Category: MLB

Just when you thought the Mets were going to go quietly, an eighth-inning power surge changed the narrative Sunday in New York.

Brett Baty and Bo Bichette both homered in an epic eighth-inning rally to secure a 4-2 victory over the Giants, as the Mets stole a win and the series.

Stymied by Giants rookie pitcher Cesar Perdomo, the Mets finally broke through against the Giants bullpen thanks to Baty’s and Bichette’s heroics. Trailing 2-0, Baty pinch-hit for Nick Morabito and injected life into a sleepy game with a solo shot to get the Mets on the board. AJ Ewing singled before the Giants intentionally walked Juan Soto to get to Bichette. Perhaps the former All-Star took that personally, because Bichette crushed a three-run homer to take the lead and eventually the game.

Kodai Senga quickly retired the Giants in order in the ninth inning to earn the save and close out a good day for the Mets pitching staff, including a solid start from Christian Scott.

Up until the explosive eighth inning, the story was Perdomo, who made it look easy in his first career start. The Mets scored 15 runs in the first two games of the series with the Giants, but couldn’t get traction against the young pitcher.

The Mets had baserunners in each of the first three innings against Perdomo before he settled in to retire 10 straight batters. He gave up a walk to Francisco Lindor in the sixth, but Soto grounded into a double play to end the inning as Perdomo finished with six scoreless frames.

With Perdomo finally out of the game, Carson Benge laced a double down the right-field line in the seventh inning off of Giants reliever Joel Kuhnel. Jared Young and Marcus Semien couldn’t bring Benge home, setting the stage for Baty and Bichette in the eighth.

Scott, Nate Lavender, Jonathan Pintaro, and Tobias Myers all did their part to keep the Mets within striking distance and give the Mets a realistic chance for a late rally.

Scott was sharp early, throwing three perfect innings to start the game. He struck out the red-hot Rafael Devers with a devastating cutter in the first inning and kept it rolling from there, with a little help from the Mets’ fielders. To start the third, Morabito made a crashing catch into the wall to retire Grant McCray.

It seemed like Scott would cruise through the order for a second time after he struck out Drew Gilbert, then struck out Devers with another cutter. But the Giants finally got to Scott with two outs in the fourth, poking three straight hits, including a two-run single from Jung Hoo Lee.

The Giants had more base traffic in the fifth with the help of an error by Mark Vientos at first base. Drew Cavanaugh singled before Christian Koss sent a grounder down the line that Vientos couldn’t handle. The ball bounced away from Vientos, allowing Cavanaugh and Koss to advance to second and third. With Devers due up, interim manager Andy Green pulled Scott in favor of Lavender. Electing not to put Devers on the open first base, Lavender struck out Devers in a crucial at-bat.

Scott finished with seven strikeouts and zero walks across 4.2 innings. Pintaro pitched two scoreless innings with the help of a beautiful diving catch from Benge to end the sixth. Myers added a scoreless appearance of his own in his first Major-League action since July.

Giants reliever Carson Seymour took the loss after giving up four runs in the eighth inning. He had given up four runs total in his previous 13 appearances entering Sunday’s game. Baty’s pinch-hit homer was his first long ball since Aug. 10 in Atlanta. Bichette was 0-for-3 with a strikeout before his go-ahead home run.

The Mets travel to Miami for a series with the Marlins. Jonah Tong is scheduled to start the first game of the Marlins series Monday at 1:10 PM EDT. It’ll be Tong’s first Major League appearance since June 2.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, +54% WPA
Big Mets loser: Luis Torrens, -11% WPA
Mets pitchers: +16 WPA
Mets hitters: +34 WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Bo Bichette three-run home run in the eighth +63.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jung Hoo Lee two-run single in the fourth, -20.5% WPA

SAN DIEGO — Trent Grisham has the same level hamstring strain as he had in June, when he missed three weeks.

With three weeks left in the regular season, that means the Yankees center fielder “could be” out for the rest of it, Aaron Boone acknowledged Sunday.

“We’ll see,” Boone said before the series finale at Petco Park. “We’re not putting a timetable on it right now. Keep him moving and see how long it takes.”

After suffering the injury Friday night, Grisham underwent tests on Saturday that revealed a moderate, Grade 2 strain in his right hamstring — the same one he hurt in June, but in a different spot.

For the second straight day, Grisham was out on the field before Sunday’s game doing some light jogging and agility drills. But whether that leads to a shorter absence than the last time remains to be seen.

