Category: Baseball

Call it a winning streak!

Not for the White Sox. Taking two of three from an AL Central rival in what wound up being emphatic 10-1 fashion is always satisfying, but it wasn’t two in a row. No, folks, I’m celebrating me and my absolute heater of 10 wins in 11 recap tries. Put me in every day, Brett!

The box score does betray the tension that underlined the majority of this one. Hosting their first Sunday Night Baseball broadcast as a first place team since 2008, the tone of the game was lively early, though the bulk of the early action was a straightforward redux of the frustrating offensive play the Sox have produced since the All-Star break. They rank near the bottom of the league with a .240 batting average with RISP since then, and it feels like that average should be a lot lower, because getting runners in from the basepaths without the longball has been like pulling teeth lately.

The theme continued with verve for what I’d call the majority of the game — though ultimately, and fortunately, not the entirety of it. Sam Antonacci led off the first and fifth innings with a double, sandwiching back-to-back free bases from the non-brothers Montgomery to open the second frame and preceding Tristan Peters’ own leadoff double an inning later. They even queued up a rally in the third inning, when Miguel Vargas and Andrew Benintendi reached base before Colson Montgomery’s second punchout of the game ended the threat. Colson finished with a golden sombrero, bringing him to 197 on the season. When he presumably reaches the ignominious 200-K milestone, he’ll make the White Sox the only team to have three separate players break the 200 strikeout threshold in a season. Yoán Moncada did it most recently, and I don’t think I need to type the name of the one who did it first.

If you’ve been following the team as of late, it won’t be surprising that almost none of those White Sox rallies resulted in any runs, as Twins starter Bailey Ober labored through 4 1/3 innings with highly-diminished stuff. Still, when the Minnesota pen got the call, only one Sox run had been stuck on the board, as Antonacci did make his way around in the fifth, after Murakami shot a single through the right side:

Remarkably, and I should say unfortunately, it’s the first time since August 9 that Murakami has knocked in a run with a hit that didn’t leave the yard. That day was also the last time until this evening that he had driven in runs on back-to-back days. Ideally, a September recharge will be in the books when the team needs it the most.

On the White Sox pitching side, a motley crew of bullpen arms strung together a masterpiece, seemingly without the use of a premeditated bulk man. Bryan Hudson opened with aplomb, his sixth scoreless outing in eight first-inning tries. But the star of the effort was once again rookie Hagen Smith, who delivered three brilliant innings that bought the offense just enough time for the BABIP gods to begin taking mercy.

After the Peters double in the sixth and subsequent Chase Meidroth walk, Kyle Teel’s fielder’s choice in the infield made it, effectively, a whopping 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position before the two-thirds point of the action. Perhaps Smith’s electricity on the hill gave the offense the jolt they needed. Smith is now up to nine scoreless outings out of his first 10 tries in the majors. With the way he filled up the strike zone and made hitters look silly, ultimately going nine-up nine-down with four outs via punchie, you would truly have no feel for the roiling roller coaster that Smith’s prospectdom took us on for a two-year run.

Three perfect frames from Hagen Smith!

Since joining the @WhiteSox bullpen:

10 G
16 IP
1 ER (0.56 ERA)
23 Ks

(MLB x @GoogleCloud) pic.twitter.com/v0CYFv8cki

— MLB (@MLB) September 7, 2026

The jolt finally exploded into a lightning blast after that Teel sixth-inning chopper. Antonacci solidified his charge at Smith for player of the game honors with his third double, tripling the South Siders lead to 3-0.

Some things in baseball remain simple. Tonight, much of it came down to the fact that Twins relievers just couldn’t throw any strikes. Seven walks in 2 2/3 innings from any combination of pitchers isn’t going to cut it, and it eventually led to an additional run in the seventh. A five-run cascade in the eighth put the game away, courtesy of Randal Grichuk’s 12th blast of his comeback summer, Peters’ second double of the game (and 30th of the season) and a comeback blast of his own for Kyle Teel (whose 406 foot blast to dead center was probably the best batted ball we’ve seen from him all season).

