Category: MLB

Shohei Ohtani has taken another step forward in his recovery from right arm and left knee injuries.

On Saturday afternoon, the two-way star did base-running drills on the field during Dodgers batting practice — and began taking simulated at-bats against the team’s Trajekt Arc pitching machine behind the scenes in the clubhouse batting cages.

The former was the more visible development, marking the first time Ohtani had been seen on the field performing physical activities since he went on the injured list at the end of last week’s homestand.

His work in the hitting cages, however, was a more telling sign of how quickly he might be able to return to action, representing a significant step in what has thus far been a setback-free ramp-up process.

At the start of the week, Ohtani resumed hitting activities with incremental steps. First, he hit off a tee. Then, he took soft tosses from coaches. In recent days, he had begun swinging off a pitching machine, too.

But the Trajekt machine is different; offering players augmented reality at-bats in which a video screen displays a specific pitcher’s windup before firing a ball out of a slot from their hand.

In recent years, the technology has become ubiquitous around MLB clubhouses.

And in lieu of a minor-league rehab stint — impossible now with the minor-league season ending — it will be Ohtani’s best way to hone a game-ready swing again.

“You hope it bridges the gap a little bit,” hitting coach Aaron Bates said. “So between machine, live pitching, Trajekt, somewhere in between that, that’s the best you can do.”

Bates has been part of the group overseeing Ohtani’s recent cage work. He said the slugger has looked “great” and shown no signs of his injuries while returning to full-intensity reps.

“In the cage, in a controlled setting, he’s been really good. It’s 100% intensity,” Bates said. “Once he gets out to the field, if he does a live BP or something like that, and the intensity ramps up, it’ll be a good test to see what happens. But in the cage, in the controlled setting, he’s been really good.”

Before Ohtani went on the injured list, it was evident to the Dodgers’ hitting staff that the two-way star “looked extremely compromised,” as Bates acknowledged.

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One key sign: Ohtani was following through on more of his swings with a one-handed finish, something Bates noted is “always kind of a tell for Shohei, whether he’s going through something or not, just because he is disconnected a bit from his back side.”

Lately, however, Ohtani’s two-handed finish has returned in his swing — as has the Dodgers’ optimism that he will be able to provide production in their lineup, despite the 6-for-52 slump he was mired in previously.

“I think everything’s been good so far,” Bates said.

When Ohtani will be activated remains unclear, with his 15-day stint not up until next Wednesday. But manager Dave Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman have said they expect him to be back before the end of the regular season.

Bates echoed that sentiment Saturday, saying Ohtani appears to be “on schedule” while deferring any more specific timeline to the training staff.

Ohtani has not asked to get a specific number of simulated at-bats before being activated, Bates added.

“He just kind of goes how he feels,” he said. “And the rehab guys will have kind of the exact quantity kind of laid out for them in that sense.”

Time will still tell, of course, whether Ohtani will actually look like himself when he returns, or if he the months he spent playing through his injuries have left him too diminished to make his typical impact with the bat.

As Bates noted, it’s possible Ohtani could get a live batting practice session against a pitcher before returning (although the organization is short on arms at the moment capable of doing that, Roberts said Saturday). But beyond that, his Trajekt at-bats will likely account for the bulk of his hitting preparation before returning to game action.

“You kind of fire them out there and see what happens,” Bates said. “Just like spring training, it kind of takes guys a little bit of time to get their footing. But it depends on the person. Every guy is a little bit different with how much time they need. Some guys don’t need a lot.”

Ohtani, Bates said, is in that latter category.

And so far, at least, his hitting progression is going about as well as they could have hoped.

Everyone gets their moment in a baseball season. Andruw Monasterio has had his moments. Tony Seagulls, too. Nick Sogard. Mickey Gasper has had so many moments that they ceased to be moments and just became what Mickey Gasper does. It’s one of the things that makes the sport great, that no season concludes without special contributions from everyone.

Brayan Bello was hunting for his moment tonight.

The man who, as a young pitcher was all too often and all to unfairly compared to Pedro, has had one of the strangest seasons I can ever remember a starting pitcher having. He started the season as one of the longest-tenured Red Sox players. He quickly became a starting pitcher who forgot how to start baseball games. He then transformed into one of the best relievers in the game, albeit in a highly specialized role that barely made him a reliever at all.

Tonight he was dominant. He needed just 55 pitches to cruise through 5 innings. He struck out 11. He took the Sox into the 9th inning having allowed a single run, this one via the only homer he’s allowed since July 12. But Brayan Bello did not get his moment. Three 9th inning singles off Garrett Whitlock cost the Sox the game and the chance to clinch a playoff spot.

Brayan Bello will be on the postseason roster in some capacity, but this was probably the last meaningful start he’ll make in 2026 and his postseason role is unclear at this stage. Baseball is great and baseball is cruel like that. But hopefully his moment will be waiting for him in October.

Three Studs

Brayan Bello: 8 IP, 11 K, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 HR, 1 ER. Love you, Brayan.