“He is doing well enough to be able to move right away, which is a good sign,” Boone said. “So he’s already doing things right now. Ultimately we’ll see how long it takes.’

Even if Grisham can return before the regular season ends, there is no guarantee he will get his job back in center field, as Spencer Jones had already threatened to overtake him there when Aaron Judge returns as soon as this week.

Now, Jones will get most of the playing time in center field down the stretch, trying to build on his recent surge that had him hitting .303 with an .881 OPS over his last 23 games entering Sunday.

Sunday’s series finale between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles wasn’t a playoff game. It didn’t even carry playoff stakes; the Red Sox are all but locked into their spot. It did, however, play out like a game you might see in the postseason.

Payton Tolle started the game for the Red Sox and was brilliant. I’ve probably made this analogy before, but he pitched like the kid who was bigger than everyone else in Little League, pounding his four-seam fastball in the zone. The prepubescent lineup, the Orioles in this case, could do little with the pitch. He threw a first-pitch strike to a remarkable 17 of 21 hitters, lived in the zone, and dared them to put the ball in play. The Orioles failed to do so, whiffing 17 times and punching out 12 times in the first six innings. The only blemish came in the first inning, when Tolle allowed back-to-back two-strike, two-out doubles for the Orioles’ only run. On the day, he threw 77% strikes — a season high.

The only offense of the day for the Red Sox came in the second inning. Caleb Durbin drew a walk on five pitches against Orioles starter Kyle Bradish. He later advanced to second on a groundout by Jarren Duran. With two outs, Andruw Monasterio hit a ground ball to deep shortstop that Gunnar Henderson couldn’t handle, putting runners on the corners with two outs. And of course, when you give a team four outs, they often make you pay. In this case, Eli White hit a ball into the seats to put the Red Sox up 3-1. That would go on to be the final score.

After Tolle exited the game, Erik Miller retired three hitters in a row in the seventh inning. Jovani Moran handled the eighth, seeing the bottom of the Orioles order and making quick work of them. Aroldis Chapman took the ball in the ninth and allowed Pete Alonso to reach base with one out via a ground-ball single, but struck out the final two hitters to secure the victory and record his 400th career save. Notably, his final pitch of the at-bat was 101.0 mph. It was his first time reaching that number since July, and just his third time hitting 101 (without rounding) this season. The milestone was likely on his mind, but it’s nice to know he can still reach back and bring the heat in a high-leverage situation.

So, why did this feel like a postseason game? It had (almost) all of the ingredients of winning in the postseason. Starting pitching? Payton Tolle was lights out. Home runs? It’s hard to string together hits against elite pitching in the postseason to put together big innings. Home runs are often the deciding factor. Today, Eli White stepped up with two runners on base to put up a crooked number. Bullpen? The bullpen allowed just one hit over the final three frames today.

It will look different for the Red Sox in October this season, given the number of players returning from the injured list. Willson Contreras will play a part. Ceddanne Rafaela will be back as well. Tyron Guerrero, and maybe even Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, or Johan Oviedo could be throwing innings out of the bullpen. A notable omission from today’s game was Garrett Whitlock. The eighth inning would typically be his in a two-run game, but Chad Tracy opted for Jovani Moran, who has struggled, instead. With Whitlock working on both Thursday and Friday, he was likely unavailable. The team has been careful to manage their arms down the stretch to be prepared for the postseason, but that might be a hint as to where he is healthwise.

The Red Sox return home on Monday for a six-game homestand against the Angels and Royals.

Three Studs

Payton Tolle (6 IP, 1 ER, 12 K, 0 BB, 1 Pushup)

Eli White (2-4, HR)

Erik Miller, Jovani Moran, Aroldis Chapman (3 IP, 1 H, 5 K)

Three Duds

Mickey Gasper (0-1, 2 BB, HBP)

Mickey Gasper didn’t even hit a home run today. What a bum.

Roman Anthony (0-4, BB)

Nick Sogard (0-4, 3 K)

Phillies' rotation gamble looks sharp as Aaron Nola keeps rolling originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Phillies went into the trade deadline with a few targets in mind.

A bat who could consistently get on base, a pair of relievers and, arguably most importantly, some starting pitching depth.

Philadelphia acquired the first two but was unable to land the latter, forcing the club to trust what it already had.

That answer wasn’t expected to be Alan Rangel or Brian Keller, a pair of minor-leaguers who had given the Phillies innings earlier in the year. It meant trusting Andrew Painter following a rough first stint in the majors.

