Category: MLB

The Mets and Nationals went blow-for-blow, but New York could not overcome its early deficit as they fell 7-6 on Friday night in Washington, D.C.

The loss guarantees the Mets (73-87) will finish last in the NL East in a full season for the first time since 2003. 

Here are the takeaways...

-The Mets offense got started quickly, with Mark Vientos driving home Juan Soto, who hit a one-out single, on a double. It's the first first-inning run Andrew Alvarez has allowed this season (17 starts). But it could have been more. After Carson Benge walked to load the bases, Francisco Alvarez was up in the count 3-1 before he grounded into an inning-ending double play. 

New York would get more runs in the third inning, though, as a Bo Bichette RBI single and a Vientos sac fly put the Mets in front 3-2. 

-Jefrey Yan got the start and had a tough time in the first. Yan allowed two baserunners on but was one out away from getting out of the inning when CJ Abrams hit a bomb to right-center field. It looked destined to be a home run, but the wind must have pushed it back in as it hit off the wall, scoring two, but keeping Abrams -- who was admiring his shot -- to a single. 

Yan tossed 37 pitches (21 strikes), allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out one batter.

-Jonathan Pintaro was the next arm out of the Mets 'pen and had a messy third inning. He allowed two runs to score on three wild pitches in the frame, including back-to-back, to give the Nationals the 4-3 lead. Cionel Perez was next and also threw a wild pitch, the fourth of the inning before the Mets recorded an out. A Daylen Lile sac fly pushed across Washington's third run of the inning. A Keibert Ruiz RBI single later, and the Mets finally got out of the third, allowing four runs and four wild pitches. 

The Mets had to use five pitchers to get through Friday's game. Justin Hagenman was the long man out of the 'pen and the most effective of the pitchers used in the series opener. However, the home run he allowed to Dylan Crews proved to be the difference in the game.

Here's how the pitchers did:

• Yan: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• Pintaro: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB
• Perez: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB
• Hagenman: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• Nate Lavender: 1.0 IP, 1 K

-While the wind affected plenty of fly balls to the outfield, it couldn't knock down Bichette and Carson Benge's bombs in the fourth to pull the Mets to within one run. For Benge, it was his 20th homer of the season, and he became the first Mets rookie to have 20 bombs and 20 stolen bases. An Alvarez sac fly in the eighth gave the Mets their sixth run of the game, but that's all they would muster after A.J. Ewing struck out on a check swing that was called a swing by the third base umpire, leaving a runner on base. The rookie yelled at the umpire and was ejected, the first Mets player to be ejected this season.

Game MVP: Nationals bullpen

The much-maligned 'pen allowed just one run in 4.1 innings of work.

Highlights

Mark Vientos gets the Mets on the board in the first! pic.twitter.com/ZGROG9Gd5F

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 25, 2026

Bo Bichette brings home Francisco Lindor to tie the game! 💪 pic.twitter.com/WeNcUFs8LX

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 25, 2026

Mark Vientos' sacrifice fly brings in Juan Soto and gives the Mets the lead! pic.twitter.com/YcaVlINC9X

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 25, 2026

Jonathan Pintaro and Cionel Pérez combined to throw four wild pitches before recording an out in the third inning pic.twitter.com/HP00LVFt2E

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 26, 2026

Bo Bichette goes dead center for his 18th home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/W6F4ljCQ1g

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 26, 2026

A 20/20 ROOKIE YEAR FOR CARSON BENGE!

HE'S THE FIRST METS ROOKIE EVER TO DO IT! pic.twitter.com/OK8jNuwxf2

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 26, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Nationals continue their final regular season series Saturday. First pitch is set for 12:35 p.m. on SNY.

Jonah Tong (2-2, 4.21 ERA) will make his final regular season start against Connelly Early (7-5, 3.44 ERA). 

The San Francisco Giants begin their final series of the 2026 season tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I have not been willing to give the Giants organization much credit this season, but I do have to hand it to them for making sure that tonight’s game is not being broadcast on Apple, Twitch, or like Venmo or something. I was legitimately concerned that was going to happen and that we would miss the Willie Mac Award ceremony. So they got that one right, thankfully.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Yunior Marté, who enters tonight’s game with a 4.66 ERA, 5.37 FIP, with 11 strikeouts to nine walks in 19.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 10-4 loss to the Dodgers last Saturday, in which he allowed six runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and three walks in four and two thirds innings.