Peters is now four extra-base hits shy of 50 on the year, which would make him the 11th Sox rookie to ever reach that plateau, most recently Eloy Jiménez in 2019. It also seems likely that Peters will finish with handily the least home runs of that group (the modern group at least, with all due respect to Willie Kamm’s stellar 1923 effort).

The platoon of Benintendi and Grichuk, who went 2-for-2 with that aforementioned homer after pinch-hitting for the former in the fifth inning, continues to be comically effective. Through roughly a full-season’s worth of 566 at-bats, they’ve reverse-osmosised into a .261 batting average with 68 extra-base hits and 106 driven in.

Rick Hahn: Vindicated? More tonight at 6 p.m.

The Twins did manage to dent the scoreboard on Grant Taylor for a second straight outing, as Brooks Lee became the sixth hitter to go ding-dong-johnson on the Sox relief ace. Taylor looked sharp as ever otherwise, striking out three over what I was happy to find was another two-inning outing. If you want to be a little dishonest and include the 8 2/3 Spring Training innings Taylor posted, he’s now on the precipice of 85 innings in total on the season. Somewhere in the realm of 82-85 regular season innings seems like a reasonable late guesstimate, and if you can pencil in a few more postseason reps, we find ourselves right on the edge of the 100-inning goal that Brian Bannister set out for the LSU product at the season’s outset.

Taylor’s three punchouts tonight also brought him to 97 on the season, putting him on the edge of being the fifth pure reliever in team history to break the century mark. It was most recently accomplished by Liam Hendriks and Michael Kopech in 2021, following Keith Foulke’s legendary (in the SSS slack) 1999 campaign and Terry Forster’s 1972.

The Sox finish their season series against the Twins with an 8-5 record, a repeat of 2025. With Cleveland’s voodoo magic having struck yet again in Detroit this afternoon, that’ll only be good enough to keep pace at 2 ½ games ahead in the Central. But the magic number is 17, and continues steadily dropping.

The squad gets to enjoy a breather at home tomorrow, getting a rest day before the Pirates come to town. Sean Burke is lined up to take the ball on Tuesday opposite flamethrowing rookie Bubba Chandler, and while Wednesday’s Bucco of the day has yet to be announced, it seems like the Sox will be fortunate enough to miss Paul Skenes this time around. One can never be sad about this, even accounting for his recent troubles. First pitch on Tuesday is at 7:10 p.m. CT, and we’ll see you there!

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MVP
Sam Antonacci: 3-for-4, 3 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI

Runners-Up
Hagen Smith: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Tristan Peters: 3-for-5, 2 2B, 3 R, RBI

Cold Cat
Colson Montgomery: 0-for-4, BB, R, 4 K

Runners-Up
Brenton Doyle: 0-for-1, K
Braden Montgomery: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB, K

Sorry for the late recap, but the Guardians won yet another walk-off game from the Tigers, besting them 3-2 in the 10th inning.

Shoutouts to Steven Kwan and Travis Bazzana who had two hits a-piece, to Brayan Rocchio who found a way to hit a game-tying home run into a stiff breeze,

HE is inevitable.#GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/3wRqN2zJVW

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 6, 2026

and to Daniel Schneemann for the walk-off single rifled to right.

The weekend of walk-offs!#GuardsBall | #GuardiWinspic.twitter.com/gljAmQFh57

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 6, 2026

Shoutouts to Gavin Williams, who had a bad first inning but shut the Tigers out for the next five innings, striking out 11, and to the electric bullpen of Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and CADE SMITH WHO WAS AS DOMINANT AS I HAVE EVER SEEN HIM STRIKING OUT FIVE OF SIX BATTERS.

This was a great series. They need, now, to find a way to win a series in Baltimore starting tomorrow and then in Minnesota following that. The Blue Jays lost so the Guardians, again, lead in the wildcard and the White Sox won, so they are still 2.5 back for the division.

A good day for our Guardians who have one more homestand this season… UNLESS October has something different to say.

