Category: MLB

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani spoke passionately Tuesday with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. He acknowledged that he’s playing with pain.

He flat-out insisted, though, that he can not only play, but that he’s close to being the most feared hitter in the game again.

Roberts listened.

Roberts believed him.

So Ohtani will be back in the Dodgers’ lineup Wednesday for Game 3 (8 p.m. ET FOX) of the National League Championship Series, trying to not only save the Dodgers’ season, but preserve their dynasty.

“He wants to be in there and help us win a ballgame,’’ Roberts said, “and win a championship. … He was very convicted that he is on to something mechanically. He was adamant that he can help us. He's well enough to help us win a baseball game. So that's all I needed to hear.’’

The facts say that Ohtani is compromised, playing with a sore left knee and inflamed right biceps, which is reflected by his ugly slump: No homers since Aug. 18. Batting .157 with one RBI since Aug. 19. Hitting .150 with no extra-base hits and seven strikeouts this postseason.

Roberts told Ohtani that he’d be glad to give him the next game or two off, even with the Dodgers' season on the brink, but Ohtani didn’t want to hear a thing about it.

It would be different if this were the regular season, but not now, not with this urgency.

The Dodgers are down 2 games to zero to the Milwaukee Brewers, and if Ohtani took time off, the next time he might be playing again would be spring training − whenever that is with a looming lockout.

Ohtani wants to be the man, just like he’s been ever since his arrival in this country. Just like he's been since signing a $700 million contract with the Dodgers three years ago.

“That's what I think all great players have in the biggest moments,’’ Roberts said. “They expect to perform more than anyone. I do think that Shohei has taken this as a personal challenge.

“But at the end of the day, it's not a one-man show. It's got to be all of us, myself included, have got to be better. So we've all got to do this together, and he's a part of this whole cog. That was kind of my thing is, 'You do you, and we all got to do our part as well.'"

Ohtani, speaking for the first time since the start of the postseason, echoed Roberts’ sentiments and thoughts on their conversation. He’s convinced he’s close. He believes that everyone will soon see the great Ohtani of old, the one that won four MVP awards and will likely finish second this season.

“Over the course of this long season, there's only really a short period of time when my mechanics are completely in sync,’’ Ohtani said through his interpreter. “So it's just really kind of just going back and forth, finding the right parts of the swing and managing just the different parts of the swing. It's a constant, ongoing process that's headed in the right direction.’’

Yet, when asked how much he’s being impacted by the injuries, he refused to use it as an excuse for his struggles.

“The results, (I) take full responsibility,’’ Ohtani said. “That's all I can really say, why the results haven't been where I wanted it to be. … The symptoms shouldn't be the reason why I can't hit, and even if the injuries happen by accident, I take full responsibility. I take that as an opportunity for me to just take full responsibility for it.’’

Besides, he says, the best cure for pain will be cold champagne being sprayed all over him if the Dodgers win their third consecutive World Series.

“The No. 1 priority is for the team to win,’’ Ohtani said. “Whether that be for me to contribute on the offensive side, I do want to feel confident in the approach that I'm taking on that day, whether that be mechanical or anything else. So, that's really just been my focus overall.’’

Roberts wouldn’t divulge where Ohtani will hit in the lineup, only saying it will be in the top six spots, after Ohtani batted cleanup the past two games. Yet, wherever he bats, Roberts believes everyone is about to see a different Ohtani.

The Dodgers certainly need him. Now. More than ever.

“There's just complete conviction that he's on to something, and he feels like he can help us,’’ Roberts said. “He’s saying, 'I want to be in there. I know I can help the team. I’m close.'"

“For me that's all I need to hear. I know we're better with him in the lineup. Everyone knows that, that's no secret.’’

Roberts announced his decision to keep Ohtani in the lineup while the Brewers were leaving Dodger Stadium, but the truth is the Brewers expected this. They always believed he was playing, with Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell saying he’d have been “shocked’’ if Ohtani was benched.

“He's the greatest player in the game, arguably going down as the best player ever,’’ Mitchell said. “This game is very hard. One day you can be on top of the world, and on the next you are hitting the lowest of lows. …

“I know that whether he's feeling good or he's not feeling good, he's always going to be someone that you have to game plan for. You never know. It takes one swing to come back. I think there's proof of that even last year. Probably didn't have the greatest series to start, but that Game 4, it just takes one day.’’