And leaning on the right arm of their longest-tenured player.

Aaron Nola had looked much more like himself since the beginning of July, but there were reservations. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski even admitted he was “a little” concerned about the rotation’s depth.

Whether by choice or necessity, the decision to trust what the Phillies already had looks much better a little more than a month later.

Nola offered the latest evidence Sunday at Citizens Bank Park, delivering seven innings of one-run baseball in a 5-4 loss to the Braves.

He allowed four hits, walked one and struck out five. It was his seventh consecutive start of at least five innings with three or fewer runs allowed.

“The stuff felt better right now than it did back in April, and I made a little bit better pitches today than I did that game,” Nola said. “I just tried to dial it in, take it pitch by pitch, and Stubbs caught a really good game.”

Nola’s reference to April was an important one.

The last time he faced Atlanta, the Braves tagged him for six runs on seven hits. That outing was part of a difficult opening three months in which Nola posted a 6.04 ERA, the highest among qualified starters in baseball.

Since the beginning of July, Nola has recorded a 3.26 ERA across 12 starts, the 17th-best mark in baseball over that span.

The difference goes deeper than the surface-level results.

Teams, especially earlier in the year, tried to ambush Nola on the first pitch because he does not rely on overpowering velocity. Over his first 17 starts, Nola used his knuckle curve more than 30 percent of the time on the first pitch.

Opponents hit .452 in plate appearances that ended on the first pitch, with Nola posting a 9.00 ERA in those situations.

Over his last 12 starts, he has reduced his first-pitch knuckle-curve usage by eight percentage points while increasing his changeup usage by seven percentage points.

Opponents have hit .310 in plate appearances ending on the first pitch during that stretch, with Nola recording a 3.86 ERA in those situations.

Those numbers still do not jump off the page, but they represent a massive improvement. Very few pitchers are going to produce strong results when a hitter puts the first pitch in play.

Nola also kept his pitch count under control Sunday by attacking throughout the afternoon. He generated three first-pitch outs and reached two strikes against 14 hitters.

That has been another key to his turnaround: making the final pitch.

Over his first 17 starts, opponents hit .220 against Nola with two strikes, the third-highest average allowed among qualified starters.

Over his last 12, they are hitting .177. His put-away rate, the percentage of two-strike pitches that result in a strikeout, has increased by nearly three percentage points. His chase rate has climbed by three percentage points, too.

That’s the key.

The Braves employed an aggressive approach Sunday, but when Nola got hitters where he wanted them, he finished the at-bat, whether the ball landed in Garrett Stubbs’ mitt or was put in play.

Nola’s explanation was considerably less numerical.

“Just trying to have good work weeks and trying to stay sharp with all my stuff, my delivery, and just to win counts,” Nola said. “Take it pitch by pitch, try not to get too ahead of myself and just slow the game down. But like today, early outs, they helped.”

Painter has also rewarded the Phillies’ trust since returning to the majors on July 31, posting a 3.12 ERA across seven starts.

Together, Painter and Nola have helped settle what appeared to be the greatest concern surrounding Philadelphia’s rotation at the deadline.

“It’s a long season, and obviously it’s been an up-and-down season,” Nola said. “I just needed to stick with my routine and stay consistent with it, and the belief that things can turn around. That’s just kind of what I believe throughout the year.

“You can’t focus on all the results at times because there are some things that are out of my control. But the things I can control, I try to keep sharp and focus on those.”

The Phillies’ decision looks even better when compared to the alternatives.

The eight significant starting pitchers moved at the deadline have combined for a 3.90 ERA since being traded. Nola and Painter have combined for a 2.75 ERA over that same span.

Philadelphia wanted another starter. Instead, the club has watched two pitchers already in the organization outperform the group that was available.

There’s an old saying: Sometimes the best moves you make are the ones you don’t make.

On Sunday the Detroit Tigers tried to salvage a split of their four-game weekend series against the Guardians in Cleveland on a breezy Sunday afternoon. Alas, for the third time in three days, the Guardians came away with a walk-off victory, a 3-2 win in ten innings. In all three, Cleveland never threw a pitch with a lead.

Jackson Jobe made his seventh start of the year for the Tigers. It’s been pretty up-and-down for him since returning from his Tommy John Surgery-induced layoff: either he gives you about five innings and gives up one run, or he gets bashed-around and leaves the game early after a half-dozen runs against him. His losses have featured multiple home runs surrendered; therefore, if he keeps the ball in the yard, he’ll do alright.

