Category: MLB

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

IndyAnaJones asks:If the Yankees lose the division, at whose feet might you lay the blame, without resorting to excuses such as… injuries, or lack of options at the trade deadline, or too high prices for options that were available at the trade deadline, or even further back, last offseason?

The Rays have just been the better team in the regular season, is what it boils down to if you want to wave all of those other reasons off as just “excuses.” Frankly, with the team losing Aaron Judge after May and not getting him back until just recently, I’m amazed that they’ve held firmly onto the top Wild Card spot and have even been in a position to challenge for the division. But the team did punt away a handful of games over the summer due to their struggling offense and the Rays simply haven’t gone on as terrible a stretch, syncing up with the Yankees’ latest hot streak to prevent them from gaining any ground. If there’s any culprit to pin the blame on, collectively its the lineup as a whole — but sometimes you have to tip your cap and say that another team’s success is just legitimate this season, and at this point I’m not going to diminish the fact that the Rays are a contender that pulled ahead. It’s on the Yankees now to run the gauntlet that they couldn’t last year and beat them when it matters most, assuming that the standings don’t dramatically flip from their upcoming showdown in the Bronx.

golfhog54 asks:In lining up the pitching for the post season, against Boston, it’s probably Schlittler, Fried, and Cole. How does the Tampa Bay series line up after that?

I agree that it will probably be Schlittler, Fried, and Cole should the Wild Card Round go to a third game, but worries have certainly crept in about Cole’s spot there. The ace is in need of a get-right game after his last two outings have seen seven long balls launched over the last 11.1 innings he’s pitched, and if that carries over into a third consecutive start that officially becomes a capital-c Concern. Cole’s one of the best pitchers in the sport still when he’s right, but the home run derbies he can spawn from time to time are his biggest weakness and an elimination game is the worst possible timing to throw a pitcher like that out there. Cole has insisted that it’s a visibility issue with his pitching that he can tweak rather than an injury concern, but time is of the essence with only a handful of starts remaining in the regular season.

The Yankees have another viable postseason starter in Carlos Rodón, who could also line up as their Game 1 starter for the ALDS should they advance similar to how they pitched Luis Gil against the Blue Jays to open last year’s Division Series. Rodón could instead be the Game 3 Wild Card starter if Cole continues to look like a gamble, letting Cole rest until the ALDS instead where they could let him set the table and potentially steal back home field advantage from Tampa. I doubt they’d do this though, for two reasons: one, the Yankees believe in Cole and so long as he’s not running three-plus homer games all the way to October then he’ll be penciled in there, and two running Rodón has its own risks right now as his fastball velocity has dipped in September. The Sox offense would probably get woken up more facing Los’ heater right now than they would Cole’s, and so the status quo seems the most beneficial, with the rotation resetting for Schlittler grabbing a potential Game 2.

lidbit asks:A lot was seen this year of the potential of 18 year old center fielder Yostin Pena. He has shown hitting for average and power with excellent baserunning skills albeit in the lower minors. Is he a five tool prospect that can reach the Bronx in a few years? How excited are the Yankees’ player development personnel?

Pena turned a lot of heads with his performance down in Tampa this season after getting the promotion stateside following just 37 games in the Dominican Summer League. His bat stayed scorching, turning in a .941 OPS in 24 games with six homers and 10 steals. His discipline at the plate is still a little wild but that’s to be expected for the massive leap he’s made already, and he displayed an elite ability in several key facets of the game already. He’s also got a cannon of an arm, something that’ll play well in any portion of the outfield but would especially pair well with covering the deepest parts of Yankee Stadium’s center field should he make it to the majors. His trajectory is a complete unknown considering how quickly he appeared on the map in the first place — this could simply be the pace that he blazes through the minors and we could be talking about the possibility of seeing him a year or two from now, or he may get adjusted to as he faces older competition and take some more time. One thing for certain is that he’ll be gracing some top prospect rankings after the rise he’s had, and there’s potential for him to be the organization’s biggest name on the farm by the end of next season.

Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson was supposed to have two rehab games with Triple-A Iowa and then rejoin the team Friday in Cincinnati. Best-laid plans and all, both Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s I-Cubs games at Omaha got rained out.

So instead of action with Iowa, Swanson reported to Wrigley Field Wednesday. So did two Cubs pitchers currently on rehab assignments:

The Cubs then held a sim game for Swanson at Wrigley Field Wednesday afternoon, with those two serving as pitchers.

And so, Swanson will indeed be activated from the 10-day injured list for tonight’s game in Cincinnati against the Reds. To make room for Swanson on the active roster, infielder B.J. Murray Jr. was optioned to Iowa.

While the Cubs have a capable backup infielder in Pedro Ramirez, and Nico Hoerner can play shortstop, the Cubs defense is not nearly as good without Swanson at short and Nico at second, where they are both elite fielders. Swanson left the game against the Cardinals Aug. 16 with an oblique injury during his first plate appearance that afternoon, so he’s been out exactly a month. The Cubs were 72-52 entering that game against the Cardinals and they have gone 13-16 in Swanson’s absence, including that day.

I’m not suggesting that poor record since Swanson’s injury is cause-and-effect, but clearly, they have missed his defense. Hopefully he’s 100 percent (or close) and can provide some spark to the lineup as well as defensively. Swanson had been on something of a hot streak before the injury, batting .278/.409/.528 (10-for-36) in the 11 games prior, with three doubles, two home runs, seven walks and 10 runs scored.

