Category: Sports News

New York Post | Greg Joyce: The Yankees cannot afford any more additions to their M*A*S*H unit. Unfortunately, at least for Saturday, there is another. Spencer Jones, who’s been outstanding at the plate lately, was out of the starting lineup Saturday with a sore foot. For his part, Jones did not seem worried and attributed the soreness to playing in Arizona Friday after jamming his heel earlier in the week against the Twins. Here’s hoping he’s right.

Yahoo Sports | Tate Mosher: Headed into what was likely his penultimate regular season start of 2026, Cam Schlittler’s incredible campaign has the attention of people all over baseball. Cam’s been so sensational that he’s earned MVP chatter, an award that pitchers rarely hoist. The last to do it? Future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw. Earlier on Saturday, MLB’s official X account made sure everyone is tracking the similarities between the latter’s 2014 season and Cam’s 2026 campaign. Whether Schlittler can take home AL MVP or not, it’s been a heck of a ride. And you know you’ve had a brilliant season when you’re getting comped to Peak Kershaw.

MLB | Bryan Hoch: All Cam, all the time. The burgeoning ace has been so spectacular that it has become difficult for those closest to him to express just how good he has been. Through 31 starts, his 1.95 ERA trails only Ron Guidry’s 1.71 ERA in 1978. His 21 starts of one run or fewer are the most in franchise history. And in the past 11o years, only three pitchers his age or younger have matched him, including Babe Ruth in 1916.

CBSSports | Mike Axisa: Meanwhile, if you hadn’t heard, Aaron Judge is headed back to the IL, this time with a calf injury. In the aftermath of the Captain’s injury, Axisa takes a look at a few questions for Judge, and for the Yankees at large. For Judge, if he can return in time for a playoff run, how much has the injury set him back? Will he be able to find his timing at the dish? For the Yankees, if Judge is out or ineffective, where does that leave the offense against southpaws? It sure would be nice if Judge returns in good order and quickly finds his footing.

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty ($): Speaking of Judge’s calf injury, there’s a little bit of clarification on its nature, if not its severity or a timeline. The injury is in Judge’s inner, lower calf. That part of the calf is important for “sustained activities such as standing or walking uphill.” Judge has previously played through calf injuries. This time, however, it’s in a spot that makes doing so more difficult. So here we are, with the best hitter in the world back on the IL as the Yanks approach the postseason.

PHOENIX — It was more than an hour since New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler threw a pitch Saturday evening, and he was still upset with himself.

He had another strong performance in the Yankees’ 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, one that just about every starter in baseball would take − but they’re not Schlittler.

They’re not demanding perfection.

They’re not having one of the greatest seasons in baseball history.

So, when you give up just three hits and one earned run in six innings, it’s not good enough.

Not when you’re cruising to the Cy Young award with a 14-6 record and 1.94 ERA, yielding no more than one earned run in 22 of 32 starts, the best mark in Yankees history.

The 24-year-old has looked like Bob Gibson on the road, yielding an insane 1.16 ERA, the third-lowest in MLB history in a pitcher’s first 17 road starts. The only pitchers with a lower road ERA are Gibson in 1968 and Claude Hendrix in 1914.

Still, Schlittler didn’t care about any of that. All he knows is that the Yankees lost on Pavin Smith’s pinch-hit, two-run homer in the ninth inning, and he blamed himself.

On the day the @Dbacks celebrate the 2001 World Series Champions, they walk-off the Yankees! pic.twitter.com/8iwz678wHU

— MLB (@MLB) September 20, 2026

He was livid that he couldn’t field a bunt in the fifth inning by Tim Tawa, and paid the price by giving up a two-run triple to Jordan Lawlar, with both runs unearned, coughing up a 2-1 lead. And after the Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth, he ran into control problems, throwing eight consecutive balls, and gave the lead right back, 3-3.

His night was over after six innings.

And, for the first time since Aug. 3, he gave up more than one run in a game, even though two of the runs were unearned.

“I mean, I wouldn’t say I really gave them a chance,’’ Schlittler said. “That one’s kind of on me, so I’ll take the blame for that. Made an error there, let up two runs.

“I mean, that’s baseball, but yeah, that one’s on me.’’

The loss all but mathematically eliminates the Yankees’ hopes of catching the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East lead, even with a four-game series scheduled next week at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees (89-65) are five games back with just seven games remaining, with the Rays’ magic number dropping to 4.

