Category: Sports News

Friday did not start off great for the Yankees, as news broke that Aaron Judge would indeed be going on the IL for a calf strain he suffered in the middle of Wednesday’s finale against the Twins. Judge was pulled from that game in the sixth inning and at the time it was unclear if he would need just a couple days off or if it was something more, but the team later got confirmation and will now be unable to activate their superstar until game No. 162 against the Orioles. With no minor league rehab available from that point and Judge’s immediate return without one following a lengthy layoff perhaps being the cause of said calf strain, it leaves a lot of doubt as to whether he’ll be able to contribute in the postseason. The Yankees will face a tall task going far without their captain, but to be fair to the rest of the team they’ve gotten themselves here largely without him this year.

The team at least responded to the news by immediately putting up a five-spot on the Diamondbacks to open up their latest series en route to a victory, a much-needed one as the end of the regular season draws ever closer. Before they go for the series victory tonight, we’ve got some things prepared starting with Peter going over the Rivalry Roundup featuring a critical Tampa loss to Boston giving a bit of room for the Yankees to inch closer ahead of their bout in the Bronx. Nick then shows some love to Bob Turley on what would’ve been his 96th birthday, and John gives his thoughts on the open forums that baseball analytics have provided the sport in light of some controversy over in the NFL with the opaqueness of their data.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees at Arizona Diamondbacks

Time: 8:10 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, DBacks.tv

Venue: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ

Questions/Prompts:

1. How much faith do you have in Aaron Judge jumping back cold into the lineup for the postseason? How far can the offense take them if he can’t?

2. After Dylan Cease had a short start last night, can Cam Schlittler put a bow on the Cy Young race with his start tonight?

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: Well, it was nice while it lasted. The Yankees announced yesterday evening that they will be placing right fielder Aaron Judge on the ten-day injured list with a calf strain today; Max Schuemann is expected to be the corresponding move. Since it will be backdated to the 16th, Judge will be eligible to come off the IL for the final day of the season; however, given the nature of calf strains, it is entirely possible that we have seen the last of No. 99 for 2026.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Arguably the biggest surprise of the 2026 season — beyond the fact that the Yankees somehow managed to keep their heads above water despite Aaron Judge missing three months, of course — has been the breakout of outfielder Spencer Jones. The former top prospect has managed to position himself as “a key cog in the Yankees’ lineup,” taking advantage of opportunities offered by injuries to Judge, Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton. In particular, his performance against southpaws, which had long been a weakness throughout his minor league career, has been a pleasant surprise. That being said, it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses: Jones has yet to flash the leather in the way many have expected him to. Even so, however, it seems likely that Jones will be a critical part of the team’s postseason run, whether as the starting center fielder or a key reserve.

MLB.com | Mike Lupica: For all the attention that the Yankees’ veteran stars — Judge, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, and Giancarlo Stanton — receive, the 2026 season has been a veritable youth movement. Key to that has been the development, of course, of first baseman/designated hitter Ben Rice and AL Cy Young frontrunner Cam Schlittler. The two youngsters from Massachusetts, never highly rated as prospects, have turned themselves into veritable forces at the plate and on the mound, and without their contributions, the injury-riddled 2026 Yankees would almost certainly be spending the final few days of the season playing out the string, not attempting to make a last-ditch run at the AL East while lining up the rotation for a matchup with the Red Sox in the Wild Card round.

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: Yesterday afternoon, the Yankees announced that Oswaldo Cabrera, the popular utilityman who has been with the organization since 2015, had been claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. He had been designated for assignment earlier in the week, in order to make room on the 40-man roster for Clarke Schmidt.

Playbill | Logan Culwell-Block: Earlier this summer, former Mets infielder José Iglesias made the jump from the ballfield to the stage, joining the Broadway production of Buena Vista Social Club. Now, a Yankee great will be joining him: yesterday, Bernie Williams announced that he will be joining the show’s pit band for a limited run, from October 22nd through November 29th.