Oh yeah, that Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS, in the pennant-clinching game − one that will live in Dodgers’ fame.

In one of the greatest two-way performances in history, Ohtani hit three home runs and pitched six shutout innings, striking out 10.

The Dodgers certainly remember.

So do the Brewers.

“We remember vividly at this time last year,’’ Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, “that he maybe had the best baseball game ever played the day he pitched against us and hit a home run every time up. You can't forget that, his capabilities.

“But still, all that being said, do you know how tough it is to execute what he did? You still have to go at him. You have to go at everybody.’’

The Dodgers, of course, never imagined that they’d be in this predicament, with not only Ohtani floundering at the plate, but most of the team. They are hitting just .193 with a .263 on-base percentage this postseason, scoring just 19 runs in six games, with two runs scored on errors and two runs on sacrifice flies.

Their powerful lineup has one extra-base hit this series, and they continue to flail away with runners in scoring position, going 2-for-26 with center fielder Andy Pages responsible for the two hits.

“The offense has to find a way to get some more timely hits,” Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said. “We do have to keep applying pressure, but we’ve got to find a way to break through.”

Maybe, just maybe, it will take Ohtani to show them the way.

Once again.

“He knows we’re all still behind him,’’ Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “He's going to get a big hit for us. I know that. I can tell you right now he's going to get a big hit for us at some point, and that's going to turn things."

Ohtani knows that time is of the essence.

He and his teammates have a dynasty to save.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani will stay in Dodgers' lineup. He's convinced he's close to finding MVP form.

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani has done very little at the plate for his last 24 games, is dealing with injuries to his left knee and right biceps, and has looked lost at times at the plate during the postseason. Yet the Dodgers are still sticking by their injured super star, with Ohtani set to start yet again in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night.

“He’s adamant he feels good enough to be in there. He’s close to finding something with his swing. I feel great about it,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday just before the Dodgers workout at Dodger Stadium. “He was very convicted that he is onto something mechanically. He was adamant that he can help us. He’s well enough to help us win a baseball game. So that’s all I needed to hear.”

Reports after Game 2 in Milwaukee said the Dodgers were considering sitting Ohtani amid his struggles, which include three singles and three walks in 24 plate appearances thus far in October. Roberts on Wednesday made clear if Ohtani sits it wouldn’t be a benching, but rather a reset or recovery day.

“It’s kind of what we did with Freddie [Freeman] in 2024. He was ailing, wasn’t feeling great, give him a couple days potentially to then reset, and he ends up winning the MVP in the World Series,” Roberts said. “It’s more of, ‘Hey man, if you’re not feeling good enough that you feel like you can perform up to your ability, then we’ll pivot, give you a couple days.’”

Ohtani this season has been affected by left knee irritation which caused him to miss the All-Star Game, and he was shut down from pitch after his July 3 start. His attempts to ramp up again pitching were eventually halted, and Ohtani also dealt with right biceps inflammation that landed him on the injured list in September.

“It’s everything. It’s the upper body, it’s the knee, and he’s just not perfect. He’s not,” Roberts said. “But in his words, he’s ready to go.”

Since returning from the injured list, Ohtani has eight hits in 37 at-bats (.216) with one extra-base hit, a double.

“The symptoms have subdued a lot, especially when I was on the IL, spending that time just being able to reduce the symptoms,” Ohtani said Tuesday, through interpreter Will Ireton. “As of now with the swing, it’s a daily process of trying different things, different feel on a daily basis.”

Ohtani hit his last home run on August 18, with 110 plate appearances since and just one run batted in.

“The symptoms shouldn’t be the reason why I can’t hit, and even if the injuries happen by accident, I take full responsibility,” Ohtani said, through Ireton. “I take that as an opportunity for me to just take full responsibility for it. Today it’s going to be another process for me to tinker and try new things.”

After batting second in the Dodgers’ first two playoff games, Ohtani batted fifth in Game 3 of the National League Division Series in Atlanta, and has batted fourth in the three games since. Roberts didn’t say exactly where Ohtani might bat in the lineup in Game 3, but said likely somewhere between second and sixth.

“No one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow and the ensuing days,” Roberts said. “At the end of the day in this big moment, we’re listening to Shohei, and we’re going to support the crap out of him and believe in him, and that’s it.”

