Category: MLB

Last night it was a rain delay without rain, tonight it was Cardinals Hall of Fame honors for Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, so expect Sunday’s finale to be pushed back due to, dunno, no hot dogs in stock or something. But whatever the excuse, the Cardinals could not avoid the inevitable on Saturday.

With the White Sox down to their last strike after a battling but ultimately lackluster game in St. Louis, former Cardinals farmhand Randal Grichuk drove a sinker on the outer edge of the plate from closer Riley O’Brien to the shortest porch in the ballpark, putting the White Sox ahead, 6-5, and swelling their division lead back to 1 ½ games.

Grichuk, along with most of the White Sox hitters, was having a miserable game to that point, but his 358-foot doink of a round-tripper — a ball that the veteran seemed stunned by and stumbled out of the box over — made everything right:

For the first eight innings, the game looked to be a snapshot of two young, talented franchises moving in opposite directions, with fundamental play and potent offense a seeming hallmark of the St. Louis club and poor defense, mental lapses and an utter inability to string hits (and sometimes even contact at all) characteristic of the White Sox. But Grichuk, far outside of the young talent core of the White Sox, rescued the diaper dandies who had carried the club into September.

Sean Newcomb had another solid opening stint, gulping too many pitches in the first (20) but with just about the best outcome possible (three Ks and a walk). The sly southpaw came on for a second inning, but saw just two batters, adding a K but relinquishing a single before getting a quick hook (at 29 pitches) that no one really wanted to see: Luis Castillo, a career-long starter being asked to take the ball mid-frame.

Castillo poured gasoline on the embers, getting battered for a single, double, single and sac fly by the first four batters he saw, and a crooked number gave St. Louis a 3-0 lead early. (Instructively, in Castillo’s first clean start to an inning, the third, he worked through the Cards on five pitches.)

With the mood in the dugout flat, Munetaka Murakami followed up an utterly helpless K in the first inning with a battle of an at-bat with two outs in the fourth, stroking a single on the eighth pitch he saw. Another walk and Tristan Peters taking a ball off his shoulder sandwiched around a Grichuk walk loaded the bases for Colson Montgomery. The good news is Colson narrowed the deficit to 3-1 with a key RBI. The bad? It came via a walk against wild and ineffective Cards reliever Cooper Hjerpe. But Braden Montgomery wasn’t even able to match his surname kin, striking out.

After a Cardinals half-inning that saw a wild Castillo give that run right back, almost an identical arrangement loaded the bases for the White Sox in the top of the fifth: San Antonacci HBP, Kyle Teel walk and Miguel Vargas single setting up Murakami for a key RBI … once again, not a homer or even a single, but a walk, a second run forced in by Hjerpe.

But one key difference in the fifth was the number of outs: none. However, the theme of the swoon continued, as Grichuk stepped up to deliver Chicago another run … via GIDP. But with the White Sox down, 4-3, Peters delivered a ball in the left-center gap to tie things up … but was thrown out trying to stretch his hit to a double.

With the game now renewed and shortened to 5 ½ innings, manager Will Venable went to southpaw phenom Hagen Smith to take over. Not that Smith needs help at this point, but in extinguishing St. Louis on nine pitches the final out came on a mis-called K, as Cardinals third-sacker Nolan Gorman foul-tipped a ball scooped nicely off the ground by Teel but called a third strike and out by home plate ump Doug Eddings Alfonso Márquez.

Gorman’s woes extended onto the field, as his olé defense at third turned a possible inning-ending double play in the sixth into two men on for the White Sox, following a Colson HBP. But the mini-rally ended with, what new, a strikeout, this one from Teel. That out piled up a seventh runner left on base and fourth with two outs at the game’s halfway mark.

After another quick hook, this time for Smith (21 pitches, all spent simply melting through the Cardinals lineup), Grant Taylor entered in the bottom of the seventh. Taylor forgave Venable his overmanaging by blanking St. Louis while allowing only a walk.

The game seemingly came down to the eighth inning, with the White Sox adding another chapter to September’s swan song of South Side missed opportunities. In the top half, Colson and Braden drew two-out walks, but Antonacci grounded to third to extinguish the free-pass rally. In the bottom half Taylor remained for a second inning and the White Sox immediately paid for it, as Cards leadoff hitter Leo Bernal swung at three straight pitches out of the zone. Unfortunately, Bernal caught up with a 98 mph fastball at his chest that nonetheless cut the heart of the plate and turned on it 106 mph out to right:

There was no reason to expect that the White Sox, who had done all their damage in the game against a young reliever in his second MLB game and sporting a 7.20 ERA, would knot things up against Cards closer Riley O’Brien.

