Category: Baseball

Well, after making fun of the makeup of the Giants’ current roster in my game thread, it’s only fitting that the Twins blew this one. That’s baseball for you.

Zebby Matthews was on the mound for the Twins and was less sharp after a silencing the Yankees his last time out. It was a rough first two innings especially. Zebby was able to get to two strikes on most hitters he faced, but struggled to put away batters from there, as we’ve seen him do in some of his bad starts in the past. He threw 35 pitches and allowed two runs on three singles in the first, and then 28 and two more runs in the second. However, Matthews was pretty strong after that, allowing just a single run in the final three frames on a solo homer while striking out five Giants. A nice rebound from the young starter after a rough beginning.

The offense was a different story. The hitters looked like a group that is just out of gas, barely putting up a fight against a bunch of AAA pitchers. To be fair, the lineup the Twins are running out currently is a bunch of young players who have never played this far into a season before (Jenkins, Rodriguez, Keaschall, Lee, Roden, Sabato) along with Kody Clemens, who is essentially in his first season as a regular, and Ryan Jeffers who broke his hamate bone a few months ago and then has caught nearly ever game since returning. They truly might just be out of gas.

The Twins managed only four hits and five baserunners all night. They never had an inning with multiple hits. The only runs came on solo homers. The first was a classic Brooks Lee wall-scraper, but the second was an incredibly impressive bomb to right-center off the bat of Emma Rodriguez, an impressive feat in San Francisco’s cavernous ballpark.

The swing, approach, and raw power displayed by Rodriguez there are exactly why the Twins have hung onto the Dominican outfielder as long as they have, despite his checkered injury history. There are very few players that have the strength to hit that home run at all, let alone one who has the power and speed that Rodriguez also features. Maybe he’ll flame out like some other talented Minnesota top prospects, but swings like that make me hesitant to use Emma as a trade chip this offseason.

Unfortunately, the home runs were really the only bright spot for the Twins tonight. Taylor Rogers had a scoreless outing in what could be his final season, while Travis Adams continued to flash just enough stuff to make the Twins comfortable with him as the final bullpen option for 2027. But here on out is all about getting the kids reps and keeping everyone healthy heading into the offseason. If we look at it that way, mission accomplished, I suppose.

STUDS

• Emmanuel Rodriguez: mega bomb
• Brooks Lee: mini bomb
• Final three innings Zebby: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 5 K

DUDS

• The lineup: 4-31, 2 R, 1 BB, 8 K
• First two innings Zebby: 2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 K

Tomorrow is Taj Bradley’s final start of the season as he looks to put the finishing touches on what has been a strong first full season in Minnesota. Five more to go until a long winter, let’s enjoy them!

A gut punching series loss at the hands of the Miami Marlins not only had the Diamondbacks lose more ground in the NL Wild Card race to the 3 teams ahead of them, it also seemed to take all the hopium that remained in our systems and replace it with either copium or just straight up despair as the D’Backs would go from 2 losing series against 2 sub .500 teams to welcoming the New York Yankees into town for the final home series of the 2026 season.

The Yankees may have already secured their spot in October before their trip to the desert but with a chance at the AL East title still a possibility, along with having Gerrit Cole and the probable AL Cy Young winner in Cam Schlittler taking the bump, this would be no cake walk of a series and the Diamondbacks would need to at least win this series if they want any sliver of hope going into their final 6 games in Colorado and San Diego. With the 25th anniversary of the 2001 World Series winning team being celebrated this series, maybe they would be able to have some of that magic rub off onto this 2026 ballclub and use it as the fuel they need to propel them towards postseason baseball.

Ed-Rough-do Start-Riguez

Eduardo Rodriguez has undoubtedly been the best starter in the Diamondbacks rotation for all of 2026 as he leads the starters in wins (15), ERA (2.89), IP (183.2) and K’s (140), but the issue that has been rearing its head all season for Rodriguez has been his struggles out of the gate and we got more of the same in Friday night’s series opener with the Yankees putting up a 5 spot before the Diamondbacks even had the chance to swing the lumber.

The three of us looked at ERod’s numbers from the 1st inning of his starts compared to the rest of the game and it was as night and day as it could get with his first inning ERA this season sitting at 7.84, a WHIP of 1.77 and an opposing slash of .302/.389/579. From the 2nd inning and beyond he evolves into a completely different pitcher with his 1.89 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and opposing hitter slashing just .222/.279/.326. This isn’t even necessarily just an issue he’s had in 2026 either as his career ERA in the 1st inning (4.51) compared to the rest of his innings (3.92) shows that he’s always had struggles early in games for most of his career.

Cravin for Pavin?

With the demoralizing 9-2 loss on Friday night the Diamondbacks and all snakes fans in attendance would hope that the vibes would be turned around as Saturday would be the big 25th anniversary celebration of the greatest world series of all time (yes I’m biased) with so many legends from that squad like Randy Johnson, Luis Gonzalez, Tony Womack, Miguel Batista, Damien Miller and more in the building for the festivities.

