Category: Baseball

In Buster Posey’s big interview with Tim Kawakami, he stated that the bullpen would be a point of emphasis this offseason. That group has been among the worst in the sport, but not quite negative in value, believe it or not: +0.9 fWAR, bad enough for 25th in MLB. As bad as they’ve been there, they’ve been as bad with their gloves in the field, coming in 24th place with -16.4 Defensive Runs Above Average. In fact, they lead all of Major League Baseball in errors with 102 and counting. They need better defense. How can they make that happen?

Well, this is where trading away Patrick Bailey and losing Daniel Susac to injury hurts. Bailey had been the top defender on the team three years running and even this year, with just 238.1 innings under his belt before the trade, his +5 Fielding Run Value and 4.8 Defensive Runs Above Average made him third-best. Susac’s +8 FRV and +8.7 Def in 351 innings wound up being a great swap (second-best), but here are the other two players in the top four: Luis Arraez, the team leader in defensive value this season (+9 FRV, +9.2 Def in 885.2 innings), and Matt Chapman (+5 FRV, 4.6 Def in 718.2 innings), checking in at #4. Drew Gilbert is #5 with +4 and +2.6. Casey Schmitt follows, then Christian Koss, then Jonah Cox are the next bunch of positive defenders. So, let’s just say that Susac, Chapman, Gilbert, Schmitt, Koss, and Cox aren’t the problem.

Also not the problem? Bryce Eldridge (-2.3 Def) or Rafael Devers (-7.9). Defensive measures for first basemen are typically tough because it’s considered such an easy position. Very easy to drop into negative numbers. Admittedly, Devers’ 8 errors are the third-most on the team behind Willy Adames (18) and Matt Chapman (9), but I’m going to chalk some of that up to lingering injuries and basically settling in to a new position. Still this trio makes up 34% of the team’s errors this season.

But the worst defenders on the Giants are pretty easy to identify. Willy Adames (-8.3) and Jung Hoo Lee (-10.5) both have both cost the Giants about 1 game each over the course of the season with their poor defense. They are the worst position players on the roster by far (minimum: 100 innings). The pitching group’s 17 errors is tied with Cincinnati for 2nd in MLB (or, 29th) behind only Toronto.

Now, maybe you’re a gut-trusting eye-tester when it comes to defense, and I can understand that because it’s hard to conceive of how laser tracking and computer modeling could properly value defensive contributions or the subtleties of playing in the field, but if you line up the good defending teams vs. the bad defending teams this season, an interesting pattern emerges:

With the exceptions of the Royals and Phillies, bad teams have bad defense and good teams have good defense. Though, it must be noted that the Royals have gone 38-41 over the last 3 months and the Phillies 25-15 since improving their defense significantly with the addition of Luis Arraez.

And just to underscore how important defense is, in the past 10 years, the only Giants teams with positive Defensive Runs Above Average values were:

• 2021 (+28.3) | 107-55
• 2023 (+22.6) | 79-83
• 2019 (+19.6) | 77-85
• 2024 (+8.9) | 80-82
• 2025 (+7.9) | 81-81

Not exactly the strong point I was hoping to make but you can see that the past decade of Giants Baseball, whenever it has even bothered to approach success, has had strong defense as part of the foundation.

So, how can the Giants improve? The sexy call is to figure out how to get Jung Hoo Lee off the roster. If that’s possible, sure, why not? That’s a good step in the direction of fixing the defense while getting cheaper. I’m not confident that Lee’s bat is worth keeping around, either. But it’s not that easy to trade a player like Lee. There’s the money owed to him for one thing, but it’ll be tough from a fanbase position to do it, too. He is a draw, even though he and the team are not good.

And, if Casey Schmitt hadn’t torn his meniscus, I’d think it’d be close to a no-brainer to put him at short and slide Willy Adames over to second base; but, I’m not so sure that’s in the cards now. In any case, Adames had better move in with Ron Washington this offseason and hope that he has an Arraezean renaissance in 2027. But that could still happen with him at second base. He has been bad enough there that I think trying to get Chapman to play short while sticking Schmitt at third might make more sense than giving Adames another go.

The team has increased its athleticism in the field as the season has gone along and that’s the sort of thing they’ll need to keep doing in order to improve this part of the team. On paper for next season, it’s basically Daniel Susac, Jonah Cox, and Matt Chapman as the defensive keystones. The team does have a glut of up the middle players working their way through the minors so reinforcements could be well on the way, but I’ll just go ahead and say that the Giants don’t go anywhere without better defensive play. A better defense will take the pressure off the team needing to spend big bucks on the bullpen — or even the rotation, which might be a better use of time and resources, Buster Posey.

Erie SeaWolves 5, Richmond Flying Squirrels 3 (box)

Kenny Serwa put together a whale of a start for the SeaWolves, while a game tying home run from his catcher sparked the offense as the Erie SeaWolves advanced to the Eastern League Championship series for the fifth straight season.

Things didn’t start off well for Tony Cappuccilli’s squad in this one. The Giants first round pick in July, right-hander Jackson Flora, got the ball for two innings and the SeaWolves couldn’t deal with him, striking out four times in two perfect frames. Fortunately, he’s on a strict pitch count. Once he was out of the game, lefty Jacob Bresnahan took over to flip the SeaWolves platooning. The SeaWolves got a single from Izaac Pacheco and a walk to E.J. Exposito to start the third inning. Seth Stephenson advanced them with a sac bunt, but they squandered that chance as Peyton Graham and Zyhir Hope struck out.

Meanwhile, Serwa was cruising in the early innings before trouble struck in the fourth. A one-out single and then a walk set the table for Kaeden Kent, who smoked a three-run shot to right field for a 3-0 lead.

The SeaWolves couldn’t get it going in the fifth, but credit to Cappuccilli for sticking with Serwa, who proceeded to steady the ship and cruise through seven innings with no further trouble.

Finally, in the top of the sixth, Stephenson reached and took second on an error. Graham struck out, but Hope walked, and Thayron Liranzo mashed a three-run homer to tie the game.

They didn’t stop there. Chris Meyers followed with a double. Andrew Jenkins struck out, but Luke Shliger walked. The Squirrels went back to their pen, but Marques Johnson walked Pacheco to load the bases. A passed ball scored Meyers, and it was 4-3 SeaWolves.