And they in fact did not knot it up, but won the game outright, thanks to the better of the veteran DH hydra this season, Grichuk. Without overhyping the moment, this is exactly the thrilling victory snatched from the jaws of defeat that can provide the kick needed to push a division title home over the final 14 games.

The White Sox still have not lost more than four consecutive games this season. Houston’s loss in St. Petersburg also increases Chicago’s pad to 1 ½ games for the No. 2 seed to The magic number is down to 13, and the White Sox are assured of arriving in Cleveland on Monday in first place.

MVP
Randal Grichuk: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, R, HR, GWRBI, 2 K, GIDP

Runners-Up
Hagen Smith: 2 IP, 3 K
Sam Antonacci: 2-for-4, HBP, R
Colson Montgomery: 0-for-1, 2 BB, RBI, HBP

Cold Cat
Luis Castillo: 2 ⅔ IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, E

Runners-Up
Miguel Vargas: 1-for-5, R, 3 K
Braden Montgomery: 0-for-3, BB, K
Grant Taylor: 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 3 K, HR

The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Arizona Diamondbacks scored two runs.

Josh Jung had been the Rangers’ best and most consistent hitter throughout most of the first half of the season and right as the season’s second half was kicking into gear, Jung went down with a calf strain that was initially expected to be minor before it cost the third baseman nearly two months worth of action.

Things weren’t exactly easy for this lineup even with him on the field. Without him, however, the Rangers struggled to an even greater degree to consistently score runs. I suppose that makes sense as they were without their only non-platoon regular who was sporting an OPS north of .800 and also the squad’s leader in batting average.

Tonight, at last, Jung made his return and the Rangers had a new but familiar No. 3 hitter. Jung didn’t miss a beat as he singled in his first at-bat and later singled and drove in a run in the top of the fifth to extend a rally which would see the Rangers score all six of their runs.

In addition to Jung’s reappearance, Nathan Eovaldi also returned to action after missing more than a month. There’s perhaps not enough time left to ramp Eovaldi back up for his spot in the rotation, so the veteran arm is being used as a Swiss army knife for the ‘pen.

Tonight the 2023 Game 5 World Series winner took the Chase Field mound once again and tossed 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball to shepherd the game through until Jacob Latz collected the final four outs.

Eovaldi took on bridge building duties because tonight’s starter Kumar Rocker lasted just four innings on 65 pitches despite working with a five-run lead. After allowing the first two hitters to reach in the bottom of the fifth, Rocker was lifted for a third recent returnee Ranger with Robert Garcia coming on and working around the inherited danger to get the ball to Eovaldi.

Other than Garcia, the Rangers had these guys for the majority of the season so you can’t really say “oh what might have been…” but it’s clear that they were missed during a period where the Rangers couldn’t pull ahead in the destitute American League.

Maybe it’s not too late.

Player of the Game: Batting ninth, catcher Elias Diaz produced a team-best three hits, including the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the fifth that helped to spark the six-run frame which saw the Texas send ten batters to the plate.

Up Next: The Rangers and D-Backs close out this series with a matinee matchup featuring a pitcher to be named for Texas opposite LHP Eduardo Rodriguez for Arizona.

The Sunday afternoon finale first pitch from Chase Field is scheduled for 3:10 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

One night after clinching a playoff spot, the Tampa Bay Rays went right back to work.

The Houston Astros did not waste much time to test whether Tampa Bay had moved past the previous night’s celebration.

Ian Seymour struck out Jeremy Peña to begin the game before former Ray Isaac Paredes sent a solo home run into left-center field for a 1-0 Astros lead. Jose Altuve walked, and Yainer Diaz followed with a single, putting two more runners aboard with only one out.

Seymour had seen enough.

Daulton Varsho went down on a foul tip, and Christian Walker struck out swinging, beginning a stretch in which Houston’s lineup struggled to do much of anything against the Rays left-hander.

Seymour retired the side in order in the second, struck out Peña and Paredes during a clean third and worked another clean inning in the fourth. He then turned the fifth into his most dominant inning of the night, striking out Cam Smith, Taylor Trammell and Christian Vázquez in succession.

By then, Tampa Bay’s offense was finally ready to give him something to work with.