Both the Yankees and Diamondbacks had clutch pitching and hitting at times throughout this game as the score was knotted at 3 a piece going into the bottom of the 9th inning with the Snakes in desperate need of a win to keep their playoff hopes from lowering even further, and that’s when the infamous Pavin Smith stepped in the box as a pinch hitter with a runner on 1st and 1 out. The baseball gods must like reruns because they decided that a Diamondbacks walk-off of the Yankees on the night of the 2001 WS celebration would be the most fitting outcome, and Pavin delivered just that with a 2-R home run into the sea of Yankee fans in right field.

All 3 of us have been very vocal in our frustrations with Smith’s struggles in his career here in the desert and the front office seeming to refuse to move on from a player that has accumulated 0.1 bWAR in his time as a major leaguer, and we all still feel that he should not be on this roster at the beginning of the 2027 season (if we have one that is) in any capacity, but we did admit that it was nice to see Pavin summon his inner Luis Gonzalez and send the fans into a frenzy with a walk-off over the Yankees.

Unc-enado Still Got It

The fireworks might have been after the game on Friday night, but Sunday’s final home game of the 2026 regular season had plenty of leftovers as it felt like baseballs were flying out left and right. Most of them came for the Yankees off of Corbin Burnes in the 4th inning, but the biggest one was in the Diamondbacks favor with Nolan Arenado hitting a go ahead (and potential season saving) grand slam in the 5th inning, his 3rd in 2026 and the 9th of his career.

The fellas and I discussed how nice of a surprise this offensive resurgence has been from Arenado as he is putting up some of the best numbers at the dish we have seen since his MVP caliber season as a Cardinal in 2022 while also pondering the likelihood that Nolan can get to 30 home runs on the season (27 currently) with 3 of the final 6 games being played in his old stomping grounds of Coors Field where Arenado has 139 dingers in his career in the mile high city.

Colorado Cookin

Setting off for the final road trip of the regular season the Snakes will be heading to Coors Field to take on the Colorado Rockies as they continue to battle for their lives in an attempt to make miracles happen and sneak into the playoffs. 

The last few weeks have seen us and other fans throw the term “must-win games” around a bunch but these 3 in Colorado are all truly must win games if the Diamondbacks want to have any real chance at making the final series in San Diego mean anything as a Diamondbacks loss+Padres win, 2 D’Backs losses or 2 Padres wins would put the final nail in the coffin of the Diamondbacks playoff hopes.

Gabe, Brandon and I all felt disgusted that we would have to actually root for the Los Angeles Dodgers to win baseball games (just typing that out makes me want to puke) but that is the reality we are in as a Dodgers sweep of the Padres with the Diamondbacks sweeping the Rockies would set us up for what could most likely feel like its own wild card series against the Padres in San Diego to decide who gets in and who goes to Cancun.

The Major League Baseball season is down to its final days with plenty of uncertainty and playoff spots still to be clinched.

In the AL West, the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros have been exchanging first place in recent days and it's the Rangers who hold a one-game leading entering play on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The Cleveland Guardians have overtaken the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central, but the Sox are still likely to earn a wild card spot.

The Chicago Cubs, San DIego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies basically have the NL's three wild card spots locked up, but only one game separating the three teams in the seeding.

The regular season ends on Sunday, Sept. 27, with the best-of-three wild card series beginning two days later.

Here's the latest standings and updates on the MLB playoff race:

Welcome back to Monday Stat Party, a weekly series showcasing some of the most curious and nostalgia-inducing statistical developments from the past week of Mets baseball. What unites each entry is the sense of intrigue which they aim to spark, and the unbridled love of the game’s anomalies from which they arise. Without further ado, let the stat party begin.

MONDAY

A.J. Ewing hit his 10th home run of the season, giving the Mets 11 players with 10+ homers and setting a new record for most 10-homer players in a season in franchise history (the 2017 team previously held the record with 10 10-homer players). They are now tied for the fifth-most 10-homer players on a team in baseball history, behind the 2019 Yankees (14), 2019 Blue Jays (13), 2018 Yankees (12), and 2023 Twins (12).

TUESDAY

Pete Alonso became the 20th player to record their 300th homer against a team for which they previously played, and the third to do so against a team for which they played 1,000 or more games (along with Willie Horton against the Tigers and Torii Hunter against the Twins). (source: Sarah Langs on X, per Elias Sports Bureau)

Alonso became the second player to hit their 300th homer at Citi Field, as Curtis Granderson reached the milestone with a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning on June 14, 2017, against the Cubs.

The homer marked Alonso’s first game-tying or go-ahead home run while trailing in the ninth inning or later since Game 3 of the 2024 Wild Card Series.

Alonso was actually the second former Met to hit a game-tying or go-ahead home run at Citi Field while trailing in the ninth inningor later. It may not have received the same fanfare as the Polar Bear’s blast, but Adeiny Hecchavarría accomplished the feat with the Braves off Paul Sewald on September 29, 2019 — exactly one day after Alonso set a new MLB rookie record with his 53rd home run of the season. Hechavarría’s homer set up Dom Smith’s memorable walk-off homer on the final pitch of the regular season.

