Category: Baseball

Last night’s game might not have seemed as important as it was. The San Diego Padres dropped their series opener on Tuesday night versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their magic number remained at two to clinch a playoff spot with five games left to play. Three of those games come against the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, it still felt all but certain that the Padres would clinch. Tuesday night gave a bit of fear that San Diego would regress.

Instead, they turned in a fantastic performance on Wednesday night, besting the rival Dodgers and forcing the rubber match in today’s finale. The offense performed well, scoring five runs. But it was the pitching staff that truly outdid themselves. The Friars’ pitchers surrendered just one run despite allowing plenty of traffic. Notably, David Morgan worked out a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning. San Diego will need more of that if they want to get anywhere in October.

Taking the mound

Tyler Glasnow (LAD) v. Nick Pivetta (SD)

Similar to Pivetta, Glasnow has spent the majority of his time on the injured list this season. However, Glasnow owns a 4.50 ERA since coming off of the IL. He pitched well in August (3.00 ERA), but his last three starts have been tough. The righty has given up four runs in two of his last three appearances.

Glasnow hasn’t faced the Friars yet this season, but he’s pitched well against them in the past. Of the hitters with 10-plus at-bats against the right-hander, none are batting above league average (.244). San Diego will need to reverse that narrative in order to win the series finale over the rival Dodgers.

Pivetta has surged since returning from the IL earlier this month. In three starts this month, the veteran right-hander owns a 1.93 ERA through 14 innings pitched. His ERA on the season has now dropped to 3.30 (30.0 IP). In those last three starts, Pivetta has surrendered a total of three runs on 11 hits and one walk.

He’s looked dominant since his return, which has been huge for the Padres. Pivetta’s strikeout numbers were initially down, with just two in his first five innings. But they’ve since bumped up (11 K’s across 14 innings). He is San Diego’s most volatile starter since his arm is relatively untested this season. It’s very possible that he crashes and burns soon, though he could continue to go on the run he’s been on.

Batter up!

Manny Machado slugged the 398th home run of his career to open the scoring on Wednesday night. He’s one away from his first 30-homer season since 2023 and could easily do so in the final four games of the year. Regardless, if he can start to get hot (especially with the coming playoffs) it would be a huge turn of fortune for San Diego.

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
2. Dustin Harris, LF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Ty France, 1B
5. Jackson Merrill, CF
6. Luis Campusano, C
7. Xander Bogaerts, SS
8. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
9. Ethan Salas, DH

Despite the Dodgers outhitting the Padres last night, San Diego made better use of their opportunities. You’d think that wouldn’t be the case with the Friars going 1-for-10 with RISP, but they still scored when it mattered. Most importantly, the Padres capitalized on Los Angeles’ mistakes. They played some great baseball, and they’ll need to continue that.

Relief corps

Starter Robbie Ray worked a grueling 3 1/3 innings before Morgan finished out the fourth inning. He surrendered just one run, but needed a whopping 84 pitches to complete the outing. After that, the ‘pen slammed the door. Yuki Matsui, Bradgley Rodriguez, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller covered five scoreless innings. They allowed a combined total of three hits and walked two, striking out five batters.

The bullpen will be somewhat depleted today because of that. However, Jason Adam’s return bolsters the club quite a bit. To make room for Adam, Griffin Canning was optioned to Triple-A El Paso. That means the Friars will have Adam, Kyle Hart, Wandy Peralta and Randy Vásquez available. Should Pivetta stumble, the latter trio will be out in full force.

There’s going to be some nasty weather in New York this weekend, and the Yankees have done their best to try and get ahead of it. Saturday’s showdown with the Orioles will instead be played on Friday, in a traditional single-admission doubleheader.

Game one will kick off at 4:05pm Eastern time, with the highly-anticipated twin promotion of Josh Hart’s bobblehead night and CC Sabathia’s No. 52 being retired pregame. After that first game concludes, game two will kick off about 30 minutes afterward.

Saturday's Yankees-Orioles game (Saturday, September 26) has been rescheduled due to the forecast of sustained inclement weather and will be made up tomorrow, Friday, September 25, as the first game of a single-admission doubleheader, which will begin at 4:05 p.m.

More details… pic.twitter.com/dOnbl1OGeS

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 24, 2026

There’s no word yet on what the team plans to do for Sunday’s game, although MLB has in the past cancelled games 162 when it’s clear there will be no material impact on the standings. The Orioles currently sit just a game up on the Blue Jays though, so while both are eliminated, the league may try and fit that contest around possible inclement weather since their exact order does at least affect the draft lottery. The Yankees themselves have little to play for with the No. 4 seed locked up in the AL and a home playoff game Tuesday night.