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: Well, it was nice while it lasted. The Yankees announced yesterday evening that they will be placing right fielder Aaron Judge on the ten-day injured list with a calf strain today; Max Schuemann is expected to be the corresponding move. Since it will be backdated to the 16th, Judge will be eligible to come off the IL for the final day of the season; however, given the nature of calf strains, it is entirely possible that we have seen the last of No. 99 for 2026.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Arguably the biggest surprise of the 2026 season — beyond the fact that the Yankees somehow managed to keep their heads above water despite Aaron Judge missing three months, of course — has been the breakout of outfielder Spencer Jones. The former top prospect has managed to position himself as “a key cog in the Yankees’ lineup,” taking advantage of opportunities offered by injuries to Judge, Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton. In particular, his performance against southpaws, which had long been a weakness throughout his minor league career, has been a pleasant surprise. That being said, it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses: Jones has yet to flash the leather in the way many have expected him to. Even so, however, it seems likely that Jones will be a critical part of the team’s postseason run, whether as the starting center fielder or a key reserve.

MLB.com | Mike Lupica: For all the attention that the Yankees’ veteran stars — Judge, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, and Giancarlo Stanton — receive, the 2026 season has been a veritable youth movement. Key to that has been the development, of course, of first baseman/designated hitter Ben Rice and AL Cy Young frontrunner Cam Schlittler. The two youngsters from Massachusetts, never highly rated as prospects, have turned themselves into veritable forces at the plate and on the mound, and without their contributions, the injury-riddled 2026 Yankees would almost certainly be spending the final few days of the season playing out the string, not attempting to make a last-ditch run at the AL East while lining up the rotation for a matchup with the Red Sox in the Wild Card round.

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: Yesterday afternoon, the Yankees announced that Oswaldo Cabrera, the popular utilityman who has been with the organization since 2015, had been claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. He had been designated for assignment earlier in the week, in order to make room on the 40-man roster for Clarke Schmidt.

Playbill | Logan Culwell-Block: Earlier this summer, former Mets infielder José Iglesias made the jump from the ballfield to the stage, joining the Broadway production of Buena Vista Social Club. Now, a Yankee great will be joining him: yesterday, Bernie Williams announced that he will be joining the show’s pit band for a limited run, from October 22nd through November 29th.

That's one way to start off the last homestand of the regular season.

Forget the fact that it was against the lowly San Francisco Giants and their lineup featuring a who's who of ... "Who?" Forget the fact that five of the Los Angeles Dodgers' runs in their dominant 8-2 win on Friday night came off the relatively unknown Philip Abner. The Dodgers' lineup, without Shohei Ohtani, showed exactly what they're capable of offensively.

This is the version of the team Andrew Friedman envisioned when he signed Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract and Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69 million deal last winter.

"The talent," manager Dave Roberts said. "It's a high-floor talent level. I just like the way we're taking better team at-bats and making up for not having Shohei in there. Obviously, we're a better team with him, but it is nice to see there hasn't been a drop-off with him not in the lineup."

Here's a look at three winners from the Dodgers' victory over the Giants:

The Dodgers lineup is just fine

Mookie Betts started things off when he jumped on a low-90s fastball that San Francisco starter Cesar Perdomo left middle-middle and sent it over the fence in left center field for his 33rd leadoff home run as a Dodger. The bats went quiet briefly from there until the bottom of the fifth when Teoscar Hernández singled home Josue De Paula from third on a sharp liner to right field to tie the game at 2-2.

The rookie De Paula later drove in the go-ahead run on an RBI double in the sixth before a monster five-run eighth inning in which Max Muncy, Tucker, Betts and Will Smith all went yard to put the game out of reach.

Max Muncy and Kyle Tucker hit back-to-back blasts! pic.twitter.com/18ODGjrTwI

— MLB (@MLB) September 19, 2026

"I think that's the beauty in it," Betts said. "We just keep giving ourselves opportunities and eventually, something will crack. It did tonight, so we just have to keep getting guys on base and giving ourselves the chances and the hits will follow."

