Category: MLB

You knew that the only season series the San Francisco Giants have won against the San Diego Padres this decade was in 2021 and you figure that the Giants are unlikely to sweep the Padres this weekend in San Francisco to make it season series win #2, but maybe you didn’t realize just how much of the Padres’ fate the Giants hold in their hands?

The split with the Diamondbacks a week and a half ago didn’t obliterate Arizona’s Wild Card aspirations, but it was just enough losing to keep them a half game behind San Diego with — for them — just 15 games remaining. The Giants were supposed to be an easy way for them to enter this brutal — for them — September (Philadelphia, Houston, Kansas City (43-45 since June 1st), Texas, Miami, the Yankees, then three in Coors Field before the final three games of the season versus the Padres. Why mention the Diamondbacks at all?

Well, look, the Giants are actually playing spoilers right now. This isn’t the wishcasting of the past decade (save 2021) when these losers rolled into the final weeks staggering disappointments to a fan base that thought they were getting a perennial contender after the championships in the early 2010s, this is some actual spoiler behavior. San Diego’s next 7 games are against our Giants (3) and then 4 in Colorado before hosting the Marlins and then playing the Dodgers in LA, and hosting the Diamondbacks to end the season. They just went 5-1 on a homestand where they took 2 out of 3 from the Yankees and swept the Nationals. They are 22-14 since August 1st. So, they are riding high.

But, the Giants have won 10 of their last 17 and have done damage to multiple playoff hopefuls: they’ve taken out the Reds, brushed back the Diamondbacks, confused Atlanta, humbled Pittsburgh, and nuked the St. Louis Cardinals from orbit. The San Diego Padres are just half a game ahead of the Diamondbacks for the final Wild Card spot and 4.5 games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates (who play the Cubs, Brewers, Royals, Cardinals, and Tigers). The Giants could be a doormat (the Padres have lost just 3 series at Oracle Park since the start of 2022, the last time being early 2024) helping San Diego improve its Wild Card standing, but there’s just enough excitement around these Giants to think that the spoiler energy might carry over to the weekend — despite two nationally televised games.

The first matchup in the series is pretty great. The Giants traded Robbie Ray to the Padres at the deadline and seem to have won that deal immediately. Ray was always going to be an improvement over the flotsam and jetsam that made up the Padres’ rotation before the deadline, but he has been remarkably worse for them than he was with the Giants. A 4.71 ERA & 6.06 FIP in 6 starts (28.2 IP) compared to 3.08 and 4.36 with the Giants. He’s struck out 20 and walked 20 in this span while allowed 5 HR and 15 ER. The sole win the Yankees had against San Diego last weekend was the Ray start where he allowed 5 ER in 2.1 IP.

Meanwhile, Anthony Molina has pitched quite a bit better than the “40-man roster castoff turned innings eater who will be DFA’d in the offseason” guy many people projected him to be when the Giants acquired him from Atlanta. He’s appeared in 3 games, the Giants have won all 3 games, and he has a 1.88 ERA (3.52 FIP) in 14.1 IP. Just 2 walks against 13 strikeouts. Very impressive and a really nice development down the stretch. You’d like to think a 24-year old with a 96 mph fastball and a curveball-slider combo with high whiff rates will be able to stick to the roster of a 90+-loss team that will need pitching heading into next season.

Then there are the performances from the dudes who will definitely be sticking around: Rafael Devers has a 272 wRC+ over these last 17 games, and he hasn’t even played in them all! His 9 home runs lead the team, of course, but also the entire sport — same with that wRC+. Bryce Eldridge has hit .365/.453/.596 over his last 64 PA (187 wRC+), Christian Koss .278/.328/.500 over his last 62 PA (130 wRC_), and Jonah Cox has been right there with both (.298/.365/.447 — 129 wRC+ and with 5 stolen bases).

Ahem. The Giants’ team walk rate has been 9.5% over this same span (21.6%).

So, between the hitting standouts and the pitching standouts — excited to see if Cesar Perdomo can continue to get outs against a tough lineup that has nonetheless struggled versus LHP this season (.691 OPS) — the Giants are setup to rain on the Padres’ parade a little bit. Their new owners, Kwanza Jones and Jose E. Feliciano, introduced themselves with a song made just for the occasion…

This is the exact sort of excitement and energy a cranky, losing team like the Giants ought to be able to frustrate at this time of the year if they’re to really create hope for a fanbase that isn’t sure when the team will be good again.

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Series Overview

Who: San Francisco Giants (62-85) vs. San Diego Padres (78-68)
Where: Oracle Park | San Francisco, California
When: Friday at 7:15pm PT, Saturday at 1:05pm PT, Sunday at 4:20pm PT
National broadcasts: Friday (Apple TV), Sunday (NBC/Peacock)

Projected starters
Friday: Anthony Molina (RHP 3-0, 2.79 ERA) vs. Robbie Ray (LHP 11-8, 3.39 ERA)
Saturday: Cesar Perdomo (LHP 0-0, 0.90 ERA) vs. Michael King (RHP 10-9, 3.00 ERA)
Sunday: Logan Webb (RHP 8-8, 4.10 ERA) vs. Nick Pivetta (RHP 2-2, 3.43 ERA)

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Players to watch

Padres

Nick Pivetta: He was the 14th-most valuable pitcher in MLB last season (3.7 fWAR) and the Padres got him on a song (3 years, $41 million), but he missed a massive chunk of this season with right elbow inflammation. He made just his 5th start of 2026 on Monday night, getting the win via 5 shutout innings, 2 hits, 0 walks, and just 2 strikeouts against the Nationals. His second start since returning from the IL will be at Oracle Park where he’s struggled. He has a career 5.40 ERA in 20 IP (admittedly, 7.1 of those came before 2020). He’s the Padres’ #2 starter, essentially, but with a wobbly Ray and a Pivetta still coming back from injury, you can see a fuzzy outline for how the Giants might take this series.

Jackson Merrill: This guy loves Oracle Park. In 16 games (68 PA), he’s slashing .379/.397/.606. That 1.003 OPS is his best result in any of the NL West Parks, and it’s really his best result in an opposing stadium if you set the threshold at 50 PA. He has higher OPSes in some other stadiums, but with fewer PA: Yankee Stadium — 1.556 OPS (9 PA), Fenway Park — 1.348 (23), loanDepot Park — 1.172 (37), Guaranteed Rate Field — 1.135 (13).

Fernando Tatis Jr. & Manny Machado: Tatis was bad the first two months of the season (.658 OPS through May), but since June 1st has slashed .295/.357/.528 (.886) with 19 homers and 18 stolen bases. If you move that “since” date to something more recent (August 1st), he remains the team’s best hitter. He (151 wRC+), Ty France (144 wRC+), Merrill (141), and catcher Luis Campusano (120) have led the charge. For his career (44 G 191 PA) he’s done quite well at Oracle Park (.860 OPS), better than his overall mark against the Giants (.839 OPS), but in the previous Oracle Park series this season, he was just 1-for-13 with 5 strikeouts. Will the bounce back go all the way with him to the Bay?

