Category: MLB

Odds are, Marcus Semien will be back with the Mets to begin next season because of the $46 million he is still owed. 

Odds are, Sean Manaea will be back with the Mets to begin next season because of the $25 million he is still owed. 

In each case, the Mets will want to see what the veteran has left to offer before viewing an established, expensive player as a sunk cost. 

But if and when the Mets move on from the second baseman and back-end starter, respectively, a couple top prospects who could further emerge as next in line for those jobs visited Citi Field on Monday. 

Infielder Mitch Voit and lefty starter Jonathan Santucci earned a step into the spotlight this season as the organization’s player and pitcher of the year. 

Voit was a first-round pick just last season who already has hit his way to — and nearly through — Double-A Binghamton. The infielder, who still sees some time at his more natural second base but has slid over and impressed Mets officials at shortstop, started his first full professional season without much promise. On May 23, he was hitting .210 with a .651 OPS with High-A Brooklyn. 

And then he went on a run that rivaled any minor leaguer, getting hot in Brooklyn and bringing that heat to Binghamton. From May 24 through the end of the season, he hit .300 with an .866 OPS, 32 of his 45 steals and just 58 strikeouts with 40 walks. 

The switch that flipped was more mental than mechanical, Voit reiterated while being honored before the Mets opened a series with the Orioles. The 21-year-old from the University of Michigan began learning where he liked the ball and which pitches to swing at. 

“I’m trying to figure out my strengths in the box and how do my strengths match up against this pitcher? And how can I maximize this at-bat to bring the most value in that moment?” said Voit, who is the club’s No. 4 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and would have competition if the Mets decide they want to try out an internal upgrade for Semien (or someone else, given that Voit is a flexible infielder) next season. 

The Mets’ No. 1 prospect (Jefferson Rojas, acquired in the Clay Holmes-Tyrone Taylor trade) is a middle infielder. So is their No. 7 prospect (Sammy Stafura, swapped for Luke Weaver). Also No. 10 (Émilien Pitre, who came over in the Freddy Peralta package). Further down the system are top young shortstop prospects in Elian Peña and Wandy Asigen. 

But a torrid final four months of his season gave Voit an early potential avenue toward where he wants to be. 

“He’s somebody who can do a lot of impressive things on the baseball field,” said interim manager and former (and likely future) player development executive Andy Green, who highlighted Voit’s resilience. “He really can defend the field, run the bases.” 

In a minor league season in which the Mets have not seen enough breakthroughs, Voit stands out. As does Santucci, who has separated himself among a pitching prospect collection in which too many took steps back. 

In a season that has featured early struggles, periods of overwhelming excellence and a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse, Santucci has flashed some of the best stuff in the Mets system while pitching to a combined 3.99 ERA with 157 strikeouts in 119 ²/₃ innings. 

In velocity and movement, the power of the arsenal is better than that of fellow lefty Zac Thornton, who has forced his way to the majors and is thriving. At least according to Thornton himself. 

“His stuff is better than my stuff,” Thornton said of Santucci, whom he played with in Brooklyn and Binghamton. “Obviously he just throws harder and then his slider is a little bit tighter I’d say. I think he’s got way more swing-and-miss stuff than I do. 

“He can definitely compete here at the major league level.” 

Before this season, what largely held back Santucci — who dominated at Duke with a mid-90s fastball with good ride and biting slider — was the lack of a reliable third pitch. He has had a couple projects to work on in a curveball and changeup (especially helpful against righty batters), both of which have taken steps this season. 

Since his late July promotion to the highest minor league level, his curveball has been easily his best pitch, holding opponents to a .105 average with a 53.3 percent whiff rate. Further refining both those secondaries could be the difference between a promising major league reliever and a bona fide major league starter. 

“Knowing that my fastball and slider are good enough to get hitters out, but having multiple other options is going to be really good to be able to get through a big league lineup three times,” said Santucci, who this season is being held back by inconsistency — there are moments of brilliance and duds — and walks (4.74 per nine innings). 

With fellow top prospects such as Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger not yet establishing themselves, there is a major league lane available for Santucci with a bit more growth. 

“His stuff is real,” Green said. “And for both [Santucci and Voit], there’s more of a mountain to climb out in front of them before this opportunity belongs to them. 

“But they’ve taken some amazing steps this year.”

On a night when the Mets fell 2-1 by the Baltimore Orioles with a faction of the fans in attendance buying their tickets solely to see Pete Alonso play his first game at Citi Field as a visitor, Jonah Tong showcased his skills on the mound with a largely spotless performance.

The rookie right-hander struck out six batters through six full innings, allowing a lone unearned run and just one walk, which Tong himself described as a "kind of cool" statistic.

Clearly, the 23-year-old holds himself to high standards.

Six strikeouts in six innings for Jonah Tong 💪 pic.twitter.com/fl3vVRqhhk

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 15, 2026

"He was filling up the strike zone," interim skipper Andy Green said of the young hurler. "His demeanor was outstanding."