Globe Life Field has been a house of horrors for the Rays in recent years, so walking away from this four-game road set with a split should be seen as a blessing. The Rays are still four games up on the Yankees in the race for the AL East, and could clinch a postseason berth by the middle of next week. So why do I leave this series with such a bitter taste in my mouth?

The pitching staff took some hits this weekend, with IL stints for Shane McClanahan, Garrett Cleavinger, and Manuel Rodriguez announced. Bryan Baker left Friday’s game, although it was said he was dealing with an illness, but did not pitch for the rest of the weekend. To deal with these injuries, the Rays pitching depth will be put to the test for the remainder of the regular season, and potentially into October.

Well, when the Rays took a 4-0 lead when they batted around in the second, it seemed they might be cruising into a series victory. They got contributions from hitters at the bottom of the lineup like Victor Mesa Jr. and Nick Fortes, with Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda also coming through with timely hits to build their lead.

The lead would evaporate in the fourth when the Rangers tied it at five.

On Sunday, we saw a mixed bag from a parade of arms. Ian Seymour got the start and didn’t have his normal strikeout stuff, and didn’t record an out in the fourth before being pulled.

Steven Matz gave up two runs in his lone inning of work.

We did see pitching prospect Ty Johnson’s MLB debut. He was ranked 14th in the Rays system by Fangraphs, and has pitched as a starter and reliever for AAA Durham this season. He went one inning, allowing no runs on a walk and two strikeouts. There’s a clearing for him to lock down a role on the staff this month.

All in all, this result isn’t the most disappointing. You scored six runs on the road, saw a couple of rough outings from relievers you won’t rely on much in high leverage, and got to see Johnson take the mound for the first time. It’s a good time for an off day, where the team will be getting ready for their three-game series in Atlanta against the Braves.

Last week, Jay Jaffe at FanGraphs wrote about the increasing popularity of position players pitching.

With (Andrew) Monasterio’s appearance, every team has now used a position player to pitch in a nine-inning game at least once this season; the Yankees have also only used one, while the Rockies have used a major league-leading nine, and the A’s and Diamondbacks eight apiece.

The Athletics Carlos Cortez has thrown the most (8), but given that the utility player had some experience as a closer in high school, the move makes some sense.

That is not the case for the players with the second-most innings — Colorado Rockies backup catcher Brett Sullivan with seven appearances on the mound this season. In 7.2 IP, Sullivan has a respectable 4.70 ERA.

Troy Johnston has also taken the mound twice this season. In 2.0 IP, he has a sparkling 0.00 ERA.

For Johnston, his brief experience as a two-way player stands as a season highlight.

“One of the one of my favorite things was that I did get to pitch a little bit, and it was so much fun because I throw like this air cutter that just kind of goes across the plate, and I don’t throw it very hard,” Johnston said. (Sullivan also throws an “air cutter.”)

Today in USA Today, Bob Nightengale noted that the trend is receiving MLB’s attention. As he notes,“ Major League Baseball, proposing that teams be permitted to have 14 pitchers on their 26-man rosters instead of 13 in the next collective bargaining agreement, will also discuss modifying the rule on when position players can be used as pitchers in the game.”

How does Nightengale feel about this trend?

“In what once was a bit of comic relief in blowouts has become a disgusting display that’s more suited for the Savannah Bananas than actual major league games,” he writes.

So tonight, we turn it over to the Purple Row Night Owls?

Should MLB adjust the rules regarding position players pitching?

Let us know in the comments.

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

Justin Wrobleski faces Andrew Alvarez as the Dodgers look to sweep the Washington Nationals.

Tonight's #Dodgers lineup vs. Nationals: pic.twitter.com/GbR12D8JA7

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 6, 2026

SUNDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Nationals
• Stadium: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

After a couple of close losses, the Nats are now looking to avoid a sweep. Earlier this year, the Nationals were excellent at avoiding sweeps but that has not been the case lately. Hopefully the boys can change that in this late night showdown.

