Category: MLB

Baseball has a way of humbling you, regressing your performance to the mean wherever the mean may be and however you may be skirting it. The Baseball Gods are equally jealous and impish. In other words, the other shoe always drops. Though Randy Dobnak’s peripherals and underlying stats have flashed danger throughout his Kansas City tenure, his luck ran out and his magic evaporated—on Harry Potter night at the ballpark, no less—during a 6-3 loss to the Miami Marlins.

Entering tonight, Dobnak had a 1.92 ERA but a 4.55 expected ERA. He wasn’t striking guys out, and he wasn’t allowing any home runs. Unfortunately, Dobnak gave up a pair of looong home runs. The first one was to third baseman Graham Pauley in the second inning, a two-run shot:

Dobnak wobbled through the next few innings before giving up another big ol blast to designated hitter Kyle Stowers, his 17th of the year.

Throughout all this, the Royals offense was…sleepy? Sleepy is the best way to put it, yes. Kansas City mustered all of four (4) baserunners in the first seven innings, looking like they wanted to go home from the September heat as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Dobnak gave up three consecutive hits in the seventh inning, all of which came around to score. Dobnak didn’t record an out, and was charged six earned runs.

The eighth inning, though, was an absolute hoot. First, that’s when the Royals finally scored. Josh Rojas singled and Isaac Collins walked. Carter Jensen doubled, and Bobby Witt Jr. followed it up with a near-home run that nevertheless resulted in an RBI and getting Jensen to third base.

It was there where the wheels came off. Marlins pitcher Victor Vodnik stepped awkwardly off of the mound, and was called for a balk. Jensen trotted home, and Royals had briefly scored their third run of the inning.

But I said “briefly” because the umpires convened together and reversed the balk, something that I don’t ever think I’ve seen. Manager Matt Quatraro was absolutely furious. Totally, completely furious. Q got tossed by and yet nevertheless continued to stalk second base umpire Chris Guccione around the field, unleashing his anger.

Royals Manager Matt Quatraro gets tossed after umpires reverse a run scoring balk taking away a run from the Royals. 🎥RoyalsTV pic.twitter.com/TLrWh5c41t

— Rob Collins (@RobCollinsTV) September 2, 2026

The umpires’ word is final, however. Quatraro got a hearty ovation from the crowd, but eventually trudged back to the dugout. The Royals would eventually get that third run back on a solo home run from Nick Loftin, but losing 6-3 is only barely better than losing 6-2.

Kansas City has now lost two in a row, thereby firmly demolishing whatever thin, thin possibility they had at magicking their way into the playoffs. At least Q getting tossed was neat.

Mariners 9, Red Sox 6

This game: Randy Arozarena, .12 WPA

All the other games we’ve watched this season: Carlos Vargas and Julio Rodríguez, -.02 WPA each

Game thread comment of the day:

Speaking of game threads: we have an app now! (Search “SB Nation” on your app platform of choice) And I think it makes it so much easier to participate in game threads! If you downloaded it and used it please leave some feedback in the comments here that I can pass along to my bosses.

Will Smith slots into the fifth spot in the lineup in his first game back as the Dodgers welcome the Cardinals into town.

Tonight's #Dodgers lineup vs. Cardinals: pic.twitter.com/2eYs5QTQzN

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 1, 2026

Late night in LA.

Tune in to https://t.co/asN9sHuL33 at 8:10 PM for an extended pre-game show featuring exclusive Cardinals Insider content! pic.twitter.com/cTj6RX26nh

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 1, 2026

Tuesday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Cardinals
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
• Start time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

It’s September and it feels like we’ve been waiting a lifetime for this 2026 Braves team to put everything together. Glimpses of dominant pitching and barrages of offensive power have rarely coincided for long stretches. 

After a frustrating loss to the Giants to finish out August, the Braves similarly squandered opportunities and fell to the Washington Nationals tonight by a final score of 9-5. The struggles on the road noted in our “three stats to keep in mind” article continue and two Nationals, making their MLB debuts, had a memorable night at the Braves’ expense.

It was a tough night all around, and it began with Jake Irvin getting three swinging strikeouts to start the game. AJ Smith-Shawver labored in his four innings of work. He pitched a scoreless frame in the home half of the first, but not without dramatics. CJ Abrams led off with an infield single and immediately stole second. Dylan Crews struck out before Brady House walked. The hot-hitting Daylen Lile grounded into a force out and stole a base of his own. Rookie Yohandy Morales, in his first MLB plate appearance, struck out swinging to end the threat.