Tong, in fact, threw 83 pitches. Fifty-seven of them were strikes, which is good for 68.6 percent and firmly above the 63.5 percent league average mark recorded in 2025.

Tong, of course, has spent most of this season in the minor leagues but is making the most of this late-season opportunity in the Mets' big-league starting rotation.

"There's a lot of times in life you're gong to struggle, and the best learning comes from that," Tong reflected on his mixed 2026 season. "I'm trying to learn as much as I can, trying to finish the year strong."

Green is proud of how Tong has battled through the turbulence and continued to improve on the mound.

"He's taken some real, major strides and it's fun to see," Geen said. "He deserves a lot of credit for all the work he's put in.

"He's earned the right to be here, to be in the rotation. He's pitching like he expects to win."

That competitive streak Tong possesses, alluded to by Green, was evident in the pitcher's postgame interview.

"I was trying to give the team the best chance to win," Tong said. "Every time I go out there, that's always my goal."

With the loss, the Mets were mathematically eliminated from the postseason for the second consecutive year. Yet, Tong's performance -- combined with the standout rookie seasons of Nolan McLean, Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing,and Zac Thornton -- brings hope in Queens that perhaps 2027 will see the team secure October baseball once again.

The Mets (69-81) were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles (73-78) by a score of 2-1.

Here are the takeaways...

-- It was a pitcher's duel in Queens on Monday night. Through five innings, the two teams combined for nine hits, with the score 1-1 thanks to Heston Kjerstad's RBI double and Mets CF A.J. Ewing's solo shot.

-- Mets rookie right-hander Jonah Tong made the seventh start of his career, and his second of 2026, following his recent outing seven days ago against the Miami Marlins. Tong was stellar, striking out six and allowing one unearned run - the aforementioned Kjerstad double, which scored Jackson Holliday, who advanced earlier in the inning on a passed ball - on just four hits and one walk through six full innings. Of his 83 pitches, 57 were thrown for strikes.

-- Pete Alonso made his long-awaited return to Citi Field, donning the black and orange of the Orioles and doffing his cap to the cheering Mets fans who will always be grateful for his time in New York. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.

-- The O's took the lead in the eighth inning on yet another solo homer, this one off the bat of star shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who cranked a hanging slider thrown by Mets reliever Dedniel Núñez over the right-center fence.

-- Kodai Senga worked out of a jam with one out and runners on the corners, keeping the Mets deficit at just one run entering last licks by striking out two batters in a row. In the bottom of the ninth, Orioles righty Rico Garcia shut the door by retiring the side in order, and the Mets lost 2-1.

Game MVP: Jonah Tong

Tong flashed the potential which made him such a touted prospect within the Mets organization during these past few years. He tunneled his fastball and changeup effectively all night, keeping Baltimore's batters off balance and off the basepaths.

Highlights

A standing ovation for Pete Alonso as he comes to the plate

The Citi Field PA played "Layla," his walk-up song last season pic.twitter.com/zH9nKLkI8u

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 14, 2026

Two strikeouts in the inning for Jonah Tong and he has six strikeouts in four innings pic.twitter.com/v8rgxA6ZZi

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 15, 2026

A.J. Ewing's 10th home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/xIlOFIhoeW

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 15, 2026

Three strikeouts in the 9th for Kodai Senga pic.twitter.com/RHFEBmAWdE

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 15, 2026

What's next

The Mets play the Orioles in the second game of the three on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

New York will send out Sean Manaea (4.79 ERA, 1.34 WHIP in 133.1 IP).

The O's are set to start Shane Baz (4.05 ERA, 1.33 WHIP in 169.0 IP).

Hits were at a premium with both sides combining for seven, and the Dodgers made the most of theirs, out-homering the Reds two-to-one and relying on Tarik Skubal’s best performance as a Dodger to secure a 4-1 win. While Reds starter Nick Lodolo was responsible for all four runs in his seven innings, it doesn’t necessarily reflect just how effectively he held down this potent Dodgers lineup for large periods of the game—especially dealing with such an ungrateful task.

It didn’t take more than a couple of hitters to find out, or at least get a glimpse of the type of performance Skubal was about to bring to the mound. Facing Cincinnati’s most dangerous hitter, Elly De La Cruz, Skubal was down 3-0 in the count following two bad misses, remembering that De La Cruz took him deep last week. The Dodgers’ starter not only got back in the count and punched out De La Cruz, but almost as impressively, he did so in a manner of simply imposing his will that few starting pitchers can even hope to accomplish. Skubal threw three straight heaters, none of them particularly dotted, two up and one down, almost as if indicating that today he’d do as he pleased and the Reds were mere spectators to it.

That initial at-bat against De La Cruz was also indicative of the approach that Skubal would carry into this game. Whether due to a lack of feel for a particular off-speed pitch or, more likely, from an adjustment after seeing the Reds’ swings against the four-seamer, Skubal went to that pitch far more often than he normally does—throwing it 44 percent of the time across seven scoreless innings, needing just 90 pitches to do so.