With a lefty on the mound, there are a few changes to the lineup. Andres Chaparro, Harry Ford, Nasim Nunez and Jacob Young all check in. Dylan Crews also goes from the 9 hole all the way up to the 2 spot in this contest. Andrew Alvarez is on the bump hoping to get more run support than he usually does.

here's a lineup graphic ⚾️

→ https://t.co/HyMhWpLQbBpic.twitter.com/gmwTMpUsVD

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 7, 2026

The main attraction Shohei Ohtani is still out of the Dodgers lineup. However, the Nats will still have to deal with Freeman, Smith and Betts in the middle of the Dodgers order. With a lefty on the mound, Max Muncy is all the way down in the 8 hole. Justin Wrobleski is on the hill for the Dodgers.

Tonight's #Dodgers lineup vs. Nationals: pic.twitter.com/GbR12D8JA7

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 6, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: Dodger Stadium

Time: 10:10 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Nats have not been awful in this series, they just have not made enough plays to take down an elite team. This game will be a good chance to try and do that. They have not beaten the Dodgers all year and this will be their last chance to change that. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.

Get ready to see a lot of Cincinnati Reds baseball over the next week and a half. Through their first 143 games of the season, the Dodgers have not played the Reds, but will play their longtime National League rivals seven times in the next 11 days.

Up first is three games at Dodger Stadium, beginning Monday night, followed by four games next week at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Emmet Sheehan will be called up to fill-in on Monday with bulk innings, but whether he starts or follows an opener remains to be seen.

Stud second-year right-hander Chase Burns pitches for the Reds.

Monday is Labor Day, which brings a start time an hour earlier than usual.

Monday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Reds
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Start time: 6:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

If the Minnesota Twins are finally featured on Sunday Night Baseball but the game is on a streaming service (Peacock) at an extremely odd (5:20 CST) time so very few people can watch it, did it actually happen?

Philosophical cud-chewing aside, I can confirm—as a subscriber to the plumaged bird—that the Twins did indeed close out their series with the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field tonight. It was perhaps a mercy this one wasn’t available to the majority of the viewing public.

Pitching-wise, it was an odd assemblage to start. The Pale Hose went with a bullpen game, while the Twins sent Bailey “might struggle to get the DeLorean back in time” Ober to the bump.

So what happened to this mishmash against the top two offenses (by runs/game) in the American League? Well: four and a half scoreless innings. Of course!

Alas, it was the ChiSox that kick-started the offensive portion of the ballgame in B5. After Sam Antonacci doubled off Ober to begin the frame, Sox stalwart Munetaka Murakami followed suit with a similar two-base hit. 1-0 CWS.

Protecting Ober’s 80 mph repertoire from seeing the South Side’s sluggers too many third times, MN manager Derek Shelton banished Bailey in favor of Kody Funderburk, who—despite walking the first batter he faced—cleaned up nicely the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, the MIN offense through six innings: two measly base knocks.

Fundy stuck around to start B6 and was greeted by a Tristan Peters double doinked into LF. Andrew Morris would enter and walk Chase Meidroth to stimulate a Sox scoring chance. After a terrific play from Royce Lewis at 1B, Antonacci would render the point moot with a dribbler up the middle past Kody Clemens, plating two foot-warmers. 3-0 CWS.

After issuing Murakami an intentional pass to the first sack, Randal Grichuk would take that personally with a whack a single to LF, scoring Antonacci. 4-0 CWS.

The Twins did get on the board before the 7th inning stretch when Brooks Lee sent a sphere 425 feet into the RCF seats. 4-1 CWS.

Lest any positive momentum be carried over to the other side of the stretch break, Taylor Rogers would enter with the bases clear and exit with them all jammed up. Enter Garrett Acton and his immediate four balls to Miguel Vargas. 5-1 CWS.

Further Acton meltdown in B8: Grichuk homer—Peters ground-rule double. 7-1 CWS.

Enter Tommy Nance: 3-run homer from Kyle Teel. 10-1 CWS.

Your Final: Chicago White Sox 10, Minnesota Twins 1.