As always, we await developments.

We recently asked whether Dodgers fans had a preference as to which playoff seed (between top and second) they preferred. Overwhelmingly, the easier path on paper looks to be through the second seed. For most of the year, no one would have questioned this logic. However, as September has unfolded, an interesting wrinkle has become possible, if unlikely, involving both Chicago baseball teams.

At first, I only noticed it with the White Sox, but as the Cubs have dropped five of seven games to the Milwaukee Brewers over the past two weeks, all but conceding the NL Central to the Brewers, who clinched on September 15, a question now must be publicly asked.

What on Earth is happening in Chicago?

We’ll start with the moribund American League, which has looked mediocre, to be generous, for most of the year.

The Pope’s Baseball Team

Interestingly enough, there are scenarios where current American League division leaders Chicago and Houston end up watching the postseason from home if things go sideways over the next two weeks, adding to this essay’s theme of chaos.

While no one in these parts will bang on about the Astros season ending up in the trash can, a White Sox collapse would be a sour ending to what has otherwise been a fun story.

As is well known, the White Sox have been nothing short of a dumpster fire over the previous two seasons, setting the record for losses in the modern era in 2024. It’s said that every team is guaranteed to lose a third of its games and win a third of its games, and it’s the remaining third that tells the story.

If a team can’t even win its “guaranteed” third of games, that’s how you know you’ve sunk into baseball hell. What a time for some divine intervention, no?

The Pope Mural at Rate Field on June 14, 2026

It is still mind-boggling that the current Pontiff is both American and a lifelong White Sox’s fan. The White Sox have clutched on to this unexpected event with gusto, with both a mural of the Pope in Rate Field to commemorate the fact that he went to Game 1 of the 2005 World Series and an official miter giveaway day.

The 2026 White Sox are not what I would call a good team, but the turnaround is remarkable. When I first visited Rate Field, it was a drab and joyless experience, only made memorable by a decent chocolate milkshake.

Rate Field is still bad, but when the locals have something to cheer about, the facility is less drab.

The White Sox are the figurative C-student doing their best in a remedial class where all of their classmates are either going through issues at home (Minnesota), spectacularly underachieving (Kansas City, Detroit), or have skinflint parents (Cleveland). Accordingly, the White Sox have held the division lead since June and currently have the second seed in the American League.

However, the wheels have started to wobble and come off since the All-Star Break. As of the start of play on September 18, the White-Sox are 28-30 since the break, which is middle of the road, and 20-24 since August 1. As we recently covered, the Dodgers and White Sox have generally feasted on sub-500 opponents in 2026. The Dodgers have since rebounded against over-500 opponents, but the White Sox have started to lose to teams that a contending team should beat.

A final three-game series with then-second-place Cleveland just concluded with the White Sox falling out of the division lead for the first time since June. As the White Sox now are looking up at the Guardians, the precipice for flights to Cancun looms because the gaggle of mediocre teams clamoring for the sixth seed is right there, including Toronto, Texas, and, in the distance, Baltimore.

Yes, it would be the most Blue Jays thing ever for them to be basically unwatchable all year, having their fanbase whine that they should have won last year’s World Series, literally not be two games above .500 since the first week of the season, just to sneak into the sixth seed due to the sheer ineptitude of the American League.

Vlad Guerrero, Jr. hit his first home run at Rogers Centre on Game 150, which made the following near-miss from Game 7 even more darkly funny and emblematic.

The only way this scenario could get worse is if the Blue Jays end up in the ALCS, because they somehow waltz over the “happy-to-be-here” second-seed AL Central Winner.

Dodgers/Blue Jays 2: Poutine’d (Again)!, which would hopefully end in five games in Toronto with a third consecutive title, would be the sequel nobody wanted, but everybody in Los Angeles needed.

Yes, the American League has generally been a disappointment in 2026, but that fact should not obscure the renaissance happening in the South Side of Chicago.

Meanwhile, at Wrigley…

I understand losing to the Brewers in the regular season.

The Dodgers rolled over in spectacular fashion last year and in the home half of the matchup this year. Apparently, the Brewers changed their win song at the request of Manager Pat “Pocket Pancake” Murphy. I would not know, as the Dodgers took care of business while I was in attendance in 2026.

It happens, and when the Brewers are right, their brand of baseball makes most teams look slow and silly. Where most, including me, predicted that this year would be the year the Cubs finally won the NL Central, the Cubs were hell-bent on proving everyone wrong through what can be generously described as manic swings in quality of play.

Originally, I saw the Cubs start to wobble, but then over the last week, just about every lower seed but the Padres (really?!?) decided to go ice cold. For a split-second, I thought we might get both Chicago clubs staying home this October.

Now it just looks like potential heartbreak in the Southside and maximum chaos for the Wild Cards in the National League.

As of the start of play on September 18th, there is a 4-game gap between the fourth seed and going to Cancun.