Edwin Díaz looked good in return from IL

That set the stage for the trumpets to once again blare over the Dodger Stadium loudspeakers. Roberts said he wouldn't have put Díaz in if it wasn't for the six-run lead as he wanted to give Díaz some leeway in his first outing back from an IL stint after health and poor performance have plagued his season.

But Díaz took the opportunity and ran with it. In his first big league appearance since Aug. 17, he got two quick outs before giving up a base hit up the middle. Rather than let that snowball like it has many times in 2026, however, Díaz was able to buckle down and strike out Brett Harris on three pitches to seal a Dodgers win.

Edwin Diaz and the trumpets are back at Uniqlo Field. @SportingTribpic.twitter.com/5t5vPJj5iE

— Fredo Cervantes (@FredoCervantes) September 19, 2026

"I liked everything," Roberts said. "I liked his intensity; I liked the fastball velocity. The slider was good. It was just really good to get him back in the mix and that's something to build on."

Josue De Paula is different

The through line for the offense on Friday night was the 21-year-old De Paula. The No. 6 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline finished the night 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs and an RBI, but it was the timing of each of those that made his Dodger Stadium debut so special.

De Paula led off the bottom of the fifth with a base hit, which Betts followed up with one of his own before he eventually scored the tying run on Hernández's RBI single. Two innings later, De Paula scored Tucker from first on a double that he put on a rope at 107 mph deep into the right field gap. As he reached second, De Paula pounded his chest and flexed.

Go ahead, Josue. 😤 pic.twitter.com/KCKOB2SSwU

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 19, 2026

Then, in that huge eighth inning, it was De Paula who kept it alive by working a four-pitch walk with two outs, his seventh in a week in the big leagues. Five pitches later, Betts blew the game open with a two-run homer.

"I just love his at-bats," Roberts said. "It's one of those things that we knew coming up to the big leagues, he wasn't going to get overwhelmed, and it just helps when you control the strike zone. He takes his walks, when the ball is in the hitting zone, he can slug you but he also knows how to get a base hit. It's been very professional."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Edwin Díaz makes successful return, rookie Josue De Paula strong for Dodgers in win

That's one way to start off the last homestand of the regular season.

Forget the fact that it was against the lowly San Francisco Giants and their lineup featuring a who's who of ... "Who?" Forget the fact that five of the Los Angeles Dodgers' runs in their dominant 8-2 win on Friday night came off the relatively unknown Philip Abner. The Dodgers' lineup, without Shohei Ohtani, showed exactly what they're capable of offensively.

This is the version of the team Andrew Friedman envisioned when he signed Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract and Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69 million deal last winter.

"The talent," manager Dave Roberts said. "It's a high-floor talent level. I just like the way we're taking better team at-bats and making up for not having Shohei in there. Obviously, we're a better team with him, but it is nice to see there hasn't been a drop-off with him not in the lineup."

Here's a look at three winners from the Dodgers' victory over the Giants:

The Dodgers lineup is just fine

Mookie Betts started things off when he jumped on a low-90s fastball that San Francisco starter Cesar Perdomo left middle-middle and sent it over the fence in left center field for his 33rd leadoff home run as a Dodger. The bats went quiet briefly from there until the bottom of the fifth when Teoscar Hernández singled home Josue De Paula from third on a sharp liner to right field to tie the game at 2-2.

The rookie De Paula later drove in the go-ahead run on an RBI double in the sixth before a monster five-run eighth inning in which Max Muncy, Tucker, Betts and Will Smith all went yard to put the game out of reach.

Max Muncy and Kyle Tucker hit back-to-back blasts! pic.twitter.com/18ODGjrTwI

— MLB (@MLB) September 19, 2026

"I think that's the beauty in it," Betts said. "We just keep giving ourselves opportunities and eventually, something will crack. It did tonight, so we just have to keep getting guys on base and giving ourselves the chances and the hits will follow."