Ticketholders are reminded that only tickets for the original September 25th game will be valid for tomorrow. Ticketholders for September 26th will likely only be able to exchange for 2027 tickets, so let’s make sure that CBA stuff gets cleared up!

As the regular season winds down and the Yankees begin to plan for the postseason, the team's roster lacks some major players. To name a few, Fernando Cruz has been on the injured list (IL) since late August, Clarke Schmidt was diagnosed with right bicep neuritis before Thursday night's matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays, and captain Aaron Judge is battling a right calf strain, which he said he hopes to beat by the beginning of the Wild Card round Monday. 

But ahead of the game Thursday, manager Aaron Boone gave a cautiously optimistic update about two of New York's injured members: Trent Grisham and Giancarlo Stanton.

"I just talked to [Grisham], said he feels really good. [Giancarlo] was actually in the cage hitting when I was down there. They're going out to hit on the field right now," Boone said. "They're trending in a good way."

Grisham was placed on the 10-day IL on Sept. 6 after tweaking his hamstring, which was declared a Grade 2 strain, less than three months after injuring the same hamstring in mid-June. His first stint on the IL lasted nearly three weeks. 

Prior to his injuries this season, the 29-year-old struggled both at the plate and in the field, slashing .211/.308/.395 and posting -7 defensive runs saved (DRS) and -6 outs above average (OAA), which were tied for second-worst and worst in the league, respectively, on Sept. 6. His lackluster season followed a career-best year in which he put up 34 home runs and a .812 OPS.

Stanton, on the other hand, has missed nearly the whole season. The slugger first injured his right calf April 24 running from first to second, then reinjured the same leg in June, extending his rehab process. Then, in late August, he faced another setback while running the bases, this time straining his other calf.  

The five-time All-Star would offer a significant boost to New York's offense in the postseason, but when asked what kind of an impact either of the two players could have on the team's Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox, Boone was hesitant to make anything official.

"We'll see. It's still days away, so I don't wanna put the cart before the horse," he said. "Let's just get through these next few days and see what we have."

It’s the home finale for the Atlanta Braves! Will Tyler Mahle make it another great start on the mound for the Braves? Will the home team send the home fans home happy for one last time before the Postseason gets under way? Let’s get into it, shall we? Also, join us on the app — especially if you’re a Falcons fan tuning in for the latest episode of football tomfoolery, as you’ll be able to switch between The Falcoholic and Battery Power pretty easily.

Preview

Lineups

Martín Pérez goes on IL; Elieser Hernández called up

What began as a blowout deficit ended in a close loss as the Colorado Rockies’ last chance at some “LoDo Magic” fell short in a 12-8 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rockies suffered the sweep while finishing 32-49 at Coors Field this season.

Attack of the Snakes

The first inning has been a disaster for the Rockies most of the season, but especially during their slide over the last few weeks. There was hope with Tanner Gordon on the mound, who has had strong numbers in the first inning and could buck the trend and start the team off with a solid chance in the final home game.

The Diamondbacks had other intentions.

Lars Nootbar started the game with a hot shot down the first-base line that TJ Rumfield managed to stop from going for extra bases. However, Gordon was late getting off the mound and it turned into an infield single. Gordon then walked Ketel Marte, followed by a three-run home run off the bat of Gabriel Moreno to make it 3-0.

Geraldo Perdomo then launched a ball to center field for a triple before coming in to score on a bloop single to left field by Pavin Smith for the fourth run of the inning. Nolan Arenado then followed with his 29th home run of the season, a two-run shot to make it 6-0.

Gordon finally escaped the inning, but six runs in the first brought the total number of runs allowed in the opening frame of the series to 13. The Rockies have also allowed a run in the first in 12 of their last 17 games.

The Diamondbacks kept the foot on the gas in the second inning as Nootbar singled to lead off and scored on Marte’s RBI double. Perdomo later blooped a single into shallow center field to score another run, making it 8-0 after two innings.

After a scoreless third inning, Gordon’s day would come to an end early in the fourth inning. Perdomo led off the inning with a walk, the fourth of the game and a new career high for Gordon. Smith’s then delivered an RBI double. Gordon managed to strike out Arenado, but then surrendered a single to Corbin Carroll to end his afternoon, but was still tagged for the 10th Arizona run when James McCann singled to left field off reliever Jimmy Herget.