• 4) Cubs – 85-68, +1 game over the sixth seed, 4-6 over their last ten
• 5) Phillies – 85-68, +1 game over the sixth seed, 5-5 over their last ten
• 6) Padres – 84-69, 9-1 over their last ten
• 7) Diamondbacks – 80-73, 4 games back of the sixth seed, 5-5 over their last ten

This essay started while trying to answer the question “Are the Cubs really going to cough it up?” Now, one must openly wonder whether the matchups we have considered a given for about a month are going to fall by the wayside.

Before anyone in San Diego starts preparing a coronation ceremony for the Padres, it’s helpful to remember who the Padres have played over their few series:

• New York Yankees (at home), 2-1
• Washington Nationals (at home), sweep
• San Francisco Giants (in SF), sweep
• Colorado Rockies (in Denver), 3-1

I see one decent test and ten games against opponents any playoff contender should win. (See also, the Seattle Mariners who somehow went 3-9 against the Sacramento Athletics and Anaheim Angels — yikes).

Whether we are witnessing the Cubs or Phillies slowly crashing out, or the Diamondbacks crashing in, will be resolved in the next week and a half.

Even while hoping for maximum chaos, Arizona needs to either find another gear or get some significant help from some mediocre also-rans while navigating the Yankees, Rockies (in Denver), and Padres (in San Diego). Yes, the Padres and Diamondbacks conclude the regular season by playing each other in San Diego.

The Padres play the Dodgers for their final road games of the regular season just before this showdown with Arizona, but that’s just one more element of this unfolding chaos.

The Cincinnati Reds made a series of interesting roster moves on Friday prior to the final home series of the season at Great American Ball Park.

Chief among them was claiming the versatile Oswaldo Cabrera off waivers from the New York Yankees, who had designated him for assignment earlier in the week. Now 27, Cabrera is a switch-hitter with experience all over the diamond, though his bat has yet to live up to the 108 OPS+ he posted in a 171 PA first cup of coffee at the big league level back in 2022. Since then, he’s hit just .232/.291/.328 in 778 PA across a trio of seasons, and he entered his arbitration years for the first time in 2026 at a modest $1.2 million salary.

He’s got an option remaining, though, and as a switch-hitter profiles as a pretty great final roster piece with at least a modicum of upside. He’s got an option remaining, too, so it’s likely this is a move the Reds made with eyes on 2027 as much as the final two weeks of this season.

That wasn’t the only action on the roster, however. Julian Aguiar was recalled for the first time since his Tommy John surgery, and he’ll be taking the spot on the roster previously occupied by Julian Garcia. The latter’s season is over as he is going to have surgery to remove loose bodies in his right elbow. Adding Aguiar brings another arm with starting experience (and length), and considering that was done a) on the day Chase Burns is set to start and b) after Brandon Williamson was already used this week, my best guess is we’ll see Aguiar in bulk after Burns exits early at his pitch limit tonight.

Spencer Steer was moved to the 60-day IL to free up the other needed 40-man roster spot.

Three. That’s what the Red Sox care about right now. Both as the Magic Number and the number worn by Ceddanne Rafaela. It’s also Ranger Suarez’s ERA. All of it.

The series with the Texas Rangers went, well, not great. However it ended on mostly a high note. Aside from Willson Contreras begin hit in the hand (initial x-rays negative, not follow up announced, 2026 medical curse perhaps behind us?). One thing lining up for the Red Sox: the Rangers are fighting to get into October. The Rays have clinched. They didn’t clinch the division, but they might be, ever so slightly, less pedal to the metal.

The problem: the bats.

Not the problem: Payton Tolle.

Ranger Suarez is pitching the first game. He hasn’t faced the Rays this year but Boston signed him with big games in mind and his sterling postseason stats (1.48 ERA / 3.02 FIP). Sitting at a Magic Number of 3 a win tonight gets that to 2 minimum. Ian Seymour will try to prevent this. He’s faced the Red Sox twice this season – 3.0 innings, 3 runs and 4.0 innings, 1 run. Since the start of August batters have nearly an .800 OPS against the lefty.

Tolle himself might pitch Saturday, but it hasn’t been announced as of writing. he could also pitch Sunday and sneak in another day of rest. Monday is an off day regardless. The Sox might be waiting to see if the Magic Number is 1 after tonight’s games to decide. Regardless, the rays will send newly repaired Mets castoff Freddy Peralta. He had an ERA of nearly 5.00 in NY and under 4.00 with the Rays. If you toss out his first start with Tampa (7 runs in 3.2 innings) he’s got a 2.66 ERA / 3.78 FIP with 30 Ks in 40.2 innings.

Likewise Sunday is up in the air for Boston. Bello? Sandoval? It might depend on the Magic Number. Griffin Jax continues to covert from relief to starting. After missing a month he got rocked for 6 runs in 2.2 innings in his first start but then tossed 10 innings allowing just a single run over his next two. His first start against Boston was in May where he allowed 3 runs (2 earned) over 4.0 innings. The second was during the sweep in July where he was hit for 7 runs in 5.0 innings. Lets see that again!

Junior Caminero leads the league with 41 homers.

Chandler Simpson is tied for the batting title at .311. He is also leading ins steals (44) and caught stealing (14).