Given the lead after an Ozzie Albies two-out solo shot in the second, Smith-Shawver gave it right back and then some. Ha-Seong Kim made a stellar play to get the first out before things went off the rails.

Harry Ford worked a one-out walk. A ball hit by Jorbit Vivas glanced off Matt Olson’s glove and trickled all the way into right field for a double to put runners at the corners. Jacob Young struck out swinging for out number two. Abrams’ RBI single gave the Nats the lead. Crews walked before a mound visit to get Smith-Shawver to settle in, only for Brady House to double home two more runs immediately after. Lile struck out looking, but it was 4-1 after two innings.

But even with offensive sparks Brewer Hicklen and Ha-Seong Kim (yes, you’re reading that correctly – they were 1-for-3 with a walk and 3-for-3, respectively), the Braves couldn’t take advantage of a short night for Jake Irvin and dig themselves out of the hole created early. The aforementioned eight- and nine-hole hitters had two situations in both the third and fifth where they both reached with no outs. In the third, Drake Baldwin doubled home a run to cut the deficit to 4-2. But the runners, on second and third with no outs, would be stranded after the next three went down in order. Baldwin giveth but he also taketh, because in the fifth inning with yet another two runners on with no outs situation, Jared Simpson (also making his MLB debut) got him to ground into a double play. 

The Braves gave Chicago’s Braden Montgomery a storybook MLB debut back in April, and they were kind enough to do that for Yohandy Morales tonight, who homered for his first MLB hit in the bottom of the third to make it 5-2 Nats. 

AJSS finished his four innings with six hits, five earned runs, three walks, five strikeouts, and one homer, putting his ERA above a 7. Victor Mederos pitched around a leadoff walk and two-out single in the bottom of the fifth, but otherwise kept the game there, being the only Braves reliever tonight to pitch a scoreless frame. 

The Braves had a debut of their own — Blake Burkhalter got the ball to pitch the bottom of the sixth. The 25 year old righty was understandably nervous. He gave up a single to Young, who advanced to second on a wild pitch. Abrams walked. Young got to third on a Crews lineout before coming home on a House sac fly to make it 6-2. A foul tip into Baldwin’s glove secured Burkhalter’s first MLB strikeout, which came against reigning NL Player of the Week Daylen Lile. 

Brent Suter got the seventh for Atlanta and Morales hit a leadoff double. Pinch-hitter Andrés Chaparro and Harry Ford were retired, but the latter’s groundout advanced Morales to third. He came home to score on Suter’s pickoff error. Young’s single plated another to make it 8-2 Nationals.

Irvin’s exit after four innings came with a flicker of hope we could come back against the notoriously-awful Nats bullpen. Alas, Jared Simpson no-hit the Braves in his three innings of relief in his debut.

A patented late Braves-rally-that-ultimately-falls-short came in the eighth inning where Ha-Seong Kim hit his third single of the night (!) to lead off the inning. Two force outs by Baldwin and Acuña Jr., Ronald getting to third on defensive indifference, and a wild pitch by new reliever Clayton Beeter allowed Ronald to score to make it 8-3. Matt Olson followed with a ground-rule double to center and got to trot home on Michael Harris II’s homer to left center to make it 8-5.

Mop-up man Suter stayed in for the eighth and got two outs before issuing a walk to Lile, giving up a single to Morales, and then another single to Chaparro to make it 9-5.

The Braves didn’t have that Marlin in them and Ozzie, Austin Riley, and Hicklen went down in order against Orlando Ribalta to end this nightmarish contest.

ABS challenges stayed unused in key situations. The top and heart of the order looked helpless at the plate for the majority of the game. Balls kept finding their way past our infielders to the tune of .478 BABIP (thanks, Ivan!). And thus, the Braves continue their frustrating trend of playing down to inferior opponents. 

I’ll cling to the delusion of a Kim redemption tour as a silver lining. The Braves will finish this two-game set tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 pm ET.

The St. Louis Cardinals begin a long west coast swing as they’ll take on the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday night. The Cardinals are starting Michael McGreevy while the Dodgers are expected to start LHP Eric Lauer. First pitch scheduled for 9:10pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

Quincy referred to today’s start for Gavin Williams as “season defining.” If this game is defining the rest of the season, we’ll be looking at another playoff berth for Cleveland.