Serwa tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth, and Stephenson walked to start the seventh. He stole second, and after Graham made on out on a comebacker to Johnson, a wild pitch got Stephenson to third, and Hope drove a ball out to center field for a sacrifice fly. 5-3 SeaWolves.

Surprisingly, Cappuccilli continued to ride his veteran knuckleballer, and it worked. He gave up a leadoff bunt single, but got a double play ball to face the minimum in the inning. Really good work from Serwa to recover from the homer and pitch deep into this one, especially as the bullpen isn’t exactly stacked with monsters.

Tanner Kohlhepp took over in the eighth, pitching around a two-out walk, and so it was up to hard-throwing sinkerballer Moises Rodriguez. The slender right-hander was 98-99 mph, but with one out, Graham booted a routine ground ball at shortstop, and after getting a fly ball for the second out, Rodriguez walked the next hitter. He bounced back, tying up Zander Darby, who hit a little swinging bunt down the first base line. Rodriguez pounced on it, flipped to Jenkins, and it was party time for the Erie SeaWolves organization.

Congrats to Greg Coleman, Greg Gania, Tony Cappuccilli and his staff and team, and the whole SeaWolves family on reaching their fifth straight Eastern League championship series.

Liranzo: 2-3, R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, K

Stephenson: 1-1, 2 R, 2 BB, SB

Meyers: 1-4, R, 2B, K

Serwa (W, 1-0): 3 ER, 4 H, BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves will have two days off until the Eastern League championhip best-of-three series gets underway on Sunday. Game 1 will be held at home at UPMC Park at 5:05 p.m. ET before heading to Reading next Tuesday.

Toledo Mud Hens 5, Louisville Bats 1 (box)

Dylan File threw a good game, and the Hens took advantage of seven walks to beat the Bats again on Thursday.

File was cruising early on and the Hens broke through in the bottom of the third. Max Burt and Trei Cruz walked with one out, and sent the Bats back to their bullpen. The new reliever walked James Outman and Max Anderson both, forcing in a run. Jace Jung lifted a sacrifice fly to right to plate Cruz, and it was 2-0 Hens.

File allowed a solo shot in the fifth, but in the bottom half, Jung doubled in Cruz to make it 3-1 Hens.

File wrapped up his day in the sixth, and in the bottom of the seventh, Cruz led off with a single. Outman grounded into a force of Cruz, but Max Anderson singled, and Jung doubled in both runners to make it 5-1.

Enmanuel de Jesus handled the seventh and eighth without much issue. Yilber Diaz walked two and struck out one in closing out the ninth. Hopefully he can get his control dialed in this offseason.

Jung: 2-3, 4 RBI, 2 2B

Cruz: 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB

Anderson: 1-3, R, RBI, BB

File (W, 7-1): 6.0 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: The Hens had won six of their last eighth, and are up 3-0 in this series heading into a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Friday in Toledo.

If two teams in the bottom of their respective divisions play a game of baseball, does it really happen? Sorry, that California air is really getting to me. Just kidding, I’m not in California.

The Minnesota Twins are there in Anaheim taking on the “Los Angeles” Angels. Stop me if you’ve heard this, but the team facing Minnesota scored a few runs in the first inning. This time it was off of starter Taj Bradley, albeit not really entirely all his fault. Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but the Twins defense kinda played a part. Bradley walked Mike Trout with one out. That’s Bradley’s fault. Then someone named Wade Meckler hit a grounder to someone named Ben Ross and the grounder ate him up and couldn’t get the out. Moisés Ballesteros brought in Trout with an RBI single. Denzer Guzman (not sure on the relation to Twins great Cristian Guzman) singled to left field and the throw in did not go directly to second base to get Ballesteros at second, but according to the radio, it should’ve and could’ve gotten him for a second out. After a strikeout of Josh Lowe, Oswald Peraza drove his hit to right field, bringing in Ballesteros. That’s a 3-0 lead after the first inning for the Angels.

After that, it was goose eggs through seven. Rookie Walbert Ureña held the Twins to four hits across his seven innings of work, striking out nine batters while walking none. Bradley settled down to turn in seven frames as well, allowing only two more hits and notching nine strikeouts, raising his K total to 199 on the year.

Minnesota batters did claw back one run in the eighth. On two consecutive pitches to lead off the inning, Walker Jenkins singled to center and Ben Ross got his first major-league hit – a double – off of bullpen arm Luke Murphy. After striking out Luke Keaschall, former Twins player-turned-manager Kurt Suzuki turned to Tayler Saucedo. Brooks Lee hit a sac fly, allowing Jenkins to tag up and touch home from third.

Ben Joyce came in for the ninth to attempt to close the door on Minnesota. Victor Caratini hit a two-out single, setting up newly-hot Jenkins. And Jenkins did a hot thing: hit a homer to tie the game. Ross did a not-hot thing and struck out to keep it a tied game at three runs apiece.

A depleted bullpen was put to work tonight for the Twins. Andrew Morris pitched a clean eighth while A. J. Minter, who pitched last night, was given the ninth. After striking out two batters, he gave up an almost-home-run double to Josh Lowe. Derek Shelton pulled him in favor of Jeff Hoffman. An intentional walk to Adam Frazier put runners on first and second and a double-steal during a Jose Siri at-bat put both runners in scoring position and took the force play off the books. But no worries, as Hoffman got Siri out on strikes to take the game into extras.

The tenth inning had Manfred Mann’s Earth Band participant Ben Ross on second base with Blake Weiman pitching for the Halos; Keaschall singled him over to third while Lee hit an RBI single to untie the baby. Kody Clemens dropped a sac bunt to move the runners to second and third. A Josh Bell pop-out and an intentional walk to pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers brought up Royce Lewis with the bases juiced. However, he made the decision to strike out on four pitches.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: the bullpen blew it. Yoendrys Gomez, who got tagged with the blown save yesterday, was tabbed to take the bottom of the tenth with Jose Siri joining Manfred Mann’s Earth Band at second base for the Angels. A flyout and a walk set up runners on the corners for Trout, who singled in Siri to tie the game at four runs. Kody Funderburk was brought in to face Meckler, which resulted in a single to walk-off the game, 5-4.