Roman Anthony: After leading off yesterday’s game with a homer, he once again got the Sox on the board with an RBI double. He’s not exactly tearing things up, but he’s productive after a long layoff.

Caleb Durbin: It was Durbin who Anthony drove in, and Durbin was one of only two hitters in the Sox lineup to collect multiple hits.

One Dud

Garrett Whitlock: The bullpen is in a weird spot right now, and Whitlock was called on to make the save in lieu of the injured Aroldis Chapman. He… did not make the save. Hopefully he’s getting this out of his system before the playoffs.

Carson Benge is in a league of his own.

The Mets rookie outfielder recorded three hits, including a solo home run, breaking Pete Alonso’s Mets rookie record for hits in a season (156) in the process Saturday in New York. The Mets beat the Phillies 10-3 as the Philadelphia bullpen suffered another meltdown while they continue to struggle down the home stretch of the season.

Benge’s record-breaking hit came on a check-swing dribbler in the eighth inning that scored a run and gave the Mets their final 10-3 advantage. The Mets trailed 3-1 early in the game before Francscico Alvarez hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the fifth inning. The Mets added six more runs against the Phillies bullpen to put the game out of reach.

Christian Scott got the start for the Mets and sailed through the first three innings before running into trouble in the fourth. Bryce Harper led the inning off with a ground-rule double before advancing to third base on a groundout from Luis Arraez. Alec Bohm then knocked an RBI single up the middle. With two on and two outs, J.T. Realmuto hit a liner to the left-center field gap that Juan Soto was able to chase down to end the inning and keep the game tied 1-1.

Harper was back up in the bottom of the fifth against Scott and hit a sacrifice fly to score Kyle Schwarber as Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead. Jefry Yan relieved Christian Scott and gave up a run on another RBI single from Bohm.

Alvarez flipped the game in a big way with his three-run home run in the fifth inning against Phillies starter Andrew Painter. Marcus Semien reached on a lead-off walk, and Brett Baty extended his on-base streak to 13 straight games with a single, before Alvarez blasted his homer. He entered the game on a 0-for-10 streak but went 2-for-4 with a walk.

Despite Painter striking out four straight batters after giving up the home run to Alvarez, Phillies manager Don Mattingly replaced him with former Mets reliever Brooks Raley. The Mets ripped four straight hits against Raley, including an RBI single from Baty. In his first Major-League action since July 6, Ronny Mauricio drew a bases-loaded walk against Chase Shugart to put the Mets up 6-3. Francisco Lindor had a chance for a grand slam, but flied out to deep center to end the inning.

The Mets left no doubt with four more runs in the eighth inning. Lindor earned a bases-loaded walk before Juan Soto, Bo Bichette, and Benge added RBI singles against Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering.

This was Benge’s 11th game with at least three hits in his record-setting rookie campaign. But it wasn’t just Benge that made Saturday a historic day for the Mets. The club retired Carlos Beltran’s number in an emotional pregame ceremony. Meanwhile, longtime voice of the Mets Howie Rose gave a farewell speech on the radio broadcast. His final game behind the microphone is supposed to be Sunday’s, but the chance of rain muddies the outlook for Sunday’s 1:10 PM EDT game. Weather permitting, Jonah Tong is scheduled to start for the Mets in the final game of the Phillies series.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Francisco Alvarez, +24% WPA
Big Mets loser: Francisco Lindor, -8% WPA
Mets pitchers: +3% WPA
Mets hitters: +47% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Francisco Alvarez’s three-run home run, +25.3% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Alex Bohm’s RBI single, -11.5% WPA

Francisco Alvarez’s defensive metrics have ticked up during the second half, which the Mets credit to a more upright stance in his crouch that cuts down on head movement. As a catcher, he is taking steps that are hard for the average fan (or diehard, for that matter) to notice.

What the fans have noticed is a deep slump and far too many swings that only hit air. In his previous 25 games entering play, Alvarez’s OPS had tanked 90 points because of an 11-for-85 (.129) slide in which he struck out 41 times, walked just six and owned a .410 OPS, a span in which he has been subject to some boos after strikeouts.

In terms of fan frustration, Alvarez was not helped by Luis Torrens — among the best defensive catchers in the sport — getting hot, lifting his own OPS above .700 and making an early argument that next season he should get at least as many reps, if not more, than Alvarez.

Which probably made Alvarez’s fifth-inning at-bat Saturday, in which the former No. 1 prospect in all of baseball got a fastball on the outside edge, went with it and muscled out an opposite-field home run that not many hitters can do, especially encouraging for the Mets and their ostensibly starting catcher.

The turning point in a 10-3 Mets win over the Phillies at Citi Field was the swing from Alvarez, who sent an Andrew Painter four-seamer atop the Cadillac Club in right for a go-ahead shot that reminded of the kind of power he has always possessed.

It was No. 16 for Alvarez in his 108th game, which is a 24-homer pace.

For a catcher who the Mets believe is better than most defensively, this kind of season demonstrates that even a lesser form of Alvarez is still a valuable player.

