Category: MLB

Look, the Yankees are probably cooked in the AL East at this point. They had their opportunities, but the Rays have opened up a 4.5-game AL East lead with 10 games left for the Bombers, and they would need to sweep the four-game set coming up next week—one that features a doubleheader Tuesday—to even have a remote chance since that would give them the tiebreaker over Tampa Bay.

The odds are the odds at this point: a 5.9-percent chance per FanGraphs to win the AL East. Old friend Brandon McCarthy was more likely to get a hit in a given at-bat (.062 career batting average) than the Yankees are to pull this off. Bartolo Colon’s .084 average would be a dream in comparison. Hits did occasionallyhappen for McCarthy! But it ain’t lookin’ pretty for the 2026 Yanks.

So the Rays are almost certainly winning the division and the Yankees and Red Sox will almost certainly duke it out again in a best-of-three Wild Card Series. Great. Fabulous. The rest of the AL is a damn mess:

Yuck! The skinny on the teams still competing for division titles:

• The White Sox were once actually coasting a bit to that AL Central crown and even a first-round bye, but they’ve really begun to run out of steam.
• The Guardians are now just barely in front of Chicago for both of those, but if it ends in a tie, then the White Sox have the tiebreaker, so how comfortable can Cleveland really feel?
• The AL West is even more garbage, with the Rangers’ win and Astros’ loss last night bringing them even at .500 on the dot, in first place. I would say that I cannot believe how much the Mariners beefed this, but, well, they have a history. So does the division itself! All these AL West teams have negative run differentials, by the way.
• Back to the matter at hand, the Astros have the tiebreaker between those two, but with Yordan Alvarez looking hobbled … I don’t know.

Shooting from the hip, I trust Cleveland to eke out their third consecutive division title. They have a roster more accustomed to the chase this time of year and the White Sox have been surviving on some magic beans for much of the season anyway. This is not to imply that the Guardians are actually good, mind you; it was just always going to be a tough sell for the Pale Hose to go from 121 losses in 2024 and 102 last year to not only a winning record this year, but a division title as well. It could still happen, sure! I’d think it was more interesting. But my brain says Cleveland.

As for the AL West? Hooboy. Give me the Rangers, whatever. They’re oh-so-quietly getting healthier and Houston’s dropped seven of ten, including a clunker last night to the crappy Royals. Although the Astros get to end the season with four games against the awful A’s, I think Texas will take advantage of a not-so-tough slate of their own. Corey Seager has an OPS over .900 in his past month of play. He would love nothing more than to pants Houston again.

I know the Wild Card is its own mess that could allow for one of the two division contenders that loses out to sneak into October anyway if Toronto and Baltimore can’t heat up. But let’s focus on those two bye contenders. Which teams win the divisions? Who makes it to the ALCS? Sadly, one of them will, while two of the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox will be stuck at home. Them’s the breaks.

Today on the site, Scott will discuss the RailRiders’ last-ditch effort this week to make the International League playoffs, Matt will run through the Rivalry Roundup, Jonathan will celebrate the 109th birthday of a wartime Yankee who had a film career as well, and John will muse on Giancarlo Stanton’s speed. (Yes, really! It’s a fun piece, I promise.) Later, Peter will break down an excellent strikeout from Max Fried for his Sequence of the Week.

Today’s Matchup:

Offday

Toledo Mud Hens 3, Louisville Bats 1 (box)

Left-hander Jackson Wolf continued his excellent run since coming over from the Padres in the Casey Mize trade, while Jace Jung provided the offense on Wednesday.

Wolf located his fourseam and sinker well in this one, and dropped in plenty of good curveballs to baffle the Bats. He scattered five hits and two walks, pitching into the sixth with five strikeouts on the day. His outings tend to feature a fair amount of traffic, but very little damage.

