The Arizona Diamondbacks were two outs away from taking a dive to 3.5 games back of the final Wild Card berth, staring down a 7-6 ninth-inning deficit at the hands of the Miami Marlins.
And then, struggling superstar Corbin Carroll — Arizona’s newest Roberto Clemente nominee — came to the plate, with the tying run at second base in the ninth.
The Marlins had just trotted out rookie right-hander Jack Ralston, after an injury forced veteran closer Pete Fairbanks out of the game with no outs and a runner aboard. A 2-1 splitter hung in the zone, and Carroll unleashed a massive blast down the right field line.
Corbin Carroll, a struggling and banged up superstar, launched a walk-off home run for the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team clawing to stay alive in the postseason chase, on Monday to earn what the team hopes will be a galvanizing 8-7 win over the Miami Marlins.
Carroll’s blast came at a precarious moment for the Diamondbacks, who had trailed 7-4, faced a potential three-game losing streak and the risk of falling behind the San Diego Padres by 3.5 games for the final National League Wild Card spot.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the D-Backs claimed Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jesus Sanchez off waivers Monday. The move will require sending one of the right-handed outfielders down to Triple-A, although the team hasn’t revealed what that move will be.
Sanchez has been posting solid numbers in Toronto, hitting .260 with eight home runs, 35 RBIs and a .734 OPS through 99 games. The outfielder has made a career of hitting for power against right-handed pitching, posting a .775 career OPS in those situations, making his addition even more significant for an Arizona lineup that has needed more balance.
[Ed. Note] I wonder if he realizes that if he puts up the best month in his career, he’ll probably get his number retired at Chase.
The Rockies battled, but couldn’t score the run they needed or prevent San Diego’s late insurance runs as they fell 8-7 in a heartbreaker on Monday night at Coors Field.
Colorado trailed 6-1 after four innings, but made a game of it before San Diego’s shutdown, slider-throwing closer Mason Miller posted two strikeouts to earn his 37th save of the season — the Rockies’ only two strikeouts of the game.
The feel-good story of the 2026 season, at least on a team level, is arguably the Chicago White Sox. You know, the team that was parked in No. 30 in these Power Rankings the last umpteen weeks of 2024 and was at or near the bottom for most of 2025. They looked like a feisty bunch early this season and then started hanging around first place in June and July before building a lead as big as 5 ½ games in August.
That lead is now down to a half game, as the Sox just finished a 1-5 week against the Pirates and Cardinals. They still sit in first place, but it might not be for long. The Guardians don’t exactly seem enthused at trying to win the division as they do more often than not these days, given that they only went 3-3 last week, but it’s been enough to thrust them up right in the White Sox’s rearview mirror so aggressively that it is fogging up.
“We don’t take it for granted,” said Max Muncy, the longest-tenured Dodger, who has been around for nine of those years. “But it is the expectation here.”
Now that they’ve secured their spot in the field, the Dodgers will go for their 13th NL West title in the past 14 seasons. They lead the second-place Padres by nine games, in addition to holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. L.A. is also playing for a first-round bye, holding a 3 1/2-game lead over Atlanta for the second seed.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 14: Julio Rodríguez #44 of the Seattle Mariners catches a fly ball off the bat of Denzer Guzman of the Los Angeles Angels during the third inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 14, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Ryan Sirius Sun/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning! The Mariners began their series against the Los Angeles Angels with a 6-4 loss. Staff writer Zach Mason detailed Kade Anderson’s struggles in his recap, and the Mariners were unable to put enough quality hits together to come out on top.
Logan Gilbert takes the mound tonight for the 6:38 PM start against RHP Ryan Johnson.
When it comes to Mets fans welcoming a prominent former player back, Monday night stood alone for its combination of love for the player and vitriol directed at the decision-makers who oversaw his departure.
Count former Mets GM Sandy Alderson among those on the side of the fans.
"I was disappointed," Alderson said. "Look, Pete Alonsowas drafted by Tommy Tanous -- the scouting director at that time -- in the second round. Basically a home run hitter who got on base. And that's what he's been since he came to the big leagues. Let's say his defense is not superb. Poor defense doesn't outweigh the kind of homegrown, home run talent -- impact talent -- that Pete Alonso can provide.
"From my standpoint, if they let him go because of his defense, I think that was a mistake. If they let him go because they thought his power was gonna diminish over time? Okay, that's a guess. It might happen, it might not. To me, the deciding factor is the guy is homegrown. He's gonna set your home run record.