Edwin Díaz looked good in return from IL

That set the stage for the trumpets to once again blare over the Dodger Stadium loudspeakers. Roberts said he wouldn't have put Díaz in if it wasn't for the six-run lead as he wanted to give Díaz some leeway in his first outing back from an IL stint after health and poor performance have plagued his season.

But Díaz took the opportunity and ran with it. In his first big league appearance since Aug. 17, he got two quick outs before giving up a base hit up the middle. Rather than let that snowball like it has many times in 2026, however, Díaz was able to buckle down and strike out Brett Harris on three pitches to seal a Dodgers win.

Edwin Diaz and the trumpets are back at Uniqlo Field. @SportingTribpic.twitter.com/5t5vPJj5iE

— Fredo Cervantes (@FredoCervantes) September 19, 2026

"I liked everything," Roberts said. "I liked his intensity; I liked the fastball velocity. The slider was good. It was just really good to get him back in the mix and that's something to build on."

Josue De Paula is different

The through line for the offense on Friday night was the 21-year-old De Paula. The No. 6 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline finished the night 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs and an RBI, but it was the timing of each of those that made his Dodger Stadium debut so special.

De Paula led off the bottom of the fifth with a base hit, which Betts followed up with one of his own before he eventually scored the tying run on Hernández's RBI single. Two innings later, De Paula scored Tucker from first on a double that he put on a rope at 107 mph deep into the right field gap. As he reached second, De Paula pounded his chest and flexed.

Go ahead, Josue. 😤 pic.twitter.com/KCKOB2SSwU

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 19, 2026

Then, in that huge eighth inning, it was De Paula who kept it alive by working a four-pitch walk with two outs, his seventh in a week in the big leagues. Five pitches later, Betts blew the game open with a two-run homer.

"I just love his at-bats," Roberts said. "It's one of those things that we knew coming up to the big leagues, he wasn't going to get overwhelmed, and it just helps when you control the strike zone. He takes his walks, when the ball is in the hitting zone, he can slug you but he also knows how to get a base hit. It's been very professional."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Edwin Díaz makes successful return, rookie Josue De Paula strong for Dodgers in win

The first night at Coors Field had it all. Specifically, all the possible infield permutations this Mariners roster could muster, shuffling J.P. Crawford and Cole Young around to give them a variety of vantage points for the 15 hits Seattle yielded to the Colorado Rockies as they somehow escaped with a 5-4 victory.

The M’s jumped out to a lead that evoked their recent series in Sacramento, and in keeping, they coughed up the 3-0 lead that the top of their order generously constructed for them right out of the gate. Crawford made sure this mission to mile-high altitudes would not come up homerless, cracking a solo shot in the first at-bat of the game off oft-injured Rockies RHP Gabriel Hughes. Randy Arozarena authored the first of his three hits, cracking a double that Dominic Canzone took as license to copy but Arozarena read sub-optimally off the bat, and Seattle seemed off to the races.

It seemed like that misread would haunt the M’s with Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez punching out, and while hitting the Josh Naylor 7-7-7 slots meant a rolled over grounder snuck through for a 2-RBI single with two outs, the pair of punchouts from Seattle’s stars were emblematic ones. For Raleigh, who’s looked far closer to his better self writ large in the past month and a half, it was nonetheless an eight-pitch punchout that came due to missing two center-cut fastballs by a hair, fouling them back before waving over a middle-middle slider in a 3-2 count. For Julio, the culprit was also three missed pitches in the zone, but two foul balls on bottom third sliders before a familiar frustration mostly new to 2026: staring at a fastball for strike three at the bottom rail.