He holds an ERA under 2.00 since coming over, and hasn’t allowed a single home run. It’s only 27.2 innings, but it’s also notable that Wolf’s strikeout rate has spiked from 21.2 percent in the Padres system, to 31.8 percent in Toledo. I don’t really see any outstanding differences in his stuff, but the Padres are pretty poor at developing pitchers so hopefully the Tigers are helping him improving his approach, pitch mix, and location. With pitching depth always a key concern, it feels like the Tigers have a pretty nice sixth starter who can also pitch in as a lefty in relief if Tyler Holton, Brant Hurter, or Drew Sommers need backup in 2027.

The Hens didn’t have much going on offensively in this one, but in the bottom of the third, Andrew Navigato drew a one-out walk. Trei Cruz ripped a single to center field, and Jung launched his 21st home run of the season to right field.

That blow made it 3-0. Wolf gave up a run in the fifth, but came back out to collect two outs in the sixth before giving way to the pen.

Nick Sandlin and Jack Little got the Hens through the eighth. Tanner Rainey walked a batter but closed it out for his fifth save.

Our friends at Tigers Minor League Report voted Max Anderson their minor league player of the year this week. He posted a single and a double in this one. No doubt it’s been a frustrating year for him, as he improved his swing decisions as needed but never got the call to the big leagues. He should get his opportunities in 2027.

Anderson: 2-4, 2B

Jung: 1-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, K

Wolf (W, 4-1): 5.2 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K

Yahoo Sports: As you likely know by now, Aaron Judge exited yesterday’s game early when Heliot Ramos pinch-hit for him in the sixth. The Yankees announced it midgame as “lower leg tightness.” It’s some relief I suppose that Judge didn’t re-aggravate the rib fracture that kept him out for over three months, and Judge himself downplayed the seriousness of the ailment after the game.

“We’re still trying to ramp up so there’s still going to be little things like this that come up,” Judge said after the Yankees 13-inning loss to the Twins. “I just thought it would be best instead of pushing through it like I normally do.” Judge seemed to view his exit from the game as precautionary, and likened it to the type of thing that would happen in spring training when small, nagging things pop up as players get back into playing shape.

MLB.com | Patrick Donnelly: Clarke Schmidt came off the 60-day injured list yesterday, something we saw coming; he allowed two hits but got two strikeouts while facing four batters in his first MLB action since July 3, 2025. What we didn’t see coming was who was pushed off the roster to make room for Schmidt: fan favorite Oswaldo Cabrera. The utilityman Cabrera had spent most of the year at Triple-A, hitting .288 with 19 homers and a .790 OPS, but hasn’t spent much time with the big club ever since suffering a brutal ankle injury in a play at home plate last May. Cabrera seems likely to be claimed on waivers, meaning his time in the Bronx is likely to come to an end after being a member of the organization since signing at age-16 in July 2015.

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: ($) Spencer Jones has been a bit of a revelation for the Yankees this year, producing at a high level across the outfield throughout the summer. He’s benefited from shadowing another big lefty swinger in the outfield: Cody Bellinger. Bellinger is only 31, but has a very long and decorated track record for a player his age, something Jones has tried to tap into during his time with the Yankees. “As a young guy, I can’t help but watch every time he’s up there,” Jones said of Bellinger. “When we are in the dugout,” Jones said, “he’s one of those people I can go up to and ask, like, ‘Yo, what did you see?’ He’ll tell me bluntly what he saw, how he saw it, and essentially what he’s going to do next time.”

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Ryan Weathers cleared a key hurdle in his rehab earlier this week, tossing 15 pitches in a bullpen session and sitting 87-90 mph on his fastball. The hope, if things go right, is for the lefty to get into game action before the regular season ends. It’s a tight timeline, but with Weathers set to throw another bullpen on Friday before perhaps facing live hitters early next week, it’s doable. The Yankees could certainly use his arm in the bullpen as they try to sort out what their playoff relief corps will look like.