The first and only time the Reds managed to put multiple players on base against Skubal came in the fifth inning, when Juan Brito singled, and J.J. Bleday walked, later moving to second and third on a wild pitch. In a nine-pitch at-bat, Hector Rodríguez would go down on a four-seam fastball, this one up and well outside the zone. In fact, each of Skubal’s first seven punchouts came on heaters.

Offensively, the Dodgers made the most of their rare hits count, securing just three in seven innings against a dialed-in Nick Lodolo. Unfortunately for the Reds starter, both of the hits he allowed were home runs, first a solo shot to Kyle Tucker in the second and, a couple of innings later, a two-run bomb to Teoscar Hernández.

Although with different levels of frustration, Tucker and Hernández share the sentiment of not having nearly the individual campaign they wanted heading into the year. But their potential ability to turn it on over a prolonged period between now and the end of the playoffs is part of what makes this lineup so dangerous to anyone.

The Dodgers’ fourth RBI came on a Kiké Hernández single in the seventh against a by-then-laboring Lodolo. Earning the start against a left-hander, Josue De Paula reached base in one of three plate appearances, once again showcasing his quality eye by earning a walk and stealing a base—one of three SBs for the Dodgers in this win.

A particularly comical moment came in the top of the ninth inning when Hernández forgot his place in the order and tried to leapfrog Tucker in the cleanup spot to lead off the frame. Since he homered in the game, though, we’ll let him get away with that one.

Lastly, De La Cruz emphasized how impressive what Skubal did against him earlier in the game was when he destroyed a baseball against Evan Phillips in the bottom of the ninth. De La Cruz’s mammoth solo shot put the Reds on the board and continued to solidify his early case as a Dodger killer, but it was too little, too late for an impact on this game.

Although it feels like a given at this point, we should note that with this win, the Dodgers clinched a return to the postseason as they aim for a third straight title. Still, there is plenty to accomplish between now and the end of the regular season.

Monday particulars

Home runs: Kyle Tucker (15), Teoscar Hernández (14), Elly De La Cruz (27)

WP — Tarik Skubal (10-7): 7 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts

LP — Nick Lodoto (3-5): 7 IP, 3 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts

Up next

Coming off back-to-back seven-inning starts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto faces the Reds lineup for the second week in a row, opposed by Rhett Lowder on Tuesday (3:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). It’s tough to envision a worse time for Lowder against the Dodgers than the seven runs he allowed in a blowout 14-1 loss last week.

CINCINNATI –– There was no champagne shower. No dogpile on the mound. No raucous celebration of what, for most other clubs, would be a triumphant accomplishment.

Instead, on the day the Dodgers officially clinched a playoff berth for an MLB-record-tying 14th-straight season, they simply strolled out of the dugout for routine high-fives on the field in the wake of a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds, then shared a brief toast in the locker room to recognize the moment.

 “It’s not a given, we don’t take it for granted,” veteran third baseman Max Muncy said. “But it is the expectation here.”

Indeed, getting to the playoffs was never the goal for the two-time defending champions.

And over the rest of the regular season, there is more work to do to bolster their three-peat bid.

First and foremost is locking up the National League West division, something the Dodgers could do this week with their magic number now down to three.

While that will come with a more formal clubhouse party, the even bigger priority is securing a top-two NL playoff seed and a bye through the best-of-three wild card round to open the playoffs.

Though the club navigated that elongated path last year, an extra week of rest will be paramount for the team now.

Already, the Dodgers’ lineup has been without Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing on the injured list. This week brought renewed uncertainty to the health status of Freddie Freeman (who missed his third game in the last week Monday with a right knee injury) and Miguel Rojas (who aggravated a shoulder injury on a diving play Sunday, but was able to play through soreness on Monday).

On the pitching side, more questions abound, especially after breakout right-handed reliever Edgardo Henriquez hit the injured list on Monday with a back problem, and $69 million closer Edwin Díaz suffered a five-run implosion during a triple-A rehab outing this weekend that put his chances of making the playoff roster in doubt.

“I mean, it’s always helpful in the sense of giving your guys a break to reset,” manager Dave Roberts said when asked of the importance of getting a first-round bye this year. “But given all the tax and where our guys are health-wise, to get that week would be huge. So we still got to play well to finish out the season to get to that point.”

Monday was a positive step in that direction, at least, with the Dodgers rebounding from a frustrating series defeat in Miami over the weekend.

Tarik Skubal turned in his best (and first scoreless) start with the club since arriving at the trade deadline, blanking the Reds over seven dominant innings with only three hits allowed and nine strikeouts.

“It’s different than anything I’ve experienced, for sure,” Skubal joked of the Dodgers’ subdued postseason celebration. “But I think it just speaks to the people in this room and what they expect out of this team.”

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Kyle Tucker, meanwhile, continued his slow but increasingly steady late-season turnaround by opening the scoring with a solo home run in the second, his fourth long ball in the last 10 games.