Catcher Liam Hicks has hit .297/.390/.465 since being acquired from the Marlins. What a steal.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday, September 18: Ranger Suarez (3.33 ERA / 3.08 FIP) vs. Ian Seymour (4.27 ERA / 4.02 FIP)

Saturday, September 19: TBD (— ERA / — FIP) vs. Freddy Peralta (4.67 ERA / 4.39 FIP)

Sunday, September 20: TBD (— ERA / — FIP) vs. Griffin Jax (3.80 ERA / 3.86FIP)

When/Where to Watch

Friday, September 18: 7:10 PM ET on NESN

Saturday, September 19: 4:10 PM ET on NESN

Sunday, September 20: 1:40 PM ET on NESN

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The Mets’ final homestand of the 2026 season continues tonight against the Philadelphia Phillies.

At 7:15 p.m., the second game of the Mets-Phillies weekend series will air live tonight, Friday, Sept. 18, on Apple TV’s Friday Night Baseball.

Game 1 of the three-game set went to Don Mattingly’s playoff-bound club. Starting pitcher Aaron Nola twirled seven shutout innings, only giving up three hits over 81 pitches. Offensively, Bryce Harper led the way for the Phils. His 3-for-4 night at the plate and RBI was enough for the squad to prevail and win 3-0.

Over the course of the ’26 regular season, the Mets and Phillies have met nine times; Philadelphia has taken five of those contests. New York’s last win was on July 19 when Nolan McLean tossed six no-run innings and Francisco Lindor homered, doubled, singled, walked twice and drove in a trio of runs.

Tonight’s Friday Night Baseball is exclusively streaming on Apple TV, but it’s easy to subscribe and tune in — and completely free if you’ve never tried Apple TV before.

Mets vs. Phillies start time today (Sept. 18)

Tonight’s Mets vs. Phillies game is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. ET.

How to watch Mets vs. Phillies for free

Tonight’s Mets vs. Phillies game is airing exclusively on Apple TV‘s Friday Night Baseball, so you’ll need a subscription to watch the game.

Apple TV offers a seven-day free trial for users, so you’ll be able to watch two weeks of doubleheaders before the $14.99/month payments kick in.

Amazon Prime members can also subscribe to Apple TV directly through Prime Video. It costs the same monthly price and also includes a seven-day free trial, but allows you to stream Apple’s content inside the Prime Video app.

Mets vs. Phillies pitching matchup

José Urquidy (2-2, 5.28 ERA) starts for the Phillies. Zac Thornton (4-5, 3.44 ERA) will be on the mound for the Mets.

Why Trust Post Wanted by the New York Post

This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.

The NL West crown has been secured, but the regular season grind carries on, with the next checkmark being a playoff bye, and if the Brewers stumble, maybe even the NL’s top record: the Dodgers open a series against the Giants, with the former looking like a near formality, four up on Atlanta with nine to go and threatening a Brewers team that’s only two games ahead after losing to the Pirates yesterday.

One might argue that more than specific and still important team accomplishments that the Dodgers may have between now and the end of the regular season, the key is to see individual players nearing their best form. For the purposes of this Friday game against the Giants, we’ll focus on Kyle Tucker and Tyler Glasnow, who fit the bill to a T of what we’re trying to discuss here.

Through his last eight games, Tucker isn’t just showing signs of life; he has been this team’s best hitter, securing 12 hits in just 29 at-bats and leaving the yard four times: the most home runs he has hit in such a short sample in the entire season. Outstanding during the road trip, Tucker has a chance to carry some momentum into the playoffs. At the same time, it’d be quite flat to see him reverse back into the hitter we’ve seen from most of the year as the team returns to Dodger Stadium, a place in which he carries a .572 OPS in 2026.

On the mound, it’ll be Tyler Glasnow, who, after returning from the IL with pristine control, walking just one batter in the first two starts back, has now walked seven in the last two, allowing a combined eight runs. Glasnow will be matched up against the offense with the lowest walk rate in baseball, the Giants at 7.5% BB%.

Tucker and Glasnow would be treated as the star players on most teams, but playing for the Dodgers, they serve slightly different roles even if the expectation for outstanding production is one and the same. Can Glasnow overcome his recent struggles while Tucker carries on in improved form? Standing in their way is the San Francisco Giants, a last-place club in everything but name, sitting in fourth place in the West with the second-worst record in the National League.

Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Giants
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Start time: 7:15 p.m.
• TV: Apple TV
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Welcome to the California Post’s weekly Dodgers recap, where we review the week that was, hand out very official awards and take stock of the state of the season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Kyle Tucker (12-for-29 since Sept. 9; triple shy of the cycle on Thursday)

Off the bat, it appeared history was afoot.

Already on Thursday afternoon, Kyle Tucker had kicked his slow late-season turnaround into a suddenly more hopeful gear, hitting a two-run home run in the first, an RBI double in the second and a single that aided a three-run rally in the fourth.

Now, standing at the plate just a triple shy of the cycle in the eighth, he laced a line drive that made the feat feel possible.

With yet another squared-up swing, the $240 million slugger shot a ball into the left-center field gap. As two Reds outfielders converged on it, the entire Dodgers dugout rose in anticipation.

Alas, the 11th cycle in Dodgers history would have to wait.

The Reds turned a clean relay play. Tucker wisely — although, somewhat disappointingly, given the lopsided score — pulled up at second. And on the bench, all his teammates could do was razz him by mimicking send signs with their arms helplessly waving.

“I tried my best, but I don’t think I was gonna get there,” he told SportsNet LA afterward. “I probably would’ve been thrown out halfway.”

