Category: MLB

There’s arguably no San Diego Padre who needed a breakout more than Xander Bogaerts. The veteran shortstop has massively underwhelmed since being signed to a long-term contract ahead of the 2023 season. In his last 15 games, Bogaerts owns a .302/.403/.453 slash line. That production has been buoyed by his last seven games, where his slash line improves to .357/.419/.643 with a 1.062 OPS.

The Padres’ offense has surged after scoring just three runs in Game 2. They scored nine in the series finale to take the four-game set versus the Colorado Rockies. That has moved the Friars to a four-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the final NL Wild Card spot. They’ll now return to Petco Park for their penultimate homestand versus the Miami Marlins.

Taking the mound

Tyler Phillips (MIA) v. Nick Pivetta (SD)

Phillips has looked quite good since being converted to a starter this season. He was highly effective out of the bullpen in 2025 (2.78 ERA), and owns a 3.55 ERA between both relief and starting appearances. Phillips has been solid, though not particularly great over his last few starts. He’s surrendered five runs in his last 8 2/3 innings.

With most of his short career being spent in the bullpen, Phillips hasn’t faced the Padres much. Of those who have faced him (nine at-bats), none have reached base. The Friars will seek to turn that around in their series opener versus Miami tonight.

It’s impossible to overstate just how good Pivetta has been since returning from the IL. In two starts since returning, the right-hander owns a 2.00 ERA through nine innings pitched. That’s dropped his ERA this season to a solid 3.60 mark.

How Pivetta continues to pitch down the stretch could very well determine the Friars’ postseason rotation. The club has a wealth of arms to choose from in a playoff rotation. Pivetta seems likely to make the roster, but that could change in the coming weeks if his arm proves volatile.

Batter up!

The Padres’ lineup, apart from a minor blip on Tuesday, has been mashing lately. They’ve scored an average of 6.6 runs per game in their last 10 games and a ridiculous 7.0 runs per game in their last seven. If San Diego’s offense continues to rake, they’ll have no problem ending Miami’s dwindling postseason hopes.

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
2. Dustin Harris, LF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Ty France, 1B
5. Jackson Merrill, CF
6. Xander Bogaerts, SS
7. Austin Hays, DH
8. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
9. Freddy Fermin, C

Bogaerts falling just short of hitting for the cycle overshadowed some other fantastic performances in the Padres’ series finale. Harris and France continued their hot streaks, going a combined 6-for-9 with five RBI. Every player in San Diego’s starting lineup recorded a hit except for Machado (and he still recorded an RBI).

Relief corps

Michael King continues to dazzle on the mound. The starter went six innings, surrendering two runs to the Rockies in the hitter-friendly Coors Field. Only Yuki Matsui and Griffin Canning were used to record the final nine outs. That gives the Padres options for their series against Miami.

Kyle Hart, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, David Morgan, Wandy Peralta, Bradgley Rodriguez and Randy Vásquez will be available out of the ‘pen for San Diego. If Pivetta stumbles early, Vásquez will likely be called upon to cover some of the middle innings.

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

For the Mets:

Let’s talk about it.

Yankees star right fielder Aaron Judge will be placed on the 10-day IL with a right calf strain. 

This could mean Judge will miss the remainder of the regular season, which concludes on Sunday, Sep. 27 against the Baltimore Orioles. 

Judge could be activated for that final game, but will miss at least seven of the team's remaining eight games, beginning with Friday night's road series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Judge was removed from Wednesday's extra-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning due to calf tightness.

New York's captain, of course, had just returned following a three-month absence due to a rib injury. 

He'll now go back on the shelf, with a corresponding move yet to be officially announced.

The Yankees have a number of Triple-A options, including OF Jasson Dominguez, but Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports that the player called up to the bigs will be super-utility man Max Schuemann.

Entering play Friday, the Yankees (88-64) are still 5.0 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East division lead, but occupy the top Wild Card slot, 5.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

The MLB playoffs are set to begin on Tuesday, Sep. 29, with the Wild Card round.

The Dodgers on Friday activated Edwin Díaz off the injured list, with a week and a half remaining in the regular season to see if his slim chance of pitching his way onto the postseason roster comes to fruition.

