Category: MLB

PHOENIX — On a night that began with the Diamondbacks honoring the 25th anniversary of their 2001 team that won the World Series against the Yankees, they paid tribute again a few hours later to deliver some more nightmares back in New York.

It was by no means Luis Gonzalez versus Mariano Rivera, nor a bloop over a drawn-in infield.

But it was a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth, with Pavin Smith belting a two-run shot off Michael Fulmer to sink the Yankees in a 5-3 loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday night in front of 47,918 nostalgic fans at Chase Field.

This one did not end the Yankees’ season, but it did put another dent in their chances of winning the American League East, which are shrinking by the day — now trailing the Rays by five games with eight games to play.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Cam Schlittler, who looked human by his standards while giving up three runs (one earned) across six innings. “I think we’ve had opportunities all season to put ourselves ahead, and we haven’t done a great job of that. Still a chance, but we got to play our asses off a little bit.”

Even after Saturday’s loss, the Yankees (89-65) have won 25 of their last 39 games and yet, during that span, have dropped a half-game further behind the Rays.

Three hours before first pitch here, multiple Yankees sat in the visiting clubhouse tuned into the Rays and Red Sox game with vested interest in the two teams surrounding them in the standings.

The Rays eventually walked off with a 2-1 win, which at least allowed the Yankees to remain 5 ¹/₂ games clear of the Red Sox for the top AL wild card.

But even with a four-game showdown against the Rays looming when they get home, the Yankees may need a miracle to catch them for the division.

“If we sweep [the Rays], then it gets interesting,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But can’t sweep before [Sunday’s] game, so we got to get ready for [Sunday’s] game and hopefully go out and finish off what’s been a good trip out West. That’s all we can control right now.”

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In his penultimate start of the regular season, Schlittler gave up more than one run for the first time since Aug. 3.

Two bunts and a brief lack of command opened the door just enough for the Diamondbacks (81-74) to get to him, though Schlittler still finished the night with a 1.94 ERA across 190 ²/₃ innings, leaving him in the driver’s seat for the AL Cy Young Award.

The Yankees had a prime chance to break a scoreless game open in the top of the fifth inning, when they loaded the bases with one out against Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt.

But manager Torey Lovullo, in a sign of how desperate his club is in trying to stay alive in the National League wild-card race, went to the bullpen for hard-throwing righty Justin Martinez.

The move worked, as Martinez limited the damage to just a sacrifice fly from Ben Rice, which put the Yankees ahead 1-0 before Cody Bellinger flew out to end the threat.

The Diamondbacks’ first hit off Schlittler came on Nolan Arenado’s bloop broken-bat single with one out in the fifth. Tim Tawa then laid down a bunt to the left of the mound, which Schlittler tried to field himself but bobbled, never even getting a throw off to first base.

Then with two outs, Schlittler got ahead 1-2 on No. 9 hitter Jordan Lawlar before leaving a 99 mph fastball over too much of the plate, as Lawlar smoked it to the gap for a two-run triple that put the Diamondbacks ahead 2-1.

“I wouldn’t say I really gave [my team] a chance,” Schlittler said. “That one’s kind of on me. I’ll take the blame for that. Made an error, let up two runs.”

Heliot Ramos and Austin Wells answered with solo home runs off righty reliever Kevin Ginkel to regain a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth before Schlittler opened the bottom of the frame with eight straight balls. Geraldo Perdomo followed with another bunt to the left of the mound, and this time Ryan McMahon could not get a clean handle on it, loading the bases with no outs.

Corbin Carroll then hit a sacrifice fly that tied the game 3-3.

After Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn provided the bridge to the ninth, Boone called on Fulmer, not wanting to use closer David Bednar for two innings. But one out after a leadoff walk, he left a cutter over the plate to Smith, who clobbered it to walk it off.

One would figure that with Cam Schlittler going on Saturday night, this would be the game for the Yankees to win if they had any hope for a last-ditch AL East comeback, but something about Arizona wore down the likely Cy Young Award winner tonight. The Snakes were pesky, annoying, and other terms my editors won’t let me use while in the batter’s box tonight, finally breaking through on a Pavin Smith walk-off home run, to win it, 5-3.

Right off the top, I need to be grumpy about something. Nobody likes West Coast games and nobody likes the fact that every time the Yankees are on the West Coast, they play more night games than day games. This goes double for West Coast Yankee fans, because the beautiful thing about cheering for an East Coast team is that they start playing when you get off work, or when you’re just finishing your Saturday morning coffee, the game takes three hours and you have the evening to yourself. That doesn’t happen on these trips.

Now, the Diamondbacks were celebrating the only World Series title in history, 25 years ago this season. I get it, you want to have a special event, the team isn’t very good so the end of the season starts to drag a little bit, you want a little spice. I even respect the cheek of waiting until the Yankees are in town. What I don’t respect is being completely incapable of running a functioning ceremony. The Yankees have Old-Timers’ Day every year, they designate a special start time and at that time, the festivities have concluded and we can get down to the reason we’re all here, to watch a baseball game, which I don’t think is an unreasonable expectation at a baseball stadium with a baseball team in town.

The Diamondbacks started their pregame ceremonies at 4:30pm local time, with a scheduled 5:10pm first pitch. They absolutely blew past that in a way that, in my opinion, was both unprofessional and downright insulting. The four clocks I have ready access to in my apartment agreed: Brandon Pfaadt didn’t throw his first offering to Ben Rice until 5:42pm. This was an absolute joke of a start to the series’ second game. That all this happened in a city I’m predisposed to dislike already was…whatever the anti-cherry on top. I also firmly don’t like the existence of Phoenix as a city in general so I was always going to be ticked off watching this one.