Meanwhile, the 33-year old Machado is having the worst season of his career (.224/.314/.414), but like Tatis Jr. he has managed to turn it around — to an extent. Since the All-Star break he’s slashing .263/.355/.409 with 7 homers and 6 doubles. Not a lot of power but he’s getting on base. He has a career .830 OPS against the Giants and an .806 OPS at Oracle Park; but, this season, it’s .274 vs. the Giants overall and and 1-for-12 at Oracle Park. Will he, like Tatis, bring his turnaround with him?

Giants

Logan Webb: It was a nice bounceback start for Webb against the Cardinals following the worst start of his career; but, the Padres have his number. He’s already had a 4-inning, 6-earned run disaster in San Francisco against them back in May after they’d tagged him for 3 runs in 6 innings in San Diego (though, that game wound up being the Giants’ first win of the season). He’s 5-6 with a 3.60 ERA for his career against the Padres (110 IP). He has still been quite a bit better at home (3.26 ERA) than the road (5.29 ERA), of course, but this looks (on paper, anyway), to be a tough matchup.

Drew Cavanaugh: Look, he’s not a starter, but a left-handed hitting catcher with a 10.5% walk rate (though, yes, a 28% strikeout rate) with average-y defense is a player who has likely played his way onto a major league roster. The Susac-Cavanaugh combo might be cemented by the rest of this month. The Padres’ pitching has been worse against left-handed pitching than right-handed, too (.710 OPS vs. .697), so this might be a good weekend for him.

The lefty relievers: Because the Padres have struggled more against left-handed pitching (94 wRC+ — 18th in MLB), I wonder if we’ll see Tugboat, Reiver Sanmartin, and Phil Abner early and often, at least in games 1 & 2 of the series.

Prediction time

The Giants will not sweep the Padres.

The 2025 season was a disaster on many levels for the Washington Nationals. However, one of the biggest long term blows came in the farm system. Jarlin Susana and Travis Sykora, the Nats top two pitching prospects both went down with major injuries. Sykora will not pitch this year due to Tommy John, but Jarlin Susana has returned from his Lat surgery.

Susana did not return to action until August and the Nats have been taking things very slowly. He has made six starts so far, but has only thrown 14 innings in total. So far we have seen the whole Jarlin Susana package, for better and worse. 

In his first outing back, he made a real statement with how loud his stuff was. His fastball was sitting 101-103 and he was uncorking nasty sliders as well. He showed how unique his right arm truly is. Even in this age of velocity, this kind of fire power is special.

Jarlin Susana struck out two batters in the first inning here in Hudson Valley.

He sat 101-103 mph, had one two-seamer at 103 mph w/ 20 inches of run.

Threw one sweeper at 89 mph w/ 15 inches of horizontal.

P.S. This gun is 8 years old and I’ve never gotten 103 mph before. pic.twitter.com/pTneH6Fp2w

— Geoff Pontes (@GeoffPontesBA) August 11, 2026

It is tough to read too much into stats after only 14 innings. However, Susana has an especially wacky statline. His ERA is unimpressive at 5.14, but the underlying numbers are tremendous. Susana has 28 strikeouts in those 14 frames, showing how overpowering he is. A 45.2 K% is video game type stuff.

His underlying numbers are also stellar. Susana’s FIP is 2.68 and his xFIP is 2.43. Those data points suggest the elevated ERA is misleading. A .391 BABIP also suggests some bad luck is at play here. Susana has been dominating even if the run prevention has not necessarily shown that.

The book on Susana is that he can be wild. That has been true for the most part. He has 7 walks in those 14 innings and has also hit 3 batters. However, his 11.3% walk rate is actually a step in the right direction. In 2025, that walk rate was up at 13.9%. If Susana can keep his walk rate around 10%, his chances of starting will increase.

At this point, that is the biggest question with the right hander, along with health. With stuff this good, he should have big league success. As we have seen with Yovanny Cruz and Luis Perales, huge velocity is not everything. However, Susana is even bigger and badder than both those guys. His fastball is harder, his slider is nastier and he is tougher to square up.

With the quality of his stuff, there are folks wondering if Susana should get a cup of coffee in the bullpen down the stretch. He will have to be added to the 40-man roster after this season anyways, so it could be worth giving him a look. A few extra appearances would help him build up as well.

The Nats are going to add Jarlin Susana to the 40-man roster this offseason, so why not promote him now? He throws 103, his slider has a 68% whiff rate, and he is the last piece of the Soto trade still waiting to debut. I make the case in the piece below.

Link below! pic.twitter.com/VWI0uqLrVa

— Wally (@WallyHuron) September 10, 2026

Susana has not pitched above AA, but the quality of his stuff is beyond questioning. He will get whiffs at the big league level. Skipping players over AAA is not unprecedented either. In fact, we have seen a couple recent examples of this with Kade Anderson and Josue De Paula.

With the season lost and Susana needing to join the 40-man roster anyways, there is not much to lose here. The bullpen can also use all the help it can get. Susana’s elite stuff would also generate plenty of buzz.

When Susana is on his game, he is jaw dropping to watch. For one, he is an absolutely massive human. Susana is officially listed at 6’6 235 pounds on the MILB website. However, in the Nationals media guide, he was listed at 6’7 283 pounds. If Susana were born in America, he would probably be a left tackle in the NFL. Seeing that sort of body dominating on the mound is mesmerizing. 

Jarlin Susana returns to the Double-A @HbgSenators pumping 100+ mph ⛽️

2.2 IP
1 H
0 R
1 BB
4 K

The @Nationals' No. 3 prospect has struck out 17 of the 35 batters he's faced this season. pic.twitter.com/nDyGY2inIB

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 27, 2026

Getting in as many innings as possible before next season should also be a goal for Susana. A few outings in the big leagues down the stretch could be part of that. The AA season ends this week, so maybe he could get called up after that.

I would also like to see Susana in the Arizona Fall League. That would give him more opportunities for innings. A selfish reason I want to see both of these is so I can actually see the metrics on his pitches. Those stuff grades must be totally out of control.

In his 14 innings this season, Jarlin Susana has looked like Jarlin Susana. If he can stay healthy and moderately improve his command, he can be a top of the rotation arm. Even if those strides do not happen, he has a long future in the bullpen. It is great to see him back on the mound. He is a true unicorn of a pitcher.

So this surprised me. The Jays DFAed Jesús Sánchez as the counter move to bringing up Rudy Martin.

Sánchez just didn’t work out. He was supposed to be the power bat we needed and then he hit 8 home runs in 99 games for us. And there was the defense, or lack there of. 3 official errors (leading the league) and a .975 fielding average (why does baseball insist on three significant digits?) in the outfield. League average is .987. All three of his errors were in left field, in right he hadn’t made an error, and we were told that he was more used to right field which had be wondering why not play him in right?