The Toronto Blue Jays rolled into Cleveland with an opener for Game 1 of the three game series. Gavin Williams, coming off of his worst start of the season, came back tonight to throw one of the best starts of the season. In the fifth inning, Gavin gave up a single and a walk. A throwing error by the catcher and a wild pitch by Gavin allowed the only run, unearned, to score under Gavin’s watch. Otherwise, the Big Rig was lights out. Gavin threw a career high 13 strikeouts to the Blue Jays and only gave up two hits and a walk in his 7.0 innings of work.

Hunter Gaddis pitched the eighth, striking out one, and Matt Festa closed it out having only given up one hit.

The Cleveland Guardians scored six runs on eight hits and every run was scored via the home run ball. In the bottom of the fifth, down one, Angel Martínez drew a walk. With one out, after committing an error that gave the Blue Jays the lead, Patrick Bailey sent a fly ball to center for a two run homer.

In the bottom of the seventh, Angel Martínez got on base to lead things off again. With a single to right, Angel reached first base. Angel Genao came on as a pinch-hitter for Travis Bazzana. On his first pitch of the game, Genao launched a fly ball to the left field home run porch for another two-run home run.

Angel Martínez, after scoring twice on home runs, decided to hit one of his own in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Jo Adell singled to right and was lifted for pinch-runner Petey Halpin. Angel Martínez came on, with two outs, and hit a curveball in a high arc out to right center for the third, and final, two-run homer of the night.

Something to note, Angel Martínez fouled a ball off the top of his foot in the second inning. It took him a bit to get back into it. He, obviously, finished the game and made an great catch the following inning.

Game 2 of the series is another 6:40 PM EDT start tomorrow. Dylan Cease and Joey Cantillo will be facing off as the starting pitchers.

The Rays came away with a very satisfying win tonight. With hits across the lineup (Victor Mesa Jr. led the way with three; defensive gems across the field; and outstanding pitching (minus a few blips), this was a satisfying win.

It sure didn’t seem like we were heading to this outcome at the start of the game. Freddy Peralta, facing his former team, had a shaky first inning. He gave up a lead off home run to Francisco Lindor, and then two singles soon after. Maybe there were some emotions pitching against friends; maybe Mets players just knew what to expect from him. But he got out of the inning having given up just the one run, and then he cruised.

We didn’t have much time to wallow about the deficit, as tied the game. In the bottom of the first, Yandy doubled and then booked it around the bases to score on Junior Caminero’s single. A double play prevented the Rays from scoring further.

But Tampa Bay did get the lead in the third inning. Victor Mesa Jr., back from an IL stint, singled and moved to second on a Walls bunt, from where he scored on Ryan Vilade’s single. And they made that score 3-1 in the sixth inning, thanks to Nick Fortes, whose double drove in Simpson from first base.

Fortes advanced to third, at which point the Mets pulled the infield in so close that they could have reached out and touched the batter, Taylor Walls. Walls responded by hitting the ball in the air, and plenty deep, scoring Fortes on the sacrifice.

That brought up Diaz. In the previous at bat, Yandy had hit a deep fly to center — 379 feet to be exact — and after it was caught he stood at the batters box, staring in disbelief. Well he must have had a good think about what went wrong because in the sixth inning he hit the ball almost identically except twenty feet farther, for a solo home run.

Ryan Vilade then followed with a triple (!), which ended Sean Manaea’s night. He had pitched fairly well, but probably should have been pulled before giving Yandy another bite at that apple. At the end of six innings the Rays had a 5-1 lead.

Peralta left the game after the sixth and wow was he good. He pitched a 3-hit no-walker, with seven strikeouts and fourteen (14!) whiffs.

The Rays went with Garrett Cleavinger to pitch the seventh inning. I understand sometimes you need to let guys pitch through their problems but at this point I’d rather drink spoiled milk than watch Cleavinger on the mound. So I can’t even tell you how he managed to load the bases with just one out, but loaded they were. I guess even Kevin Cash was starting to feel queasy, so he brought in Tyler Wells to get out of the jam. Wells got out number two on a pop up to the catcher, but then walked in Mets run number two. A second infield pop up later and the inning was mercifully over.

As my colleague Darby Robinson so aptly puts it: “Every time Cash wants to use Clev he should just use the guy he’s gonna call to to clean up Clev’s mess instead.”