These two teams meet up again tomorrow – same time (838p Central), same place (Angel Stadium) – for the second game of this four-game set. Connor Prielipp (5-7, 5.24 ERA) is listed as the starter for Minnesota while Grayson Rodriguez (4-7, 6.10 ERA) goes for Anaheim.

Also, this is my last game thread and recap for the season, so I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for joining in and making this fun as always!

W: Blake Weiman (1-1)
L: Yoendrys Gomez (2-4)

STUDS

• Walker Jenkins: 3-4, game-tying HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
• Brooks Lee: 2-4, 2 RBI

duds

• Royce Lewis: 0-5, 4 K

COTG

Prester John (no relation to me, or at least I don’t think so) willed Jenkins out of his slump.

This is why we watch! Trevor Story’s season looked dead and buried both three months and three weeks ago. He’s battled injury, surgery, rehab, way too many strikeouts, and growing chatter from knuckleheads like me who have repeatedly questioned if he even belongs back in this lineup.

Well tonight, he came to the plate with the Sox down 3-1 in the eighth and on the verge of getting swept. He was facing a tough reliever in Jacob Latz, a Texas team that was 63-1 when leading after seven innings, and the weight of his team going a combined 0-17 with runners in scoring position in the series up to that point.

Then he did this:

As somebody that’s been leading the “Trevor Story is cooked ” charges, I love this so much! Nothing can humble and amaze quite like baseball, and after months of hard work, grinding behind the scenes, and having to deal with all the noise, Story smashed a 108mph line drive home run not only in the face of Latz and Texas’ playoff hopes, but also in the face of all those who have been doubting him for weeks (hand raised).

It’s just one game, and the real test doesn’t start until the 29th, but boy did this have to feel incredible for Story who hadn’t gone deep since May 13th. To do it in that moment, in his home town, and against the backdrop of everything that’s happened this year is just so perfectly baseball. It’s why we love this game so much, and why people like Story are willing to put in the work behind the scenes for months on end to get the chance to do something amazing like that.

I know some of you might not believe it after what I’ve written about him in recent weeks, but I truly am very happy for Story! He deserves all the credit tonight!

Oh, and in addition to Story’s game changing three-run homer, he followed that up by starting double plays on defense to end both the eighth and ninth:

Baseball really is the best!

Studs

Trevor Story: If I didn’t put him here, I’d have to legally resign from Over The Monster.

Wilyer Abreu: He looked a little better tonight with a sharp single in the fourth and a walk that turned into a run on Story’s three-run shot.

The bullpen: The comeback wouldn’t be complete without the pen holding it down, and with Aroldis Chapman unavailable with lat tightness, Wyatt Olds, Alec Gamboa, and Garrett Whitlock combined to go 2.2 scoreless innings.

Duds

Only one dud tonight, and that’s me given my recent stance on Story’s playing time. The crow is delicious, and I hope it remains on the menu well into October!

One other important note

Just before Story’s home run, Willson Contreras was hit in the hand by a pitch and had to leave the game. The good news is x-rays were negative, but given x-rays were also negative after Curtis Mead got hit in July, I’m not going to be celebrating this one until we get further confirmation.

Play of the game:

Was there ever any doubt it would be Story’s home run? Here’s the game changing swing one more time.

Iowa second baseman Hayden Cantrelle was activated off the Development List

Iowa outfielder Greg Jones went on the injured list.

The Midwest League postseason All-Star Team was announces and two South Bend Cubs were named to the team. Josiah Hartshorn was the team’s first baseman and Jackson Brockett was named as one of two relievers.

Hartshorn hit .297/.405/.560 with 18 home runs and 12 steals in 83 games for South Bend.

Brockett made 17 appearances for South Bend and was 7-2 with a 1.79 ERA and three saves in 50.1 innings. He struck out 54 and walked just 12 in that span.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs calmed the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals), 3-2.

Starter Connor Noland absolutely dominated the Storm Chasers over five innings, allowing no runs and no hits. Noland struck out six and walked two.

Jordan Wicks relieved Noland in the sixth and gave up a solo home run to the first batter he faced. Wicks’ final line was two runs on five hits over 2.2 innings. He struck out two and walked one.

Gabe Klobostis retired the side in order in the ninth inning for the save. Klobostis struck out one.

The I-Cubs managed just four hits tonight, but three of them were the first three batters of the fourth inning, which led to three runs. Catcher Owen Ayers doubled, first baseman Kevin Alcántara singles and then left fielder Chas McCormick doubled them both home. McCormick would come around to score later in the inning on a Jordan Nwogu sac fly.

Ayers went 1 for 4 with the double. Alcántara was 1 for 4. McCormick went 1 for 4 with the double.

McCormick’s two-run double.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were blasted by the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), 13-3. The Trash Pandas win the best-of-three Division Series two games to none and the Smokies season is now over.

This game was over early as Rocket City scored two runs in the second, four in the third and three in the fourth, giving them an early 9-0 lead. Brody McCullough started and took the loss. McCullough allowed five runs on five hits over 2.1 innings. Two of the five runs were unearned. McCullough did strike out six and he walked no one.

Center fielder Kane Kepley went 2 for 3 with a walk, a double and an RBI triple in the bottom of the ninth. Kepley also scored one run.

Catcher Ariel Armas was 2 for 3 with a walk. He had an RBI single in the sixth inning.

Shortstop Karson Simas was 2 for 3 with a walk. He scored on Kepley’s triple.

Kepley’s triple [VIDEO]

The result of Thursday's series opener against the Phillies wasn't on the minds of the Mets. All they could think about was the health of Jared Young.

The first baseman took a knee from Nolan McLean on a dribbler down the first base line, which left Young motionless on the ground for a few moments before he was carted away. 

Interim manager Andy Green gave a positive update on Young's condition, saying he was responsive and doing well in the hospital. He underwent CT scans and the results came back negative, but the Mets skipper could not understate how he felt in that moment.

“It was really scary. Since he’s got to the hospital, he’s had a CT scan and the results have come back negative," Green said. "Still experiencing real concussion symptoms right now. Likely avoided the scariest outcome. It was a terrifying moment on the baseball field."

Green said his thoughts immediately go to Young's family and teammates.