I said in the game thread that we had maybe begun to develop outsized expectations for Cam Schlittler. He’s been so good, for long enough, that we needed to remember the player on the other team all drive nice cars and live in nice houses too. While Cam did get through 4.1 innings without allowing a hit, the Diamondbacks pushed a pair of runs across in the fifth. Nolan Arenado reached with a one-out single, before Tim Tawa attempted to give himself up with a sac bunt. Schlittler couldn’t corral what should have been an out though, an error that put two men on, and No. 9 hitter Jordan Lawlar made him pay:

Funnily enough, because Schlittler was charged with that error, both of the runs were unearned, and he still hasn’t allowed more than a single earned run in eight starts now. He entered with a 1.95 ERA and departed with a 1.94 despite a more uneven outing than the norm. The Yankees would tie the game the next inning, but all those extra pitches taxed his right arm, and I think had a major impact on what would happen in the sixth.

Speaking of tying the game, Heliot Ramos was brought to New York because of his opposite-field power. He stunk in his first taste of East Coast baseball, but has looked much more representative in his last 20 games, and flexed that oppo pop within moments of Schlittler getting back in the dugout:

Corbin Carroll ran down a sinking Anthony Volpe liner for the second out. It was a very nice play that loomed larger when Austin Wells stepped to the plate:

Wells is getting hot at the right time, with three home runs in his last five games and he’s actually been a league average hitter since August 1st! The nice thing about being a good defensive catcher is if you can just not embarrass yourself at the plate, you’re a major asset for your team.

The good vibes only lasted until Schlittler got back on the mound though. I think the error and the triple shook him up a little, and we’ve seen this happen before. Cam is a high-energy guy, and when that energy is less than positive I do think he gets a little in his own head and starts to overthrow. He walked the first two batters of the inning on eight total pitches, completely uncompetitive at-bats that are just so out of whack with what he’s done so far this season.

A soft Geraldo Perdomo bunt with two strikes loaded the bases, and Cam did seem to lock in at that point. Corbin Carroll did bring in the third Snakes run of the game — and the only earned for Cam — but the ace got both Arenado and Tawa to whiff to end the threat. It was a weird one for Schlittler tonight, but six innings and one earned run is what the line reads.

The bullpen wasn’t exactly dynamite in Cam’s stead; the Diamondbacks have the third-lowest strikeout rate in baseball and their ability to grind out at-bats showed, even if the Yankees got through eight innings keeping the game tied at three. This was a long, miserable game, and wasn’t helped by the fact the Yankees couldn’t really find the nine-run spark that they showed on Friday.

If nothing else, I got to re-hate Michael Fulmer, and all those feelings from 2016 sprung forth anew. He walked the leadoff batter to open the ninth, and gave up the walk-off dinger to Pavin Smith:

The division race is functionally over with the Rays’ win earlier today, as they restored their five-game lead. Get yourself set for the Wild Card, lock up home-field advantage for that series, and don’t get yourselves hurt. The Yankes finish this series tomorrow with Will Warren on the hill. First pitch is supposedly at 4:10pm Eastern, but we’ll see.

Box Score

The Yankees were walked off on Saturday night by the Arizona Diamondbacks, losing by a score of 5-3.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- We pick this one up in the fifth inning after both teams couldn’t get anything going through the first four. Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe opened the frame with back-to-back singles and Jose Caballero loaded the bases with another single. Ben Rice followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home the game’s first run and give New York a 1-0 lead.

-- The lead was short lived, though, after the Diamondbacks scored two in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run triple by Jordan Lawler. Both runs were unearned against Cam Schlittler who didn’t help his own cause with a fielding error on a sacrifice bunt in the inning.

-- New York quickly tied things up in the sixth on Heliot Ramos’ solo home run and then re-took the lead after Wells hit his 13th dinger of the season. Both long balls came against reliever Kevin Ginkel after starter Brandon Pfaadt went 4.1 innings.

-- However, Schlittler couldn’t make it stick and immediately allowed another run in the bottom half of the inning after loading the bases with no outs on two walks and a single before Corbin Carroll’s sacrifice fly.

-- The right-hander struck out the next two batters to end his night. His final line: 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K on 98 pitches (61 strikes). He lowered his season ERA to 1.94.

-- Things stayed knotted at 3 apiece until the bottom of the ninth when Pavin Smith walked things off with a two-run homer off reliever Michael Fulmer.

Game MVP: Pavin Smith

His walk-off sent the Dbacks fans home happy.

Highlights

Heliot Ramos ties the game with a solo shot! pic.twitter.com/pBJCMNpFv5

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 20, 2026

ALL TOO WELLS.

Austin Wells gives the Yankees the lead! pic.twitter.com/ozXAVFxkBo

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 20, 2026

What's next

The Yankees close out their series with the Diamondbacks on Sunday with a 4:10 p.m. first pitch.

RHP Will Warren (10-6, 3.89 ERA) goes up against RHP Corbin Burnes (0-0, 5.87 ERA).

Confession time: I didn’t expect the Mariners to win this game against the Rockies, but not in the way the Mariners did eventually lose this game to the Rockies. Not to sugarcoat things, 2026 Bryce Miller has been a rough watch this season, almost as rough as watching the 2026 Mariners. Miller has been on a particularly tough stretch of road lately, and the combination of 2026 Miller plus Coors Field felt like a recipe for a true TOT (Tough One Tonight). It did become a TOT eventually, but none of that was Miller’s fault.

Instead, Bryce Miller turned in his best start since…July 31st against the Twins? I’m actually going to argue this was significantly better than that start, as Miller gave up no earned runs – the one blemish against him wasn’t his fault, coming as a result of two errors by his catcher and right fielder that resulted in a free run for the Rockies.

Other than that, Miller did markedly better in several key performance indicators: he still collected five strikeouts, but he was more efficient with his pitch count, able to work into the sixth inning for the first time since August 12th against the Yankees. A primary way he was able to do this was by competing better in the zone, cutting down his walks and being more aggressive on the plate, putting his five-walk performance against the A’s behind him and issuing just two walks (still not ideal, but better). Miller did some especially effective sequencing, setting up his four-seamer up in the zone with his splitter and cutter before going to the kill shot at the top of the zone. Here’s a good example of this: he has Rumfield 0-2 having gone four-seam in, a splitter up but on the plate for a called strike two, another split Rumfield, late, fouled off, and then he goes top rail with the heater for the K:

Miller talked postgame about how he planned pregame knowing that his splitter and slider were two pitches that work well in the high-altitude environment of Coors Field, but his primary focus this week was on getting back his fastball command and “putting it where it needs to go.” All those pitches worked well together tonight, and when the Rockies did make contact, it wasn’t hard contact – he had just one hard-hit ball against him, from power threat Hunter Goodman, in the first inning, that landed harmlessly in Julio Rodríguez’s glove, and then nothing after that.

“He was a different guy out there tonight,” said manager Dan Wilson postgame, to which I say yes and no: he wasn’t 2026 Bryce Miller, but he was the version of Bryce we’ve seen in the past. That’s good!

Unfortunately, because this is the 2026 Mariners and nothing can be just Good, the offense and bullpen couldn’t back up Miller’s strong start. On the one hand, the offense was extremely unlucky; the Mariners’ xBA in this game was, in the eighth inning, .278 to the Rockies’ .213. On the other hand, it’s literally the Rockies pitching staff, guys, and the Rockies were starting José Quintana, who is old enough to have had an AIM screen name, making his first start since May 24th. So. That plus some sloppy defensive play – pick a struggle, fellas – adds up to a pretty disappointing loss.

Thanks to Miller’s strong start, the Mariners were actually able to hold on to a lead in this game until the seventh. They got on the board early after Dominic Canzone smartly worked a two-out walk in the first and Cal Raleigh followed that up by absolutely demolishing a 3-1 sinker in the fat part of the plate. Initially this ball was ruled to have traveled 472 feet before the no-fun Statcast folks walked it back to a mere 459, but that’s still the longest homer of Cal’s career by the length of about one Cooper Criswell, or two Brock Roddens in a trenchcoat.

Put this in the dictionary for “no-doubter.”

But other than a Randy Arozarena solo homer – his 26th, as he continues to push towards a career-high in long balls – the Mariners offense was silent. Again, though, that was enough, until it wasn’t. The Rockies were able to tie things up in the seventh simply by exploiting the Mariners’ greatest weakness: putting the ball in play and forcing them to play defense. Zac Veen singled against Carlos Vargas, who threw Veen a cutter right in the heart of the plate, followed by another single to pinch-hitter Adael Amador, who got a hold of a sinker on the plate in a full count. With just one out and the lead still a narrow two runs, Dan Wilson brought in José Ferrer to try to get some ground ball outs. He did get Jake McCarthy to ground out softly, but it was essentially a functional bunt allowing Veen to score. Connor Norby then tapped a nubber on a slider right down the middle to Weston Wilson at third, who looked like he slipped a little trying to field the ball, extending the inning. That proved costly when TJ Rumfield singled on the fist pitch he saw from Ferrer, another sinker on the plate, bringing home the game-tying run. Wilson went to the bullpen again, this time summoning Cooper Criswell, who walked the first hitter he saw, Hunter Goodman, the best power threat in the Rockies’ lineup, bringing up hotheaded but impressive young rookie Cole Carrigg. (How dire was it? Cal Raleigh, not the cozy-touchiest catcher in baseball, put his arm around Criswell during the post-walk mound meeting.) In a full count, Criswell delivered a pitch right on the plate and Carrigg hit it into center for a two-run single. 5-3 Rockies, and that’s where things would stay as the Mariners offense continued to sputter and falter.

At this point, a loss is just a loss as we continue to march towards the end of this cursed season. It’s a bummer to have wasted a good outing from Bryce Miller, but hopefully Miller will be able to carry some of this momentum forward. Tomorrow Kade Anderson takes the ball, and I have a similarly bad feeling about the rookie in Coors Field. Hopefully I’ll be as wrong about that as I was about this, but maybe with a slightly better outcome for the offense. And as a reminder, if you’re in the Seattle area, come join us tomorrow for some silly fun times on the softball field plus a postgame watch party at Growler Guys. We promise it’ll be more fun than the 2026 Mariners season.

Whether or not Howie Rose gets one last ride with the Mets, he made sure to let fans know what they mean to him.

The Mets radio voice is set to retire Sunday after the final home game of the season, capping a nearly four-decade career in the booth in Queens.

But with rain in the forecast on Sunday — expected to start in the morning and last throughout the day — Rose made Saturday count like it was his last.

“I don’t want to think that this was it, even though in my mind I’ve kind of treated today as though it might well be,” Rose said after the Mets’ 10-3 win over the Phillies. “Whether we play tomorrow, or they play tomorrow or not, I just preemptively want to say how much you all mean to me.”

If all goes as planned, the Mets will hold a retirement ceremony on the field Sunday while the first 15,000 fans will receive a notebook and scorecard with Rose’s signature “put it in the books” call.

Growing up a Mets fan in Queens during the team’s nascent years, Rose, who also spoke to the crowd at Carlos Beltrán’s induction into the Mets Hall of Fame on Saturday, took the time in his nearly four-minute closing monologue to shout out his fellow born-and-bred fans.

“Any one of you could sit where I’m sitting here in this booth because we have very similar backgrounds,” Rose said. “I grew up in the upper deck at Shea Stadium, many of you sit in the upper deck here or sat somewhere here or at Shea Stadium. But the point is that I feel like I know you. And more importantly, I feel like you know me.”

Rose — known for his encyclopedic knowledge of the Mets and baseball in general — hearkened back to fellow broadcasting legend Vin Scully, who penned in a letter to fans before his final broadcast: “I needed you more than you needed me.”

“I didn’t understand that when he said it,” Rose said of Scully’s words. “But reading the comments to everything that’s been written — whether in the newspapers or online or broadcast anywhere else — to hear the love that you’ve sent to my family and me, I think I know what Vin meant now.”

Rose also told fans this wouldn’t be it.

After Sunday’s scheduled ceremony honoring him, he expects to be called back for various events — and maybe even a cameo or two in the booth.

But if Saturday was goodbye for now, he had one has parting message for fans.

“Just know that I love you all,” Rose said, seeming to hold back tears as he signed off.

You would be forgiven if you felt a bit of Deja vu watching Saturday night’s St. Louis Cardinals game as it felt a lot like Friday night’s game as the Washington Nationals jumped out to another quick lead early against Michael McGreevy. It would become a much different game at the end, though. Late in the game the Nationals would do everything they could to help St. Louis including numerous errors and base physics would even come to the Cardinals rescue, but only until the game would slip away in extras.

By the time McGreevy had the first out in the top of the 1st inning, the Washington Nationals would already be leading 2-0. James Wood led off with a single followed by a Dylan Lile who lifted an 88 mph Michael McGreevy cutter and deposited it into the plants just above the center field wall for a 2-run homer. To add injury to insult, Nathan Church slammed into the centerfield wall in the process and took a few minutes to get up and be checked out by manager Oli Marmol and the trainer to make sure he could stay in the game. McGreevy would throw 34 pitches before the top of the 1st mercifully ended with the Nationals only scoring 2 runs as they threatened to score more stranding runners on first and third.

While we’re on the topic of stranding runners, let’s talk about the St. Louis Cardinals bottom of the 1st. It looked like there might be hope of an immediate bounce-back from that top of the 1st when Ivan Herrera drilled a one-out single to left. After Jordan Walker struck out, the Washington Nationals did everything they could to help the Cardinals create a rally as their shortstop Nasim Nuñez sailed a throw into (or it might have been over) the St. Louis Cardinals dugout when Leo Bernal grounded to short. Nationals pitcher also was charitable as he walked Thomas Saggese to load the bases, but Masyn Winn struck out further elevating the Cardinals RISP numbers.

As Michael McGreevy’s pitch count climbed into the high 80’s, he was taken out of the game after 4 innings. Justin Bruihl took over in the top of the 5th and had no issues shutting the Nationals down 1-2-3 with some help from Masyn Winn.

Bruihl would continue until 1-out in the top of the 6th when he left the game with one runner on base as Luis Gastelum was brought in. He would end up running into trouble as Chaparro reaching on an infield single. After Ruiz grounded into a fielder’s choice, Nuñez would also reach on an infield single scoring Vivas and giving the Nationals a 3-0 lead. Brycen Mautz was brought in to get the Cardinals out of that jam and he would also pitch his way out of a two-on potential Nationals rally in the top of the 7th escaping with no runs allowed.

That would prove important as the Cardinals would be given more gifts by Washington in the bottom of the 7th inning. Masyn Winn would reach on a throwing error by third baseman Vivas to leadoff the inning. After Nathan Church grounded out advancing Winn to second, Pedro Pages reached on an infield dribbler that the Nationals reliever Lovelady sailed over the first baseman’s head into right field scoring Winn and giving the Cardinals their first run making it 3-1 Washington. After Victor Scott II struck out, Jose Fermin came through with a clutch two-out single scoring Pedro and reducing the Washington lead to just 1 at 3-2 after 7 innings.

Brycen Mautz would pitch into the top of the 8th inning that would also include Ryne Stanek who would get the final two outs of the inning. After the Cardinals could not mount any kind of rally in the bottom of the 8th inning, George Soriano came in to keep the game close in the top of the 9th inning and he was successful.

For St. Louis to rally in the bottom of the 9th, it would depend on the bottom of the Cardinals lineup getting something started. Church, Pages and Scott II were the scheduled batters. The Nationals brought in Erik Tolman to try and lock down a Washington win. An inanimate object would smile upon the Cardinals fate in the bottom of the 9th when a ball hit up the middle by Nathan Church would careen off of second base into short left field allowing Church to reach scoring position at second to leadoff the inning. Pages was apparently given bunting orders at least for the first two strikes. Fortunately, after two unsuccessful attempts, Pedro snuck a single into left field which tied the game at 3-3.

JJ Wetherholt was brought in as the pinch-runner representing the potential winning run at first base. Manager Oli Marmol then sent up Alec Burleson to pinch-hit for Victor Scott II. Alex unfortunately struck out for the first out. That brought up Jose Fermin who managed to poke a single through the hole between second base and first moving Wetherholt up to scoring position at second. The Nationals decided to remove Tolman from the game bringing in RHP Cruz to face Herrera, but on the third pitch he nailed Ivan with a 100 mph fastball which loaded the bases for the very overdue Jordan Walker. All Jordan needed was a sacrifice fly to win the game for St. Louis. Unfortunately, he struck out even after the Nationals dropped a popup trying to gift the Cardinals another opportunity. All Leo Bernal could manage with the bases loaded and two out was a groundout to second to send the game into extras.

Riley O’Brien was the Cardinals pitcher for the top of the 10th inning as Tena was the Nationals “free” runner at second base to start extra innings. Riley got Abrams to fly out to start the 10th without advancing the runner and then he struck out Crews for the second out. However, Vivas smacked a single through the hole at short which scored Tena and giving the Nationals a 4-3 lead. The throw from Fermin in left did not come to second base which allowed Vivas to move up to second into scoring position. Riley O’Brien was able to overcome that by striking out Morales to end the Washington 10th.

Washington brought in Riley Cornelio for the bottom of the 10th. Leo Bernal was the Cardinals “free” runner at second. Thomas Saggese was first up with the goal of at least moving Bernal up to third. He managed that with a infield groundout that went over the pitcher and was handled by their third baseman. Masyn Winn tied the game with a single down the right field line, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Nathan Church was the Cardinals last hope to keep this game from going into an 11th inning. That hope was squashed as he lined out softly to short. 4-4 tie game as the Cardinals and Nationals dug deeper into the bullpens.

Gordon Graceffo was given the top of the 11th inning responsibilities. Morales was the free runner at second for Washinton. Ruiz led off the inning with a single to left which moved Morales to third with no outs. Nasim Nuñez was next up for Washington. He was walked by Graceffo which loaded the bases with no outs with the top of the Nationals order coming up. With Jacob Young at the plate, the Nationals would challenge a 2-2 strike call alleging catcher’s interference and replay would prove that true giving Young first base and Washington a 5-4 lead still with no outs. Graceffo would give the Cardinals hope as he struck out Lile for the first out. However, that hope would be short-lived as Tena would slap a single into left-center giving Washington a 7-4 lead. The Cardinals chose to walk Abrams intentionally to load the bases which brought up Dylan Crews. He lined a ball into the right-centerfield gap which looked like it would go to the wall, but Jordan Walker made a remarkable catch as it resulted in just a sacrifice fly scoring another run making it 8-4 Nationals, but it could have been a lot more.

The Cardinals bottom of the 11th would start with Nathan Church as the free runner at second base and JJ Wetherholt leading off. He smoked a single up the middle easily scoring Church and making it 8-5. Alec Burleson was next up for St. Louis. He hit a single up the middle in almost the exact same spot as JJ giving the Cardinals the tying run up to the plate in Jose Fermin with no outs. Cornelio ended up walking him to load the bases bringing up the potential winning run at the plate. Ivan Herrera unfortunately struck out for the first out. Jordan Walker was next. Could he make the tarps off crowd in right field go out of their minds with a moonshot? Well, that would have made a great moment, but it didn’t happen as Jordan struck out on yet another sweeper. Leo Bernal was the Cardinals final hope as the Nationals brought in RHP Will Dion to turn the switch-hitting Bernal around batting from the right side. Bernal popped out to right to end the game which turned out to be interesting at least.

The St. Louis Cardinals will wrap up their final homestand of the season Sunday as Quinn Mathews gets the start for the Cardinals while the Washington Nationals will assign starting duties to RHP Jake Irvin. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

Rockies 5, Mariners 3

Texas Two-Step: Bryce Miller, .18 WPA; Cal Raleigh, .15 WPA

Steppin’ in it: José Ferrer, -.23 WPA; Cooper Criswell, -.25 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

Mets right fielder Carson Benge made history on Saturday, setting the franchise rookie record for most hits in a season following a 3-for-4 performance.

The 23-year-old now sits atop the Mets’ rookie hits leaderboard after notching his 156th hit of the season on a check-swing infield single in the eighth inning that drove in a run as part of a four-run inning that put the game out of reach.

After the game, Benge spoke about what it means to now hold the record, which was previously held by Pete Alonso (155 hits) in 2019.

“It’s special to see all the guys that have come through here, all the greats and the types of players that have come through here and been rookies here, so being able to hold that is pretty special,” Benge said.

Benge’s latest game, which included his 19th home run of the year, now has him slashing .276/.339/.420 in 149 games.

What’s even more impressive about the rookie’s phenomenal campaign is that it came after a disastrous beginning to his season, which saw him hitting as low as .091.

Regardless of his rough start, though, Benge’s confidence never wavered.

“I came in [to the league] knowing I belonged,” he said. “It was kind of rough there in the beginning, but sticking with my path and grinding out every day and then now finally showing others that I belong here too.”

Since his debut on Opening Day, and even before that during spring training, Benge has shown an impressive demeanor where he doesn’t allow himself to get too high or too low. It’s something that has allowed him to find success even during the most difficult times, for both him and the team.

“It kind of just proves that I’m tough, you know?” he said. “I won’t let things get me down too much. Just staying level-headed the whole time and not really worrying too much about the results, just going day by day.”

After getting his final hit of the game, the one that set the record, Benge was met with raucous applause by the Citi Field faithful, something that he doesn’t take lightly in the midst of a lost season.

“It’s amazing. Even though we’re out of it, we still got the best fans in the world and being able to see that was pretty cool,” he said.

Jays 2 Rangers 6

So another ‘must win’ loss. The ‘good’ news is that there won’t be more must win games this year.

José Soriano didn’t have a good day, though his defense didn’t help him out. He gave up a:

• Home run in the first.
• Walk, hit batter, and a Andrés Giménez error that allowed one to score. A wild pitch scored the second run of the inning.
• Then, in the sixth: Hit batter, single, and double (making it 4-1). Paul Sewald came in. He got a strikeout. Then they intentionally walked Nick Lopez to load the bases. I HATE intentional walks. I like them even less when the pitch hits the next batter to bring in another run. A sac fly made it 6-1.

Soriano went 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned, 1 walk with 9 strikeouts, which is pretty efficient work. If you only all 7 base runners and 6 of them score, that’s efficiency. He also hit two batters.

Three relievers pitched an inning each without allowing any runs. Sewald (whose hit batter added to Soriano’s line), Tyler Rogers and Brendan Cellucci threw an inning each.

On offense we had 6 hits and 1 walk (and one hit batter). So really, considering that, getting two runs was pretty good. Davis Schneider had a solo home run (our only extra base hit). Our other run came on a hit batter (Giménez), single (Bateman) and single (Kirk).

Jay of the Day: Well, no one had the number. Kirk had two hits, but he also let a throw home, that would have gotten the runner coming to the plate, get past him. A tough catch, but one he should have made.

Other Award: Soriano (-0.25) and Springer (-0.12 for an 0 for 4 with a k. He had a rough night). I’m also giving one to Straw (-0.06, plus a weird play in the outfield where he seemed to give up on a fly ball. It might not have been catchable, but he could have limited the damage. It was bizarre. Someone in the game thread suggested it was a homage to Jesús Sánchez outfield stylings (in my life, when they talk about a singer’s vocal stylings, I knew they really couldn’t sing).

Tomorrow’s game isn’t really a ‘must win’ anymore, because, even if they run the table, I don’t think they have a shot. But I’ll still be here to watch. Because, in a bit more than a week it will be ‘stare out the window and wait for spring’. It is a 2:30 Eastern start time.

The magic number is 1.

With tonight’s 6-3 win, the Braves have won the series, thrown a grenade into the crab bucket that is the AL West, and that NL East title is so close, you can almost taste the champagne.

The Braves’ return to winning games with the longball has been a welcome sight. But they had to come back to win in this one (and would do so in grand fashion).

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before – the Braves had a promising start in the first inning, no runs would score, and then the opposing starting pitcher would settle in as they went ice-cold at the plate.

Today’s variation of this season-long pattern featured a leadoff double from Drake Baldwin (that would’ve been a home run in 26/30 ballparks) and walk by Ronald Acuña Jr. But a Matt Olson flyout, Michael Harris II forceout, and Mauricio Dubón popout sent us to the home half of the first, where Isaac Paredes hit an absolute rocket (that would’ve been a homer in only 11/30 ballparks) off Grant Holmes to make it 1-0.

The Astros would add on after a Jeremy Peña leadoff triple and Paredes’ RBI single to make it 2-0 in the third.

Outside of allowing a walk to Sean Murphy and single to Acuña Jr. in the fourth, Hayden Wesneski worked his six-pitch arsenal effectively to keep the Braves off the board. The fifth was particularly nasty with the bottom of the order all hitting first-pitch groundouts (although Mike Yastrzemski and Murphy hit theirs 100+ mph, just right at perfectly-positioned corner infielders).

Wesneski had the pitch count in a great spot going into the top of the sixth. However, it was deja vu all over again with two on with no outs via a Drake broken bat single and Ronald working another walk. This prompted a mound visit as Matt Olson strolled up to the plate. Thankfully, first-inning history did not repeat itself… but it was messy.

Matt’s sharp single to center and an aggressive send of Drake got the Braves on the board, 2-1, but Ronald got thrown out at third in the process. This prompted the removal of Wesneski after 79 pitches; reliever Bennett Sousa got Harris and Dubón to fly out to end the frame. Final line for Wesneski: 5.1 IP, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts.

Holmes has fared better on the road, and he ends up logging another quality start tonight: 6 innings, 8 hits, 2 earned runs, 0 walks, and 4 strikeouts with 87 pitches.

AJ Blubaugh relieved Sousa in the top of the seventh and got Ozzie Albies to fly out to start the inning. But things would snowball after a rally by the bottom of the order (!): consecutive singles by Yaz and Austin Riley and a walk by Murphy had the bases loaded with one out. The Astros brought in Bryan Abreu, who struck out Baldwin. But Ronald Acuña Jr. had yet to be retired tonight, and the reports of his inability to hit a fastball may have been greatly exaggerated. Abreu’s second pitch was launched for Ronald’s second hit of the night to go with his two walks. Except this was no single – this was a go-ahead gram slam to make it 5-2, Braves.

(Also, way to represent in H-Town, Braves Country. Whew.)

Victor Mederos worked a 1-2-3 seventh. Dubón led off the eighth with a single off new reliever Logan VanWey, but was erased by an Ozzie double play. But Yaz, who started the rally in the last frame, added another run with a casual homer to (where else?) left center to make it 6-2.

Dylan Lee got two quick flyouts before a spot of trouble began. A walk to Paredes and Jose Altuve’s bunt single set the table for Yainer Diaz’s RBI double to make it 6-3. This brought pinch-hitter Nelson Velázquez as the tying run to the plate, but Lee struck him out on five pitches.

Nothing of note in the top of the ninth except Drake battling and winning a ten-pitch at-bat with a single up the middle.

Raisel Iglesias came out for the bottom of the ninth for his second straight night of work and our closer logged yet another 1-2-3 inning to close the book on this Braves series win.

The Braves improve to 91-64 and will go for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon at 2:10 pm ET. But let’s be real – we’ll also be tuning in for Mets/Phillies at 1:10 pm ET. Merry (maybe) clinch-mas eve to all, and to all a goodnight.

The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Toronto Blue Jays scored two runs.

At the last possible moments, the Rangers appear to have stumbled upon a winning formula.

Over the last week or so we’ve been privy to some victories where the Rangers have scored early, forced the opponent’s hand by scratching and clawing their way on base before threatening small ball chaos, and utilized a string of heroic turns from unsuspecting pitchers who have provided multiple effective innings when forced into duty.

If that’s the key to victory for Texas, they followed the plan to a Texas T tonight. The Rangers indeed scored early when Josh Jung lifted a first inning opposite field solo home run. Not satisfied with just one run, Texas plated two more in the bottom of the second inning when Toronto starter Jose Soriano walked leadoff hitter Wyatt Langford, hit Nicky Lopez, and then saw Langford score via an errant throw by Blue Jays shortstop Andres Gimenez.

Despite having an aching ankle from getting struck by a pitch, Lopez scampered in the score the third run on a Soriano wild pitch.

Those runs felt pivotal for Texas as one out into the second inning Mr. Quality Start Cal Quantrill exited the game with an disquieting injury. I guess carrying the Rangers on his back over the last month or so has finally caught up with the recently-excellent righty. Quantrill had left his previous start with back tightness, but tonight’s early exit was listed as right lat tightness, which isn’t great news for the Rangers going forward.

It wasn’t great news at the time either as the Rangers were suddenly without this summer’s most consistent starter in a crucial game. Former playoff hero Jordan Montgomery was pressed into duty and, like many others over the last week or so, he acquitted himself well. Montgomery entered in a 1-0 game and exited after 3 2/3 innings and 51 pitches having not allowed a hit and with Texas up 3-0.

Another 2023 World Series legend followed Montgomery with Nathan Eovaldi coming in to pitch the sixth. After tossing 46 pitches on Wednesday against Boston, Eovaldi was less effective in his inning of work but he worked around a run to help bridge the bullpen to the late innings.

Like last night, the Rangers took getting scored upon personal as after Toronto made it 3-1, in the next half inning Texas scored three more runs highlighted by a Langford hurdle at home on a sac fly.

With the majority of the game managed by a trio of historically starting pitchers, the actual relievers got to work with Robert Garcia, Chase Silseth, and Jacob Latz combining to allow one run (a seventh inning solo home run off Garcia) as the Rangers maneuvered their way to another victory on this homestand.