“I mean, there’s still a chance,’’ Schlittler said, “but we got to play our (butts) off a little bit.’’

The Twins made their remaining loyal contingent suffer through a blown lead and another loss in extra frames, as the Angels took the third game of the series.

Walker Jenkins continued his tear, leading off the third inning with a single. This would enable Luke Keaschall to bring him home on a one-out double; Keaschall would then swipe third base (19), in turn enabling him to cross home plate when Austin Martin grounded out to short.

That 2-0 Twins lead was expanded a bit in the next inning, with Victor Caratini bringing home Brooks Lee with a two-out knock, after Lee had doubled his way onto second base.

The Angels would do their part to make sure most of tonight’s runs were clustered within the middle innings. Joe Ryan, who had kept Los Angeles off the board for the first three frames, coughed up a two-run homer to Jose Siri that brought the Halos to within a run. But noted “noted power hitter” Ryan Kreidler bopped his eighth bopper of the season to snatch the two-run lead right back to lead off the fifth.

Angel starter Reid Detmers and Twins arm Joe Ryan both went five innings, with Ryan giving up two runs on seven hits while Detmers allowed four runs on six hits; both struck out five, and Ryan’s was the only free pass allowed between either starter.

Caratini added another RBI single for an insurance run in the eighth, a decision that revealed itself as quite useful after Yoendrys Gomez let in a pair on a two-run Adam Frazier double in the home eighth, bringing the Angels to within a run. In a titanic battle, Kody Funderburk induced a Mike Trout GIDP to clean up two of Gomez’s inherited runners, and A.J. Minter was tasked with the ninth.

This did not work out! (A dream ballet ensues, which communicates to the reader that Minter served up a game-tying homer to Vaughn Grissom, knotting the score at 5-5 with one out in the ninth inning.)

So, we snap back to reality with another extra-inning game at Angel Stadium. In the top of the tenth, Brooks Lee moved ghost runner Ben Ross over to third on a first-pitch sacrifice fly. Then, after a sequence that nearly saw two Twins beaned by pitched and fouled balls, Royce Lewis flew into a twin killing, as an up-the-line throw from right fielder Josh Lowe was sent home on a ball shallow enough to still get Ross trying to score from third.

Lowe would lead off the home tenth in one of those quintessential baseball situations, but managed to strike out on a bunt foul off fellow lefty Taylor Rogers, now the sixth Twin reliever in the game. But after some intentional walk and pinch-hitting shuffling, a double steal put the winning run at third and brought Derek Shelton’s infield in.

Thankfully, Taylor Rogers remembered what a great closer he used to be, and struck out two straight Angels to usher the game into its 11th inning, as the clock struck midnight back home in Minnesota. Unthankfully, a word spawned by the constraints of after-midnight blog recap writing, the Twins could not get Royce Lewis’ ghost runner to cross home, and handed the Angels another chance to walk it off.

Shelton clearly read my Mike Trout walk-off comment from the preview, and he handed Trout first base to start the home 11th. Wade Meckler committed one of those Manfred-era cardinal sins, flying out on the first pitch he saw and failing to advance either of Los Angeles’ free runners, but Rogers would hit Grissom to load the bases with one out and move the winning run to third anyway.

With the bases loaded and one out, Jenkins moved in from center to help form a five-man infield. Rogers got another big-money strikeout, then fell victim to Lady Luck; a first-pitch sharp grounder from Christian Moore doinked off Rogers’ body and dripped away into no-man’s-land, bringing the winning run across before anyone had a chance to reach it.

So, the Twins give away a late 5-2 lead to the Angels, leading to the second walk-off loss to the Halos in three days (or four, if you’re counting from somewhere in the country that does not reside on the west coast.) The best Minnesota can do is even the series, and due to tiebreakers, the Chicago White Sox can officially eliminate both the Detroit Tigers and the Twins with a single win tomorrow. Joy!