Oh, well.

For this year’s Dodgers, Tucker’s 4-for-5, three-RBI game was still hugely encouraging, continuing what is now a weeklong surge in which the four-time All-Star has finally looked like himself.

Even before this stretch, the Dodgers committed to keeping Tucker as a key part of their lineup.

They hoped a breakthrough he made with his mechanics could salvage something from an otherwise disastrous debut campaign with the team.

Well, in his last eight games, Tucker has batted .414 with seven extra-base knocks, 10 RBIs and more walks (five) than strikeouts (four).

He has hit five home runs in his last 13 games, after collecting just 11 in his first 132 games this year.

It is the version of Tucker that the Dodgers will need in the playoffs, especially with fellow left-handed bats like Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman battling ongoing injuries.

After a season that once seemed so lost, signs of revival have arrived just in time.

PITCHERS OF THE WEEK

Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (seven scoreless innings from each)

We are going with a tandem honor this week, from a pair of pitchers who will likely have the biggest influence on the Dodgers’ World Series chances.

With Blake Snell battling a groin injury, and Tyler Glasnow entering a Friday start having recently regressed in his return from the injured list, the Dodgers’ rotation doesn’t feel quite as formidable as it once did.

Then again, if Skubal and Yamamoto keep pitching like they did this week — when they spun consecutive scoreless seven-inning outings in Cincinnati — those other question marks might not feel so daunting.

Both pitchers have sterling postseason track records: Yamamoto with a 7-1 record and 2.25 ERA in 10 playoff outings (including last year’s World Series heroics) and Skubal with a 2-1 record and 2.04 ERA in six October appearances of his own (all with the Tigers the last two years).

Either could anchor a pitching staff on their own capable of making a run to the Fall Classic.

Together, they give the Dodgers arguably the best 1-2 punch in the majors. This week, they delivered the club’s first pair of back-to-back scoreless seven-inning outings since 2022 when Tyler Anderson and Clayton Kershaw did it.

Granted, dominating the Reds in mid-September is not the same as producing gems in the playoffs.

But with so many other concerns mounting at the moment, Skubal and Yamamoto at least represent a pillar of potential pitching excellence to lean on, one that could compensate for other shortcomings in the Dodgers’ three-peat bid.

PROSPECT OF THE WEEK

The entire Dodgers’ minor-league system

The Dodgers’ big-league club hasn’t been the only one popping bottles in beer-soaked clubhouse celebrations recently.

This year, all four of the organization’s minor-league affiliates also clinched places in their respective playoffs, with Triple-A Oklahoma City completing the quad-fecta by winning the second-half title in the Pacific Coast League on Wednesday.

It marks the first time the Dodgers have had four affiliates make the playoffs since 2019 (and that year included their now-defunct rookie-ball outpost in Ogden, Utah).

It’s also the latest reminder about the strength of depth they boast in their highly touted farm system.

“I know people don’t care about minor-league win percentages, but we kind of do,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told the California Post earlier this season. “I think it’s a good proxy of how well your farm system is performing and how to understand what it takes to win.”

Three of the club’s affiliates have already been eliminated, with Double-A Tulsa, High-A Great Lakes and Single-A Ontario all losing in their division championship series. 

OKC, meanwhile, will begin its postseason push next week in the best-of-three PCL Championship Series against the Athletics’ Las Vegas affiliate. If they win that, they will remain in Vegas for the Triple-A National Championship Game against the winner of the International League.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Who should Dodgers hope to see in the first round of the playoffs?

With the NL West crown secured, the Dodgers still have work to do over the season’s final nine games.

Given their injury problems, they’ve never needed a first-round bye so badly. 

The good news: They remain four games up on the Braves for the NL’s No. 2 seed, with their magic number down to six for securing passage straight to the NL Division Series.

And though they remain two games back of the Brewers for the best record in the majors — and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs — conventional wisdom in recent weeks has suggested that the playoff through the postseason might be better from the 2-seed anyway.

Now, however, the NL playoff field is getting muddied, with the red-hot Padres sitting just one game back of the Cubs and Phillies.

So, who should Dodgers fans root to see in a potential first-round matchup? Well, it depends on what kind of matchup you think suits the Dodgers best.

The Cubs and Phillies had seemed like tougher draws than the Braves or Padres, thanks to Chicago’s deep and homer-happy lineup and the Phillies’ powerhouse starting rotation trio.

But this week, Philadelphia lost one of its star pitchers, Jesús Luzardo, to a shoulder injury that has put his playoff availability in doubt. The Cubs, meanwhile, have seen their offense cool off and still face questions with an unimposing starting rotation.

The Braves have their own flaws (they’ve been a middle-of-the-pack offense since the All-Star break) but still boast Chris Sale at the top of their rotation.

The Padres, on the other hand, are making a familiar late-season surge and have a habit of playing the Dodgers tough in the playoffs.

It will all make for a fascinating final few days of scoreboard watching, with a slew of new postseason permutations now on the table.

The Dodgers, of course, won’t be overly worried about who they might square off against. Their focus is on continuing to play a better brand of all-around baseball — and making sure they avoid the best-of-three wild-card round.

PHOENIX – Oswaldo Cabrera’s Yankees tenure is officially over.