Alonso’s homer snapped Kodai Senga’s streak of seven consecutive saves successfully converted, the fourth-most by a Met to begin their career behind Tug McGraw (15), Anthony Young (12), and Hisanori Takahashi (8).

A.J. Ewing’s second-inning single marked the 100th hit of his career. Ewing and Carson Benge are just the third pair of Mets rookies to record 100 hits in the same season, joining Steve Henderson and Lee Mazzilli in 1977 and Jason Phillips and Ty Wigginton in 2003.

Since 2015, there have been four extra-inning inside-the-park homers in MLB. Three of those four have been hit by an opposing player at Citi Field: Blake Swihart of the Red Sox on August 28, 2015, Daylen Lile of the Nationals on September 20, 2025, and now Coby Mayo of the Orioles on September 15, 2026. The only other extra-inning inside-the-park homer in that span was hit by another Oriole, Austin Hays, on August 11, 2020, at Citizens Bank Park.

Mayo’s inside-the-park homer was a wind-prevented traditional homer, marking the first time a wind-prevented traditional homer has resulted in an inside-the-parker since…Daylen Lile’s on September 20, 2025, at Citi Field. (source: Sarah Langs on X, per Weather Applied Metrics)

The Mets played their 18th extra-inning game of the season, marking the fourth-most in the majors behind the Angels (20), Cubs (19) and Cardinals (19). It’s the most extra-inning games the Mets have played in a season since 2018 (18).

WEDNESDAY

With his 24th stolen base of the season, A.J. Ewing tied Mookie Wilson’s 1981 record for the most stolen bases by a rookie in franchise history.

By allowing homers to Pete Alonso, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and Jeremiah Jackson, the Mets allowedhomers to the same three players in back-to-back games for the first time in franchise history.

The Orioles hit three homers at 106+ mph against the Mets for the second day in a row. Prior to this series, the Mets hadn’t allowed three such homers in a game since April 4, 2023, during a 9-0 loss in Milwaukee.

Chris Bassitt completed six innings at Citi Field for the 16th time since 2022. He is tied with David Peterson for the most six-inning outings at Citi Field during that span, despite the fact that Bassitt played just one season as a Met.

Alonso hit his 125th homer at Citi Field. No other player has more than 80 (Francisco Lindor). It was also Alonso’s 58th homer of a Statcast-projected 410+ feet at Citi Field. No other player has more than 23 (Michael Conforto).

The Mets have now lost five games in a row against the Orioles, and nine of their last 12.

THURSDAY

Nolan McLean has a 0.71 ERA over his first four career starts against the Phillies. That’s tied with Chuck Taylor for the fourth-lowest ERA in a pitcher’s first four starts against the Phillies since the mound was lowered in 1969 (min. 20 IP), behind Rick Honeycutt (0.38), Bob Sykes (0.42), and Hiroki Kuroda (0.68).

McLean recorded his 19th quality start this season, tied with Sonny Gray and Chris Sale for sixth-most in the majors behind Sandy Alcantara (21), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (21), Cristopher Sánchez (21), Cam Schlittler (20), and Michael Wacha (20). McLean is one of only two pitchers since 2015 to reach 19 quality starts in their rookie season, joining Shota Imanaga (19 in 2024). McLean also recorded his 20th start of six or more innings pitched this season, the second-most by a Met in a season since 2020, trailing only Wednesday’s opposing starter: Chris Bassitt (23 in 2022).

McLean recorded his 25th game with at least five strikeouts this season, the most by a Mets pitcher since Jacob deGrom (29) and Noah Syndergaard (27) in 2019.

Aaron Nola made his 33rd career start against the Mets, tied for 25th all-time against the franchise and tied with Randy Wolf and Tim Hudson for second-most since 2000, behind fellow longtime Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels (34). It was his 16th start as a visiting player at Citi Field, moving him into second place behind Gio Gonzalez (18) for most opposing starts in the ballpark’s history.

Nola recorded his seventh scoreless start against the Mets, tying him for the sixth-most all-time behind Rick Reuschel (11), Greg Maddux (10), Juan Marichal (9), Claude Osteen (9), and Jim Bunning (8).

The Mets suffered their 15thshutout loss of the season, tied with the Angels, Guardians, and Pirates for the second-most in MLB behind the Reds (17).

FRIDAY

Juan Soto reached base three times for the 324th time in his career, tying Mike Trout for the fourth-most such games by a player before turning 28 years old. Soto trails only Jimmie Foxx (348), Mickey Mantle (344), and Mel Ott (341).

Soto ripped two extra-base hits with an exit velocity of 108 mph or higher in the same game. In the statcast era (since 2015), a Mets left-handed hitter has accomplished that feat only 12 times: Robinson Cano, Lucas Duda, and Daniel Vogelbach each did it once, Brandon Nimmo did it twice, Michael Conforto did it three times, and Juan Soto has now done it four times in just two seasons.

Zac Thornton recorded his eighth quality start through 14 career games, marking the third-most by a Mets left-handed pitcher behind Steven Matz (10) and Sid Fernandez (9).

