scene of a farewell that Verlander and the Tigers had been building toward since he announced his retirement in July.
After two decades that took him from Detroit to Houston, New York and San Francisco, the 43-year-old came home for one last start, his first at Comerica Park in a Tiger uniform since he was traded in 2017 and only his second of this injury-wrecked season. He leaves as one of the defining pitchers of his generation: three Cy Young Awards, 2011 MVP, Rookie of the Year, three no-hitters, two World Series titles and 3,560 strikeouts, eighth in major league history. Saturday, in the ballpark where it started, he got to go out on his own terms.
As he and his daughter walked off, the crowd and his teammates gave him a standing ovation. The Pirates stood in their dugout, clapping and watching history.
Verlander tipped his cap. His wife, Kate Upton, and their son, Bellamy met him on the dirt for more hugs. He high-fived his way down a line of teammates, tipped his cap again, took a deep breath through tears, waved, tipped his cap again and disappeared down the dugout stairs.
It was the second time in two days Genevieve had been part of the show. Before Friday night's game, she threw the ceremonial first pitch to her dad and put it right over the plate.
Verlander left with the Tigers trailing 2-0 after having allowed two solo home runs and striking out six in 5 1/3 innings. The Tigers rallied to take him off the hook. Eduardo Valencia's two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth gave Detroit a 4-3 win in Verlander's last game.
The Mets and Nationals will play their final game of the regular season on Sunday a little earlier than anticipated due to the forecast of inclement weather in Washington, D.C., the Nats announced.
First pitch will now be at 1:05 p.m. instead of 3:05 p.m.
The nor'easter already caused Saturday's game to be moved up from 4:05 p.m. to 12:35 p.m.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - SEPTEMBER 25: Justin Verlander #35 of the Detroit Tigers poses for a photo with his wife Kate Upton and his daughter Genevieve Upton Verlander while holding Bellamy Verlander during Career Celebration Ceremony prior to playing the Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park on September 25, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Justin Verlander always said he wanted to leave it all on the field when his time came, and he made good on that vow on an emotional Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park. The Tigers long-time ace was pretty good, putting together a solid 5.1 innings of work, more than anyone could’ve expected after nearly six months on the shelf. The emotions were high, and baseball provided a pretty nice send off for one of the greatest to ever do it. After struggling to score all game long, the young Tigers rallied hard in the ninth, and Eduardo Valencia launched a two-run walkoff home run to win in staggering fashion on Justin Verlander day.
We watched Justin Verlander warming up in the bullpen, wondering what we were going to see here on Saturday as he prepared for the last major league start of his incredible career. Eventually he came out and made his walk to the dugout. JK Simmons introduced the Tigers. The opening chords of Til I Collapse sounded, the 43-year-old Verlander took the mound in the throwback Adidas, which he joked later he’d told Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark were older than they were, and now the moment had arrived.
‘Til the roof comes off, ’til the lights go out ‘Til my legs give out, can’t shut my mouth
I couldn’t help feel some trepidation about this. On the one hand, it’s Justin Verlander and he’s not going out there to embarrass himself. On the other hand, even pitching well he might get lit up after nearly six months on the shelf. We just had to have faith in JV, and that’s never been hard. It was a little harder today, but we should’ve known better.
Verlander retired Ryan O’Hearn on a fly out to left to start things off. In classic JV style, he then popped up Brandon Lowe and Brian Reynolds for a snappy 1-2-3 first inning. The veteran was keeping things efficient early to be able to pitch deep into the game.
When the inning ended, Verlander spent a little time congratulating home plate umpire Laz Diaz, who is also retiring, while getting his hands checkecd for illegal substances. All in a day’s work. “The only substance here is joy” was Benetti’s line, and it was a pretty good one.
Leadoff man Max Clark started the bottom of the first with a sharp line drive out to Oneil Cruz in center field. Hao-Yu Lee drove a Kirby Yates offering up the middle for a single, and then Kevin McGonigle dumped a blooper into center field and Cruz got his cleat stuck and took a tumble, unable to catch the ball. He came up limping but was fortunately able to stay in the game. Yates got Eduardo Valencia to chase a splitter down and ground into a 5-4-3 double play, ending the inning.
Justin Verlander bounced back out of the dugout to more applause and took the mound for round two, and this did feel like a boxer in his final fight. He spotted good fastballs to Oneil Cruz, and eventually whiffed him on a backfoot slider for his first punchout of the game.