But the errors were just part of the story. Cause baseball has this silly idea that if a player makes too big of a mistake, we can’t call that an error. Ball goes off the glove, error. Player doesn’t get within 30 feet of a catchable ball, not an error.

Anyway, the last couple of weeks of the season will be Sánchezless. I don’t suppose he’ll be greatly missed.

The Mets are making a change in their bullpen ahead of their series in the Bronx, recalling Jack Weisenburger and sending Chris Devenski back to Triple-A Syracuse.

Weisenburger appeared in three games for the Mets in August, tossing four and a third innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking two and striking out four. In 18 games for Syracuse (13 starts), Weisenburger has a 6.68 ERA over 62 innings pitched, with 53 strikeouts to 34 walks and eight home runs allowed.

Devenski split time between the Mets and Pirates organizations this season, and in six appearances for the Mets was more or less fine until his last appearance against the Marlins, where he was responsible for five of the runs in the Mets’ wild 15-14 dub on Wednesday. The 35 year old veteran has a 13.50 ERA for the Mets this season, and an 11.74 ERA across both clubs in the majors.

With a little more than a week left in the Triple-A season and Syracuse two and a half games out of a playoff spot, Devenski will have plenty of opportunity for some innings before, potentially, rejoining the Mets if the need arises.

The second half of the Subway Series with the Yankees starts tonight at 7:05pm on PIX11 with Nolan McLean facing off against Carlos Rodón.

When our Social Media Manager, Lindsay Adams, asked after the Trade Deadline how we thought the team did, I could only say the following:

The team didn’t do enough. Hold onto your butts!

Granted, the team traded for Tarik Skubal, which would not have been my choice, even though he’s been fine since arriving in Los Angeles. I would have gone after Cincinnati Reds’ hurler Hunter Greene and maybe checked in with the New York Mets on someone like Sean Maenea as a low-risk, innings-eater acquisition from an organization going nowhere fast.

Greene is already hurt and likely down for next year, and Maenea hasn’t produced anything that Charlie Barnes or Landon Knack couldn’t already do, which goes to show that sometimes even the best of us get it hilariously wrong.

The Dodgers have had some of the worst outfield play in the majors this year.

They have a glut of quality outfield prospects. At the trade deadline, one would have expected the Dodgers to offload someone like Ryan Ward or Alex Call for a lottery prospect to free up room for someone like James Tibbs III, Josue De Paula, or Zach Erhard to get an extended look to see if they could either contribute and/or shake up what was a moribund offense.

Nothing happened. Life moved on. The corner outfield play remained bad.

When the rosters expanded on September 1, considering the status quo, it would not be out of the question to think that maybe an outfielder was being called up to essentially audition for a postseason role.

The Dodgers instead recalled Dalton Rushing from the injured list, a catcher who physically and literally could not play the position due to an arm injury, and infielder Alex Freeland, the first half of the ultimately demoted Freeland/Kim platoon. This platoon was both offensively disappointing and ultimately demoted once Tommy Edman came back from injury.

Rushing has since returned to the injured list as he can neither hit nor catch, and he has been replaced by Eliézer Alfonzo.

The Dodgers even optioned Alek Thomas, which meant no outfield platoons for anybody. It feels like the Dodgers got too cute for their own good, mostly as to their handling of Shohei Ohtani (which has been roundly criticized in an essay that looks prophetic at this point) but also as to their outfield core as a whole.

On that front alone, the team has since been bailed out (or vindicated, based on perspective) by the resurgence of Teoscar Hernández.

Turning back the clock to 2024

It’s a weird feeling to have part of the season turn on a single play. With reporting indicating that the Dodgers were going to call up Tibbs when the rosters expanded, I initially did not pay attention to this home run that Hernández hit in Detroit.

As Eric Stephen reported, Dave Roberts explained the move thusly:

“We didn’t bring up an outfielder. That’s part of the bet on Teo, that he can right the ship,” manager Dave Roberts said on Tuesday. “That’s kind of where we’re at.”

To his credit, Hernández delivered and credited his success to a return to his old mechanics that his health prevented with Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register:

“Last year, I used it before I had the injury. That’s the way I was hitting,” said Hernandez, who got off to an excellent start in 2025. “Then when I came back, I was doing the same thing but I was feeling it (in his injured leg) so that’s why I stopped. This year when I got my hamstring issue, I had to get rid of it because it was putting so much pressure on the hamstring.

In nine games since the end of the Detroit series, as of the start of play on September 11, Hernández has an otherworldly slash line of .500/.579/.750, going 16 for 32 with 3 2B, 3B, and an HR. He also has 12 RBI, 2 SB, and equal walks and strikeouts (6).

Against anyone other than the Reds, that triple would be a second home run.

Things have gone so well that Hernández credibly had an inside-the-park home run chance. With apologies to the Reds’ broadcast crew, it was not disbelief from Dodgers fans that Teoscar was gunned down at home; it was general annoyance about the send in the first place.

His hamstring has only finally healed, people; let’s not break the man before October even starts!

While there is a credible argument that the Dodgers could use help in the outfield, if not from Ehrhard or Tibbs III, then maybe Josue De Paula, who will be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Per Owen Riley and Maxfield Lane of Down on the Farm:

De Paula is too good for Double-A; he’s doing everything right with no red flags and very impressive contact metrics for a guy who is also blasting home runs at a 30+ per season pace. You won’t convince me that the Dodgers lineup looks better with Enrique Hernandez in it against LHP than it would with De Paula. This potential addition grades out top half, but not right at the top, for me, since it is only really relevant in the playoffs. Isolate to just October, though, and I do think De Paula has the potential to be a difference maker—a high-risk, high-reward play.

And then, as if the universe heard me asking this question, the Dodgers finally pulled the trigger on De Paula in the wee hours of September 10, although it is expected that De Paula will fill in for Ohtani as the designated hitter.

While De Paula gets settled in as the most anticipated prospect since Cody Bellinger in 2017, one might wonder, while Hernández is having a resurgence, how about the other part of the outfield tandem that has been struggling?

Checking in on the Tinkerbell Gambit

Let’s check in on how Kyle Tucker has fared since our last article. It’s been about three weeks since the Dodgers faithful channeled their inner Tinkerbell (à la the Phillies and Kyle Tucker in 2023) to will the struggling slugger out of his offensive tailspin in 2026.

As of the start of play on September 11:

• 18 games, 10 for 58, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 SB, 11 BB, 7 K, .172/.300/.310, 70 OPS+ for this stretch, 90 OPS+ on the year

How did it get worse?!? He was fine on the road and awful at home; the gambit seems to have backfired. It’s like ruining two perfectly good jackets.

Tucker’s bWAR had dipped into the negative for the year before having a multi-hit game and hitting a home run off a position player in the Wednesday finale. The slash before the finale was .132/.277/.208, with an 38 OPS+ for this period.

This season, Tucker has looked bad at the plate, to those who follow baseball and those who do not.