SATURDAY

Carson Benge’s eighth-inning single marked his 156th hit of the season, passing Pete Alonso to set the franchise’s new rookie hits record.

Benge recorded his 12th three-hit game of the season, marking another record for a Mets rookie, while notching three hits and a homer against the Phillies. The Mets outfielder with the most such games against the Phillies? Carlos Beltrán (7 times), who had his number retired in a pregame ceremony on Saturday.

The Mets scored 10 or more runs for the 18th time this season, tied with 1997 for the third-most such games in a season in franchise history. The 2000 (24) and 1999 (20) teams are the only ones in franchise history with more double-digit scoring performances.

SUNDAY

Francisco Alvarez’s second-inning single was his 23rd batted ball at 108 mph or higher this season, tied with Juan Soto for the most on the team.

The Mets scored two or fewer runs through nine innings for the 62nd time this season. That’s the most such games for the Mets in a season since 2013 (63), and their second-most in the Wild Card Era (since 1995).

The Mets finished the season with a losing record (3-4) against the Phillies at Citi Field for the first time since 2019, when they went 4-5.

The Mets finished the season with a 36-45 record at Citi Field, their worst in a full season since 2013, when they went 33-48.

Miscellaneous Mets stat of the week:

Here is a list of every player to record 99+ homers and 99+ stolen bases with multiple franchises:

Barry Bonds (Pirates and Giants)
Alex Rodriguez (Mariners and Yankees)
Carlos Beltrán (Royals and Mets)
Francisco Lindor (Guardians and Mets)

Beltrán’s 70.0 career bWAR ranks second all-time among players born in Puerto Rico, trailing only that of Roberto Clemente (95.0). Beltrán won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2013, and Francisco Lindor (who ranks fifth on the leaderboard with 57.2 bWAR) was named the Mets’ 2026 nominee last Monday.

Bonus Stat: There are 32 entries in this edition of Monday Stat Party — one for each year of Mets baseball that Howie Rose has called from the broadcast booth.

BALTIMORE – The season has turned into a slog for the Baltimore Orioles, playoff elimination imminent, roster deficiencies obvious, a second consecutive losing season loading.

Pete Alonso seems impervious to it all.

When his ballclub seems to find only failure and brick walls, Alonso finds joy. Take this 21st night of September, when the Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays gathered in front of 12,057 fans who waited out a 47-minute Monday night rain delay to watch a pair of dead teams walking.

Yet this wasn’t just any day, but rather the first birthday for Alonso and wife Haley’s son. They adorned their kitchen with a massive “Happy Birthday Theodore” banner and various stuffed animals and presents befitting a young king.

And then Alonso punched into work and passed out gifts to his teammates, creating a night his firstborn will someday remember fondly.

Alonso turned a nondescript date in a dead-end season into something special, as he often does, blasting home runs Nos. 39 and 40 into the Baltimore night, the latter a two-run shot off former teammate Tyler Rogers as he almost singlehandedly erased a three-run deficit and provided a 4-3 victory.

Functionally, the victory might only push elimination back a day or so for the 76-81 Orioles. In a grander sense, it exemplified exactly how Alonso has become That Dude in the first season of a five-year, $155 million contract.

And it was the icing on the cake of an emotional, transformative year for the Polar Bear: Becoming a father, leaving the New York Mets, tasked with carrying a franchise that had never passed out a free agent contract that large, oh, and go ahead and crank out 40 homers and 100 RBIs in almost metronomic fashion.

Consider that task crossed off the list: Alonso leads the American League with 108 RBIs, likely killed Yordan Alvarez’s hopes of a Triple Crown (he has driven in 98) and now has his fourth 40-100 campaign in seven full seasons.

Have a year, Pete.

“I think the hardest thing was navigating parenthood,” says Alonso of his transformative 366 days. “And it’s like how do we get this down – being husband, being dad, being ready to my maximum capabilities by first pitch? As the season’s gone on, I feel like I’m getting more and more in tune with being a parent and being an athlete.

“Really thankful for my teammates sticking with me. Really thankful for my wife.”

The feeling’s plenty mutual.

Pete Alonso’s 40th homer of the year gives the @Orioles the lead! 💥 pic.twitter.com/vpWmFhLgJO

— MLB (@MLB) September 22, 2026

Entering Monday, the Orioles had not scored in 19 innings, their playoff hopes exterminated by a pair of Milwaukee Brewers shutouts, and starter Shane Baz promptly walked the leadoff batter on a pitch clock violation and gave up three runs to the Blue Jays in the top of the first.

Alonso simply shrugged his massive shoulders, came to the plate to the thunderous drums intro of Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing and blasted a Trey Yesavage pitch 363 feet to his new favorite place on earth, the short right field porch at Camden Yards. It was home run No. 39, an impressive feat yet window dressing in the larger view.

Another nondescript loss was just four outs away when Alonso strode to the plate, two outs in the eighth, a leadoff walk rotting on first. In his second at-bat, Alonso switched up his walk-up song, to Earth, Wind & Fire’s September, this being 9/21 and all.

Oh, and also Theo’s first birthday. Coincidence?

