MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 11: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers bats during Game One of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on Sunday, October 11, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Aaron Gash/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The NLCS resumes at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, with the Dodgers looking to embark on a comeback down 2-0 in the series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The top three in the lineup remain the same, as Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández hit in the top three spots. The middle of the lineup received an adjustment that comes as little to no surprise with how Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith have hit in the postseason.
Kyle Tucker moves up to cleanup in the starting lineup, the highest spot in the order he’s been placed in this October. After a rough regular season, Tucker has found his stride at the plate at the bottom of the lineup, slashing .300/.391/.500 with a home run and two RBI over six games. Tucker has faced Milwaukee’s Game 3 starter Robert Gasser twice in his career, collecting three hits across six at-bats including a home run.
Andy Pages has also impressed at the plate this postseason, turning the page on what was a historically awful title run at the plate last year. The 2026 All-Star has five hits across 20 at-bats, with his highlights being his go-ahead, two-run single in Game 4 of the NLDS and for getting the Dodgers on the board against Jacob Misiorowski in Game 1 of the NLCS. Pages has gone hitless since his Game 1 RBI single, but he moves up to fifth in the lineup against Gasser, also the highest spot he’s hit in the postseason this year.
The elephant in the room is Shohei Ohtani getting moved all the way down to sixth in the lineup. Ohtani was adamant about playing in Game 3, and Dave Roberts ultimately granted his wish.
“He’s adamant he feels good enough to be in there. He’s close to finding something with his swing. I feel great about it,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday just before the Dodgers workout at Dodger Stadium. “He was very convicted that he is onto something mechanically. He was adamant that he can help us. He’s well enough to help us win a baseball game. So that’s all I needed to hear.”
Try as he might to will his way into the lineup, Ohtani has been a detriment offensively since hitting his final regular season home run on Aug. 18 in Denver, and he’s carried that funk over the team’s six playoff games slashing just .150/.261/.150 with zero RBI. Ohtani had never hit as low as second in the lineup until Game 3 of the NLDS, and it’s the first time Ohtani is hitting sixth in the lineup since Sept. 19, 2020 back when he was with the Angels.
Will Smith has also struggled mightily this October, and he slides all the way down to seventh in the starting lineup. Miguel Rojas gets the start at third base over Max Muncy against the left-hander Gasser, and Tommy Edman gets the start at second base, rounding things out in the lineup. Blake Snell makes his first start since getting the ball for Game 2 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves.
On the latest episode of The Mets Pod, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo are in full offseason Mets mode, with a focus on free agency and what comes next.
The guys talk Tarik Skubal, Ty France and other free agency options, plus play some voicemails that kick off conversations about Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, and Bryce Harper.
"Down on the Farm" features the future for Jefferson Rojas, while the Mailbag delivers questions about how quickly the Mets can turn things around and the potential pursuit of Japanese star slugger Teruaki Sato.
Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
2 min: Cherki is caught dozing by Dembélé, who sends Doué scampering down a cul-de-sac on the left. Cherki will be pleased Khusanov was on point there.
PSG, in their blue shirts with red central panel, launch the kick-off in their usual rugby-union style. City in their sky blue.
BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 14: Geraldo Perdomo #2 and Ildemaro Vargas #6 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrate after defeating the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 14, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I know this was mentioned briefly in James’s Snake Bytes, but I figure it deserves a piece of its own. The nominees for this year’s Gold Gloves were announced this morning, and there are four D-backs among the finalists for the National League. Each team’s manager and up to six coaches on his staff vote from a pool of qualified players in their League and cannot vote for players from their own team. Those votes represent 75% of the final, with a sabermetric component, the SABR Defensive Index, comprising the remaining 25 percent of the total.
Catcher: Gabriel Moreno
Also nominated: Freddy Fermin, San Diego Padres and Luis Torrens, New York Mets. The guy who probably should feel hard done by here, is the Marlins’ Joe Mack, who on Fangraphs’ table, led the league in Def, was the best pitch framer, and was third in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). With him out of the picture, it’s pretty close between the three candidates. Torrens is top in Def, but Moreno has the edge in DRS. He also played 200+ more innings at the position than the two other nominees. On the other hand, might be best for the team if Gabby were not to win, because it would only jack up the price of any contract extension.