Díaz, who signed a three-year contract with the Dodgers in December, struggled to open the season before undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in April, which cost him three and a half months.

In 16 appearances with the Dodgers this season, Díaz has allowed runs in nine of them, with an 11.85 ERA, 6.37 xERA, 19 strikeouts and 10 walks in 13 2/3 innings. In nine games after returning from elbow surgery, Díaz had a 19.6-percent strikeout rate, down from 30.3 percent in seven games before surgery, and well below his 39.9-percent career strikeout rate through 2025.

The latest malady for Díaz was neck inflammation, sidelined since August 18. His rehab assignment with Oklahoma City didn’t go well at all, throwing more balls than strikes in three of his five appearances, with six runs allowed in 4 1/3 innings, seven walks, and four strikeouts. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Thursday in Cincinnati that Díaz will need to throw more strikes, and quality ones at that, in order to be considered to pitch in October.

“Like anything, it should be a meritocracy. You have to earn the right of opportunities, and you’ve also got to perform. Eddie understands that,” Roberts said, as shown on SportsNet LA. “Where we’re at now, we need guys to buy in, perform and go from there. That’s what he’s about.”

Landon Knack was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, after fulfilling his role with aplomb on Thursday. Called up for a day, Knack tossed four scoreless innings in relief and earned the win in the Dodgers’ division clincher in Cincinnati.

In Knack’s three stints in the majors this year, he pitched in four of the eight games for which he was active, with a 3.86 ERA and 4.09 xERA in build relief, with eight strikeouts and two walks in his 11 2/3 innings, plus one save of 2 2/3 innings, the Dodgers’ longest save of the season.

Chase Burns makes his final home start of the year on Friday night in Great American Ball Park as the Cincinnati Reds open a weekend series against their NL Central rivals from Chicago.

While the Reds have made it mathematically certain that they a) can’t make the playoffs and b) can’t win more games in the 2026 season than they’ll lose, the Cubs roll into GABP at 85-68 and atop the National League Wild Card standings (alongside the Philadelphia Phillies). They do sit just a lone game above the surging San Diego Padres in that race, however, and have not even clinched a postseason bid given tha tthe pesky Arizona Diamondbacks remain just 4 games back at 80-73.

So, the Reds do have the ability to play potential spoiler this weekend if they can just find the time.

Burns will throw the game’s first pitch at 6:40 PM ET, and he’ll share the mound to start with Chicago starter Clay Holmes. Brandon Williamson typically piggybacks Burns now that the latter is on a pitch count, but with Williamson needed earlier this week in mop-up duty manager Terry Francona will need to alter his plans slightly.

Here’s how the Reds will line up to start:

This is an important weekend of games for the Atlanta Braves, who can clinch a playoff spot with a win (or Diamondbacks loss) on Friday night. A win would also trim the magic number to clinch the National League East to four (or even three) pending what the Phillies do at Citi Field on Friday night. Following a frustrating series loss in Chicago to the Cubs, the Braves will turn to deadline acquisition Tyler Mahle to right the ship.

In the series opener, manager Walt Weiss is sending out his usual cast of characters to face Astros righty Peter Lambert. Drake Baldwin is leading off and playing DH, Sean Murphy is catching and batting ninth, and Mauricio Dubon, who the Braves acquired from the Astros last November, is batting fifth behind Baldwin, Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson and Michael Harris.

Lambert has been on quite the run for Houston, allowing three runs or fewer in all but one start since the beginning of July.

Here’s the full lineup for Friday night:

As for the Astros, AL MVP frontrunner Yordan Alvarez is in his customary No. 2 spot in the order. Jeremy Peña leads off, the dangerous Isaac Paredes hits third, and buzzer boy himself Jose Altuve bats cleanup.

First pitch tonight is set for 8:10 p.m. ET.