“Yeah, that was for him,” Alonso said, proudly.

“That’s his birthday song.”

Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman suffered facial fractures when he was hit in the head by a foul ball on Sunday, according to ESPN.

Bregman was standing in the on-deck circle preparing for his at-bat when his teammate Michael Busch checked his swing and fouled off a pitch from the Cincinnati Reds’ Luis Mey. The ball struck Bregman in the face, and he immediately jogged toward the Cubs’ dugout with his hand covering the left side of his face. He was taken to hospital for X-rays and CT scans.

ESPN reports that the 32-year-old will not require surgery and hopes to return for the postseason.

“He got hit in the left cheekbone essentially, under the eye,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after the game. “He was bleeding from his nose a little. There’s some swelling. It’s a terrible, terrible accident. We hope he’s OK.”

Bregman posted a photo of ⁠himself on Instagram. His eye was swollen and there was blood on his cheek. “Thanks for all the messages yall. ​I’ll be back,” Bregman said.

Bregman is batting .262 with 26 home runs and 89 RBIs after signing a $175m, five-year free-agent deal in January.

“It just happens so fast,” Busch said. “[Mey] is throwing the ball hard and it comes off hard. Any time it enters the head area, it’s always a scary thing. We try to focus on the game, but it’s tough. Hopefully he’s OK, first and foremost.”

Blue Jays 3 Orioles 4

Sometimes you make the right moves and yet they don’t work out.

Bottom of the eighth Mason Fluharty pitching. He gave up a leadoff walk. Then got a pop out and a fly out. With Pete Alonso up, John brought in Tyler Rogers. I liked the call. But….Alonso hit his third pitch a mile (well 400 feet) and that was the ball game. It was Alonso’s second home run of the day. And fifth in his last six games.

We scored three in the first and the batters went on strike after that.

In the first, Brett Bateman and Alejandro Kirk each walked to start the game. Nathan Lukes singled one home. George Springer singled in Kirk. And Sean Keys hit a sac fly for out third (and last) run.

We got two on with no outs in the third but Keys flied out and Kazuma Okamoto ground into a double play. Other than that, there were a bunch of three up three down innings.

Other than the bullpen blowing the game, it was much like the most of the season. We couldn’t score. Just 6 hits in all, all singles. Springer had two of the singles.

Added to the fun was an awkward catch by Bateman in the second inning, where his left knee hit the ground hard. He came out of the game, limping. They say nothing structural, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he is done for the season.

Trey Yesavage started (or opened) and gave up Alonso’s first home run, but that was his only hit allowed, and he had three strikeouts.

Brendan Cellucci got the next four out, three of them strikeouts.

Chad Dallas got eight outs, giving up an Gunnar Henderson home run.

José Rodríguez got three outs.

And then Fluharty and Rogers. The Rogers’ pitch? Missed the spot, it was mean to be on (of just off) the inside edge and instead it was pretty much center cut. These things happen. Maybe score more than three runs and this wouldn’t matter. That’s pretty much baseball, there will be that pitch that isn’t where it was supposed to be and, if you are lucky, you will hit it well. I always laugh when baseball people say ‘he only made one mistake’. No, pitchers make mistakes all the time, and most of the time, it still isn’t a home run. But the time that they hit the mistake, it can go a long way.

Jays of the Day: Dallas (0.13 WPA), Springer (0.12) and Rodríguez (0.11)

Other Award: Rogers (-0.62, hardly fair really), Okamoto (-0.13), Keys (-0.11) and Smith (-0.10).

Anyway, it has been a ride. I’ve said that I’ve lived through a lot of Jays seasons when we didn’t have meaningful baseball in September. This year, we made it this far with meaningful baseball, which makes it better than most years.

Tomorrow we have Max Scherzer (3-8, 6.07) vs. Chris Bassitt (8-5, 4.64). A 6:30 Eastern start time (barring rain).

The Dodgers have lost this gamble once before. But that won’t stop them from placing the same wager again.

Rather than take every precaution to ensure Shohei Ohtani doesn’t worsen the injuries to his right arm and left knee, the Dodgers will prioritize giving him at-bats to get him ready for the playoffs.

Ohtani is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list Wednesday, and manager Dave Roberts said the plan is for him to play in every one of the five games that remain in the regular season.

“He’ll need those live at-bats,” Roberts said.

This feels reckless — and unnecessarily risky, especially when considering what happened the last time the Dodgers were in this position, just earlier this month. 

Ohtani was experiencing discomfort in his arm and knee. The Dodgers downplayed the severity of his injuries, with general manager Brandon Gomes claiming the physical problems weren’t responsible for his hitting slump and shouldn’t require him to be placed on the IL. 

So much for that.

Roberts described Ohtani as being “pain-free” Sunday, but acknowledged he was still experiencing “discomfort you can play through.” Certain levels of discomfort can be tolerated — until they can’t be, of course. That’s been the story of Ohtani’s season.

When Ohtani started feeling pain in his knee, he insisted he could pitch through it. Until he couldn’t.