STUDS:

RP Taylor Rogers (1.2 IP, H, R, 2 BB, 4 K)

1B Victor Caratini (2-for-5, 2 RBI)

CF Walker Jenkins (2-for-4, R, BB)

DUDS:

RP Yoendrys Gomez (0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, K)

RP A.J. Minter (IP, H, ER, HR)

C Ryan Jeffers (0-for-5)

Brandon Pfaadt was taking the mound for the Diamondbacks in the second game of this increasingly crucial series against the New York Yankees. He and the Snakes were going up against Cam Schlittler, the presumptive American League Cy Young Award winner for this season. We got utterly hosed last night by the Yankees last night, after dropping two of three to the Marlins, while the damned Padres just keep on winning. I’d forgive you if you didn’t have us winning this one on your bingo card tonight, because I certainly didn’t. If you were to claim, though, that not only did you have us winning, but you had us winning on a Pavin Smith pinch-hit walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth? You would be lying. Pure and simple.

And yet, happily and hilariously, here we are!

The game started late, due to a truly lovely celebration on the field of the 25th anniversary of the Diamondbacks’ World Series victory over the New York Yankees, who happened to be our opponents tonight. A ton of players from the 2001 club attended and appeared on the field. Bob Brenly came down from the broadcast booth to throw out the first pitch, which he bounced to 2001 Diamondbacks catcher Damian Miller, who in a cool side note was reunited with one of his old catcher’s mitts from back in the day, that some equipment guy had found in a box somewhere. It was pretty cool, all of it. There was some hope, at least in the early remarks in the Gameday Thread, that the invocation and evocation of the 2001 team would inspire their 2026 counterparts to rise to the occasion tonight.

It didn’t look great in terms of that in the early going. Schlittler was tough, no-hitting us through four frames with his only blemish being a four-pitch walk to Corbin Carroll in the bottom of the second that led to nothing. Brandon Pfaadt, meanwhile, matched him through his first two innings of work before getting a little wobbly in the third with a one-out walk and a subsequent single that seemed like they might be harbingers of another One Big Inning, though thankfully he managed to settle down and put up a zero.

Brandon retired the side in order in the fourth, but opened the fifth with back-to-back singles, a really good bunt that catcher Gabriel Moreno made a fantastic play on to cut down the lead runner at third, and then a third single to load the bases. Somewhat surprisingly, manager Torey Lovullo decided that he’d seen enough, and pulled Pfaadt at that point, and it was likely very good that he did. Justin Martinez relieved him, and quickly recorded the final two outs on fly balls to left, the first of which allowed the runner on third to tag and score. But it could have been a whole lot worse. 1-0 New York

Unlike what we’ve seen a lot of recently, the Diamondbacks actually answered right back in the bottom of the fifth. Nolan Arenado broke up Schlittler’s no-hitter by lining a one-out single to left. Tim Tawa tried to bunt Arenado to second, but wound up on first base thanks to Schlittler booting it for an error. That brought Jordan Lawlar to the plate, who promptly lined a triple into the alley in left-center:

That scored Arenado and Tawa, to give us a lead! 2-1 DBACKS

The lead, sadly, turned out to be short-lived, as Kevin Ginkel took the mound for the top of the sixth and further cemented his status as the weak link in the Diamondbacks’ September “A” bullpen. He got the first out easily, but then gave up a solo shot to Heliot Ramos. He then got the second out, and then gave up a solo shot to Austin Wells. So that was no bueno. 3-2 New York

Apparently, however, we had decided we weren’t going to go gentle into that good night this evening, which was nice to see. Schlittler helped out, walking Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno on eight pitches total to start the bottom of the sixth. Geraldo Perdomo laid down a bunt on the left side of the infield that he managed to beat out for a single to load the bases with nobody out. Corbin Carroll then hit a sacrifice fly to deep left that allowed Marte to score and the other runners to advance. Moreno and Perdomo were left standing on second and third, sadly, as Arenado and Tawa each struck out, but at least we weren’t trailing anymore. 3-3 TIE

And then it was fully onto the bullpen for both teams. Brandyn Garcia pitched a scoreless seventh for us, and recorded two outs in the eighth before giving way to Juan Morillo, who recorded the final out and then pitched a scoreless top of the ninth. The Yankees, meanwhile, trotted out a succession of bullpen arms who all apparently have ERAs below 2.00, which was annoying. Despite that, we got a leadoff single from pinch-hitter Ildemaro Vargas to lead off the seventh (but he was stranded), and a leadoff single from Gabi and a two-out single from Arenado in the eighth (but both of them were left stranded).