FanGraphs | Davy Andrews: This here isn’t news, but it is fun. Andrews discusses the Amazon TV show Reacher, in which the titular character tries to maintain a low profile by checking into hotels under aliases, which are always Yankees second basemen. The problem, of course, is that Reacher’s cover is often blown, because Yankee second basemen are frequently famous people with recognizable names (don’t choose “Starlin Castro” as your alias if you’re trying not to attract attention!). So, Andrews endeavors to help Reacher by finding players who played second base for the Yankees who would help Reacher stay undercover. Good aliases include second basemen from New York’s Higlander days, like Joe Ward, and Otis Johnson. The worst possible aliases Andrews found? Robinson Canó and Mickey Mantle.

Mike Krukow reflects on narrating MVP Baseball video game with Duane Kuiper originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants have struggled in 2026 and are out of the postseason chase for the fifth consecutive MLB season. Looking ahead to next season, the team is eager to bounce back and bring glory back to the diamond in San Francisco. But when the Giants take the field in 2027, longtime broadcaster Mike Krukow will not be a part of the journey after announcing that he will retire from the role at the end of this year.

And now that his retirement is official, Krukow has taken time to reflect on his storied broadcasting career — with multiple prestigious opportunities coming along the way. Sitting down with NBC Sports Bay Area Giants insider Alex Pavlovic, Krukow talked about the time he and Duane Kuiper provided commentary for the “MVP Baseball” video game series.

“We were really proud of that,” Krukow told Pavlovic. “It was a good project and we were involved with a bunch of engineers that put this thing together that really had a real passion for this project, and we had fun when we did it. And I found out what your voice is capable of because they give you a phonebook worth of dialogue that you had to talk about.

“A little tougher for Kuip because every time there was a line, it had to be inclusive of all the 600 players in the game. But you had about four hours of voice, and then you were done. That was it; you couldn’t go anymore. But they were so creative. We had one project where they gave us a game on TV, and it was like a video game with no sound. And the whole concept was just do the game, they set up the situation, talk about the game like you would talk about it. Talk about the elements of the weather, I mean, whatever. Talk about it like it’s a regular game.”

Doing commentary for the game required Kruk and Kuip to really channel their love for baseball, but the project gave the two a chance to add their own flair and give a whole new set of fans the chance to truly understand how the pair called games.

“It took us about 40 minutes to do nine innings,” Krukow told Pavlovic. “And it was really fun. But there were a lot of things that they did that were cutting edge. We would have chalk talks, and they would say ‘okay, what can we bring into this?’ And we would talk ball, we would talk ball for hours, and the next time we would gather, which would be in about a week or so, we’d come back and all these things we talked about were in the game.”

Krukow and Kuiper provided commentary for all three MVP Baseball titles stemming from 2003-05. While EA Sports stopped making the series ahead of the 2006 MLB season in favor of the MLB 2K franchise, the game left a lasting impact on Krukow’s legacy, cementing his status as one of baseball’s best announcers.

Krukow, who has been a Giants broadcaster for 36 years, has dealt with health related issues in recent seasons– most notably inclusion body myositis that has caused him to use a wheelchair. And while the disease has forced him to cut back both on his travel schedule and overall workload, he has continued to capture the hearts of many and provide moments that will live forever on in Giants history.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

I’m fairly convinced that baseball fans are a special breed. There aren’t that many sports fans that can watch their team lose in heartbreaking fashion and then show up less than 24 hours later to support the team. It’s just too bad those special fans weren’t rewarded with a better result or better play. Instead, they were treated to another tense, frustrating affair that ended with another one-run loss against a team that is functionally playing out the string of the season.