When he started to be affected in the batter’s box by the throbbing in his arm and knee, he claimed he could play it. Until he couldn’t.

Roberts said Ohtani’s condition has improved over the last two weeks. But Roberts also didn’t claim Ohtani was completely healthy. 

“Is he 100%?” Roberts said. “Probably not.”

In other words, what bothered Ohtani when he landed on the IL still bothers him, just not as much.

This is a problem.

What happened earlier this month showed that if Ohtani plays too many games with these particular injuries, he will reach a point where he won’t even be able to take the field.

Why not give Ohtani every other game off? Will playing five more regular-season games instead of three make that much of a difference? Because the question isn’t whether Ohtani can make it through the next five games. The question is how much closer these games will push him to the point of no return.

The objective should be to make sure Ohtani is available in some capacity throughout the entire postseason, not only at the start of it. If he has to be gradually work his way into form over the playoffs, so be it.

Ohtani would almost certainly reject such cautious thinking. He doesn’t like half-measures. Ohtani takes big swings without much regard to the consequences.

So, if he’s going to use the final week of the regular season to prepare for the playoffs, he’ll probably do so with visions of being an impact player. He doesn’t want a Kirk Gibson moment; he wants to be Mr. October.

Before he went on the IL, Ohtani offered a realistic assessment of his health, saying he didn’t expect to be at 100% between now and the end of the season. But he said he believed he could overcome his physical problems by making adjustments to his swing.

“With some creativity, I think I can make up for what’s not right,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “Another way to say it is that it’s an opportunity to create new ways to compete.”

At the time, that meant learning how to hit with one arm and one leg.

The Dodgers let him, and Ohtani ended up on the IL.

Once again, it sounds as if Ohtani is determined to squeeze in as many at-bats as possible, and once again, it sounds as if the Dodgers will let him try.

This approach has significant upside — and downside, too.

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After failing to score in their previous two games, the Orioles hardly looked like a team capable of overcoming an early three-run deficit. That’s why they play the games.

Shane Baz allowed three runs in the top of the first, but Baltimore held Toronto off the scoreboard for the final eight frames. Pete Alonso launched his 39th and 40th home runs of the season, and the O’s completed the comeback with a 4-3 win at Camden Yards.

Toronto kickstarted their early rally by taking advantage of a silly mistake. Baz ran the count full to leadoff hitter Brett Bateman before holding the ball for too long. The home plate umpire called Baz for a pitch timer violation, and Bateman trotted to first base. Alejandro Kirk followed by working the count full and eventually walking the old fashioned way.

Nathan Lukes delivered Toronto’s first hit of the day with a single to left field, and the Jays scored their first run three batters into the game. George Springer followed with another run-scoring single, and Sean Keys plated the third run of the game with a sacrifice fly. Baz allowed another single to Kazuma Okamoto, but the former Ray rebounded by retiring Josh Smith and Andrés Giménez.

The Orioles could have let this one spiral, but Baz settled in after the crooked number in the first. He delivered a clean second and used an inning-ending double play to erase a walk and single in the third. He retired the side in order in the fourth, faced the minimum in the fifth, and went three-up, three down in the sixth.

Baz returned to the mound and recorded a pair of outs in the seventh before giving way to Yennier Cano. He exited the game with 6.2 innings, 5 hits, three walks, and three earned runs allowed. Baz kept the Birds in the game with the quality start, but the team continued to struggle in the run support department.

Pete Alonso certainly did his part. The power-hitting first baseman stole some momentum back with his 39th home run in the bottom of the first. Alonso smoked a ball 101 MPH that cleared the scoreboard in right field. The blast marked Alonso’s MLB-best 17th opposite-field home run and continued to build his RBI lead in the American League.

The Orioles did not record their second hit until Gunnar Henderson lined a ball 105 MPH to deep center field. The ball smacked off the wall, and Henderson raced all the way to third with only one out. Unfortunately, Coby Mayo struck out and Christian Encarnacion-Strand flew out to leave Henderson at third.

Baltimore waited to record its third hit until Henderson returned to the plate with two outs in the sixth. The shortstop delivered another screaming line drive, but this one cleared the fence. The solo shot marked Henderson’s 24th homer and trimmed Toronto’s lead to one.

Encarnacion-Strand led off the seventh with a single to left, but Carlos Narváez failed to bunt him over. Samuel Basallo started the game behind the plate, but Narváez entered after Basallo took multiple foul balls off his body. Narváez popped his bunt up to the pitcher, and Rece Hinds grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Baltimore completed the comeback in the eighth with a free pass and another big fly from their team MVP. Christian Franklin pinch hit for Colton Cowser and worked a leadoff walk. Jeremiah Jackson and Dylan Beavers failed to move the potential tying run into scoring position, but Alonso proved he was in scoring position all along.

The Jays summoned submarine pitcher Tyler Rogers in hopes of avoiding the long ball, but Rogers left a ball belt high to Alonso. The slugger hooked the ball and sent it toward Mr. Splash to give Baltimore a 4-3 lead.

Yennier Cano had already returned to post a zero in the eighth, and Baltimore went with Rico Garcia in a save situation. Garcia struck out Keys and Okamoto before retiring Smith to end the game.