Gordon lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing 10 runs on 12 hits with four walks and just one strikeout. The Diamondbacks were not fooled by his fastball, meaning he had to rely on his secondary pitches, which he struggled to command. When he did have to throw a fastball, Arizona made sure to square up the ball and do damage. Despite pounding the zone as usual, Gordon threw 96 pitches and induced three groundouts and five flyouts, but only had three swings and misses.

The Bullpen Fire Brigade

Having to take on another heavy workload, the bullpen did an admirable job settling down the Diamondbacks offense.

Herget picked up 2.2 innings of work and was solid enough despite giving up an RBI single to Arenado in the fifth inning and a McCann home run in the sixth inning to make it 12-1. He still managed four strikeouts against one walk while surrendering four hits, but his 49 pitches helped navigate to the later frames.

Nick Frasso and Juan Mejia then followed with scoreless seventh and eighth innings, respectively, setting the tone after the Diamondbacks had started subbing out players. Jordan Romano then took over the ninth and, despite giving up a triple, fired a clean inning.

E-Rod Domination

While the Diamondback offense had a productive day at the plate against Gordon, the Rockies offense couldn’t quite figure out Eduardo Rodriguez. The veteran left-hander breezed his way through six innings, allowing just two runs on nine hits with three strikeouts. Utilizing four grounders and seven easy flyouts, Rodriguez threw 92 pitches and stayed in the zone consistently. He had a 63% first-pitch strike rate and 12 swings and misses. His changeup was particularly effective, generating a 21% whiff rate.

The Rockies scratched across their first run in the fourth inning against Rodriguez when Rumfield singled to lead off. Cole Carrigg and Kyle Karros both singled to then load the bases. Brett Sullivan then hit into a fielder’s choice that allowed the run to score, but put runners on the corners with one out. Unfortunately, the Rockies couldn’t scratch across any other runs. The next run wouldn’t come across until the sixth inning when Karros sent a belt-high fastball into left field for his 13th home run of the season, making it 12-2 Diamondbacks.

Here Come the Rockies!

Once Rodriguez was out of the game, the Rockies had begun a line change of their own in the seventh inning, but started to find some success against the Arizona bullpen.

Facing Dennis Santana, Zac Veen led off with a double down the line. Two batters later, Hunter Goodman delivered a one-out RBI single after a lengthy at-bat to make it 12-3.

Rumfield followed with a walk, setting the table for Carrigg to hit a three-run home run. It was his 11th of the season and got the Rockies back within six runs.

Taylor Clarke then took over the Diamondbacks in the eighth inning and ran into more trouble from the Rockies offense. Veen kicked off another rally with a towering home run to right field for his third of the season to make it 12-7.

Adael Amador then barrelled up a baseball to right for a double. After Goodman recorded the second out on a line drive, Rumfield lined a double to right to drive in another run and make it 12-8. With that double, Rumfield also tied Troy Tulowitzki for most times reaching safely in a rookie season at 243. Karros then threatened with a long fly ball that was caught shortly before the wall in left field to end the inning.

Unfortunately, the rally magic ran out as Kevin Ginkel worked a clean ninth inning to put the Rockies away. In the game, the Rockies had 17 hits, while striking out eight times against one walk. Carrigg led the way with four hits while four other hitters had two hits. They went 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position but left 10 on base.

Meanwhile, Arizona had 18 hits with seven strikeouts and five walks while going 6-for-15 with RISP. Oddly enough, they also left 10 men on base, but had three batters with three hits.

Up Next

The Rockies head off to the South Side of Chicago to take on the White Sox for the final three-game series of the season. Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) will face off against Sean Burke.

First pitch is at 5:40 pm MDT.

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Go Rays!

The Yankees announced that due to the threat of inclement weather, Saturday's game against the Baltimore Orioles will be moved to Friday as part of a single-admission doubleheader.

The move also changes the organization's plan to honor CC Sabathia's number retirement ceremony. Originally scheduled for before Saturday's game, the ceremony will now take place prior to Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader.

Game 1 is scheduled for 4:05 p.m., with the second game starting no earlier than 7:05 p.m., but in the event the first game goes past that time, it'll begin 30 minutes after the final pitch. 

New York is not the only team to change its weekend plans due to the incoming nor'easter. The Red Sox moved their game with the Cubs on Saturday to Friday to be a part of a doubleheader.