Junior Caminero’s first-inning single was the only offense the Rays could generate through the first four innings against Peter Lambert. Victor Mesa Jr. changed that by leading off the fifth with a single, and Chandler Simpson followed with a liner into center that sent Mesa to third. Cedric Mullins dropped a sacrifice bunt that moved Simpson to second, giving Palacios two runners in scoring position with one out. Palacios took advantage, lining a single into center to score both Mesa and Simpson.

Just like that, a 1-0 deficit became a 2-1 lead.

Palacios was caught stealing for the second out, keeping the lead from growing any larger, and that extra insurance would have helped as the game progressed.

Seymour retired the first two Astros in the sixth before Altuve doubled to left, giving the Astros their first baserunner since the first inning. Diaz followed with a ground-ball single, bringing Altuve home and tying the game 2-2.

Seymour recovered by getting Varsho to ground out, finishing his night after allowing two runs while striking out 10 Houston hitters throughout the evening.

Tyler Wells kept the score tied in the seventh, working around a two-out walk to Trammell and striking out Vázquez to end the inning.

That gave the Rays another chance to move back in front.

Liam Hicks led off the bottom of the seventh with a double and was replaced by pinch-runner Kenny Piper. Mesa walked before a Simpson groundball got him out at second while advancing Piper to third.

The Rays then went to the bench.

Nick Madrigal pinch-hit for Mullins and lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Piper for a 3-2 lead. Jonny DeLuca followed with a pinch-hit infield single in place of Palacios and stole second, but Tampa Bay left runners at second and third on a Jorge Mateo line drive that found Cam Smith’s glove in right field.

One run would have to be enough.

Ty Johnson walked Peña to begin the eighth before retiring Paredes and striking out Altuve. Bryan Baker entered with two outs and immediately had to work for the final out after Diaz singled to put runners at the corners. He successfully got Varsho struck out swinging, preserving the lead.

Tampa Bay had a chance to make the ninth a little more comfortable after loading the bases with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but Simpson grounded out to Astros pitcher Bryan King.

So Baker came back out for the ninth with the same one-run margin and save number 40 for the season on the line.

He did not make it complicated.

Walker grounded out to Caminero at third. Smith popped out to Jorge Mateo. Trammell then lined a ball to right that looked like it had a chance to get out but instead landed at the wall, where Mesa made the catch to finish the 3-2 victory and give Baker save No. 40.

The Rays will look for the series sweep when these two teams face off again Sunday at 1:40 pm. Freddy Peralta is scheduled to start for Tampa Bay opposite Hayden Wesneski from the Astros.

After an emotional induction into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame for Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols and Bill Sherder, it was time for baseball Saturday night at Busch Stadium. Kyle Leahy provided an efficient start for the first few innings of the game and the Cardinals offense provided some early runs. It would come down to how many more runs they could add and if the St. Louis bullpen could keep the White Sox suppressed. Short answer: eventually no.

The Cardinals bats strung together some hits in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Nolan Gorman hit a one-out single to right. Thomas Saggese copied Gorman’s plan with a single to right himself as Gorman advanced to third. Masyn Winn then came through with a clutch double into the left field corner scoring both Gorman and Saggese to give the Cardinals an early 2-0 lead.

Nathan Church followed Masyn’s double with a single that moved Winn to third. He then scored when Jose Fermin lifted a sacrifice fly to center to make it 3-0 Cardinals.

As expected, Kyle Leahy was limited to just 3 innings as his pitch count only reached 38. He was supported by some fine defense including a stellar one from Alec Burleson.

Leahy was relieved in the top of the 4th by Connor Hjerpe. Unfortunately, his control was all over the place. He had a solid start to the inning with a strikeout of Vargas, but then gave up a single to Murakami before striking out Randall Grichuk. It was then Connor caused all kinds of trouble for himself as he hit Peters with a pitch and then walked Meidroth to load the bases and then walked Colson Montgomery gifting the White Sox a run making it 3-1 St. Louis. Fortunately, he pulled it together and struck out Braden Montgomery to limit the damage.

The Cardinals offense took the momentum back in the bottom of the 4th inning when Nolan Gorman drew a leadoff walk. He advanced to second after Thomas Saggese lined out to third and the White Sox threw the ball away trying to double him off at first. Two batters later, Nathan Church came through with a clutch 2-strike 2-out double that bounced off of the right field wall giving St. Louis its 3-run lead back making it 4-1 Cardinals. They came close to adding a lot more as White Sox starter Luis Castillo seemed inclined to help as he walked Fermin and Herrera to load the bases which brought up Alec Burleson with an opportunity to break the game wide open. Too bad that he struck out on a 92 mph four-seam fastball up in the zone to end the Cardinals 4th.