"Baseball is entertainment. It's not 'well, X's and O's, it doesn't matter.' No, it's entertainment. And sometimes you have to take that factor into account, and Pete Alonso was part of the entertainment that Mets fans appreciated and supported."
Alderson served as Mets GM from 2011 through 2018, and returned to the organization as its president from 2020 to 2023.
His second tenure with the club was in more of an oversight role as the team transitioned from the Fred Wilpon ownership to the ownership of Steve Cohen.
During his time overseeing baseball operations for the Mets, Alderson often spoke about baseball as an entertainment business first and foremost. And he believed in the value that homegrown players could provide.
One of Alderson's biggest moves as GM was to sign David Wright to a seven-year extension after the 2012 season. Wright's career was upended soon after due to spinal stenosis, and he retired following the 2018 season after spending his entire career in Queens. His No. 5 was retired last season.
As far as Alonso, he's having a terrific season in his first year in Baltimore.
While playing all 151 games, Alonso is slashing .268/.363/.496 (.859 OPS) with 35 home runs and an AL-leading 100 RBI.
Jul 17, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez (4) and general manager Mike Rizzo (right) step onto the field for a pre-game ceremony at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: James A. Pittman-USA TODAY Sports
Rise and shine A’s fans and welcome to a new day!
The team made the decision to fire their long-time GM David Forst a few weeks back, installing Dan Feinstein to temporarily run the ship until a more thorough search for a new voice could take place over the offseason. The first name to emerge was former Astros GM James Click, who has plenty of experience in the front office and oversaw lots of success in Houston, including a World Series win.
Well we can add a couple more names to the list of potential GM’s. The team has reporedtly interviewed Mike Rizzo and BIlly Owens for the opening, making it three known names connected to the A’s job. The list is surely going to continue to expand but we have an idea of where the team’s heading.
Rizzo is best known for his time as the Washington Nationals’ president of baseball operations from 2009 until 2025. During that stretch the Nats won their first World Series title, but he also oversaw lots of losing teams during that stretch. While his team had winning records and huge success during the peak of that Nationals run, his most recent rebuild did not yield any results, paving the way for his eventual dismissal. While his Nats tenure didn’t end well, you can’t argue with the team’s first championship.
Owens is a name that should be much more familiar to A’s fans. He’s spent the past 30-ish years with the organization, including the past 11 as assistant GM to Forst. From slowly rising the ranks in the minor leagues as a coach to now being considered for the big job, Owens would be something of a continuity pick for the A’s. He was an assistant to Forst, who was an assistant to Billy Beane, who was an assistant to Sandy Alderson. Unlike with Rizzo and Click, Owens would be a first-time GM but that hasn’t stopped the A’s from going back to the most recent front offices and picking from a familiar crop.
Interestingly enough, the same report that revealed these interviews also said that the team would like to make their hire before the end of the season. If true that means the A’s aren’t going to wait around and want their new lead voice in position for the start of the offseason so he can hit the ground running. That might shorten the list of potential options since front office guys with playoff squads probably won’t make the jump before their team’s season concludes. What do you think of that decision? Is it smart to install the new GM as fast as possible, or should the team take their time and make sure they find the right guy? Whoever gets the job is going to oversee the first few years in Las Vegas, so it better be a home run hire.
We got a new series tonight across the country. The team is in Tampa Bay for three games against the playoff-bound Rays. They’re still fending off the Yankees for the AL East lead so don’t expect them to be anything but ready for game time. First pitch is at 3:40 Pacific. Until then, have a great day A’s fans.
Butler’s proven to be an incredibly streaky hitter . Every year as a full time starter he’s had one good half (2nd half 24, 26 & 1st half 25), and one bad half.
It will be interesting to see how he develops as his career progresses.
Corey Avant's final 2026 start was something else: strikeouts for his first seven outs on his way to nine K's in five one-hit innings. pic.twitter.com/1gDT1KXXwR
The Detroit Tigers have now won five straight after holding on for a 6-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Center on Monday night. The good guys were no-hit through six innings but mounted two late-inning comebacks to seize Game 1 of the three-game series.
Toeing the rubber for the Motor City Kitties in Game 2 is right-hander Drew Anderson, who will make his eighth start since permanently joining the rotation. The 32-year-old has posted a healthy 2.97 ERA but a concerning 5.05 FIP over his last 33 1/3 innings, allowing 28 hits (five home runs) and 16 walks while striking out 27, earning a pair of losses in the process.
Anderson has seen Toronto once this season in relief on May 15, tossing four frames of shutout ball on one lonely hit and a strikeout in an eventual 3-2 victory for the good guys.