Anecdotally, when my non-sports watching sister and my causal fan mother both indepedently comment on separate occasions some version of “why is that man flailing like that?” when watching Tucker, something has gone awry.

There’s a deeper conversation that needs to be had here if there is no improvement before the regular season ends. I think this situation has gotten to the point where it’s not a question about playing time or being on the playoff roster. This situation is only exacerbated by Ohtani’s stint on the injured list, which shall not end until the last week of the regular season.

You may see one of the biggest single-season free-agent flops in baseball history, by definition.

I see a career inflection point that feels vaguely reminiscent of another now-former Dodger who was a nice story until he wasn’t: Joey Gallo. Gallo arrived after the inflection point, and the damage was done in the Bronx, but this comparison and analysis is one for another day.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Kansas City Royals fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Earlier this week, we asked you whether manager Matt Quatraro could be looking for another job this offseason:

I was actually quite gratified by the results. The majority of you, 53%, voted that Q shouldn’t and wouldn’t be fired. Only 8% of you thought he might be fired, whether he deserved it or not. That means a whopping 92% understand that he’s not going anywhere.

I have to say I’m a touch disappointed by the 38% who felt that Q wouldn’t be fired but should be. I understand that baseball managers are essentially hired to be fired. It’s really almost impossible to say whether they are good at their jobs, especially for us fans. Sure, we can point to decisions they make that we disagree with, but just because we disagree doesn’t make us right.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve screamed at my TV that such-and-such reliever should have been used instead, only to find out later that said reliever was unavailable for some reason that I hadn’t known when the decision was being made. And I’m certain that number is dwarfed by the times a player wasn’t used when I would have used them for reasons we still don’t know, but that made the choice obvious to the manager.

That isn’t to say that Matt Quatraro can’t be wrong, or that I haven’t disagreed with him or questioned his choices. I’m a baseball fan; of course I have. But I will say Matt Quatraro makes choices I can’t comprehend far less frequently than most MLB managers. Sure, it would make sense to replace him if you thought you could do better, but I just don’t know how you’d accomplish that feat. Even modern “legends” like Terry Francona and Bruce Bochy aren’t infallible. Given that, I’m content to keep the guy who at least doesn’t give me obvious concerns about the clubhouse.

And, just because I can’t help myself, let me address some of the biggest complaints about Q that I’ve seen over and over.

1. He isn’t fiery enough!
   • That kind of manager is dying out in the modern day; the only especially fiery manager I can think of is Aaron Boone, and no one likes him. If MLB players couldn’t self-motivate without a fiery manager, they wouldn’t have made it to MLB.
2. He makes the wrong calls with the bullpen!
   • There were zero right calls to make with this year’s bullpen. Daniel Lynch IV wasn’t even a good call. This is highlighted by the last two weeks in August, when, really, he couldn’t make a bad call. Mostly, a manager’s bullpen choices come down to whether they work or not, and that mostly comes down to the quality of arms that have been brought in for him to call on.
3. He always wants his lineup to go L-R-L-R!
   • I might dig into this a little this offseason, but anecdotally, he’s far from the only manager who prefers this. If you put a bunch of righties or lefties in a row, you’re making the opposing manager’s job much easier when he calls to his own bullpen.
4. He bats Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez too high in the lineup! (Also, he plays Isaac Collins too often!)
   • I will say the Vinnie and Salvy things have also driven me nuts, too. But also, to a degree, he can only build the lineups with the guys he’s got. I’m not sure how much more sense it makes to bat Nick Loftin or John Rave in the four-spot.

Having knocked down all of your strawmen, I hereby grant myself an exemption from arguing with you all in the comments. Have a great weekend!

These survey results are sponsored by FanDuel.

Blake Snell may be in the middle of a dominant run of form—quickly settling in after his return—but all eyes will be on Josue De Paula as the Dodgers’ top prospect makes his MLB debut this Friday against the Marlins. Chosen as the primary option to temporarily replace Shohei Ohtani as this team’s starting designated hitter, Josue De Paula—whose path to playing time has been blocked for quite a while—gets his opportunity, coming off a magnificent campaign in Double-A.

Looking back at recent seasons, various factors have made it so that the most exciting Dodger debuts have come from outside the organization. Seeing Tarik Skubal take the mound for the Dodgers for the first time in Wrigley was the most recent of the moments, but there’s always a special element when we’re talking about someone who has been developed in-house.

Even without Shohei Ohtani for basically a week’s worth of games, the Dodgers’ offense has been producing at a high level without their best hitter—inevitably, that takes some pressure off De Paula. In the end, it almost doesn’t matter what type of pressure is placed upon the youngster—the key to his success will be in how he handles the internal pressure of being asked to perform in the short term. De Paula, more than anyone else, is fully aware of the limited number of opportunities available to him, almost regardless of his skill set and what that means moving forward.

For now, though, the mindset for De Paula and the fans should be similar: to enjoy this rare moment as much as possible. The fact that the offense has been performing well—including coming off a 14-run output in a blowout win over the Reds—certainly affects how this call-up can be perceived. Lastly, if you want to read a bit more about the type of player De Paula is and what we should expect from him, Eric Stephen has covered that here.

Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Marlins
• Ballpark: loanDepot Park, Miami
• Start time: 4:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Just over a week after starting off a four-game square-off in Philadelphia, the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies are going to do it again — this time in Cobb County, as Friday’s matchup will serve as the series opener for this weekend’s three-game divisional showdown.

Chris Sale will be returning to the mound to get this thin going and this’ll be his sixth-consecutive start against a team in Postseason position. Over the five starts and across the 33 innings that Sale has pitched during this span, he’s put up an ERA of 2.18 and a FIP of 1.55 against some stiff competition. He’s certainly been coming up huge for the Braves here in the home stretch and Atlanta’s going to need him to really come up big once more if they’re going to get this series off to the best possible start.

What’s interesting about this go-around is that this’ll be the fourth time that the Braves have sent Sale out there to face the Phillies. So far, the results have been pretty good for Sale — the Phillies were only able to get one run off of him across the 13 innings he tossed against them in two starts in April and then Sale left last Thursday’s game with the lead after he only gave up two runs in six innings against Philadelphia. The Phillies will surely be hoping that the fourth time is the charm but with the way that Sale has been locked in lately, it would still be a bit of a shock if this was the moment where the wheels came off.

As far as individual matchups go, the ones to keep an eye on would probably be Sale vs. Alec Bohm (.333 average and .821 OPS with one homer in 21 at-bats), Trea Turner (.318 average, .830 OPS in 22 at-bats) and of course, Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber has only hit .227 against Sale but he’s sporting an .883 OPS and that’s because Schwarber has homered twice off of Sale so far. In fact, Schwarber has been on a bit of a binge lately as he’s homered in four of his past six games — three of those came against the Braves, mind you. It’s no secret that he’ll be swinging for the fences each time he’s up so hopefully Sale will figure out a way to keep him in the park on this particular night.