The win pushed Baltimore to 76-81 and dropped Toronto to 77-80. Chicago holds the final wild card spot at 80-76.

Baz rebounded, and Gunnar smoked a couple balls, but go ahead and write Pete Alonso’s name in the comments for the Most Birdland Player of the Game.

It’s a new week here at BCB After Dark: the coolest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and join us. We’re so happy to see you. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. We still have a couple of tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last week I asked you if you thought Pete Crow-Armstrong will win the home run crown. With six games to go, he’s now tied with Kyle Schwarber with 45. When I wrote this last week, PCA “only” had 44.

It was close, but 52 percent of you think that Crow-Armstrong will either win the title outright or tie with Schwarber and share the crown.

Here’s the part with the music and movies. You can skip that if you want. It’s not like I’ll know.

We’re just two days away from the 100th anniversary of saxophonist John Coltrane’s birthday. Of course, Coltrane was a part of the first great Miles Davis Quintet (or Sextet) and played on the seminal jazz album, Kind of Blue in 1959.

Here’s Davis and Coltrane playing “So What” from that album live in New York in 1959. Trane’s solo starts around the 2-minute mark and you’ll notice that other than pianist Wynton Kelly and drummer Jimmy Cobb who provide the beat, the rest of the band just leaves the stage and just lets Coltrane do his thing.

It’s not like I haven’t been watching movies this past weekend. I’ve finally watched director Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973) with Elliot Gould as detective Philip Marlowe, moved from the ‘40s to the ‘70s, but still portrayed as an anachronism. I’ve also been trying to keep up with Turner Classic Movies rundown of every film director Stanley Kubrick ever made.

So what I’m trying to say that I’ve spent too much time watching films and not enough time writing about films. I didn’t have to time to give these films that I’ve seen the attention they deserve.

So I just thought I’d throw it over to you to talk about your favorite films from either Kubrick or Altman. Do you like Spartacus or Dr. Strangelove better? M*A*S*H or The Player? Are you still in awe of 2001: A Space Odyssey? Do you love Nashville? Or compare the two: Eyes Wide Shut or A Prairie Home Companion, to mark their respective final films.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

First, an announcement from the Double-A Southern League.

Just in case you can’t see that, three Smokies were named to the Southern League All-Star team. Catcher Owen Ayers hit .304/.417/.591 with 16 home runs in 65 games in Knoxville before moving up to Triple-A Iowa.

Dawson Netz made 17 starts and seven relief appearances for the Smokies, totaling 85.2 innings. He struck out 103 and walked 35 en route to a record of 7-4 and an ERA of 2.94.

Brooks Caple joined the Smokies in May after five starts in Low-A South Bend. He made 16 starts and one relief appearance. He went 4-4 with a 3.24 ERA in Double-A. Caple pitched 86 innings and struck out 82 while walking just 25.

With the minor league season now over, I’m going to ask you for your pick for the Cubs Minor League Player of the Year. I’m just including position players in this vote and I’ll try to let you vote on the Minor League Pitcher of the Year either tomorrow or Wednesday.

As I see it, there are three candidates for Cubs Minor League Player of the Year. The official award that the Cubs will announce shortly is named after Buck O’Neil, so if you want, this is your vote for the Buck O’Neill Award.

The first is one I’ve already mentioned, 25-year-old catcher Owen Ayers. Ayers started the year in High-A South Bend (having spent the first two years of his professional career entirely in Low-A Myrtle Beach) and blew threw that level in just 11 games. He hit six home runs in those 11 games.

Ayers spent the middle part of the season in Double-A, and I’ve listed his numbers for Knoxville above. That got him promoted to Triple-A Iowa for his final 49 games, where he slowed down a little with the major league balls that didn’t fly quite as far. But he still did well in Iowa, posting a line of .247/.365/.356 with three home runs. Ayers also made big strides with his defense behind the plate, going from someone we hoped could stick behind the plate to someone we know can catch, even if we don’t know ultimately how good he’ll be defensively. We do know he has a strong arm as he threw out 41 out of 146 batters trying to steal over the three levels.

Between the three levels, Ayers’ final line was .289/403/.526 with 25 home runs and 13 steals.

The next candidate went through three levels this season, going from Myrtle Beach to Knoxville. Outfielder/first baseman Josiah Hartshorn was a sixth-round pick out of high school last year and didn’t make his professional debut until this year. At only 19, he was a dominating hitter through the two levels of A ball. Hartshorn only played 11 games in Myrtle Beach before his promotion and only three regular-season games in Double-A.

So Hartshorn spent most of the year in High-A, where he was named to the Midwest League All-Star Team. For South Bend, Hartshorn hit .297/.405/.560 with 18 home runs and 12 steals in 83 games.

Hartshorn’s overall line between the three levels was .284/.407/.518 with 26 doubles, five triples and 23 home runs. He stole 17 bases. He set a South Bend Cubs record with 85 RBI and he had 112 RBI total.