Teoscar Hernández kept up his resurgent September performance by following a walk from Tucker in the fourth with a two-run blast to give the Dodgers some breathing room.

“I don’t think we’ve been able yet in the season to [have] the whole group healthy and performing the way we know we can perform,” Hernández said. “But at the same time, it’s baseball. Things like that are going to happen. So just have to support each other the way we’ve been doing this year, the past year, in the hard moments, and just keep going.”

Roberts echoed similar sentiments in his postgame address to the team.

“The message was, ‘We haven’t come close to playing our best baseball yet,’ and here we are with 12 games left, getting a ticket to the postseason,” he recounted. “That says a lot about this entire organization … To do it every single year when you’re expected to do this says something about the entire organization.”

Just getting, of course, won’t be enough.

And to maximize their chances of a deep run, the Dodgers will have to lock up a No. 2 seed for which they currently hold a 3-1/2 game lead over the Braves.

“It’s hard to say it ever feels routine,” Muncy said, “but it is the expectation here.”

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks have made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ active roster remains at 28 and the 40-man roster is now at 40.

• Claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays: OF Jesús Sánchez

Interesting move. He has played 99 games for the Blue Jays this year, with a decent slash of .260/.318/.416 for a .734 OPS, and an OPS+ of exactly 100. The overall value this year has been underwhelming at -1.0 bWAR, because his defensive metrics completely cratered. Over more than two thousand PAs previous to this season, he had a dWAR of -0.2. This year, in 299 PA, it’s -1.5 dWAR. He’s probably best known for a bizarre incident in May where a ball thrown from the stands by a young fan hit him in the wrist, causing him to have to leave the game.

It’s possible this could be my last recap of 2026. There’s no game next Monday, and neither the NL Wild-Card nor Division Series play on that day either. The next potential Monday would be Game #2 in the NLCS. While I’d love to recap that, the odds of Arizona reaching the post-season have basically been cut in half by the losses over the weekend. After Friday’s win, they were 48.8% (per Fangraphs). Now? Just 26.6%, the lowest they have been since July 19th. Still, I may not be clocking out yet: there may or may not be more cider-fueled Friday recaps to come. You have been warned. 🙂

As boilerbobco noted, Lourdes Gurriel became the latest player DFA’d by the D-backs this year, including seven who were on the Opening Day roster. However, it turns out there were a few more than he thought, with another four I found who had appeared for Arizona at the MLB level this year. That makes 15 in all. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at those players, what happened to them after Arizona let them go, and how they have performed (if at all) in the majors since.

• Carlos Santana (1B). Released June 26. Picked up by Atlanta two days later, but released by them on August 17, after 27 games in Triple-A
• Alek Thomas (OF). Dealt to the Dodgers for 17-year-old outfielder Jose Requena. Batted .211/.250/.263 over 7 games for LA (.513 OPS, -0.1 bWAR). DFA’d on September 5, cleared waivers, assigned to Triple-A.
• Jorge Barrosa (OF), Selected on waivers by Houston, September 6. Called up to the Astros last week, has gone 1-for-4 with a double so far.
• Pavin Smith (DH/1B). Cleared waivers, sent to Triple-A, but re-added back to the 40-man roster in place of Adrian Del Castillo on Saturday. One PA so far, driving in a run with a single.
• Max Kepler (OF). Released September 8. Currently unemployed, and given his .565 OPS and -0.7 bWAR, unlikely to be picked up at this point in the season.
• Lourdes Gurriel (OF). Designated for assignment yesterday. Will likely pass through waivers and become a free agent. Not impossible he may find a job, since has some track record. Just not lately…
• Luken Baker (1B). Released on June 15, after appearing three times for Arizona. Signed on the 30th with the Kansas City Monarchs of the indie ball American Association.
• Aramis Garcia (C). Has been DFA’d twice by the D-backs this year, on May 1 and June 12. Cleared waivers on both occasions and was re-assigned to Triple-A Reno.
• Paul Sewald (P). Picked up by the Blue Jays, and has performed very well for them in middle relief. In 12 games covering 10.1 innings, he has allowed one run on five hits and three walks, with seven strikeouts.
• Andrew Hoffmann (P). Selected off waivers by the Phillies on August 20. He was on the MiLB injured list at the time, but has started pitching again. Two appearances in A-ball and one in Triple-A, all scoreless.
• Joe Ross (P). Released May 18, he signed with the Rangers four days later. Made five relief appearances in June, with a 4.50 ERA across 8 IP. They released him on July 1, only to sign him again on the 3rd.
• Philip Abner (P). Claimed on waivers by the Giants, August 19. Called up last week, currently on the active roster. Has pitched three innings, allowing an unearned run on a hit and a walk with one K.
• Zack Littell (P). Released on August 26, sixteen days after signing with the Diamondbacks as a free-agent. Remains a free agent.
• Taylor Rashi (P). Pitched 3.2 innings for Arizona, before being bought by the Twins on June 8. Was then chosen on waivers by the A’s on August 9, and made one appearance for them on August 20, with 2 IP.
• Yilber Diaz (P). One disastrous appearance here, allowing seven earned runs for two outs. Selected of waivers by the Tigers on June 26. Currently on their active roster, with a 6.75 ERA across 5.1 innings.