The Rays tacked on one more run: in the bottom of the eight inning, Mesa Jr. singled and Walls doubled to put Mesa Jr. on third base. Vilade hit a come-backer that seemingly bounced off the torso of reliever Yan. By the time Yan got a handle on the ball and tossed to the catcher, Mesa Jr. had scored run number six.

Meanwhile, Tyler Wells and Kevin Kelly treated us to a scoreless eighth and ninth inning, and the Rays were able to close out their eighty-fifth win of the season.

It was great to see the timely hitting tonight, from soft singles to loud home runs. But the Rays defense also deserves star of the game status. Junior Caminero had two very nice plays at third base, and Chandler Simpson ran down a very difficult fly ball in the corner, with other players simply make tough plays look routine.

This was one of those games where you think “yeah, this is a playoff team!” If my math is correct, the magic number to win the division is now 22.

LOS ANGELES — Blake Treinen was at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, though wasn’t activated once active roster limits expanded on September 1. The veteran right-hander checked off the usual late-stage boxes for rehabbing relievers in the last week with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Treinen pitched back-to-back outings last Wednesday and Thursday, then on Sunday pitched in multiple innings, and retired all four batters he faced.

“He had a good up-and-down the other day. For us it’s more of he’s here. We’ll see when we activate him,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. “I assume we will activate him very soon.”

Treinen last pitched for the Dodgers on June 19, sidelined since with right elbow inflammation. In seven games on a rehab assignment, Treinen had seven scoreless appearances, the first with Class-A Ontario and the last six with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

In those seven games, Treinen struck out eight of his 25 batters faced (32-percent strikeout rate) with two walks, two singles, and two hit batters. Before landing on the injured list in June, Treinen had a 3.52 ERA and 5.23 xERA in 29 games in the Dodgers bullpen, with 25 strikeouts and 10 walks in 23 innings, plus one save.

Because Treinen is on the 60-day injured list, the Dodgers will need to make a corresponding move to make room for him on the 40-man roster.

Notes

Justin Wrobleski wasthe pitcher called up on Tuesday, after getting four outs on Saturday while rehabbing in Triple-A. The plan for Wrobleski is to pitch in relief this month for the Dodgers, as that will be his likely role during the postseason.

The Dodgers plan to call up a sixth starter at some point this weekend against the Washington Nationals, because they play nine days in a row on the homestand before their next day off. Emmet Sheehan has pitched three straight excellent starts for Oklahoma City, and last pitched on Saturday, with seven strikeouts and one run allowed in 5 2/3 innings.

Gavin Stone’s 30 days of rehab are up on Friday, which means the Dodgers will need to add him back to the 40-man roster whether he’s called up or not by Saturday. Stone last pitched on August 26, with five strikeouts in four scoreless innings, and has a 1.54 ERA with 18 strikeouts against one walk in 11 2/3 innings. He is not listed to start for Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday this week. Stone is on the 60-day injured list and will require a corresponding move to be added back to the 40-man roster.

There is no date yet set for when Shohei Ohtani might next pitch in a game, but it won’t be until this weekend at the earliest. “I do stand by that nothing’s going to happen until potentially Sunday,” Roberts said, “But I do think there’s a conversation that needs to be had this week about what the outlook is, and we haven’t had that yet.”

Ben Casparius is also on the 60-day injured list with shoulder inflammation and pitched in 10 rehab games for Oklahoma City. But he last pitched on August 19, and was shut down with what Roberts called arm fatigue.

Kris Bubic, acquired by the Dodgers from the Kansas City Royals on August 3 and also on the 60-day injured list, started a rehab assignment with Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Bubic pitched a perfect inning in relief with two strikeouts and an infield popout.

Blue Jays 1 Guardians 6

The Jays had all sorts of troubles with Guardians starter Gavin Williams. Well, really just one trouble. They couldn’t hit him. Williams went seven innings and allowed just two hits and a walk with thirteen strikeouts.

Our one run was in the fourth. Kazuma Okamoto led off with a single. After Andrés Giménez struck out, Ernie Clement went to a full count and the Jays sent Okamoto (surprising me, Oka is not fast and the Jays were striking out a lot). Clement took ball four, but the Guardians threw to second anyway. The throw was well wide of second and Okamoto went to third on the play. After Myles Straw struck out (I really thought that he had to make contact or we weren’t going to score at all today) Williams threw a wild pitch to Brett Bateman, allowing Oka to score. Oka going first to home without the help of a hit wasn’t on my bingo card.