The beloved utilityman was claimed off waivers by the Reds on Friday, two days after the Yankees designated him for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Clarke Schmidt.

Aaron Boone was among those holding out some hope that the Yankees could keep Cabrera, if he went unclaimed, but it was not a surprise that another team scooped up the 27-year-old who has another minor league option remaining for next year and was batting .288 with a .790 OPS in 122 games at Triple-A this season.

Cabrera, who had been the second-longest tenured player in the organization behind only Aaron Judge, played 305 games for the Yankees since his debut in 2002, batting .232 with a .635 OPS.

He started games at third base, second base, first base, shortstop, right field and left field, while also appearing in center field and at pitcher.

Known for his bubbly personality and uplifting energy, Cabrera’s Yankees career was derailed in part by a broken ankle and ligament damage that he suffered on a gruesome slide home in a game in Seattle last season.

The scene left his teammates gutted, and while he was putting smiles on their faces later that night when they went to visit him at the hospital, the serious injury sidelined Cabrera for the rest of 2025 before he made his comeback this season.

Jared Young’s season is over. His head hurts. His short-term memory is an issue and at last check, according to interim manager Andy Green, he was heading to another doctor’s appointment after spending most of Thursday night in the hospital. 

It does not sound pleasant. It also is “as good as could be expected or hoped for given what we saw last night,” Green said Friday, when the Mets and their first baseman could breathe a bit easier. 

After a frightening collision Thursday on which he lost consciousness and lay unmoving, Young has full motion of his limbs and is walking, Green said, and is dealing with the effects of a concussion. 

The CT scan and all the non-neurological results “were what we wanted,” Green added, a real relief after Young had to be stretchered off the field following a play on which he tried to stretch for a ball at first base and Nolan McLean, attempting to jump over him, incidentally kneed him in the head. 

“There is some short-term memory loss from how hard he got hit [Thursday], kind of remembering what happened on the field,” Green said before the Mets hosted the Phillies at Citi Field. “And he’s got a pretty bad headache, which would be anticipated as well. 

“More tests over the next few days to really understand all that he is dealing with. But everything we have heard has been really optimistic from a recovery standpoint and getting-back-on-the-field-eventually standpoint. 

“Relieved, I think everyone is.” 

Young is a popular figure in the Mets’ clubhouse, sticking in the major leagues for the first time in his career at age 31. Young was drafted back in 2017, only got a 22-game taste of MLB in 2022-23 with the Cubs and then spent 2024 playing in South Korea. 

He returned stateside last year with a split contract with the Mets, did not receive much of a chance in 2025 and ran with opportunity this year, when he could not fill Pete Alonso’s shoes but easily did the best among the first basemen the club tried. 

“You definitely see the joy and appreciation he has for being here,” Bo Bichette said of Young, who finishes his season with a .759 OPS, nine home runs and 39 RBIs in 103 games, with the bulk of his damage caused against right-handed pitching. “He’s ready for any situation that he’s ever put in with a smile on his face. He is happy for everybody’s success always.” 

Green’s time with Young stretches back to Chicago, when Young was a prospect trying to establish himself and Green was the major league bench coach. 

In 2022, the Cubs called up Young for his debut in mid-September and then optioned him again on Sept. 27. The Triple-A season ended Sept. 28. Young was told he could go home. 

“This guy likes to play so much,” Green recounted. “He said, ‘Can I drive to Iowa and play?’ ” 

And so he drove to the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate for one game that he made memorable, drilling a walk-off home run to beat the Toledo Mud Hens. 

“It’s just indicative of the type of person he is, how much he loves being on the baseball field,” Green said. “He’s loved in that clubhouse. And he was loved in the Triple-A clubhouse — any place he is, he’s thought really highly of.” 

In officially moving Young to the seven-day concussion list and calling up Ronny Mauricio, the Mets lost a player and person who has a reputation as gamer who is always happy to be where he is. 

But they believe they have only lost him for the season. 

“I’ve never seen the guy upset about anything,” said A.J. Ewing, a locker-mate of Young. “He’s always coming in, he has a smile on his face, and I feel like it spreads on other people, for sure.”

BRONX, N.Y. — From the time he was traded from the Philadelphia Phillies to the New York Yankees in November 2021, T.J. Rumfield dreamed of playing in Yankee Stadium. That dream became a reality last week.

However, it didn’t come in Yankees pinstripes. Rather, it was in Colorado Rockies purple and black.

“It’s a dream come true, to be honest with you,” Rumfield said prior to the Rockies’ three-game series against the Yankees on Sept. 8. “Any time you’re in Yankee Stadium, it’s just hallowed ground. Just kind of walking around, it’s kind of surreal, taking it all in. This is the big leagues to me, this is the show. It would just be nice to come up here and play some good games.”

The 26-year-old lefthanded first baseman was dealt in January by the Yankees to the Rockies for pitcher Angel Chivilli. The trade has been a win for Colorado. While Chivilli has spent a good portion of the season on the injured list, Rumfield is a candidate for National League Rookie of the Year. He ranks seventh in Major League Baseball (fifth in the NL) in batting with a .300 average. He has 155 hits in 146 games, including 29 doubles, three triples, 15 home runs and 69 RBIs. He is second in the NL (third in MLB) in on-base percentage at .392. Defensively, he leads the team and is tied for second among all first basemen with 10 defensive runs saved.