Meanwhile, the Phillies will be countering with Aaron Nola and let me tell you, it has brought me no pleasure to see the renaissance run that this guy has been on recently. Starting with his outing on July 28, Nola has made eight starts, thrown 46.2 innings and produced an ERA of 2.31 with a FIP of 3.93. The last time he gave up more than two runs in an outing was August 3 against the Nationals and they could only muster up three runs in six innings against the guy.

He certainly made life hard for the Braves last week, as he tossed seven innings and only gave up one run in a game that the Braves had to rally late (after he had exited the game) in order to win. Hopefully they’ll be able to do some real damage against Nola before he leaves this game. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see something similar to what happened when Nola last pitched at Truist Park, which is when Atlanta tagged him for six runs across 4.2 innings back on April 26 (which, coincidentally, was the last time Sale saw the Phillies here in Cobb County). The adjustments that Nola has made since August could make that scenario unlikely but it’s baseball and the Braves have been known to do some cool stuff in Truist Park so who knows what’s going to happen?

Either way, it’s abundantly clear that the Braves have an opportunity to start lunging for the finish line as far as the NL East race is concerned. Both teams lost their midweek series to American League divisional leaders so the four-game lead that the Braves left Philadelphia with has remained the same. The pressure is on the Phillies to start getting results, since the Braves simply have to maintain their pace in order to throw another blue flag up there on the light tower outside of right-center field. With that being said, there’s no need for the Braves to “simply maintain” when they can just go out there and grab it for themselves, which a win tonight (and a series win in general) would go a long way for Atlanta when it comes to accomplishing that goal.

Whatever challenges Atlanta may face from Aaron Nola, they’ll have Chris Sale going and hopefully he’ll be able to do the trick once again against the Phillies. A low-scoring, nervy affair is definitely possible but hopefully the home advantage will be enough to carry the Braves to victory on this particular night. We’ll see what happens, folks!

Game Info

Game Time: Friday, September 11, 7:15 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

Watch: BravesVision

Radio/Audio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

On April 25, the Red Sox were 10-17, tied with the Royals for the second-worst record in the American League. Boston management shocked the baseball world by firing popular championship-winning manager Alex Cora and replacing him with minor league manager Chad Tracy.

Since then, the Red Sox have gone 70-50, the second-best team in the AL over that time. They have climbed back into the pennant race, sitting comfortably in the #2 Wild Card spot. It has been one of the best turnaround in recent history, and Tracy will likely get support for Manager of the Year.

Kansas City Royals (65-82) vs. Boston Red Sox (80-67) at Fenway Park, Boston, MA

Royals: 4.28 runs scored/game (22nd in MLB), 4.88 runs allowed/game (25th)

Red Sox: 4.44 runs scored/game (17th), 3.88 runs allowed/game (5th)

The Red Sox have been hit by injuries to Triston Casas, Willson Contreras, Curtis Mead, and Masataka Yoshida, and Roman Anthony and Trevor Story only recently returned to action. Jarred Duran has had a rough season – he has the third-worst wRC+ of qualified hitters, and Adley Rustchman has hit just .188 since being acquired from the Orioles. But the Red Sox have gotten offense from some surprising places like utility players Mickey Gasper, Nick Sogard, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Andruw Monasterio.

Who’s hot:

• Trevor Story is hitting .341 (14-for-41) with five doubles in ten games since coming off the Injured List.
• Carter Jensen won American League Player of the Week and is batting .292/.434/.708 with seven home runs and 16 walks in his last 19 games.

Who’s not:

• Caleb Durbin has just one extra base hit in his last 20 games and is hitting .188/.325/.203 over that time.
• Kyle Isbel is hitting .156/.208/.178 in his last 14 games.

Interesting matchups

• Wilyer Abreu is a career .300 hitter (3-for-10) with a home run and two walks against Seth Lugo
• Salvador Perez struggles against Sonny Gray, hitting .167/.189/.222 in 37 career plate appearances with just two extra base hits and no walks.

• Seth Lugo has a 6.19 ERA in 14 road starts this year.
• Sonny Gray is 10-2 with a 1.74 ERA in 14 career starts against the Royals.
• Randy Dobnak has a 2.54 ERA since joining the Royals, the 7th-lowest ERA in the American League since the start of July.
• Lefties have a wOBA of .334 against Ranger Suarez, the fifth-highest against any left-handed starting pitcher.
• Noah Cameron has 1.7 rWAR since July 24, the fifth-most among any starting pitcher.
• Payton Tolle is second among all rookie pitchers with 3.7 rWAR

The Red Sox have the second-fewest blown saves in baseball and their 3.14 bullpen ERA is second-best. Former Royals closer Aroldis Chapman has a 32.3 percent strikeout rate, ninth-highest among relievers. Erik Miller, acquired mid-season from the Giants, is fifth at 35.1 percent, but his 14 percent walk rate is fifth-highest. Brayan Bello has a 2.03 ERA in 14 games since moving to the bullpen.

The Dodgers are on the cusp of qualifying for the postseason tournament, where they will attempt to successfully defend their championship for the second year in a row. Shocking, I know.

It would have been a far more unexpected story had the Dodgers somehow bungled their way to an early trip to Cancun. But imagine spending that much money just to be terrible?

Picking a preferred opponent is some bad baseball juju. The Dodgers will ultimately need to best all comers if they wish to pull off the first threepeat in National League history. The Dodgers likely have the mindset of bring it on, without caring who they play.

The drama in the National League is largely limited to what seed the Dodgers will end up with and who ends up with the sixth seed in the National League between the perpetually disappointing San Diego Padres and the scrappy, underfunded Arizona Diamondbacks.

If pressed, I would predict that the Diamondbacks prevail with the sixth seed, in defiance of what ESPN predicts, because the Diamondbacks lack a history of being perpetually disappointing when yoked with the burden of expectations.

While the Miami Marlins are technically alive in this chase, in the same way that someone is only mostly dead after an unfortunate encounter with “The Machine” in The Princess Bride, the Dodgers can effectively end the Fishes’ season in Miami.

The Dodgers in Miami in September; nothing interesting has ever happened with that quirk of the schedule.

SB Nation asked its readership who the Dodgers would prefer to face to start the tournament, as the team largely controls its own destiny through its creampuff finale of a schedule. We asked whether you preferred the Dodgers as the top seed or the second seed.

The readership overwhelmingly agreed with this essay: ride the second seed to glory.

If the Dodgers end up with the NL’s top seed, they would face the winner of the current projected matchup between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.

Considering how the Cubs play in 2026, with likely Most Valuable Player Pete Crow-Armstrong, as either world beaters or clowns who have somehow never touched a baseball before, and the city of Philadelphia salivating over avenging Kerkering’s Blunder from last year, which requires another look, I have just one thing to say:

Have fun dealing with that portion of the bracket, Milwaukee!

Personally, Brewers/Cubs 2: Electric Boogaloo would pop like the sequel everyone in Cream City needed and likely have the same result, which I am absolutely fine with. However, based on the events of the past week, an interesting wrinkle has become possible, but for right now, we will operate under the current projection.