Merrill Kelly took the bump looking to bounce back from a shortened outing against the Rangers. Unfortunately, he looked like he needed another hour to warm up as the first two innings were a real slog. The first two runners of the game reached before he struckout the side in the first and he loaded the bases in the second inning on a double and a pair of walks. Heriberto Hernandez then grounded a ball sharply down the third base line that Nolan Arenado reached and then made a heroic attempt to throw Hernandez out that took Pavin Smith off the bag and allowed two runs to score. There’s certainly an argument to be made that Arenado could have held the ball, but there’s no other fielder I trust to make that judgement than Arenado who has been a revelation this season in the desert. The Marlins would tack on two more runs in the third when Jakob Marsee, who had an excellent series, launched a two-run shot into the right field bleachers to extend the Miami lead. Kelly would last into the fifth inning and collected a season-high nine strikeouts, but another short outing from their starting pitcher was one of the last things the team needed. Thankfully, the Arizona bullpen continues to shine with 4.1 scoreless innings from Ryne Nelson, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Dennis Santana to keep the team within striking distance.

Meanwhile, the Arizona offense continues to sputter. Yes, they scored three runs, but they were all solo home runs as the struggles with runners in scoring position. Tonight they were an inexcusable 0-for-6 in such situations and even when they loaded the bases with less than two outs in the home half of the first, Corbin Carroll couldn’t find a way to get the ball in play to even give the team the chance to score the runner from third. The team was particularly dependent on the home run ball in the series, scoring all but two of their 13 runs via the long ball. That’s not how the team is particularly constructed and it helps to explain why the offense was so mediocre.

It’s easy to point to the final play of the game with Jordan Lawlar’s unsuccessful attempted steal of second base as the reason the D-Backs lost this game, but there’s plenty of blame to go around for this loss. Kelly looked shaky early on and struggled to put hitters away at times which shortened his start, the top half of the lineup besides Moreno went a combined 2-for-15 with a couple walks, and the team failed to get a single hit with runners in scoring position. That last point is worth emphasizing again as it also includes an at-bat with a runner at third with less than two outs that wasn’t cashed in either. Yes, it’s frustrating that the attempted steal “took the bat out of Marte’s hands,” and it’s possible Lawlar scores from first on an extra-base hit anyway, but having a runner in scoring position is always preferable. And it took a near-perfect throw and tag from a rookie catcher in order to nab Lawlar. I’d prefer the team stick to its identity and roll the dice on something like that than rely on a home run or a double that could theoretically score Lawlar all the way from first base.

This was a particularly frustrating series to watch. It was against a team that has little more than pride left to play for on the road versus a team very much in the postseason hunt. And yet, the starting pitching for the D-Backs struggled to a 5.66 ERA and covered just 14.1 innings, forcing the bullpen to cover that much more of the game. Meanwhile, the offense scored just 13 runs, nearly all of them coming via home run as they went a pathetic 6-for-31 with runners in scoring position for the series. As a result, the team finds themselves going into their off day 3.5 games back of the Padres for the final Wild Card spot with just nine games to go. If they fail to make the playoffs, going 1-5 against a mediocre Marlins team on the season will be just one of many reasons. We can only hope that they have better things to think about instead.

After dropping the first two games of the series against the worst team in the American League, the Mariners bounced back to win the series finale over the Angels, 7-2.

It was Jo Adell Home Run Robbery Bobblehead Night, despite Adell no longer being an Angel of Anaheim. You might remember, the Angels scheduled this promotion after a win over Seattle earlier this season. Yes, Jo Adell robbed three home runs in a 1-0 win against the Mariners this year, and yes, I did almost forget that this happened until Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink brought it up on the broadcast because this season has pretty much been one big nightmare that I’ve been trying to forget.

The Mariners jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first off of their former All-Star Yusei Kikuchi. Back-to-back singles by J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena, plus a walk to Dominic Canzone, loaded the bases with nobody out. Cal Raleigh opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly to left that plated Crawford. Then, with two outs in the inning, Josh Naylor grounded a single through the right side to put the M’s up 2-0.

The bottom of the first started as a near-mirror image of the top half. George Kirby loaded the bases with nobody out by allowing a single to Zach Neto and walking the next two hitters. Vaughn Grissom then cut the Mariners’ lead in half with a shallow sacrifice fly to left that successfully tested Randy Arozarena’s arm; his throw came a bit up the line, allowing Neto to score. Unlike the top half of the inning, however, the Mariners were able to limit the damage. With one out, Moisés Ballesteros hit a liner right at Crawford at short, who was able to step on second to double up Mike Trout and end the inning.