You could see potential big trouble rearing its head in the top of the 5th inning when Connor Hjerpe put men on base nearly every way possible with a hit-by-pitch (again), walk and a single to load the bases for the dangerous Murakami with nobody out. Hjerpe walked him, too, to gift the White Sox a run (again) reducing the Cardinals lead to 4-2. That finally inspired Oli Marmol to take Hjerpe out of the game and bring in Luis Gastelum. He managed to get a double-play ball out of Randall Grichuk, but a run scored on the play cutting the Cardinals lead to just 1. Peters tied the game with a single to left-center, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Still, the score was all tied up at 4-4 going into the bottom of the 4th.

After the Cardinals failed to generate a rally in the bottom of the 4th inning, it was Justin Bruihl’s turn to come into the game to hit White Sox batters. After striking out Meidroth, he hit Colton Montgomery on the hands. The other Montgomery, Braden, grounded a ball that was too much for Nolan Gorman to handle at third which gave the White Sox a legitimate scoring chance. Fortunately, Bruihl was able to get a groundout to short from Antonacci for the second out. It was up to Kyle Teel if the White Sox were going to do anything with runners at first and third with two outs. Fortunately, the White Sox were out of challenges as he watched a 76 mph sweeper barely come back to catch the top-left of the strike zone for the final White Sox out of the inning. No soup for you!

After the Cardinals went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 6th inning, Ryne Stanek came in to handle the top of the 7th inning and he was exceptional in that he didn’t walk or hit anyone. Instead, he set down Vargas, Murakami and Grichuk with no drama. After a fruitless Cardinals bottom of the 7th, it was George Soriano’s turn to try and keep the game tied. He got Peters to fly out to center for the first out and then struck out Meidroth for the second out. He then walked Colton Montgomery who then stole second to give Chicago a runner in scoring position. Braden Montgomery then drew a walk because that was a Cardinals bullpen specialty Saturday night. Nolan Gorman redeemed himself for a misplay earlier in the game as he made a fine play on a hard hit ball from Antonacci for the final out of the White Sox 8th.

The Cardinals bats that went quiet through the middle innings woke up in the bottom of the 8th inning when Leo Bernal slammed a 98 mph four-seam fastball 421 feet into the right field stands for a 5-4 Cardinals lead. Boom!

St. Louis tried to add to the lead after Bernal’s homer as they loaded the bases with two outs on back-to-back singles by Masyn Winn and Nathan Church and a walk to Fermin, but Herrera lined out to right for the final out of the 8th with no additional runs scored. That meant it was Riley O’Brien protecting just a one-run lead in the top of the 9th inning. He started by walking Teel on 6 pitches putting the potential tying run on first base with no one out. Vargas was next for the White Sox. He struck out when Leo Bernal successfully challenged a high strike. Doyle, who was sent in to pinch-run for Teel, stole second when Masyn Winn was unable to handle a nice throw from Leo Burnal giving Chicago the tying run in scoring position. Fortunately, Murakami struck out for the second out. That meant it was up to former Cardinal Randall Grichuk. With two strikes he lifted a fly ball that barely cleared the right field wall over a jumping Victor Scott II giving the White Sox a remarkably depressing 6-5 lead. I think it was Yogi Berra who once said it’s like Deja vu all over again.

Could the Cardinals offense somehow muster some magic in the bottom of the 9th to avoid a heartbreaking defeat? It didn’t start well as Alec Burleson lined out weakly to third. Jordan Walker was sent up as a pinch-hitter as he had been given the night off after an awkward landing on the first base bag during Friday’s game. Jordan struck out chasing a fastball out of the zone for the second out. The last hope for St. Louis was the switch-hitting Leo Bernal. He sadly grounded out to end the game.

It’s game 3 of the Cardinals weekend series against the White Sox Sunday as Michael McGreevy takes the mound for the Cardinals. The White Sox have not officially announced their starter as of this writing. First pitch scheduled for 1:15pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

For three innings, things were going well for the Phillies. Despite being forced to utilize a bullpen game, they had a 1-0 lead over the Braves. By the time the fourth inning ended, they found themselves trailing 8-1 as Grant Holman had a debut he (and everyone else) would like to forget. The rest of the game was mostly cursory as the Braves coasted to a 12-2 win.