The even fringe-hopeful competitive portion of the Twins’ 2026 season ends the night before Labor Day.

Zach’s Zealot

• Lewis: One hit and a number of really nice plays at 1B. Good to see him finding a home on that side of the diamond (it bodes well for the rest of his Twins tenure).

Zach’s Zombie

• Morris’ Meltdown: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 ER. I know I have to keep in mind we were—just earlier this year—seeing Morris’ parents cheering on his Major League debut and how good he was in the middle months. But these blowups are far more frequent as the year folds up.

Egg-cellent Elocution

• Hide the children before clicking on this link, but it only took Matt Monittotwo words to sum this one up.

Who’s Got Next

• Quick turnaround to Detroit for a Labor Day Monday 2:10 PM game followed by Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon contests with the Tigers.

Jefferson Rojas cannot be stopped.

The Mets' No. 1 prospect was at it again on Sunday for Double-A Binghamton and hit another home run, his ninth for the Rumble Ponies and 24th of the season. It was also the second straight game Rojas has left the yard after he crushed a solo shot on Saturday night.

The latest long ball was part of a 4-for-5 day for the 21-year-old acquired from the Chicago Cubs which also included a double, three RBI and two runs scored in a 7-6 loss to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Rojas took LHP Mason Olson deep in the bottom of the seventh inning on an 0-1 pitch that traveled 407 feet and got out in a hurry with an exit velocity of 107 mph. 

Rojas raised his batting average to .286 in 26 games with Binghamton and now has a .961 OPS.

Batting behind Rojas was the Mets' No. 7 prospect Jacob Reimer who also had a good day at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI.

Though Shohei Ohtani was out of the Dodgers’ lineup for the fourth straight game Sunday, manager Dave Roberts gave a promising update.

“[Saturday] was a good day,” Roberts said. “Came out of it feeling well. So if nothing else changes, or continues to trend, I see him in there [Monday against the Reds].”

Ohtani hit in the batting cage Saturday, and Roberts received positive reports from his hitting coaches, training staff and Ohtani about the work and his recovery. Both his right biceps problem, which flared Wednesday, and his left knee injury, have “calmed down” with the time off, Roberts said.

Read more:Tommy Edman delivers for Ohtani-less Dodgers in victory over Nationals

“Just a handful of days ago, where he was at, talking to him the day after, it just felt that a few days could potentially be of benefit,” Roberts said. “Fortunately that’s how it’s played out.”

The Dodgers have not yet officially taken Ohtani’s return to pitching off the table for the season, but it seems unlikely.

“Not officially,” Roberts said, “but obviously, if you’re looking at the calendar, how much he’s thrown in the last week, I think we can all do the math.”

The calendar is also working against catcher Dalton Rushing’s initial hopes of returning behind the plate.

Rushing returned to the injured list (sprained right elbow) Sunday, after catch play went poorly the day before. In a corresponding move, the Dodgers recalled catcher Eliezer Alfonzo.

An MRI scan showed “more of the same,” according to Roberts. The Dodgers activated Rushing last Tuesday after just shy of a month on the IL.

Read more:Before Mark Walter's companies faced inquiries, he kept a low profile and built loyalty

Rushing had been serving as a left-handed bat off the bench and a designated hitter option with Ohtani out, while also building up on the throwing side.

The plan is for Rushing to shut down swinging for a few days, Roberts said, and then restart a hitting progression that, this time, will include a rehab assignment.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Diamondbacks have gone 5-5 in their last ten as of writing, but still find themselves in an effective tie for the final Wild Card with the Padres. Are wins or just checking games off the schedule more important right now?

Justin 27: I think wins are most important, regardless of whether or not they are an NL team. I would rather win than go into the final series having played, “At least the Marlins/Padres/Cardinals lost today, too.”

Makakilo: It’s easier to play downhill; early wins are better than needing wins in the last few games of the season. Therefore, wins now are very valuable.