Facing the Tigers was Gavin Williams, who’s having a roller-coaster year of his own. In some months he’s been sensational: in five July starts his WHIP was under 0.8 and he only walked four batters in total. In five August starts he walked a bunch more and had an era of 5.56. His previous September start saw him strike out a baker’s-dozen Blue Jays, though, and he’d strike out eleven today.

Riley Greene wasted no time continuing his hard-hitting ways: after Hao-Yu Lee walked and Colt Keith’s bloop single with one out in the first inning, Greene smashed a double to score both runners and put the Tigers up 2-0 early. As it turned out, those were the only runs the Tigers would score all day.

That lead was cut in half in the bottom half of the inning with consecutive doubles from Steven Kwan (of course) and Travis Bazzana. After a groundout, Jobe lost the strike zone and walked the next two batters on eight pitches to load the bases; he went 3-1 on Angel Genao before eventually striking him out. Jobe coaxed a grounder to second out of Patrick Bailey for the third out, wiggling out of a heck of a jam.

Both starting pitchers really settled down after the first, with plenty of strikeouts for both Jobe and Williams. Greene then hit his twenty-ninth double with two out in the third, a laser beam one-hopping the centrefield wall, but was stranded there when Dillon Dingler just got underneath a high four-seamer a bit, not quite clearing the centrefield wall and stranding Greene at second.

Jobe, though, really got tough: after the pair of first-inning walks to load the bases, he set down twelve Guardians in a row until Brayan Rocchio hit a solo home run in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2. (Rocchio had a .915 OPS against the Tigers coming into today’s game, the highest against any team he’s faced more than a few times this year.) Kwan followed with a double (of course), who advanced to third on a groundout, but Jobe struck Jo Adell out to end the inning, and his day. His final line: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K.

Tyler Holton came on for the sixth as the Cleveland Air Show roared on, and he plunked the leadoff batter. But after a popup, Holton got a grounder to second base to start an inning-ending double play, and that’s the pitcher we grew to love a couple of years ago, isn’t it? I’ll even forgive him for his, uh, questionable hairstyle choices.

Drew Sommers, who coughed up the game-winning home run to Rocchio on Friday afternoon, pitched the seventh, and faced him with two out. He got a harmless grounder to third for the final out, and I imagine Sommers is going to sleep a little better tonight than he did on Friday.

Kevin McGonigle led off the top of the eighth with a walk, and after Lee fouled-out to first, Keith hit a screaming line drive to second and McGonigle couldn’t get back to first before a throw doubled him off and ended the inning.

Sommers carried on into the bottom of the eighth and got Kwan to fly out, but allowed an infield single to Bazzana before giving way to Tyler Kinley. Bazzana was then thrown out trying to steal second for the second out, and Adell hit a 108-mph bouncer to shortstop on which John Peck made a great short-hop play, throwing Adell out at first for the third out, sending the game to the ninth tied.

Cade Smith, the tough Guardians’ closer, came on for the ninth and he got the Tigers 1-2-3. That meant…

Kenley Jansen was brought into the game, tied 2-2, to start the ninth against a Cleveland team that has a penchant for walking-off opponents. How would Jansen do? An up-the-elevator-shaft foulout to the catcher, a popout to shortstop, and a comebacker for the third out. No problem here, folks!

Smith carried on into the tenth, with Brett Callahan on second base, and struck out the side.

Kyle Finnegan came into the game for the bottom of the tenth with Angel Genao on second; Patrick Bailey led off with a single to centre to push the winning run up to third base. Daniel Schneeman then singled to right, scoring Genao for the 3-2 win.

If nothing else, at least we don’t have to see the Guardians again this season. Sheesh.

Final score: Guardians 3, Tigers 2

Notes and Rememberances

• It was nice to see Riley Greene smack a couple of home runs on Saturday. Those were his first homers since a solo dinger in Seattle on August 4.
• Someone on a radio broadcast recently mentioned that Kevin McGonigle has played in more games this season than he ever has a professional (139 played through today). Perhaps that’s one reason he’s been slumping lately; from mid-August through the doubleheader loss on Friday he was 15-for-77 (.195 batting average) with a sub-.600 OPS.
• I don’t like air shows, for a variety of reasons.
• Cade Smith was the second Canadian pitcher for the Guardians of the day. Edmontonian Erik Sabrowski, who pitched the seventh, was the first.
• On this day in 1870, Louisa Swain cast a vote in a primary election in Wyoming. That wouldn’t make the news these days, but she was the first woman to vote in a general election in the United States since 1807, when New Jersey repealed the right of women to vote. Thus, that’s why she’s remembered today. You go, girl!