But the Mets and Alvarez will tell you that they believe there is more in a bat that now is hitting .229 with a .708 OPS and has been prone to sizzling streaks and long chills.

He was excellent offensively in June and July and mostly been ineffective since.

“For Alvy, the biggest thing is I think that he has understood [this season] how important it is for him to defend,” catching coach J.P. Arencibia said recently of a player he believes can be among the best defensively in the game. “And then whatever you get offensively is a plus — and he has a lot of offensive upside.”

When he shot his way through the minor league system, the offensive upside was his calling card. He had (and has) massive power, which he announced by drilling 25 home runs in his year-21 season in 2023.

But three years later, Alvarez is finishing up his year-24 season without noticeable offensive improvement and with noticeable fan frustration.

Even in a game in which he smacked a three-run home run, Alvarez heard a few jeers after he was punched out with two runners on base in the eighth inning because it will take more than one swing for the fans to start believing again. 

We have reached the point in the season where each win is critical. With as well as the Cubs and Padres are playing right now, the Phillies need to win as many games as they possibly can, playing with some kind of verve in order to make the playoffs.

What we’re getting is another embarrassing performance like we saw today.

It wasn’t all bad. Andrew Painter made two bad pitches in this game, one to Carson Benge in the second inning.

Another was made to Francisco Alvarez in the fifth inning when the Phillies were in desperate need of a shutdown inning after taking a 3-1 lead.

Even after the Mets taking a 4-3 lead, the Phillies had a chance. Only down a run, the offense had just scored three whole runs the inning prior! They were capable of getting more.

Yet this supposedly invisible barrier that is three runs has apparently prevented them from scoring any more or any less than that. Having met their quota, they proceeded to enter a cocoon of swinging at pitches out of the zone and having rather useless at bats.

Then came the bullpen.

Brooks Raley? He can’t get guys out any more.

Chase Shugart? Fine I guess, but do you really have any faith in him.

Jose Alvarado? Hey – he didn’t give any runs!

Orion Kerkering? I’ll almost guarantee he has an “injury” which caused him to bad today. Nevermind all the weeks before where he continually gave up runs in key situations.

The lackadaisical way the team seems to be going about these games is grating on the nerves. The plate appearances they are having are some of the more inept ones we’ve seen from the team, even among the many games they have struggled. There is chase, confusion and quite honestly, the fewer pitches Brandon Marsh sees at the plate, the better. The bullpen outside of Jhoan Duran and maybe Alex McFarlane is just one giant gas can sent into fire after fire.

This is not a good team right now and they should be embarrassed by how they are playing.

It took one question during a news conference — ‘When you decided to enter the Hall of Fame as a Met, what stood out to you about the organization?’ — and less than one minute for Carlos Beltrán to hint at his often rocky relationship with the team’s fanbase. 

“I would say it was my best years in baseball,” Beltrán began, “even though, at times, it felt difficult and it felt different. 

“Meaning, my relationship and sometimes how things went down — I don’t know the message that was sent out about me as a person or me as a player. It’s hard to connect with a fanbase when the message out there is always negative.” 

The most memorable moment from his Mets career was among his worst, when he could not get a swing off against Adam Wainwright. He was booed at times. He was not “Captain America” David Wright. He fought with the team about a knee surgery. He spent 2005-11 as a Met, only about one-third of his 20-year MLB career.

He spent some of that time as a Yankee, too, which does not further endear him to Mets fans. 

And yet, there he was Saturday at Citi Field, slowly walking in from center field to the infield to give a speech to polite, if not overwhelming, cheers, as the franchise celebrated a remarkable and great Met but not quite a beloved one in Queens (even if he was and is in Puerto Rico, which was well-represented). 

Beltrán now is a forever Met, his No. 15 unveiled and hung in the rafters as the organization also formally inducted him into the team’s Hall of Fame. In doing so, he completed a remarkable journey in which he learned about himself and Mets fans and felt what he called “closure” in being immortalized in a city in which he was not always welcome. 

A small-market star with Kansas City from 1998-2004, Beltrán signed a seven-year, $119 million free agent contract with the Mets that some remember better for his rough beginning — a merely OK 2005 — than for some of the best seasons (notably 2006) in franchise history. 

“All of a sudden being in New York, there were things that I needed to learn,” said Beltrán, who became the ninth former Mets player with his number retired. “I didn’t have those tools in Kansas City — dealing with the media, dealing with the responsibilities, dealing with expectations, dealing with the ups and downs of baseball in a city like New York. 

“It’s the real deal.” 

Among those he thanked was his wife, Jessica, who is a life coach and would tell him that the boos he heard were not personal. 

“It feels personal,” Beltrán would respond before a soft chuckle. “They’re pointing at me.” 

But he said his skin grew thicker over the years. Becoming a father to three kids who joined him on the field Saturday has helped him better understand the disappointment that Mets fans displayed in him. 