Shortstop: Geraldo Perdomo
Also nominated: Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals and Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs. Again, did Miami somehow irritate the voting committee? Because the Marlins’ Otto Lopez has as good a case as, say, Swanson, matching him in DRS and slightly better in Def. Winn is probably the man to beat here, leading just about across the board in the metrics. He also has the advantage of being the incumbent, after winning the Gold Glove in 2025, and I’d be quite surprised if Perdomo were to prevail, although he did play more innings at short than anyone in the NL this season. Still, a nice honor for a season generally regarded as underwhelming, after his monstrous 2025.
A quick note on the absence of Nolan Arenado among the 3B candidates. While his fielding percentage of .975 was top four, the more advanced numbers were less impressed. He was only sixth by Def, and DRS actually had him in negative territory, at -4. Mind you, Max Muncy was nominated, despite being distinctly “Meh” as well.
Right field: Corbin Carroll
Also nominated: Carson Benge, New York Mets and Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs. It’s definitely gratifying to see how far Carroll’s defense has come. He was a nominee last year, and even that was impressive, considering his arm strength in particular received mediocre grades as a prospect and in his early major-league days. That may still be an issue – his rARM is -3 – Carroll has worked around it very well. While this is likely Suzuki’s award to lose, Carroll did lead the league at the position in Outs Above Average, and was a strong second to Suzuki in DRS (14-12). Def disagrees, however, rating Carroll below average at -0.7, good enough only for sixth place.
Utility: Ildemaro Vargas
Also nominated: Mauricio Dubón, Atlanta Braves and Jared Triolo, Pittsburgh Pirates. This is a relatively new award, having only been added in 2022, and is not one which is voted on by managers and coaches. Instead, utilizing the SABR formula and additional defensive statistics, Rawlings will select one utility winner from each League. So it’s really hard to say how this one will go. Triolo was the 2024 winner here, and Dubón won it in the AL last year, as a member of the Astros. I’ve a feeling it’ll probably be one of them. But if you’d told me at the beginning of the year that Vargas would be a Gold Glove finalist, after winning NL Player of the Month in April… Yeah. #YouCantPredictBaseball
The winners will be unveiled during a one-hour, special-edition Baseball Tonight broadcast on ESPN Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. Arizona time.
Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, or maybe it’s genuine confidence, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts truly believes that he’s about to break out of skid, batting just .150 in six postseason games without an extra-base hit.
“What I saw [Tuesday] was even more focus,’’ Roberts said. “He expects a lot from himself obviously, and he hasn't performed to his expectations. It's up to all of us to do our jobs, but I will say this: this was a different look from Shohei.
“He was determined, and that's an understatement."
Ohtani, who has never batted sixth since joining the Dodgers, understood the reasoning why he was dropped from the order where he has traditionally batted leadoff or second. He batted cleanup the first two NLCS games against Milwaukee until being informed Tuesday that he’d be dropped in the order.
Roberts also dropped catcher Will Smith, who batted third and fifth in the two games, while right fielder Kyle Tucker moved up to the cleanup spot.
“I think it's just more of what gives our lineup the best balance," Roberts said, “separating the lefties, the righties, just making it a little bit more difficult for them to try to navigate our lineup. Shohei's all on board. Whatever it takes to win.’’
Certainly, whatever move Roberts makes with Ohtani is international news_with the possibility of Ohtani even being benched reverberating all of the way to Japan – but Roberts certainly understands the scrutiny.
“It's different than any player, you might argue, in any sport right now because he's a global phenomenon,’’ Roberts said. “So anything he does is newsworthy, I understand that. You've got to be careful with your words because things get taken out of context, which I understand.
“I will say this, as far as him as a person, he couldn't be more of a team player, more agreeable. … God he couldn't be more of a joy. But I think on the external stuff, certainly it's tougher to manage, and I've got to be mindful. But man, this guy is great for our game. He's great for all of us."
And despite his struggles, batting knee and biceps problems that has kept him from pulling a ball for an extra-base hit since Aug. 26, the Dodgers still believe he’s going to come through it.
“I couldn't imagine really kind of having the expectations that he has,’’ Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts says, “and falling short in a way that it's not normal for him. Then having to come back and be present in this postseason knowing how important he is to the boys.
“He's trying. It's just really, really hard. It's really hard to make these slight adjustments in this short amount of time. …I feel for him. I know he's grinding, he's working. So we'll just see. We'll see how he comes and prepares.
“But I know he's giving it his all. We know he's giving it his all. We can at least lay our heads on a pillow at night knowing that we've given it everything.’’
And, even though the Dodgers are down 2-0, they are still brimming with confidence, with Roberts even entering the pre-game press conference walking to the left of the stage, instead of the right, just to change their luck.
“We all know what's at stake,’’ Roberts said. “It's going to be fun. There's some pressure there. But you've got to embrace this, and I think for me it's just focusing on today because I think when you start thinking about we've got to win four games, I get nervous.
“But I think that we can manage winning a game tonight.’’
SAN DIEGO, CA - JUNE 06: Nolan McLean #26 interacts with Luis Torrens #13 of the New York Mets during the game between the New York Mets and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Saturday, June 6, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Brendon Baranov/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It’s been 12 years since a Met won a Gold Glove Award, marking the second-longest active drought in the majors. But 2026 may finally bring an end to that streak, as Luis Torrens, Nolan McLean, and Carson Benge were all named finalists for a Gold Glove Award at their respective positions on Wednesday afternoon.
Torrens was also a finalist at catcher in 2025, losing to the Giants’ back-to-back winner Patrick Bailey. This year, Bailey was left off the finalist list after being traded midseason from the Giants to the Guardians. Torrens put up a Fielding Run Value of 10 despite playing in just 91 games, ranking second second in the National League behind the Marlins’ Joe Mack (13), and ahead of the fellow finalists: the Padres’ Freddy Fermin (9) and the Diamondbacks’ Gabriel Moreno (7). His 12 Defensive Runs Saved ranked third in the majors, trailing only the Tigers’ Dillon Dingler and Moreno. Torrens would become the first Mets catcher to win a Gold Glove Award.
McLean, meanwhile, has a chance to become the first Mets pitcher to win a Gold Glove Award since Ron Darling in 1989. McLean’s 4 defensive runs saved were tied for third-most in the NL. The Cardinals’ Michael McGreevy led the pack with 5, while Chris Sale, the third finalist, came in behind McLean with 3.
Benge has his sights set on winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award after a late-season tear, but why not grab a Gold Glove Award, too? Nominated alongside the Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki and the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll, Benge’s case may be the strongest — and also the strangest — among the Mets’ trio of finalists. His Fielding Run Value of 6 ranks second among NL right fielders behind Suzuki (8), but his arm value (7) was the best among all MLB outfielders thanks to a plethora of pulchritudinous throws. Despite the eye test, Benge’s range is actually what’s hurting him. Statcast has him grading out at -1 Outs Above Average in right field. His 7 defensive runs saved in right field are half that of Suzuki’s 14. If voters value Benge’s cannon of an arm and his highlight-reel-worthy dives, he can expect to take home the hardware. But Suzuki may earn the nod thanks to his more balanced defensive grades.
If either Benge or McLean win, they would become just the second Mets rookie to win a Gold Glove Award after Juan Lagares (who also won the NL Rookie of the Year Award) in 2014. If McLean wins, he would become the first rookie to win a Gold Glove Award at pitcher in MLB history.
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 18: Cole Young #2 of the Seattle Mariners fields a ground ball and throws to first in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 18, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Seattle Mariners put out a historically bad defense in 2026, but one member of the roster is being recognized for floating above the rest of the sinking ship. 2B Cole Young has been named as a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at second base, presented by Rawlings. Young demonstrated a sizable improvement in his footwork and arm accuracy, getting a good deal out of his athleticism and average foot speed. He’s joined on the ballot by a pair of American League Central keystoners: 2B Michael Massey of the Kansas City Royals and 2B Chase Meidroth of the Chicago White Sox.
The Gold Glove Award is allotted based on a combination of votes from managers and coaches (75% weight) and a proprietary Defensive Index formula cultivated by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and Rawlings (25% weight). Young has a curious case for the award, rating clearly as the best defensive two-bagger by Defensive Runs Saved at +16. That not only has him as the best second baseman, but the eighth-best defender in the sport. Meanwhile, via Statcast and Baseball Savant, the Outs Above Average range-gauging metric has a much lower estimation of Young’s play, placing him at -6 OAA and a cumulative -5 Fielding Run Value (FRV) when attempting to gauge more of the player’s skill overall.
The Defensive Index from SABR seems to lean more DRS-ward, and while the data are not perpetually public, the organization reveals monthly snapshots of their leaderboards. Through August 9th, Young was the only 2B listed in the Top-25 American League defenders, giving him a chance at leading in that portion of the award. Given Young was the only defender it felt comfortable to hope a groundball was hit at during the 2026 season, it seems more than appropriate to see him heralded.
Young’s knock has typically been what drove him to second base in the first place: arm strength that rated as 380th out of 388 qualified players across all positions by Baseball Savant. The metric averages the top 5% of velocity throws from each player in an attempt to sample only the throws wherein the player is “trying their hardest,” and Young’s tendency for slow hands that transitioned into floating throws contributed to a M’s infield that struggled to turn double plays. And yet, Young’s accuracy with his arm, even with underwhelming pace, earned positive value from FRV for throwing. Combining these metrics with the less-useful metric of Fielding Percentage, which captures merely what MLB determines an error or not in an increasingly rare ruling, Young’s .990 fielding percentage in his AL-leading 1350.1 innings at the keystone was also best in the American League.
Congratulations to Young on being a finalist, and fingers are of course crossed for his victory, yes. That’s all well and good, but the most important thing is that the dream lives: Lookout Landing Managing Editor Kate Preusser vowed early this year to get a thematic tattoo should Cole Young win a Gold Glove this season. As the season progressed, this went from flippant and funny to plausibly possible. When asked about potential tattoos, Preusser noted she may homage departed infield coach Perry Hill with a bone-themed design, should she see Young’s name called for the award.
Winners will be announced on ESPN on Sunday, November 1st.
Game 4 of the National League Championship Series will start an hour earlier Thursday, Oct. 14, Major League Baseball announced, a result of the significant time change involving the American League Championship Series.
The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers will start NLCS Game 4 at 5 p.m. PT/8 ET since the time of ALCS Game 3 was moved to 1 p.m. ET due to anticipated inclement weather in Cleveland, where the Guardians will host the Tampa Bay Rays.
Originally, the Brewers and Dodgers were to tip off an hour later to space out the game times for television purposes. Instead, both games will avoid any overlap, though Guardians and Rays fans will have to adjust their schedules for the matinee start.
Wednesday, the ALCS has a travel day while NLCS Game 3 begins at 8 ET. Friday, ALCS Game 4 is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET and NLCS Game 5, if necessary, at 9 ET. Fox Sports is broadcasting the NLCS while TBS has coverage of the ALCS.
Oct 14, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; A general overall view of Dodger Stadium prior to game three of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers were much better hitting in road games this regular season, but now have up to three games at home this week to try to keep their championship quest alive. They’ll need to find their offense to do so.
At Dodger Stadium this season, the Dodgers hit .250/.329/.419 with a 107 wRC+ that ranked ninth in the majors, averaging 4.63 runs per game. But on the road they averaged 5.26 runs while hitting .263/.347/.429 with a 114 wRC+, with all of those numbers tops in the majors. Their road batting average was nine points clear of second place (Rays), and their on-base percentage was 16 points better than the next-best (Cubs, Brewers).
But on their four-game road trip — work with me here, since the Dodgers returned home to Los Angeles after the two games in Atlanta before heading to Milwaukee — the club scored only 11 total runs while hitting a paltry .181/.254/.260. The Dodgers on the road did get their only two hits with runners in scoring position this October, both Andy Pages singles (Game 4 in Atlanta, Game 1 in Milwaukee).
“I’m not too concerned about the urgency. I just want to keep that intensity,” manager Dave Roberts said of the offense on Wednesday. “It’s going to be good to be at home, play in front of the home crowd, again, win a game and then go from there.”
One way to get the offense going might be the long ball, as the Brewers have hit the only two home runs so far in the NLCS. The Dodgers at home in the regular season hit 101 homers, compared to 103 on the road. But per plate appearance, Dodger Stadium was the plate to be, hitting a home home run once every 29.4 plate appearances compared to one every 31.5 PA away from home.
The Dodgers hit five home runs in the first two games of the Division Series against the Braves.
Left-hander Robert Gasser allowed a perfectly normal 15 home runs in his 21 games and 109 1/3 innings this season, and a home run accounted for the only run against him in his four innings in Game 4 of the NLDS in San Diego.
“They know me, and I know them. I enjoy having some familiarity with a lineup,” Gasser told reporters Monday in Milwaukee. “Looking back to the game in August and kind of watching those swings, obviously hitters adjust, but being a good guy in the dugout, watching them right now and seeing how they’ve changed to now and trying to build a plan for them.”
Whatever offense the Dodgers get on Wednesday, it will be backing Blake Snell, who walked five in his last time out, in Game 2 against the Braves 10 days ago, while lasting only 3 2/3 innings.
“A big thing is momentum. Once you shift it, especially at home, anything can happen,” Snell said Tuesday. “We saw what happened when we played Toronto. I’m not worried. We’ve just got to get it going. I think, once we do that, we’ll be fine.”
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - SEPTEMBER 23: Dillon Dingler #13 of the Detroit Tigers looks on in the second inning during a game against the Washington Nationals at Comerica Park on September 23, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/IOS/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove awards won’t be announced until November 1, but the list of finalists at each position was released on Wednesday. The Detroit Tigers have two representatives in the group of American League finalists, one with a legitimate shot to win an award, the other a longshot.
Dillon Dingler is the first finalist for the Tigers, and should be favored to take home the Gold Glove award as the game’s best defensive catcher. He’s up against Austin Wells of the New York Yankees and Brandon Valenzuela of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Dingler was worth +15 defensive runs saved (DRS) this season per Sports Info Solutions, and a +16 fielding run value (FRV), which is Statcast’s combined catching metric. eading all qualified catchers by a wide margin. Dingler did this while appearing in 145 games total with 116 games behind the plate. Wells was worth +8 DRS and +7 FRV by comparison. Valenzuela played less, but he was also excellent defensively, posting a +9 DRS and +13 FRV.
This should be Dingler’s award. Obviously this is supposed to be about defense only, but it often hasn’t quite played out that way. On defense alone, Dingler wins. If you take whole impact on their team, Dingler wins and no one is even within sight.
Zach McKinstry is their other Tigers finalist. He’s in the utility category along with the Yankees’ José Caballero and the Rangers’ Ezequiel Duran.
Caballero played just about everywhere this season, other than first base and catcher. Overall he was worth +2 Outs Above Average (OAA). Duran was worth +13 OAA, with most of that value coming at shortstop although he too played all over the infield and outfield for the Rangers this year. McKinstry was at +8 OAA, generating plus values at shortstop, second base, and in right field where he was a bit of a revelation defensively.
Probably Duran takes this one, but McKinstry does match up pretty well against him. Caballero has the advantage of being on the best team of the three, but his numbers don’t stack up well in comparison to either Duran or McKinstry.
On the other hand, this isn’t an award based on DRS or OAA. It’s voted on by managers and coaches from each team around the league. That voting compromises 75 percent of the final points per player. The other 25 percent comes from the SABR defensive index to try and get a more objective measure into the results. You can find a little more on the voting process here.
We’ll have to wait a few weeks to find out the winners. Dingler should have a cakewalk to the award. The utility award is probably more of a wide open race.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 20: A detailed view of the 2025 Rawling Gold Glove award presented to Ty France #25 of the San Diego Padres before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park on May 20, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Austin Wells, Cody Bellinger, and José Caballero are the three Yankees who were named Rawlings Gold Glove finalists on Wednesday.
Among the American League finalists, Wells was named alongside Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler and the Blue Jays’ Brandon Valenzuela. The Yankees catcher had his ups and downs offensively this season, but he made up for it behind the plate by winning some clutch challenges and continuing to improve behind the plate. His days of being debated as a realistic catching prospect are long since forgotten. Wells had the fourth-highest win percentage of all MLB players in ABS challenge calls from the field during the regular season. His predecessor, Jose Trevino, was the last Yankees backstop to win a Gold Glove, when he took home both that and the elusive Platinum Glove in 2022.
Bellinger, who carried the offense during some slumps and while the team was plagued with injuries, will look to earn his second Gold Glove since his 2019 NL MVP season with the Dodgers. Bellinger was named alongside Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford and the Rays’ Chandler Simpson. Per Baseball Savant, he was a 91st-percentile defender with +6 Outs Above Average (OAA) and a strong arm to boot. He was their most consistent outfielder and more than capably covered the vast swath of Yankee Stadium left field. Indeed, the last Yankees outfielder to win the honor also patrolled left: 2016 Brett Gardner.
Caballero is up for the Gold Glove as a utility player, which I wasn’t exactly anticipating. However, having played six positions this season, including shortstop, second base, third base, and all three outfield spots, his impact defensively was impossible to go unnoticed. He finished the regular season with a +2 OAA, a .972 fielding percentage, and a career-high 55 double plays. Despite his numbers trending in the right direction, he only started in one postseason game and went 1-for-2 in the devastating 4-3 loss to the Rays that ended the Yankees’ season.
Caballero was named a finalist alongside the Rangers’ Ezequiel Duran and the Tigers’ Zach McKinstry. As a reminder, the utilityman Gold Glove is still relatively new, as it was introduced by Rawlings in 2022, with the Yanks’ DJ LeMahieu named the first AL winner.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 13: A Los Angeles Dodgers groundscrew worker paints the postseason logo on the field before the Milwaukee Brewers workout prior to the NLCS at Dodger Stadium on October 13, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — Expected weather in Cleveland has affected the start time of Thursday’s National League Championship Series Game 4 in Los Angeles. Dodgers vs. Brewers will now start one hour earlier, from 6:08 p.m. to 5:08 p.m. PT, as a result of the American League Championship Series Game 3 moving to earlier in the day.
Earlier on Wednesday, Major League Baseball announced that the forecast of inclement weather in Cleveland on Thursday night moved Game 3 of Guardians vs. Rays from 6 p.m. to 1 p.m. ET, a 10 a.m. PT start time. The original schedule had a three-hour window for TBS before the FS1 broadcast of Dodgers-Brewers. But with the ALCS on Thursday moving to earlier in the day, MLB decided to move Dodgers-Brewers into the preferred 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET time slot reserved for most nights.
With the time change, Dodger Stadium parking lot gates on Thursday will open at 2 p.m., with stadium gates set to open at 2:30 p.m. for the 5:08 p.m. game.
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 03: Cody Bellinger #35 of the New York Yankees celebrates after making a circus catch during the game between the Miami Marlins and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Friday, April 3, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Yankees defense has been, over the past few years, inconsistent at best. The 2024 squad, on paper, wasn’t too bad, ending the year in the middle of the pack in Defensive Runs Saved (31, good for 12th in baseball) and Outs Above Average (10, good for 10th), but defensive miscues rather infamously proved their downfall in the World Series that year. The 2025 team brought in a trio of Gold Glovers in Cody Bellinger, Max Fried, and Paul Goldschmidt and shifted Jazz Chisholm back to second base, but the team still finished 13th in DRS with 30 and 18th in OAA with -7. Considering the fact that, in many ways, the 2026 team ran back the 2025 version, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that the team once again finished 13th in DRS with 26 and 17th in OAA with -5.
As befits a team whose sum total defensively trends towards mediocrity, the Yankees had more than their fair share of highlights and lowlights this year. Today, we take a look at the team’s best webgems (we’ll review the misplays later this week). We’re not ranking them, because defensive excellence need not be ranked, but feel free to do so in the comments section below!
Before Knicks star OG Anunoby tipped the ball into the hoop to give the Knicks the lead with 1.2 seconds left in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, you had Cody Bellinger. Okay, okay, nothing quite compares to that play, but nonetheless, the Yankees left fielder made quite a grab during the Yankees’ home opener back on April 3rd. In the top of the ninth, Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards drove a fly ball to deep left field. Ranging backwards, Bellinger leapt as the ball sailed over his head, and had he come down with it, that play would have ended up on the Honorable Mentions in this list. But he did not come down with it: he mistimed the jump, the ball hit his wrist. As the ball fell to the ground, he made a desperate stab at it…and somehow, he caught it.
I mean, just look at that face. That is a guy thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe that actually worked.”
Belli’s Cannon
We could honestly just fill this entire post with Bellinger highlights, but for the sake of, well, remembering players not named Cody Bellinger, we’ll limit it to just two — or rather, to two categories, because here, I just can’t pick between these two plays, both of which involve Bellinger using his arm to throw out a runner.
During the critical series between the Yankees and Red Sox at the end of August, the Yankees held a 1-0 lead late in the game. With a pair of runners in scoring position and only one away against fireman Paul Blackburn, Boston was threatening, when Willson Contreras hit a fly ball to left field for the second out of the inning. Looking to make something happen, the speedy Ceddanne Rafaela tagged up and challenged Belli, strength against strength, to make a play. He answered the call, delivering a strike to Austin Wells, as the Yankees wound up winning 1-0.
In a much less-intense version of the famous play in which Bellinger retired Juan Soto and doubled up Francisco Lindor last year, No. 35 recognized that he had a shot to double up Victor Mesa Jr., who was running on the play, and end the inning. It wasn’t his best throw to first, but Luis García Jr. made a neat scoop-and-tag while falling to the ground, finishing off a beautiful 7-3 double play with style.
While only Max Fried is truly known for his defense, the Yankees pitching staff put together quite the highlight reel, so once again, I am cheating a little bit, because I can’t pick just one (hey, I make the rules).
To begin, back on April 28th, Fernando Cruz slid to field a bunt off the bat of Joc Pederson, then threw to Ryan McMahon from his rear end to nab the lead runner for the first out of the inning (the play would be challenged, unsuccessfully, by the Rangers).
Just two weeks later, just one inning after being hit in the foot by a line drive, Cam Schlittler fielded a slow chopper off the bat of Mark Vientos and made an off-balance throw to fellow Massachusetts native Ben Rice for the third out of the inning against the Mets.
After he made his Major League debut at the beginning of August, George Lombard Jr. made fans throughout the Yankees fandom with his slick play at shortstop. My personal favorite? This barehanded grab on August 11th, where he fielded a ricochet off the second base bag cleanly before throwing to first for the third out of the inning.
José Caballero was the Yankees’ Swiss Army knife this season. He began the year as the starting shortstop (where he played 70 games), before bouncing around the field, making 23 appearances at the keystone, 37 at the hot corner, and 22 games across all three outfield positions. And while he wasn’t exactly equally proficient with the glove everywhere he played — he had 13 DRS at shortstop, 1 apiece at second and third, and -3 in the outfield — he wasn’t unplayable anywhere, and made more than his fair share of highlights there.
Let’s go around the diamond. Playing second base on July 24th, he made a diving stop ranging to his right to rob a base hit from Alec Bohm.
At shortstop, here’s a nifty play he made on September 2nd — while not the flashiest, those in-between, not quite a line drive, not quite a ground ball ones are some of the hardest to field.
At the hot corner, he teamed up with Lombard for rather unusual 6-5-3 double play. It’s the type of play that could only happen because of the shift — and because Cabby’s positional versatility allows him to adapt to unusual situations.
And lastly, on June 17th, he made this diving catch against the Tigers while in left field — a play that had me worried for a second when I saw it live, as Cabby took a second to get up.
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 01: Matt Olson #28 of the Atlanta Braves fields in the first inning during Game Three of the Wild Card Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on October 1, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jack Casey/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the MLB postseason no longer delivering frenetic news days given that we’re in League Championship Series season, where there’s not even two games on most days, it’s time for the faux-anticipation of dropping finalists (not winners, finalists) for certain end-of-season awards.
We’ve got two on the docket today. First, Gold Gloves.
I have a bone to pick with Gold Gloves, as you’ve probably read by now. There’s a way to do the whole Gold Glove thing objectively. Would it be perfect? Nah. But it would at least be steady. Instead, we have the current Rawlings award process, which is an abomination/agglomeration of multiple criteria, some of which just make no sense. For example, one criterion does involve defensive metrics, but it’s an index of multiple metrics, some of which are outdated and strictly worse than others, which just dilutes the whole endeavor. It’s whack. Anyway, here we go, courtesy of MLB.com:
As far as the Braves are concerned, their Gold Glove finalists are Chris Sale, Matt Olson, Michael Harris II, and Mauricio Dubon. Let’s look at these in turn.
Sale is a tough one, because no one really tries to evaluate pitcher defense in a way commensurate with other positions. The only measure we have that I’m aware of is DRS, and DRS has a load of problems. By DRS, though, Sale finished fourth in defensive value in the National League. (Foster Griffin was also ahead of him but was traded to the other league midseason.) I don’t know what to do with this one. The other finalists are Michael McGreevy and Nolan McLean, who finished first and third ahead of Sale, respectively, so… I dunno, give this to McGreevy? What a weird award.
Matt Olson should probably win his fourth Gold Glove. He led all first basemen in OAA/FRV (the Statcast-based measures), blowing away basically every first baseman in terms of converting range into outs.
Michael Harris II makes sense as a finalist, but Pete Crow-Armstrong more than doubled his FRV and has a giant lead, so…
That brings us to Mauricio Dubon. The “utility” position is a tough one to evaluate, since you have to really think about what qualifies someone to even be eligible for this position, and think about positional adjustments. Inclusive of those adjustments, the three finalists here are:
Dubon, with about half a win above average, with above-average marks at short, average marks in left, and an above-average cameo in center;
Jared Triolo, who only played about half a season and had less aggregate defensive value, playing mostly third and short in nondescript fashion; and
Ildemaro Vargas, who mostly played first and second, and didn’t really impress at second.
Basically, this is a weird thing, and if these are your three finalists, it feels like Dubon should win by default. That said, since apparently Nico Hoerner (played mostly second but some short) and Bryson Stott (mostly second, some third) didn’t qualify for whatever reason, Dubon really does make sense as the next-best option. (For those of you saying that Hoerner and Stott shouldn’t be in the running because two positions does not a utility guy make, look at Triolo and Vargas, who pretty much played… two positions.)
In terms of snubs, there’s not really anything to complain about, as the other Braves didn’t really warrant any real consideration here, not even as top-three finalists in the NL.
Switching gears a bit, the MLBPA announced finalists for their peer-voted Players’ Choice awards here. Of relevance to the Braves are Chris Sale (but he’ll probably lose to Jacob Misiorowski) as Outstanding Pitcher in the NL, and Martin Perez as Comeback Player. The other two finalists vying with Perez are Sandy Alcantara and… honestly, this award has kind of lost all meaning. Wheeler has thrown 149-plus frames every non-shortened season going back to his partial-season absence in 2017, while Alcantara is at 170-plus the last two years. What are they coming back from? Like, yeah, Alcantara wasn’t that good in 2025, but don’t call it a comeback. Perez wasn’t particularly good in 2026, but at least his 2025 was legitimately a partial season. I don’t know, this is a weird award. How about someone like Jordan Walker, who legitimately “came back” from being awful and minors-bound the past two seasons, or Michael King, who actually missed a bunch of 2025?
Aug 13, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) makes a leaping catch off a ball hit by Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) in the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
LOS ANGELES — Two Dodgers received recognition for their defensive prowess on Wednesday, with Rawlings announcing the top three finishers at every position in each league for 2026 Gold Glove Awards. Andy Pages and Max Muncy will finish in the top three in center field and third base, respectively in the National League for the honor this season.
Gold Glove Award voting is 75 percent managers and up to six coaches from each team, with the caveat that these folks cannot vote for players on their own team. The other quarter of the voting is determined from the SABR Defensive Index, which is an amalgamation of defensive statistics comprised by a committee of experts.
This is the first time in Pages’ three major league seasons that he’ll finish in the top three at his position for a Gold Glove Award. The other two National League center fielders in the top three are Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs and Michael Harris II of the Braves.
Pages led all National League outfielders with 14 assists, and also led all NL outfielders with 20 Defensive Runs Saved (Crow-Armstrong was second with 16 DRS). Crow-Armstrong was tops among major league center fielders with a +26 Fielding Run Value, with Pages third in the majors and second in the NL at +13, with Harris at +12.
Muncy’s fellow top-three finishers among NL third baseman are Alex Bregman of the Cubs and Javier Sanoja of the Miami Marlins.
Through August 9, Muncy had the highest SDI score among this trio at +4.8, with Bregman at 4.5 and Sanoja at +2.6. Bregman tied for the NL lead with 15 Defensive Runs Saved, and Sanoja tied for the league lead with a +5 Fielding Run Value. Muncy had 2 Defensive Runs Saved and a dead-average zero Fielding Run Value.
Matt Chapman of the San Francisco Giants led all NL third baseman with an SDI score of +11.9, and also on the season tied for the lead at the position in Defensive Runs Saved (15) and Fielding Run Value (+5). But he didn’t have enough innings to qualify for the award, given that he last played on June 30.
This is the second time finishing in the top three for a Gold Glove Award for Muncy, who was considered at first base in 2021. The Gold Glove Award at first base that year went to Paul Goldschmidt, then of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Gold Glove Award winners will be announced on Sunday, November 1 on ‘Baseball Tonight’ on ESPN, beginning at 5:30 p.m. PT.