For the Blue Jays, fellow righty Braydon Fisher will get the start for the 10th time this season. The 26-year-old will presumably be serving in the opener role, as he has not thrown more than two innings in an outing all summer.
So far this month, Fisher has put up a 1.93 ERA and 4.18 FIP over six appearances, allowing four hits (one home run) and two walks while striking out seven and uncorking a wild pitch across 4 2/3 innings of work.
Take a look below at how the two hurlers match up on Roberto Clemente Day.
Detroit Tigers (71-79) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (75-76)
Time (ET): 7:07 p.m. Place: Rogers Center, Toronto, Ontario SB Nation Site:Bluebird Banter Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 151: RHP Drew Anderson (4-6, 3.80 ERA) vs. RHP Braydon Fisher (3-4, 3.22 ERA)
KANSAS CITY, MO - MAY 27: New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerritt Cole (45) watches his team play from the dugout during a MLB game between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals on May 27, 2026, at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Good morning! Today, Keagan makes a case for giving the ball to Payton Tolle in Game 1 of the all but inevitable Wild Card Series in New York. Aaron Boone in the other dugout won’t have much of a decision to make in that regard: Cam Schlittler is a lock for the Cy Young, and he could even win a surprise American League MVP. He’s going to throw the first pitch of that series.
But if you’ve been paying attention to the Yankees, you might have noticed something interesting about their starting options: right now, Gerrit Cole isn’t one of the team’s three best pitchers.
Cole missed the start of the season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, of course. He was pretty mediocre out of the gate before looking back to his old self through July and August, when he posted an ERA of 2.66 over 10 starts. But September has been a challenge for him so far — and not only when he was giving up historic homers. He couldn’t even make it through 5 against the Mets over the weekend.
Max Fried and Carlos Rodon, on the other hand, are as locked in as ever: neither one of them has given up more than 1 earned run in a start since July. Moreover, they’re both lefties, so they can theoretically neutralize the threat of the short porch in Yankee Stadium’s joke of a right field.
It’s a shame, because (1) it’s always fun to embarrass Gerrit Cole, and (2) he has, famously, been owned by the Red Sox in the playoffs, having faced the Sox twice and given up 7 earned runs in 8 innings. So here’s hoping he turns things around over the last two weeks of the season and works his way back into Boone’s good graces.
Use this space to talk about whatever you want and, as always, be good to one another.
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 14: Xander Bogaerts #2 of the San Diego Padres fields a ball during the game between the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Monday, September 14, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Casey Paul/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The San Diego Padres secured their eighth consecutive win by the slimmest of margins against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver on Monday. Pinch hitter Adael Amador chopped a Mason Miller pitch over the mound that was fielded and thrown to first by Manny Machado to beat Amador for the final out to secure an 8-7 win for the Padres.
San Diego and Colorado went back and forth throughout the game but in the ninth, it came down to the final at-bat. Miller recorded a strikeout to open the frame before Kyle Karros reached on a single to bring the winning run to the plate for the Rockies. Miller then struck out Mickey Moniak which set up the pinch-hit appearance for Amador. He pounded the second pitch of the at-bat into the ground causing it to bounce high above the infield grass, just left of the mound. Machado who was playing toward second base, cut across the grass, caught the ball and snapped a throw to first baseman Ty France, which arrived a half-step ahead of the runner to give the Padres their eighth consecutive win.
San Diego jumped out to a 6-1 lead after three innings, which included homers by Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. Colorado began to chip away at the score, but Padres starter Casey Mize did a what he needed to do to get through his outing with minimal damage. Mize allowed the second run of his outing in the bottom of the fifth and completed five innings with two runs allowed on eight hits with two walks.
The Rockies took advantage of a shaky Padres bullpen, which sent Kyle Hart to the mound in the bottom of the sixth. Hart had another ugly outing, allowing three runs on one hit with two walks in just 1/3 or an inning. Bradgley Rodriguez came in to get the final two outs. San Diego returned to the plate with a one-run lead at 6-5 in the top of the seventh. They added a run in the top of the inning, but Rodriguez gave the run right back in the bottom of the inning.
Adrian Morejon took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning after the Padres scored a run in the top of the inning. Morejon was working with a two-run lead and San Diego up 8-6 and like the first two relievers, he allowed Colorado to score to get within a run.
The Padres did not core in the top of the ninth and the Rockies appeared confident that they could at least tie the game if not win it in the ninth. Miller quickly dashed those hopes and locked down the win and his 37th save of the season on 14 pitches, 10 of which were strikes.