An 0-2 high fastball to Konnor Griffin was lined into right center for a single. He then tried to steal on a 1-0 pitch to Spencer Horwitz, but Dillon Dingler cut him down with a perfect strike and a slick tag from Javier Báez. A 3-1 fastball to Horwitz faded away for a walk, and we got Verlander barking at himself after a walk. Classic JV. After a lengthy battle with Ronny Simon, the outfielder offered at a slider in the zone and flew out to Zach McKinstry in right field.
Yates got Riley Greene to ground out and then whiffed Spencer Torkelson. Don Kelly then came out to remove him from the game to his own accolades. Applause came from both dugouts, and Yates exchanged congratulations with Laz Diaz and then his teammates in the dugout as the veteran reliever wrapped up his last season in the major leagues. Yates is set to retire at age 39 after a very nice 12 year career. Yohan Ramirez took over and wrapped up a 1-2-3 bottom of the second inning.
Verlander whiffed Gonzalez with a first pitch curveball, and then a high heater was fouled off. A changeup sailed wide, and a slider missed down, but a changeup down for his 40th pitch got a lazy fly ball to Clark in center field for the first out of the third inning. A fastball to Henry Davis was a strike, but a pair of curveballs missed. Another heater was fouled off, but the old dog reached back for 95 and blew him away for his second strikeout.
The fastball had pretty good life, if certainly diminished from his prime, and the breaking stuff was sharp. He legimately looked good. The arm is willing. Some other parts of the body, not so much, but he’ll deal with that on Sunday morning with plenty of ice. Verlander got ahead of Ryan O’Hearn with some changeups, and the left-handed hitter fouled off a pair of breaking balls. A 94.4 mph heater was by him before he got bat to ball, and Verlander had his third strikeout, all swinging. You know it had to be this way as he pushed his career strikeout mark to 3557.
Oneill Cruz did come out of the game, with Jake Mangum taking over center field in the bottom of the third. Ramirez hit McKinstry to start the frame, and Báez ripped a single to left. Clark lined out center but more softly this time, and after a battle, Hao-Yu Lee walked to load the bases with one out for Kevin McGonigle. The Tigers star rookie battled into a 2-2 count. Ramirez landed a breaking ball down, but it was challenged correctly to make it 3-2. McGonigle chopped another sweeper foul, and a sinker was smoked foul the opposite way. The 10th pitch of the at-bat was a heater that locked him up for an anti-climactic strike three. With Verlander no doubt begging for a lead and a chance to pick up one more win, Valencia dueled Ramirez and then whiffed on a sweeper to strand the bases loaded despite a 30 pitch inning for Ramirez.
Verlander had faced 10 hitters through three innings, but after the Pirates escaped that jam, the top of their order took heart and Brandon Lowe launched a first-pitch heater for a solo shot to right field. 1-0 Pirates. All this too, felt very familiar. No run support, and then a solo shot somewhere along the way…
Brian Reynolds bit on a 2-1 slider to even the count with a whiff, and then grounded out to Torkelson at first on Verlander’s 58th pitch. He got ahead of Mangum and whiffed him with a curveball up for strikeout number 3558. Griffin took a 1-1 curveball away to make it 2-1, but Verlander fired a well located 95 mph heater to get back in the count, and a breaking ball drew a lazy fly ball to right field for the final out.
This was going better than expected, despite the lack of run support. And again, even that felt very familiar. If you told Verlander he’d pitch into the fifth before the game, he would’ve taken it. Now he needed his teammates to get it going.
Carmen Mlodzinski took over for the Pirates in the bottom of the fourth. Riley Greene greeted him with a hot shot the opposite way down the line for a leadoff double. Dillon Dingler struck out, and Torkelson took a called third, but McKinstry was again hit by a pitch. Báez pulled a sharp grounder to Griffin at shortstop, and he couldn’t handle it. Everyone was safe, the bases were loaded with two outs, and Max Clark was up to bat. A pair of sinkers got ahead, but a ball call was challenged incorrectly, and the Pirates were out of challenges, as were the Tigers. Diaz was pleased, and there was something hilarious and fitting about the old ump getting to call the game old school the rest of the way. It mattered little as a good splitter drew the whiff as the Tigers continued to strand baserunners at an outrageous rate.
The bullpen was warming as the fifth started, and we knew the moment was coming soon with Verlander at 67 pitches. He worked ahead of Horwitz 1-2. A curveball was fouled off, a changeup missed down, and a slider missed away. Horwitz just got a piece of a 3-2 fastball, but a slider away, his 75th pitch, dropped just close enough to the zone that Diaz rung him up as Verlander’s fifth and 3559th strikeout. Old school indeed.