The Yankees have not announced their pitching plans for the three-game series with the Orioles, but Will Warren and Carlos Rodon will likely pitch two of those games. 

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said prior to Wednesday's win against the Rays that with their Wild Card spot locked in, they'll use the final slate of games to give regulars off days. He's also planning to give key bullpen arms rest while limiting the number of pitches his starters throw. 

Saturday's Yankees-Orioles game (Saturday, September 26) has been rescheduled due to the forecast of sustained inclement weather and will be made up tomorrow, Friday, September 25, as the first game of a single-admission doubleheader, which will begin at 4:05 p.m.

More details… pic.twitter.com/dOnbl1OGeS

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 24, 2026

Team results over individual accolades is not even a discussion to be had most of the time, but specifically in a game like this, I’d be remiss not to state the importance of the latter. Since the start of the 21st century, a total of three qualified Yankees pitchers have delivered a qualified season with an ERA under 3.00, they being Max Fried, Luis Severino, and Gerrit Cole; no one has ever achieved one with an ERA under 2.00, and that is what Schlittler is on the verge of doing if he can hold off the Rays in his final regular-season start of the year.

Schlittler’s work to fill in as the one ace from start to finish of this impressive pitching staff has named him the odds-on favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award. And why stop there? Some (like Josh) might even argue he should be in the MVP consideration, helping this team navigate a mostly Aaron Judge-less season. How much stock to put into it almost doesn’t matter; just the fact that there is a reasonable argument to be made shows just how impressive this young starter has been.

When Schlittler dominated the Red Sox in a historic playoff performance last season to take the Yankees to the ALDS, most of us probably felt he couldn’t surprise us further in the near future. Yet, here we are with a season beyond everyone’s wildest dreams.

With a left-handed starter on the mound for the Rays in Ian Seymour, the Yankees lean on the platoon advantages apart from the catching position, as Austin Wells is back behind the plate to catch Schlittler. Amed Rosario gets the nod at the hot corner despite Ryan McMahon’s grand slam last night, and José Caballero receives a rare start in center. Fingers crossed that this defensive lineup gets the job done for the Yankees’ ace.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 p.m. ET

TV broadcast: YES, Rays.TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | WDAE 95.7 FM, WQBN/1300AM (TB)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Schlittler takes the mound. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/h51Q8GJ9F3

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 24, 2026

Last bite of the Big Apple 🍎

👀: https://t.co/FG0urYVWGJ
👂: 95.7 WDAE pic.twitter.com/dCi9giiQWD

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 24, 2026

Here’s the Guardians lineup:

Big one tonight.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/hzj1bGQV1M

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 24, 2026

Here’s the Red Sox lineup:

Getting ready for Game 3. pic.twitter.com/3ZMAvskPF2

— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 24, 2026

Let’s go, Guardians!

Though the title of this article was true days, even weeks ago, with the 3-1 victory of the Texas Rangers over the New York Mets Thursday afternoon, the Seattle Mariners have officially been eliminated from the 2026 postseason race.

The shockingly disappointing club will finish 3rd in the American League West, failing to defend their division title from a year ago, ceding their crown to one of the pretenders from Texas. 74-84 at the moment, Seattle would need to win out to match their second-worst full-season record in the Jerry Dipoto era, 2017’s 78-84 mark. This will be the club’s fourth losing record (albeit one in just 60 games in 2020) against seven winning seasons in his tenure, breaking a franchise-record five-year streak above .500. The club’s only consecutive seasons of playoff appearance will remain 2000 and 2001.

Unlike most of their recent seasons, Seattle simply could not find a second gear late in the season, condemning them to watch what will likely be the first division won by a sub-.500 team in MLB history. They struggled with consistency all season long, flailing wildly on the road to a .407 winning percentage that sunk them despite a winning record at T-Mobile Park. They conspired for the worst defense in the majors by Outs Above Average and Fielding Run Value, and arguably the worst in the last decade. You probably didn’t need advanced metrics to gauge that so much as willpower not to gouge your eyes out at times, but it’s nice to see it validated. Though he continued to bring stability to the lineup when healthy, J.P. Crawford’s craterous shortstop defense pressed Seattle in several directions, none of which found fertile ground, although Crawford’s glovework at third base was more plausible. That, paired with a rogue’s gallery of rotating infielders, poor options in both outfield corners, and a backslide in range from Julio Rodríguez in center made for a season full of balls simply finding grass when they should not.