Analyzing chaos is for another day.

I have predicted all year that the Dodgers will end up with the NL’s second seed, and I see no reason to change this view now. In this scenario, the Dodgers would face the winner of the Atlanta Braves/Arizona Diamondbacks/San Diego Padres portion of the bracket.

The drama just writes itself. Can the Dodgers avenge 2021? Can the Diamondbacks shock the world again as they did in 2023? Does the baseball world really need Dodgers/Padres 4: The Revenge?!?

In order, hopefully: Yes; I hope not; And, heavens no!

Let the Dodgers rest up and deal with a likely exhausted portion of the bracket before a return trip to the NLCS, as that path seems like the best route for success.

The worst-case scenario is if the Dodgers have to deal with either the Diamondbacks/Padres for a three-game series in Los Angeles, only to turn around and have to fly to Atlanta, assuming the Diamondbacks/Padres are vanquished, which is no guarantee.

I knew the 2025 Cincinnati Reds, and neither of these squads will lay down like last year’s Reds.

Unless they do, because baseball. Time will tell either way.

This post is sponsored by FanDuel.

“Not high.”

The night Shohei Ohtani’s injury problems first became prevalent this season, that was how Dodgers manager Dave Roberts described his initial concern level with the two-way star.

Months later, of course, the circumstances have ominously flipped.

Ohtani is still hurt. He has been shut down as a pitcher. And on Friday, in what felt like a last-ditch effort to improve his health before the playoffs, he was placed on the injured list for his first time with the Dodgers.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Roberts said. “I think that we tried to kick the can as much as we could.”

Dodgers Mismanagement

Indeed, the saga dates all the way back to a mid-June series in Pittsburgh; when, a night after making a two-way start, Ohtani was pulled from the team’s subsequent game early with swelling in his left knee.

At every step along the way since then, there has been a common pattern of decisions that simply haven’t panned out.

All season, the Dodgers and Ohtani routinely downplayed concern surrounding his health status. In hindsight, they too often seemed too willing to let him push through his ailments, even as he pursued both hitting and pitching duties as an everyday fixture in the lineup.

Granted, at most points, there were few obvious answers about what to do in a given moment. And on several occasions, the club did dial down the four-time MVP’s workload amid his ongoing left knee and, later, right arm issues.

But the team certainly didn’t think it was barreling toward this place either –– where Ohtani is going on the IL after looking physically diminished at the plate in recent weeks, and still feeling pain even after multiple days out of the starting lineup.

“Anyone can do [look back], and say, ‘What could you have done better or different?’ Absolutely,” manager Dave Roberts conceded this week. “That’s something going forward we’re gonna look at. But it’s certainly not a blame game thing.”

Blame game or not, however, Ohtani’s IL stint does bring about a moment of reflection.

Thus, the California Post retraced the timeline of his injury problems this season, to recount exactly how his health drifted so far off course that it is now threatening to impact his play the rest of the year.

June 10: After 10 dominant outings to begin his season as a pitcher (6-2 record, 0.74 ERA), Ohtani suffered his first relative clunker on the mound in Pittsburgh. He gave up four runs (three earned) in 6 ⅔ innings. He also quietly dealt with flaws in his pitching mechanics, with too much force being absorbed by his front landing leg. He would later point to that as the initial cause of his knee injury. But in the moment, there was no sign anything was amiss with his health.

June 11: That would change the next night, when for the fifth time this season Ohtani DH’d the day immediately after a pitching start.

In the sixth inning, Ohtani reported swelling in the back of his knee to the training staff. In a move Roberts later described as “proactive,” the team pulled him from the game then and there. 

The Dodgers rested Ohtani the following day, but never seriously seemed to consider the IL, after medical imaging produced “no findings” of further damage. Instead, once the swelling in Ohtani’s knee went down, and the player reported to the team that he felt “great,” they reinserted him in the lineup two games later –– when, in his first at-bat back, he hit a leadoff home run.

Less than a week later, he wouldn’t even have his next pitching start delayed.

“I think I can continue playing … without any uncertainty,” Ohtani said in Japanese on June 12. “I think I should be able to recover [as a pitcher] adequately while making adjustments.”

June 17: Pitching for the first time since his knee injury, Ohtani struggled in a six-inning, four-run start against the Rays. Afterward, he acknowledged that he still wasn’t 100%, while Roberts echoed that his knee problem wasn’t “completely behind us.”

Yet, the right-hander threw 91 pitches in the outing, despite also battling a blister that left his fingers bloodied. And though he didn’t start the game as DH, he came off the bench to pinch-hit. 

“Things like this happen over the course of a season,” Ohtani said in Japanese of his ailments after the victory, in an effort to calm external worries. “I think it was big to be able to win under those conditions.”

July 3: Ohtani made what would turn out to be his final appearance on the mound this season in a six-inning, three-run, nine-strikeout start against the San Diego Padres –– looking almost back to his normal self before, in the seventh inning, he was suddenly pinch-hit for after feeling tightness in his right biceps.

That prompted the biggest revelation of the night, with Ohtani saying afterward he had quietly dealt with a similar problem about a month prior.

Roberts later conceded he hadn’t even been aware of that episode, though insisted that was only because it “was so benign.” This time, both Ohtani and the team expected that to be the case again.

July 10: The first sign Ohtani’s situation was worse than he and the team had let on came in an unexpected club announcement a few days before the All-Star Game.

The Dodgers said Ohtani would be skipping his final pitching start of the first half, as well as all Midsummer Classic festivities. Instead, he was set to get treatment on his knee during the break, in the form of a lubricant injection that was hoped to resolve the issue.

Still, the Dodgers did not put Ohtani on the IL, maintaining a belief his injuries only impacted his pitching. Initially, their hope was even for him to resume his two-way role once the second half of the season began.

“We all know with where we’re at, who he is as a player, if there’s opportunities to be extra cautious and mindful, it’s just prudent,” Roberts said, before later insisting: “Nothing is gonna come in front of being healthy for October.”

July 22: For the first time since his knee injection, Ohtani attempted a pitching ramp-up with a 31-throw bullpen session in Philadelphia. It would be short-lived.

Though the immediate reports on his bullpen were positive, Ohtani experienced what Roberts said was “regression” with his knee in the days that followed. It shut him down from throwing again. It forced the Dodgers to re-evaluate his pitching plan.

“We’re not going to move forward until he feels 100% confident, we feel 100% confident that we should do it,” Roberts said. “So right now we didn’t do it.”

July 28: Amid his repeated pitching setbacks, Ohtani also stumbled into a midseason slump at the plate. One potential reason, as he revealed in late July, was that, in addition to his knee injury, his right arm still didn’t feel right.

In the same press scrum where Ohtani made that revelation, he also indicated his pain level with both issues might not get back to zero before the end of the season.

It was all part of a growing trend of developments that made an IL stint feel like more of a possibility. 

But instead, after a day off on July 30, Ohtani went on to start at DH in each of the team’s next 30 games.