Shohei Ohtani emerged from the visiting dugout at American Family Field with a bat in his hand, and the mass of media members scattered in foul territory up the third-base line shifted his way, pulled by the magnetic force that is Ohtani’s stardom.

Monday marked the third straight day Ohtani had hit on the field, after a multi-round session off the pitching machine on the workout day and batting practice before each of the first two games of the National League Championship series against the Milwaukee Brewers. But the novelty of the move — Ohtani only took batting practice on the field a few times during the regular season, always in the midst of a slump — had yet to fully wear off.

“The results, take full responsibility,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on Tuesday. “That’s all I can really say, why the results haven’t been where I wanted it to be. But I think there’s different approaches to this, whether that be focusing on reducing the symptoms and getting rid of the pain and/or just making sure that I’m moving well in the swing.”

That break of routine for the start of the NLCS did not pay off in terms of results. But after a conversation with Ohtani, manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that he felt “great” about playing Ohtani in Game 3 of the NLCS, even though Ohtani is still physically compromised by nagging right biceps and left knee problems.

“He’s adamant he feels good enough to be in there,” Roberts said. “He’s close to finding something with his swing. … Yeah, he wants to be in there and help us win a ballgame and win a championship. Great conversation, and I’m excited about having him in there.”

Read more:Dodgers will consider sitting Shohei Ohtani after offense struggles in Game 2 NLCS loss

Roberts made clear that he wasn’t ever considering “benching” Ohtani, but rather weighing whether it would make sense to give him a couple days to “reset,” similar to how they approached Freddie Freeman’s ankle injury in 2024, giving him two days off during that postseason run.

“The symptoms have subdued a lot, especially when I was on the IL, spending that time just being able to reduce the symptoms,” Ohtani said. “As of now with the swing, it’s a daily process of trying different things, different feel on a daily basis.”

Though Ohtani’s arrival kicked off the Dodgers’ back-to-back championships, this isn’t his first time slumping in the postseason. His bat went quiet in the 2024 World Series (two for 19). And between his two-homer game to open last year’s wild-card round, and Game 4 of the NLCS when the two-way star authored the best individual game ever played, he went four for 33.

The difference this time is Ohtani, who has hit three singles in 20 postseason at-bats, isn’t fully healthy. But he was adamant that he would still be able to find a way to produce regardless.

“Over the course of this long season, there’s only really a short period of time when my mechanics is completely in sync,” he said. “So it’s just really kind of just going back and forth, finding the right parts of the swing and managing just the different parts of the swing. So it’s a constant, ongoing process that’s headed in the right direction.”

When healthy, Ohtani has the ability to break out of even the most dire of slumps with an otherworldly performance, like that three-homer (as a hitter), 10-strikeout (as a pitcher) all-timer. Opposing pitchers still have taken a cautious approach to facing him.

This version of Ohtani, however, hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 18, a little over three weeks before he landed on the injured list. He’d played through nagging knee and biceps injuries for most of the season. But by the first week of September, the Dodgers could no longer argue that his poor performance wasn’t necessarily connected to his ailments.

Now, the stakes are as high as ever. Trailing the Brewers 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, the Dodgers desperately need to put themselves in the best possible position to win Game 3 and avoid four straight win-or-go-home contests. And to do so, they need to know what kind of production Ohtani is physically capable of.

“I’ve never wavered in my belief in him,” Roberts said. “The work that he’s putting in — shoot, he squared the bunt in Game 2 to potentially get on base. That just speaks to whatever it takes to help the team win. He’s always been about the team, whether it’s hitting first, second, fourth, or wherever, right? So for me, just hearing his conviction, that’s what I wanted to hear.”

The communication between Ohtani and the team on injuries has been a work in progress in his third year with the Dodgers.

“We certainly had a lot of communication with him throughout the year, and worked together really well in terms of how to go about this,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in late September.

Read more:Plaschke: Dodgers' three-peat dreams are on life support as the deflated heroes return home

“And I think in his mind, he just thought that what he was dealing with was more minor, because it wasn’t like he would see a doctor and go, ‘Oh my God, you have this ailment.’ There were just a number of different things that were bothering him. And I think in his mind, he thought the best way to help the team was to go out and play, which I respect. But us staying really connected and sharing that information, I think, will be really important going forward.