Today’s roster move: Here

Friday notes…

• ROAD WARRIORS: Two wins this weekend will give the Cubs 42 for the season on the road, matching their total of last year, when they finished 42-39. They are 40-35 this year. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• MORE ON ROAD GAMES: This year vs. last year: First games of road trips: 7-5, 4-8. First games of series on road: 12-12, 9-17. First games on road after winning last game of previous series: 8-4, 4-10. Night games on the road: 30-19, 28-27. Road games on Friday: 7-5, 4-9 (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• RUN WATCH: The Cubs’ 817 runs scored are their most through 153 games in 91 years. They scored 846 in 1935, which is their third most since 1901, behind 965 in 1930 and 973 in 1929. The Cubs played 156 games in 1929 and 1930, finishing with 982 and a team-record 998 runs, respectively. They tallied 855 in 161 games in 2008 and 847 in 154 games in 1935. At their current rate of 5.34 per game, the Cubs will finish this year with 865, third most by 10 over 2008. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• WALK WATCH: The Cubs have 643 walks through 153 games. With nine games remaining, they need 14 more walks to break the franchise record of 656, which was set in 2016.

Cubs lineup:

Reds lineup:

Clay Holmes, RHP vs. Chase Burns, RHP

With one exception — a meltdown against the Marlins — Clay Holmes has been outstanding for the Cubs. He very well could be the Game 1 starter in a Wild Card series.

First things first, Holmes has not faced the Reds since July 19, 2025 in Citi Field, where they scored five runs (four earned) off him in 5.1 innings. Hopefully tonight will be better.

Current Reds are a small sample size 4-for-25 against him with five strikeouts.

Chase Burns is not only the Reds’ best starter, he’s been one of the best in the league this year, currently with a 2.80 ERA, 1.150 WHIP and 4.9 bWAR.

He held the Cubs to three runs (two earned) in 5.2 innings Aug. 30 at Wrigley Field. Pete Crow-Armstrong homered off him.

Burns has been held to three innings in each of his last two starts and the expectation tonight is that he’ll do the same, no more than about 50-55 pitches.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Great American Ball Park.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. It’s also on MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Reds market territories).

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter. If you do go there to interact with Reds fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

The Mets have placed Jared Young on the seven-day concussion IL and have called up Ronny Mauricio to take his place on the roster. Unsurprisingly, Young’s 2026 season is over following a scary collision in which he took Nolan McLean’s knee at full force to the head while both players tried to field a ground out in Thursday’s loss.

Andy Green confirmed the news on Young but expressed optimism at his prognosis, saying Young is doing “as good as expected or could be hoped for.” The really great news is that Young has full motion of his arms and legs and is able to walk, according to Green, which seems to indicate that he has avoided a worst-case scenario. Green added that they got the “right kind of results” from the tests that they ran on Young, and that his sense of humor remains in tact, though he appears to be suffering from some short-term memory loss and bad headaches. The team will run more tests to “understand all that he is dealing with” and Green noted that there is optimism “from a recovery standpoint and a getting back on the field at some point standpoint”. He expressed relief at the prognosis.

Young enjoyed a really terrific campaign for the Mets and lamented the fact that he would not be able to finish strong to Green. The first baseman posted career-best numbers across the board, hitting nine home runs, driving in 39, and scoring 46 runs while slashing .266/.330/.429 with a 111 wRC+ with 1.7 bWAR in 103 games. The 31-year-old has positioned himself to be in the conversation for first base heading into the 2027 campaign, and hopefully for Young, the injury recovery will not derail that journey, as he finally seemed to find a good situation that allowed him to thrive and gave him space to contribute.

Mauricio will get the final week-and-a-half of the season to showcase his talents and try to fight for a spot on next year’s team. Mauricio has struggled at the major league level, posting -0.5 bWAR in just 17 games played. He’s hitting .180/.180/.26o with one home run in 50 plate appearances.

After reports emerged last night that the Nats were closing in on an extension with Cade Cavalli, the team made it official this afternoon. The 28 year old right hander is signing a 4-year contract that includes a club option for a 5th year. Those first four years will cost $47 million and the team option is for $23 million.

This is not some super long term deal, but given Cavalli’s age and team control that makes sense. After this season, Cavalli had three more years of club control. That means that the Nats will be buying out at least one free agent year with a chance to buy out a second.