August 28: Just as Ohtani’s hitting rebounded in the early weeks of August, the Dodgers decided to let him try ramping up once more as a pitcher again. At first, it went OK, with Ohtani reporting no issues following a couple bullpen sessions. But then, discomfort in both his knee and arm returned after a live session against hitters on Aug. 28. It continued to linger in a subsequent bullpen on Aug. 28.

At that point, the Dodgers scratched Ohtani from his tentatively scheduled return to the mound two days later.

They halted his throwing activities for the third different time this year.

“His value offensively is hugely important,” Roberts said. “So if throwing potentially cuts into that, that’s not worth the squeeze.”

The only problem: Ohtani’s swing had already seemingly been affected by that point, with the slugger mired in the early stages of what would become a homer-less 6-for-49 slump.

Yet, the team still wasn’t planning to pull the plug on Ohtani’s pitching, despite him running out of time to get fully stretched out. As president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on the first day of September: “I think anything he can do is very additive and very helpful.”

Sept. 2: The very next night, Ohtani reached the tipping point, when he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts while showing visible pain with his arm. That finally forced the Dodgers to give him his first extended break of the season, holding him out of their next four games.

Ohtani returned to action Monday only for his arm pain to persist in an 0-for-3 showing. However, Ohtani evidently didn’t alert the team to his latest discomfort until the following evening, according to Roberts, after he’d been removed from the lineup again in a form of load management.

Thus, at long last, the Dodgers finally opted to place Ohtani on the IL –– making one last delayed decision with which even Roberts voiced some regret.

Now, Ohtani’s pitching plans are officially off. And he’s likely to enter the playoffs feeling less than 100% physically at the plate.

It’s not the absolute worst-case scenario for the Dodgers, who remain hopeful Ohtani will be a productive member of their lineup for their World Series three-peat push. There’s no guarantee that, regardless of what they did, he would find himself back at full strength by now, either.

Still, his current circumstances couldn’t be much further from ideal.

In a year the Dodgers and Ohtani thought they could manage his injuries and preserve his everyday two-way role, they instead might’ve pushed too hard –– and left too little time –– for him to feel right by the time October begins.

“It’s, I guess, under the thing of, ‘you don’t know until you know,’ and it’s important to kind of learn from experiences,” Roberts said this week while reflecting back on the team’s handling of Ohtani this season. “I think it’s good for all of us to kind of appreciate that he’s not supernatural, as much as we think he might be at times.”

A deadly 2020 crash involving Pirates star Oneil Cruz is receiving fresh scrutiny.

Cruz, a 21-year-old prospect at the time, allegedly rear-ended a motorcycle at high speed on a Dominican Republic highway, killing all three riders in an incident that independent outlet ProPublica reports was solved by paying off victims’ families with the help of a fixer.

Police, in a press release, claimed Cruz, the recipient of a $950,000 MLB contract from the Dodgers as a 16-year-old, had “consumed alcoholic beverages prior” to the early-morning crash that occurred on a poorly lit four-lane highway on the Dominican Republic’s southern coast — well beyond the country’s COVID-19 imposed curfew.”

Prosecutors opened an investigation and sought to hold Cruz in “preventive detention” following the Sept. 21, 2020 deaths of Yohan Saba Mercado, 20, Deby Beato Charles, 20, and Daniela Perez Garcia, 19.

According to ProPrublica, Santo Caraballo, a local businessman with ties to former Red Sox star David Ortiz, “oversaw a campaign to persuade the families of the three victims to accept cash in return for signing documents withdrawing all ‘penal, civil or judicial’ claims against Cruz.”

Caraballo, who counted a legal services firm among his businesses, organized a legal team and began reaching out to victims’ families.

Mercado’s mother told ProPublica that on the day of the funeral, “after all the mourners left the house, a driver showed up holding out a phone. On the line was Cruz’s mother offering condolences — and wanting to negotiate.”

The total paid out to the families was $66,000, per the outlet.

Garcia’s mother said she was tricked into signing a deal, partially by her son, who was working with Caraballo.

“Rich people, especially baseball players, like to pay for dead people with money,” she said. “I am poor, but I have honor.”

The Pirates, who acquired Cruz in a 2017 trade, told ProPublica the now 27-year-old outfielder “addressed this matter more than six years ago based on the information available and the outcome of the legal proceedings,” while his lawyer noted the Dominican court “issued an order of dismissal based on the findings, a legally binding decision that was a lawful resolution of this matter.”

Cruz made it to the big leagues in 2021, playing a pair of games for Pittsburgh, becoming a full-time major leaguer in the second half of 2022.

At 6-foot-7, he led the National League with 38 steals in 2025 and has a penchant for hitting gargantuan home runs.

He is playing this season on one-year, $3.3 million deal with two years of team control ahead of him before he’s eligible for free agency.

Garrett Crochet continues to progress, still not ready to get in ‘game mindset' originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Garrett Crochet is aware that laying out some premature expectations can occasionally backfire.

“Whatever I say to you guys [reporters] and I don’t do it, and I look like a dumbass,” Crochet said from the dugout at Fenway Park on Friday. “And I’ve done that a couple of times.”

With that understanding, Crochet laid out the latest in his efforts to return to the mound, as he spoke after throwing a bullpen session where he increased his intensity and threw some sweepers for the first time in this ramp-up period.

Crochet hasn’t pitched in a game since late April, but his 25-pitch session on Friday represented a step forward. Still, Crochet answered cautiously when asked if he believes it’s realistic for him to be able to pitch in a game before the postseason begins.

“I’m not sure,” Crochet said. “Trending well right now. I have a lot more stuff to tick off. I mean this is my first time throwing sweepers in a bullpen, so it’d be a pretty big leap to put myself in a game mindset right now.”

The next step for Crochet will be another bullpen session next week, likely Tuesday, according to Chad Tracy. The Red Sox’ interim manager said that the team continues to proceed with the intention of not causing any long-term damage for a potential short-term gain.

“I know there’s a lot of excitement seeing him get on a mound, especially on the game mound. The game mound pushes intensity,” Tracy said. “We’re still in check one box at a time, not, ‘Oh, he threw off a mound, let’s rush Garrett back.’ We’re very mindful of what he can bring and also very mindful of what he means for the future. So as long we keep taking steps forward, we’re in a good spot. He took another one today, and we’ll see how he does over the course of next week as well.”

Garrett Crochet: pic.twitter.com/ZDQz5Au8cz

— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) September 11, 2026

Crochet did say that his shoulder feels “really good” and that he’s now acclimating the rest of his body to the workload of pitching. The 27-year-old also indicated that he’s managing his own expectations as much as anything as he navigates toward a return to the field.

“Going back to that last time I threw the live [BP], I thought I was close, and it’s pretty depressing to see that that didn’t work out and then being fully shut down for a month,” Crochet siad. “I’m just excited to be throwing again, excited that there’s even potential for me to get back out there again. And watching what this team’s done all year long, kind of kicking myself because I just want to contribute. Last year, we felt like we had a good squad, and this year they’re taking another step forward, and I hate that I can’t be a part of it. But it’s been a joy to watch. I’m really proud of those guys, but at the same time, want to be a part of what they’ve put together.”