The Jays didn’t have any more luck against Guardian relievers, Hunter Gaddis and Matt Festa.

The bullpen day started off ok, for the Jays, but didn’t end well.

• Spencer Miles opened, and gave up just a two-out single in his inning.
• Ricky Tiedemann allowed a pair of walks in his inning, but no runs.
• Spencer Arrighetti pitched two excellent innings, both 3 up 3 down. But he gave up a walk and a homer run in his third inning. He ended up going 3.2 innings, giving up the two earned.
• Joe Mantiply got the last out of the sixth. But in the seventh, he gave up a single and a home run to start the inning. He went 1.1 with 2 earned, on three hits.
• Michael Lorenzen gave up two more in the eight, on another home run. As they mentioned on the broadcast, that allowed the Guardian to let their closer sit.

The Jays had three hits in total. Kirk, Guerrero, and Okamoto had one each.

Jay of the Day: Okamoto (0.13 WPA) for getting us our run.

Other Award: Arrighetti (-0.12), Mantiply (-0.11), Straw (-0.12, 0 for 2, k), Bateman (-0.10, 0 for 4, 2 k) and Lukes (-0.09, 0 for 4, 2 k).

I wasn’t expecting a sweep, but now we need to get the next two. Tomorrow Dylan Cease (9-5, 2.33) and Joey Cantillo (9-7, 3.70). Go Jays.

Welcome to September. For some teams, it’s just playing out the string of a long, disappointing season, while for others, it’s a month where every single game represents an opportunity, whether fighting for seeding, a division, or a spot in the dance at all.

After a disappointing drubbing to end August in Anaheim, the Yankees play their second straight coffee game against the lowly Angels, who might be playing with a pep in their step after learning of the merciful end of the reign of owner Arte Moreno. Personally, not great timing for that, but for a franchise who’s suffered so much with a legend who deserves so much better, good for them.

Gerrit Cole will look to get things back on track for the pitching staff, making his 18th start of the season. The former Cy Young winner will enjoy a sort of homecoming tonight, being from Newport Beach and attending UCLA, not too far from Angel Stadium. He’s been terrific coming off Tommy John surgery, pitching to a 3.19 ERA (132 ERA+) and 3.37 FIP in 98.2 innings, but surely has a sour taste in his mouth after his brilliant start last week against Houston went south in a hurry in the sixth.

On the other side is a former top prospect looking to get on track in his new bearings. Former Oriole Grayson Rodriguez will make his 16th start of the season, looking to build on consecutive strong outings. He’s been pretty rough this year after missing 2025 with injury, pitching to a 6.03 ERA (68 ERA+) and 4.68 FIP in 71.2 innings, but has allowed just one earned run in 12.2 innings across his last two starts. He dominated the Yankees in his first two career starts against them, not allowing a run in 12 total innings, but was knocked around the last time he saw them in July 2024.

G-Rod doesn’t have much going for him peripherally. He throws hard and gets good extension, but everything else is mediocre at best. He gives up a ton of hard contact in the air, struggles to get whiffs, chases, or strikeouts, and has a poor walk rate. His fastball, while sitting a firm 96, stays in the zone way too long and gets hammered, so he’ll need to lean more on his changeup against lefties and slider against righties to stay upright.

As the Yankees continue to wait patiently for the return of Aaron Judge, they’ll continue to trot out an army of lefties, eight to be exact, against a guy who allows a .912 OPS against them. It’s the first time since 1979 this has happened. Ben Rice will lead off again, followed by Cody Bellinger, Luis García Jr., and Spencer Jones. Ryan McMahon returns from the IL and bats seventh, with the lone righty being José Caballero at shortstop, batting eighth.

Zach Neto leads off for the Halos, followed by the future Hall of Famer Mike Trout and left fielder Wade Meckler. Vaughn Grissom bats cleanup after an outstanding game last night, followed by Moises Ballesteros, Christian Moore, and Josh Lowe. Former Yankee Oswald Peraza will bat eighth at third base, with Tyler Heineman rounding it out.

How to watch

Location: Angel Stadium, Anaheim, CA

First pitch: 9:38 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, ABTV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), KLAA 830, KWKW 1330 (LAA)

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

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

Cole on the mound. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/YG3VwvFKed

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 1, 2026

Rep the Halo 😇

📺: @WatchABTV
📻: @AngelsRadioKLAA | AM830 App & KWKW 1330 [Spanish] #RepTheHalo x @FBMSupplypic.twitter.com/4dFGjSiswZ

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) September 2, 2026

The Mets got stung by a familiar face as Freddy Peralta dealt six innings of one-run ball in a 6-2 loss to the Rays on Tuesday night in Tampa.