With that context, a five year deal always felt like the sweet spot. That is pretty much what this contract is. If the club option is picked up, it will be a 5 year $70 million deal. That is actually $10 million less than what I predicted this morning. 

That feels like a great length and takes Cavalli right through his prime years. By the end of the fifth season, Cavalli will be 33 years old. This deal means that Cade Cavalli will spend his prime years in DC. That should be music to Nationals fans ears.

In their announcement of the deal, both Paul Toboni and Mark Lerner were quoted. They spoke of Cavalli’s resilience and character, as well as his baseball ability. That resilience was really tested in Cavalli’s journey. As we know, his Tommy John recovery was less than smooth. About 18 months ago, this day felt very unlikely, but here we are.

This contract has been well earned and feels like a great deal for both sides. For the team, they lock up their ace for four to five years. Meanwhile, Cavalli gets long term security after his career looked to be in jeopardy only a couple years ago.

If Cavalli continues to pitch like he has this year, the deal will be a bargain. On the season, Cavalli has a 3.12 ERA with 194 strikeouts in 164.2 innings. The newly extended Cavalli will have a chance to get his 200th strikeout tonight against the Cardinals.

This is a massive day for both Cavalli and the Nats. It is a statement that the Nats are actively looking to keep core pieces in the building long term. You can question whether the deal should have been longer, but it is done and Cavalli will be a National for the foreseeable future.

Tonight will be a celebration of Cade Cavalli and his new contract. Hopefully he can continue to do what he has been doing all season and deliver another quality start. This is a big win for the Nats and hopefully this is the first of many extensions.

Texas Rangers lineup for September 18, 2026 against the Toronto Blue Jays: starting pitchers are Kumar Rocker for the Rangers and Dylan Cease for the Jays.

Its the beginning of a three game set at home against the team that is currently tied with the Rangers in the Wild Card race. Exciting September baseball is on tap.

The lineup:

Duran — 3B

Seager — SS

Jung — DH

Nimmo — RF

Langford — LF

Burger — 1B

Lopez — 2B

Diaz — C

Carter — CF

7:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +115 underdogs.

The Mets placed first baseman Jared Young on the injured list with a concussion and called-up Ronny Mauricio from Triple-A Syracuse, but the news was positive after Young's scary injury in Thursday's game.

Interim manager Andy Green said Young is doing "as good as expected or we could have hoped for," ahead of Friday's game with the Philadelphia Phillies.

"All the tests that were ran, he got the right kind of results," Green said. "He has got his sense of humor in tact, I've texted back and forth with him quite a bit today, he also lamented not being able to finish the season on the active roster and continue playing; he was gonna finish strong.

"Mostly, he is doing pretty well."

It was a ghastly sight when Young's head slammed into the knee of pitcher Nolan McLean and the first baseman laying motionless on the ground. He would be taken off the field on a stretcher. 

The Mets announced Young had feeling in his extremities and was being taken to the hospital for further evaluation. He flashed a thumbs-up to the crowd as he was exiting the field on a cart.

Young was discharged from the hospital sometime in the early hours of Friday morning and able to go home. He has "full motion of his arms and legs," and is dealing with a concussion, the manager said on Friday, adding he is experiencing some "short-term memory loss" and a "pretty bad headache."

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

"Relieved, I think everybody is. His family, all in all, about as good as we could hope for."

Young, 31, was having a breakout year for the club. In 103 games, he has tallied 29 extra-base hits (nine home runs) with a .266/.330/.429 slash line for a .759 OPS (112 OPS+ and 111 wRC+). Before the 2026 season, Young had played just 44 big-league games for the Mets and Cubs since his MLB debut in 2022.

The Mets plan to use Mark Vientos and Brett Baty at first base for the remainder of the season. Christopher Morel could also see time at first, Green added. 

Mauricio, 25, has played 17 games this year for the Mets, with nine hits in 50 at-bats (.180) for a .440 OPS. In 71 games with Syracuse, he has 18 home runs and 57 RBI while batting .261 with a .795 OPS. 

Since making his big league debut in 2023, Mauricio has posted a .226/.278/.345 slash line for a .623 OPS in 104 games. A natural shortstop, he has also spent time at second base and third base.

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.