Simon tried a bunt, drawing boos from the faithful, and eventually fouled off two-strike sliders as Verlander topped 80 pitches. A 2-2 fastball away drew the whiff for strikeout number 3660 and sixth of the day. This rules. Leaving it all on the field. I expected AJ Hinch to pull him here, but he didn’t. Gonzalez stepped into the box and lifted a 1-1 curveball just over the right field wall for a solo shot. 2-0 Pirates.
Davis lined a single to left, and Hinch was at the top of the steps, but wanted to give Verlander the chance to end the inning. He was now at 86 pitches, well beyond what I thought was possible. O’Hearn pulled a curveball into right field, but McKinstry picked it, spun, and fired an absolute strike to third. McGonigle didn’t have to move an inch, snapping the tag down on Davis for the third out. The crowd went nuts, Verlander was fired up, and holy cow that was an elite throw from McKinstry there.
The Pirates challenged, the call stood, and Verlander high gloved McKinstry as he and his teammates came off the field. So, it looked as though we’d see him face one more hitter so Hinch could give him the mid-inning sendoff. Five innings with two solo shots among his five hits and a walk allowed, with six strikeouts, was legimately a good start already.
The Tigers got a walk to Lee in the bottom of the fifth, but no more. They were really going to leave the old ace on the hook for a loss with just two runs allowed.
Verlander took the mound at 87 pitches, bouncing back out of the dugout knowing he was facing the final hitter of his storied career. Hinch really was letting him empty the tank as the sixth began. As he warmed up, Kate Upton and the kids headed down to be ready to come out with Hinch to get him.
He was still hitting 94 as he faced Lowe again. A fastball up and away drew a pop up, and Dillon Dingler hauled it in next to home plate. And just like that, it was over.
AJ Hinch came out of the dugout and walked toward home plate. He signaled to Kate Upton, who sent their daughter Genevieve running out to the mound to get her Dad. Verlander erupted in tears as she reached him for a long hug. Hinch followed for a long embrace of his own, and it was done. All the onions in the building were chopped at once as Verlander’s teammates came to the mound for a hug and a handshake. The dugout emptied into a lineup as Verlander embraced all his teammates and coaches, with a big hug for Kenley Jansen notable as the all-time great reliever is nearing his final moments on the mound as well.
When all the congratulations and love had been exchanged, Verlander was joined again by his wife, and they headed down the dugout steps together as he saluted the crowd one more time and the standing ovation roared down from the seats. Pretty amazing scene, and yes we were crying a bit. Miggy’s final game went so well. It was hard to imagine this turning out so perfectly, but baseball and Verlander had a little magic left for us.
‘Til the roof comes off, ’til the lights go out ‘Til my legs give out, can’t shut my mouth
Justin Verlander’s final final line? 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 6 K. He’s still got it. The problem is recovering from it over the next few days.
Now, it was time to rely on his younger teammates to go and win the game. Tyler Kinley took over and gave up a single, but cleaned up the rest of the inning expeditiously.
Dingler grounded out to start the bottom of the sixth. Torkelson drew a walk, and Don Kelly turned to lefty Evan Sisk. Ben Malgeri pinch-hit for McKinstry and pulled a sharp single to left. Báez smoked a double to left to score Torkelson and make it a 2-1 Pirates lead. Clark struck out, and Lee grounded out to end the threat, but at least there was progress on the scoring front.
Brant Hurter racked up three quick outs in the top of the seventh.
Old friend Gregory Soto took the mound in the seventh and did his thing, pounding McGonigle, Valencia, and Greene into three groundouts with the power sinker.
Hurter gave up a single to Davis to start the eighth. O’Hearn grounded out, moving him to second, and Lowe did likewise, getting Davis to third. Jacob Waguespack took over from Hurter to face Reynolds, but the Pirates third baseman smoked a triple off the warning track in right to make it a 3-1 game. Mangum grounded out, but the hill to climb had gotten a bit higher.
Right-hander Luke Weaver succeeded Soto in the bottom of the eighth. Dingler greeted him with a single, but was erased by a Torkelson double play ball. Malgeri struck out, and we were on to the ninth.
Waguespack gave up a leadoff double to right off the bat of rookie Konnor Griffin to start the ninth. Horwitz grounded out, moving Griffin to third. A good changeup locked up Billy Cook for strike three. Waguespack blew away Jared Triolo with a fastball to send it to the bottom of the ninth.