“When you see a collision like that and you get out there quick, and there’s not much going on, those are very scary moments," Green said. "Thankful he’s showing really good signs right now and doing well at the hospital. Thankful for the paramedics and everybody that came on the field so quickly for taking care of him. Thoughts and prayers to Julia and the rest of his family."

McLean was not available to the media following the game, but Green said the young right-hander was shaken by the play. 

"Knew it was a really bad collision. Still was willing to go back out the next inning," Green said of McLean. "Didn’t feel that was in his best interest at that point in time. Probably should have made a better position to not let him get the next hitter.

"He was still strong enough to do it and got back out there and did it. He’s a heck of a person. He’s a great competitor. But the humanity hit him pretty hard there too."

McLean said he was capable of pitching both mentally and physically. Once he got on the mound and took some warm-up throws, he felt good enough and struck out Garrett Stubbs to get through the sixth. 

"It’s scary to see one of our brothers, one of the most respected and loved teammates that we have here, like that," Francisco Lindor said. "And then seeing another great teammate say, ‘man this is not good. I hit him with my knee.'  Life is bigger than this game, for sure. Seeing him not reacting and the trainer holding his neck. It's scary. It's a scary moment. You can only think about how quick life can get out of his hands. You think about his family and everyone else here. Thoughts and prayers to him and his family...Tough moment. It's scary. Respect for Nolan to gather himself and finish the inning." 

Young, 31, had become the everyday first baseman with his play this season. In 102 games this season, he slashed .268/.332/.431 (.764 OPS) and became a fixture in the lineup and in the clubhouse.

How Young's teammates speak about him and the somber atmosphere after the game show how much they respect and care for Young. 

"He’s a guy who is always happy, is the same person no matter what," Lindor said of Young. "He posts up whether he’s playing or not. He’s there, he’s consistent. He’s somebody we all respect and appreciate and have love for him. He’s been a big part of our team this whole year. Probably one of the better hitters on our team. Can only imagine what he is going through right now and his family as well."

The Los Angeles Angels remain in search of a permanent general manager after the firing of Perry Minasian on June 26.

The organization is one of three, as of Sept. 17, looking for a new lead front-office official, along with the Athletics and Houston Astros.

According to a report from Yahoo Sports, the Angels may have become a lot more desirable following the agreement that will see Arte Moreno sell the team to Stan Kroenke, who also owns the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, among other teams. The franchise is expected to be sold for a record $4 billion.

"The Angels job just shot to the top of everybody's list," one American League general manager told Yahoo Sports. "That owner with those resources and an empty canvas — every executive not tied down is gonna want that job and should!"

With the fan base hungry to have a winner back in Anaheim and a new owner who's won championships in multiple sports at the top, the Angels could be appealing.

There had been a vocal group of fans expressing their frustration at home games, the group sitting in the upper deck shirtless, waving their shirts and asking for Moreno to sell the team. He finally did.

John Mozeliak was named the team's "Baseball Operations Consultant" and interim general manager.

Mozeliak had spent 30 years with the St. Louis Cardinals, including 18 as the head of the club's baseball operations, but he was not expected to be the full-time replacement as general manager upon his hiring.

Who could Angels consider for general manager role?

Tampa Bay Rays senior advisor Jon Daniels and Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes received the most votes as part of a Yahoo Sports survey asking 24 MLB executives to name potential general manager candidates they would have on a short list.

Dodgers' special advisor Farhan Zaidi also received a vote.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who will be next Angels GM? Job viewed as more desirable after sale

The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Boston Red Sox scored four runs.

Well that one stings.

Despite the laundry list of things wrong with the club this season, the Rangers have been dang near perfect when leading late in games. Most of the reason for that is because Jacob Latz has also been dang near perfect. Tonight, with a 3-0 lead for much of the game, and a 3-1 lead in the eighth, the Rangers tried to get six outs out of Latz again after Jakob “Judas” Junis allowed two to reach to start the inning.

Latz couldn’t do what he’s done all year as he allowed a back-breaking three-run home run to local boy Trevor Story to erase Texas’ evening-long lead. That disaster caused the Rangers to miss their shot at a revitalizing sweep and a return above .500 for the first time since early August.

I guess the good news is there’s still time but Texas is back to essentially being two games behind Houston in the AL West.

Player of the Game: I suppose I’ll nominate Cody Bradford for making use of an opener before successfully piggybacking for the bulk of the evening. Bradford worked through 4 1/3 innings of scoreless ball against the AL’s top Wild Card holders. The former Baylor Bear gave up just three hits and walked one while striking out three Red Sox.

The Rangers were perhaps eyeing Nathan Eovaldi to take Bradford’s spot in the rotation, but with Eovaldi coming through with some relief heroics last night, they turned to Bradford again tonight and he did his job before the bullpen collapse.

Up Next: It’s out of the frying pan into the fire for the Rangers as they open up a series against a fellow AL playoff hopeful with RHP Kumar Rocker expected to start for Texas the opener against RHP Dylan Cease for Toronto.

The Friday night first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and you’ll find it on the Rangers Sports Network.

The White Sox (78-75) pulled through with an excellent pitching performance, as the Tigers (72-81) finished 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. As a result, despite quite a few high-leverage moments down the stretch, the South Siders prevailed by a score of 3-1.

Tigers starting pitcher Framber Valdez, 32, ran into trouble in the bottom of the first. Chase Meidroth led off for the South Siders with a tricky grounder that third baseman Kevin McGonigle did not field cleanly. Meidroth ended up with an infield single to set the stage for what turned out to be a big inning. Tommy Pham drew a four-pitch walk, so the White Sox had runners on first and second with no outs. Miguel Vargas struck out looking at a 3-2 cutter right on the upper-inside corner, and Randal Grichuk grounded into a force out. With runners at the corners and two outs, Munetaka Murakami stepped up to the plate. The first pitch from Valdez to Murakami was a sinker that caught too much of the plate, and Murakami did not miss it. Murakami has been cold since mid-August, entering this game with a .095/.252/.168 slash line from August 19 through September 16. However, Murakami changed that trend in a big way with a timely,423-foot three-run homer to center. Suddenly, the White Sox had an early 3-0 lead.