After Friday night’s game when extra innings forced the Phillies to use five relievers, it certainly wasn’t welcome news that Jesus Luzardo was experiencing shoulder stiffness and wouldn’t be able to make his start. Don Mattingly would need to piece together nine innings from his beleaguered bullpen.

Tim Mayza got the start and thanks in part to inducing two double plays, he pitched three scoreless innings.

He got some early run support off the bat of Bryce Harper who hit one deep and then apparently tried to send a message with an especially slow home run trot.

You know what else would send a message, Bryce? Avoiding mistakes on the basepaths! Or getting back to the patient approach that was working so well last month. I think that would make much more of an impact than a home run trot in the first inning of a game you’d eventually lose by double digits.

After Mayza’s time was up, Brooks Raley was the next man in. After his failure on Friday night, Raley spent Saturday putting himself up there with Brandon Workman and Asdrubal Cabrera in terms of worst trade deadline pickups ever.

With one out, Ronald Acuna tied the game at one with a solo home run.

Raley actually struck out the next batter before allowing a walk and a single. This was a critical spot of the game, so naturally Mattingly decided this was the time for Grant Holman to make his season debut.

Holman spent the previous two seasons with the A’s, but was placed on waivers in May, and subsequently claimed by the Phillies. He pitched pretty well in AAA as a reliever and has been on the roster since the beginning of September, but the team didn’t trust him to appear in a game…until now.

How did that go?

It went stolen base, single, fielding error by Bryson Stott (who has apparently forgotten how to play baseball), walk, wild pitch, double, single, fly out. By the time the inning was over, the Braves led 8-1.

The rest of the game was mostly cursory. The Braves scored a few more. The Phillies got one back on a Justin Crawford home run of all things, and Garrett Stubbs pitched the final 2.2 innings.

Andrew Painter will start the series finale on Sunday as the Phillies will attempt to salvage the final game of what has been a disastrous series so far.

MLB.com defines a “no-trade clause” as “a contractual clause that allows players to veto trades to certain teams. No-trade clauses are often worked into contract extensions and free-agent contracts as a perk for the players signing such deals.”

Such a contractual element gives a player considerable control over their future.

Case in point? Jacob deGrom, who used his no-trade clause to stop a proposed trade by the Texas Rangers.

So here’s tonight’s questions for the Purple Row Night Owls.

Congratulations! Your agent has gotten you an excellent free-agent deal, and now you are ironing out the details with your new team.

You will be allowed to select five teams that you will refuse a trade to.

Which teams will you include in your no-trade clause and why?

Let us know in the comments.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Entering Saturday’s Subway Series matchup, Mets right fielder Carson Benge had gone 18 games since his last home run and was stuck in the middle of a quiet slump – so quiet, it was hard to notice because of what else the rookie does on the field.

From his sensational diving catches seemingly every other night to throwing runners out on the bases or keeping them from advancing because of his cannon of an arm, Benge’s impact on a game extends beyond his production at the plate.

Nevertheless, the rookie snapped his homerless streak in the third inning against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole on a 1-0 slider that went high in the air with a launch angle of 43 degrees before landing 368 feet away in the bleachers in right-center field.

The home run was the Mets’ third off Cole, extended their lead to 4-0, and gave Benge 17 on the season. He finished 2-for-5 with two RBI.

“We put together some good at-bats early and just kept chipping away and eventually got [Cole] out [of the game], so overall I think we did a really good job at our plan today,” Benge said.

But the 23-year-old wasn’t done there. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Aaron Judge lined one towards the gap in right-center field, but the outfielder sprinted across the field, laid out and made a beautiful catch as he’s done so often before during his rookie campaign.

“It’s fun watching guys play the game all out and leaving it all out there all the time,” said interim manager Andy Green. “The diving catches are turning into something that you now expect, which tells you something about the type of defender he is. 

“When it goes in the gap and you see him running, you’re like ‘he’s gonna lay out and catch this,’ he just does it again and again and again.”

Benge’s catches, while amazing, have become so commonplace now that, much like their skipper, Juan Soto expects him to make it every single time and doled out high praise for the youngster.

“He doesn’t impress me anymore, I think he’s a superstar,” Soto said. “He’s doing things that superstars do every day. I mean, every day he’ll always find a way to make us smile with the swing, with the running, with the throws. It’s just incredible.”