“He’s the man. He’s so good,” said Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy, who himself is having a career season. “It’s insane that this is his first year in the big leagues. I feel like he’s so calm and collected, he’s obviously got a great eye. It just seems like the game is in slow motion for him. It’s been super fun to watch.”

Twice, in May and June, Rumfield was named NL Rookie of the Month. Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer believes Rumfield should be NL Rookie of the Year.

“Just look at the numbers,” Schaeffer said. “He’s been so great this year offensively, defensively as well. This is a both sides of the ball game and he’s done a great job from both sides.

“He’s handled the pressure in his first year exceptionally well. Every game, he plays with so much confidence. T.J.‘s a kid who can handle anything.”

Rumfield has been having fun this season and is honored to just be mentioned and considered for an award like NL Rookie of the Year. “It just makes me grateful for all the people I had coming up that helped me, especially in the Yankees organization,” he said. “They developed me into the player I am today. I’ve been able to run with this opportunity now because of the preparation and the things I’ve done before this.”

His father Toby was drafted in 1991 by the Cincinnati Reds and played 1,204 games in the minors over 12 seasons, including four at Triple-A.

Originally selected by the Phillies in the 12th round of the 2021 Draft, Rumfield was dealt with left-handed pitcher Joel Valdez to the Yankees for right-handed pitcher Nick Nelson and catcher Donny Sands. He worked his way up through the Yankees organization: High-A Hudson Valley in 2022; Double-A Somerset in 2023, where he earned a Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove; and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2024 and 2025.

In two seasons with the RailRiders, he batted .288 in 252 games (265-for-920) with 57 doubles, one triple, 31 home runs, 158 RBIs, 157 runs and 113 walks.

“Scranton was so much fun. Playing for (manager) Shelley (Duncan) and playing for that city, I feel like it was just a blessing,” Rumfield said. “To be able to even have the opportunity to play with the Yankees in Triple-A and to play every single day, not every young guy gets that opportunity. To be able to do that and then eventually catch the eye of somebody from another organization is kind of what you dream about. And then to be able to be in the big leagues now is awesome.”

McCarthy is a Scranton native, so he and Rumfield have been able to bond over that.

“He’ll be like, ‘I used to live by this grocery store,’ and I’m like, yeah, I know that (place),” McCarthy said. “It’s funny. I just feel like Scranton kind of takes on a new meaning when you tell someone you’re from there in professional baseball. I feel like at some point, someone’s probably made a pit stop there whether they played or came as a visitor.”

Unfortunately, with the Yankees already having a lefthanded-hitting first baseman with power in Ben Rice, Rumfield was expendable and traded for Chivilli. He was a nonroster invitee to Rockies spring training and wound up earning a spot on the team.

“I think everybody within the Yankees organization was happy for me,” Rumfield said. “I don’t know if they were sad to see me go or anything. But they were definitely excited for me and the opportunity and I’ve just ran with it from spring training on, just trying to make the team out of camo and I did. I just didn’t look back from there.”

Colorado has one of the worst records in the major leagues. But with Rumfield and other young players like Cole Carrigg and Zac Veen complementing veterans like McCarthy and Hunter Goodman, the future looks promising for the Rockies.

The Dodgers are the National League West champions.

Again.

They have won their division 13 times in the last 14 seasons, and the one time in that period in which they didn’t, they won a then-club-record 106 games.

Somewhere along the way, the Dodgers did the impossible: They met the requirements to become the sports franchise Los Angeles demanded.

Appreciating what this means requires an understanding of how Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant transformed this city in the early 2000s, 

With O’Neal and Bryant as their stars, the Lakers didn’t just win championships.

They were unbeatable.

This image was reinforced by the play of O’Neal, a 7-foot-1, 325-pound freak of nature who literally couldn’t be stopped.

By the time the Lakers completed their three-peat in 2002, championships were no longer something Los Angeles hoped for.

They became something the city expected.

This is the standard used to measure teams with aspirations of becoming a cultural touchstone in this congested market. With plenty of other entertainment options, casual fans won’t invest too much of their time and money in a team unless they believe it will create the kind of citywide pride O’Neal’s Lakers once did.

The Lakers haven’t been that team for some time. The Rams are producing a worthy on-field product, but they remain in the process of winning back fans they lost over the two decades they spent in St. Louis.

The Dodgers are the one team in town that is clearing the bar.

“What’s funny is Los Angeles has always been looked at, as far as sports, (as) a Laker town,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think we might have the market share right now in Los Angeles. It’s great. I think we draw more fans than anyone in the world, obviously, with the home dates we have. But it’s 40,000, 50,000 every night. We travel well. I do think the guys see it. They feed off it.”

The Dodgers managed to do this despite playing a sport that is particularly hard to dominate. The Lakers could dump the ball into O’Neal 30 times a game. The Dodgers have employed a number of Hall of Famers over the years, but as great as Shohei Ohtani is, he can only hit four times a game, maybe five. 

The Dodgers have become a different kind of juggernaut. 

With substantial investment from their owners, they have built some of the deepest rosters in baseball history. In its first season operating the team, Guggenheim Baseball Management signed All-Star outfielder Andre Ethier to an $85 million extension, picked up a then-unknown Yasiel Puig for $42 million, traded for All-Star infielder Hanley Ramirez and assumed more than $260 million in contract obligations in a blockbuster trade for Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett.