“Sometimes, you were hard on me, and that’s OK,” Beltrán said in his speech. “Today as a father, I realize I am hard on my own children, too, not because I love them less but because they are capable of more. 

“Back then, I did not understand it. Today, I do.” 

Beltrán did not win a World Series with the Mets and is the face of their 2006 regret, striking out to end Game 7 against the Cardinals. But by the numbers, there have been very few Mets who have been better, ranking in the organization’s top 10 in home runs, RBIs, runs scored, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. 

He also has returned — actually, a few times — to the organization, currently serving as an adviser to president of baseball operations David Stearns and could have a path toward becoming the team’s next manager if he wants. 

He does not have the reputation of the former players whose numbers his No. 15 now lives alongside — Wright, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Willie Mays, Keith Hernandez, Jerry Koosman, Mike Piazza and Tom Seaver — but the relationship has improved and is improving, which might have been best highlighted by Beltrán choosing a Mets cap on his Cooperstown bust. 

“I will always be proud to say I was, and I will always be, a New York Met,” Beltran told the crowd.

On the day of Carlos Beltran’s number retirement ceremony at Citi Field, a special and joyous occasion for the club and all those involved, Mets owner Steve Cohen made sure to also address the elephant in the room – what’s been bubbling up for many Mets fans this season, particularly this past week.

Speaking with the SNY booth in the fourth inning on Saturday, Cohen was asked about the recent shenanigans that happened at the ballpark during the team’s last series with the Baltimore Orioles.

In what was Pete Alonso’s first time back in Queens since he left the Mets in free agency over the offseason, fans came out in droves and gave the first baseman quite the reception. Not only did they give Alonso a standing ovation in his first at-bat, standard for a former beloved player coming back to his old ballpark, but fans were also actively cheering for Alonso’s success every time he went to the plate.

Things got murky when Alonso, who was chasing his 300th career home run, hit the milestone by hitting a game-tying home run against Kodai Senga in the top of the ninth inning, which caused the stadium to erupt in cheers – odd for a home ballpark. 

The Mets went on to lose that game in extra innings and during the postgame, players, including Sean Manaea, admitted to being surprised by the response of the home fans seemingly cheering against their team.

“You can’t make it up, it was just so crazy,” Cohen said on Saturday. “The fans, they’re passionate and when they feel something they’re gonna let you know and I’m okay with that. Pete hits his 300th home run and it was sort of poetic. It was sort of amazing that it all occurred at the same time.”

Cohen seemed to understand where the fans were coming from, letting their frustration out for a player they believed deserved to be a lifetime Met.

Of course, that’s not how things turned out, and in the midst of a disappointing season, it made it all the more painful.

“I’ll say it again, it didn’t surprise me,” Cohen said about the fan’s response to Alonso’s return. “I can remember being at a previous Mets event the previous year and the fans were vocal on Alonso and listen, it’s hard to say goodbye to a homegrown player. Obviously he’s well liked and a great Met and those decisions got made and unfortunately we gotta look forward and look forward to ‘27 and what we’re gonna do. 

“But it was weird because we got past the trade deadline and the team was playing well and you got a sense that fans were really getting excited and then Pete came in and we kinda reversed course for three days, but now I think we’re back on track again.”

It’s true, prior to Alonso’s homecoming, despite the lost season, fans seemed to be invested in the team because of the young talent that spurred hope for the future, as well as the team’s improved performance on the field, albeit too late.

Still, Cohen believed that what the Mets had been building was enough to garner enthusiasm for what’s to come, even if it came during a second consecutive season missing the playoffs.

“I think that’s what the fans like,” he said. “We’re playing young, we’re playing athletic. We’ve developed a lot of players in a very short period of time and so that’s something you can really look forward to. So it’s true, two things can be true: a lousy season, but still something to look forward to.”

Something else Mets fans can look forward to is help arriving for president of baseball operations David Stearns – both in terms of the front office as well as a manager.

Cohen talked about the search for somebody to lead the team and what he wants to see out of his next manager, a conversation that fittingly happened during Beltran’s number retirement ceremony.

“I see the manager’s role as mostly about culture and bringing the locker room together,” the owner said. ‘I think the actual managerial decisions are, I would say, 20-30 percent of what they do and the rest of it is trying to galvanize your ball club and trying to get them in the right frame of mind and I’m looking for someone that can bring out the best in their ball players.”

As for the front office, Cohen mentioned that he’s “identified some things that we can do better” and talked about bringing in extra voices to the mix to help out.

“We’re going to try to add certain voices into the front office that I think will be helpful and I know David supports that, and I’m looking forward to, when we make those decisions, to announce them,” he said.

Cohen continued: “It doesn’t have to be a GM, it could be other ways to support David and the front office and I think the whole point is to get more opinions in the front office and people who are either pretty good at evaluating talent or people who have been in those positions before in the front office – in high positions – and help David out and help the team out as far as getting a different point of view.”

Cohen was also asked how he deals with, as he described it, such passionate fans that are always eager to give their two cents in how to run the team.