The Dodgers with their win over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night at Great American Ball Park are back in the postseason, just as they have every year dating back to 2013. They tied a major league record by making 14 postseasons in a row.

That’s every full season of Guggenheim Baseball Management owning the team. The president and CEO, Stan Kasten, was president of the Atlanta Braves for all but two of their 14 postseasons in a row from 1991-2005. Atlanta’s postseason run was interrupted only by the 1994 strike, during which the postseason and World Series were canceled. When the 1994 season ended on August 12, the Braves had the second-best record in the National League at 68-46, but trailed the best-in-baseball Montreal Expos at 74-40 in the National League East.

Last week I asked Kasten to compare his pair of 14-postseason franchises in Atlanta and Los Angeles.

“The eras were different. Our game was really different. Our managers were different guys, they have very different styles. What’s interesting to me that I think is far is that team won in different ways over different years” Kasten said. “One year they had great pitching, another year they had great hitting, another year they had great defense. This team is the same. It changes its formula to win.

“We had an aggressive use of all forms of acquiring talent. That is to say we drafted, we traded, and we signed free agents. We did all that, we utilize the same tools here. We started out with a very low payroll, but by the time it was over we had a very high one because the guys got good and we kept them all together.”

When the Braves started their postseason run in 1991, they had young pitchers Tom Glavine and John Smoltz atop the rotation, and were joined by free agent signing Greg Maddux two years later. Those pitchers combined to win six Cy Young Awards for Atlanta and are all in the Hall of Fame. They started 32, 27, and 27 postseason games, respectively, for the Braves.

The Dodgers’ lone rotation constant was Clayton Kershaw, with his three Cy Young Awards, an MVP, and 30 postseason starts since this current postseason streak started in 2013. But Kershaw didn’t make a start in either of the last two postseasons, injured in 2024 and used sparingly in relief in 2025. During the Dodgers’ first 13 straight postseason runs, Walker Buehler (18 starts) and Rich Hill (11) are the only other pitchers to make at least 10 postseason starts, though Yoshinobu Yamamoto will join them with his first start this October.

“The game was just different. Best example is starting pitching. We had three guys [in Atlanta] who didn’t miss a start in 10 years, virtually, and here we can’t go two weeks without someone going on the injured list,” Kasten said. “It’s because of a difference in medical procedures and evaluations, and it’s also a difference in style. We had different bullpens in that you didn’t need any kind of depth in the bullpen. Also, we had deeper benches offensively.

“It’s a 30-year difference, but I think the 30 years that has really made a difference in how the game has changed.”

The Dodgers have adapted based on the available arms at the time in recent postseasons. After winning a championship in 2020, they ran out of healthy starting pitchers in 2021, 2022, and 2023. In 2024 they basically had two and a half starting pitchers in Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty, and a shaky Buehler coming off his second Tommy John surgery. They rode a dominant bullpen (and a resurgent Buehler) that October to a title.

In 2025 the Dodgers bullpen was much shakier, but they had an incredibly stable rotation with Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani. That quartet made every start last postseason and combined for a 2.55 ERA and 28.8-percent strikeout rate over 113 innings in 17 games, accounting for 68.5 percent of the team’s innings. That group was the closest the Dodgers had to a rotation like those old Braves teams.

“Those pitchers dominated the whole decade of the 1990s, right? We don’t have the same kind of style dominating this, so I don’t know how to compare them,” Kasten said. “I just think both teams had a fierce dedication to maximizing all the tools available at the time.”

Kasten in July was in Cooperstown for the induction of longtime Braves center fielder Andruw Jones into the Hall of Fame. Jones is the eighth member of those Braves teams from 1991-2005 in the Hall of Fame, along with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, manager Bobby Cox, and general manager John Schuerholz.

“One interesting thing is we had a GM and a manager [in Atlanta] that both went to the Hall of Fame,” Kasten said. “I think we have that here [in Los Angeles], too.”

The Braves won the division — first in the NL West, then the NL East after realignment — for all 14 of their postseason appearances. The Dodgers won the division in 12 of the last 13 years, and won 106 games in the year they didn’t win it. This year, the Dodgers are up 9 1/2 games on the Padres in the NL West and a magic number of three to claim yet another division title.

In the first three division titles for the Braves (1991-93) there was no Division Series, which meant winning the division meant straight into the NLCS. The current Dodgers era has included the wild card game plus the wild card series in addition to the Division Series. Atlanta from 1991-2005 played 125 games in their 14 postseasons, with nine trips to the NLCS and five pennants. The Dodgers in their first 13 postseasons of this run have played in 136 games, with eight NLCS trips and five pennants.