Season after season, the Dodgers fielded one of the most expensive teams in the major leagues — if not the most expensive team.

Which is why at some point in each of the last 14 seasons, the Dodgers were considered favorites to win the World Series.

They are well into their second decade as baseball’s model franchise — or, depending on the perspective, Evil Empire. The last time they didn’t reach the playoffs, the world was a completely different place. LeBron James had just won his first NBA championship. “Gangnam Style” was a global phenomenon. The recreational use of marijuana was still outlawed in every jurisdiction of the United States.

There’s an entire generation of fans who don’t know what it’s like for the Dodgers to not be legitimate contenders.

Consistency by itself didn’t turn the Dodgers into the Dodgers of today. Actually winning championships was important, of course, and doing that required them to adjust how they built their rosters.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman used to operate as if the playoffs were a crapshoot. The organization’s focus was on the regular season, on just reaching the postseason. Because depth is required to survive a 162-game schedule, quantity was emphasized over quality. 

The approach didn’t produce any championships. The Dodgers reached the World Series twice in their first eight seasons under Guggenheim ownership but lost both times.

The failures prompted them to pursue real difference-makers.

Mookie Betts, who was the catalyst of the championship team in 2020. Freddie Freeman, the home run hero of the 2024 World Series. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Most Valuable Player of the 2025 World Series. And, of course, Ohtani, the franchise’s most transformative player since Fernando Valenzuela, or maybe even Jackie Robinson.

The Dodgers have won three of the last six World Series. 

Even with Ohtani dealing with right arm and left knee injuries, they will open the postseason as the odds-on favorites to win their third consecutive championship.

As fragmented as Los Angeles can be, most of the city can get behind that.

New York Mets first baseman Jared Young was carted off the field Thursday night after he took a knee to the head during a collision with pitcher Nolan McLean while both players were trying to make a play on a ground ball hit by Philadelphia’s Justin Crawford.

Young, who landed face-first in the dirt, reportedly was briefly knocked unconscious during the sixth-inning incident at Citi Field.

“It was scary to sit there and just know that he wasn’t with us in that moment,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said after the game. “He was just somewhere else.”

Read more:Plaschke: No more bubbly. NL West champion Dodgers appear headed for early fall

Young was able to give a thumbs-up to the crowd, however, as he was driven off. Mets interim manager Andy Green told reporters after the game that it “feels at this point in time like we’ve avoided the scariest outcomes.”

A CT scan at a hospital was negative, said Green, who added that Young had concussion symptoms but also had full use of his extremities.

Still, Green said after his team’s 3-0 loss, “it was a terrifying moment on a baseball field. Took him a while to come to. It was a really scary collision.”

On Friday, the Mets placed Young on the seven-day concussion injured list and provided an update from Green that the player is doing “as good as could be expected, or hoped for, given what we saw last night.”

“All the tests that were ran, we got the right kind of results,” Green said. “Everything we have heard has been really optimistic from the recovery standpoint.”

McLean remained in the game and struck out Philadelphia’s Garrett Stubbs to end the inning. He was replaced by reliever Tobias Myers in the seventh.

Young, 31, has been a bright spot for the Mets (69-84) during his first full season, hitting .266 with nine homers and 39 RBIs in 103 games. A left knee injury caused him to miss six weeks early in the season.

“He’s somebody we all respect and appreciate and have love for,” Lindor said. “He’s been a big part of our team this whole year.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

It’s hard to believe, but there are just nine baseball games remaining in the regular season for the Atlanta Braves. The first of those nine will come on Friday night in Houston as the Braves battle with the Astros for first time in 2026.

The Astros, despite a paltry 77-76 record and a -50 run differential, find themselves atop the abysmal American League West by a game over the Rangers. For comparison, a 77-76 mark would place Houston just ahead of the Marlins in the NL East, a rousing 12 games back of the Braves. 

Houston’s lost six of their last 10 heading into the series, although they did take their most recent series against the Royals.

Friday night’s tilt will feature Tyler Mahle, who has been nothing short of superb with the Braves. Mahle ranks among the top 20 starters in baseball since the trade deadline, posting a stellar 1.25 ERA / 3.03 FIP / 3.22 xFIP across seven starts and 43.1 innings. Mahle’s coming off seven strong innings against the Phillies last weekend, allowing just one run on six hits and no walks. Mahle’s game plan on Friday will be issuing an intentional walk to Yordan Alvarez every time and working to get his peers out.

The Astros will counter with 29-year-old righty Peter Lambert, who has been the club’s best starter in 2026. Lambert owns a 3.71 ERA (3.81 FIP, 4.44 xFIP) across 26 starts. Outside of a complete blowup against the Angels on August 20, Lambert has allowed 2 earned runs or fewer in every start since the calendar flipped to July. An impressive run for a team that has fallen well short of expectations.

Atlanta holds a four-game lead over the Phillies in the division. The magic number sits at 5 to clinch. It would be nice to trim that number quite a bit this weekend to make the final week of the regular season mostly academic. The Phillies have a four-game series against the Mets this weekend, which they won the first game of on Thursday night

First pitch in Houston is set for 8:10pm ET. You can watch and listen to the game in all the usual places.