Which brings us to the bottom of the ninth. Vargas, taking his second plate appearance, drew an eight-pitch walk off Michael Fulmer. Jordan Lawlar then struck out swinging. That brought Pavin Smith to the plate, pinch-hitting for Jose Fernandez, who’d come on to pinch-hit for Lars Nootbaar in the seventh. And here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, that we’ve all been waiting for, even if we didn’t know it until the moment it happened:

Maybe there was a little bit of Luis Gonzalez 2001 magic that Pavin soaked up during the pregame celebration? Could be. Who knows? Whatever works! 3-2 DBACKS FINAL

Win Probability Added, courtesy of FanGraphs

Aces: Pavin Smith (1 AB, 1 H, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, +36% WPA)
Kings: Brandyn Garcia (1 2/3 IP, 0 R, +17% WPA), Juan Morillo (1 1/3 IP, 0 R, +17% WPA), Gabriel Moreno (3 AB, 1 H, 1 BB, +13% WPA), Ildemaro Vargas (1 AB, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, +13% WPA)
Deuces: Kevin Ginkel (1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 HR, -26% WPA), Tim Tawa (3 AB, 1 R, 2 K, -15% WPA)

Given how things have been going lately, especially on Saturdays and especially given that an increasing number of “Turn out the lights” type posts have been cropping up on the Feed, I would say that tonight’s Gameday Thread was pretty well-attended, with 195 comments at time of writing. By popular acclaim Comment of the Game goes to Trappkory, for this possibly broken-clock pronouncement which I can nevertheless confirm was posted just before the big moment in the bottom of the ninth:

As I noted in the thread, you called it! Well done!

And once again, we head into Sunday looking for a win to take the series. An increasingly recovered Corbin Burnes goes for us, Will Warren goes for the Yankees, first pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm AZ time. It’s the last home game of the regular season, and TheRealRamona has the guest recap, so I hope you can join us as we once more try to stave off elimination and chart a path to a postseason berth!

The Padres and Cubs won today, but the Phillies lost, and given the odd fact that the day started with all three current NL wild card teams tied, it means that we didn’t lose any ground, and we in fact gained a game on one of those teams! Remember, you don’t need to outrun the cheetah, you just need to outrun at least one other person who is fleeing from the cheetah. And oddly enough, in a weird sort of way, we are now the cheetah. So go cats! And Snakes!

As always, thanks so much for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!

It was a beautiful offensive performance from the Guardians today. The bats appear to be heating up at the right time. The Guardians scored 12 runs on 15 hits and 3 home runs. Angel Martinez went 4-5 with two home runs and is up to a .255 AVG with an OPS of .759 on the season. Chase DeLauter went 2-5 with a HR and is now hitting .290 with an .821 OPS. We also saw multi hit performances from Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, and Jo Adell. If the Guardians lineup can stay hot, they should have no problem making the playoffs.

Nobody is happier about the offensive performance tonight than Tanner Bibee, who really struggled in a must win game. He was only able to go 4.2 innings and surrendered 6 runs on 12 hits with only two strikeouts. His ERA on the season is up to 4.35. I had previously felt confident in Bibee starting a potential playoff game, but now I’m really starting to feel uneasy about it.

The Guardians will go for the sweep tomorrow. It will be Gavin Williams vs Jack Perkins at 1:40 pm ET. This is another must win game for the Guardians as the White Sox are just one game back of the division.

When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier this week that the best was yet to come, his expectations were centered on the offense.

In the Dodgers’ 10-4 rout of the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, that better version of the offense was on display, putting together a pair of three-run rallies in back-to-back innings to take pressure off the pitching staff.

Before that breakout started in the fifth inning, it was a back-and-forth game.

Dodgers left-handed starting pitcher Tarik Skubal pitched only five innings, tied for his shortest start with the Dodgers. And he surrendered four runs, the worst mark of his Dodgers tenure.

Read more:Swanson: Dodgers have no choice. They must hope Tyler Glasnow can trust himself in the playoffs

Entering the game, Skubal appeared to be peaking. His past two starts, both against the Reds, were some of his most efficient.

That efficiency, however, regressed against the Giants (64-91).

Though he got through the first two innings without giving up a run — thanks in part to a diving catch by right fielder Kyle Tucker in the gap to end the first — he issued two-out walks in each.