San Diego will try to win its ninth consecutive win today against Colorado at 5:40 p.m.
Padres News:
The Mason Miller/Leo De Vries trade between the Padres and the Athletics will be talked about throughout the remainder of their careers, but with the recent news of De Vries needing season ending shoulder surgery, it appears San Diego won the trade.
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 10: Anthony Volpe #11 of the New York Yankees hits a grand slam in the seventh inning during the game against the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium on September 10, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I’m sure Anthony Volpe wanted to make a statement in his first game back from his demotion to Triple-A on August 4th, but I bet even he couldn’t have dreamt of the impact he would author. In his first MLB action in over a month, Volpe arrived in the Bronx sporting new swing mechanics and the results were immediate, the much-maligned infielder going 3-for-4 with a grand slam and a career-high five RBI. It’s his first and last ABs from that game that I would like to highlight today.
We first join Volpe with no outs in the bottom of the second last Thursday against the Rockies. The Yankees need to complete the sweep and have created a promising opportunity early with Ryan McMahon singling and Austin Wells drawing a walk to open the frame. They already lead, 2-1, courtesy of a Luis García Jr. two-run blast in the first, but after Max Fried surrendered a solo shot to Kyle Karros in the second, it became imperative that the Yankees take advantage of this scoring chance given the uncertainty of how many innings they’ll get from their starter recently back from injury.
Ryan Feltner starts Volpe with a first pitch sinker low hoping for an early double play ball.
Really excellent take here from Volpe, this sinker looking like a strike middle-down until about the last ten feet before home. I almost wonder if he was hunting something in a different zone the way the bat never left his shoulder on such a borderline pitch.
Feltner executed that sinker pretty much how he intended, so despite not getting the result he wanted, there is no need for him to deviate course.
Volpe follows up that excellent take with a positively head-scratching one. This sinker looks like a strike right down the middle the moment it leaves Feltner’s hand and never leaves the zone, yet Volpe watches it all the way into the catcher’s glove for strike one.
Ok, now I officially have no idea what Volpe is looking for. That’s two straight meatball sinkers from Feltner. The first he showed zero interest in offering at. This sinker is as center-cut as they come, yet all Volpe can do is fire a late emergency hack as if he is sitting on something else and gets surprised that this pitch is in a hittable location. This is a pitch he should be crushing but instead he’s swinging as if to fight it off foul to stay alive in a 1-1 count.
At this point I just assumed this AB would end the way a lot of two-strike counts against Volpe end — a strikeout swinging on a breaking ball out of the zone. So far it’s been same old, same old from Volpe, failing to take advantage of mistake pitches early in the count and thus needlessly fall behind, which around these circles we know as a non-competitive AB. Feltner has been gifted an opportunity for a strikeout and his first pitch selection to get it is the changeup.
Feltner misses wildly with this changeup, sailing it way up and in when he meant to locate it down below the zone. A completely non-competitive pitch and an automatic take from Volpe.
Feltner immediately shelves the changeup after such a wayward misfire and switches to the secondary that has given Volpe fits his whole big league career — the low and away slider.
Wow, this was… an impressively disciplined take from Volpe. This pitch looks exactly like the two in-zone sinkers that Volpe failed to punish earlier in the AB before taking a sharp left turn about halfway to the plate. You can tell that Volpe recognized the pitch pretty soon out of Feltner’s had based on the minimal flinch as he takes it for ball three.
Volpe has done well to work the count full after falling behind, 1-2. Feltner does not want to walk the bases loaded with no outs and the top of the order coming up, so he is somewhat forced into throwing sinkers in the zone again in the hope of inducing a double play ball.
This one lands in almost the same spot as the one Volpe took for strike one. This time he does elect to swing, but it’s not a particularly good swing. His whole front side flies open, causing the bat head to come around and over the top of the baseball, and all he can do is ground it foul to the pull side.
With a swing like that, Feltner must feel confident he can get Volpe to roll over a grounder if he can command his sinker lower than the last three he threw.
Instead, this sinker sails up and in just like the one changeup Feltner threw earlier. Volpe is a little unlucky that the pitch hit his bat on the check swing, otherwise he would have drawn the walk to load the bases.
After showing Volpe four fastballs with sinking movement in this AB, Feltner finally breaks out the four-seamer hoping that a straight flying heater will stay above Volpe’s barrel for a strikeout.