This one, I am sure, you had fairly high confidence in the Cubs’ chances, what with Clay Holmes on the mound. Holmes had an ERA of 0.36 over his last four starts and had been solid all year between the Mets and Cubs rotations.

Welp. Holmes not only had his worst start as a Cub, it was the worst of his entire career, allowing eight runs in 4.1 innings. Despite Pete Crow-Armstrong smashing his 40th home run of the season, the game wound up a blowout, 10-3 in favor of the Marlins.

This game was close, for a while, at least. No one scored in the first, and then the Marlins pushed across a pair in the bottom of the second. Holmes had trouble with command the entire afternoon, throwing only 46 strikes in 80 pitches, and there was a walk involved in that two-run Marlins rally.

The Cubs got one of those runs back in the top of the third. Carson Kelly led off with a single and Tyrone Taylor’s double moved him to third.

PCA’s sacrifice fly scored Kelly [VIDEO].

The Cubs then tied the game up in the top of the third. Alex Bregman led off with a walk he received from a successful ABS challenge [VIDEO].

Michael Conforto followed with a single, with Bregman taking third, and it looked like it might be a crooked number inning for the Cubs.

Only one run scored, though, when Nico Hoerner hit into this double play [VIDEO].

The Marlins took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a home run by Heriberto Hernandez. It would have been worse if not for Taylor stealing a home run from Otto Lopez [VIDEO].

That’s when PCA decided to match that, hitting home run No. 40 in the top of the fifth [VIDEO].

As you surely know, that’s the first 40-homer season by any Cub since Derrek Lee hit 46 in 2005 — and it was done on D-Lee’s 51st birthday!

PCA also becomes just the second Cubs left-handed hitter to hit 40 home runs in a season, joining Hall of Famer Billy Williams, who hit 42 in 1970. More on Billy from BCB’s JohnW53:

Billy Williams, the only left-handed Cub to hit 40 homers until PCA achieved the feat today, smacked No. 40 on Sept. 18, 1970, as the third batter of Game 1 of a doubleheader at Montreal, off Bill Stoneman. Today’s game was the Cubs’ 8,831st since then.

Here are the numbers behind PCA’s 40th [VIDEO].

And here are even more numbers behind that milestone home run [VIDEO].

So it’s 3-3 heading to the bottom of the fifth, still a competitive game, until Holmes put it out of reach. A leadoff walk — hate those! — single and walk loaded the bases, and Holmes hit Griffin Conine to make it 4-3. That was followed by a two-run single and fly out, then another single making it 7-3. Colin Rea then entered the game and allowed another RBI single, with the run charged to Holmes.

It was clear that Holmes just didn’t have it in this game — command was poor, with the three walks being the most in any of his Cubs starts. It happens. I’m sure he’ll be fine going forward.

Rea pitched through the seventh, allowing two more runs on a home run by Javier Sanoja, helping to save the bullpen. Daniel Palencia was given the bottom of the eighth and he allowed a one-out walk followed by an inning-ending double play. That’s good, a scoreless inning in a low-leverage situation, but Palencia’s velocity is still down a tick or two. None of his 16 pitches hit 100 miles per hour and he threw only six strikes among the 16. So I’d say Palencia is still a work in progress.

As the saying goes: “Flush this one and move on.” The Cubs did take two of three from a team that entered this series at 42-27 in its home park, so that’s something, anyway.

The Cubs lost no ground in the wild card race, as the Phillies also lost Sunday, 5-4 to the Braves after having a 4-1 lead heading to the eighth. So the Cubs still lead Philadelphia by half a game for the top wild card spot. The Cubs have 18 games remaining, the Phillies 19. For whatever it’s worth, the Brewers also lost Sunday. The Cubs trail them by seven games, so the NL Central is probably out of reach, but it’s important to note that the Brewers lost twice to the Reds over the weekend, and Kyle Harrison got hit hard again Sunday, the second straight start he’s been hit. So perhaps there are some cracks in the Brewers facade.