It set the pitching staff up for tough sledding, but they scattered their own caltrops as well. The entire starting rotation struggled intermittently, with health, a six-man rotation, and just downright ineffectiveness that was at times baffling to unravel. For the first time since 2021, Seattle’s pitching staff will finish with an ERA below league-average, despite the massive benefit received from playing in the anti-Coors Field of MLB half the year. After years of whipping up quality bullpen arms from the ether, the unit flagged all season despite throwing by far the fewest innings of any pen in MLB. Conversely, an M’s rotation often able to lean on extra days of rest, but tasked to work deeper accordingly, labored and crumbled, playing a major role in their road woes.

Offensively, Seattle had moments of competency, but even then became the poster children of cluster luck and its fickle nature. Cal Raleigh nursed injuries in silence and struggle before hitting the IL, with rookie Colt Emerson following suit. Josh Naylor and Rob Refsnyder seemed to do the same, limping to substandard seasons. Most depth and utility options struggled to fill in effectively, Leo Rivas, Luke Raley, Victor Robles, Weston Wilson, Connor Joe, Miles Mastrobuoni, Brock Rodden, Patrick Wisdom, and co. put up dreadful numbers and/or could not remain healthy enough to contribute effectively. While impactful when healthy, Brendan Donovan managed only 39 games in his first season outside St. Louis.

The outfield was the lone area of positivity for the M’s. Julio Rodríguez authored a disappointing year, but was a quality contributor in his down season in a way that was weatherable with a roster less craterous. Another 20-20 season and around 3 wins above replacement is solid, but put pressure on the rest of the club that was more brittle than expected. Dominic Canzone maintained his improvements from 2025, earning full-time play and hitting himself into the heart of the order.

And then, Randy Arozarena. The star of a star-crossed club. The best left fielder in franchise history will see his tenure in Seattle come to an end in all likelihood this weekend. His .279/.380/.479 line entering the final four games came with a 151 wRC+, another 25-25 campaign, and double the fWAR (5.3) of any other Mariners position player except Julio. The leadoff man for the better part of the year, if one player could be relied upon to arrive prepared, put up a competent battle at the plate, and add something to the club’s chances of victory this year, it was their quixotic left fielder. Any vision of bouncing back in 2026 is marred by the loss of their best player, and the difficulties the M’s had in adding talent this year.

No new Mariner in 2026 played in over 40 games and managed a positive fWAR. If you extend the same metric to include pitchers, it is technically false as José A. Ferrer mustered 0.1 fWAR in 72 games and 64.1 IP. If you drop it to 29 games you can acknowledge Cooper Criswell and Jhonny Pereda, scraping in a few ticks above zero. It was a dismal showing for offseason and midseason additions alike, although since a disastrous first outing Seranthony Dominguez has seemed much closer to a viable bullpen arm.

That also doesn’t quite fairly appraise the youth of the roster. Cole Young put up a clear step-forward season in his age-22 campaign, mustering a league-average bat and clear positive strides on defense. There’s more in the tank for the now-23 year old, and his compatriots in the early 20s have shown promise late, albeit with halting opportunities. Lazaro Montes has shown off his titanic power. Michael Arroyo has been immediately impactful with the bat in highly sporadic playing time. To fend off a repeat disappointment, the M’s will need them, and their largely-under-30 core to remember the frustration of this season as fuel for better things to come.

But this year will cost manager Dan Wilson his job, and maybe more. It is the most disappointing performance by a Mariners team relative to (reasonable) expectations in the franchise’s history. Next year must be better.

Despite the team's 3-1 road loss to the Texas Rangers on Thursday, Mets starting pitcher Zac Thornton put the finishing touches on a very promising rookie year.

In his final start, Thornton allowed two runs on four hits, walked just one batter, and struck out four across five innings.

"Really solid," manager Andy Green said of the rookie southpaw's season. "I don't think anybody could've had higher expectations than what he went out there and did."

"It's a tribute to him and how hard he works," the skipper continued. "He's getting more strikeouts recently too. He's reaching back and firing 95+ (miles per hour), which is encouraging and bodes really well for the future."

Over 15 starts, Thornton recorded a 3.42 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. Following his start, he ranks fifth in the National League in walk rate (5.3 percent) among pitchers with at least 80 innings.

Having begun the 2026 season with Double-A Binghamton, Thornton was called up to the big leagues on May 20 and made his debut against the Washington Nationals on the road.