It’s true, while he was picked off and caught trying to steal second base on Saturday, Benge has 22 stolen bases on the season to go along with the ridiculous catches and composure at the plate. He also has 10 outfield assists in right field, the most among all rookies, and is putting together one of the most complete all-around seasons as a rookie.

But if you ask Benge what he likes more: hitting a home run or making a great catch, he said going yard is “definitely way better,” perhaps signifying that his amazing grabs are becoming standard for him, too.

When told about Soto dropping “superstar” when describing him, Benge was appreciative, but composed.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “It’s pretty special to be able to catch someone’s eye like that, so that’s really cool and I’ll just keep on doing my thing and working hard every day.”

After an epic 11-inning win Friday night against the Phillies, the Braves were hoping to finish them off in the division race. They got a bit of a boost from the Phillies scratching Jesus Luzardo with long-running shoulder soreness.

Tyler Mahle cruised through the first two hitters before Bryce Harper hit a monster homer and took a comical amount of time rounding the bases, clearly hitting back at the controversy from Zach Wheeler’s comments about Ronald Acuna’s home run celebrations last week. The Phillies had to be feeling good with a 1-0 lead for a couple innings there, until the Braves essentially ended the game with 8 runs in the fourth inning. Ronald Acuna kicked things off with a towering homer (and a normal home run trot).

The Braves then got a walk, single, single, single, error, wild pitch, walk, double, and single to score another 7 runs. Drake Baldwin provided the double before things got all the way back around to Acuna for the last single, bringing home the last run of the inning.

Mahle continued to cruise after that Harper homer, finishing 7.0 innings of 1-run ball with no walks, even though he only had 7 whiffs and 3 strikeouts. The Braves added another run on in the sixth with a Ronald ABS strikeout-turned-walk, an error on an Olson ground ball, and an Ozzie sac fly. The Phillies got one back with a solo homer from Crawford in the eighth against Brent Suter. The Braves got another 3 runs against the position-player pitcher for Philly in the eighth, as Kiersey singled, Albies doubled, and Harris hit a homer off the right field foul pole. Suter finished off the Phillies in the ninth, as the Braves only needed to throw Mahle and Suter on the night. The Phillies’ bullpen is in rough shape on the other side, after the 11-inning game Friday and the blowout bullpen game they suffered today.

Join us for hopefully the last time we see the Phillies this season tomorrow at 1:35 PM ET.

The Mariners are currently six games out of the AL West, six games out of the last Wild Card spot, and nine games from elimination. While it’s technically possible the Mariners squeeze into the playoffs if they go on a crazy run over the next 13 games, given how this team has played all year, I’m finding that increasingly unlikely. For now, let’s focus on what’s in front of them; perhaps the Mariners can get out of Sacramento with a series victory and some pride rather than dropping another winnable series at a crucial time in the season. Bryan Woo takes the hill for his 28th start of the season. Last time out, Woo went eight innings, giving up just one hit and two walks, with nine strikeouts. Woo’s dominance at home has become a calling card of sorts for him as he has continued to struggle on the road at times. However, in his last three road starts, Woo has logged two quality starts, kept opponents under two runs, and logged five-plus strikeouts in each start. Since the start of August, Woo’s road ERA ranks 6th best in MLB, while his road WHIP, .86, ranks 11th.

Lineups

Game Information

Radio: Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com

TV: Mariners.TV

The Guardians had a plan to use Daniel Espino as an opener and follow it up with Joey Cantillo. They got two good innings out of Daniel Espino, and instead of going to Cantillo, they decided to go to Aleman, which wound up being a disaster that costed them the game. Joey Cantillo went 4 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and 8 strikeouts. It’s hard not to think if they would have just went straight to him, they would’ve won this game.

The offense scored three runs on five hits, including RBI hits from Bazzana, Kwan, and Hedgey. It wasn’t a great performance but this should’ve been enough to beat this Twins team today. Now they are in a spot where they HAVE to win tomorrow. We desperately need a vintage Tanner Bibee start.

The Brewers 20-0 blowout victory over the Reds Friday wasn’t the only highlight of the night in Milwaukee.

Sverre Vinje, a 102-year-old World War II Navy veteran from Rockford, Illinois, sang “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch. The moving rendition went viral on social media.