The Mariners may have worked out of trouble in the first, but their hold on the lead was brief. In the bottom of the second, the first two runners reached — Denzer Guzman skipped a base hit to left and Josh Lowe singled with a bunt that Kirby had trouble barehanding. Former Mariner Adam Frazier would dump an RBI single just in front of Arozarena to tie the game, but Kirby again avoided disaster in the second, striking out the side and leaving the bases loaded.

After a quiet couple of innings for both sides, the Mariners hopped back in front in the top of the fifth. Kikuchi walked a pair of hitters with one out, and even though his pitch count was at 96, Angels manager Kurt Suzuki elected to stick with him. Three more pitches and three runs later, Kikuchi was chased from the game; Cal Raleigh roped a double down the right field line to score a run, and even though Grissom was able to snare a Josh Naylor grounder on the next pitch, he threw his double-play attempt into left field, allowing two more runs to come across.

The Angels immediately threatened to get back into the game. With one out in the bottom half of the fifth, Grissom himself reached on an error by Crawford, who sailed a throw to first on a routine ground ball. Kirby walked a career-high fifth hitter to end a 4.1-inning start where he wasn’t his sharpest, but managed to limit damage anyhow. I suppose we’ll take it — can’t be too choosy at this point, can we? Carlos Vargas took over in relief, and he K’d a couple of hitters to get out of a jam. After five innings, the Mariners had a 5-2 lead.

Once they finally got some separation, the Mariners went for the jugular. They got right back to work in the sixth, scoring two more on successive RBI singles by Canzone and Raleigh to make it 7-2.

With some breathing room in the late innings, the Mariners felt safe enough to return to their Mariner-ing. Naylor was doubled up on a play that, if it had occurred in any sort of consequential situation earlier in the season, it likely would’ve drawn some sort of aversive response from me, but now it didn’t even prompt me to bat an eye.

Luckily, the Mariner-ing in question remained inconsequential, as the Halos failed to get anything going in the late innings. The Mariners bullpen had one of its better nights of late, allowing no runs over 4.2 innings with contributions from Vargas, José Ferrer, Cooper Criswell and Andrés Muñoz.

M’s get a day off Thursday as they head to Colorado to face the Rockies in the final road series of the year. With the Astros losing to the Royals, the Mariners’ elimination number remains at five.

Robert Stock’s season ended Wednesday with the disappointment of his placement on the injured list but relief that his situation doesn’t appear serious after he experienced finger numbness.

Earlier this season, the Mets right-hander underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.

Stock said an MRI exam determined poor circulation in his hand and that he’s begun treating the condition with medication.

He was scratched from his scheduled start against the Orioles because the Mets did not want to risk overextending the bullpen if he wasn’t feeling right on the mound.

Xzavion Curry was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse and started in Stock’s spot.

Stock, 36, completed his season with a 5.93 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts) for the Mets.

“I have proven that my name should be in consideration for being a major league pitcher,” Stock said before the Mets’ 7-1 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday night at Citi Field. “There are a million things I want to do better.”

Stock, a career journeyman, called it a “dream come true” to pitch for the Mets.

“It’s my dream to be an established major league starter and go pitch for the next two decades in Major League Baseball,” Stock said. “To do that requires an absurd amount of work and success and this was a half-step in what is 50 steps.”

Stock didn’t misspeak in saying his plan at 36 is to pitch another two decades.

“Aside from the lack of circulation, my arm, when we got all the other imaging done, it looked great,” Stock said. “I feel great. I am throwing fast for someone that throws from a low slot and I have no reason to think that will decay anytime soon.”

Daniel Duarte was placed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain.

The right-handed reliever pitched to a 2.12 ERA in 24 appearances this season. Lefty Jefry Yan was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.