“Everyone’s got an opinion, I'll tell you that,” he said. “…And frankly, there’s some good ideas out there, so my ears are open.”

We’re getting down to the wire, folks – barring some miracle, there is exactly one week left of Mariners baseball. It’s been a tough season and I can’t say I’m sad about it coming to an end, but it’s always tough to put baseball away for another off-season, especially when a potential lockout looms and we don’t know when exactly it will come back. I’m going to try hard to enjoy these last seven games, no matter what, which is definitely easier to do in games against the Rockies than it will be when the Astros come to town.

Reminder that tomorrow is our annual meetup/softbaLL game/watch party. We’d love to see you there if you’re able to come! Details here.

Lineups:

Montes, check. Arroyo, check. A rare day off for Cole Young (rare in the meaning of actually rare, not rare as in “a rare walk from George Kirby”).

Weird to see the Rockies embrace minimalism after seeing their City Connects last night, but here you have it:

News:

No news, good news, things of that nature. Hey have you downloaded the app yet? Please download the app. I ask you for so little and give you so much. The Mariners are not helping me out in this arena so I need you to.

Today’s game information:

Game time: 5:10 PT

TV: Mariners TV (Goldsmith/Mentink)

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports (Rizzs/Hill Jr.)

Last night was a good night for the Yankees, seeing the team put up five runs in the first paired with a good Gerrit Cole outing to cruise to a 9-2 win over the Diamondbacks. The club also picked up a game on the Rays as the AL East leaders dropped the opener of their series to the Red Sox. Tonight, the Yankees have two goals: get the win to stay in a hypothetically-competitive division race (all but necessary since Tampa Bay avenged the loss with a 2-1 win over Boston this afternoon), and build out a little more breathing room in the Cy Young race.

Dylan Cease had his worst start of the year on Friday for the Blue Jays, going just 2.2 innings and walking six. He and today’s Yankee starter Cam Schlittler have had a heavyweight bout atop the Cy leaderboard all year, and while Cam’s pulled away a bit in recent weeks, he can start to put the finishing touches on his case tonight. He hasn’t allowed more than one earned run in a start since August 3rd (!!), making us all maybe expect a bit too much from the righty who can seemingly do no wrong. Schlittler has thrown 45 innings across those aforementioned seven starts, so he’s not a five-and-fly guy, and his 1.00 ERA in that stretch is just…a farce.

Brandon Pfaadt is having the best season of his young career, with a 3.77 ERA and 4.06 FIP that are both significant steps forward after a pretty lost 2025. He doesn’t strike many men out though, and a 45 percent ground ball rate means heavy sinking fastballs in the zone. There will be pitches to hit from Pfaadt; you just need to be able to elevate them.

Ben Rice had himself a fantastic game cleaning up last night and is bumped up to the leadoff spot tonight, with
Luis García Jr. getting the nod over Paul Goldschmidt at first base. Spencer Jones reportedly has a sore left foot, which means we get José Caballero in center, and I’m going to withhold comment on that decision for now.

It’s an 8:10pm Eastern start but not a national broadcast, this one’s on YES. The Diamondbacks will be celebrating their 2001 World Series championship throughout the evening, which seems kind of lame because you can’t really “win” a championship when you didn’t have an opponent.

How to watch

Location: Chase Field – Phoenix, AZ

First pitch: 8:10 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, DBACKS.TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, La Campesina 101.9 FM & 860 AM (AZ)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Miami Marlins (76-78) at San Diego Padres (85-69), September 19, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
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• Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our thread

The Mets were down in the fifth inning before turning the game around and defeating the Phillies, 10-3, on Saturday at Citi Field.

Here are the takeaways...

-Carson Benge continued his great rookie campaign, smashing an 0-2 changeup over the right field wall for his 19th long ball of the season and put the Mets up 1-0 in the second. Benge's 19th homer is tied for fourth among Mets rookies in franchise history. 

Benge finished 3-for-4, and with his single in the seventh he tied Pete Alonso's rookie record for hits in a season. His check-swing single that stayed fair down the third base line gave him 156 hits on the season, a new Mets rookie record.

-Christian Scott handled the Phillies for most of the game, but Philadelphia got to the young right-hander in the fourth. Bryce Harper dumped a ground-rule double just fair down the left field line, before Alec Bohm singled him home. Scott was then chased in the fifth after the Phillies rallied with one out to take the lead. Kyle Schwarber doubled before Trea Turner singled to put runners on the corners. Harper drove in the run with a sacrifice fly and that was the end for Scott. 

Jefry Yan came on to stop the bleeding, but Bohm hit a hot shot through Francisco Lindor's legs to score a run. Yan would retire the side and put a bow on Scott's afternoon. The young right-hander pitched 4.2 innings (79 pitches/52 strikes), allowing three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out seven.

-Francisco Alvarez, who has been mired in a slump, turned the game on its head with a three-run shot in the fifth to give the Mets the lead again. The young backstop finished 2-for-2 with three RBI and a run scored.