The Cubs will find that out first-hand starting Monday, when they begin a three-game series against the Brewers in Milwaukee. Interestingly, all three pitching matchups in the upcoming series will be rematches of the last three games of the four-game series at Wrigley Field last week. That begins with Matthew Boyd against Robert Gasser Monday afternoon. Game time Monday is 1:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

This is how it was supposed to look. 

Held down for seven innings after which they trailed 2-0, the Mets lineup went to work in the eighth. 

Brett Baty, who has not distinguished himself this season, pinch hit and clubbed an opposite-field solo shot. A.J. Ewing, a rare bright spot of a dark year, followed by stroking a single and advancing to second on a Luis Torrens sacrifice bunt. A sinking liner to right from Francisco Lindor was caught, but the out moved Ewing 90 feet away from tying the game. 

And after Juan Soto was intentionally walked to add a “little bit” more fuel for Bo Bichette, he would later say, Bichette did one better than tying it: A player the Mets signed partly because of his work in the clutch smoked a two-out, go-ahead, three-run homer to left off Carson Seymour, which the Mets rode to a 4-2 victory over the Giants in front of 29,410 at Citi Field. 

If Bichette opts back in to a contract that would pay him $42 million next season, afternoons like Sunday’s would make 2027 a bit brighter for the Mets. 

“Bo’s a star,” interim manager Andy Green said after a team that is clearly still trying seized a second straight series. “Stars should play like stars when they’re on the baseball field, and that’s how we see him.” 

That is not how Bichette played for the first roughly eight weeks of the season, during which the Mets sank and an established, expensive bat could not get going. 

But since the middle of May, Bichette has played like, well, Bo Bichette. Since May 18, Bichette raised his OPS from .531 to .713, a steady flow of hits for almost four months in which he is batting .292 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs. 

“I think when you look at who he’s been since maybe the middle of May,” Green said, “… He’s been really, really good. And that’s a huge swing.” 

Bichette swung, admired his work of art’s trajectory and glanced into a raucous Mets dugout before beginning to circle the bases. 

There are reasons for the Mets — who would have their first-round draft selection docked 10 picks if it falls outside of the top six — to disregard the results of games during a September in which the playoffs are out of reach. 

But the Mets, who managed just four hits and only tallied two at-bats with a runner in scoring position through seven innings against Cesar Perdomo and Joel Kuhnel, did not stop trying in a season in which effort has not been the problem. 

“Doesn’t really matter how’s the game gone,” Bichette said, “as long as you get it done at some point.” 

Sunday’s game was one that was seemingly lost by one error in the 2nd inning. For the first time since Thursday, the Orioles took a lead over the Red Sox thanks to a two-out rally in the bottom of the 1st. Boston starter Payon Tolle began the frame by striking out Blaze Alexander and Pete Alonso. That brought up lefty-masher Coby Mayo, who extended the inning with a line drive into the left-center for a two-out double. Fellow lefty-hitting specialist Christian Encarnacion-Strand then hooked an 0-2 cutter from Tolle into the left field corner, scoring Mayo and giving the O’s an early 1-0 lead.

The RBI double from CES broke an 18-inning scoreless streak that started after the infielder’s two-run homer in the 9th on Thursday. The early lead gave Birdland some hope that we’d finally see a competitive performance against the Red Sox.

That hope immediately faded after the top of the 2nd. With one out, Kyle Bradish walked Caleb Durbin to put the tying run on first. Jarren Duran then chopped a ball to the right side, with the ball hit far enough to the left that Alexander could only get the out at first. With Durbin on second, Andruw Monasterio grounded the would-be final out to Gunnar Henderson at short. Instead, Gunnar booted the ball, allowing Monasterio to reach and the inning to continue. Two pitches later, Bradish left a slider over the plate to No. 9 hitter Eli White, who blasted it into the Camden Yards’ bullpens for a three-run homer.

After the Gunnar error turned a scoreless inning into a 3-1 Boston advantage, it seemed to take all the wind out of the Orioles’ sails. From the last out of the 1st to the bottom of the 5th, Tolle set down 10 straight Orioles, with 7 going down via strikeout.

Recent call-up Rece Hinds ended that streak in the 5th with a leadoff double to the right-center gap. However, the outfielder was then back-picked at second—with Hinds being called safe on the field, only for replay to overturn the call on a very close play. Tolle, now pitching with the bases empty, continued to mow down the O’s, striking out Leody Taveras and Carlos Narváez to post a scoreless 5th.