And so, for the first time since they were 60-59 back on Aug 10, the Rangers are back above .500. It’s a fine time to do so, too, as because the Houston Astros lost tonight after allowing a seventh inning grand slam to Atlanta, the Rangers are now alone atop the American League West.

Player of the Game: Montgomery has been a bit of an unusual afterthought this season when considering his place among the October 2023 legends, but tonight he left his mark on his second stint with Texas but coming in into an emergency situation and pitching lights while the Rangers were grabbing control of the game.

For his effort, Montgomery was the winning pitcher in a big league game for the first time since Aug 2024 when he was pitching for Arizona.

Up Next: The Rangers close out this series with an opportunity to sweep the Blue Jays with RHP Jacob deGrom set to make the start for Texas against a pitcher to be named for Toronto.

The Sunday afternoon first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 1:35 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

Noah Cameron didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but he held things together and the offense just kept chipping away. Jac Caglianone had his first two hits since injuring his arm/elbow and Nick Loftin had his second career four-hit game. In the end, though, the three players acquired from the Rays during the offseason played key roles as the Pirates defeated KC 6-5.

Noah Cameron finished the night allowing 4 runs in 6 innings while striking out 6 and walking 2. Those are very mediocre numbers and represent one of his worst starts since late July. If you had told Royals fans that was how you interpreted this outing sometime any time in June or July they’d have tried to have you committed. But that’s the world we’re living in now. The damage was done primarily on two hits, a pair of two-run homers. The first was by Ronny Simon in the bottom of the second, a switch-hitter who hadn’t hit a dinger in his first 121 at-bats. But Cameron left him a changeup in the middle, and Ronny didn’t miss. Ronny, by the way, was originally signed by the Rays out of the Dominican Republic.

The second home run was hit by tonight’s center fielder, Jake Mangum. Mangum came over in a trade alongside Brandon Lowe and Mason Montgomery from the Rays during the offseason. This pitch was a little better, a backfoot slider that didn’t quite get to the back foot.

The final blow was, what else, a two-run home run by a former Ray. This time it was the aforementioned Lowe banging one to right center off of Steven Cruz. It was the final blow.

The Royals offense was churning for most of the night, despite facing one of the nastiest pitchers in baseball this season. They got one run back quickly in the top of the third when Carter Jensen broke the Royals’ rookie record for home runs in a season.

Carter now takes aim at the record for home runs by a rookie catcher set by Mike Piazza and Rudy York. He’ll only need… 11 more to surpass their total of 35 each. Still, Carter could become the first rookie catcher to lead his team in RBIs since Piazza led the Dodgers in 1993. His 76 leads Salvador Perez by 4 with 7 games left, and the latter only playing part-time.

The Royals answered the Pirates’ home in the fourth by scoring two more of their own in the fifth. Bobby Witt Jr. led off with a single and Jac Caglianone, in his first game back following a one-game suspension for injuring his hand after a bad at-bat Thursday, took a walk to bring the tying run to the plate. The Royals successfully performed a double steal to put runners at second and third with no outs for Vinnie Pasquantino. Vinnie, unfortunately, could only manage a routine grounder to first to score Bobby and advance Jac. That brought up Michael Massey.

Ryan O’Hearn’s acrobatic play cost the Royals a baserunner and who knows what else. Nick Loftin followed that with a single of his own, and John Rave flied out to center to end the inning. If Massey had been on first, it doesn’t take much imagination to see him going to third on Loftin’s single and scoring on a Rave sacrifice fly to tie the game then and there.

Still, by this point, as you can tell from the clip above, the Royals had gotten into the Pirates’ bullpen. That would become important when they turned to Camilo Doval in the seventh inning. Bobby led off again; this time he hit a single off of Doval, but Doval chose to sling it in the general direction of first anyway. That allowed Bobby to go to third. Jac Caglianone added his second single of the night, this one to the opposite field, to score Bob and tie the game. Pasquantino singled, and Jac went all the way to third. Massey struck out, but Loftin came through again with his fourth hit of the night to give the Royals the lead. Unfortunately, Vinnie was stranded at third as Rave and Kyle Isbel each made outs to end the inning.

After Lowe’s home run in the bottom of the eighth, the final piece of that Rays trade from the previous offseason made his appearance. Mason Montgomery is the Pirates closer, and close he was planning to do. For a moment, it seemed like the never-say-die Royals had one last trick up their sleeves. Jac Caglianone took a tough walk – he reached base four times on the night. Tyler Tolbert ran for Jac and stole second, still with no outs. Salvador Perez was batting for Vinnie because Montgomery is a lefty, Salvy battled but struck out. Maikel Garcia pinch-hit for Massey and flew out softly to right. Up came Nick Loftin, looking to re-tie the game and mark his first career five-hit affair. Sadly, he popped out in foul territory on a terrific sliding grab by Pirates catcher Henry Davis.

The Royals fell to 67-88 on the season. They still haven’t won a series in September and have only two chances left. No matter the outcome of tomorrow’s game, they will have had a losing road trip. It’s been a resounding thud of a final month after those sweet couple of weeks at the end of August. Tomorrow’s game is in danger of rain, and with both teams officially eliminated from the playoffs, it’s possible the game is canceled and never made up. However, if it is played, Michael Wacha (3.34 ERA, 4.32 SIERA) will pitch for the Royals. As of this writing, the Pirates have not yet announced their starter. The game will start at 12:35 PM Central Time.

With the threat of rain in the forecast for the Mets' home finale against the Phillies, legendary radio broadcaster Howie Rose may have signed off for the final time on Saturday night.

Amid the uncertainty, Rose wrapped up Saturday's 10-3 win over the Phillies in a way only he could.

"Here's the pitch. Swing and a bouncing ball wide to first, backhanded by [Brett] Baty, throws off balance in time to Myers. Put it in the books!" Rose punctuated with his signature call. "The New York Mets have made it two out of three against the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend, with one more on the schedule, which we hope will be played tomorrow. As Tobias Myers finishes the Phillies off in the ninth inning."

And then with SNY play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen standing behind him, Rose signed off from the game to throw to the postgame show.