The third candidate only played in two levels, 22-year-old outfielder Kane Kepley. Kepley was an absolute menace in South Bend, hitting .254/.435/.424 with seven home runs and 50 steals over 93 games. He did pretty much the same thing in Double-A. He only hit .212 with the batting average, but he had a .382 OBP and three home runs and 20 steals over just 32 games.

Overall, Kepley hit .243/.422/.401 with with ten home runs and 70 steals. He was only caught stealing six times. Kepley struck out way more than he walked with 120 walks to 89 strikeouts over 595 plate appearances. (You can add his 22 hit-by-pitches to his walk total if you’d like.) He’s also a very good defensive center fielder.

So who is your pick for the Buck O’Neill Cubs Minor League Player of the Year?

Thank you for stopping by. Please get home safely. We want to see you again. Recycle any cans and bottles. Don’t forget any personal items. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.

This season marks the sixth since the Rockies traded Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals. For the first time since he left Colorado, the Rockies aren’t paying part of his salary this season.

The eight-time All-Star third baseman is having a resurgence with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2026, hitting .247/.322/.455 with 27 homers and 82 RBI. Thanks to his grand slam that helped the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees, Arizona has a slim playoff chance as it is four games out of the NL Wild Card race with six games left. The slam was Arenado’s third of the season and the ninth of his career, with the most famous in my mind being the walk-off Father’s Day grand slam for the cycle in 2017.

Now, Arenado and the Diamondbacks are coming to town as the Rockies host their final home series of 2026. At 35, and with one year remaining on his contract, Arenado’s career is winding down. While the Diamondbacks’ odds of making the playoffs aren’t high, they at least exist.

With all the history, the breakup and the time since, how do you feel about Nolan Arenado now?

Are you cheering him on in his career and this series?

Is it still too soon?

Would you rather the Arenado & Co. earn a Wild Card spot over the Phillies, Padres or Cubs?

Let us know in the comments!

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

Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s return from a right thumb sprain is near, meaning the Yankees face some interesting decisions. 

The second baseman could be activated from the injured list as soon as Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Rays, and while the corresponding roster move appears simple (Max Schuemann), the potential lineup moves bear watching. 

After Chisholm got hurt diving into second base Sept. 8, the Yankees called up Anthony Volpe to get some run at the position he had mostly transitioned to at Triple-A, and he made the most of it.

In the 10 games since Volpe was recalled, he has started at second base nine times (José Caballero started the other) and mostly looked sharp, batting .286 with a .753 OPS and four steals. 

Whether Volpe has done enough to warrant at-bats once Chisholm returns remains to be seen. Shortly before he was called back up, the natural shortstop had also started to mix in some third base, starting three games there, though Aaron Boone would only offer, “We’ll see,” when asked whether that could be an option for Volpe with Chisholm back. 

“First things first, getting Jazz back and then we’ll figure it out as the week unfolds how I want to play it,” Boone said. 

The Yankees have not gotten much offensive production from their third basemen this year, especially of late. Since returning from his own thumb sprain Sept. 1, Ryan McMahon has hit just 6-for-40 (.150) with a .402 OPS, with Caballero starting at third over him Sunday against a righty. Amed Rosario has often started at third against lefties, and while he has not hit in line with his career numbers, the Yankees continue to believe he will. 

Boone could also platoon Volpe and Chisholm at second base, as the lefty-hitting Chisholm is batting only .221 with a .654 OPS against lefties. But the pending free agent had just been starting to get hot in a disappointing season, hitting .391 with a 1.028 OPS over his last 15 games before getting hurt. 

If and where Volpe fits on the playoff roster is just one of the many decisions they will have to consider over this final week of the regular season. 

“You know it’s going to take a lot of players and a lot of people when you get to spring training and the season unfolds,” Boone said. “We’ll have hopefully some tough decisions to make when we’re setting postseason rosters and things like that. But that’s a better problem to have.” 

Clarke Schmidt was expected to see the team doctor early this week after experiencing biceps cramping while warming up Sunday, which kept him from entering the game. The right-hander had just made his return from Tommy John surgery and is trying to carve out a role in the playoff bullpen. 

Ryan Weathers (left forearm flexor strain) could also have a role in a playoff bullpen, but first the lefty will need to face hitters this week as he tries to show the Yankees he could jump right into postseason action without pitching in a game since he got hurt Aug. 22.

The San Francisco Giants welcome the Minnesota Twins to Oracle Park tonight to begin a three-game series.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Blade Tidwell, who enters tonight’s game with a 4.56 ERA, 4.75 FIP, with 42 strikeouts to 21 walks in 53.1 innings pitched. His last start was in Tuesday’s 10-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, in which he allowed two runs on three hits with four strikeouts and a walk in six and two thirds innings

He’ll be facing off against Twins right-hander Zebby Matthews, who enters tonight’s game with a 4.74 ERA, 4.80 FIP, with 107 strikeouts to 39 walks in 125.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Twins’ 5-4 extra innings win over the New York Yankees last Wednesday, in which he allowed just two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in six innings.

Game #157

Who: San Francisco Giants (64-92) vs. Minnesota Twins (73-83)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 6:45 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM