Category: MLB

So often pitchers’ duels don’t really stand up to the hype, but today’s matchup between two former Stetson Hatters – the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert and the Rangers’ Jacob deGrom – delivered on all that promise and then some. The two pitchers combined for 23 strikeouts, and deGrom carried a perfect game through five innings. In true pitching duel style, it looked like the pitcher who blinked first would come out on the short end, but despite Logan Gilbert making a couple of mistakes, his offense was able to pick him up and deliver him the win. Bragging rights are fun; wins are better. (Gilbert also gets the honor of leading MLB in whiffs today: 24 to deGrom’s 20, despite having one fewer strikeout than deGrom.)

This all being said, it was a slog for the Mariners early on. The best at-bat the first time through the order for the Mariners went to – surprise, surprise – Cal Raleigh, who battled deGrom for nine pitches before striking out on deGrom’s fastest fastball of the day, a 99.6 mph heater (my campaign for decimal points on the ribbon board in the stadium, which read 100, continues unabated). But the Mariners did fight deGrom, getting themselves into good counts and forcing him into the zone; he finished the second inning at 37 pitches, compared to Gilbert’s 24.

But it only took two pitches to offset that work in the third. Nicky Lopez was able to take 96 up and in from Gilbert and find a hole on the infield, and one batter later, with two outs, Joc Pederson jumped a first-pitch slider for a two-run homer. It wasn’t a terrible pitch from Gilbert, away from Pederson but probably still too much on the plate; Gilbert had struck Pederson out on the slider in his first at-bat. The slider was particularly nasty today, with an eye-popping 75% whiff rate. He led with the pitch, throwing it 40 times, 12 times to start off an at-bat, which feels like a different sequence than he’s used. Gilbert credits Cal for coming up with a good game plan, especially after he felt like he fell into some predictable patterns in his last time out against the A’s.

“Like with Joc, we got him with the slider early, so he probably thought we were going to it next time,” explained Gilbert. “But then also other guys, we went heavy spin, like with Duran, and then next time went three or four straight fastballs. So I think we did a good job there. They’re trying to look at how we’re probably scouting them, and then next time through, maybe pitch them different. I think Cal did a good job there.”

But deGrom was just as tough on the other side. After striking out eight times in the first three innings, the Mariners hitters decided to try a different strategy the second time through the order. That also didn’t work, as they let deGrom cruise through the fourth on nine pitches, keeping his perfect game intact.

Unfortunately, in a game that was all about which pitcher would blink first, Gilbert blinked both first and second. He made a mistake to start the fifth, hitting Evan Carter with a slider; Carter went on to steal second and then take third on an erroneous throw by Cal Raleigh, essentially making that hit by pitch a leadoff triple. Gilbert seemed to lose focus after that, walking Jake Burger after striking him out earlier, and then the Rangers were able to small-ball in a run on a bunt from Nicky Lopez that turned into a base hit when Gilbert couldn’t field the weak dribbler cleanly. Nine-hole hitter Danny Jansen then bunted the runners into scoring position, but that strategy backfired as Pederson hit into a fielder’s choice on a soft grounder to Naylor, erasing the runner trying to come home, and then the Rangers tried to get overly aggressive on a wild pitch from Gilbert that bounced hard off the brick backstop and directly to Cal Raleigh, where he was able to tag out Lopez trying to come home.

Finally in the sixth inning Cole Young, Perfect Boy, broke up the perfect game; in an 0-2 count he cracked a ball that glanced off deGrom’s glove for an infield single and then scampered to second on a wild pitch. Young spoke yesterday after his big double about how he feels like in September he’s been trying to simplify things and just focus on putting the ball in play, and he did do that here. Thank you for saving me from having to write up deGrom’s perfecto, Cole, you have never been more My Favorite than you are right now.

“Obviously, I knew the perfect game was going, so I just wanted to put the ball in play,” said Young postgame. “I kind of got lucky there with it hitting off his glove and then bouncing in a dead zone, so I was able to get that hit. But just trying to get on the fastball and put it in play, honestly.”

The Rangers threatened again in the seventh, with Gilbert still out there; Langford led off with a walk and the Rangers made productive outs to get him to third, which brought up Lopez with two outs. With Logan pushing into the upper 90s in his pitch count, he spiked a splitter, and Langford broke for home aggressively. Cal was able to recover the ball, though, and made a nice toss to his long-term batterymate; Gilbert smacked down the tag on Langford to save a run and earn perpetual bragging rights among the starters. This is unironically one of my favorite clips of the year; I could watch it all day. (What is Logan saying there? I think it’s “it’s in my glove” but I can’t tell.)

With deGrom finally out of the game in the seventh, the Mariners made their move. Jakob Junis started off the inning by hitting Randy, never a smart move; he then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Dominic Canzone then briefly got to hold the title of WPA leader for the day, knocking in Arozarena with a solid ground ball single and ensuring the Mariners wouldn’t get shut out. Cal Raleigh followed that up with a single, extending his on-base streak to 12 games.

With Julio up to bat, Junis tried to sneak a first-pitch sinker past him. It’s been a struggle at the plate lately for Julio, but this sinker arrived right in Julio’s – to use a Ryon Healy-approved term – honey hole.

“I thought that ball was going to go through the back net in the bullpen,” said manager Dan Wilson postgame. “There was no way the ballpark could contain it because it was just hit so hard…As we’ve said before, this game rewards you when you do things right, and he’s been putting in the work and got a big payoff today for that.”

Julio was actually out for early work yesterday – something he doesn’t always do – working on his swing with his longtime organizational scout and friend (and home run derby pitcher) Franmy Pena.

“I just feel like I’m focusing on getting back to my roots,” said Julio about reconnecting with his old friend. “[Franmy] was someone who signed me to the Mariners. He helped me develop back then when I was a kid, and I just feel like I needed a little refresher on things and just getting back to who I am and the things I do well.”

Gabe Speier posted a clean eighth in relief of Gilbert to keep the Mariners’ lead alive, setting up Andrés Muñoz for the save. Muñoz retired his first two hitters on groundouts but then walked the righty Langford, setting up a battle with Evan Carter. But Muñoz couldn’t reign in his command despite being able to use his changeup against the lefty, walking Carter and bringing up the power threat Burger. In a 2-2 count, Muñoz spotted a fastball at 101.2 on the outer edge that Burger was forced to swing at, grounding it right to the steadiest hand on the Mariners’ infield, Cole Young, who both stepped on second to beat out Carter and completed the throw through to first to easily beat out the slow-footed Burger, essentially getting the third and fourth outs of the inning to secure the Mariners win and the series win.

“There’s just so many different layers to that play,” said Young. “I wanted to make sure it didn’t hit the base and get past me, so making sure of that first, and then after I caught it I’m like, okay, I’ve got a chance at second, let’s just go there. But I knew it was going to be a bang-bang play so I started running and he’s approaching second and I’m like, oh, this could be close, I don’t know if I got him, so I threw it to first to make sure. I knew we got him at first, so I wasn’t worried, but it was definitely a really weird play.”

(Postgame when the media was thanking Young for his time, Muñoz piped up from his neighboring locker: “yes, thank you, Cole.”)

The math continues to not math in the Mariners’ favor, with the Astros winning today as well, but what’s done is done; bragging rights might not get you to the postseason but they are a nice comfort, and for all the times his offense hasn’t helped him out, it’s nice for Gilbert to get that big shiny W.

Clippers 1, Bats 6

The Clippers only scored one run, but they still managed 8 hits and 4 walks. George Valera went 2-3 with a HR and Kahlil Watson went 2-5 with two doubles. Kody Huff also went 1-3 with a walk.

Logan Allen had his first start back in AAA and it did not go very well. He allowed five runs in 4.0 innings pitched with two strikeouts and a walk. His AAA ERA is now up to 4.65.

RubberDucks 5, Curve 9

Welbyn Francisca went 1-3 with a walk and his first AA RBI. Jaison Chourio went 2-5 with an RBI single. Jake Fox continued his bounceback season going 2-3 with a walk and an RBI. He is now hitting .349 with a .964 OPS on the season. Luke Hill also went 1-3 with a walk.

The good news is that the RubberDucks bullpen combined for 7 scoreless innings of relief with 10 strikeouts and zero walks. The bad news is starter Sean Matson gave up 9 runs on 8 hits and two walks in the first innings. His ERA is now up to 7.23 on the season.

With a sweep on the line, the White Sox need to lock in, with both pitching and the lack of hits over the last two games against the pesky Pirates. While the South Siders are still atop the American League Central, Cleveland is hanging around, and another loss tonight could be detrimental.

Hagen Smith, who has been great in a relief role, will open for Erick Fedde tonight. Jake Rogers will be behind the plate, with Andrew Benintendi as DH and at cleanup. The rest of the lineup is what we’re used to, with Sam Antonacci leading off. After last night’s bench-clearing kerfuffle caused by Antonacci’s elbow, and the White Sox on the verge of being swept, it should be a tense night in Chicago.

Jared Jones (3-6) will be on the mound for the Bucs. Jones is coming off one of his best games of the season, fanning nine in six frames against the Los Angeles Angels.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. CT. You can watch on CHSN or listen on ESPN Chicago 1000.

As the Cardinals limp home from a rough road trip, I would prefer to focus on the enshrinement of Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols in the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame this weekend. However, there are still games to be played and 3 of them over the weekend will be against the Chicago White Sox who will hopefully give St. Louis a glimpse at what might be their not-so-distant future.

Pitching Matchups

(NOTE: As of this writing, the Chicago White Sox have not officially announced their starters, but these pitchers are projected based on recent rotation)

Friday night, September 11 – Matthew Liberatore (LHP 5-14, 5.57 ERA, 144 SO) vs Erick Fedde (RHP, 8-8, 4.00 ERA)

Saturday night, September 12 – Kyle Leahy (RHP 10-4, 3.41 ERA, 124 SO) vs Anthony Kay (LHP, 9-8, 4.47 ERA)

Sunday afternoon, September 13 – Michael McGreevy (RHP 6-9, 3.92 ERA, 106 SO) vs Sean Burke (RHP, 8-7, 3.58 ERA)

Former Cardinal Erick Fedde has won 2 of his last 3 starts including September 4 when he threw 5 innings against the Minnesota Twins allowing just 3 hits and no earned runs. Anthony Kay has lost 2 of his last 3 starts including the most recent on September 5 against the Twins where he threw 4 1/3 innings allowing 6 hits and 5 earned runs. Sean Burke is 1-1 over his last three starts as he took the loss in his most recent start on September 8 against the Pirates allowing 8 hits and 7 earned runs.

Who are the Chicago White Sox players to watch?

Colson Montgomery: Leads the team with 31 home runs, 83 RBI’s with an average of .209

Munetaka Murakami: Also a home run threat with 30 home runs, 62 RBI’s and an average of .208

Miguel Vargas: Vargas also has 30 home runs plus 79 RBI’s and an average of .250

Andrew Benintendi: Has 14 home runs, 70 RBI’s and an average of .244

Randal Grichuk: Former Cardinal has 12 home runs, 34 RBI’s and an average of .286

The Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals look like two organizations going in completely different directions on paper, but an optimistic person would also point to the quick turnaround of the White Sox as a possible near-future glimpse of what the Cardinals could be. This season, though, these teams are in different worlds. The Chicago White Sox sit atop the American League Central with a record of 75-69. The Cardinals record isn’t all that different as they’re 72-75 but they’re near the cellar of the National League Central only a couple games above the lowly Reds and they’re 6.5 games out of the final Wild Card which might as well be 20.

Let’s be realistic and stop concerning ourselves with Wild Card hopes. The St. Louis Cardinals expect to get JJ Wetherholt back in the lineup this weekend vs the White Sox. Perhaps he’ll catch fire offensively to give himself a better chance at winning some Rookie of the Year votes. The real highlight of the weekend will be the enshrinement of Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Bill Sherdel in the Cardinals Hall of Fame. That ceremony will begin at 5pm Saturday, September 12 and everyone with a game ticket can enter the stadium early to witness it. Let’s hope the young Cardinals on the current and future rosters will soak in that moment and see what they can aspire to.

When it comes to Shohei Ohtani‘s injury management, it’s tempting to dwell on the what-ifs.

What if the Dodgers forced him to give up pitching duties in July, when he needed a lubricant injection to alleviate irritation in his left knee?

It was clear by then that Ohtani was playing through multiple injuries. A right biceps problem popped up for the second time on July 3 — the last time he pitched in a game. The Dodgers said his knee inflammation was only aggravated by pitching and the biceps tightness was tied to hitting. And yet, they were confident that the MLB All-Star break would give Ohtani enough time to bounce back.

If the Dodgers had been more proactive, instead of starting and stopping Ohtani’s throwing program until his injuries forced a shutdown, would he be in the lineup Friday against the Miami Marlins instead of the 15-day injured list?

Maybe.

Or maybe one or both injuries were far enough along by then that they would have affected him down the stretch regardless. Maybe seeing if he could return to the mound was worth the risk.

Maybe not.

Read more:'Right thing to do.' Dodgers put Shohei Ohtani on injured list after rout of Reds

“Anyone can do that, and say, ‘What could you have done better or different?’” manager Dave Roberts said earlier this week when asked if he had any regrets about Ohtani’s injury management. “That’s something going forward we’re going to look at, absolutely. But, it’s certainly not a blame-game thing. It’s learning from what happened and getting better.”

Parsing through the alternative outcomes from decisions made months ago could take time. But the fallout from this past week is clearer.

What if instead of resting Ohtani four days, and bringing him back Monday, the Dodgers had put him on the IL right away?

“I think if we look right now, here today, I would love to go back and put him on the IL,” Roberts said. “But at that moment in time, we all felt that giving him four days was sufficient. He was agreeable. Getting him out there on Monday with the hope that he would be able to play [again Wednesday]. But where we’re at right now, sure.”

Two weeks without Ohtani is hard to swallow. As a two-way player, he’s eligible for the 15-day IL instead of the 10-day for position players.

Read more:Shaikin: Why it’s past time for MLB players, owners to get a 2028 Olympics deal done

The Dodgers tried to avoid it. But when he returned to the lineup Monday, he “didn’t feel great” on a swing, Roberts revealed.

So now the Dodgers can only backdate Ohtani’s IL stint to Tuesday, rather than Sept. 3. At minimum, Ohtani will be out until the final five games of the regular season.

“The most important thing is him being as healthy as possible, not compromising his swing, and kind of bet on that,” Roberts said.

He acknowledged that Ohtani wouldn’t be back to “100%” even with the two weeks off.

But plenty of players push through injuries in the playoffs. October becomes a test of pain tolerance before addressing ailments in the offseason.

“I want to make sure that when I look back [on] this season,” Ohtani said Monday through interpreter Will Ireton, “that I used this as an experience, a learning experience and make sure that I use that as something to improve upon for next season.”

So, does that mean Ohtani feels like he could be more up-front with the team about his physical well-being, regardless of whether he thinks he can play through aches and pains?

“It’s hard to say now with the season still going on,” Ohtani said. “It’s something that I’m going to reflect back on during the offseason. I’m just making sure that I’m focusing on the now and finishing strong.”

The Dodgers, for the first time navigating what was expected to be a full season of two-way play from Ohtani, leaned on his expertise while managing his workload. In retrospect, they might have put too much stock in his self-evaluations.

Baseball has a long tradition of players downplaying injuries, out of a desire to play and a belief in their own perseverance.

“What can I learn?” Roberts said this week. “I think that sometimes, potentially trying to get ahead of managing his workload — it always feels good to run him out there offensively as a DH. Always feels good when you pencil him in as a starter — for me, it’s just really trying to be mindful of the long season.

“And I guess it’s under the thing of, ‘you don’t know until you know,’ and it’s important to learn from experiences. And I think it’s good for all of us to kind of appreciate that he’s not supernatural, as much as we think he might be at times.”

Roberts said he didn’t learn until Tuesday night, after giving Ohtani a day off for the fifth time in six games, that a swing on Monday had bothered him.

So, Ohtani didn’t return to the lineup Wednesday as planned. And the team arranged for No. 1 prospect Josue De Paula to meet the team in Miami, called up straight from double-A for his MLB debut on Friday.

Read more:Catcher Will Smith shows how much he was missed as Dodgers beat Reds

“It was more just really huddling up and saying, ‘Hey, how are you going to feel on Friday? How are you going to feel on Saturday, talking to the doctors and training staff?’” Roberts said. “There was not much certainty that he’d be in a much better place. With that, just taking it off the table seemed like the best course of action.”

De Paula wasn’t otherwise guaranteed to debut this season, although the Dodgers would have needed to eventually put him on the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

The Dodgers see him as a major-league ready hitter, but he still has work to do on the defensive side for the team to feel comfortable playing him in the outfield regularly. An early taste of the big leagues, even with his playing time expected to come mostly in the DH spot, could be beneficial for the 21-year-old’s development.

For Ohtani, the ramp from the IL to postseason play will be short. But his recent offensive struggles emphasized the importance of having a healthier version of him in the lineup come October.

If anyone can make it work, it’s Ohtani. He may not be supernatural, but he also isn’t just any player. And if he performs in the postseason, that will drown out any lingering what-ifs.

Times staff writer Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Seattle Mariners scored four runs.

deGrom was dang near perfect. Joc Pederson tied Jake Burger for the team lead in dingers with a two-run shot off a tough Logan Gilbert. The Rangers manufactured a run via Skip Schumaker’s daily prescribed small ball.

Yeah, sure, they were thrown out at home thrice trying to extend their lead, but things were going to script for Texas as they attempted to escape Seattle with a series victory and to stay relevant in the terrible American League playoff race.

And then, after deGrom’s day ended after six innings and 92 pitches, Jakob Junis was called upon for the seventh inning and promptly retired zero of the four hitters he faced and turned a 3-0 lead into a 4-3 deficit that the Rangers couldn’t overcome as they combined to score five runs over two losses after scoring ten runs in the opener.

There’s still over two weeks of the baseball season to go so the Rangers could still recover from this and the many other foibles from this season, but they’re making it incredibly hard on themselves and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to see the path while it also hasn’t been all that compelling to have been on the journey.

Player of the Game: Jacob deGrom was as good as we’ve seen him as he was squeezing his glove around a shot back to the mound away from completing six perfect innings with zero walks and 12 Ks. Alas, he chose to stay a Texas Ranger so he remains a Texas Ranger and all that entails.

Up Next: The Rangers head south for a trip to Arizona where they will take on the Diamondbacks. Neither team has announced a starter for the opener.

The Friday evening first pitch from Chase Field is scheduled for 8:40 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

With the Yankees looking to track down the Rays in the AL East while also maintaining the cushion they have on the Red Sox, this interleague matchup against the Rockies was a couple of must win games. Colorado is closing in on 100 losses and is as beatable an opponent as there is right now, sorry to them. Well so far, so good for the Yankees as they’ve taken the first two games of the series. Tonight, they’ll go for the sweep.

To try and accomplish that sweep, the Yankees will give the ball to Max Fried. This will be Fried’s third start since returning from the IL, and he’s been decent enough so far, allowing two runs in 9.1 combined innings. He still hasn’t gone over 72 pitches yet, so it’s still unlikely that he’ll be airing it out for 100 or anything tonight, but we’ll see.

As for the rest of the lineup, the big news is the return of Anthony Volpe. With Jazz Chisholm Jr. going on the IL, Volpe has been recalled and will play second base. He has been hitting decently since getting sent back to the minors, so we’ll see if there’s any correlation now that he’s back in the bigs. Aaron Judge will get a planned day off, his first since being reinstated from the IL on Tuesday as Aaron Boone will take it slow with his superstar outfielder especially after Judge returned without a rehab assignment. Jasson Domínguez will start in right field instead and bat third, flanked by Cody Bellinger and Luis García Jr.

Meanwhile, Ryan Feltner will take the mound for the Rockies. Feltner has a 5.91 ERA and a 5.27 FIP in his 106.2 innings on the season. The 30-year-old right-hander was having a decent year by Rockies pitchers standards until about mid-July, when a 2.1 inning eight-run disaster outing against Cincinnati ballooned his ERA north of five and he’s stayed there ever since. His latest start was a mediocre one, where he lasted five innings and gave up four runs to the Cardinals, but he’s got some seven-run outings in recent memory as the Dodgers and Nationals took him to task a couple of weeks ago.

Here’s all the information to know on how to catch tonight’s action, and we hope you’ll come join us in the game thread!

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — The Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, Rockies.TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM (COL)

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

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

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are short road favorites to complete the series sweep over the Chicago White Sox ahead of Thursday's 7:40 p.m. ET first pitch at Rate Field.

My top Pirates vs. White Sox predictions and MLB picks call for Pittsburgh to take the series finale tonight, with the total also going Over the number on Sept. 10.

Who will win Pirates vs White Sox today: Pirates moneyline (51%)

For help understanding probabilities, see our odds calculator.

Pittsburgh Pirates righty Jared Jones has found a groove, boasting a solid 3.65 xERA and 3.11 xFIP across his past four starts.

The Pirates also continue to show off at the plate with a seventh-ranked wOBA and second-ranked xwOBA over the past two weeks. Pittsburgh also ranks second in the majors in wOBA against right-handed pitchers.

It’s a different story for the Chicago White Sox. They rank 25th and 20th, respectively, in the two metrics during the same stretch and are projected to hand the ball to righty Erick Fedde for bulk innings behind opener Hagen Smith.

This will be Smith’s first career start, and Fedde sports a 4.68 xERA and 5.11 xFIP across his past eight appearances while allowing a healthy 38.6% squared-up contact rate and 16.4% blast-contact rate.

I recommend playing the Pirates moneyline to 52.4%.

COVERS INTEL: The Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen xERA and xFIP both rank higher than the Chicago White Sox in the second half, which will be a key factor in a potentially close series finale.

Pirates vs White Sox Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (53.1%)

While I’m anticipating the Pirates doing the heavy lifting to send this total past the number, the White Sox have also played to the Over in nine of their last 13 home games (+4.40 Units / 30% ROI).

Chicago ranks eighth in ISO against righties for the season, and the AL Central leaders will want to leave it all on the field in an attempt to avoid the series sweep.

The White Sox also average 4.9 runs per game at home compared to 4.5 on the road, so I expect Chicago to chip in offensively at Rate Field.

This Over 7.5 is playable to 54.5%.

Pirates vs White Sox home run prediction: Oneil Cruz (16.7%)

Despite an excellent 15-for-43 run at the dish (.824 OPS), Pirates star Oneil Cruz hasn’t left the yard across his past 11 games.

Cruz is sporting a rock-solid 18.8% blast-contact rate and 40.0% hard-hit rate during the stretch, and his high-end .206 ISO for the year doesn't have drastic splits (.175 against lefties and .222 against righties).

I like the idea of statistical correction kicking in and Cruz homering tonight.

Pirates vs White Sox market trends

Here is how trusted Polymarket traders are dealing tonight's Pirates vs. White Sox matchup, with heavy volume on the Chicago hosts.

Pirates vs White Sox weather

The forecast calls for cloudy skies early before clearing later in the evening, comfortable temperatures around 73F, and a light 5-7 mph northeast wind blowing left to right.

Pirates vs White Sox odds

• Moneyline: Pirates 52.4% | White Sox 52.4%
• Run line: Pirates -1.5 (39.2%) | White Sox +1.5 (64.3%)
• Over/Under: Over 8 (52.4%) | Under 8 (52.4%)

Pirates vs White Sox trend

Pittsburgh has won eight of its last 10 games (+5.10 Units / 35% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Pirates vs. White Sox.

How to watch Pirates vs White Sox and game info

Pirates vs White Sox latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Two games into their September stop at Yankee Stadium, the Rockies have scored four runs, struck out 24 times and lost twice.

The Yankees won the opener 5–3 before taking Game 2 by a 6–1 score.

Tonight gives the Rockies (55–90) one more chance to salvage a game against the Yankees (83–62), avoid the sweep and carry a bit of momentum with them to Detroit.

Ryan Feltner will make his 22nd start in a season that has gone poorly. He is 5–9 with a 5.91 ERA and 1.58 WHIP across 106.2 innings.

Feltner leads with his four-seam fastball and varies his secondary mix from there. He works primarily with the slider and changeup against lefties, then turns to the slider, sinker and sweeper against righties. Lefties have produced a .293/.378/.507 line against him this season, while righties are at .275/.326/.522.

The changeup has been Feltner’s best pitch, producing 41 of his 81 strikeouts, including all five in his last start against St. Louis. Feltner throws it 28% of the time against lefties, compared with just 6% against righties. Against New York’s lefty-heavy lineup, there may be a path for Feltner if he can get ahead of hitters and continue to let the changeup finish things off.

Meanwhile, things won’t be getting any easier for the Rockies’ offense. After being handled by Cam Schlittler and Will Warren in the first two games, Colorado will face Max Fried in the finale.

The left-hander is 4–4 with a 2.73 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. Since returning from injury in July, he has been even better, posting a 1.85 ERA across 34.0 innings with 37 strikeouts.

Fried also works with a deep arsenal. His sinker is the foundation against lefties, while righties see a balanced combination of cutters, four-seamers, changeups, curveballs, sinkers and sweepers.

Unlike Feltner, Fried has dominated hitters from both sides of the plate. Lefties have managed a .152/.218/.177 line against him, while righties are hitting .213/.280/.292. Still, the Rockies will trot out seven batters from the right side against Fried.

Aaron Judge is not in the lineup after playing in the first two games following his return from the injured list. New York is 38–22 in games Judge has played this season and 45–40 without him.

Even without Judge, the Rockies still have plenty to solve on both sides of the ball. Can Feltner ride his changeup through New York’s lefty-heavy lineup while the offense finds a way to get to Fried?

The details…

First pitch: 5:05 p.m. MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Yankees SB Nation:Pinstripe Alley

Lineups:

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It really just feels like each series the Atlanta Braves have been in lately has been like them leaving a snake pit for a lion’s den only to realize that they’ve stepped into a piranha’s pond and escaped that just to find out that the dry land was quicksand. “I don’t know how much more battle-tested we need to be,” quipped Walt Weiss when he was asked by the media during Tuesday’s pregame press conference about the tough schedule that the Braves have been dealing with as of late — and still have to navigate going forward.

Indeed, one of the takeaways from this patch is that the Braves will have faced some of the toughest teams that baseball currently has to offer once they eventually reach the Postseason and they should be more-than-ready to handle whatever’s in front of them. With that being said, the Braves had to deal with another serious test in the form of the Tampa Bay Rays and once the smoke cleared, it was less about acing the test and more like simply doing enough to pass the test. Did Atlanta manage that? Let’s get into it.

Tuesday, September 8

Rays 7, Braves 1

This one was competitive for two innings, as the Braves matched Junior Caminero’s two-out dinger off of AJ Smith-Shawver in the first inning with a run of their own in the bottom half of that frame. The deadlock didn’t last long at all, as the Rays made the third inning a long one for Smith-Shawver. AJSS was one out away from potentially putting two outs on the board against the Rays in that inning. Instead, Liam Hicks sent one flying into the Georgia night sky for a two-run shot. Smith-Shawver was one out away from keeping it at 3-1 before Victor Mesa Jr. hit a bouncer that eluded the glove of Ozzie Albies and dribbled into the infield for an RBI single that made it 4-1.

AJ Smith-Shawver was only able to make it through 3.1 innings with those four runs allowed, but credit is due to Brent Suter for going 3.2 innings while only giving up a single run while he was out there. Elieser Hernández wasn’t as fortunate, as he surrendered two runs across his two innings of work and then got the DFA treatment once the next morning rolled around. It really felt like the Rays were either dinking and dunking or hitting moonshots, there was no in-between in this one.

Meanwhile, a nasty trend for the Braves was emerging while they were on the mound. It’s not particularly shocking that Freddy Peralta ended up going six innings with just one run allowed since he’d done pretty well in two previous starts against Atlanta with the Mets. It wasn’t shocking either to see the Rays bullpen clamp down on the Braves they did on Tuesday, either. What was shocking is that the Braves came out of this game with 11 batted balls that were at least 95-mph that ended up turning into outs. Folks, that’s tough!

Wednesday, September 9

Rays 7, Braves 2

This felt like a near-carbon copy of the first game. The two teams were tied after the first inning, the Rays pulled away shortly after the first inning, Atlanta’s starting pitcher didn’t get deep and the offense was left holding the bag despite hitting the ball hard all night. Indeed, that’s the path that both of these teams doubled back on on this particular night as the Rays once again cruised to another big win. A home run from Victor Mesa Jr., a double steal and then old friend Jorge Mateo slapping one into the outfield off the end of his bat led to three runs in the second for Tampa Bay.

The Rays added three more in the fourth in a way that would’ve had Atlanta fuming considering how their batted ball luck was turning. With two men on and nobody out, Cedric Mullins plated an RBI in similar fashion to how Jorge Mateo did it — he put the bat out there on a ball that was outside of the zone and got rewarded for it. Richie Palacios poked one into the outfield in left to bring home another one of his Rays teammates and then Yandy Díaz’s sacrifice fly made it a 6-0 lead as Reynaldo López’s head was probably spinning.

Drake Baldwin homered off of Griffin Jax in the fourth inning in order to ensure that the Braves didn’t get shut out and then Matt Olson continued to work his way out of his current slump with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-2 in the sixth but by then, the damage had been done — and frustratingly so. Once again, the Braves hit the ball hard all night and received little reward for it. This time, Atlanta saw 12 batted balls that were at least 95-mph end up finding Tampa Bay’s leather instead of the grass. The final out of the game was a 99-mph bullet from Mauricio Dubón that was seemingly magnetized to Richie Palacios’s glove. Dubón used his knee to turn his bat into two separate and large toothpicks in response and the Braves ended up taking an incredibly frustrating series loss.

Thursday, September 10

Braves 3, Rays 1

Martín Pérez and Nick Martinez were in complete and total control in this one for the seven innings in which they participated. Pérez bounced back from a tough start against the Phillies by going out and tossing seven shutout innings against the Rays in this one. Considering how the first two games of this series had gone, Pérez was basically in a situation where he had to come up big and he did so in crucial fashion. Atlanta needed to stabilize things as far as their pitching was concerned and for what feels like the umpteenth time this season, Pérez came through in a big moment for the Braves.

As far as the bats went, today appeared to be the day when Atlanta’s batted ball luck finally turned around. This time, the Braves only had three batted balls of 95-mph or faster end up turning into outs. That’s not to say that things were easy-peasy for Atlanta, though — Nick Martinez was absolutely dominant and cruised through six innings while only having to deal with two baserunners throughout. After retiring Ronald Acuña Jr. in to start the seventh, Martinez had only thrown 68 pitches on the day and seemed well poised to get even deeper into the game.

Instead, the Rays pulled a Rays and manager Kevin Cash went out there and pulled Martinez so that they could let the bullpen carry them for the rest of the way. It worked out for the rest of the seventh inning — it did not go well for them in the eighth. Kevin Kelly ran into a pinch-hitting Ozzie Albies in that inning and Ozzie promptly hit one 99.2-mph towards right field and it didn’t land inside the glove of a Rays fielder. Austin Riley then came through with a ground ball that split two of Tampa’s defenders on the right side of the infield for the breakthrough RBI single. Mike Yastrzemski followed that up with a pinch-hit ground-rule double and then Ha-Seong Kim continued his revival with a big two-RBI single that gave the Braves yet another big bottom-of-the-eighth inning in front of the fans at Truist Park.

Victor Mesa Jr. homered off of Raisel Iglesias with one out in the ninth and then a walk from Chandler Simpson meant that Tampa Bay had two outs to play with with the tying run at home plate. They didn’t get any further than that and the Braves had officially salvaged the series.

Well, that certainly wasn’t ideal but the Braves did just enough to make sure that the status quo from the start of this series in the NL East remained the same. Thanks to some help from another first-place club in the American League, the Braves will be heading into their huge weekend home series against the Philadelphia Phillies with the same four-game lead that they had when they left Philadelphia on Monday evening. Crucially, that’s three games lopped off the calendar where the Braves maintained their position instead of ceding ground. As long as Atlanta can keep it steady (and a series win this weekend would be huge), that’ll do the trick for the Braves as far as the division is concerned.

With that being said, it’s looking more and more like the Braves are going to be destined to facing someone in the Wild Card Round. Both the Brewers and the Dodgers have started to really put pedal to the medal with the Brewers essentially wrapping up the NL Central and the Dodgers taking care of business with their soft schedule. Past the obvious ramifications of the bye being out of reach, this essentially ensures that this intense ride ain’t stoppin’ until the Braves either lift the trophy or get sent home for the Fall and Winter. Strap in, folks. The water will only get choppier from here.

Hopefully the hard-hit balls that Atlanta collected during this series will start to trend more towards being successful rather than turning into the many, many frustrating outs that we had to witness. That’s just about the only solace you can take from this series if you’re a Braves fan and concerned about the offense. They’re hitting the ball hard — the ball just has to find some green or some seats instead of leather. Now would be a perfect time for that luck to turn and it would also be a great moment for the pitching staff to continue holding the opposition at bay. There’s still time for everything to click and if it does, the Braves will be able to navigate this month safely and be in good shape heading into October. We’ll see what happens.

Ahead of Thursday's home series finale against the Colorado Rockies, Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided an update on injured second basemanJazz Chisholm Jr. and outlined expectations for infielder Anthony Volpe following his recall to the MLB roster from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Boone began with a clear, concise update on Chisholm's health.

"With Jazz, it will be seven to ten days of no baseball activity," he stated. "We'll see as he gets ramped up, he does have a history of being a fast healer if you look at his injury history, but we'll listen to the thumb and see how he recovers."

The skipper then moved onto Volpe, talking about how he's met the challenge of being sent down on Aug. 7 to play second base at Triple-A during a crucial stretch of the Bronx Bombers' season. 

"He's done a great job down in Triple-A working on a lot of things," said Boone. "Obviously, adding the positional flexibility to his game, he's done a really great job on the defensive side, and he's been great with the bat for a while."

Volpe, who is batting ninth in the order and playing second base for the Yankees against the Rockies on Thursday night, has slashed a stellar .284/.381/.642 with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, clobbering 10 homers and tallying 21 RBI in just 28 games.

Boone, accordingly, praised the former Yanks top prospect and natural shortstop, who has shown resilience in the face of adversity and uncertainty as of late. 

He has thoroughly earned this late-season opportunity to prove he has what it takes to be an everyday player in New York, albeit at a new position. After all, surging rookie George Lombard Jr. is continuing to make the six-hole his own, mashing a grand slam on Wednesday against Colorado.

"We're excited to get him back up here," the manager professed. "All the reports from player development, he's been excellent turning double plays from second base, and we're not surprised, since he's the type of athlete that should take to the position well."

"Over the past several weeks, we've seen really big results, and hopefully that starts to translate up here as well."

Of course, playing in New York means dealing with the intense spotlight of a rabid fanbase in a massive media market, and not everyone is built to handle that pressure cooker. In this regard, Volpe has the backing of his manager.

"I've never felt like the pressure has gotten to Anthony," Boone opined. "He's done a great job working and playing with his nose down, for him it's about continuing to develop his skills and getting to that next level as a player overall."

Finally, with the 25th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday, the Yankees are set to host their crosstown rival Mets in a three-game weekend set, and Boone understands the multi-faceted importance of the occasion.

"It's going to be an incredible, very emotional scene," he concluded. "There's going to be people in the building with strong ties, very personal connections to the tragedy that took place."

"Having two New York teams playing, during this time of the year, with important games on the line, it'll be an environment with some joy, some sorrow, and some reflection."

Lane Thomas was a late scratch in the Braves lineup today. We have heard why from Walt Weiss.

I’m not a doctor, but as I understand it an intercostal strain is slightly different from an oblique strain. An intercostal strain affects the muscles under the ribs. An oblique strain affects the sides of the abdomen. In any case, it’s an Injured List visit for Thomas. He will join Bryce Elder as the second Braves player placed there this week.

In case you missed it, Mauricio Dubon pulled away from the plate with an oblique issue in today’s game. According to reports, Walt said postgame that he felt something in his back and it wasn’t a big deal. We might see DaShawn Keirsey Jr. on the active roster for the Philadelphia series tomorrow, but we don’t know at this point. I’m not sure what the Braves will do if that Dubon goes down. We will see more of Ha-Seong Kim, I’m sure. But I’ll take two hits a game like today while he’s gone.

Oblique injuries are going around. Y’all be safe out there.

Was this the dumbest baseball game ever played? No, that would be a stretch.

But if you didn’t have school or work today and decided to watch this one, your brain would be in danger. From Alec Bohm hesitating at second base on a groundball to his left or Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña getting caught on a double-play line drive because he was going to third base no matter what, this game was pretty unique in its stupidity. It’s a little scary that a game could look like this and the Phillies don’t even play the Mets until next week.

Zack Wheeler’s seven-inning, one-run, nine-strikeout performance did not jump off to a great start. In the second inning, Christian Walker knocked a soft one-out single to Marsh in left field. After a Cam Smith strikeout, Taylor Trammell took a first-pitch curveball to the right field wall, scoring Walker all the way from first in-part because Bryce Harper overthrew the cutoff man.

As both teams lagged through the next few innings because both teams have a flight to catch, the Phillies fans in Citizens Bank Park were getting flashbacks to 2022 when Christian Javier started carrying a no-hitter through four innings.

Luis Arraez was not on the 2022 team, although he would’ve fit right in as another first baseman playing out of position. He punched a high fastball to left field for a leadoff single in the fifth to break the no-no. Two pitches later, Alec Bohm smoked a high fastball to the track for a one-hopper off the wall that put runners on second and third with no out.

In the next four pitches, the Phillies tied the game but broke everyone’s brain. Stott hit a routine groundball to Alec Bohm’s left but he froze between second and third base, leading to a very easy throw for Jeremy Peña to third baseman Issac Paredes.

On the very next pitch, Brandon Marsh hit a changeup right to the sure-handed first baseman Christian Walker, who stepped on the first base bag and immediately got Bryson Stott into a run down which ended the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, Justin Crawford legged out a Baltimore chopper that future Hall of Famer Jose Altuve had no chance at.

Right after, Don Mattingly instructed for Rafael Marchán to lay down a bunt to try and move Crawford over. Javier threw him a high fastball that was fouled, which sometimes happens. On the second pitch, Marchán pulled his bat back but it landed in the bottom right corner of the strike zone, putting in an 0-2 hole. They still made him try and bunt Crawford over, which is fine because Rafael Marchán’s OPS starts with a three and his batting average starts with a one.

On the next pitch, Javier threw a fastball right to Christian Vázquez’s face and eye to eye with Marchán in the box. Marchán still tried to bunt it anyway, the ball went foul, and he took a full knob of wood to the face. He’s out.

A passed ball with Kyle Schwarber in the box allowed for Crawford to advance to second anyway but Schwarber struck out on a high fastball. A very normal breaking ball and cutter in, then high fastball for a late swing sequence.

Trea Turner saw seven pitches and none of them were in the strike zone. He chased two Javier sweepers, fouled off a fastball, then spat on three straight off-speed pitches before going down on a changeup in the left handed batters box that never looked like a strike.

We can skip over Zack Wheeler overcoming back-to-back two-out walks that loaded the bases for the Astros in the seventh. Yanier Diaz struck out on a nasty sweeper. It was fine.

In the top of the eighth, after having Alex McFarlane warm up in the seventh in case Wheeler got into more trouble, he sat McFarlane down for José Alvarado. On the seventh pitch to Jeremy Peña, he hit a grounder in the shortstop hole that Trea Turner backhanded and threw the ball into the seats. It’s what Drake Maye should’ve done last night so maybe that’s the idea.

After falling behind 3-0 to Yordan Alvarez, Don Mattingly puts up four fingers so there are two on with no one out. With a one-one count, Issac Paredes hit a line drive right to Trea Turner’s glove, Jeremy Peña decided to start running to third even though the ball never came close to hitting the ground and a double play bailed them out.

Against Altuve, Alvarado hung a cutter that was smoked right between Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford in left-center that put runners on second and third with two outs. Daulton Varsho then hit a one-pitch pop up to Bryson Stott that ended the threat.

Bryan Abreu then threw a dominant, ten-pitch, ten-strike, three-strikeout eighth that was one Justin Crawford foul ball away from being an immaculate inning. Brandon Marsh smoked a foul ball off his foot and then had to leave the game for Derek Hill.

In the top of the ninth, with out out, Cam Smith caught a hanging splinker and did not miss it. Smith broke the one-one tie for Josh Hader to throw an easy one-two-three inning. Of course the ending can’t be dramatic!

Anyway, the Braves beat the Rays 3-1, so the Phillies immediately lost the game they gained from last night and travel to Atlanta down four games. Never say never on the division but they probably need a sweep to have a real chance.

The Tampa Bay Rays have announced the winners of their 2026 Minor League awards:

Minor League Co-Player of the Year: Catcher Caden Bodine

Bodine, 22, has slashed .344/.411/.519 (156-for-453) with 27 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs, 97 RBI, 49 walks, and 81 runs scored over 112 games across four levels of the Rays system this season. He is the only Rays farmhand to play 10 games or more for all four full-season affiliates in a single campaign since at least 2005. Bodine’s .344 average is the second best among full-season minor leaguers. The switch-hitting backstop is on pace to be the first Rays minor leaguer to finish with a top-two batting average in the minors since Chandler Simpson won the minor league batting title in 2024. Bodine’s .344 clip would mark the fifth-highest average by a full-season Rays minor leaguer (min. 316 plate appearances).

Bodine began the season with Class-A Charleston and slashed .379/.433/.614 (50-for-132) with 12 doubles, two triples, five home runs, and 27 RBI in 33 games for the RiverDogs. He earned Carolina League Player of the Month and Rays Organizational Player of the Month honors in April. At the time of his promotion, he paced all Single-A hitters in batting average (.379), ranked second in slugging percentage (.614) and OPS (1.047), and was fifth in hits (50). Bodine reached base safely in 30 of his 33 games with Charleston.

He played 32 games with Class-A Bowling Green and posted a .341 (45-for-132) average with six doubles, four home runs, 30 RBI, a .411 on-base percentage, and a .477 slugging percentage. He hit safely in a career-best 18 straight games between June 4-25, a streak that included a South Atlantic League Player of the Week award for June 15-21. During the streak, Bodine went 34-for-79 (.430) with four doubles, one home run, 21 RBI, and a 1.003 OPS.

He was promoted to the Double-A level on June 30 and appeared in 37 games for Montgomery. During his stint in the Southern League, he turned in a .316/.397/.447 (48-for-152) slash line with five doubles, five home runs, 33 RBI, with 20 walks to 12 strikeouts. Between June 30 and Aug. 23, Bodine’s .316 average ranked fourth in the Southern League, while his .397 on-base percentage was seventh best and his 33 RBI tied for eight most. He closed his tenure with the Biscuits by reaching base safely in 12 straight games from Aug. 8-23 and was promoted to Triple-A Durham on Aug. 25.

Bodine began his Triple-A career with an eight-game hitting streak from Aug. 25 through Sept. 5, extending his on-base streak to a career-best 20 games across the Double-A and Triple-A levels. Across 10 games with Durham, he has hit .351 (13-for-37) with four doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, and a 1.017 OPS. Over his last 67 games since June 4, he has hit safely in 57 of those contests and has reached base safely in 60 of 67.

The Mount Holly, N.J. native was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles alongside outfielder Slater de Brun, right-handed pitcher Michael Forret, outfielder Austin Overn, and a 2026 Competitive Balance Round A draft pick (No. 33 overall) in exchange for right-handed pitcher Shane Baz. He is rated as the No. 51 overall prospect, including the No. 5 catching prospect, and the Rays No. 3 prospect by MLB.com.

Minor League Co-Player of the Year: Outfielder Theo Gillen

Gillen, 20, has hit .315 (138-for-438) with 23 doubles, seven triples, 22 home runs, 90 RBI, 44 stolen bases, a .422 on-base percentage, and a .972 OPS in 114 games across stints with Class-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery. He has reached base safely in 107 of 114 games this season and in 185 of 195 games across his minor league career since the Rays selected him in the first round (18th overall) of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of Westlake High School (Texas).

Gillen batted .342/.449/.589 (75-for-219) with 12 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, 44 RBI, 53 runs, and 28 stolen bases in 57 games with Bowling Green. At the time of his promotion on June 23, he paced High-A batters in average, ranked second in on-base percentage and OPS (1.038), was third in slugging percentage, tied for third in total bases (129), tied for fifth in hits, sixth in stolen bases, and tied for sixth in runs scored. Over 57 games with Double-A Montgomery, he has hit .288 (63-for-219) with 11 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 46 RBI, a .394 on-base percentage, and 16 stolen bases.

The outfielder was named Rays Organizational Player of the Month in June after reaching base in every game as part of a season-best, 32-game on-base streak between May 27 through July 4. In June, he went 33-for-97 (.340) with four doubles, three home runs, 18 RBI, 11 stolen bases, 20 walks to 21 strikeouts, and a .458 on-base percentage over 24 games. He also produced a 27-game on-base streak between July 17 and Aug. 21 and a 25-game on-base streak from April 21 to May 24.

With 22 home runs, 90 RBI, and 44 stolen bases, Gillen is one of five affiliated minor leaguers since at least 2005 to post 20 home runs or more, 90 RBI or more, and 40 stolen bases or more at full-season levels in a single season. The only others to accomplish the feat are Konnor Griffin (2025), Jackson Chourio (2023), Cade Marlowe (2022), and George Springer (2013).

On May 29 at Hudson Valley, Gillen reached base six times in six plate appearances with three hits, three walks, two RBI, and four stolen bases. He became the second minor leaguer since at least 2005 to reach base in each of six plate appearances or more and steal four bases or more, joining Milwaukee prospect Braylon Payne, who did so on Sept. 7, 2024 at Carolina.

Gillen is ranked as the No. 12 minor league prospect, No. 2 minor league outfielder, and the No. 2 Rays prospect. On July 8, he was named to the AL roster for the Futures Game during All-Star Week in Philadelphia, going 1-for-3 with an RBI in the July 12 exhibition.

Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Right-handed pitcher Ty Johnson

Johnson, 24, went 4-1 with a 3.03 ERA (62.1 IP, 21 ER), 84 strikeouts, 25 walks, a 0.96 WHIP, and a .164 (35-for-213), opponent batting average over 21 appearances (10 starts) with Triple-A Durham before his major league promotion on Sept. 5. He made his MLB debut on Sept. 6 at Texas, working a scoreless inning of relief with one walk and two strikeouts.

Over the course of May, he spun a 1-0 record, a 1.17 ERA (23.0 IP, 3 ER), 29 strikeouts, and a .171 (14-for-82) opponent batting average in five starts en route to an International League Pitcher of the Month award. He closed the month of June with 5.0 hitless innings against Norfolk on June 28, adding nine strikeouts and one walk to win International League Pitcher of the Week honors (June 22-28).

After transitioning to the bullpen, Johnson made nine relief appearances in August to a 0.79 ERA (11.1 IP, 1 ER), 0.35 WHIP, and .059 (2-for-34) opponent batting average with 19 strikeouts, earning Rays Player Organizational Pitcher of the Month honors for his efforts. He faced 36 batters in August, with only four reaching base safely. He led all Triple-A pitchers with a 0.35 WHIP during the month, third best by a Ray farmhand in a calendar month since 2021 and third best by a Durham pitcher since at least 2005 (min. 10.0 innings pitched).

Johnson was acquired from the Chicago Cubs alongside infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel and right-handed pitcher Hunter Bigge for infielder Isaac Paredes on July 28, 2024. The Rockwall, Texas native is rated as the Rays No. 10 prospect by MLB.com.

Relief Pitcher of the Year: Right-handed pitcher Alexander Alberto

Alberto, 24, has split 46 appearances (five starts) between Double-A Montgomery (21 appearances) and Triple-A Durham (25 appearances/five starts), going a combined 3-1 with a 3.72 ERA (55.2 IP, 23 ER), 68 strikeouts, 22 walks, and a 1.26 WHIP. He began the year with Montgomery, posting a 2.20 ERA (28.2 IP, 7 ER), 0.94 WHIP, and .191 (18-for-94) opponent batting average. At the time of his June 16 promotion, it marked the sixth-best WHIP in the Southern League (min. 25.0 IP). He has gone 1-0 with a 5.33 ERA (27.0 IP, 16 ER) in 25 games (five starts) with Durham, tallying 29 strikeouts against 13 walks. The right-hander has held opponents scoreless in 28 of his 41 relief outings and kept them hitless in 15 of the 41. He did not allow a run in 10 straight relief appearances from May 15 to June 16.

Alberto was tabbed as Rays Relief Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season after turning in a 2.59 ERA (48.2 IP, 14 ER) and 1.17 WHIP in 2025. The native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was signed as an international free agent on Nov. 25, 2019. He is currently ranked as the Rays No. 25 prospect by MLB.com.

Defensive Player of the Year: Outfielder Mac Horvath

Horvath, 25, has appeared in 115 games for Double-A Montgomery this season, including 64 as a center fielder, 30 as a right fielder, 16 as a left fielder, and five as a second baseman. He has committed only three errors on 304 total chances for a fielding percentage of .990 over 968.0 innings. He is tied for the Double-A lead with 12 outfield assists, and his .989 fielding percentage as an outfielder ranks fifth among all outfielders at the level (min. 850.0 innings in the outfield).

The native of Austin, Minn. was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles alongside right-handed pitcher Jackson Baumeister and outfielder Matthew Etzel for right-handed pitcher Zach Eflin on July 26, 2024.

Baserunner of the Year: Infielder Tony Santa Maria

Santa Maria, 24, paces the organization with 58 stolen bases on 67 attempts (86.6 pct.) across 101 games with Class-A Bowling Green and 13 games with Triple-A Durham. He joined previous Baserunner of the Year winners Chandler Simpson (2023-24) and Homer Bush Jr. (2025) as the only Rays minor leaguers with 55-steal campaigns since 2021. The infielder is one of four full-season minor leaguers to have swiped 50 bases or more and produce a .400 on-base percentage or higher this season.

The Atlantic City, N.J. native was selected in the 19th round of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of Rutgers University.

Erik Walker Community Champion: Right-handed pitcher Aidan Haugh

Named after former Rays minor league pitcher Erik Walker, who died tragically in 2006 following his first season in professional baseball, the award annually recognizes a Rays minor leaguer who exemplifies teamwork, sportsmanship, and community involvement. Haugh was selected from a field that included nominees from each Rays affiliate. The Rays Up Foundation will make a $2,500 donation in Haugh name to his chosen charity.

In his first professional season this past summer with Class-A Charleston, Haugh recorded a 9-6 record, a 4.79 ERA (118.1 IP, 63 ER), 1.36 WHIP, and 114 strikeouts to 28 walks across 24 outings (23 starts). His 4.07 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranked eighth among Class-A arms (min. 100.0 innings pitched), while his nine wins tied for 10th. Between May 28 and June 10, he strung together 17.2 consecutive scoreless frames, a stretch that included a 7.0-inning, complete-game shutout in the opener of a doubleheader on May 28 at Columbia.

The 23-year-old was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 First-Year Player draft out of the University of North Carolina. Additional nominees for the award included Logan Workman (Durham), Mac Horvath (Montgomery), and Garrett Gainey (Bowling Green).

The Rays also announced Most Valuable Players for each of their seven affiliates:

Triple-A Durham MVP: Right-handed pitcher Ty Johnson

In addition to his Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award, Johnson earned Durham MVP honors one year after being named Double-A Montgomery’s Co-MVP in 2025.

Double-A Montgomery MVP: Infielder Xavier Isaac

Isaac, 22, slashed .255/.400/.510 (86-for-337) in 99 games for Double-A Montgomery with eight doubles, three triples, 24 home runs, 71 RBI, 80 walks, and 77 runs scored. He paces the Southern League in on-base percentage, ranks second in walks, third in OPS, fourth in slugging percentage, tied for fourth in runs scored, and sixth in homers.

The infielder was promoted to Triple-A Durham on Aug. 25 and has produced a .308 average (12-for-39) and a 1.079 OPS in his first 11 games with the Bulls. His .404 on-base percentage and .928 OPS across 2026 are single-season career highs. With 27 home runs between both teams, he is one of 12 full-season minor leaguers to have 25 home runs or more and a .400 on-base percentage or better in 2026.

Isaac earned Organizational Player of the Month honors in August after slashing .311/.443/.703 (23-for-74) with five doubles, eight home runs, 24 RBI, 18 walks, a 1.146 OPS, and three stolen bases over 21 games between Montgomery (14) and Durham (four), earning a promotion on Aug. 25. His eight home runs, 18 walks, 27 runs, and 13 extra-base hits (tied) led all Rays farmhands during the month.

The left-handed batter was selected in the first round (29th overall) of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of East Forsyth High School (N.C.) and is ranked as the Rays No. 18 prospect by MLB.com.

Class-A Bowling Green MVP: Catcher Nathan Flewelling

Flewelling, 19, hit .243/.364/.452 (98-for-403) with 17 doubles, two triples, 21 home runs, 67 RBI, and 68 runs in 106 games for Bowling Green. The backstop recorded a 19-game on-base streak between June 14 and July 8. Over that stretch, he produced a .328/.505/.672 (22-for-67) line with three doubles, one triple, six home runs, 12 RBI, and a 1.177 OPS. He reached base safely in 90 of 106 games with the Hot Rods.

The native of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada was one of three qualified South Atlantic League (SAL) catchers to post a .360 on-base percentage or better, ranking 17th among all SAL hitters. He was selected in the third round of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Joseph High School (Alberta, Canada) and is currently ranked as the No. 65 minor league prospect and the No. 4 prospect in the Rays organization by MLB.com.

Class-A Charleston MVP: Infielder Cooper Flemming

Flemming, 20, produced a .298/.379/.450 (133-for-447) slash line in 116 games with Class-A Charleston. He added 29 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs, 79 RBI, 51 walks, and 16 stolen bases. The infielder registered a team-best 30-game on-base streak between July 17 and Aug. 23, that included a 12-game hitting streak from Aug. 4-18, tied for the longest by a RiverDog all season. The on-base streak was tied for the eighth longest at the Single-A level in 2026.

The No. 83 minor league prospect and No. 5 prospect in the Rays organization (MLB.com), Flemming was selected in the second round of the 2025 First-Year Player Draft out of Aliso Niguel High School (Calif.).

Rookie-level FCL Rays MVP: Infielder Andreimi Antunez

Antunez, 19, went 50-for-192 (.260) in 53 games in the Florida Complex League (FCL) with eight doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 40 RBI, 40 runs, 35 walks, 12 stolen bases, and a .397 on-base percentage. A year after being named DSL Tampa Bay MVP, the infielder launched seven home runs in the FCL, tying the most by an FCL Ray in a single season since at least 2005, matching Kaleo Johnson in 2018. He also ranked highly in the FCL in RBI (tied for fifth), hits (ninth), runs (10th), and total bases (10th).

The native of Valencia, Venezuela was promoted to Class-A Charleston on July 28 at the conclusion of the FCL season. Antunez was signed as an international free agent on Jan. 15, 2024. MLB.com rates the 19-year-old as the No. 19 prospect in the Rays organization.

Rookie-level DSL Rays MVP: Infielder Brayan Rodriguez

Rodriguez, 17, batted .311 (61-for-196) with 10 doubles, one home run, 51 RBI, 26 walks, 33 stolen bases, and a .401 on-base percentage in 53 games during his first professional season with DSL Rays and DSL Tampa Bay. He ranked highly among qualified DSL batters in RBI (eighth), hits (10th), and stolen bases (tied for 10th). The infielder produced the two longest hitting streaks by a DSL Rays player this season, with a 10-game streak between June 30 and July 14 and a nine-game streak between June 1-12. A first-time DSL midseason All-Star, he led all of the organization’s Dominican Summer League prospects on both clubs in hits and RBI. The Caracas, Venezuela native was signed as an international free agent on Jan. 15, 2026.

Rookie-level DSL Tampa Bay MVP: Outfielder Maykel Coret

Coret, 18, slashed .303/.407/.491 (53-for-175) with six doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 36 RBI, 42 runs scored, 22 stolen bases, and an .898 OPS across 46 games. He produced a 14-game on-base streak from June 9 through July 3, which included an eight-game hitting streak (June 11-23). His seven home runs were the most by a Rays farmhand in the DSL since 2022. The La Romana, Dominican Republic native was signed as an international free agent on Jan. 15, 2025.