Seattle would not be the major culprit of spoiled opportunities tonight, however. The Rox are a plucky club this year, with far more verve than their catastrophic 2025 season of a 43-119 season. But Colorado is likely to lose 100 games again this season, making it four straight campaigns with 100+ defeats, and tonight was a showcase in how. Despite a night where eight of their nine starters secured at least one hit, Colorado left 12 on base and went 4-for-20 with runners in scoring position, letting Bryan Woo wriggle out of danger time and time again to achieve a defensible 5.1 frames and just three earned runs. It could have easily been worse a dozen times over, and Seattle’s league-worst range on the infield created many of the conundrums Woo had to solve.

No pitcher looks stellar at Coors Field consistently, of course, and Seattle’s beleaguered bullpen deserves their kudos for tonight’s win. After Woo’s exit, Gabe Speier regrettably yielded the lead to breakout Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy on a clobbered gap-shot triple and a RBI single in sequence, but from there it was nails. 3.1 frames followed Speier and despite runners reaching in each inning, not a single run crossed the plate again for Colorado.

It wasn’t much room, nor were Seattle’s precocious youngsters afforded much room to spark Seattle, but starting RF Lazaro Montes and pinch-hitter Michael Arroyo took their tag-team operation above the alpine. First, in the seventh, seeking a spark against southpaw from the past Brennan Bernardino, Arroyo aggressively took his chance in relief of Brock Rodden. He cracked a double down the third base line that looks familiar to anyone who’s watched Arroyo work through the minors, before dashing around the bases on a bunt and a sac fly. That set the stage for Laz, whose tour through the hitter-friendly parks of MLB has reached its zenith, visualizing and then manifesting a stratosphere-scraping second-decker to put the M’s up one in the ninth. Not even the speed of Cole Carrigg on base could stifle Seattle Friday night, as Andrés Muñoz managed a rare pickoff to clear the bases and quell the threat in the ninth. Not quite easy, but 5-4 with the players the M’s hope will help turn things around in 2027 is a pleasant way to start a series.

The first night at Coors Field had it all. Specifically, all the possible infield permutations this Mariners roster could muster, shuffling J.P. Crawford and Cole Young around to give them a variety of vantage points for the 15 hits Seattle yielded to the Colorado Rockies as they somehow escaped with a 5-4 victory.

The M’s jumped out to a lead that evoked their recent series in Sacramento, and in keeping, they coughed up the 3-0 lead that the top of their order generously constructed for them right out of the gate. Crawford made sure this mission to mile-high altitudes would not come up homerless, cracking a solo shot in the first at-bat of the game off oft-injured Rockies RHP Gabriel Hughes. Randy Arozarena authored the first of his three hits, cracking a double that Dominic Canzone took as license to copy but Arozarena read sub-optimally off the bat, and Seattle seemed off to the races.

It seemed like that misread would haunt the M’s with Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez punching out, and while hitting the Josh Naylor 7-7-7 slots meant a rolled over grounder snuck through for a 2-RBI single with two outs, the pair of punchouts from Seattle’s stars were emblematic ones. For Raleigh, who’s looked far closer to his better self writ large in the past month and a half, it was nonetheless an eight-pitch punchout that came due to missing two center-cut fastballs by a hair, fouling them back before waving over a middle-middle slider in a 3-2 count. For Julio, the culprit was also three missed pitches in the zone, but two foul balls on bottom third sliders before a familiar frustration mostly new to 2026: staring at a fastball for strike three at the bottom rail.

Seattle would not be the major culprit of spoiled opportunities tonight, however. The Rox are a plucky club this year, with far more verve than their catastrophic 2025 season of a 43-119 season. But Colorado is likely to lose 100 games again this season, making it four straight campaigns with 100+ defeats, and tonight was a showcase in how. Despite a night where eight of their nine starters secured at least one hit, Colorado left 12 on base and went 4-for-20 with runners in scoring position, letting Bryan Woo wriggle out of danger time and time again to achieve a defensible 5.1 frames and just three earned runs. It could have easily been worse a dozen times over, and Seattle’s league-worst range on the infield created many of the conundrums Woo had to solve.