MUNE SENDS ONE 423 FEET! 😤 pic.twitter.com/r7eBANAUuB

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 17, 2026

Erick Fedde, 33, started on the mound for the South Siders, and overall, his evening went smoothly. Fedde got off to a fantastic start by retiring the first six batters he faced. Fedde’s third inning was not as easy, but even then, he limited the damage. Fedde hit Max Clark to open the inning, and Josh Peck singled to put two on with no outs. Javier Báez struck out, but McGonigle walked to load the bases with only one away. From there, Fedde got Gleyber Torres to hit a soft grounder to Vargas, who stepped on third for the force out. One run scored, but the White Sox still had a 3-1 lead. With runners on first and second with two outs, Fedde threw a 3-2 sweeper that was located very nicely at the knees, but Dillon Dingler hit a sharp liner toward shortstop. However, Luisangel Acuña was in the right place at the right time, and he made the catch to end the inning.

With the score still 3-1 in the top of the fifth, Fedde remained on the mound to open the inning. Fedde retired the first two batters of the inning, but the Tigers did not go down easily. Torres hit a deep drive to left that hit the middle of the wall, only a few feet from being a solo homer. However, the park held it, and Randal Grichuk made an excellent, barehanded play to quickly retrieve the ball and hold Torres to a long single.

That play by Grichuk turned out to be impactful, as Dingler hit a sharp liner to left for a double. Once again, Grichuk got it in quickly, and Torres was unable to score. Had Torres started that play on second, he surely would have scored on Dingler’s double, but instead, the Tigers had runners on second and third with two outs. At that point, Bryan Hudson replaced Fedde on the mound to face Riley Greene in a high-leverage spot. On a 2-2 pitch, Hudson got Greene to chase a low sweeper to end the threat. That closed the book on Fedde’s stat line, which was 4 2/3 innings, one run, four hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.

Spencer Torkelson led off the sixth for the Tigers, and he lined a fastball from Hudson toward the left field corner. Torkelson headed to second base, which he normally would have made it to safely, but once again, Grichuk came up big on defense. Grichuk fired a strike to second to retire Torkelson on another great play.

🤯 pic.twitter.com/sC4oQR8Usn

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 18, 2026

In the seventh, with the score still 3-1, Jordan Hicks took over on the mound and struck out the first two batters he faced. The second of those batters was Báez, and that was his third looking strikeout of the game, the first time that has happened in his career. However, McGonigle extended the inning with a single, and Torres walked, prompting a pitching change, as Grant Taylor took over for Hicks. Dingler hit a sharp grounder, but Acuña was there to make the play and end the threat.

Taylor remained on the mound in the eighth, and he retired the first two batters of the inning before issuing a walk to Brett Callahan. That extended the inning for Clark, who hit a tricky grounder, and he narrowly beat the throw to first for an infield single. Surprisingly, though, Callahan tried advancing to third. Murakami spotted this and made an accurate throw over, but Callahan was initially ruled safe. The White Sox challenged the play, and it was about as close as it could have been, but the call was overturned. Just like that, the Tigers walked away empty-handed again.

In the eighth, the White Sox had an opportunity to pick up an insurance run when Murakami tripled down the right field line to record his first career three-bagger. Murakami had the only two extra-base hits of the game for the White Sox. Murakami also picked up the only clutch hit, as the South Siders finished 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. After his triple, the South Siders failed to capitalize, so it was up to the bullpen to protect a two-run lead entering the ninth.

Taylor returned to the mound to open the ninth in an uncharacteristically long appearance for him. Taylor got Peck to fly out on the first pitch of the inning, but the White Sox were not out of the woods yet. Taylor initially got a friendly strike call on a 3-2 pitch to pinch-hitter Colt Keith. However, ABS showed that the pitch narrowly missed, so Keith reached base, and the potential tying run came to the plate. McGonigle hit a soft liner that landed in front of Acuña, who had an easy play at second base, even after a bobble. Since Keith had to wait and see if Acuña would make the catch, he got a late start on his journey to second. Instead, Acuña made the throw to first, which was late. That brought Torres to the plate with two on and no outs, but Taylor locked in and got a ground ball to third. Vargas tagged Keith, who unwisely ran into an out, and Vargas threw to first in time to retire Torres to wrap it up.

The White Sox are back in first place, as they have the same record as the Guardians (78-75), and the South Siders have the tiebreaker. The next game is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. CT on Friday. The probable starters are David Sandlin (5.64 ERA, 5.04 FIP, 0.1 fWAR in 30 1/3 innings) and Andrew Sears (5.40 ERA, 4.18 FIP, 0.1 fWAR in 16 2/3 innings). As usual, CHSN will televise the game, and ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM will have the radio coverage. We hope to see you then.

MVP
Munetaka Murakami (1B): 2-for-4, HR, 3B, 3 RBI, 0.23 WPA

Runners-Up
Grant Taylor (RHRP): 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 0.21 WPA
Bryan Hudson (LHRP): 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 0.14 WPA
Erick Fedde (RHSP): 4 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 0.10 WPA
Brenton Doyle (CF): 2-for-4, stolen base, 0.02 WPA

Cold Cat
Braden Montgomery (RF): 0-for-3, K, -0.06 WPA

Runners-Up
Luisangel Acuña (SS): 0-for-3, K, -0.02 WPA
Jake Rogers (C): 0-for-3, BB, 2 K, -0.01 WPA
Miguel Vargas (3B): 0-for-3, BB, K, -0.05 WPA

The final few weeks of the baseball season usually sees fans and the teams they root for in 2 boats, 1 boat was sunk weeks if not months ago and has everyone looking forward to the future and what they can possibly get excited about in the offseason, the other boat has holes in it and the fans inside are using whatever they can to scoop out whatever water is pouring in hopes that they can stay afloat just enough to reach the finish line and make it to October and get to play postseason ball. 

All fans (whether our hearts and blood pressure agree or not) would prefer to be in the second boat 10 times out of 10 and that’s exactly where the Diamondbacks find themselves as they continue to paddle their way towards a Wild Card birth, but after a series loss to the Texas Rangers that added more leaks to the Snakes boat they find themselves running out of buckets to scoop out the water that is rapidly filling up their ship.

Dead Fish

With the San Diego Padres on a winning streak that seemed like it might never end, the Diamondbacks found themselves with little to no room for error going into this 3 game series against the Miami Marlins and they would need the offense to do whatever it can to get out of the rut they seem to have been in the last few weeks.

Mondays up and down roller coaster of events that had us ready to jump head first off the 3rd deck as the Snakes entered the 9th inning down by just a run and looking like they would drop to 3.5 games back of San DIego, but the heroics of Corbin Carroll and his walk-off 2-Run blast had the indoor skydiving event postponed to another day and gave us hope that maybe Corbin and the rest of this offense found the spark they needed to get hot at just the right time and go on a run to end the season. Sadly that was not the reality that we would be treated to for the following 2 days.

The next 2 days were full of even more drama and even more of the same offensive struggles that have seemed to plague this squad and us fans for what feels like an eternity, as a heartbreaking loss in extras, a game that the Diamondbacks had nearly every opportunity to cash in and get a crucial win, to a 4-3 loss in the series finale that ended with Jordan Lawler getting thrown out on a steal attempt with Ketel Marte at the plate representing the winning run brought more misery and pain to fans in attendance and those watching at home.

Brandon and I aired out our frustrations with this teams lack of clutch hitting (yet again) and just how much this series loss has put them back in the position of begging other teams to beat the Teams ahead of them and give them as much assistance as they can ask for in getting to October and with the Dbacks having an even tougher opponent coming to town for the final homestand of the 2026 campaign, its leaving both of us with little optimism heading into their final 9 games.

“From You, 25 Years Ago”

WIsh a gut wrenching series loss to the Marlins in the rear view mirror, Brandon and I looked ahead at the matchups in store for the Snakes in their final 3 home games of the year as the Diamondbacks would be welcoming the New York Yankees into town and celebrating the 25th anniversary of the greatest fall classic that has ever been played.

The two of us both had equal levels of excitement for the festivities in store as it’s always fun to reminisce on the good times that was the 2001 World Series and getting to see so many heroes and legends from that year’s roster, our excitement for this series ended there once we looked at who would be toeing the rubber for the Evil Empire with 3 really tough right handed starters scheduled for New York in Gerrit Cole, Cam Schlittler (AL Cy Young favorite by the way) and Will Warren.

Brandon brought up that this teams has not only struggled to get anything going against opposing starting pitchers as of late, but right handed pitching has given them the most trouble all year as they have the 2nd worst OPS against right handed pitching in all of Major League Baseball with a .689 mark having them ahead of only the Angels and their .676 OPS. 

With the Diamondbacks being a full 4 games back of San Diego heading into Friday, the snakes can not afford any more setbacks and have to do anything and everything in their power to at least win 2 of 3 from New York or even somehow sweep them, but even that might not be enough to help them with the way the Padres have been playing.

The Mets lost to the Phillies tonight 3-0, but the loss paled in comparison to the frightening collision between Nolan McLean and Jared Young that left Young crumpled on the field before being removed by EMS on a backboard. He was taken to the hospital, and the Mets have confirmed that he has feeling in, and full use of, his extremities. Nevertheless, the accident was an abrupt reminder of the very human side of the game and bigger priorities we all share.

With two outs at the top of the first inning, Bryce Harper knocked a ground ball into center field for a single. McLean walked Luis Arraez on four pitches, but the scoring threat ended when Alec Bohm grounded into a force out for the third out. At the bottom of the inning, Juan Soto walked with one out, but was picked off by Aaron Nola, and Bo Bichette then struck out for the third out.

Bryson Stott singled on an infield hit to lead off the second inning, but the top of the inning ended when Justin Crawford grounded into a double play. Nola retired the Mets’ batters in order in the bottom of the second, and the score remained 0-0 through the first two innings. McLean and Nola both worked 1-2-3 innings in the third. Harper socked a fly ball single into right field to lead off the fourth inning, but was stranded there when McLean retired the next three batters in order. Francisco Lindor bunted, but grounded out to lead off the bottom of the inning. Soto drew another walk, but unfortunately Bichette grounded into a double play to end the inning. The score was still 0-0.

At the top of the fifth, Brandon Marsh smacked a fly ball into right field in front of multiple defenders, reaching first base in the process. Crawford laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved Marsh to second base, and Garrett Stubbs grounded out, allowing Marsh to reach third. McLean then walked Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to load the bases. Harper initially was ruled to have grounded into a force out at second base, but the Phillies challenged the ruling, and it was overturned. Instead, it was an RBI hit, and the Phillies scored the first run of the game. The Mets again went down in order at the bottom of the fifth inning, and the score was Phillies 1, Mets 0.

The top of the sixth inning started inauspiciously. Bohm hit an infield single to third base and reached second on a sac bunt by Stott. Marsh flied out to Ewing in center field for the second out. And then it took some time to understand what happened next. Crawford dribbled a hit up the first-base line. McLean ran to cover and grab the ball, but Young seemed to realize that the ball was close to him as well and stretched to grab it off the ground. The ensuing collision between the two left Young on the ground for several minutes as EMS used the backboard. McLean was deeply shaken, yet he assured Andy Green that he was going to finish the inning. He struck out the next batter for the third out.

At the bottom of the sixth inning, Brett Baty walked with one out, and Nick Morabito broke up Nola’s no-hitter with a single to left field. However, Lindor grounded into a double play to end the sixth inning. Tobias Myers replaced McLean at the top of the seventh inning. He gave up a walk to Turner, who reached third base on a throwing error by Francisco Alvarez. Alvarez had been attempting to catch Turner stealing at first base. Harper walked as well, and Arraez drove in Turner on a sacrifice fly. At the bottom of the seventh, Carson Benge slapped a one-out single into center field. Mark Vientos, who had come in for Young, followed by lining a single into center field as well. A.J. Ewing grounded out to end the seventh inning with the runners stranded, though, and the score was Phillies 2, Mets 0.

Stott led off the eighth inning with a double into right field that Benge could not quite get his glove on, and Brandon Marsh laid down yet another sacrifice bunt to get Stott to third. Crawford scored Stott on the sac fly. Jonathan Bowlan replaced Aaron Nola in the bottom of the eighth inning and walked Baty with one out. However, he was experiencing a lower body injury issue, and Tim Mayza replaced him after two outs, during Lindor’s at-bat. Mayza walked Lindor, but Soto grounded out to end the eighth, and the score was now Phillies 3, Mets 0.

Austin Warren replaced Myers at the top of the ninth inning and retired the Phillies batters in order. Phillies’ closer Jhoan Duran came out for the bottom of the ninth. Bichette swatted a line drive into center field for a single, but Duran retired the next three batters to end the game 3-o.

Game two of the series is tomorrow at 7:15 PM. Zac Thornton will pitch for the Mets against TBD for the Phillies.

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What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Nolan McLean, +17% WPA
Big Mets loser: Francisco Lindor, -18% WPA
Mets pitchers: +4% WPA
Mets hitters: -54% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Nick Morabito single, 6.3% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Francisco Lindor grounds into double play, -15.5% WPA

Nolan McLean’s 30th start of the season was unlike any other. 

As he was cruising through another stellar outing, he suddenly was involved in a frightening collision with Jared Young at first base in the Mets 3-0 loss to the Phillies on Thursday at Citi Field. 

On a Justin Crawford grounder, McLean inadvertently kneed the first baseman in the head as both players tried to field the ball with two outs in the top of the sixth. 

The impact into the side of his head knocked Young unconscious, and he ended up in the hospital. 

McLean managed to stay in the game and retired Garrett Stubbs on a strikeout to end the sixth inning. 

Interim manager Andy Green said McLean was “shaken” after the play. 

“He knew it was a really bad collision and still was willing to go back out the next inning,” Green said. 

Green regretted even letting McLean finish the sixth. 

“He was still strong enough to do it,’’ Green said. “He’s a heck of a person [and] a great competitor. I think the humanity [of the situation] hit him pretty hard right there.” 

It was an unfortunate turn in what’s been an outstanding rookie season for McLean, who had hoped to be part of a playoff run. 

But those plans ended a while ago and even McLean’s standout season wasn’t enough to get the Mets past their awful start. 

Still, as they look to the future and believe they’ve found some good young outfielders in Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, they’re also confident McLean can front a rotation that should also include pitchers with solid futures ahead of them like Christian Scott and lefty Zac Thornton. 

None is more important than McLean. 

No rookie National League pitcher has made more starts than McLean in 2026 and he also has a league among rookies with 172 ²/₃ innings and 189 strikeouts. 

As Green noted before the game, it’s not enough for McLean, who is scheduled to make one more start on the road before the end of the year. 

“We’re encouraged he could handle that workload and demonstrate that durability,’’ Green said. “Frankly, he pushed back on me when we didn’t give him a start [Wednesday on four days’ rest]. He could do math. … I like the fact he pushed back on me and wanted to pitch. I also liked that he understood what we were solving for late in the season and there wasn’t a reason to pitch on four days.” 

Instead, McLean will likely have to settle for one more in Texas on Wednesday. 

“He’ll take the ball every chance he gets,” Sean Manaea said. “He wants to go deep into games and eat up innings. And he puts in the work every day. For his first full season [in the majors], it’s pretty incredible.” 

For the Mets to make sure they aren’t in a similar situation down the stretch in the future, McLean will have to build on what he’s done. 

At 25, that isn’t far-fetched. 

As Green noted, McLean also took on the added pressure of pitching in the World Baseball Classic before the season. McLean pitched 7 ²/₃ innings in the tournament before spring training was over, which Green believes will serve him well in the future. 

“He can concoct a scenario in his head that he’s “got to get to 220 innings because that’s what I want to do the rest of my career.’ You love that about him and the way he’s wired and the way he wants to compete.” 

Devin Williams, on the injured list with a right shoulder strain, threw live batting practice Thursday and said he felt good. 

If that stays the case after he recovers Friday, Green said Williams could be in a game Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, when the team is in Texas. 

Green said Williams wants to “pitch in games as quickly as possible. Our [goal] is to ensure he’s as healthy as possible before he pitches in games. We’re trying to reconcile those two things.” 

Green added that if Williams gets back, the team isn’t sure if he’ll pitch in the ninth inning.

Obviously, the title can seem a bit misleading when you account for this being a Phillies-centric website for Phillies fans. This isn’t about the Phillies winning or how.

New York Mets first baseman Jared Young collided headfirst into pitcher Nolan McLean’s knee and went down cold for several minutes. The stretcher came out immediately and eventually Young was able to open his eyes and give a thumbs up as he was being carted off the field. The Mets announced later that Young had feeling in his extremities and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.

There is no good transition for this, but the game had been going and ended up finishing so there is a recap needed for it.

The Phillies worked a few baserunners over the first four innings of the night but with little success when it mattered. With two outs in the first, Bryce Harper took a first pitch sinker right up the middle for a single, followed by a Luis Arraez walk to put runners on first and second. On the next pitch, Alec Bohm hit a soft groundball to Jared Young that ended the Phillies threat. In the second, Bryson Stott led the inning off with a single, but a Justin Crawford double play ended the inning.

It wasn’t until the fifth inning where the Phillies were able to string things together. Brandon Marsh snapped an 0 for 15 with a bloop single in front of Carson Benge for a leadoff it. After a Justin Crawford sacrifice bunt and Garrett Stubbs groundout, the top of the Phillies order went to work.

Kyle Schwarber was able to work a five-pitch walk. Then, Trea Turner saw seven pitches against McLean, fouling off a few comeback sinkers while being able to foul a high and inside fastball with two strikes. He did just enough and McLean did not have enough command and walked him on an uncompetitive sinker.

Bryce Harper’s at bat was not impressive, hitting a soft groundball on a sinker off the plate but Turner’s speed beat Lindor’s toss to second base and the Phillies took a 1-0 lead.

It was enough for Aaron Nola, who continues to run hot with the Phillies needing it most. Even with slightly diminished velocity, he worked quickly with curveballs, sinkers, and changeups to keep the Mets from recording a hit for five and a third straight innings.

The final two innings of Nola’s seven-inning shutout were his toughest. In the sixth, it was the bottom of the Mets order trying to give a veteran team some life in a meaningless September. Brett Baty fouled three straight full-count off-speed pitches from Nola to work a walk on the tenth pitch of the at bat.

After falling behind 3-1 to Nick Morabito, Nola threw a well-located curveball for a strike but Morabito slapped a single past Trea Turner to put runners on first and second with one out.

On what ended up being a very frustrating night for Francisco Lindor, he grounded out to Luis Arraez for an inning ending double play.