Pete Alonso would tag Tolle for a two-out single in the 6th, but Mayo couldn’t take advantage, grounding out to second to end the frame. Beating a tough left-hander like Tolle is never easy, but the Orioles made it extra difficult Sunday thanks to their lack of plate discipline. The Red Sox left-hander completed 6 innings on just 91 pitches, while striking out 12 and issuing no walks.

The Red Sox bullpen shut down the Baltimore bats until the 9th, when Boston closer Aroldis Chapman entered looking for his third save of the series and 400th of his career. In theory, the Orioles had the perfect part of their lineup ready to face Chapman, with Alexander leading off, followed by Alonso, Mayo and CES.

In practice, it was another exercise in disappointment for this Orioles’ offense. Alexander started by launching a towering fly to left, one that looked like extra bases off the bat, but quickly settled into an easy F7. Alsono then snuck a single through the right side to put the tying run on base. The Polar Bear then moved to second on a wild pitch, as Mayo ran the count full. However, the big league’s best lefty masher came up empty against Chapman, striking out on a 3-2 slider away for the second out. CES could do no better, striking out on a 101 mph fastball to seal the loss.

And as has often been the case with the Orioles of late, the pitching staff did enough to win the game, but simply didn’t get enough run support. In the top of the 3rd, Adley Rutschman led off the inning with a down the right-field line that skipped off the glove of a diving Alonso. Bradish worked around the leadoff extra-base hit, however, getting a pair of groundouts and a pop-up to strand Rutschman.

Bradish worked a 1-2-3 inning in the 4th, but wouldn’t come back for the 5th after throwing 85 pitches over the first four frames. The Orioles bullpen in relief of Bradish was nothing short of excellent. The recently recalled Anthony Nunez worked scoreless innings in the 5th and 6th while racking up three Ks.

Luis De León then took over in the 7th, pitching the best inning of his young major league career as he got two weak ground outs and a high fly to center. Cam Sanders would give up a leadoff single to Trevor Story in the 8th, only to bounce back with three straight strikeouts to end the inning. Grant Wolfram then worked a scoreless 9th to keep the threat of a comeback alive, though the O’s failed to capitalize against Chapman.

The loss extends the Orioles’ losing streak to six, their longest losing streak of the season. It also drops the O’s to 4 GB of the Guardians for the final wild card spot, with Cleveland starting a three-game set in Baltimore tomorrow on Labor Day.

The Mets rallied for four runs in the eighth inning to defeat the San Francisco Giants 4-2, earning a series win.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- The Mets’ bats were held silent through the first seven innings, but that all changed in the eighth inning. Trailing 2-0, Brett Baty made things interesting by hitting a pinch-hit, solo home run just over the orange line at the top of the left field wall. Baty's second career pinch-hit home run cut the Giants' lead in half.

Later in the inning, with runners on the corners and two outs and after the Giants intentionally walked Juan Soto, Bo Bichette demolished a hanging breaking ball from Carson Seymour for a no-doubt three-run shot. Seemingly in the blink of an eye, the Mets went from down one to up two, swinging the game completely in their favor.

-- Kodai Senga, who came into the game 5-for-5 in save opportunities, set the Giants down 1-2-3 to remain perfect in that role.

-- Christian Scott looked great out of the gates, retiring the first 11 batters that he faced. But the Giants rallied with three straight singles in the third, the final of which being a two-run single from Jung Hoo Lee, putting the Giants up 2-0. 

Carson Benge has been outstanding defensively in right field this season, but with two outs and a runner on first in the inning, Benge threw to third instead of hitting the cutoff man, allowing the batter Jonah Cox to reach second base on the throw. That, in turn, allowed both runners to score on the Lee blooper of Semien.

Benge made up for it later in the game, though, when he made a spectacular diving catch to end the top of the sixth.

-- More poor defense helped chase Scott from the game in the fifth. With a runner at first and one out, a would-be double-play ball to first base bounced off of Mark Vientos’ glove and into the outfield, putting runners at second and third. Nate Lavender came in to clean things up by striking out Rafael Devers to prevent any runs from scoring, but Scott's day was done.

Overall, it was a strong appearance for Scott, who went 4.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. 

-- Making just his third career major league appearance, 24-year-old Cesar Perdomo shut the Mets down for 6.0 innings. The lefty did not allow a run while giving up just three hits. He struck out four and walked one, and while he left in line for the win, the Giants' bullpen couldn't make it stand.