“And again, the communication back and forth has been awesome. The fully sharing exactly how he’s feeling, maybe not as awesome. But again, I would rather [have] that with a guy than the other side of that.”

So, Ohtani kept trying to work his way back to the mound for weeks after receiving a lubricating Orthovisc injection in his knee at the beginning of the All-Star break. And when his biceps injury flared again, and the discomfort extended up through his neck, the Dodgers put off an IL move as long as possible.

Roberts said Ohtani’s conviction lined up with what the manager was hearing from the Dodgers hitting coaches and medical staff.

“No one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow and the ensuing days,” Roberts said. “At the end of the day in this big moment, we’re listening to Shohei, and we’re going to support the crap out of him and believe in him, and that’s it.”

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Perhaps unexpected results in both games yesterday, though the Brewers won more games in the regular season than the Dodgers. Still, you’d probably have got long odds against Milwaukee winning the games started by both Skubal and Yamamoto. Still, they go to Los Angeles, knowing that they cannot be eliminated there. The Brewers either win the series there, or it’ll be returning to Milwaukee. Certainly, the Dodgers have not looked great this postseason especially on offense. They currently have a playoff OPS of just .591, which is the worst of the eight teams to get past the wild-card round. And that’s despite leading the post-season in HR, with eight.

Mind you, the overall OPS across all the playoffs is just .633, which is the lowest for a season since 1983. Pitching usually does tighten up in the post-season: the OPS there has been below .700 four of the past five years. But this year, it’s been a spectacular drop-off in offense. Anyway, just the one game today, the Rays seeking to even their series after an unexpected meltdown by their bullpen yesterday.

• Cleveland Guardians @ Tampa Bay Rays (1-0): 5 pm, TBS/HBO Max

Probable pitchers: Rays’ RHP Freddy Peralta vs. Guardians’ LHP Parker Messick

Where to watch: TBS/HBO MAX, TruTV, Univision/ TUDN

The Guardians come into tonight’s Game 2 of the ALCS looking to take control of the series, while the Rays hope to even the series before heading up to Cleveland.

Tampa Bay and Cleveland came into Game 1 of the ALCS off of very different ALDS performances. The Rays breezed through a sweep of the Yankees, having only allowed five runs across the three games. Cleveland, on the other hand, came back from a 0-2 deficit to win three in a row and send the Chicago White Sox home in the most dramatic of this year’s Division Series. And so, as we’ve seen many times in baseball before, Game 1 saw the hot team beat the rested team, with the Guardians stealing a game in Tropicana Field.

Game 1 was won largely off the brilliance of José Ramírez and rookie Chase DeLauter. The Maryland-born DeLauter got Cleveland on the board with a solo HR in the 6th, setting the stage for Cleveland’s comeback. After Patrick Bailey homer tied it at 2 in the 7th, before Ramírez and DeLauter sparked the winning rally in the 8th.

J-Ram started the inning with a single and move to third on DeLauter’s double. Nathaniel Lowe then singled up the middle off Tyler Wells to give the Guardians a 4-2 and put them up for good. Cedric Mullins hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 8th to cut the deficit in half, but Ramírez and DeLauter would spark a three-run rally in the 9th to seal Cleveland’s victory.

Game 2 now sees a matchup of All-Stars Freddy Peralta and Parker Messick. Peralta continued his resurgence with the Rays in Game 2 of the ALDS, putting up a line of 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 3 Ks in a 5-2 win over the Yankees. That start lowered Peralta’s ERA to 3.15 since joining the Rays at the trade deadline, and 1.10 since the beginning of September.

The rookie southpaw Messick was brilliant in the regular season, but only so-so in two games against the White Sox. He took the loss in Game 1 against Chicago after allowing 2 runs across 4.2 IP while striking out six. In Game 4, he exited early due to a lack of control, walking 4 and allowing 2 runs in only 2.1 innings. Messick had a 1.35 ERA across 13.1 innings with 15 Ks against the Rays in the regular season. Peralta did not face the Guardians this year, last pitching against Cleveland in a 5-0 loss last year with Milwaukee.

Game two of the ALCS, the Guardians won game one.

The starters tonight are Parker Messick (12-9, 2.56) for the Guardians and Freddy Peralta (10-11, 4.42) for the Rays. I picked up Parker in trade in OOTP Baseball, and he’s been pretty good for me.