In the top of the 7th, the Phillies once again played small ball. Trea Turner worked a one-out walk, then reached third base when Francisco Alvarez decided to try and back-pick him and threw the ball well past Mark Vientos’s first base glove. After a Harper walk, Luis Arraez hit a flyball to center field that doubled the Phillies lead to two.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Mets tried starting a two out rally with back-to-back singles from Carson Benge and Mark Vientos but rookie center fielder AJ Ewing got on top of a cutter and grounded out to Trea Turner.

During both the sixth and seventh innings, Don Mattingly warmed up Alex McFarlane twice but he never appeared. With him probably being down for the rest of the game, Mattingly had Jonathan Bowlan get up and come in for the 8th.

Bowlan showed some life that inning, his fastball velocity was back to the 97+ range he had before September started and he struck out Francisco Alvarez and Nick Morabito on well-placed fastballs, albeit with a Brett Baty walk in-between.

In the middle of a battle with Francisco Lindor, Bowlan threw a slider and immediately started grabbing at his side. He threw one more pitch, a 93 mph fastball that had no finish and had to exit the game immediately. The Phillies later said he was removed with right groin tightness.

Tim Mayza entered, likely because Alex McFarlane warmed up twice before, and walked Francisco Lindor on his first two pitches, resuming the battle. On his first pitch to Juan Soto, Mayza was able to get a groundball to first that ended the Mets best chance of coming back.

With an insurance run in the ninth and a Jhoan Duran save, the Phillies have the same record as the Chicago Cubs and are one game up on the San Diego Padres for the fifth seed.

But still, it’s not all quite good news. Who knows exactly what happened with Jonathan Bowlan and it’s fair to point out his September issues but Bowlan has been a key fixture in the late innings for the Phillies bullpen all season. The Phillies already put Jesus Luzardo on the injured list on Tuesday, and his status for the rest of the season is up in the air. Now they see Jonathan Bowlan have to exit. Who knows how things go there but the Phillies’ pitching staff is getting thinner and thinner.

Things went south for the Tigers in the South Side as they lost their series opener against the White Sox 3-1.

With less than two weeks left in the regular season, the Tigers opened a four-game series against the division rival White Sox in a series of games that could, surprisingly, actually matter a great deal. Despite dropping their final game against the Blue Jays earlier in the week, the Tigers had been on a red-hot run and were hoping to bring that luck back against the Sox, who have been struggling of late. To get the job done, they had Framber Valdez on the mound, up against Erick Fedde on the mound for the White Sox.

The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the top of the first. Chase Meidroth singled to start the home half, followed by a walk to Tommy Pham. If you missed the fun story from this week. Pham literally talked his way into being activated by making an elevator pitch to the team’s GM and hit a three-run homer in his first game back. Hopefully he got that out of his system for tonight. With two outs, Munetaka Murakami hit a three-run homer to put the White Sox in an early lead.

In the second, the Tigers went three-up, three-down again. In the home half… Jake Rogers apparently plays for the White Sox now? Hi Jake! He challenged a strike call, and it was a ball, giving him a leadoff walk. Three outs followed, though, putting the risk of another run to bed.

Max Clark was hit by a pitch to start the third. John Peck singled. Then, with one out, Kevin McGonigle walked to load the bases. Gleyber Torres grounded into a force out that allowed Clark to score, and Peck was out at third. The Tigers were now on the board with their first run of the night. Miguel Vargas got a one-out walk in the home half. Two outs followed, though, to leave him stranded.

Riley Greene kicked off the fourth with a single, then Spencer Torkelson walked. Two outs ended the inning with two men left on the bases, though. Brenton Doyle singled to start the bottom of the inning. Rogers struck out, but Doyle advanced to second on a passed ball by Dillon Dingler. Luisangel Acuna then reached on a fielding error by McGonigle. Braden Montgomery hit into a force out, eliminating Acuna for the second out of the inning. The Tigers got the final out of the inning and avoided any additional runs scoring.

With two outs in the top of the fifth, Torres singled. The only reason it wasn’t a double was a pretty great off-the-wall bare-handed catch by Grichuk. Dingler doubled, putting two runners in scoring position, so the White Sox dipped into their bullpen for Bryan Hudson, who got Riley Greene for the last out of the inning and cut off one of the Tigers’ best scoring opportunities of the night. Grichuk got a two-out walk in the home half, but the White Sox failed to capitalize on a baserunner.

Spencer Torkelson singled to start the sixth, but he tried to leg out a double and Grichuk once again played the spoiler, getting Torkelson out at second. It was a whopping five-pitch inning as the next two outs happened in quick succession. Valdez was done after five innings, with a final line of 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 1 HR, on 90 pitches. That’s a lot of Ks for a guy whose bread and butter is inducing contact. A decent outing for him with a few moments of frustration. Jacob Waguespack came in to replace him. Brenton Doyler singled to start the home half, then stole second. But three consecutive outs put an end to any hopes of getting another run in.

Jordan Hicks came in for the seventh and pitched as if he had never met the zone, with some truly crazy pitches. McGonigle got a two-out single, then Torres walked. A flailing Hicks was swapped for Grant Taylor, who got the final out of the inning. Ty Madden came in for the Tigers in the bottom of the inning. He got the side out in order. One play was particularly delightful as Baez seemed to literally juggle a catch, bouncing it up several times before finally getting it in his glove. Ben Malgeri has never had more fun watching someone play.

With two outs in the eighth, Brett Callahan walked, and while the Sox did challenge it, the call on the field was confirmed. Max Clark singled, which led to a fairly dramatic moment in the game as Clark easily made it safely to first, but Callahan made a break for third and initially looked safe. The White Sox challenged both safe calls, and ultimately Clark was ruled safe at first, but Callahan was out at third to end the inning. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Murakami tripled. The Tigers got the next two outs to end the inning.

Colt Keith came in to pinch-hit for Baez with one out in the ninth. Keith ended up going for two ABS challenges, losing the first but winning the second on a full count to get a free pass to first. Keith got insanely lucky as McGonigle singled to Acuna, and Acuna didn’t even make a move towards second, throwing to first instead and getting zero outs in the process. Torres then grounded into a double play, though, ending the inning and the Tigers’ chances of a rally.

Final: White Sox 3, Tigers 1