Volpe is sitting dead red, which is how he is able to make solid contact with this 95 mph four-seamer bearing in on his hands. The early swing allows him to get the bat head out and pull a sharp grounder through the hole on the left side for an RBI single to restore the Yankees’ two-run cushion.
We have to fast-forward to the seventh for the real fireworks. An RBI triple by Jake McCarthy in the top-half briefly made it 4-2, but a Cody Bellinger leadoff double, Jasson Domínguez walk, and Spencer Jones two-run single provided a cushion at 6-2. McMahon and Wells then drew a pair of two-out walks to load the bases for Volpe, who steps to the plate with the confidence of a pair of singles already to his name.
Unlike Feltner, Jimmy Herget looks to pitch Volpe backwards, starting with breaking balls away to slow down his bat and get him leaning out over the plate to in theory set up a heater inside later in the count.
This is a perfect slider from Herget, dotted right on the corner low and away. Even though it lands for a called strike, it’s still a good take from Volpe. Had he swung, at best you’re looking at a whiff and more likely an inning ending grounder.
Having earned the strike looking with that slider, Herget shows some impressive sequencing by throwing a sweeper out of the same slot — it should look like the slider Volpe just saw only this time with a foot-and-a-half more lateral movement away from the batter.
This is the best take from Volpe all game and maybe all season. This sweeper comes down the exact same tunnel as the slider that was just called a strike on the outside edge. You would expect most hitters to chase this pitch — they are forced to protect that outside edge now that the pitcher has established his breaking ball for a called strike in that quadrant. Just like the close slider he took for a ball just off the plate away from Feltner, Volpe must have gotten a good read on the spin of this pitch to layoff with hardly a flinch.
Despite not getting the chase, Herget sticks with his plan of soft away, hard in. He looks to bear a sinker in on Volpe’s hands for some weak contact.
Instead, he leaves this 91 mph sinker middle-middle, and unlike in the first AB we covered, Volpe doesn’t miss it. Volpe stays inside the baseball and drives it to the opposite field, short porching Herget for a grand slam. The swing is a thing of beauty, Volpe precise with his barrel to the baseball while showing an impressive amount of power despite taking an opposite-field approach.
The Yankees ended up routing the Rockies, 10-3, and Volpe single-handedly drove in half those runs. During the game, we learned about several mechanical adjustment Volpe implemented in his month-plus at Triple-A.
Here’s a Volpe swing from earlier this year (top) vs. the grand slam he just hit.
I spot two major differences at the initiation of the load phase: higher hand positioning and a small step back with his back foot. Starting with the hand positioning, I feel that this helps prevent Volpe from casting his swing — you can see how before the demotion his front elbow straightens out well before contact whereas on the grand slam swing, that front elbow stays bent and tight to the body. When you straighten your front elbow too soon, your hands tend to drift away from the body, causing the bat head to lag and the swing to become long and loopy. This robs you of power, prevents you from going to the opposite field, and makes it almost impossible to catch up to the heater. Keeping the front elbow tucked leads to a shorter, more compact swing, allowing Volpe to stay inside the baseball to drive it with power the other way as the barrel rotates in sync with the torso.
The adjustment that has me really excited, however, is the step back. Paul O’Neill noticed it right away on the broadcast and could not offer enough praise for the adjustment. He explained the way that that step forces Volpe to keep his weight back, allowing him to stay behind the baseball which is critical for efficiently transferring all of the stored potential energy from trunk to arms to bat. The hallmark of Volpe’s struggles is when he bails on his front side, the front hip and shoulder flying open way too early. This causes Volpe to step in the bucket, or fall with his weight toward third base rather than stride toward the pitcher, which not only robs him of power but is the prime culprit for all those whiffs against breaking balls away as Volpe deprives himself of plate coverage. This new step back is a godsend. In forcing him to keep his weight back a tick longer and stride forward instead of open, Volpe’s barrel should remain in the hitting zone for far longer than when he’s cutting across the zone when stepping in the bucket, which is how he is able to to drive a slightly inside pitch out of the park the other way.
We’ve seen Volpe make mechanical adjustments in the past and then get hot for a few weeks. However, without fail he has let those past adjustments fall by the wayside and revert back to his old bad habits every single time. Hopefully, this time around these changes are here to stay.
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 14: Pete Alonso #25 of the Baltimore Orioles is honored during his return to Citi Field prior to the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Mets on Monday, September 14, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Phebe Grosser/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
This week’s series at Citi Field not only offers the Orioles their last undoubtedly winnable series of the season, but also a chance to look into their potential future.
The Mets and O’s are easily two of 2026’s most disappointing teams. New York came into this season with the second-highest payroll in all of baseball and were the odds-on favorites to win the NL East. The Orioles’ preseason expectations were not quite as lofty. However, a summer spending spree that saw them bring in former Mets star Pete Alonso had many in Birdland dreaming of a return to the postseason.
Instead, with the Orioles’ win in Queens last night, the Mets have officially been eliminated from postseason contention—their fourth time missing the postseason in the six seasons since super billionaire Steve Cohen bought the team. The win represents only a brief stay of execution for the Orioles, who had only a 1.3% chance to make the playoffs heading into last night’s game.
Once it becomes official that the Orioles won’t be returning to the postseason this year, the front office will face some tough questions about how best to position Baltimore for 2027 and beyond. The first will be whether Mike Elias is still the best man to lead this front office. However, all the other questions (assuming baseball is played at some point in 2027) will be about how to reshape their roster to cover up the glaring deficiencies that ultimately sunk this talented but flawed team.
This year’s Mets offer a great example of how not to approach the offseason immediately following a disappointing season. This past offseason, as they are in seemingly every offseason since Cohen arrived, the Mets were busy. New York started their attempt at reshaping by trading outfielder Brandon Nimmo to Texas for infielder Marcus Semien.
After Alonso signed with Baltimore, the Mets went on a spending spree with all the money they weren’t paying their franchise leader in home runs. They gave $20M/yr to Jorge Polanco to replace Alonso at 1B and committed a combined $28M/yr to Devin Williams and Luke Weaver as bullpen reinforcements. They then made their big move to really try to fill the hole left by Alonso, giving Bo Bichette a $42M/yr deal to lure him away from Toronto.
New York stayed active in the trade market as well, sending away their top two prospects to the Brewers for two-time All-Star Freddy Peralta. The Mets also struck a deal with the White Sox, sending infielder Luisangel Acuña and another prospect to Chicago for now-Orioles outfielder Luis Robert Jr.
Assuming the coming work stoppage is resolved sometime in the next 365 days, the Orioles will have all the chances to repeat or learn from New York’s mistakes. Letting Alonso walk (or not doing enough to make him want to stay) meant the Mets started trying to improve with a giant new hole in their roster.
The Orioles can’t make that same mistake with pending free agent Trevor Rogers. Unlike Alonso in New York, Rogers has repeatedly stated his desire to stay in Baltimore. With Rogers heading a rotation with Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz and Brandong Young, the O’s finally have a pitching staff worthy of a contender. Letting Rogers walk would be taking a step backwards before Baltimore could even think about taking a step forward. And like it did with Alonso in New York, it could force the Orioles to spend money on lesser players attempting to replace the reigning MVO.
The Mets’ spending habits in general should be a warning sign for the Orioles front office and how they look to improve this roster. Unlike last offseason, the list of pending 2027 free agents doesn’t have a lot of star power. Randy Arozarena, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Seiya Suzuki are the best bats set to be available this offseason.
All three of those players seem like square pegs for the round holes the Orioles have in their lineup. Chisholm will be coming off a down year with the Yankees and would be another infielder on a team already full of infield talent. Arozarena and Suzuki could both be the type of right-handed, power-hitting outfielder the Orioles thought they were getting with Taylor Ward.
However, both would likely command north of $25M/year as they head into their age-32 seasons. That level of investment paid off with Alonso, but Arozarena and Suzuki are both an echelon below the Polar Bear when it comes to the game’s best hitters. The lack of success Bichette and Polanco have had with the Mets (combined -0.6 bWAR this season) show that throwing money at players who don’t obviously fit the team’s needs can quickly sink a lineup.
Elias (or whoever replaces him) must continue to treat prospects like they have more value than just bargaining chips for improving the 2027 roster. Even if they re-sign Rogers, the front office may look to trade from the Orioles’ newfound minor league pitching depth to acquire a pitcher like Joe Ryan from the Twins or Logan Gilbert from the Mariners. However, trading someone like Anthony Eyanson, Joseph Dzierwa or Caden Hunter for a pitcher with only one year of team control could prove short-sighted. If they entertain such a move, the Orioles may find themselves in the same position as the Mets with Peralta: forced to move him for pennies on the dollar if the team doesn’t meet expectations.
It’s clear that this roster needs to be rebalanced to address the staggeringly inconsistent offense and continue to build the strength of this rotation. However, as the Orioles’ current opponents can attest, change just for the sake of change can leave the team worse off and with even more disappointment next year.
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell chats with starting pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) after Imanaga finished the sixth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Not that I expected anyone to read it, but I did some fun research for yesterday’s game preview. Basically, the Cubs are currently first by a mile in position player fWAR, but dead last in pitching fWAR. This has never happened over a full season; the closest I found was bottom five-ish (and not even that close to the bottom) for a top-ranked hitting/defense team, or, on the flip side, the 2000 Angels, who were dead last in pitching but second in position player fWAR.
So, the Cubs have a chance to do something kind of amazing depending on how the last couple of weeks play out. But, there’s a catch: right now, the Cubs are just barely behind the Nationals in pitching fWAR. Another day of the Nationals getting blasted while the Cubs do okay could flip things. The Cubs probably won’t catch the 28th-ranked team, but first and 29th has happened before, while first and 30th hasn’t.
So, do you think they’ll “pass” the Nationals over the last few games of the season? Or, are we going to see something truly incredible from a pretty good team?
Just when you think Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has gone into a slump — and he was 0-for-8 with three strikeouts Saturday and Sunday — he breaks out of it in a big way.
PCA was 4-for-5 Monday against the Braves at Wrigley Field, including his 37th stolen base and 42nd home run of the season. That home run tied him with Hall of Famer Billy Williams for the most by any left-handed hitter in Cubs franchise history.
So congrats to Pete for that, good company to be in, and that offensive display helped lead the Cubs to a 7-3 win over the Braves in the series opener.
David Peterson struggled a bit in the first inning, but got out of it scoreless. There was more traffic on the bases for Atlanta in the second, but Peterson induced this double play to end the inning [VIDEO].
Then the Cubs brought out the bats in the bottom of the second. Ian Happ led off with a double and went to third on a single by Nico Hoerner. After Michael Conforto struck out, Pedro Ramirez walked to load the bases.
You see the smile on Kelly’s face as he scores, and BCB’s Sara Sanchez summed that up (Bluesky link):
The Cubs reached a couple of milestones in that inning. Details from BCB’s JohnW53:
The run scored by Ian Happ on Carson Kelly’s second-inning forceout was the Cubs’ 800th of the season, making 2026 just the 13th season since 1901 in which they have reached 800.
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s next-batter two-run double raised his RBI total to 100, making him only the second Cub to drive home triple-digit runs in the past eight seasons.
Seiya Suzuki knocked in 103 runners last year, the most since 2018, when Javier Baez led the National League with 111. Anthony Rizzo had 101 that year, his fourth consecutive seasons with at least 100. Kris Bryant had 102 in 2016.
Others in the past 20 years: Aramis Ramirez, 2007-08; Derrek Lee, 2009; and Alfonso Soriano, 2012.
With that, the Cubs led 3-0 going to the third, and that’s when Peterson settled down and retired six of the seven batters he faced in the third and fourth.
Meanwhile, the Cubs extended their lead in the bottom of the third. Michael Busch led off with a walk and … stole second? [VIDEO]
That was certainly unexpected. Busch now has 10 career steals in 12 attempts. He took third on a ground out by Happ and scored on this single by Hoerner [VIDEO].
That put PCA in scoring position, but he was stranded.
Peterson had more traffic on the bases in the fifth and sixth but got out of both innings scoreless and then the Cubs further extended their lead in the bottom of the sixth after their first two hitters were routine outs. Kelly singled and PCA launched home run No. 42 [VIDEO].
As noted above, that homer matched Billy Williams’ total in 1970, the Hall of Famer’s career high and up to this year, the only 40-homer season by a Cubs left-handed hitter.
This was David Peterson’s fourth quality start in his 13 since joining the Cubs. He is tied with Edward Cabrera and Jameson Taillon for fourth most on the team, behind Shota Imanaga, 12; Matthew Boyd, eight; and Colin Rea, six. Six others have between one and three, for a team total of 51. They began Monday tied with the Angels, Cardinals and Rangers for 15th most. The Dodgers had 78; the Phillies, 69; and the Mariners and Red Sox, 68.
It was clear that Craig Counsell was going to allow Peterson to face the lefty-hitting Michael Harris II leading off the seventh, then remove him. Harris singled, and Peterson departed to warm applause, with Javier Assad coming into the game. It was not a great outing for Assad, who allowed an infield hit on which Alex Bregman made a throwing error, putting runners on first and third. A force play scored the first Atlanta run, charged to Peterson, and then Mike Yastrzemski homered to make it 7-3.
Fortunately, that was it for Braves scoring in this game, though there was a bit of nervous time in the eighth and ninth. Ryan Rolison put the first two Atlanta hitters on base in the eighth via hit and walk, then induced a double play and fly to center.