I’m not cheering for either team. I figured that, while watching yesterdays game that I would figure out who I was cheering for, but I just enjoyed watching, without picking a team.

Now the Brewers Dodgers series, I know who I’m cheering for.

Lineups:

So Go Baseball Go.

Shohei Ohtani, physically diminished and mired in one of the worst slumps of his major league career, will remain in the lineup for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Ohtani, 32, has just three singles in 20 at-bats this postseason, with seven strikeouts and three walks. He has not hit a home run since Aug. 18, and finished the regular season batting .160 with a .284 on-base percentage over his final 88 plate appearances. The Dodgers finally put him on the injured list in early September, a concession to left knee and right biceps injuries that hampered him much of this season and reduced him to a one-way player.

It's a significant contrast from last postseason, when Ohtani hit eight home runs in 84 plate appearances, posted a .405 OBP and 1.096 OPS, while pitching at least once every series. The Dodgers won their second consecutive World Series, in seven games over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Facing a 2-0 deficit in this NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, Roberts held a long conversation with Ohtani in the off day before Game 3 and emerged confident Ohtani will begin producing.

"The word I would use is conviction: He was very convicted that he's on to something mechanically," Roberts told reporters in Los Angeles. "He was adamant that he can help us, he's well enough to help us win a baseball game. That's all we needed to hear."

The Dodgers and Ohtani have both kept the extent of his injuries vague, and Ohtani's performance since returning from the IL − a combined 8-for-41 including the postseason, with just one double and 15 strikeouts − have hardly tamped down concerns about his health.

Ohtani said Tuesday he believes the IL stint helped and that his health has improved.

"The symptoms have subdued a lot, especially when I was on the IL, spending that time just being able to reduce the symptoms," Ohtani told reporters in Los Angeles, via interpreter Will Ireton. "As of now with the swing, it's a daily process of trying different things, different feel on a daily basis."

Says Roberts: "It’s everything. It’s the upper body. It’s the knee. He’s just not perfect. But in his words, he’s ready to go."

In a sense, the fear of the Dodgers pulling the plug on Ohtani before he breaks out seems to exceed the concerns over continuing to run him out there. For now, the potential outweighs the empty plate appearances the Dodgers have received from their superstar through two NLCS games.

"We can all kind of analyze this. But no one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow or ensuing days," says Roberts. "But in this big moment, we’re listening to Shohei and we’re going to support the crap out of him and believe in him."

Ohtani refused to blame injuries for his poor performance, even as he's had to mitigate them for several weeks − and into the most scrutinized portion of the season.

"The symptoms shouldn't be the reason why I can't hit, and even if the injuries happen by accident, I take full responsibility," Ohtani told reporters. "I take that as an opportunity for me to just take full responsibility for it. Today it's going to be another process for me to tinker and try new things."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani will play in NLCS Game 3 as Dave Roberts feels breakthrough is near

The Los Angeles Dodgers are down 0-2 in their series agaisnt the Milwaukee Brewers after dropping both games road games. The two squads now get a day off to travel to Los Angeles where the series will continue, and possibly end if the Dodgers aren’t able to wake up. The reigning champions are more vulnerable than ever over the past three years and it’s almost like the entire baseball world is rooting for anyone other than LA. If they can’t win tomorrow that might be it for the defending champs.

We do have baseball today though as we shift our full attention to the American League. The Cleveland Guardians were able to snatch the first game yesterday evening, using some late offense to steal Game 1 in Tampa Bay and putting themselves in a great early position against the AL’s #1 seed. Led by manager and former Athletic Stephen Vogt, the Guardians are looking to break the second-longest championship drought across the four major American sports, bested only by the NFL’s Cardinals. After 78 years, I think Cleveland is ready to experience a parade.

Guardians at Rays (8:00 PM EDT)

Tampa Bay is the league’s #1 seed and looked like it for the first half in last night’s series opener. The final frames however were ugly for the Rays as their bullpen imploded and cost them the game. They might not have hit the panic button just yet but if they drop both of their home games, they’re in serious trouble.

For tonight they’ll have right-hander Freddy Peralta (5-2, 3.25 ERA*) taking the ball for this critical contest. The veteran has looked much better since his mid-season trade to Florida, helping to stabilize a Rays rotation that has plenty of upside but lots of health questions as well. Peralta has plenty of experience pitching in playoff games and tonight’s could be the biggest of his career. The Rays can not afford to go down 0-2 in this series before heading to Cleveland. They might not make it back to The Trop if they can’t secure the W tonight.