Carson Benge, with his homer Tuesday, joined Gregg Jefferies (1989) as the only rookies in franchise history with at least 40 extra-base hits and 20 stolen bases in a season.

Benge began the night with 18 homers, 19 doubles and three triples along with 22 stolen bases.

Mariners 7, Angels 2

Mr. Pibb: Cal Raleigh, 0.19 WPA; Josh Naylor, 0.18 WPA; Dominic Canzone, 0.14; Carlos Vargas, 0.12 WPA

RC Cola: Cole Young, Weston Wilson, -0.08 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brian Wolfe has died, the team announced on Wednesday, Sept. 16. He was 45.

"We are saddened to learn of the passing of former Blue Jay, Brian Wolfe," the team said in its social media posts. "Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this difficult time."

Wolfe's wife, Rachell, posted on Facebook on Tuesday, Sept. 15 that he passed away that day.

"(After) a really really difficult and torturous battle Brian Wolfe passed away early this morning," she wrote.

The cause of death has not been made public.

We are saddened to learn of the passing of former Blue Jay, Brian Wolfe.

Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this difficult time 💙 pic.twitter.com/q7jeeu91tz

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 16, 2026

Brian Wolfe was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1999 MLB Draft after he starred at Servite High School in Anaheim, California. According to the Los Angeles Times, in his sophomore year he went 8-0 and had an ERA of 0.27. The Fullerton, California, native spent eight years in the minor leagues before making his MLB debut in 2007 with the Blue Jays.

Wolfe spent three seasons in MLB, all in Toronto. He made 72 appearances and went 5-5 with a 3.81 ERA, tossing 47 strikeouts, 22 walks and allowing 79 hits.

After becoming a free agent in December 2009, Wolfe played in Japan from 2010 to 2018. He spent a few years with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, the same team where Shohei Ohtani cut his chops. Ohtani and Wolfe were both on the team in 2013.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brian Wolfe dies at 45

JR Ritchie had a rough outing Wednesday, going 4.2 innings with 6 runs allowed, 2 homers, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. The strikeout number was at least respectable, but he continues to look like a fringe major league starter at best, despite having looked like a new pitcher over the last period in the minors since his last major league appearance. That’s a bummer for the Braves, who were perhaps hoping for a higher upside for anyone to start a playoff game after Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle. Right now it feels a whole lot like “Grant Holmes for 2-3 innings and then pray the bullpen can cover the rest” and that doesn’t even address a fourth starter. Not a great spot for the playoff rotation.

Braves News

Five Braves’ prospects were named to the A-ball All-Star teams.

JR Ritchie struggled again on his return from the minors, as the Braves lost the series to the Cubs in Chicago.

MLB News

A’s prospect Ryan Lasko was released from the hospital after two months, after he was originally injured and paralyzed in an outfield collision.

The Cardinals activated star rookie JJ Wetherholt, who has spent the last two weeks on the IL.

Dodgers’ Blake Snell left his start against the Reds after just one inning on Wednesday with a groin injury.

After the Colorado Rockies secured a 9-3 victory behind a multi-homer game from a rookie on Tuesday, the San Diego Padres returned the favor Wednesday night with a 9-3 victory powered by a multi-homer game from a rookie.

Adams battles his command

Making his fifth big-league start, Mason Adams seemed primed to build upon his excellent last start in Detroit. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a tough night on the mound as he struggled with his command and gave up hard contact to the Padres offense.

It was immediately apparent in the first inning that Adams did not have his sharpest stuff for the evening. He hit Fernando Tatís Jr. with a pitch to lead off the game and then walked Dustin Harris. Manny Machado then grounded into a force out but hustled down the line to prevent a double play. Ty France hit a sacrifice fly to score a run to put the Padres up 1-0. Jackson Merrill then collected his first hit of the evening with a single and was followed by another walk, this time to Xander Bogaerts. With the bases loaded, Jake Cronenworth singled up the middle to score another run to make it 2-0. By the time Adams got out of the first inning, he had thrown 32 pitches, working from behind with nearly every batter.