The Tigers would have to get to a tough, hard throwing left-hander in Mason Montgomery to walk this one off. Báez struck out swinging, but Max Clark singled the opposite way. Hao-Yu Lee battled back to a full count after Montgomery got ahead early. He spoiled a nasty 99 mph high fastball, and then smoked the next one into the right field corner for a double that got Clark to third.
So it was up to McGonigle, and Montgomery missed down twice to run the count to 2-0. Another power sinker in on his hands drew a ground out to second from McGonigle. Clark scored, and it was a 3-2 game. Lee took third, and Eduardo Valencia stepped to the plate. He pulled the first pitch he saw just foul down the third base line, and fouled off the next one as well. Montgomery is nasty. A 101 mph heater missed well high, and Valencia fouled off the next fastball. Was there any magic left in the ballpark? The lefty shifted gears to the breaking stuff…and Valencia launched a curveball out to left and over the wall for a walkoff two-run home run!!! Amazing.
Valencia spent the postgame talking about needing to do that for Verlander, and the party was on. What a swing from the young catcher. Unbelievable stuff. What could be better than baseball? The answer is postseason baseball. Hopefully the organization turns it around in 2027.
LUANDA, ANGOLA - SEPTEMBER 13: Lebron James, Owner of Team AlUla looks on during the E1 Series Luanda GP on September 13, 2026 in Luanda, Angola. (Photo by Malcolm Griffiths/Getty Images) | Getty Images
While the message of President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick’s press conference on Thursday was one of excitement for the future, it started out with a brief acknowledgment of the past.
LeBron James’ departure this offseason ended his eight-year tenure with the Lakers, the longest single stretch with any franchise in his career. As much as both sides may have been ready to move on, they still accomplished a lot during their time together in Los Angeles.
“I thought it would be appropriate, just at the front, to express gratitude for the LeBron era here,” Pelinka said on Thursday. “Clearly new team, new players, and that’s what we’re going to talk about today, but we, just as an organization, are still grateful for the run that we had with him here. The Lakers have become, as they should, a perennial playoff team, won a championship, went to the Western Conference Finals, and it was a great era and we’re grateful for it.”
After a regular season which started rocky with LeBron on the sideline before he needed time to slot in as a third fiddle behind Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, the dynamic seemed to change a bit in the playoffs when LeBron showed his value once again.
There were also questions about who actually decided to end the partnership. When asked about that at his presser, Pelinka dodged the question while still praising LeBron.
“Again, we’re grateful for the LeBron era and I think the communications with him this offseason were held diplomatically and professionally and honestly,” Pelinka said. “I’m just so thankful for the partnership we had that continued up until this summer when a decision was made for him to play for another team. It was done amicably, professionally, gracefully.
And again, we looked at the whole thing with gratitude because it’s been an incredible era for us here.”
As for LeBron’s take, he spoke about his time with the Lakers on the latest episode of his Mind the Game podcast.
“A lot of people said when I came to the Lakers, like I was just coming to be in Hollywood and be in movies and shit like that. But I’ve always loved a huge challenge and to come to a historical franchise that has some of the greatest basketball players that we’ve ever seen in the history of sports, to be a part of that, one, was a super duper big thing…The expectations around here in Los Angeles when it comes to the Lakers is like, ‘Let’s win championships.‘ And I heard that and I understood that. For us to be able to win one, that was something that I’ll never forget. With that group, with that team, for this city.”
It’s not common for things to end amicably when LeBron leaves a franchise. All things considered, this is about as good as things could have gone.
Sunday's regular season finale between the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles has been moved up to 1:05 p.m. instead of 3:20 p.m. due to the forecast of inclement weather, the team announced.
The Yankee Stadium Gates will now open at 12:00 p.m. for fans with valid tickets, one hour before the first pitch.
The two teams already moved Saturday's game to Friday to avoid the nor'easter, as they split the doubleheader.
Elmer Rodriguez will take the mound for the Yanks, facing Shane Baz for Baltimore.
Luckily, the results of Sunday's game don't matter too much, as the Yanks have already clinched a playoff spot and know they will face the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card Series on Tuesday.
In coordination with Major League Baseball, the New York Yankees have announced that the start time of tomorrow’s Yankees-Orioles game (Sunday, September 27) has been moved to 1:05 p.m. due to the current forecast of inclement weather throughout the late afternoon.