While the circumstances were certainly fast-paced for the 24-year-old hurler, he hasn't been surprised at his success translating his game to the highest level.

"I always thought I'd be up here this year, I just didn't know to what extent it would be," Thornton asserted postgame. "It just so happened that we had a few injuries, and following the trade deadline, we had a lot of open spots."

"I wouldn't say I surprised myself," he went on to declare. "I feel everywhere I've gone to pitch I've succeeded, and I'm going to continue to do that, carrying it over to next year."

Thornton is one-quarter of the four Mets rookies who have shone in the team's starting rotation in 2026, alongside ace Nolan McLean, breakout Christian Scott, and the emerging Jonah Tong.

He touched on their relationship and promised that the best is yet to come for the fearsome young foursome.

"We love each other," Thornton stated. "It's sad that the season is over because we don't get to spend time with each other now."

"What you saw on the field was just a small sample size," he concluded. "All four of us are going to get better."

The Cincinnati Reds got a surprise early run off Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale to begin last night’s game at Truist Park, and lefty Andrew Abbott turned back the clock with a start worthy of his All Star status in 2025. Still, the Reds managed to lose said game in 10 innings after being successfully bunted-upon, and they are in danger of clinching an end-of-season record that’s at least 10 games under .500.

The thresholds, the milestones they may reach!

Brady Singer gets the ball for the final time this season on Thursday night, marking what may well be his final start in a Reds uniform as he heads into free agency nowhere near good enough to warrant the idiotic Qualifying Offer concept that was floated when the front office elected to keep him at the trade deadline. Old friend Tyler Mahle – himself having a solid season – will start for the Braves against the club that once drafted him.

First pitch is set for 7:15 PM ET. Here’s how both clubs will line up to begin:

Friends — the White Sox are headed to the postseason! In a game dominated entirely by the South Siders, the Royals went down 9-1, giving Chicago both a series win and a playoff berth. Let’s break down this beautiful win.

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The White Sox started with early runs and gritty baseball, playing like a team determined to make the playoffs today. Sam Antonacci led off with a single, and Kyle Teel followed with a bunt and was safe on a throwing error by Royals pitcher Randy Dobnak. A wild pitch then advanced both runners, and Antonacci scored on Miguel Vargas’ single. With one out, Andrew Benintendi brought Teel home on a sacrifice fly. Vargas stole second and scored on a single from Tristan Peters.

Chase Meidroth singled, but Colson Montgomery couldn’t bring home either runner.

In the bottom of the frame, the Royals couldn’t answer despite a double from Bobby Witt Jr., while Sox starter David Sandlin recorded two of his seven strikeouts in the inning.

The second inning stayed busy for the White Sox, starting with a leadoff single from Braden Montgomery. Antonacci drew a walk, and Randy Dobnak, who was not having a great outing, made matters worse with a botched pickoff attempt that allowed Braden to score.

A pitch then hit Teel, and Vargas followed with another single, sending Antonacci home.

Munetaka Murakami grounded into a force out, but plated Teel on the play. With one out and two on, the Royals pulled Dobnak. Anthony Gose retired the next two batters, but the White Sox took a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the second.

Sandlin ran into mild trouble after allowing two singles but recorded his fourth strikeout of the game, his third looking.

For the third straight inning, the Good Guys had their leadoff man aboard, this time with a two-bagger from Meidroth, his 30th double of the season. Meidroth was unfortunately stranded. Sandlin kept the Royals quiet, retiring them in order.

Teel started the fourth with a solo home run off the new pitcher, Alex Lange.

Perhaps a bit frazzled, Lange gave up two free passes that would haunt him. In the next at-bat, Peters grounded into a force out, sending Vargas home to make it 8-0. Sandlin finally surrendered his first run of the game on a round-tripper to Salvador Perez in the bottom of the fourth, but struck out two more and allowed no additional damage.

The bases were loaded again in the fifth for, say it with me, a new Royals pitcher. This time it was Jose Caus. A single and two walks filled the bases, and Benintendi drew another walk to make it 9-1. Sandlin continued to dominate, striking out a career-high seven without issuing a walk through five innings.

For the first time all game, the White Sox went down in order in the sixth. Sandlin returned the favor in the bottom half, retiring the Royals in order. Both teams put a runner on in the seventh, and both left that runner stranded. The Sox went down in order again in the eighth.