New York (62-77) had some chances but went 0-for-5 with RISP, left six men on base, struck out 11 times, and after getting three hits in the first inning, didn't manage one the rest of the night. Tampa (83-55) won its 47th home game of the season, tied for second most in baseball.

Here are the takeaways... 

- Francisco Lindor got the game started off with a bang, driving Peralta’s 3-2 hanging breaking pitch 367 feet to right for a home run, his 15th of the year. After Bo Bichette and Carson Benge singled, the Mets had the chance for a big inning with one down. But Jared Young went down swinging and Brett Baty flied out to left to spurn the Mets’ first RBI chance.

Peralta then put his former team to the sword. After allowing two men aboard, he set down 17 of the next 18 batters with six strikeouts, allowing only a hit-by-pitch, to get him through six innings on just 74 pitches (53 strikes), leaving the game with a 5-1 lead. 

- Tampa went to lefty Garrett Cleavinger out of the bullpen to start the seventh, and he walked three of the first four Mets batters he faced. With righty Tyler Wells the new pitcher, interim manager AndyGreen countered with Mark Vientos off the bench, but he popped out to the catcher in foul territory.

Lindor, who jumped on a pitch but yanked it foul and was down 1-2, worked a full-count walk for his second RBI. Juan Soto, who was hitless in his first three times up, couldn't make Tampa pay as he hit a high pop-up just past the mound to leave 'em loaded.

The Mets went 0-for-26 with four walks and a HBP after Benge's single in the first. 

- Sean Manaea entered with a lead but couldn't hold it as he allowed a leadoff double to Yandy Diaz and a one-out RBI single. After a double-play to end the first and a five-pitch second inning, the lefty gave up a second run as the Rays manufactured it with a single, sacrifice bunt, walk, and a single to right. But the lefty limited the Rays to just one run, getting around a bases-loaded, two-out situation after an error.

Trouble was brewing for Manaea in the fourth as the Rays had two men on after back-to-back one-out singles (both coming on soft contact), but a couple of flyouts ended the threat.

The sixth inning has been a rough one for Manaea of late, and Tuesday night proved no different: a single, an RBI double down the third-base line, a productive out, and a sac fly to left, followed by a walloped solo homer to left by Diaz (396 feet, 104.7 mph off the bat), and a triple rocketed (105.4 mph) to the right-center gap ending the starter’s night.

His final line: 5.2 innings, five runs on 11 hits and a walk with two strikeouts on 86 pitches (59 strikes).

- Francisco Alvarez went hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts and a warning-track flyout. 

- A.J. Ewing was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.

- Nick Morabito, just called up ahead of the game as the rosters expanded, entered the game looking for his first big-league hit and instead got plunked for the second time in 13 times up with the Mets this year. He went 0-for-2 before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh.

- Lindor, who committed his 10th error of the year in the third, went 1-for-3 with a walk and two batted in.

- Bichette went 1-for-4 with a strikeout. 

- Benge went 1-for-4 with a strikeout. 

- Young finished 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.

- Baty was hitless in two trips with a strikeout before being lifted for pinch-hitter Marcus Semien, who walked and grounded out in his two times to bat. 

- After AustinWarren put out the fire in the sixth, Dylan Ross needed 11 pitches for a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh in his first MLB appearance. (Ross, who could be headed back to the minors after the game, became the answer to a fun trivia question as he joined Wilmer Flores and John Pacella as the only three Mets to make their big league debuts on their birthday.) 

Jefry Yan struck out the first batter he faced before he got smacked for a single and a double. After another strikeout, Yan got stung with bad luck as a hard liner hit him, 

and his flip to Alvarez at the plate couldn't beat the runner to give the game its final score.

Highlights

LEADOFF LINDOR! 💥 pic.twitter.com/ajSx4cbSiR

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 1, 2026

Francisco Lindor draws the Mets' fourth walk of the 7th inning pic.twitter.com/suXcGclH9a

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 2, 2026

Happy birthday Dylan Ross!

He pitches a perfect 7th inning in his MLB debut pic.twitter.com/3yNBgdo51v

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 2, 2026

What's next

The series concludes with another 6:40 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday. 