Vinje, who served from 1943-45 and was at the Battle of Iwo Jima and Battle of Okinawa, received ongoing cheers from the crowd in attendance at American Family Field on the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

The Brewers clinched a spot in the postseason with their beatdown of the Reds Friday night. The squad became the first team in MLB history with multiple shutout wins of 20-plus runs in a season.

Milwaukee leads the National League with a 90-56 record and are poised to make a deep playoff run.

Manager Pat Murphy remains one of the most highly-touted skippers in baseball, leading a small-market team to another league-leading season.

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Clarke Schmidt was dominant in what may be his final rehab start Saturday with Double-A Somerset.

The Yankees right-hander pitched out of the bullpen, getting four outs and striking out three. It took Schmidt just 21 pitches (12 strikes) to get through his appearance with the Patriots. He allowed just one batter to reach a three-ball count in his performance.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that if all goes well for Schmidt with his recovery, the team could activate him for the upcoming road trip to pitch out of the bullpen. And the Yankees could use it. Although they held the best bullpen ERA in the majors going into the weekend series with the Mets, the Yankees relievers have scuffled a bit.

The Yankees bullpen allowed two runs on Friday, but held on for the 6-4 win. On Saturday, behind Gerrit Cole, the bullpen allowed seven runs in their 12-2 loss. 

Clarke Schmidt faced four batters in his fifth outing of @MLB rehab. He struck out THREE of them! 🔥

1.1 IP | 0 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 3 K pic.twitter.com/LdXT8KdDNi

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 13, 2026

The A’s won on some fireworks last night thanks to a late extra-inning blast from Donovan Walton. That gave the A’s the first win of the weekend series against the Mariners, who are desperate for wins right now. The postseason is slipping away from them and the A’s are doing their part dragging them away from October baseball. We want our division rivals joining us on the couch this playoffs and that’ll look even more likely with another win tonight.

The team will get a big boost on offense tonight as the squad welcomes back catcher Shea Langeliers from the injured list, with him taking Darell Hernaiz’s roster spot:

Langeliers beat all the expectations that he was done for the year. He’ll wind up missing just over seven weeks, beating the expectations that his season was over. While he won’t be catching for the remainder of the season, getting his bat back in the lineup sure helps for the final couple weeks, and gives both him and team some peace of mind about his knee’s health heading into the winter.

To the game. Tonight’s starting pitcher for the Athletics will be rookie Gage Jump. The southpaw is has shown his talent plenty of times this season but with plenty of rookies consistency has been an issue. Jump got hit especially hard during August, when he posted a 7.58 ERA in his six starts. He seemed to enjoy the calendar flipping to September since he looked much better his last time out, which was against these same Mariners. Up in Seattle last weekend Jump held down the M’s to just two runs, but he exited after only four innings of work and eventually was saddled with the loss. Everyone will be looking for more length this evening in Sacramento, where Jump has struggled more compared to the road.

Here’s how the Athletics’ lineup shakes out for the second game of the series:

Langeliers slides right back into the heart of the order batting fourth behind Bolte, McNeil and Butler. After his walk off homer last night Walton rises to the fifth spot in the order while Zack Gelof drops all the way to sixth. It’s Cortes and Heim in left and catcher again, respectively, and Alika Williams is back in the lineup after a night off manning his usual shortstop position.

Seattle meanwhile will turn to righty Bryan Woo, asking him to help keep their season alive. Woo, a Bay Area native, has been a consistent and solid arm for the Mariners this season, making all of his starts and sporting a 4.03 ERA entering tonight. There’s more to his story however. When pitching in his home ballpark in Seattle Woo is among the best pitchers in the game. On the road? A different, worse pitcher. That doesn’t bode well for his chances tonight against an A’s team surging and getting their best hitter back.

And the Seattle starting nine:

The A’s have enjoyed playing spoiler in recent weeks and why stop now? Keep our foot on the Mariners’ throats and their season is almost toast thanks to us. Time for another nail in their coffin. Let’s go A’s!

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Aaron Judge was back in the lineup Saturday for a second straight game after sitting out the final game of the Rockies series Thursday, as the Yankees work their best player into form. 

Judge, who was in right field in Friday’s win over the Mets in The Bronx, was at DH Saturday and went hitless in four at-bats in a 12-2 loss to their crosstown rivals. 

Before the game, Aaron Boone said he opted not to put Judge back in right for a day game after a night game in his first week back following a three-plus-month absence with a fractured right rib. 

The manager added Judge could “potentially” be off either Sunday in the series finale against the Mets or Monday in Minnesota. 