The Yankees host the Mets in the Bronx on Friday, Sept. 11 on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that rocked New York City.

The two New York teams will partake in pregame ceremonies honoring the NYPD and FDNY, with players from the 2001 Yankees on hand as well.

Each team played a major role in lifting New York – and America – in the wake of the attacks. On Sept. 21, 2001, the Mets hosted the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium and future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza hit a dramatic home run that lifted his team to victory in the first game played in New York after 9/11.

The Yankees reached the 2001 World Series, regarded as one of the best in history, and President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch before Game 3, but the team ultimately lost in seven games to the Arizona Diamonndbacks.

"It’s going to be special," Yankees captain Aaron Judge said of Friday's game, as the team visited the 9/11 Monument in Manhattan. "It’s going to be a big day. It’s something that impacted not only a lot of New Yorkers, but the whole world and our whole country."

Here's what to know for Friday at Yankee Stadium:

What time are 9/11 pregame ceremonies at Yankee Stadium?

Fans are asked to be in their seats at 6:30 p.m. for the start of the pregame ceremonies.

Who is throwing first pitch?

The ceremonial first pitches will be thrown by Brielle Saracini, and her husband, Sean McGuire.

Saracini’s father, Victor, was the captain of United Flight 175, which was directed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, where McGuire’s father, Patrick, was working on the 84th floor.

Both Brielle and Sean were 10 years old when they lost their fathers, and the couple met two years later at Camp Better Days, which was established to provide support for children who lost a parent in the tragedy. Brielle and Sean were married on Sept. 9, 2017.

Who will be honored at Yankees vs Mets game on 9/11?

Among those being recognized will be members of the NYPD, FDNY, Port Authority Police Department, Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Tuesday’s Promise (formerly known as Tuesday’s Children).

How Yankees will commemorate 9/11 anniversary

Players from the Yankees' 2001 team are scheduled to participate in pregame ceremonies. Current Yankees players will place a wreath beside the 9/11 monument in Monument Park in the afternoon.

Who will sing the national anthem?

The national anthem will be sung by opera tenor James Valenti.

Pregame performances

"God Bless the USA" will be performed by Lee Greenwood, the Grammy-winning country music artist. FDNY Lieutenant William Arce will sing “God Bless America” in the middle of the seventh inning.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yankees vs Mets on 9/11 anniversary: Emotional ceremonies and first pitch

At this point of the season, there is not a whole lot for Nationals fans to be excited about. The team we saw for the first few months of the season is now a distant memory. However, fans do get something to be fired up about once every fifth day when Cade Cavalli is on the mound.

A lot of what made the Nats fun has vanished, but Cavalli is just getting better and better. He is just building up steam as the season goes along, which is so comforting to see. Many of the Nats best players tend to run out of steam when August comes around, but Cavalli is only improving.

Since the All-Star break, Cavalli is 7-1 with a 1.95 ERA in 10 starts. He has struck out 75 hitters and only walked 14 in those 60 innings. This has been by far the best thing to happen to the Nats in the last couple months. Cade Cavalli is turning the corner and becoming an ace.

Cade Cavalli over his last 11 starts:

66 IP
2.05 ERA
80 K : 15 BB

What a breakout it has been for him! pic.twitter.com/eWBPT93Zkj

— Andrew DeCeglie (@Andrew_FBB) September 6, 2026

With the rest of the pitching staff being subpar, it makes you appreciate Cavalli even more. It is so obvious that he has the goods. The ball just jumps out of his hand differently. It is not just the velocity though. The feel for his breaking stuff and the command also stand out. He just makes hitters uncomfortable and stressed in a way nobody else on this staff can.

Despite averaging around 97 MPH, Cavalli’s breaking balls are the true difference makers. Heading into the season, we knew about his curveball. Even last year, it had a unique combination of velocity and true curveball movement. However, he added a sweeper this offseason and as he has gotten more comfortable with the pitch, it has taken his game to the next level.

At 86.4 MPH, his sweeper is nearly 3 ticks harder than the average one. It is a unique pitch, as it gets depth like a curveball but also moves away from hitters. The results have been devastating. Batters are hitting just .108 against the sweeper with a 35.9% whiff rate. It is a similar story with his curveball which has a .193 average against and a 38.9% whiff rate.

Simon Mathews has come under fire this year, and some of the criticism is deserved. However, he has done a really nice job with Cavalli. He is getting better as the year is going on and picking up new tricks. These power curves and sweepers have had a lot of success league wide this season and Cavalli is right in the middle of that movement.

He is throwing more of these breaking balls as the season goes on and throwing them harder. In August, the curve averaged 87.5 MPH and the sweeper was 87.2. We saw those weapons on full display in his dominant start against the Cubs, the best offense in the league. They just had no answers for his power stuff.

8 innings, 1 hit (stupid blooper), 10 strikeouts

Cade Cavalli has the potential to be a top 5 Nats pitcher of all time pic.twitter.com/3FBrE32uRy

— Paul Cubbage (@PaulCubbage23) August 13, 2026

With these changes, along with improved command, Cavalli is now a bonafide stud. Even when he struggles early in games like he did in LA, you feel confident that he will find a way to right the ship. His first inning that start was a 30 pitch, 2 run disaster. However, he still found a way to go 6 innings with 8 strikeouts, only allowing those two runs.

Cavalli has also become a true workhorse down the stretch. He has gone at least 6 innings in 12 of his last 14 starts. It would have been 13 if he did not get hit in the leg by a comebacker in his outing against the Marlins.

With this dominant run, Cavalli’s season stats are very impressive. For the year, he is 12-5 with a 3.12 ERA in 158.2 innings with 185 strikeouts. As we close out this season, Cavalli has a couple milestones he is closing in on. With a few more strong outings, he should reach 200 strikeouts and around 175 innings. 

That is such an impressive season for a player in his first full big league campaign. With all the injury troubles he has had, the durability might be the most impressive part. Cavalli is not only handling a full workload, he is getting better as he logs more innings. Even as this season has gone off the rails, the development of Cavalli has been beautiful to watch.

He has also allowed 3 or fewer runs in 28 of his 30 starts this season. That is the best mark in the whole league. Part of that is due to him having a shorter leash earlier in the season. However, it is also a testament to the pure dominance he has shown lately.

cade cavalli appreciation post pic.twitter.com/0ct7DOwaWS

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 6, 2026

Tonight, Cavalli faces the Angels and looks to help the Nats snap a 7 game losing streak. It has been a dark 6 weeks for this team, but Cavalli has proven to be a ray of sunshine. Cade Day is always must see TV, even as the rest of the team struggles mightily. We have not had a pitcher like this since Max Scherzer. Now that we do, I love seeing what a true top of the rotation guy looks like.