However, later wins are more likely because the Diamondbacks could get better in the last few weeks of the season. First, Marte’s .944 OPS since his return is encouraging. Second, Burnes will likely return on 8 September. Third, in the latest four games (thru 4 September), Carroll and Arenado slumped, and I’m confident that their excellent batting will soon return.

Spencer: Wins. Every win gets the team closer to the playoffs.

C. Wesley Baier: I think if the team can just get hot and win more than six in a row down the stretch, they don’t have to worry about much. To answer the question it’s both.

James Attwood: With three against the Padres to end the season, more wins are the key. Ideally, the Diamondbacks find a way to make sure that if they drop two of three at the end of the season, they still make it to October. In order to do that though, they are going to need to start stringing together some wins.

Ben: Every win is crucial right now. The team is not in a position where they can simply sit back and check games off and hope that the Padres or others lose. We’ve seen over the last two years how a single victory can make the difference between making and missing the playoffs and this year looks no different. It would not shock me if the race comes down to that final series of the season against the Padres in San Diego.

It sure seems like several of the players are playing hurt. Do you think its better for them to continue to tough it out, or to get healthy players in so they can rest in event of playoffs?

Justin27: I think it would be better to rest some of them, but the paradox is that you would be resting some of our better players that are capable of turning the game around (even though they are struggling). I’m not sure we have the depth to do that.

Makakilo: When Marte returned, his OPS increased from .765 (August) to .944 (games thru 4 September), albeit zero RBIs in 12 PAs makes it uncertain whether he made an impact . But with only weeks remaining in the season, and with the Wild Card race so close, there could be a very negative impact of Carroll or Arenado going on the 10-day injured list.

Spencer: I’ll defer to the teams expertise here. No one should play hurt, but the drop off from Marte to Fernandez/Vargas is so steep I understand the inclination.

C. Wesley Baier: Get healthy players and rest the players that are injured. There’s always a chance those players get hurt worse too, see Ohtani on the Dodgers. Him continuing to DH while he’s unable to pitch has just made him hit even worse. Playing through the injuries while you’re hurt is admirable, but not if you play badly it cost your team wins.

James Attwood: Depends on the knock. I really thought that Corbin Carroll might get that final game before the off day to rest so that he would get back-to-back recovery days. Apparently Carroll and Lovullo though otherwise though. With all the youth on the roster and the number of players who have returned from injury, it seems like this would be a good time to get them some reps while resting the key contributors for playoff ball.

Ben: It probably depends a little on the player. I love Ketel Marte (his latest shenanigans notwithstanding), but giving him some additional time off his feet and allowing his knee to heal more might be a good idea. But someone like Corbin Carroll is such a unique talent that even if he’s playing through some injuries – as seemingly everyone is at this point in the season – then there’s not much the team can do without harming their chances at victory. They could give some of these players a DH day or a day off here or there, but they don’t have the depth or place in the standings to allow all of them time to properly heal.

As of writing, the Diamondbacks haven’t scored more than two runs in their last six games. Is there a path forward to kickstart the offense?

Justin27: Sacrificing a live chicken after some of Jobu’s rum?

Makakilo: In April and May, the Diamondbacks had 4 game streaks with 2 or less runs scored. Each time, the streak was broken one game before the Diamondbacks went on a road trip. In September, they just started a road trip, which seems to be how they break this kind of streak. The next road trip is the last six games of the season.

Spencer: See the ball, Hit the ball.

C. Wesley Baier: No idea other than shaking up the lineup and resting those who are hurt and struggling.

James Attwood: It might be time for the team to start leaning into small ball. Start bunting for hits. Start stealing bases. Start manufacturing runs in general. If the players are simply putting the ball in play, they aren’t swinging for the fences. If they start letting the game come to them again, maybe they can finally get the timing down and get things rolling again.

Ben: I’m always a fan of trying new things out. So if that means more bunt attempts, more runners in motion, etc, I’m absolutely on board.

Why do you love baseball?

Justin27: It is slow enough that I can just have the game on in the back ground while doing something and watch bits and pieces. You can listen on the radio. For games in person, the atmosphere of the ballpark. I am not really sure I can quantify an answer.