“He’s physically responded well,’’ Boone said of Judge’s first games back. “That’s been encouraging. He’s handled the rigors of playing in these games.” 

Through Judge’s first four games after skipping a traditional minor league rehab assignment, Judge is 3-for-14 with a walk, six strikeouts and no extra-base hits. 

“Offensively, I feel like he looks good in these handful of days,’’ Boone said. “Hopefully, he gets more and more sharp.” 

Judge said he is seeing the ball well and feels fine. 

“He’s made good swing decisions, is getting deep in the count for the most part,” Boone said. “He’s gotten a lot of good swings off, gotten some results [and] gotten on base. I’m encouraged by where he’s at. Hopefully he continues to find that real timing and rhythm we know he can.” 

The Yankees have been waiting all year for Amed Rosario to start hitting left-handers, and he started Saturday against Zac Thornton. Rosario hit the ball hard, but came away empty. 

Boone remains confident in the veteran right-handed hitter. 

“He’s having the right at-bats and represents a real threat,’’ Boone said. “He hasn’t gotten a lot of results, [but] I expect him to be more in line with who he’s been against lefties.” 

Anthony Volpe also got the nod Saturday over the vanishing José Caballero at second base and went 0-for-3. 

With Ryan Weathers throwing off flat ground Saturday in his attempt to return from being shut down for two weeks with a left forearm flexor strain, Boone didn’t rule out the lefty returning to the roster even if he isn’t able to pitch any minor league rehab games. 

“The bottom line is hopefully he’s pressed into a situation where he’s a little uncomfortable because he is healthy and ready to go,’’ Boone said of Weathers, who could have a bullpen session as soon as Monday. “In reality, that may happen.’’ 

Asked if Weathers could go straight to a postseason roster, Boone said, “I don’t know. I’d like to think that hopefully he’s back before then, but we’ll see.” 

Clarke Schmidt was scheduled to make his fifth — and likely final — minor league rehab appearance Saturday with Double-A Somerset in his comeback from Tommy John surgery. 

“I feel he’s thrown the ball well during games,’’ Boone said. “He feels and looks good. … Hopefully he plays a role for us.” 

Right-hander Chase Hampton, the top Yankees pitching prospect just two years ago, was claimed off waivers by Washington and optioned to Double-A. Hampton was designated for assignment to open up a spot on the 40-man roster when Judge returned from the IL.

Spencer Jones had his third straight multihit game.

“He’s done a good job in certain situations in thinking a little smaller,’’ Boone said. “Knowing where he can take his shots. He’s played a very mature game.”

The Yankees surpassed 3 million fans for a 26th straight season in which there’s been full attendance. 

Were you worried about Ranger Suárez coming into this afternoon’s game? It’s okay to admit it if you were. Hell, it’s okay to still be worried a tad. The man put up a 5.70 ERA in the month of August, culminating in a no-show performance against the Yankees in what was the biggest series of the season up to that point.

But today Suarez dined out on crafty veteran card, putting together a start that was uneventful in the best way. He gave up just one solo shot and was only trouble twice — and it was a but a teeny tiny little bit of trouble both times. In the first inning Bobby Witt, Jr. made his way to third after singling and stealing second. Suarez would escape the inning unscathed after striking out Vinnie Pasquantino on a full count (hat tip to Adley Rutschman for a nice challenge on the called third strike).Then in the seventh, after the Sox finally took a 3-1 lead in a game that was somnambulant up that point, Suárez struck out consecutive hitters to end a mini threat that saw the Royals put a runner in scoring position with only one out.

The whole point of Ranger Suárez is that you’re not supposed to worry about him. He’s never going to look like one of the best pitchers on the planet. He’s going to have stretches where he looks hittable. But, ultimately, he’s going to figure it out and get the job done. That’s what he did today, giving the Royals hitters no room to breath while the heart of the Sox lineup strung a few hits together here and there.

The losing streak is over, the Red Sox magic number is 7

Three Studs

Ranger Suárez: See above, duh.

Wilyer Abreu: It was Wilyer’s two-out, two-run double in the sixth that gave the Sox a 3-1 lead. Even at the time you knew it was all they would need.

Garrett Whitlock: We all know how important the bullpen is going to be in October. Whitlock striking out the side in the 8th has me dreaming about the postseason Sox shortening ballgames big time.

One Dud

Jarren Duran: 0-4 with a K, the only Sox player who played the whole game without getting a hit

Play of the Game