The Mets are handing the ball to Justin Hagenman, who will be added to the roster Wednesday, for his first start of the season. Griffin Jax (3.63 ERA, 1.211 WHIP in 91.2 innings) climbs the hill for Tampa.

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ active roster is now at 28 and the 40-man roster is at 40.

• Reinstated from the 10-day injured list: OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (strained right adductor)
• Reinstated from the 60-day injured list: LHP Blake Walston (recovery from left ulnar collateral ligament surgery)
• Transferred to the 60-day injured list: RHP Ryan Thompson (strained lower back)

Rosters expand today, though it’s far from the free-for-all it used to be, when every member of the 40-man roster was eligible to become part of the active players. And frequently were. Mind you, I don’t mind monstrosities like this late-season game in September 2019, where the two sides combined to use a total of twenty-four different pitchers. Kevin Ginkel and Taylor Clarke both played in that one, as did Ildemaro Vargas. Anyway, as expected Gurriel is back, after what can only be described as a thoroughly underwhelming rehab stint. He went 3-for-28 for Reno, with three walks and no extra-base hits. I expect playing time to be very limited down the stretch.

The other move is the return of someone whom you probably had all buy forgotten was with the organization. Because before his rehab assignment, the last time Walston pitched for any D-backs team was close to two years ago, finishing out the 2024 season and his rookie campaign in the bullpen. He had Tommy John surgery the following March, and the road of rehab has been longer and bumpier than usual. He does give Torey Lovullo another left-handed option. His six outings in Triple-A covered a total of 7.2 innings and as many as 39 pitches, so Walston could perhaps provide a bit of length as well.

To make room, the team moved Reddit’s least-favorite Diamondback, Ryan Thompson, to the 60-day IL. That likely marks the end of Thompson’s time with Arizona. While he could still technically be eligible to come off the IL during the post-season, that would require a) the team to get that far, and b) the D-backs to want to move someone straight off the IL and onto the playoff roster, since there will be no minor-league rehab opportunities. Thompson spent four years with Arizona, his 174 appearances ranking 23rd on the franchise all-time list. He was a key part of the 2023 bullpen, making nine post-season appearances with a 2.31 ERA, including winning game 7 of the NLCS.

This’ll be the first Gameday Thread with the SB Nation app available, so I’m interested to see how it works! Download it here.

• Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sb-nation/id6789240983
• Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sbnation.app

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The Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals continue their series on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound for Los Angeles.

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Yamamoto has allowed 10 total runs over his last seven starts. The Dodgers have scored three or fewer runs in five of his last six home starts, with the Dodgers just 3-3 in those games despite a 3.43 ERA from Yamamoto, who, who has lasted at least six innings in each of his last seven starts at Dodger Stadium.

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The Cardinals will employ a bullpen game in the middle game of the series.

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Wednesday game info

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• Teams: Dodgers vs. Cardinals
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• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
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• Start time: 7:10 p.m.
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• TV: SportsNet LA
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• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
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LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers did not call up an outfielder among their September call ups despite their current group being among the least productive in the sport. They did however activate two catchers, one who isn’t expected to catch, and infielder Alex Freeland.

Freeland plays second base on Tuesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, and will likely do so against right-handed pitchers for the time being. That moves Tommy Edman to center field, with Alek Thomas getting optioned to Triple-A in Tuesday’s roster moves. Edman likely won’t be playing any left field, as talk of potentially platooning Teoscar Hernández has been tabled, at least for the time being.

“We didn’t bring up an outfielder. That’s part of the bet on Teo, that he can right the ship. That’s kind of where we’re at,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. “But obviously we can pivot if it makes sense.”

Hernández and Kyle Tucker have struggled mightily this season, both below average on offense and just above replacement level when factoring in defense. Dodgers right fielders rank 20th among 30 MLB teams in FanGraphs WAR (0.7), and 17th in wRC+ (95), and in left field are 22nd in WAR (1.2) and 15th in wRC+ (98).

Hernández is hitting .273/.354/.455 with a 123 wRC+ against southpaws this season and just .239/.295/.373 with an 85 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers. He also started 33 postseason games with the Dodgers the last two years, hitting a combined .254/.327/.454 with eight home runs, a team-leading 25 RBI and a 117 wRC+. The Dodgers are betting on the 33-year-old Hernández to find something closer to his recent norms.