Makakilo: Baseball is the perfect combination of emotional cheering at gametime, intellectual challenge to find relevant statistics, and discovering the marvelous & mysterious insights that competition reveals.

Spencer: Because my mom loves it. And because it’s so nuanced. And because the game itself is constantly changing, pitch to pitch. It’s a finesse sport with myriad outcomes at any given moment whereas most American sports are clunky and predictable. It’s so true that any team can win any game.

C. Wesley Baier: I love baseball because of the history and amount of detailed record keeping over the last 130 years. No other sport has this level of detailed history. It’s also not a sport necessarily built on pure athleticism, there’s all kinds of strategy involved. Most importantly, I love baseball because it has helped me forge lifelong friendships with other fans of the sport.

James Attwood: I was raised on baseball as a religion. This is what my grandmother and I spent our time watching when I was growing up. Add to that all the nostalgia and the long history of the sport, and it is right up my alley. Also, it was a game I could actually watch with regularity. Footy was rarely televised in Arizona when I was growing up. Take out Telemundo’s coverage and footy coverage was essentially non-existent.

Ben: What a lovely question. I love baseball for so very many reasons – from the place it holds for our family to the time of year it takes place. But I think more than anything, I love that baseball truly is a game of failure and redemption. How many times have we seen a player fail either at the plate or in the field and then immediately have a chance at redemption on the opposite side? I love that failing 70% of the time at the plate means you’re one of the best hitters in the league. I love that there isn’t a clock (for the most part) and that attending a game in-person means you can have a genuine conversation with your family and friends. None of this is unique or hasn’t been said by others more eloquently, but these are just some of the reasons I love this silly, stupid, wonderful game.

Shohei Ohtani is out of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for the fourth consecutive game in Sunday's series finale against the Washington Nationals, but manager Dave Roberts expressed hope that his return is imminent.

The NL's back-to-back reigning MVP has been battling multiple lingering injuries throughout the summer, including pain in his left knee and right bicep that have kept him off the mound since July 3. Neck soreness prompted Roberts to rest Ohtani after an 0-for-4 night on Wednesday in which he struck out four times.

He took swings in the batting cage during Saturday's 6-5 win and according to Roberts, came out of that session just fine. The Dodgers had been weighing whether to put Ohtani on the injured list, where he would have to miss 15 games instead of the standard 10 because of his two-way designation.

But barring any unforeseen setbacks, Roberts told reporters that he's optimistic Ohtani can be back in his usual DH spot for Monday's series opener against the Cincinnati Reds.

"Yesterday was a good day," Roberts said. "Came out of it feeling well, so if nothing else changes or continues to trend, I see him in there tomorrow."

It wasn't merely the conversation with Ohtani that made Roberts comfortable with announcing his return; he hitting coaches and team training staff informed Roberts that Ohtani was able to go through his full pregame routine feeling like himself again. Once he's back in the lineup, the Dodgers will still monitor Ohtani's workload on a day-to-day basis.

This is all, of course, in the context of Ohtani returning as a hitter. He has yet to resume his throwing program after being shut down yet again on Aug. 28. Though Roberts stopped short of saying Ohtani won't pitch again in 2026, he alluded to it in the bluntest terms possible.

"Not officially, but if you're looking at the calendar, how much he's thrown in the last week," he told reporters, "I think we can all do the math."

Dalton Rushing injury update

The Dodgers also announced Rushing is headed back to the IL after he was scratched late from the lineup on Saturday. The 25-year-old catcher returned from a partially torn UCL last week without a rehab assignment and was strictly used as a lefty bat off the bench as he worked to rehab his right elbow.

But after throwing on Saturday, Rushing once again felt pain and while an MRI showed no additional damage to his ligament, Roberts said throwing "pissed it off."

He's officially shut down from catching for the rest of the season and is expected to progress steadily through a rehab assignment once his 10 days on the IL are up. Hunter Feduccia will now take on Rushing's left-handed reserve bat role.