Here’s how the Rays will line up tonight:

The Devil Rays have entered October

👀: TBS/HBO MAX
👂: 95.7 WDAE pic.twitter.com/gHoxVbZh2c

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 13, 2026

While the Rays have a grizzled veteran going for them tonight, Cleveland have rookie right-hander Parker Messick (12-9, 2.56 ERA) on the mound in this one. The righty is wrapping up his first full season as a big league pitcher and his 2026 couldn’t have gone much better. The 25-year-old made all 32 of his scheduled starts after claiming a spot in the season-opening rotation. Outside of a tough June Messick was pitching like an ace all season long and his 2.56 ERA ranks sixth in the entire sport. The Guardians got to like their chances with him on the mound, though they’ve been careful with him in his two postseason starts so far.

And here’s how the Guardians will line up this evening:

It's us and we're back.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/p75MtKeAel

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 13, 2026

Who you guys got taking tonight’s game? Do the Rays find themselves in an 0-2 hole heading back to Cleveland or will they be able to snag their second home game from the Guardians. We’re about to find out!

*Statistics are with Rays only after his acquisition from the Mets at this summer’s trade deadline

While the NLCS is on hiatus Tuesday as the Dodgers and Brewers travel to Los Angeles with Milwaukee ahead 2-0, there will still be baseball on our televisions Tuesday evening.

The Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays play Game 2 of their ALCS at 8 p.m. (TBS, truTV and streaming on HBO Max) with the Guardians ahead 1-0 after rallying for a 7-3 win Monday night.

Tampa Bay, looking to avoid dropping both games at home to begin the series, sends Freddy Peralta (0-0, 1.93 ERA) to the mound after acquiring him from the Mets ahead of the trade deadline. Cleveland has Parker Messick (0-1, 5.40 ERA) making his third start of the postseason.

The Guardians have won four straight playoff games since losing their first two, while Tampa Bay saw its postseason-opening three-game win streak snapped in Game 1.

For those who are still invested even with the Braves eliminated, share your thoughts below when things get underway tonight in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Go Rays!

As the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers move to the City of Angels for Game 3 of the NLCS, tonight, attention focuses on the American League Championship Series as the Cleveland Guardians play their second game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Here’s a preview of tonight’s action from our friends at Covering the Corner and DRays Bay.

It should be a good evening of baseball. Look for Kevin Kiermaier to throw out the first pitch.

Now to the details.

Cleveland Guardians (1-0) at Tampa Bay Bay Rays (0-1) — 6 PM MDT

Pitching Matchup: LHP Parker Messick (12-9, 2.56 ERA) vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (10-11, 4.42 ERA)

SB Nation Sites: DRaysBay, Covering the Corner

Radio: ESPN Radio

TV: TBS/HBO Max

Lineups

For the visiting Guardians:

It's us and we're back.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/p75MtKeAel

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 13, 2026

And the home Rays:

The Devil Rays have entered October

👀: TBS/HBO MAX
👂: 95.7 WDAE pic.twitter.com/gHoxVbZh2c

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 13, 2026

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The Milwaukee Brewers went up 2-0 over the reigning World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday. That series moves to Los Angeles on Wednesday. So far, the talented young Brewers have looked much better at the plate than the Dodgers, but we’ll see how long that holds up. The Dodgers are definitely backed into a bit of a corner already.

On Tuesday night, Game 2 of the ALCS is set for 8:00 p.m. ET on TBS from Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay. Guardians’ LHP Parker Messick (0-1, 5.40 ERA) takes on the Rays’ RHP Freddy Peralta (0-0, 1.93 ERA).

After the way the Guardians handled the Rays bullpen in their convincing 7-3 victory on Monday night, the pitching matchup certainly looks to favor the Guardians the rest of the way. The difference isn’t that great, but with Gavin Williams and Cade Smith pitching some of their best ball of the season the task is particularly tough on the Rays side. Despite some talented young hitters like Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana, the Guardians offense wasn’t even close to the Rays level during the regular season, but with Jose Ramirez seemingly healthy for the first time all season, they look a lot better equipped to keep going toe-to-toe with the Rays, and whoever comes through on the National League side if they can get there.