PUT IT IN THE BOOKS! The @Mets celebrate Carlos Beltrán the right way with a huge 10-3 victory over the Phillies to take the series!@HowieRose@KeithRaad@PatMcCarthy_@MetsBooth#LGM

Lots to listen to postgame and make sure to tune in live here: https://t.co/TmVvIFMPbxpic.twitter.com/3OXPkd8GQu

— Mets Radio 880 (@metsradio880) September 19, 2026

As the Mets Radio 880 crew continued their postgame show, they played a recording of Mets broadcasters and players, both past and present, including Steve Gelbs, Kevin Burkhardt, John Franco and David Wright, to thank Rose for his 20-plus-year career of calling Mets games.

Rose, of course, joked about the scenario in which Sunday's game would be played and asked whether they'll have to play the recording once again before he thanked his colleagues and the fans.

"Anybody who knows me knows how much The Beatles mean to me. I'm going to say now before anything else, to quote a Beatles song, it's all too much," Rose said.

Rose later added, "I don't want to think this was it, even though in my mind I treated today as though it very well might be. And whether we play tomorrow or they play tomorrow or not, I preemptively want to say how much you all mean to me. And when I'm saying 'you all' right now, it's not only covering my friends here in the booth and my colleagues, but I want to speak solely to you, the Met fan. I've used the term forever, 'kindred spirits,' and I think that you understand that any one of you could be where I'm sitting here, in this booth. We have very similar backgrounds... The point is that I feel like I know you. And more importantly, I feel like you know me. We've been together for the entirety of my time in this booth. And if I ever doubted that, or thought that was an exaggeration, believe me, it's hit home over these last couple of weeks this retirement announcement has somewhat gotten.

"When I really reflect on it, I have to quote the best to ever do it, Vince Scully. When Vin retired, just about a decade ago. He spoke to the fans and said, 'you know, I needed you more than you ever needed me.' And I didn't really understand that. But reading the comments on everything that has been written...to hear the love that you sent to my family and me, I think I know what Vin meant now."

Rose said he won't be a stranger to Citi Field. He'll likely still be the MC for Opening Day, number retirements and other ceremonies at the stadium. He'll even visit the booth from time to time. But a choked-up Rose wanted to say one last thing to his friends, colleagues and listeners.

"Just know that I love you all."

"Just know that I love you all."@HowieRose signs off from tonight's broadcast, which could be his final one in the Mets radio booth 🫶 pic.twitter.com/yYLTEHLjE6

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 20, 2026

Back in August, the Mets planned a pregame ceremony for Rose before the team's final home game. But as Mets world awaits to see if the weather cooperates, Rose said the organization will hold the ceremony next season if they cannot do it Sunday. 

So whether it's this Sunday or 2027, Rose will be properly acknowledged. 

Tarik Skubal faces Yunior Marte as the Dodgers take on the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.

SATURDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Giants
• Stadium: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 6:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

PHOENIX — In case the Yankees weren’t dealing with enough injury headaches for a 6-foot-7 slugger, Spencer Jones was out of the lineup Saturday with a sore left foot/heel.

The rookie outfielder claimed it was “no big deal” and chalked it up to the wear and tear of playing on Chase Field’s turf Friday night after jamming his heel in Minnesota earlier this week.

But after the Yankees just lost Aaron Judge to the injured list again with a right calf strain, the last thing they needed was Jones nursing an injury of his own.

“Just a little banged up,” Jones said before Saturday’s game against the Diamondbacks. “Playing on turf is different, hard on the feet.”

Aaron Boone also downplayed it, adding that he still almost kept Jones in the lineup before sitting him in favor of José Caballero, who started in center field for the second time this season.

“Just felt like especially being on the turf here, he kind of jammed that heel in Minnesota and being on the turf [Friday], so I think it’s just a day-to-day kind of thing,” Boone said. “I even view him as available tonight.”

Boone said he preferred to keep Cody Bellinger in left field instead of shifting him to center.

“I considered moving him to center, but Belli’s grinding too and the turf here kind of beats you up,” he said. “There’s some scenarios where I would move him to center. Tonight, just being on the turf and as much as he’s been through this year, I didn’t want to move him.”

When the Yankees officially placed Judge on the 10-day injured list Saturday, they opted for defensive versatility over offensive upside in his replacement.

That meant calling up Max Schuemann instead of Jasson Domínguez, giving the former another shot in the big leagues for at least a few days beginning this weekend against the Diamondbacks.

“Adding his versatility to our bench makes some sense,” Boone said. “And then obviously some different roster complications moving forward with the playoffs around the corner.”

Schuemann’s stay may be brief, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. potentially returning from the IL as soon as the upcoming series against the Rays at Yankee Stadium that begins Tuesday.

If Schuemann goes back to Triple-A to make room, he would not be available to be recalled for 10 days (unless he was replacing an injured player again), essentially ruling him out as an option for the AL wild-card series.

That may have played a part in Domínguez not getting the call this time, in case the Yankees wanted to use him as a pinch-running threat on their playoff roster.

The 23-year-old also offers value as a switch-hitter, but he has proven to be a defensive liability in the outfield.

The Yankees’ trip to Chase Field gave them a chance to reunite with former teammate Jonathan Loáisiga, who has finally stayed healthy for a full season in the Diamondbacks bullpen.

The right-hander often flashed his talent during his eight-year tenure with the Yankees, but injuries too often got in the way.

This season, though, after signing a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks, Loáisiga has avoided the IL and pitched in a career-high 64 games with a 2.32 ERA entering Saturday.

“Been through a lot of battles over the years with Jonny,” Boone said. “It’ll be great to see him. Hopefully we can ding him a little bit here. I know he’s had a really strong year, which I’m excited about for him. He’s such a talented guy that for him, it’s always been about just being healthy. So the fact that he’s gone out there and had a largely healthy season, I’m not surprised at the success he’s had.”

The Diamondbacks held a 25th-anniversary celebration Saturday of their 2001 World Series team that beat the Yankees in seven games.