Max Muncy, who had been scratched with Rushing on Saturday due to illness, is back in the lineup on Sunday as a DH.

Edwin Díaz injury update

The Dodgers closer took a big step toward his return from a neck injury, tossing a scoreless inning with a strikeout in his first rehab appearance with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday. He'll likely have another outing before rejoining the Dodgers.

"It was good," Roberts told reporters. "I'm sure Edwin's gonna want to get back here as soon as possible, but I'm probably more on the 'Get another one, and then get back with us.'"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani, Dalton Rushing and more Dodgers injury updates

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani is out of the Dodgers lineup on Sunday for a fourth straight day, but has progressed enough that he could start again at designated hitter as early as Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds. But it’s becoming increasingly likely that Ohtani does not pitch again this season.

Ohtani has dealt with left knee and right biceps issued for months, which has kept him off of the mound in game action since July 3. Recently he was also dealing with a neck injury that affected him while batting. Since his last home run — on August 18 at Coors Field in Denver — Ohtani has six hits in 49 at-bats, with 19 strikeouts. His last game was Wednesday, when he walked once and was hit by a pitch, but also struck out four times.

On Saturday, Ohtani hit in the batting cage throughout the game against the Washington Nationals, and continued to feel better. He also hasn’t thrown in the last week, not even plyo balls that had been part of his between-bullpen work.

“The no throwing I think is beneficial, the four days has been beneficial,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “Then at some point in time, we’ll just kind of monitor day to day and make sure we don’t get to that point where it was at four or five days ago.”

Prior to this weekend, Ohtani missed more than one game in a row only once — in April 2025 with two games on the paternity list for the birth of his first child. Ohtani this season has faced 340 batters while pitching and has batted 592 times, his 932 total plate appearances involved in 15 percent more than the next-most in MLB, the 808 batters faced by Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara.

There was an outside chance Ohtani might have pitched an inning in the series finale against the Tigers in Detroit on August 30, but he reported discomfort in his knee and biceps and wasn’t yet cleared to pitch. Now, with three weeks left in the regular season, and the Dodgers wanting to make sure their best hitter is available and highly-functioning at the plate, pitching might not be in the picture for the remainder of this season.

Roberts was asked if Ohtani has been ruled out from pitching.

“Not officially, but obviously if you’re looking at the calendar and how much he’s thrown in the last week, I think we can all do the math,” he said.

When asked to clarify if Ohtani might even be used as an opener in the postseason, even if only for an inning or two, Roberts said, “I think that’s unlikely.”

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers on Sunday placed catcher Dalton Rushing on the 10-day injured list with right elbow discomfort. The irony here is Rushing wasn’t expected to catch while active this month, but aggravated his partially torn UCL during pregame workouts on Saturday.

“He’s not going to swing for a few days, and then will build up to the swinging progression,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “Then at that point and time he could take some at-bats on a rehab assignment, and we’ll see where we’re at.”

The move was backdated to Saturday, so the earliest Rushing could be activated is September 15.

It was always a long shot that Rushing would catch again this season, but now that’s been officially ruled out. He also won’t do any sort of throwing progression.

“For us, for Dalton, it’s more we’ll get through this year, building up the hitting, then kind of see where the offseason takes us,” Roberts said.

Eliezer Alfonzo was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City, so the Dodgers will carry three catchers for the time being. Roberts said this will allow Hunter Feduccia to be used at times as a left-handed pinch-hitter when he’s not catching.

It will also free up Will Smith to be used solely as a pinch-hitter in days he doesn’t start behind the plate. Since getting activated from the injured list, Smith will have started four of the six games including Sunday night. In the two other games — Wednesday and Saturday — Smith was used as a pinch-hitter and remained in the game to catch the final inning both times.

Though Shohei Ohtani could return to the lineup as early as Monday, Smith could be considered for some starts at designated hitter down the stretch, though Roberts cautioned the Dodgers want to be mindful of Smith’s ramp up after missing three and a half months on the injured list.