Tyler Davis kept the Royals off the bases in the bottom of the eighth, leaving the White Sox three outs from glory. But first, Nolan Hoffman came on for the top of the ninth. With one out, Braden took advantage of the sun in left fielder Isaac Collins’ eyes with a double. Teel got plunked to put two on with two outs, just for a little added drama, but Vargas went down swinging.

Trevor Richards got a quick first out but decided our nerves hadn’t been tested enough and gave up a walk. A fly ball to Brenton Doyle made it two away — deep breaths, dear reader. Nick Loftin doubled, putting runners on second and third. Thankfully, Salvy isn’t known for his speed, so he got the red light. Richards got John Rave to hit a ground ball, and boom, ballgame.

Your 2026 White Sox are heading to the playoffs!

How does one even pick an MVP for this game?

MVPs:
David Sandlin and Kyle Teel
Sandlin: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Teel: 3 R, 2 H, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR, 0 K, excellent behind the plate

Runners-Up:
Miguel Vargas: 2 R, 2 H, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Andrew Benintendi: 2 RBI, 2 BB
Braden Montgomery: 1 R, 2 H

Cold Cat: NO ONE, WE’RE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!

There will be Cubs baseball next week!

We still don’t know where, or even who the opponent will be. The Cubs defeated the Marlins 2-1 on a gorgeous late September afternoon at Wrigley Field and in so doing, clinched a National League wild-card berth. That’s two postseasons in a row for the Cubs, the first time they’ve done that since four straight from 2015-18.

After Matthew Boyd had a scoreless top of the first, Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the bottom of the inning with a walk.

Pretty much every one of the 35,410 paid attendance, plus gameday staff, plus all the players and coaches and team management in attendance, knew PCA was going to take off and try for his 40th stolen base of 2026.

And he did it, taking off on the first pitch! [VIDEO]

Don’t ever forget where you were when you saw this, or found out about it, it’s baseball history and the cap to an amazing soon-to-be MVP season for the Cubs center fielder. He’s the seventh MLB player to accomplish a 40-homer, 40-steal season. The others:

Shohei Ohtani (54 homers and 59 steals in 2024)
Ronald Acuña Jr. (41 homers and 73 steals in 2023)
Alfonso Soriano (46 homers and 41 steals in 2006)
Alex Rodriguez (42 homers and 46 steals in 1998)
Barry Bonds (42 homers and 40 steals in 1996)
Jose Canseco (42 homers and 40 steals in 1988)

Pretty good company, I’d say. Congratulations to PCA, and keep it going into the postseason. Here’s a cool field view of the 40th steal [VIDEO].

Unfortunately, PCA was stranded. He got to third on a fly to center by Michael Busch, but Michael Conforto hit a comebacker to end the inning.

The Marlins took a 1-0 lead off Matthew Boyd in the third. Brian Navarretto led off with a double and two outs later, Jacob Marsee singled him in.

The Cubs once again had lots of traffic on the bases but could not score. A leadoff walk to Ian Happ in the second led to a double play ball hit by Nico Hoerner. Then Pedro Ramirez singled and stole second, but Carson Kelly grounded out to end the inning. In the third with one out, PCA and Seiya Suzuki singled and one out later Conforto walked to load the bases, but Happ grounded out. And in the fourth, Ramirez walked with one out and stole second again, but Kelly grounded out and Dansby Swanson struck out to end the inning.

If you’re counting — and maybe you weren’t but I was — that made the Cubs 0-for-8 with RISP in the first four innings and, up to that time, 2-for-34 in the series with RISP.

That’s… not good.

Boyd set the Marlins down in the fifth and then the Cubs tied the game. With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Suzuki smacked his 26th homer of the year [VIDEO].

Boyd threw a scoreless sixth with just a leadoff walk. Then the Cubs took the lead in the bottom of the inning. Ian Happ led off with a triple to right-center [VIDEO].

More on Happ’s triple from BCB’s JohnW53:

Ian Happ’s sixth-inning triple was his third of the year, tying him with Matt Shaw and Dansby Swanson for second most among Cubs. Pete Crow-Armstrong has eight.

It was Happ’s 19th triple in 1,292 games and 5,074 plate appearances during his 10 seasons as a Cub.

It was just his third leading off an inning, all at home and with the score tied. The first was July 4, 2017, vs. the Rays, in the second inning with no score; the second, June 7 of this year, vs. the Giants, in the fourth, with the score 1-1.

The Cubs lost both earlier games, 6-5 to the Rays and 2-1 to the Giants.