As of the time this is being written, the Dodgers have not yet announced a starting pitcher for this game. Maybe it’s me, and the Giants might have a chance of winning! You’ll have to check down in the comments to find out.

Game #160

Who: San Francisco Giants (65-94) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (97-61)

Where:Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 7:15 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

Even when you’re watching on TV, you can tell the ballpark has no juice. The fans roared boos from time to time when the offense did nothing but there was just no energy the entire night. The 2026 Philadelphia Phillies do not deserve it. They entered this game with their magic number at two and once again failed to control their own destiny.

The Phillies have scored two runs in their last three games. An offense that already ranked as one of the worst in baseball is hitting a horrible cold streak at the wrong time. They just lost their cleanup hitter and replaced him with Edmundo Sosa, hitting ninth, who went hitless with a throwing error.

The first two innings for Cristopher Sánchez were not swimming in excellence; he allowed three straight two-out singles in the first to give the Tampa Bay Rays an early lead and a Nick Fortes home run in the second. However, that probably shouldn’t end the game.

Sánchez would do whatever he could to right those first two innings. He probably got a bit lucky when Junior Caminero’s 107 mph flyball died at the track on a windy night but he was nearly flawless beyond that. After a Jonathan Aranda walk in the fifth, Sanchez retired the next seven batters he faced on strikeouts, ending Jorge Matteo in the seventh inning with two unhittable changeups.

If the Phillies somehow finish this collapse and don’t get the chance to play a playoff game, there won’t be many players blameless. If there is one guy who doesn’t deserve criticism, it’s Sánchez. While the Rays have nothing to play for, striking out ten batters over seven innings against one of the best teams in the sport should lead to a win.

But his offense offered no support. Freddy Peralta took the ball for the Rays and it isn’t like he should be unhittable. He has performed a lot better for the Rays compared to his tenure with the New York Mets but that’s still a 117 ERA+ over nine starts. That’s good but nothing special.

The Phillies made him look a bit special. He allowed a Bryson Stott leadoff single in the second but nothing materialized. Brandon Marsh cannot escape the depths of sadness he is in and hit a lazy flyball to Jonny DeLuca in center field, followed by a Justin Crawford double play.

Even though it was a two run game, the Phillies carried three opportunities tonight where one of their top baserunners reached first base to leadoff the inning. Stott did in that second inning, Justin Crawford hit a Baltimore chopper in the sixth and Trea Turner took a Freddy Peralta fastball to right field in the sixth. The Phillies never tried putting a runner in motion, despite an offense that clearly needs some juice.

It’s hindsight but it’s worth a thought nonetheless.

The worst one of these innings has to be the sixth. Trea Turner reached based on that aforementioned single and Bryce Harper followed him up with a single of his own.

With two and no one out, Alec Bohm hit a worked a full count but hit the seventh pitch right to Jonathan Aranda at first base, who’s only out was to first base.

That still left runners on second and third with one out. Left hander Cam Booser came out of the Rays bullpen to face Bryson Stott, who fouled off a couple of well placed fastballs before hitting a soft line drive right at Ben Williamson at second base.

Don Mattingly called Bryan De La Cruz to hit for the struggling Brandon Marsh, and hit a line drive kind of hard but right at Jorge Matteo at shortstop to end the inning.

The Phillies would not have another reach base the rest of the night. Jhoan Duran pitched the eighth inning against the Rays top of the order but did not return for the ninth when the top of the Phillies order went down in order. Tim Mayza worked a meaningless ninth and the Phillies didn’t make Rays closer Bryan Baker work a sweat.

The Phillies do not need a Diamondbacks loss tonight but they could sure use it. A win from them only puts more pressure on a Phillies team that can’t string anything together. Remember, the Diamondbacks have the tie breaker so if both teams are locked with the same record, the Diamondbacks get in.

Things are getting bad. BAD… BAD.

All eyes will be on Blake Snell on Saturday afternoon as the Dodgers left-hander makes his final tuneup of the regular season before October, against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.

Snell left his last start, on September 16 in Cincinnati, after only one inning as a precaution after feeling left groin discomfort.

Left-hander Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson starts for the Giants.

Saturday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Giants
• Ballpark: Oracle Park, San Francisco
• Start time: 1:05 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Braves’ pitching staff largely took care of business despite an untraditional assignment in Friday night’s opening game of the regular-season sendoff series in Miami

The offense, which was not tinkered with and likely resembled what could be the team’s postseason lineup, did not seem to get the memo.

Atlanta managed just one hit off Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez, who threw his first career complete game and first career shutout in a 3-0 Miami win. Pérez struck out eight and walked one, facing just two over the minimum.

The lone Braves hit, a sixth-inning single from Sean Murphy to break up the no-hit bid, was immediately erased by a double play.

That offensive no-show negated what had been a strong combined pitching performance from Ray Kerr and Grant Holmes.

Kerr made his first start of the season as an opener while Holmes pitched four innings out of the bullpen, each testing out potential new postseason roles.

After Kerr allowed the first two Miami batters to reach on singles, he escaped the first-inning jam unscathed and retired eight of the final nine batters he faced to finish with three scoreless innings. The only additional baserunner he allowed, a leadoff walk in the second, was immediately erased by a double play.

Holmes (10-6) replaced him and navigated two hits and three walks through his first three innings before allowing the game’s first run on a solo homer from Marlins catcher Joe Mack with one out in the seventh.

Didier Fuentes was tasked with the eighth inning and had a rare ineffective outing, allowing two runs on five hits — both the most he’s allowed since he gave up seven hits and four runs in an April relief appearance at Washington.

The first five Miami batters of the inning had hits off Fuentes, who got the first two outs via a baserunning mistake and a pickoff at second base. Heriberto Hernandez made it 2-0 with an RBI single after Jakob Marsee’s leadoff triple, and Griffin Conine closed out the scoring with another solo homer.

The Marlins somewhat surprisingly sent Pérez back out to the mound for the ninth as he approached 100 pitches and he retired Murphy, Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr. in order to finish just six pitches shy of a Maddux at 105 pitches.

Game 2 of the series is slated for Saturday at 4:10 p.m. EDT.

Mark Reynolds' record lasted 17 years. Colson Montgomery took it from him Friday night in the fifth inning.

The Chicago White Sox shortstop struck out for the 224th time this season. The record whiff came against Colorado right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano for the second out in the inning. That set a new single-season major league mark and broke his tie with Reynolds, who struck out 223 times for Arizona in 2009.

Montgomery was called out on a 3-2, 93-mph fastball for the historic punchout.

Montgomery, 24, tied the record Thursday night in Kansas City on a called third strike from Royals reliever Anthony Gose. After the game he celebrated in the clubhouse with his teammates, not for the dubious record, but because the White Sox clinched their first playoff berth since 2021. Chicago is the first team to reach the postseason after back-to-back 100-loss seasons.

Why the White Sox live with Colson Montgomery's strikeouts

Montgomery's strikeout Thursday also moved him past former White Sox slugger Adam Dunn, who set the American League record with 222 in 2012.

The White Sox have lived with the strikeouts because of what comes with them. Montgomery entered Friday with 31 home runs and 87 RBI to go with a .202 average.

September has tested the White Sox player's patience. Through Thursday he was hitting .111 this month, with 38 strikeouts and eight walks. Chicago manager Will Venable said the young shortstop hasn't let it get to him and added that the team is supporting him.

In his first full big-league season, Montgomery has said he knows he is still developing as a hitter.

He might not hold onto the infamous MLB record long

There is a race for the major-league record this season. Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber entered Friday with 218 strikeouts and three games left against Tampa Bay.

Reynolds told The Athletic in July that he wasn't rooting for anyone to catch him.

"I'm like 'No. How many big-league records do you have?'" Reynolds said.

Up next

The White Sox finish the regular season with two more games against Colorado before the playoffs begin.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colson Montgomery sets new MLB single-season strikeout record

In the midst of the Mets' disappointing season, rookie Carson Benge is having one to remember.

With two outs in the fifth inning Friday against the Nationals, Benge took Andrew Alvarez deep. Benge smashed a 3-1 sinker that was over the plate, and it went 407 feet. Incredible, considering the wind had knocked down a few potential home runs already in this game. 

Benge's blast was the 20th of his season, and it put him in the Mets' record books. The home run put Benge in the 20-20 club for the year, the first Mets rookie to ever do it. 

"I feel like anything that means the history books and done for the first time is something special and I hold that close to my heart," Benge said after the game. "God is good all the time. Being even-keeled through all of it, the highs and lows, it’s a blessing."

With his 20 doubles, Benge is now the 11th player in Mets history to have that amount of doubles along with the homers and stolen bases. 

In addition, Benge became the 18th rookie in MLB history to post such a season. That list includes names like Bobby Witt Jr., Mike Trout and Carlos Beltrán.

 

A 20/20 ROOKIE YEAR FOR CARSON BENGE!

HE'S THE FIRST METS ROOKIE EVER TO DO IT! pic.twitter.com/OK8jNuwxf2

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 26, 2026

The 23-year-old admitted he was thinking about hitting 20-20 once he got his 19th homer back on Sept. 19. But he tried to not think about it, and keep having good at-bats. 

Benge has had a fantastic rookie season. Through Friday's game, Benge is slashing .277/.342/.426 with an OPS of .768 to go along with the aforementioned 20 home runs, 22 stolen bases (third in Mets rookie history), 21 doubles, three triples and 64 RBI. 

He's also played impressive defense in right field, with his arm contributing to his 10 assists this season. Benge's arm is also becoming known to opponents, who think twice before challenging the youngster. 

Benge already broke Pete Alonso's Mets rookie record for hits earlier this month, and is looking to potentially add some hardware in the offseason as he's in the thick of the NL Rookie of the Year race with the Reds' Sal Stewart and the Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt. Benge's teammate, Nolan McLean, also has a shot to win the award. 

"That’s a huge award. There’s a bunch of guys in the running, one being another guy in this clubhouse," Benge said of potentially winning. "There’s a lot of good players in there and winning it would be amazing."

When asked whether he deserved Rookie of the Year, Benge said it's not his job to decide, just try and play the best he can every day. Mets manager Andy Green would vote for him, though.

"Just did something no Mets rookie’s ever done before. That’s really special," he said. "It’s well-rounded. What he’s done offensively, what he’s done defensively when it comes to position players, add in the bases, he’s done all of those things, in my mind, as well as any rookie in baseball." 

Benge ranks in the top-5 in the National League in 10 offensive categories for rookies, including fWAR (3.7 - second), home runs (20 - second), hits (162 - third), steals (22 - third), runs (84 - third), RBI (64 - third), average (.277 - fourth), triples (3 - fourth), doubles (21 - fourth) and walks (50 - fifth). 

While Benge continues to collect accolades, he says he's happiest with how he bounced back from a rough start to the season because it showed "what I’m made of."

But there could be more for Benge to tap into this offseason for next year. Green talked about his outfielder putting on strength this offseason and while Benge believes he can still get better in all facets of the game, putting on strength would be huge for him.

"Couple of those balls in the warning track, leave," Benge said at the possibility of getting stronger. "Not only that, but get faster, stronger and also to keep that throughout the year, would be huge for me." 

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (79-80) will continue their final road trip of the regular season with the second game of a four -game series against the Athletics (63-96) at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, CA.

RHP Hunter Brown (6-3, 3.26 ERA) will be on the mound for the Astros, opposite LHP Jacob Lopez (6-5, 5.68 ERA) and the Athletics.

THE DIESEL: Astros ace RHP Hunter Brown has posted a 5-2 record and a 2.76 ERA (19ER/62IP) in his last 11 starts (since July 25), pitching through the 5th inning in all 11 outings. Brown, who finished third in the AL Cy Young Award voting last season, has been limited this season, missing over two months due to a lengthy stint on the IL (April 1-June 15) with a right shoulder strain. In 10 career starts vs. the Athletics, Brown has recorded a 2.86 ERA (18ER/56.2IP) with 67 strikeouts.

THE POSTSEASON CHASE: The Astros and Rangers are locked in a tight race down the stretch for the AL West with the two teams having the same record with three games left to play. The Astros own the tiebreaker over the Rangers with a season series victory (9-4 record).

VS. THE ATHLETICS: This is the final series between the Astros and Athletics this season, with the two clubs last seeing each other from Aug. 21-23 at Daikin Park.. The Astros have gone 5-5 vs. the Athletics this season. The Astros also own an overall regular season record of 125-111 against the Athletics, including a 60-60 record on the road.

ROAD WARRIORS: Tonight is the fourth game of a six-game road trip for the Astros. Since going 1-9 on the first road trip of the 2026 season, the Astros have gone 39-29 (.574) on the road since April 14, which ranks third in the AL in that span, behind the Red Sox (43-28) and the Yankees (42-30).

LAST NIGHT’S GAME: The Astros defeated the Athletics, 7-5 at Sutter Health Park last night. The Astros offense combined to hit five home runs between CF Lucas Spence (3×4, 3 HR, 5 RBI), 3B Isaac Paredes (1×4, HR, RBI) and 1B Christian Walker (2×4, HR, RBI). RHP Miguel Ullola allowed one hit and struck out three in three scoreless innings to earn his second win of his career.

GOIN’ DEEP: The Astros have hit 218 homers as a team this year and have hit 200-plus homers in a single season for the 10th time in franchise history (last, 222 HR in 2023). The Astros rank second in the AL in home runs this season behind only the Yankees (223).

TWO-OUT MAGIC: The Astros lead the American League in two-out runs with 311 on the season, trailing only the Cubs (331) in the Majors. 3B Isaac Paredes leads this effort, as he holds the Major League lead with 45 two-out RBI, directly ahead of CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong and STL 1B Alec Burleson (44 RBI).

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Last night’s victory was the 254th win for Astros Manager Joe Espada tying him with Hal Lanier for the ninth-most managerial wins in Astros franchise history. Espada owns a 254-228 record with the Astros.

THE CASE FOR THE MVP:DH Yordan Alvarez is a solid candidate for the AL MVP Award. Alvarez leads the American League in OPS (1.032), slugging percentage (.600), OBP (.432), batting average (.315), total bases (333), walks (108), IBB (33), wRC+ (181), OPS+ (.190) and extra-base hits (75). He also ranks tied for second in home runs (41), second in RBI (102), tied for second in hits (175), fourth in runs (101), and tied for third in doubles (33).

TRIFECTA: CF Lucas Spence went 3×4 with three home runs and five RBI last night vs. the Athletics. He became the third player in Major League history to hit their first three career home runs in the same game, joining STL Joshua Baez (Aug. 15, 2026) and CWS C Seby Zavala (July 31, 2021). Spence is the second rookie in Astros franchise history to record a three-homer game, joining DH Yordan Alvarez (Aug. 10, 2019 at BAL). It was the first three-homer game by an Astro this season (last, IF Jose Altuve on Sept. 5, 2023 vs. TEX).

ANNUAL HOUSTON BBWAA AWARDS: On yesterday, Houston BBWAA Chapter Chairman Chandler Rome (The Athletic) announced the 2026 Houston BBWAA Awards:

Astros MVP: Yordan Alvarez

Astros Pitcher of the Year: Peter Lambert

Astros Rookie of the Year:AJ Blubaugh

Darryl Kile Good Guy Award:Bryan Abreu

Fred Hartman Long and Meritorious Service to Baseball Award:Brent Strom

STRONG SEPTEMBERS: 3B Isaac Paredes has a 1.009 OPS this month to go along with a team-leading 20 RBI, which ranks second in the AL. C Yainer Diaz is also having a strong September, as he’s hitting .343 (24×70) with four homers, 10 RBI and a .956 OPS in 20 games (17 starts) this month.

THE FIREMAN:LHP Josh Hader has converted 26 consecutive save chances to open his season, which is the Astros record. Should Hader finish the season without a blown save, he would become the seventh pitcher in MLB history to post 26-plus saves without a blown save. The last Major Leaguer to do so was RHP Ken Giles in 2018 (26 SV).

NO. 200: 1B Christian Walker recorded his 200th home run of his career on Tues. night at SEA with a three-run home run in the third inning. Became the 34th active player in the Majors to record 200 career HRs.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1986 – RHP Mike Scott clinches the NL West Division title for the Astros in historic fashion by hurling a 2-0, no-hit victory over the Giants in the Dome. Scott, who tallied 13 strikeouts in the win, would go on to win the NL Cy Young Award later that season, finishing with an 18-10 while leading the Majors in both ERA (2.22) and strikeouts (306).

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Friday, September 24, 8:40 p.m. CT

Location: Sutter Heath Park, Sacramento, CA

TV: SCHN

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; KTRH 740 AM; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

Keep fighting.

⚾️: 8:40 PM CT
📺: @SpaceCityHN
🎙️: @SportsTalk790 & 740 AM | Spanish: 102.9 HD2#ChaseTheFight x @reliantenergypic.twitter.com/wO2LER8SvK

— Houston Astros (@astros) September 25, 2026

9/25 ⚾ Athletics Lineup is Out!
Provided by mlbstartingnine (@DailyMLBLineups for link)

📊 Live Line: Athletics +152 • O/U 9.0#Athletics#AthleticsLineup#MLBpic.twitter.com/k8K0hwoRDd

— MLB Daily Lineups (@DailyMLBLineups) September 25, 2026

Well, the A’s dropped the first game of this four-game set with the Astros last night. The final series of the season continues this evening as the weekend gets underway with a nightcap against Houston. The Athletics’ loss paired with the Angels’ win yesterday means that Los Angeles still has a chance to pass our A’s so let’s get the win tonight and clinch fourth place once and for all.

On the other side of the ball, thanks to both Texas teams winning last night the two squads are still tied atop the AL West, fighting with the Rangers for the division (and therefor their last path to the playoffs). At 79-80 they still have a chance to finish with either a losing or winning record, regardless of if they win the division. Let’s make sure they finish with at least a .500 record. That means we’ll need to take two of three. Think our A’s have it in ‘em to play spoiler a few more times?

The Athletics have left-hander Jacob Lopez on the bump this evening making his 24th and final start of the season. It’s definitely been an up-and-down year for the southpaw as he started the year in the rotation before faltering so hard he found himself back in the minor leagues. He’s worked through the adversity however to have worked his way back into the rotation and overall thrive. That is, until his last start. That was easily the worst appearance of his career as he allowed 10 (!) earned runs to the Guardians in less than three innings of work. That has skewed his overall ERA on the year but he’s in general ending the year on a good note. That likely won’t be enough to guarantee him a rotation job next spring but he could be one of the top depth options for next year’s squad.

Here’s how the lineup for game two looks this evening:

A’s lineup vs. Astros (RH Hunter Brown) pic.twitter.com/ZNlifbaGyc

— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) September 25, 2026

The A’s are going with their usual starting lineup again tonight, with minimal changes from yesterday. And why mess with a lineup that put up five runs? Tonight’s scorecard will see the return of Tommy White to the lineup playing first and batting eighth, taking Joshua Kuroda-Grauer’s spot in the lineup. That’s the only major difference, with the rest of the changes coming on the defensive side of the ball. McNeil moves to second base, Walton to shortstop to accommodate White on the infield.

As for Houston, they have their top arm on the bump in this one. Right-hander Hunter Brown is getting the ball for his 20th start this season. After missing most of the first two months of the year Brown has helped stabilize a shaky Houston rotation thanks to his team-leading 3.26 ERA. He lines up to take the ball for Houston in their first playoff game if they make it to October.

And the Astros’ starting nine tonight shapes up like this:

Keep fighting.

⚾️: 8:40 PM CT
📺: @SpaceCityHN
🎙️: @SportsTalk790 & 740 AM | Spanish: 102.9 HD2#ChaseTheFight x @reliantenergypic.twitter.com/wO2LER8SvK

— Houston Astros (@astros) September 25, 2026

Can’t let Alvarez kill us. Or for that matter Spence, who nearly single-handed beat us last night with a three-home game (his first three career homers, go figure). If we can handle them then we should be able to stick around and sneak out our 64th win. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics -Talk 650 KSTE, KVMX 92.1/105.5, A’s Cast

Arizona Diamondbacks (85-74) at San Diego Padres (89-70), September 25, 2026, 6:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Home sweet home. pic.twitter.com/TfjBKPyROa

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 25, 2026

There's more work to be done. pic.twitter.com/t0mkLA8o3a

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 25, 2026

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The Cubs came to Boston Friday hoping they could win a couple of games and maybe still get home games next week in the Wild Card Series.

Instead, after losing the doubleheader nightcap 2-0 to the Red Sox, there’s a mathematical chance they could be dumped into the third wild card spot and wind up facing the Braves in Atlanta

This time, the Cubs went just 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position — but that’s because they didn’t really have many RISP. All the Cubs’ seven hits on the night were singles. The top run-scoring offense in MLB has looked almost completely impotent over the last five games, scoring a total of nine runs, losing four of them.

This, obviously, is not good.

Let’s take a look back.

The Cubs didn’t have anyone past first base until the top of the fifth. In that inning, Nico Hoerner led off with a single and two outs later, Matt Shaw singled Nico to third. But that was that when Pete Cros-Armstrong grounded out.

Meanwhile, David Peterson was throwing well over the first five innings. He got some defensive help from Shaw in the fourth [VIDEO].

Peterson threw five innings, allowed three hits and two walks, and struck out six. Here’s more on Peterson’s evening [VIDEO].

More on Peterson from BCB’s JohnW53:

David Peterson went into Friday’s game having pitched 61 innings since the All-Star Game break, with a 2.95 ERA. That tied him with Sonny Gray for 20th best since then. With his five shutout innings Friday, his ERA is down to 2.73.

I would not hesitate to start Peterson in a Wild Card game, especially if it’s against the Phillies (though that’s looking unlikely, more on that coming).

Javier Assad took over from Peterson and threw two very good innings, the sixth and seventh, while the Cubs offense remained moribund.

Then Assad got in trouble in the bottom of the eighth with a leadoff walk. One out later (and after the Cubs unsuccessfully challenged that Connor Wong didn’t re-touch second on a fly to right), Assad was replaced by Ryan Rolison. Rolison struck out Roman Anthony, but then issued a walk to Jahmai Jones.

And then Wilyer Abreu doubled off the Green Monster and both runners scored, and you just knew that was going to be it for the Cubs, who went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

“Sad” facts, as John called them in his message to me:

The Cubs have tallied nine runs runs in their five games. They have scored in only seven of their last 51 innings, starting with the sixth last Sunday at Cincinnati.
…
The Cubs had been shut out by the Red Sox in only one of their previous 28 regular-season games, by 17-0 at Boston on April 27, 2024. They also were blanked, 1-0, in Game 1 of the 1918 World Series, played at Comiskey Park on Sept. 5, 1918. The pitcher for the Red Sox was Babe Ruth.

So everyone’s now off to Florida to play the third game of this series Sunday afternoon. In the meantime, here are the permutations for the Cubs.

The Cubs are 88-73. The best record they can finish with is 89-73, obviously.

If the Cubs are 89-73, the Phillies would have to get to 90-72 (sweep the Rays) to finish ahead of them. The Padres have to go only 2-1 to finish ahead of the Cubs. If both of those teams do that, the Cubs would play the Braves. That could also happen if the Cubs lose Sunday. Then the Phillies would have to go 2-1 and the Padres just 1-2 to finish ahead of the Cubs.

So we’re still kind of in a holding pattern to see who the Cubs will be playing, and where. At this point, the only way the Cubs could still play at home is if they win Sunday and the Padres get swept and the Phillies win no more than two of their three against the Rays. So yes… I’m saying there’s still a chance.

The Cubs will have a rare Saturday off. Their flight to Florida is supposed to arrive well after midnight tonight and they and the Red Sox will both rest up before they play Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. CT at Tropicana Field, televised on Marquee Sports Network. Please stick around BCB on Saturday, as we’ll have plenty here, including a game thread that will post at 5 p.m. CT so you can follow along with the Phillies and Padres games, which start at 6:15 p.m. CT and 8:40 p.m. CT, respectively.

At this time we don’t know who will start for the Cubs on Sunday. It could be Shōta Imanaga, it could be some kind of modified bullpen game… as always, we await developments. The Red Sox, whose postseason series against the Yankees is locked in, are likely to also use some sort of bullpen game on Sunday.

Hopefully the Cubs bats show up in Florida. They’ve been absent in Chicago and Boston all week.

With a nor'easter forecasted to hit the area, the Washington Nationals announced that the start time for Saturday's matchup with the Mets has been moved up.

Originally scheduled for 4:05 p.m., the new first pitch is now set for 12:35 p.m. as a precautionary measure.

Jonah Tong (2-2, 4.21 ERA) is scheduled to make his final regular season start against Connelly Early (7-5, 3.44 ERA). 

It's unclear whether Sunday's season finale will also be affected by the weather, but for now, that game is set for 3:05 p.m.

This final series between NL East foes is important in terms of draft positioning. The Mets entered the weekend set two games behind Washington in the standings. A Mets sweep will allow New York to avoid the basement of the division, but also give them a lower pick in the upcoming MLB Draft.

Brayan Bello gave Boston four innings and handed it to rookie Jedixson Páez, who turned around and gave them five more. Combined: nine innings, seven hits, zero Cubs runs—nine innings they were lucky to get in, with the rain circling Fenway all afternoon.

David Peterson matched Bello through five for Chicago. Neither team did much with what they had. The Cubs were making contact. They were just finding gloves.

Then came the eighth. Peterson was gone, Javier Assad got yanked, Ryan Rollison was in, and Wilyer Abreu doubled to right to score two. Assad took the loss.

Final: Red Sox 2, Cubs 0.

The Sox came into this doubleheader wanting to keep the bullpen from taking a beating before the final regular season game. Páez going five innings as a rookie—quietly one of the better pitching performances of the day—was exactly the kind of thing they needed. They sweep the Cubs and head to Tropicana Field to finish the 2026 regular season out.

Studs

Jedixson Páez — Five innings. Zero runs. He came in after Bello in the fifth and just kept going—through a Cubs lineup with its own playoff stakes, through whatever the weather was doing, through the innings where any mistake ends a shutout. The rookie threw the longest outing of the two-man combo and walked away clean. That’s the headline here. Beyond impressive for a spot call-up.

Brayan Bello — Four solid innings to set the table. He’s been one of the better starters in the AL since August and this was him doing his job—keeping the game zero when it needed to stay zero, letting Páez take it from there. Honestly starter Bello is acquiring reliever Bello’s powers and I trust him a little more.

Wilyer Abreu — Three hours of scoreless baseball, and when the game finally broke open, it broke on his bat. Two runs, eighth inning, that was the whole night.

Duds

The Red Sox offense — Four hits in nine innings. They won really because Wilyer’s double was the whole ballgame, and the timing couldn’t have been better. But two runs against a team they’ll never see again isn’t exactly what you want to carry into a playoff series at Yankee Stadium. They’ll need more than that next week.

Play of the Game

Wilyer’s double in the eighth. Three hours of scoreless baseball, a rookie pitcher on the mound, rain somewhere overhead—Abreu stepped in and ended the whole thing with one swing.

Shota Imanaga doesn’t need anyone else’s help celebrating.

The Cubs pitcher went viral after repeatedly blasting himself in the face with beer during the team’s wild clubhouse celebration after clinching a spot in the postseason Thursday.

Naturally, Imanaga had an explanation for the madness.

“This is Japanese style,” Imanaga said while holding a bottle in each hand. “Japanese misogi.”

Imanaga then turned both bottles toward himself and sprayed the beer directly onto his head and face, bobbing up and down into the streams as his teammates laughed around him.

“Self-service!” Imanaga said.

The Cubs leaned into the moment themselves, posting the video on social media captioned: “Who needs bottle service when you have self-service?”

Shota Imanaga is blasting himself in the face with champagne pic.twitter.com/9kEfj9rkwN

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 24, 2026

During an interview with Marquee Sports Network’s Taylor McGregor amid the clubhouse celebration, Imanaga was showered with champagne by his teammates.

His response?

“Yummy!”

Chicago officially punched its postseason ticket with a 2-1 victory over the Marlins at Wrigley Field, securing a playoff berth for the second consecutive season.

Seiya Suzuki tied the game with his 26th home run of the season in the fifth inning before Nico Hoerner drove home Ian Happ for the eventual winning run in the sixth.

Pete Crow-Armstrong also stole his 40th base of the season in the victory, giving him 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases and making him just the seventh player in MLB history to accomplish the feat.

Imanaga has played his part in getting Chicago back to the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

The 33-year-old left-hander went 11-10 with a 3.74 ERA while remaining a fixture in Chicago’s starting rotation throughout the season.

He also recorded 171 strikeouts in 173 ⅓ innings pitched in 2026.

Last year, the Cubs went 92-70 and took care of the Padres in the wild-card round before falling to the Brewers in five games in the NLDS.  

Imanaga, who was an All-Star two seasons ago, turned 33 earlier this month and has a career 3.44 ERA and a 35-21 record.