Ryan Zeferjahn was entrusted with the four-run lead in the ninth and, well, he did end the game but not until he loaded the bases on two hits and a walk with one out. After the walk, pitching coach Tommy Hottovy went to the mound.
This was a good win for a number of reasons. First, the Braves are a very good team, in first place in the NL East by 4.5 games over the Phillies, and the Cubs handled them quite well. Also, this put the Cubs half a game ahead of the Phillies for the top wild-card spot, as the Phillies were idle on Monday. Philadelphia opens a series against the Nationals at Washington Tuesday evening. The win also reduced the Cubs’ magic number to clinch a postseason spot to seven.
The Cubs will look for the series win over the Braves Tuesday evening at Wrigley Field (weather permitting!). Kevin Gausman will start for the Cubs and Martin Perez goes for Atlanta. Game time is again 6:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
Sep 12, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger (21) reacts after stealing secondbase against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Good morning.
Evan Grant writes that we’re nearing the thrilling conclusion to everyone’s least favorite gameshow, ‘Who Wants to be an American League Playoff Team?’.
Kennedi Landry writes about the return of veteran reliever Robert Garcia and his impact on what has been a scuffling bullpen.
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle evokes the god of utility players Ben Zobrist when listing Duran’s year as something that has gone right for Texas this year.
The Mets continue a three-game series against Pete Alonso and the Orioles at Citi Field on Tuesday night at 7:10 on SNY.
Mets Notes
Francisco Lindor and Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso both enter play on Tuesday with 299 career home runs
A.J. Ewing is hitting .370/.434/.630 with three homers and three doubles in 53 plate appearances over his last 13 games
Sean Manaea allowed four runs on five hits while walking none and striking out four in 5.0 innings against the Marlins in Miami in his last start on Sept. 8
Today's Lineups
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METS
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 14: Reynaldo López #40 of the Atlanta Braves delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at Wrigley Field on September 14, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Braves lost to the Cubs 7-3 on Monday in Chicago. While the Braves did have a chance to make things interesting late, the game never really seemed that close. One bright spot was a solid outing in relief from A.J. Smith Shawver.
However, the story of the game were the continued struggles of Reynaldo Lopez. He was not effective at all in his two starts since returning from the IL. Following the game, he also let the team know that he had experience should issues at different points of the season. As a result, he will be headed back to the IL. And with shoulder issues being the reason he only made one start in all of 2025, it is a less than ideal end of Lopez’s 2026 season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers made Edwin Diaz the highest paid closer over the offseason. Now, he might not even make the postseason roster.
Diaz had a rehab outing Sunday in which he faced eight batters, retiring only two while walking three and hitting a batter. He threw 30 pitches to get those two outs, with only 13 strikes. Manager Dave Roberts talked about his recent woes on Monday before the Dodgers game against the Cincinnati Reds.
“He needs to pitch better. It hasn’t been good,” Roberts said on Monday. “He’s going to pitch on Wednesday, and I guess we’ll evaluate then. I think the world of him. The baseball card looks great. But where we’re at, there’s got to be something for us to be able to hang our hat on. And he knows that. He knows that. He wants to pitch well. So for me, Wednesday, we’ll be watching closely.”
He also acknowledged that Diaz might not make the postseason roster.
“Yeah … we have to go with our best pitchers, as far as performance, talent, all that stuff. So my bet is that he will be (one of them). But again, there’s got to be some kind of evidence or something for us, again, to sort of bet on. My bet is yes, but we still have to see something.”
Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic has more on the terrible season overall that Diaz has had as a Dodger here.
The Dodgers are already down another reliever, at least for the rest of the regular season. Edgardo Henriquez went on the IL on Monday with lower back discomfort. Bobby Miller was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Right-hander Paul Gervase and left-hander Kris Bubic also joined the team in Cincinnati. Gervase was added to the active roster, and Bubic could be added in the coming days.
Roki Sasaki has been sidelines with a blister and is tentatively scheduled to pitch on Thursday in Cincinnati. However, the weather is supposed to be hot and humid, and the team is worried about how that will affect Sasaki’s blister.
“We just can’t put him in a position to go backward. And so obviously people can look at Thursday. But again, if he can’t do it without accomplishing it, finishing a start, and not regress, then it’s not worth it. So I think for us, we’re just keeping it open-ended right now.”
Bill Plunkett of the OC Register has more info on the Dodgers pitching merry-go-round here.