The Dodgers’ offense used that time to mount a lead. Leadoff hitter Mookie Betts, who finished the day with three doubles and a single, hit the first of those doubles in his first at-bat, and Max Muncy authored his own to drive in the first run.

The next inning, rookie Josue De Paula’s walk, and singles from Alex Freeland and Betts combined to push in another run.

Then Skubal began to struggle. With a runner on second and one out, he pitched to a full count against designated hitter Victor Bericoto. Skubal missed down the middle with a fastball, and Bericoto sent it 425 feet to center field. It landed on the netting on the other side of the wall to tie the score.

The Dodgers’ offense, coming alive in September, struck back in the third. Catcher Will Smith hit his second home run in as many nights, launching the second pitch of the inning into the left-field stands.

The Giants took a different approach to tie the score for a second time. After back-to-back singles, they used back-to-back sacrifice bunts to advance the runners and score another run.

Then the two teams traded runs again. Betts put the Dodgers (95-60) up with an RBI double in the fourth. Skubal gave up back-to-back doubles in the fifth.

That marked both the end of Skubal’s start and the beginning of the Dodgers’ offensive onslaught.

The Dodgers brought seven batters to the plate in the fifth, and all but one reached base. Tommy Edman hit a two-run single. And pinch-hitting Miguel Rojas almost matched him, but Giants left fielder Turner Hill made a perfect throw to nab Edman in a close play at home to end the inning.

Betts’ and Smith’s bats stayed hot to open the sixth with a leadoff double and one-out RBI single, respectively. The Dodgers took advantage of the Giants’ sloppy infield play to load the bases for De Paula, who lined a two-run single into shallow center field.

Those were the kinds of stifling rallies that had defined the Dodgers’ offense earlier in the season, when they were scoring regularly in double digits.

The Dodgers’ 15 hits Saturday were their most in a game since July 2 against the San Diego Padres, and just two shy of their season high.

Read more:Shaikin: Frank McCourt fired him as Dodgers GM. For Dan Evans, and for Montreal, a second chance?

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Entering tonight with a taxed bullpen and a starting pitcher fresh off the injured list, the Colorado Rockies managed to battle back from an early deficit to earn a victory on a day of celebration for Todd Helton, a franchise legend.

Manager Warren Schaffer described the game as “one of my favorite wins of the season” in his post-game press conference, and it’s not hard to see why he would feel that way as the Rockies bested the Seattle Mariners, 5-3.

Quintana returns

José Quintana’s return to the mound started off looking very good.

He got both JP Crawford and Randy Arozarena to strike out swinging to begin the game. Dominic Canzone worked the count full before walking on a pitch right at the top of the zone that was close enough that it may have been turned into a strike had Hunter Goodman challenged it.

Instead, Canzone walked to first and was immediately driven in on Cal Raleigh’s 23rd home run of the season.

Quintana navigated through the second inning without allowing any additional runs, but it wasn’t without drama. Michael Arroyo singled on a soft fly-ball blooper with one out. Lazaro Montes came up after Arroyo and grounded out on what may have been a double-play ball that unluckily deflected off of Quintana’s foot. Connor Norby was able to adjust and salvage the play to get a single out at first but the inning continued.

The third inning featured Quintana allowing a home run by Randy Arozarena that would land in, essentially, the same spot that Raleigh’s had in the first.

The Mariners weren’t done with just that homer, however, and Canzone would immediately reach base on a soft single to left once Arozarena finished his trot around the bases. Quintana got Raleigh to pop up for the second out of the inning before Julio Rodriguez singled and advanced Canzone to third.

Josh Naylor then hit a hard liner to right center field that would have been at least a double if not for a very difficult running catch from Cole Carrigg that ended the inning.

Quintana came back out for the fourth and was able to set down the side on just an additional 14 pitches. The only hard contact was a liner from Montes that was caught on a good play by Rumfield at first.

Given his long stint on the injured list, Quintana was relieved before the fifth after having reached 70 pitches. He ended his return outing with four innings pitched with three runs (all earned) on five hits and a single walk.

Speaking to reporters after the game Quintana did not hold back on what being able to finish the year on the mound meant to him:

“It’s huge for me. Especially when you have an elbow issue. I know the process I’ve been doing for a while and want to say thank you to the Colorado Rockies organization for giving me the chance to be back and waiting for me to be healthy. It was a long process and for me I just feel lucky and blessed to get this opportunity. I know how hard I’ve been working to be in this position right now but it’s huge to finish strong, to finish pitching and enjoy this time with the team. I missed it for a long time.”