The Braves won one championship during their dominant stretch, and were eventually overshadowed by the New York Yankees, who won four titles during that same period. The Dodgers were in the same boat of “only one” championship just two years ago, before becoming the first MLB team to win back-to-back titles in a quarter century and shedding that proverbial weight.

Championships are the ultimate goal, but sustained excellence isn’t easy, and should be appreciated. For instance, from 1991-2005 while the Braves made the postseason 14 times in 14 tries, the Yankees with 11 playoff trips were the only other team to make the postseason more than six times.

In the current Dodgers stretch of 14 playoff years in a row, the closest teams to them are the Yankees, Braves, and Houston Astros, who if they each make it this year will have 10, 10, and nine postseason berths in the last 14 years.

In other words, even in their worst seasons during these stretches, the Braves and Dodgers always made the playoffs, while every other team had several seasons watching the postseason from home. Baseball is a daily grind for eight or nine months every year, from the start of spring training through the postseason. Consistent excellence should be rewarded.

“We did go to the World Series five times in one decade. That’s extraordinary, and I was unbelievably proud of that,” Kasten said of his time with the Braves. “Im unbelievably proud of the five times we’ve gone here. The 162 is just so much more difficult than people appreciate, and it remains a truism in baseball that our postseason in baseball is a crapshoot. I’m sorry if you don’t like it, that’s the truth.

“That I think it’s a good thing for all of us in baseball because whenever you say — like last year, I had to discuss this a lot when people said we were ruining baseball, what I’d point out was our system. We have the firewall, which is our postseason. No matter what you do, you still have to contend with short series, and short-term injuries. Anything can happen.”

How the Dodgers perform in October will determine their fate this postseason, just like every year. But the fact is, they already did much of the heavy lifting, earning yet another ticket to the dance, however it ends.

“You don’t appreciate the winning without a certain amount of losing. It’s the adrenaline you get from both extremes. It’s what makes our game special,” Kasten said. “There’s no question that there’s nothing like winning it all.

By one measure, these Los Angeles Dodgers stand shoulder to shoulder with the great Atlanta Braves teams of the 1990s.

The Dodgers clinched their 14th consecutive playoff berth Monday, Sept. 14 by defeating the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1. That victory ensured the Dodgers (91-59) would stretch their playoff streak to 14 years, tying the Braves for the longest consecutive postseason run in Major League Baseball history.

Thirteen of the Dodgers' postseason trips have come by winning the National League West; their lone wild-card berth in this stretch came in 2021, when they won 106 games, one fewer than the San Francisco Giants. The 1991-2005 Braves won 14 consecutive NL East titles — the 1994 strike-shortened season crowned no champion — under Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox.

Yet the Dodgers have three World Series titles — 2020, 2024 and 2025, and working on a fourth — while the Braves' lone championship came in 1995.

CINCINNATI –– The Dodgers were hoping Edwin Díaz would be back from the injured list by now.

Instead, continued poor performances have left his postseason roster chances in doubt.

A day after the team’s $69 million closer suffered his latest setback during a triple-A rehab assignment –– allowing five runs in ⅔ of an inning while giving up two hits, three walks and hitting one batter –– manager Dave Roberts made no guarantees about the three-time All-Star’s place on the club’s potential postseason roster, marking the latest disappointing twist in his disastrous debut season with the team.

“He needs to pitch better,” Roberts said, while announcing that Díaz will make at least one more minor-league appearance on Wednesday in his ongoing rehab stint. “It hasn’t been good.”

That became even more true a few hours later, when the Dodgers suffered their latest health-related surprise by putting hard-throwing reliever Edgardo Henriquez on the injured list with low back discomfort.

That move will rule Henriquez out for the rest of the regular season, since the minimum 15-day stint will extend past the team’s finale. And while the severity of his issue wasn’t immediately clear –– nor was his potential postseason availability –– it only adds to the headache the Dodgers are facing in the bullpen, where Henriquez had helped compensate for Díaz’s absence by posting a 2.85 ERA in 61 appearances.

For now, the Dodgers find themselves suddenly short on trustworthy right-handed relief depth. Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Brock Stewart represent their most experienced options, but each have battled injuries and inconsistency throughout the season.

Roki Sasaki could eventually provide another alternative. But the Dodgers are still hoping to use him as a starter, at least initially, when he returns from a blister that has forced him on the injured list.

In the meantime, getting something out of Díaz only figures to become more paramount.

“I think the world of him. And the [back of the] baseball card looks great,” Roberts said. “But it’s like, where we’re at, there’s got to be something for us to be able to hang our hat on. And he knows that.”

Díaz has made only 16 appearances with the Dodgers this year because of loose bodies in his elbow (which required a surgical procedure in April that sidelined him for three months) and a neck inflammation problem (which landed him back on the IL last month).

And even when he has pitched, his performances have been shockingly ineffective, with the 32-year-old suffering an 11.85 ERA and only seven successful saves in 11 attempts.

The Dodgers identified flaws in Díaz’s mechanics –– which likely arose as a result of his injuries –– that they hoped he’d be able to fix during his current rehab assignment.