Nico followed with an RBI single to make it 2-1 [VIDEO].

Boyd finished the seventh uneventfully, and he wound up retiring 11 of the last 12 hitters he faced. As I wrote in the game preview, Boyd had a 5.53 ERA in 10 Wrigley starts before this one — this was by far his best start at home this year, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Boyd got a loud ovation when walking out to the bullpen for warmups this afternoon and he tipped his cap several times.

More on Boyd’s day from John:

This was Matthew Boyd’s ninth quality start of a total 22. Only Shota Imanaga has more among Cubs, 14 of 31.
Colin Rea has six such starts; David Peterson, five; and seven others from four to one.

The team total is 54, about one of every three.

And more on Boyd’s outing [VIDEO].

Then it was up to the Cubs bullpen and, well, you know.

Daniel Palencia entered to throw the eighth. He issued a leadoff walk but retired the next three Marlins in order. The Cubs also went down in order in the eighth and so Ryan Zeferjahn was given the save opportunity. This probably did not fill you with confidence, but Zeferjahn was nails in this one. He got Agustin Ramirez to pop up foul on the second pitch he saw, then pinch-hitter Kyle Stowers grounded to short, also on Zeferjahn’s second pitch.

It took five pitches for Zeferjahn to retire Griffin Conine on a comebacker to end the game and clinch that postseason spot [VIDEO].

As noted in the clip by JD, this series didn’t go the way the Cubs wanted, but they got just enough hitting and solid bullpen work to win this game and get into the postseason. We will be watching the Phillies vs. Brewers (5:05 CT) and Padres vs. Dodgers (9:10 CT) tonight to see where the Cubs position will be entering the final three games of the year.

Before I get to tomorrow’s action, the final home game of the year always features the annual bleacher potluck lunch (Bluesky link):

This is why I love the bleachers so much — the friends I’ve made there, the camaraderie, the atmosphere, all the people. It’s been my home for decades. There’s no place in professional sports anything like it.

The Cubs will play a doubleheader against the Red Sox in Boston Friday, trying to get ahead of a nor’easter forecast to hit the New England area by Saturday. As of the time of this recap both teams list “TBD” as starters for the two games tomorrow, though we do know this (Bluesky link):

The games will be at 12:05 p.m. and 5:05 p.m. CT and televised by Marquee Sports Network.

As for BCB procedure Friday — a game preview will post for the day game at 10:30 a.m. CT. After that game I’ll post a recap that will include starting pitcher and other info for the night game. Then a night game recap will post Saturday morning.

On to October!

For the first time, the Brewers will play a regular-season game with 99 wins next to their name. For the first time, the Brewers will have a chance to do something they’ve never done as a franchise before, and that’s win 100 games.

Tonight has the makings of an offensive duel as both pitchers on the mound have an ERA over 4.00. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean a ton, but both offenses have been swinging a hot bat as of late. The Brewers will have to face Andrew Painter, who has had an up-and-down rookie season. Specifically, through the month of September, he enters with a 4.03 ERA, having pitched beyond five innings just twice. During that span, he has allowed four home runs, giving the Brewers bats a chance to improve their power stroke in their final road game of the season.

Up until a few hours ago, the Brewers hadn’t announced their starter for tonight’s game as they continue to get pitchers lined up for next weekend’s NLDS. Shane Drohan, who hasn’t made a start since September 12, will get the call. His previous two appearances have come out of the bullpen, where he threw a collective 2 1/3 innings, not allowing a run. He’ll look to make an interesting case to carry him as a reliable lefty in the event a starter has to be pulled early. However, Drohan got knocked around a bit in his last two starts, giving up a total of 11 runs, 10 hits, and four home runs.

The Crew will be without Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, and Andrew Vaughn in the lineup tonight as Gary Sánchez will make the start behind the plate with Sal Frelick in left field. Garrett Mitchell will lead off the top of the lineup, with Brice Turang to follow and William Contreras batting third. Joey Ortiz will find himself at the bottom of the lineup playing third base, keeping David Hamilton off the field.

Tonight’s game begins at 5:05 p.m., and you’ll be able to watch the game on Brewers.TV and listen to it on WTMJ 620.

Rubber match in Philly

📺: https://t.co/vfk4xUdTIA
📻: WTMJ#ThisIsMyCrew x @NicoletLawpic.twitter.com/lt9cXK0rrS

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 24, 2026

One more in the powder blues#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/4qP3KvW7Zk

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 24, 2026