No pitcher looks stellar at Coors Field consistently, of course, and Seattle’s beleaguered bullpen deserves their kudos for tonight’s win. After Woo’s exit, Gabe Speier regrettably yielded the lead to breakout Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy on a clobbered gap-shot triple and a RBI single in sequence, but from there it was nails. 3.1 frames followed Speier and despite runners reaching in each inning, not a single run crossed the plate again for Colorado.

It wasn’t much room, nor were Seattle’s precocious youngsters afforded much room to spark Seattle, but starting RF Lazaro Montes and pinch-hitter Michael Arroyo took their tag-team operation above the alpine. First, in the seventh, seeking a spark against southpaw from the past Brennan Bernardino, Arroyo aggressively took his chance in relief of Brock Rodden. He cracked a double down the third base line that looks familiar to anyone who’s watched Arroyo work through the minors, before dashing around the bases on a bunt and a sac fly. That set the stage for Laz, whose tour through the hitter-friendly parks of MLB has reached its zenith, visualizing and then manifesting a stratosphere-scraping second-decker to put the M’s up one in the ninth. Not even the speed of Cole Carrigg on base could stifle Seattle Friday night, as Andrés Muñoz managed a rare pickoff to clear the bases and quell the threat in the ninth. Not quite easy, but 5-4 with the players the M’s hope will help turn things around in 2027 is a pleasant way to start a series.

Record: 80-74. Pace: 84-78. Change on 2025: +3.

Is it too late to bring Angry Orchard on as an official SnakePit sponsor? In sharp contrast to last Friday night cider-cap, where we blasted the Rangers 9-1, tonight was an exercise in Charles Bukowski-esque cirrhosis. By the time the first inning was over, the sky had fallen right through the leaking roof of Chase Field. The Yankees didn’t even have to swing hard to start the bleeding. Walks, a passed ball, and a cheap little bloop single. Then George Lombard Jr. cracked a two-run single into the grass, and the scoreboard already read 5-0. It was ugly, the kind of early wreck that makes a recapper want to reach into the fridge for something that burns going down.

Eduardo Rodriguez’s struggles in the first inning had been a matter of record, even before tonight. He came in with a first-inning ERA of 6.60, and facing nine batters over the course of a 45-pitch first inning was no help in that area. He was getting ahead of batters, but proved almost clinically unable to put them away. Instead, the Yankees kept on reaching base. A walk to some Goldschmidt guy. A single. Two more walks. Another single. By the time Rodriguez recorded his first out, it was with his 32nd pitch of the inning. There was still time for a wild pitch and two-RBI single, before Eduardo finished striking out the side. Can’t be many innings involving five runs and three strikeouts.

Fast forward to the sixth inning, and E-Rod was somehow still out there. He had staunched the bleeding, but allowed a pair of solo home-runs. One in the third, and one in the sixth, finally ending his night. The line: seven runs, all earned, in 5.1 innings, on five hits and four walks, with five strikeouts. It was the ninth time this year a Diamondback has been charged with seven or more earned runs in an outing, the most for the team since 2016. First time since June 20th though, when somehow we had two pitchers (Zac Gallen and Yilber Diaz) do it in the same game. But the D-backs’ rotation has struggled in September. They are now 1-6 in fifteen starts, with an ERA of 4.80.

After a brief cameo by Taylor Clarke in the sixth, we got to see Zac Gallen make his first appearance out of the bullpen, since the opening three appearances of his professional career, back in 2016 for the rookie league Cardinals. He wasn’t helped by his defense, with errors by Nolan Arenado and Pavin Smith. Though, to be fair, the latter E could probably have gone to Gallen. He seemed surprised to discover that, if you run over to cover first, somebody might throw the ball to you. He ended up allowing two runs, one unearned, over three innings, on two hits and two walks with two K’s. So our most expensive mop-up guy since Jordan Montgomery did at least save the bullpen.