Instead, he has battled more command problems, walking seven batters in his four appearances. He hasn’t limited damage, letting Sunday’s outing spiral out of control by plunking one batter with the bases loaded before walking another. 

And on Monday, Roberts gave an ominous answer when asked about his chances of making the postseason roster, despite the mounting issues the team is facing elsewhere in the bullpen.

“Yeah,” he said when asked if the marquee offseason signing could be left off the team. “I mean, we have to go with our best pitchers, as far as performance, talent, all that stuff. So my bet is that he will be [on it]. But again, there’s got to be some kind of evidence or something for us, again, to sort of bet on.”

As awful as yesterday’s game was—the torture only exacerbated by it being a brutally long game—there’s reason for optimism today. The Mariners are 5-3 in games after getting walked off. Maybe that doesn’t strike you as a sterling record, but it compares quite favorably to how other teams have fared after being walked off by the Mariners: 3-8 (as in, the Mariners have won 8). In addition, those five Mariner wins after getting walked off have included some of the best games of the year, including Hancock’s 7 innings and 8 Ks in Houston, Laz’s debut, and Saturday’s historic 19-1 win.

The Mariners attempt to bounce back today will require overcoming Reid Detmers, who, despite being an Angel, is having a phenomenal year. He’s in the top 20 in WAR, whether you’re going by FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, or Baseball Prospectus. He’s basically keeping all the gains he made from last year’s temporary conversion to a releiver. His wipeout pitch is his slider, which breaks so much that it’s practically an 86-mph curveball, except that he’s got a legit curve too that drops an impossible 68 inches. He’s one of the many recent positive developments for Anahiem that are, like, not ideal.

Lineups

• Kade Day! Be sure to read Kate’s profile of him from earlier today.
• Michael Arroyo gets rewarded for his multi-hit day Saturday and three walks yesterday with another start this evening.
• Kade Day and Cole In The Graphic Day on the same day. It’s like it’s my birthday.

Still with the Mike Trout.

Game Info

First pitch: 6:38 PDT
TV: Mariners TV
Radio: Old Reliable

Fun Fact

The Roberto Clemente Award nominees were announced today. Anaheim’s is shortstop Zach Neto. Combined with the A’s Zack Gelof, this is the first time I could find with multiple nominees names Zach/Zack. Seeing how mad people get about my self-indulgent inclusion of this as a fun fact is really just my way of deterimining how many people actually read the previews.

The Mariners’ nominee is Julio.

Of all the parts of the 2026 season that went sideways for the Mets, perhaps the most predictable was Luis Robert Jr. having another injury-filled season after being acquired from the White Sox in the offseason. 

And while Pete Alonso was treated as a conquering hero in his return to Citi Field on Monday with the Orioles, the injured Robert, not surprisingly, fell far under the radar. 

Robert’s brief Mets tenure included a carefully planned schedule designed to help him avoid the leg injuries that affected him the previous two seasons in Chicago, followed by a rocky first month of the regular season. 

A nearly three-month absence due to lumbar spine disc herniation followed. 

When he finally began to produce, putting up an OPS of 1.061 in an 18-game stretch in August, A.J. Ewing had already established himself as the everyday center fielder. 

Robert — on the IL again with Baltimore after being claimed off waivers in a move that saved the Mets $5 million — said there was regret with how his brief tenure in Queens worked out. 

“It was difficult,” Robert said through an interpreter about his time with the Mets, during which he appeared in just 58 games. “We had the talent to be a playoff team and get where we wanted to, but injuries and other stuff happened and it didn’t turn out that way.” 

Instead, the Mets sold at the Aug. 3 trade deadline — although they couldn’t find a taker for the high-priced and injury-prone Robert. 

His prolonged absence, coupled with a lack of production, helped lead to Ewing’s emergence in center, which the Mets hope will serve as a silver lining as they look to the future. 

“I wanted to be able to return from my injury sooner and then when I didn’t get traded [at the deadline],” Robert said, “I wanted to contribute as much as possible and stay healthy.’’ 

The Mets, though, had enough of the experiment and placed him on waivers Aug. 31. He was picked up by the Orioles. 

“What happened, happened,’’ Robert said of the move. “You can’t control that.” 

After just three games with Baltimore, Robert landed back on the IL with left hamstring discomfort. 

“It’s not what I wanted to happen, but I think I’ll be back,” Robert said.

The Mets got their biggest crowd at Citi Field on Monday since July 25 against the Dodgers for all the wrong reasons, as just about everyone in the stands was there for the same reason: to cheer Pete Alonso. 

Before the game and each of his plate appearances in Baltimore’s 2-1 win, Alonso received a raucous ovation. 

“It was awesome,’’ Alonso said. “It was much appreciated.’’ 

And while this day was almost certainly never going to be an easy one for the Mets, with Alonso’s name etched in the team’s history before he was allowed to depart as a free agent for Baltimore in the offseason, it was made more difficult by what’s happened since he left. 