“The command just wasn’t there today,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I think it was obvious with all of his pitches, specifically in the first inning. I thought he made an adjustment to get back in the zone after that, but overall the command wasn’t where it needs to be, not where he’d like it.”

Leading off the second inning, Adams surrendered the first-career home run to Ethan Salas to make it 3-1 Padres. He later gave up a two-out single to Machado. He managed to secure a 1-2-3 third inning but again ran into trouble in the fourth. Samad Taylor led off with a single and stole second base, coming in to score on a two-out triple by Harris to make it 4-1 Padres.

Adams’ night would come to a close after allowing a one-out single to Merrill in the fifth, followed by a walk to Bogaerts. Unfortunately, when Nick Frasso came in relief, he allowed those two runs to score on a two-run single by Taylor.

Adams went 4.1 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits with three walks. He threw 84 pitches, with just 54 going for strikes. Most notably, he only had one swing-and-miss on the night, which was his lone strikeout.

“The one thing Mason does well is think, always,” said Schaeffer. “Even when things are going wrong, he thinks well and diagnoses well mid-inning and between innings.”

Trouble with the lefty

Much like Adams, Padres starter Robbie Ray didn’t necessarily look good in the first inning. He walked Jake McCarthy to start things off. McCarthy then stole second base, his 30th bag of the season. It was a historic stolen base because it made him the first Rockies player in franchise history to have 15 home runs, 30 doubles, 10 triples, and 30 stolen bases in a single season.

Ray then hit Connor Norby with a pitch, followed by a flyout from Cole Carrigg that allowed the runners to move up. Kyle Karros then drew a walk to load the bases. Adael Amador grounded into a force out that allowed McCarthy to score to make it 2-1 before Troy Johnston struck out to end the inning.

However, Ray was able to settle back in while Adams struggled. He allowed a two-out single to Ezequiel Tovar in the bottom of the second inning and then proceeded to retire the next 10 consecutive batters he faced through the fifth inning.

The Rockies finally cracked through in the sixth inning when Norby led off with a double to center field. Then, with one out, Karros belted his 12th home run of the season, a two-run shot to center field to make it a 9-3 ballgame. Unfortunately, that’s all that the Rockies could muster against Ray.

His night ended after six innings, having allowed just three runs on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks. Ray threw 88 pitches, 55 for strikes, while recording five groundouts. He generated five swings-and-misses on the night as the Rockies really struggled against his slider.

Bullpen effort

After Frasso allowed the two-run single to Taylor in the fifth, he then gave up two runs of his own on a two-run home run by Salas. That second home run by Salas was notable because it made him the youngest catcher in MLB history to have a multi-homer game. In the sixth inning, he then gave up an RBI double to France to bring in San Diego.

The Rockies did get some reprieve for the bullpen thanks to Jimmy Herget. After allowing a leadoff single to Cronenworth in the top of the seventh, Herget proceeded to retire the next six batters, allowing just one hit on 22 pitches. Juan Mejia then fired a clean ninth inning by striking out of the side.

Cold Rockies offense

The Rockies managed just four hits while they struck out nine times against four walks. Two of those walks came with two outs in the ninth inning against Yuki Matsui. The two extra-base hits came in the sixth inning, and they went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Meanwhile, the Padres collected 13 hits and struck out seven times with just three walks. However, they had five players with at least two hits and had five extra-base hits while going 4-for-12 with RISP.

The flip-flop of the offense from the previous night for both teams is an interesting development, but the Rockies were overly aggressive against Ray while the Padres were patient against Adams. That difference is what allowed San Diego to punish mistakes and the Rockies to struggle to string hits together.

Up next

The Rockies and Padres will close out the series with a Thursday afternoon affair! Tanner Gordon (1-4, 5.55 ERA) will take the ball for Colorado and face off against Michael King (11-9, 3.03 ERA) for the Padres.

First pitch is at 1:10 pm MDT; see you then!

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