There was a brief flurry of interest in the second inning when Corbin Carroll hit his 22nd home-run of the year (above). That narrowed the gap to 5-2 due to the presence of Geraldo Perdomo on base after a single. But the Diamondbacks wouldn’t actually get an at-bat with a runner in scoring position until the seventh inning. Arenado singled, and Carroll got his second hit, with a hustle double. Of course, pinch-hitter Jose Fernandez struck out, wasting a challenge in the process, and Tim Tawa also K’d. Two other at-bats with RISP in the ninth proved equally unproductive, but going 0-for-4 there tonight was hardly the cause of this defeat.

It was really more to do with Arizona pitchers issuing six walks, four of which came round to score for New York. Meanwhile, our hitters drew just one walk, while striking out eleven times. Perdomo, Arenado and Carroll each had two-hit games, the first-named also getting the only base on balls. Carroll was dropped to seventh in the order tonight. It’s the first time Corbin has started a game that low in the order for over two years (August 29, 2024). Perhaps there’s hope though, since he’s now batting .256 over his last ten games. This is a distinct improvement over the .081 BA in the ten prior to that. Too late for this year, but always good to finish strong.

The Padres won again, because of course they did. They are now in a three-way tie with the Cubs and Phillies, This would be tremendously exciting, if it weren’t for the fact that all that’s really to be decided are the seeding positions for the wild-card spots, because the D-backs are now five games back, with eight to play. Though I do note that the Cubs and Phillies possess worse records in September than the D-backs, both having gone 7-9, compared to Arizona’s 7-8. So are they “choking” as well? Or does that not count? Anyway, the Padres are 12-4, enjoying their own version of 2007’s Rocktober. Pet-tember? I dunno. Figure it out yourself.

Click for details at Fangraphs
He drinks a cider drink: Corbin Carroll, +10%
Pissin’ the night away: Eduardo Rodriguez, -38%

Yeah, not exactly the way I’d choose to finish my recaps for 2026, a game where our Win Probability was already down to 12% before the second out was recorded. But, hey, them’s the breaks. The killer hippo film will still be there tomorrow, I imagine. Thanks to those who stuck it out in the Gameday Thread. Not exactly a happy one, but there you go. Comment of the night to Justin27, who came up from Tucson with his best friend and her two kids, who got to see their first game at Chase. A salutary reminder, that even the darkest cloud has a silver lining somewhere.

Same two teams tomorrow, with a special celebration to honor the 2001 World Series team. Brandon Pfaadt starts for the D-backs, with a slightly earlier first pitch of 5:10 pm, Arizona time. See you for that. Killer hippos permitting, anyway…

Record: 80-74. Pace: 84-78. Change on 2025: +3.

Is it too late to bring Angry Orchard on as an official SnakePit sponsor? In sharp contrast to last Friday night cider-cap, where we blasted the Rangers 9-1, tonight was an exercise in Charles Bukowski-esque cirrhosis. By the time the first inning was over, the sky had fallen right through the leaking roof of Chase Field. The Yankees didn’t even have to swing hard to start the bleeding. Walks, a passed ball, and a cheap little bloop single. Then George Lombard Jr. cracked a two-run single into the grass, and the scoreboard already read 5-0. It was ugly, the kind of early wreck that makes a recapper want to reach into the fridge for something that burns going down.

Eduardo Rodriguez’s struggles in the first inning had been a matter of record, even before tonight. He came in with a first-inning ERA of 6.60, and facing nine batters over the course of a 45-pitch first inning was no help in that area. He was getting ahead of batters, but proved almost clinically unable to put them away. Instead, the Yankees kept on reaching base. A walk to some Goldschmidt guy. A single. Two more walks. Another single. By the time Rodriguez recorded his first out, it was with his 32nd pitch of the inning. There was still time for a wild pitch and two-RBI single, before Eduardo finished striking out the side. Can’t be many innings involving five runs and three strikeouts.

Fast forward to the sixth inning, and E-Rod was somehow still out there. He had staunched the bleeding, but allowed a pair of solo home-runs. One in the third, and one in the sixth, finally ending his night. The line: seven runs, all earned, in 5.1 innings, on five hits and four walks, with five strikeouts. It was the ninth time this year a Diamondback has been charged with seven or more earned runs in an outing, the most for the team since 2016. First time since June 20th though, when somehow we had two pitchers (Zac Gallen and Yilber Diaz) do it in the same game. But the D-backs’ rotation has struggled in September. They are now 1-6 in fifteen starts, with an ERA of 4.80.

After a brief cameo by Taylor Clarke in the sixth, we got to see Zac Gallen make his first appearance out of the bullpen, since the opening three appearances of his professional career, back in 2016 for the rookie league Cardinals. He wasn’t helped by his defense, with errors by Nolan Arenado and Pavin Smith. Though, to be fair, the latter E could probably have gone to Gallen. He seemed surprised to discover that, if you run over to cover first, somebody might throw the ball to you. He ended up allowing two runs, one unearned, over three innings, on two hits and two walks with two K’s. So our most expensive mop-up guy since Jordan Montgomery did at least save the bullpen.

There was a brief flurry of interest in the second inning when Corbin Carroll hit his 22nd home-run of the year (above). That narrowed the gap to 5-2 due to the presence of Geraldo Perdomo on base after a single. But the Diamondbacks wouldn’t actually get an at-bat with a runner in scoring position until the seventh inning. Arenado singled, and Carroll got his second hit, with a hustle double. Of course, pinch-hitter Jose Fernandez struck out, wasting a challenge in the process, and Tim Tawa also K’d. Two other at-bats with RISP in the ninth proved equally unproductive, but going 0-for-4 there tonight was hardly the cause of this defeat.

It was really more to do with Arizona pitchers issuing six walks, four of which came round to score for New York. Meanwhile, our hitters drew just one walk, while striking out eleven times. Perdomo, Arenado and Carroll each had two-hit games, the first-named also getting the only base on balls. Carroll was dropped to seventh in the order tonight. It’s the first time Corbin has started a game that low in the order for over two years (August 29, 2024). Perhaps there’s hope though, since he’s now batting .256 over his last ten games. This is a distinct improvement over the .081 BA in the ten prior to that. Too late for this year, but always good to finish strong.

The Padres won again, because of course they did. They are now in a three-way tie with the Cubs and Phillies, This would be tremendously exciting, if it weren’t for the fact that all that’s really to be decided are the seeding positions for the wild-card spots, because the D-backs are now five games back, with eight to play. Though I do note that the Cubs and Phillies possess worse records in September than the D-backs, both having gone 7-9, compared to Arizona’s 7-8. So are they “choking” as well? Or does that not count? Anyway, the Padres are 12-4, enjoying their own version of 2007’s Rocktober. Pet-tember? I dunno. Figure it out yourself.

Click for details at Fangraphs
He drinks a cider drink: Corbin Carroll, +10%
Pissin’ the night away: Eduardo Rodriguez, -38%

Yeah, not exactly the way I’d choose to finish my recaps for 2026, a game where our Win Probability was already down to 12% before the second out was recorded. But, hey, them’s the breaks. The killer hippo film will still be there tomorrow, I imagine. Thanks to those who stuck it out in the Gameday Thread. Not exactly a happy one, but there you go. Comment of the night to Justin27, who came up from Tucson with his best friend and her two kids, who got to see their first game at Chase. A salutary reminder, that even the darkest cloud has a silver lining somewhere.

Same two teams tomorrow, with a special celebration to honor the 2001 World Series team. Brandon Pfaadt starts for the D-backs, with a slightly earlier first pitch of 5:10 pm, Arizona time. See you for that. Killer hippos permitting, anyway…