The offense gets the job done

The first couple innings of the game for the Rockies lineup were relatively quiet. Connor Norby hit a soft single in the first, and Kyle Karros managed a walk in the second, but the rest of the Rockies lineup was unable to drive either in.

Jake McCarthy got the Rockies on the board in the third inning by taking advantage of a series of rushed throws from the Mariners defense.

First, he hit a very soft ground ball that Mariners catcher Raleigh attempted to field on his own but missed the mark with his spinning throw to first that sent the ball sailing to right field, allowing McCarthy to reach third base safely.

Norby came to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly to shallow right field. The throw from Canzone went to the plate in an attempt to catch McCarthy, and it looked like it was going to before it hit the ground just in front of the awaiting Raleigh, who failed to block it.

McCarthy came in to score the Rockies first run of the game.

The next couple innings saw Mariners starter Bryce Miller settle in with the Rockies hitters unable to find an answer. A Zac Veen walk was the only Rockies baserunner throughout either of the fourth or fifth innings.

As the Rockies lineup got its third look at Miller in the sixth, however, they appeared to finally be figuring him out. Norby struck out to start the inning but was followed by hard ground singles from both TJ Rumfield and Hunter Goodman to produce only their second runner in scoring position to that point.

With the scoring threat established, Miller was relieved by Carlos Vargas after 89 pitches. Vargas went on to get Cole Carrigg to ground into a fielder’s choice and induced a groundout from Karros to end the inning and the threat from the Rockies.

As deflating as the sixth inning felt at the time, it wouldn’t take long before the Rockies would once again get some runners in scoring position. In the seventh inning, everything started to fall apart for the Mariners pitching.

It started off innocently enough with a Mickey Moniak lineout and an innocuous single from Veen. Adael Amador came in to pinch hit for Tovar, and the wheels started to come off for Mariners reliever Vargas.

During the Amador at-bat Vargas appeared notably pre-occupied with attempting to keep Veen at first who ultimately didn’t attempt a steal. Amador, however, took the opportunity to smack a single of his own, and Vargas was pulled for Jose Ferrer.

Ferrer’s outing lasted only four pitches.

McCarthy hit a sacrifice grounder that scored Veen. The inning should have ended the next batter after Norby hit a ground ball to third that was bobbled by Mariners third baseman Wilson. With the gifted extra out, Rumfield came to the plate and smacked an RBI single.

As Goodman and Carrigg prepared to hit, Mariners manager Dan Wilson puller Ferrer in favor of righty Cooper Criswell. Despite the platoon disadvantage, Goodman was able to work a walk that loaded the bases before Carrigg drove in the go-ahead runs on a single to shallow right center.

Karros walked the bases loaded again but the inning finally came to an end on a Moniak ground out to short. When the dust had settled on the seventh inning, the Rockies had scored four runs and were winning 5-3.

The bullpen seals the win

After Quintana exited following the fourth inning, Nick Frasso took over in the fifth to face the top of the Mariners lineup the third time through the order.

He induced a sharp lineout to third from Crawford before striking out Arozarena. Canzone worked a full count before Frasso walked him. Frasso didn’t allow the long at bat and having a runner on first phase him, however, and managed to strike out Raleigh to end the inning the very next batter.

Rodriguez hit a double on a liner to left to open the sixth against Frasso. It soon looked like trouble after Naylor hit a popfly to advance Rodriguez to third. Then came a hard line drive towards left field by Arroyo . . . that was intercepted by a leaping Karros at third. Before Rodriguez had time to react, Karros tagged third and ended the inning on an unassisted double play.

Juan Mejia took over in the seventh and promptly produced the quietest two innings for Mariners hitters in the game to that point.

Other than a soft two-out double to left field from Raleigh in the eighth, Mejia shut down every hitter that came to the plate for two straight innings. After the game, Schaeffer heaped praise on Mejia’s performance saying “Everyone knows that when he goes back out a second time that’s been a struggle for him. Tonight he was nails. Not a pitch under 97.”