“I do tend to give guys more leash, given what they’ve done, and looking at how they can handle a big moment in the postseason, that’s important,” Roberts said. “Every day is a test, and you’ve got to keep evaluating. I expect as the calendar has turned, the intensity to ramp up even more.”

Catching plans

Will Smith starts Tuesday and will start Thursday as well against St. Louis as they ease him back in. Hunter Feduccia will catch on Wednesday. Dalton Rushing has been working on a throwing program in rehabbing his partially torn UCL, though it remains unlikely that he catches again this season.

“I’m not quite there on being totally bullish on him getting back. I think it would be just great if we can get him there, and I like where his head is at,” Roberts said. “He’s working hard to get there, but the controlled rehab is different than a snap throw and throwing a guy out at second base.”

What the Dodgers want out of Rushing in September is a left-handed bat off the bench. Roberts called any time Rushing will pinch-hit a “three-person move,” as Rushing will pinch-hit and then be replaced on the field by another player. It’s not a role Rushing is used to, as he has two singles in 14 at-bats plus three walks as a pinch-hitter in his two seasons in the majors. He only pinch-hit once in his four minor league seasons, getting hit by a pitch in a pinch for Double-A Tulsa in 2023.

“He hasn’t done this much at all, but I also think he’s a threat. He can hit the ball out of the ballpark,” Roberts said. “Hit the ball out of the ballpark, it’s a simple swing, and he can take a walk. I think there’s something to that threat.”

Ben Rortvedt was designated for assignment by the Dodgers to facilitate Smith’s return. General manager Brandon Gomes delivered the news to Rortvedt on Monday.

“Ben’s a great teammate, he’s a major league player,” Roberts said. “And I’ll always be grateful because he helped us win a championship last year. Great guy.”

By gum, they’ve done it. The Orioles are a .500 team again. Now why don’t we see how much farther this ride can take us?

The O’s got back to the even-water mark last night in the most thrilling way possible, on Colton Cowser’s unbelievable, gravity-defying, home run robbery that turned a certain walkoff loss into one of the most amazing wins of the season. If you were asleep when the scene played out past midnight on the East Coast, I’m sure you’ve seen the highlight by now. But you can never watch it too many times, so enjoy:

If the Orioles go on to make the postseason, that catch might become one of the most iconic in O’s history. It still might, even if the Orioles don’t make it. The Birds enter tonight just a half game behind Cleveland for the third wild card spot. If the Orioles win and the Guardians lose to the Blue Jays, the Birds will be alone in a postseason spot.

The cynical part of me thinks that tonight has all the ingredients of a huge Orioles letdown. Their vibes are sky high after last night’s thrilling finish, and they’re facing a starter (Gabriel Hughes) who is 0-6 with a 6.61 ERA and a Rockies team that has suffered a franchise-worst 10 straight home losses. On paper it’s a game the Orioles should easily win, which always seems to be exactly when they lose. It feels like a reverse jinx.

But maybe the Orioles really are finding their groove, and they’ll find a way to grind out a victory tonight just as they did in last night’s opener and in all three games in Sacramento. With September call-up season upon us, they’ve just added some reinforcements to the roster. Luis Robert Jr., whom they claimed on waivers yesterday, has been activated, with Christian Franklin going on the IL. And Heston Kjerstad, who’s been hitting well at Triple-A Norfolk for months now, is finally getting his first call-up of the season. Also joining the club is lefty prospect Luis De León, who was just converted to relief. He gives the O’s another southpaw bullpen option.

For tonight, neither Robert nor Kjerstad is in the starting lineup. Neither is Coby Mayo. Pete Alonso, after returning to first base last night, is back to DHing, with Samuel Basallo spelling him at first. That means Carlos Narváez, who is 4-for-51 as an Oriole, is the catcher. Maybe facing the struggling Hughes will finally get his bat going for a night, but I’m not holding my breath.

Reaching .500 was one milestone. Now can the Orioles climb their way over? We’ll find out tonight.

Orioles lineup:

2B Jackson Holliday
DH Pete Alonso
SS Gunnar Henderson
3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand
LF Dylan Beavers
1B Samuel Basallo
RF Leodys Taveras
CF Colton Cowser
C Carlos Narváez

RHP Kyle Bradish

Rockies lineup:

CF Jake McCarthy
RF Mickey Moniak
DH Hunter Goodman
1B TJ Rumfield
SS Cole Carrigg
3B Connor Norby
C Brett Sullivan
2B Adael Amador
LF Zac Veen

RHP Gabriel Hughes