Join us here to chat about Game 2.

66 years ago today, Bill Mazeroski made history that baseball will never, ever forget.

On October 13, 1960, Mazeroski hit the most famous home run in baseball history.  

Mazeroski walked-off the powerful New York Yankees at Forbes Field with a shot over the left field wall in Game 7 of the World Series. The Pirates won 10-9. They were outscored 55-27 and shut out twice. 

Mazeroski’s home run was the one that made the difference and remains the only Game 7 walk-off home run in MLB history. Tuesday marked the first anniversary since Mazeroski passed away on February 20. He was 89 years old. The Pirates honored Maz with a jersey patch this season. 

Game 7. Bottom of the ninth. Maz delivered. pic.twitter.com/Ap81rX6GHo

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) October 13, 2026

The Hall of Famer delivered what many believe to be the best moment in Pittsburgh sports. Better than the Immaculate Reception, Santonio Holmes’ game-winning catch in Super Bowl XLIII, Marc-Andre Fleury’s save in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, and others. 

It secured the World Series title and remains the last time a major Pittsburgh sports team clinched the trophy on home soil. Even for those born 40 years after the ball cleared the wall, Yinzers still feel the gravity of the moment and the importance the Wheeling, West Virginia native left on Western Pennsylvania.

In a long list of successful accolades, Mazeroski’s moment has stood the test of time. The Pirates won their third World Series title and did what many thought was impossible against a Yankees team led by Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford. 

On this date in 1960, Bill Mazeroski’s name went down in history.

His legendary blast in Game 7 of the World Series marked the first time a Fall Classic ended on a walk-off home run. https://t.co/W1elpTThoepic.twitter.com/JxK2tKSkXy

— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) October 13, 2026

To this day, fans gather at the remains of the left field wall to listen back to the game broadcast, synced up to the moment Maz left the ballyard. 

A tradition like no other in sports:

Fans gather at the remnants of Forbes Field in Pittsburgh annually on 10/13 to celebrate the anniversary of Bill Mazeroski’s walk off home run that gave the Pirates a #WorldSeries title vs the Yankees. #LetsGoBucs  pic.twitter.com/85Rz4ZdDYL

— 1986-92 Pittsburgh Pirates (@1992Pirates) October 13, 2026

It’s an annual reminder of the important place the Pirates hold in baseball history, while also a reminder of the need for new historical moments current generations can hold onto forever. 

There will likely never be a moment like Maz’s ever again.

Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:

It's us and we're back.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/p75MtKeAel

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 13, 2026

Here’s the Rays’ lineup:

10/13 ⚾ Rays Lineup is Out!
Provided by mlbstartingnine (@DailyMLBLineups for link)

📊 Live Line: Rays -132 • O/U 7.0#Rays#RaysLineup#MLBpic.twitter.com/vO84YfSoxt

— MLB Daily Lineups (@DailyMLBLineups) October 13, 2026

Let’s go, Guardians!

The Astros’ current manager is interviewing for a divisional rival. 

In one of the strangest situations in baseball, the Mariners requested permission to interview Astros manager Joe Espada, and Houston granted it, per MLB.com.

The bizarre situation comes as the Astros are uncertain about nearly everything that involves the team’s future, with Espada’s contract set to expire at the end of October.

It would certainly seem like the Astros intend to let Espada go and head into the 2027 season with a new manager if they’re letting him interview with a division rival.

But Seattle could be playing some games here, too.

By requesting permission to talk to Espada just before his contract runs out, the Mariners may be signaling that he’s in demand, pressuring Houston to re-sign him before someone else does.

Seattle is coming off a terrible 2026 season and fired manager Dan Wilson after going 76-86 despite entering the season among the American League favorites.

Houston had a tough go in their own right this season. The Astros won 81 games — good enough to win the AL West, but were swept by the White Sox in the wild-card round — and faced internal upheaval midseason. 

The Astros fired general manager Dana Brown right after the trade deadline as ownership was in disagreement with the front office on the direction of the team.

Brown had tried to trade reliever Bryan Abreu for Twins outfielder Trevor Larnach, but ownership killed those plans and fired him weeks later as his contract was set to expire in October, like Espada’s. 

Espada took over for Dusty Baker after the 2023 season and had a 256-229 regular season record but went 0-4 in the postseason.