The Mets added on in the sixth against old friend Brooks Raley. With one out, Benge walked before A.J. Ewing singled. Marcus Semien walked with the bases loaded and Brett Baty came through with a single to score one, and chase Raley without the left-hander recording an out. Ronny Mauricio then walked with the bases loaded to push across the second run of the inning and put the Mets up 6-3. 

But the offense wasn't done. They put up a four-spot in the eighth thanks to a bases-loaded walk by Lindor, then back-to-back-to-back RBI singles from Juan Soto, Bo Bichette and Benge.

-The Mets bullpen was great behind Scott. The combination of Yan, Cionel Perez, Jonathan Pintaro, Dedniel Nunez and Tobias Myers got the final 13 outs.

• Yan: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 K
• Perez: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
• Pintaro: 0.1 IP, 1 BB
• Nunez: 1.0 IP, 1 K
• Myers: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 K

-Mauricio got the start at DH, his first start since being recalled due to Jared Young's injury. He went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. 

Lindor finished 0-for-4 with a walk and an RBI as the shortstop continues his search for home run No. 300.

Game MVP: Mets bullpen

After Scott couldn't make it out of the fifth, five Mets relievers shut out the Phillies.

Highlights

BYE BYE BENGE!

Carson Benge's 19th home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/ZlRDW977oP

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 19, 2026

Five strikeouts in three innings for Christian Scott! pic.twitter.com/MdV4EDW9Mw

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 19, 2026

Francisco Alvarez with a three-run blast to give the Mets the lead! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/lxosvYgWec

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 19, 2026

Carson Benge ties Pete Alonso's Mets rookie hits record (155) 👏 pic.twitter.com/SzL6rlG6jY

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 19, 2026

Carson Benge breaks the Mets' rookie hit record! 👏 pic.twitter.com/2SUYHGKQBU

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 19, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Phillies meet Sunday for New York's final regular season home game. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m.

Jonah Tong (2-1, 3.43 ERA) will take on Cristopher Sanchez (17-6, 2.93 ERA). 

41,910 at the ballpark last night. That’s actually only the sixth-largest home crowd of the year for the D-backs. #1 is, obviously enough, the home opener against the Tigers. But all three of the August series against the Dodgers drew a bigger crowd, and it wasn’t particularly close: an average of 45,387 per game. Initially, it seemed that the weird one to surpass the Yankees was a Thursday evening game against the Dodgers in June. which saw a crowd just one shy of forty-two thousand at Chase. That’s 5,700 more than the previous night. But a little digging showed that was Hispanic Heritage Night, with a jersey give-away that evening. Mystery solved.

This topic actually cropped up a bit in last night’s Gameday Thread, as we brainstormed ideas of getting better crowds at Chase. Note: better is not necessarily the same as bigger. As the games here and against the Dodgers have showed, we need to decide if we’d rather have a full ballpark – even if a lot of the fans might not be wearing the home team’s colors. It’s a legitimate question. Should we appeal more to the local Hispanic population? I seem to recall some efforts in that direction, and as that June crowd shows, they will show up if given reason to do so. But I have to say, my tolerance for Norteño is low. As is that of the Hispanic Mrs. SnakePit!

With two games left, it looks like attendance is going to be roughly the same as the last couple of years. If we presume another 85-90K tonight and tomorrow, that’ll make the total just under 2.30 million. That compares to 2.39 million last year and 2.34 in 2024. Probably about 1,200 per game, which is something of a recovery, considering the early numbers had them down easily the biggest amount in the major, a drop of more than 5,400 per game in the second half of May. The gap would have been closer still, if not for the games in Mexico City costing the team due to the small capacity of the ballpark there. Looks like Derrick Hall was right not to be particularly concerned.

Today’s 1-0 loss should be a reminder to all of us Orioles sickos out there: much as we love this team, the 2026 version just ain’t it. Despite Trevor Rogers turning in one of the greatest starts of his season (even, perhaps, of his career), with eight one-run innings on just three hits and ten strikeouts, the Birds did absolutely zilch on offense, getting shut out by a relative neophyte in Milwaukee’s Robert Glasser (who had just twenty-plus starts to his name before today). They managed four hits all game, and went 0-for-7 with RISP. The O’s postseason chances, already slim after last night, have taken another critical hit. I’m getting tired of the watchful waiting.

Instead, let’s let today stand as a reminder to look back with gratitude on better teams of Orioles past (Trey Mancini’s heroic career), and to think ahead to better teams of the future (imagine a day where Trevor Rogers and Shane Baz could get some run support!).

Today, prior to the game, the O’s held a moving on-field ceremony for Trey Mancini, who in six seasons as an Oriole (2016-22) racked up a .270 average and 117 home runs while also winning MVO in 2019 and AL Comeback Player in 2021 after beating cancer. After being out of baseball in ’24 and ‘25, he returned to MLB this season with the Angels before signing a one-day contract with Baltimore to retire an Oriole. Reminiscing in the MASN booth during the game, Mancini sounded as decent a guy as ever. The longtime O’s first baseman talked about homering in his MLB debut, hitting an inside-the-park home run off Josh Lowe’s face on the one-year anniversary of superfan Mo Gaba’s passing, meeting up with current O’s first baseman Pete Alonso in the 2021 Home Run Derby, and ending his career on his own terms. Kudos to Mancini. It was so great to see him.

Meanwhile, thinking ahead to next season, I can’t wait to see more of lefty Trevor Rogers. Making his final home start of 2026, Rogers made sure it would go down as his best. He threw a career-high-tying eight innings, striking out ten and allowing just three hits and one run. (That run, by the way, came because of a sun-assisted blooper by Rece Hinds that any sunglasses-wearing outfielder should have had.) It was a completely magisterial performance. Even in a comparative down year after his unreal 2025 (9-3, 1.81 ERA in 18 starts), the lefty has a 69.2% first-pitch strike rate, first in MLB this season and the highest of any Orioles starter since they started keeping track.

Here are some of the Rogers highlights, which are well worth watching when you get the chance. Rogers whizzed through the first inning in just ten pitches. He landed a third-strike fastball on the corner to freeze Brewers centerfielder Garrett Mitchell, prompting MASN’s Big Ben McDonald to say, “You can’t throw a four-seamer, folks, any better than that.”

What could beat Trevor Rogers, looking like this? Answer: Rece Hinds’ accessorizing choices. The right fielder lost a routine fly ball in the sun off the bat of former Orioles Joey Ortiz in the second inning, letting the ball roll right by him as Ortiz made it to third. The official scorekeepers counted this a triple—which felt gravely wrong. A weak squibber to third scored Ortiz, giving the Brewers the game’s first and only run. As MASN’s Kevin Brown later put it, “[Rogers is] a pair of Oakleys away from having a no-hitter!”

Rogers kept rolling. After he sewed up the fourth inning, Big Ben exclaimed, “It’s Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood!” Corny, but I liked it.

Rogers was inevitable in the fifth inning, too. You could start to see it in the face of Milwaukee backstop Gary Sanchez’s face as he rolled fruitlessly over a changeup—the face of a team that’s got nothing going against a starter. The same expression could be seen on Cooper Platt, swinging through a fastball. And Luis Lara, caught looking. (A group of hitters looking as demoralized as this shouldn’t win games.)

Come the sixth, the strike-throwing Rogers was still at just 60 pitches! It, too, was another three-up, three-down affair, and Rogers had retired nine in a row.

In the seventh, Rogers allowed a real single to William Contreras—I say “real,” because it was the first well-hit ball off Rogers all game. But it amounted to zilch in the box score, because Andrew Vaughn bounced a ball off the mound and Jeremiah Jackson, at second, played it perfectly, stepping on second and firing to first in time for the twin killing. Joey Ortiz popped out, and MASN’s Kevin Brown announced, “seven magnificent innings for Trevor Rogers.” I was so thrilled.

Then, the eighth was even more magnificent. Rogers allowed a leadoff single to Gary Sanchez, and the bullpen got to warming (gulp). But they might have just stayed seated. Rogers strung together two consecutive strikeouts. Second baseman David Hamilton tried to bunt… with two outs! Didn’t matter. Hamilton got rung up, too. Rogers had struck out the side in the eighth.

“It’s been an absolute love affair between Trevor Rogers and Orioles fans,” said Kevin Brown. Deservedly. What a performance by the Orioles lefty in his final home appearance of 2026.

And yet—somehow, ridiculously, the Brewers were still leading this game. That’s because the O’s’ efforts against Milwaukee lefty Robert Gasser, sorry to say it, were again flat, pointless, and stupid. The lefty seems just okay, stuff-wise, and at several points in the game, he lost control of his fastball. But the O’s couldn’t take advantage. They managed just two hits off Glasser and were terrible, once again, with RISP.

Is part of the trouble the platooning thing again? Clearly, this O’s lineup was built for handedness, not average—what else can explain Jeremiah Jackson at leadoff, and Rece Hinds, Christian Franklin, and Leody Taveras in the six, seven and nine spots? In fairness, Jackson was OK—he led off the O’s first inning with a single, and started that crucial double play that helped Rogers get through the seventh inning. And Rece Hinds did hit the ball hard, with one 109-mph double and a walk. But Franklin was deadweight, and Samuel Basallo, in the eight spot, looks really lost right now. Both turned in 0-fers, as did Pete Alonso, Coby Mayo (albeit one BB), and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. You need more than that from your 2-3-4 hitters.

I’ll spare you much more salt on the wound, but for the second day in a row, the Orioles wasted crucial RISP situations against Milwaukee, downing the pitching’s heroic efforts to snatch a win from the MLB’s best team with hitters going down like lambs to slaughter.

In the third, Baltimore had Gunnar Henderson and Hinds aboard with no outs before Christian Franklin, averaging .147, hit into a double play. Boo. Basallo, following him, grounded out.

They wasted a huge chance in the sixth, too, loading the bases on two walks and a HBP, but with one out, Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit into an uncharacteristic double play and the bases stayed loaded.

Alex Hoppe pitched a fine ninth, despite my nerves about seeing him out there. Actually, he’s got an incredible sinker, with like ten inches of movement on it. If he can find the plate next season, I’ll be glad to see more of him.

Anyway, that’s it. The O’s postseason chances, already slim after last night, just faded again. October baseball seems, well, close, but no cigar, like a win today. Today, instead, felt like a reminder to fans who love this team: let’s look back on nicer Orioles teams past, including the good old years of Trey Mancini’s heroics at first, and look ahead to the future, where a starting rotation that features Trevor Rogers might also get some goddamn run support.

The Rays handed the Red Sox a win and allowed them to celebrate a postseason spot and I just can’t.

Freddie Peralta got off to a great start, but stumbled in the third inning, giving up two doubles that allowed the Red Sox to take a 1-0 lead.

But things were looking up in the bottom of the inning. Cedric Mullins bunted for a hit, and the Red Sox third baseman threw the ball away, allowing Mullins to advance to second with none out.

Mullins, however, got picked off trying to steal third, erasing that runner. And then Jorge “why are you still on this team?” Mateo and Jake “missed half the season and very rusty” Fraley both struck out to end that inning with the Rays failing to score. Oh and the chef’s kiss, Mateo blew through a challenge on a clear strike in the process.

Peralta faced difficulties again in the fourth inning. After being up 1-2, he walked Wilyer Abreu, burning through the Rays second challenge along the way, and then gave up a single to Nick Sogard, to put two men on base. The inning ended, thankfully, with a strike out and a pop up.

Then, praise be, Jonathan Aranda jumped on a fastball and drove it opposite field over the fence, and the game was tied 1-1

And then we just kept going with the score 1-1. Both teams had a lot of scoring opportunities, but couldn’t capitalize. Two players (one on each team) got caught stealing third. One player (Johnny DeLuca) got thrown out at home.

The Rays could not figure out Brayan Bello. The Red Sox seemed more comfortable against Freddie Peralta, especially since his command was meh, but they still only scored one run. The Red Sox managed to get two extra base hits against Bryan Baker in the top of the ninth, a double and a triple. You’d think that would be a run, except Caleb Durbin, who hit the double, had gotten caught stealing third so the triple came with no one on base.

This entire game felt, if you’ll allow me to get a little Greek mythology on you, a bit Sisyphean. Push the boulder up the hill, watch it roll down, but in this case it was get a couple of guys on base, watch the next guys strike out and pop up. Red Sox struck out 9 times, Rays struck out 12 times.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the ninth that the Rays were able to take a final lead. With the very effective Garrett Whitlock on the mound, Caminero and Simpson singled, and moved to second and third on a passed ball with just one out. But Victor Mesa Jr was unable to get the winning run in (he struck out). And then Richie Palacios came up, got down 1-2, dinked a flare into right field, and the Rays had walked it off.

This victory is sweet for many reasons. First, of course, Rays magic number to win the division is now down to 5.

Next, they kept the Red Sox from clinching a postseason slot for at least one more day.

Finally, all those red-clad interlopers taking up space in our stadium had to go home disappointed.

Back at it tomorrow. Griffin Jax tries to build on his recent strong starts, and the Rays will face Patrick Sandoval.

Last night the Colorado Rockies lost the first game of their series against the Seattle Mariners on a ninth inning home run by Lazaro Montes. It was the latest 4-12 start to the month of September that has all but extinguished their hopes of avoiding a fourth straight 100 loss season.

With 98 losses on the season and eight games remaining it seems inevitable that they will reach that ignominious mark soon, however, they can still strive to delay it until after this weekend while they are celebrating a franchise legend.

Before the game the Rockies unveiled Todd Helton’s statue outside of Coors Field.

Helton’s statue resides alongside the Larry Walker statue that was installed earlier this season. The first 15,000 fans in the ballpark tonight will take home a replica Helton statue.

On the mound for the Rockies will be José Quintana making his first start for the Major League since suffering an elbow injury during a start on May 24th. Before going on the injured list, the veteran lefty had thrown 41 innings for the Rockies with a 5.27 ERA and 1.51 WHIP over nine starts. Quintana made two minor league rehab starts, in which he threw a total of four and a third innings, before being recalled from the injured list earlier today.

Opposing Quintana for the Mariners will be 28 year old right-handed pitcher Bryce Miller. Over 107.1 innings to this point in the season, Miller has amassed a middling 4.19 ERA alongside a 4.55 FIP but his expected stats tell a different story. His 3.70 xERA is fueled primarily by his ability to induce chase (89th percentile) and limit hard contact (87th percentile) but his heavy fly ball tendencies could play poorly in Coors Field.

Whether Quintana and is able to lead the Rockies to a win on this special night for the franchise remains to be seen. To see it for yourself simply refer to the details below!

First Pitch: 6:10 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

SB Nation site:Lookout Landing

Lineups:

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