The first baseman’s long-awaited return was marked not only by the numerous “Pete Alonso” chants and a sea of his old No. 20 Mets jerseys, but also a loud “Fire Stearns” chorus, as the masses made their displeasure regarding president of baseball operations David Stearns known as loudly as they have all year. 

Asked about the fanbase’s anger regarding the team letting him leave, Alonso said, “I take it as they appreciate what I brought to the field and the pride of giving everything I have every single night. The years of effort and performance.” 

What’s made Alonso’s absence even more glaring than perhaps the Mets had anticipated is the fact that as the ever-durable slugger made yet another start at first base — he’s been in the lineup for every game this season, as is usually the case — the Mets have gone through seven players to try to replace him thanks in part to Jorge Polanco’s injury-filled season. 

As much as the 35 homers and 100 RBIs have defined Alonso’s year, so have his 151 games played. And his .863 OPS dwarfed the .685 mark Mets first basemen have put up this season, tied for the third worst in the majors. 

No one on the Mets can say they haven’t missed a game. That reliability and production are just parts of Alonso’s game the team has missed in this lost season. 

Lindor called Alonso “one of the most beloved players to come through here.” 

But even the shortstop didn’t foresee the dropoff being so great without Alonso. 

“We thought the guys we acquired were gonna help us win games,’’ Lindor said. “We just haven’t performed our best.” 

And Alonso, for the most part, has. 

Despite going 0-for-3 with a walk on Monday, he still has some of the best numbers in the majors. And he made a bid for his 300th career homer with a long foul ball down the left field line in the third. 

“My job is to play, and I want to do whatever I can for my team to help win the game,’’ Alonso said. “For me, I love playing. I relish every opportunity I get to go out and put the uniform on. It’s a special opportunity to play baseball for a job. I take pride in it.” 

The Mets were ready to move on from Alonso, and he reiterated that once Baltimore made a strong offer early last offseason, he was interested. 

“I didn’t want to mess up a good thing,’’ Alonso said of why he was willing to act quickly when the Orioles came knocking with a five-year, $155 million contract offer. 

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As for the Mets and their willingness to let him go, Alonso said, “I respect their decision. The guys running the team, it’s their prerogative to do whatever they think is best. I respect it professionally. At the same time, I’m so stoked to be an Oriole. I feel very, very fortunate to be here. I feel very fortunate to play all those years I had with the Mets. Two things can be true.” 

He recalled his favorite memory as a Met as the homer in the 2024 wild-card series in Milwaukee, but acknowledged the rough times in Queens, as well. 

As for this year’s disappointing Mets team, Alonso said, “I know there’s so much talent over there. I’ve been part of teams with a lot of talent that didn’t get it done. … You can have all the talent and then injuries [happen] or things are not clicking. It’s baseball. You hate to say that, but it happens. You can’t necessarily predict things and have things work out in a perfect manner.” 

That’s putting it mildly. 

And while Alonso’s bat helped get the Orioles back into the wild-card race last month, they are three games out of the final spot with four teams to pass. 

But for a night, he had reason to look back fondly on his days with the Mets. 

“New York is always gonna feel like some kind of homecoming,’’ Alonso said. “New York will always be a special place for my family.”

San Diego Padres (81-68) at Colorado Rockies (55-94), September 14, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Coors Field – Denver, Colo.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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With a seven-game losing streak and having gone 5-20 in their last 25 games, the Rockies are struggling to close out the 2026 season on any kind of positive note. At 55-94, Colorado is also running out of time to avoid 100 losses as it would need to win eight of its remaining 13 games to do so.

After being swept by the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers on the road, the good news is that the Rockies start a 10-game homestand, their final one of the year, tonight. The bad news is that the first series is against the San Diego Padres, who have beaten the Rockies in eight out of nine matchups this season.

The Rockies lone win against San Diego came at Coors Field on April 22 when Colorado won 8-3. Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) earned the win after giving up one run on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk in 5.2 innings. Luckily for the Rockies, Sugano (12-9, 5.30 ERA) will be on the mound tonight in game one of the four-game series.

Sugano has struggled in his last seven games, going 1-5 with a 7.71 ERA. His last victory came against Arizona on Aug. 11 when he gave up two solo homers as the only runs in a six-inning performance.

Casey Mize (5-9, 3.70 ERA) will be on the mound for San Diego (81-68), which is currently holding onto the final Wild Card spot in the National League. Opposite of the Rockies, the Padres enter the series riding a seven-game winning streak, including back-t0-back sweeps of the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants.

Mize, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, was traded to San Diego from Detroit on Aug. 3. In his first seven games with the Padres, the righty has gone 1-3 with a 6.34 ERA.

First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: KHOW 630 AM and 103.5 HD2 KOA Sister Station for Rockies Radio Network (Denver Broncos play the Kansas City Chiefs in Monday Night Football on 850/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 AM (Spanish)

Padres SB Nation Site: Gaslamp Ball 

Lineups:

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