It was an open quesiton as to who would take the ball in the ninth inning. According to manager Warren Schaeffer Jordan Romano was willing to pitch for a third day in a row but was “sick as a dog.” So, instead, Schaeffer turned to another reliever that had pitched both of the previous two games: Brennan Bernardino.

Even though their usual closer wasn’t available, the Rockies still took the opportunity to make a show of Bernardino entering for a save opportunity.

Benardino got Naylor to ground out to start the inning before Arroyo reached first on a fly ball to right. Bernardino ensured that the Mariners savior from Friday night would not repeat his ninth inning heroics for a second game in a row with a four-pitch strikeout of Montes.

A two-out strikeout from Wilson earned the Rockies their 57th win and Bernardino his third career save.

Celebrating Helton

This electric win came as a fitting tribute to Colorado Rockies legend Todd Helton for whom a statue was unveiled before the game.

Helton was invited onto the field before the game for an additional honorary ceremony and threw out the first pitch to his daughter.

In the bottom of the third inning, Helton was invited into the Rockies television broadcast booth and talked about both the process of posing for the statue creation process joking that he “cramped up a little but” needing to hold his iconic pose for so long.

While Helton was watching McCarthy score the first Rockies run of the game, he spoke to his time on the 2007 Pennant-winning Rockies team and his celebration at catching the final out of the National League Championship series. About the fan response to that rare image of emotional response from him on the field Helton joked, “If I would have known it meant that much to people, I would’ve done it for 17 years. When you’re winning, it’s easy to be happy.”

Given how happy the crowd in the stands at Coors Field sounded tonight watching the Rockies win, Helton may just be on to something.

Up Next

Tomorrow night the Rockies will face the Mariners for the final time this season.

On the mound for the Rockies will be Tomoyuki Sugano facing Kade Anderson.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 MT.

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

Carlos Beltrán said he loves what he is doing right now, which would complicate what he could be doing.

Beltrán, who is an adviser to president of baseball operations David Stearns in the Mets front office and is free to offer help throughout the organization without feeling obligated to be anywhere specific, is an obvious candidate to become the club’s next manager.

He technically was the manager once, a short-lived stint, and Mets officials had talked to Beltrán about taking over for the fired Carlos Mendoza this season.

Beltrán declined then and was publicly noncommittal Saturday when asked about the prospect, with the club expected to begin a managerial search once the season is complete.

“Being a manager in Major League Baseball is a huge commitment — a very, very huge commitment,” Beltrán said before he was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame. “And I’m not saying that I’m not willing to take that commitment, but right now, at the position where I am today in life, I love to be a dad. I love to be a husband. I love to be involved in the Carlos Beltrán Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico.

“And being a manager, I would not be able to do that full time.”

Beltrán did not outright reject the notion and said he was not sure if he would interview.

“If I stay relevant in the game, and hopefully I continue to be around baseball teams, I could think about [managing] later on,” said Beltrán, who was hired for the job in November 2019 and resigned two months later amid the revelations about his role in the Astros sign-stealing scandal.

He eventually returned to the organization as an adviser to then-general manager Billy Eppler in early 2023, even if he was unofficially helping the club before then.

Fellow Puerto Rican Francisco Lindor said he lives on the Upper East Side because of Beltrán, whom he called upon being traded early in 2021 and hooked him up with a realtor.

When Lindor struggled in his first season in Queens, just as Beltrán had done, he leaned on Beltrán for advice.

Lindor and interim manager Andy Green responded similarly when asked about the possibility of Beltrán as the next Mets manager: Whatever Beltrán wants to do, they said, he will do well.

“If he decides to pursue it and if they feel like it’s going to be the best thing for the organization, I think he’s going to succeed at it,” Lindor said before the Mets’ 10-3 win over the Phillies. “He’s somebody that’s very respected, but to be a manager is not about respect. It’s about knowing the game and making the right moves at the right time and connecting with players, and I think he can do all of those.”

Green said Jared Young, who was placed on the concussion injured list Friday and will miss the rest of the season, is doing better and has “a milder headache today.”

Young was able to watch Friday’s Mets win from the couch.

Devin Williams (shoulder strain) threw his second live batting practice before the game against the Phillies.

If Williams responds well, Green said he anticipates activating Williams on the road trip that begins Tuesday.

The Mets activated Cionel Pérez from the 15-day IL and optioned righty Cameron Weston to Triple-A Syracuse.