-- Tobias Myers, just called up from Triple-A Syracuse, pitched a scoreless eighth for the Mets, allowing a single and striking out a pair. It was his first major league appearance since July 11, and he came away with the win.

Game MVP

Bichette, who came up huge in the clutch with his three-run blast.

Highlights 

Christian Scott strikes out Rafael Devers in a 1-2-3 first inning pic.twitter.com/wdpzB1JZhN

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 6, 2026

Nick Morabito makes the catch against the side wall in left field! pic.twitter.com/pjwzrmMlsW

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 6, 2026

OH WOW, CARSON BENGE!

Another pulchritudinous play! pic.twitter.com/M73unGivqc

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 6, 2026

Two strikeouts in the 8th for Tobias Myers pic.twitter.com/D1xOyiuhey

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 6, 2026

This one clears the fence!

Brett Baty goes the other way for a home run! pic.twitter.com/ybSbk8wOhp

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 6, 2026

BO BICHETTE LAUNCHES A GO-AHEAD THREE-RUN HOMER! pic.twitter.com/2REqC9pgLv

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 6, 2026

Upcoming Schedule

The Mets play a Labor Day matinee against the Miami Marlins on Monday at 1:10 p.m. on SNY.

Jonah Tong will face righty Eury Perez.

The Phillies cannot get the eighth inning right. They’ve tried several pitchers as the team’s primary setup man this season, and all of them have proven unable to do the job consistently. On Sunday, they gave rookie Alex McFarlane a shot at the role.

He also did not succeed.

McFarlane gave up a game-tying three run home run to Ronald Acuna, Jr, and the Braves scored another in the ninth, sending the Phillies to a gut-punch of a loss.

The story of the game should have been Aaron Nola. The rejuvenated veteran pitched seven strong innings, scattering four hits, to give up a single run. If not for an epic 15-pitch at bat against Mike Yastrzemski in the third, Nola might have been able to pitch another inning. (If only.)

The Phillies’ offense started off well, taking advantage of a Braves error in the first to score a couple of runs via Luis Arraez sacrifice fly and Alec Bohm double.

But after they couldn’t score on a first-and-third, one out spot in the third, Braves starter Tyler Mahle settled in for the next few innings.

Mahle exited after six, and the Phillies celebrated by going deep against reliever Dylan Dodd. First, Derek Hill sent one into the left field seats.

Then Kyle Schwarber lined one out to right.

That lead seemed comfortable, but with one out in the eighth, McFarlane gave up consecutive hits. He got ahead of Acuna 0-2 but chose to throw five straight fastballs after that. It’s nice to be able to throw 101 MPH, but when Acuna is fouling them off, an off-speed pitch or two might be warranted. (Catcher Garrett Stubbs deserves his share of the blame here too.) Instead, McFarlane left one where Acuna could do some damage.

Jhoan Duran tried to keep the game tied in the ninth, but he hasn’t always been at his best in tie games and that continued on Sunday. A leadoff single followed by a triple gave the Braves their first lead of the game.

In the bottom of the ninth, Bryson Stott led off with a single and made it to third base with one out. But Bryan De La Cruz hit a line drive right at the shortstop, and Edmundo Sosa predetermined that he was going to swing no matter what, and the Phillies stranded the tying run at third.

The Phillies will need to quickly shake off this gut punch. The series concludes with a Labor Day matinee, and if they want to preserve any realistic chance at winning the division, they’ll need to salvage a split of the series.

Box Score

For the third straight series, the Milwaukee Brewers failed to win the series finale. With the playoffs looming and a deep run expected by the fanbase and franchise alike, it doesn’t bode well for anyone’s confidence.

To pour more salt into an already festering wound, the Brewers were looking to Kyle Harrison to provide length and give an exhausted bullpen a break. Furthermore, coming off one of the worst starts of his career, Harrison was due. Unfortunately for him and the Brewers, the Reds were eyeing their third straight series win, and they got it.

Harrison couldn’t even settle into the game before Dane Myers opened the bottom of the first inning with a lead-off double. Shortly after an Elly De La Cruz walk, Tyler Stephenson drove in the first run to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.

After another baserunning mistake made by the Brewers in the top of the second inning, the Reds were back in business. De La Cruz and Sal Stewart went back-to-back with sacrifice outs to extend their lead over Milwaukee to 3-0.

Harrison’s outing continued to worsen in the bottom of the third, as he allowed his third walk of the game to lead off the inning. After a couple of punchouts and looking like he was finding a rhythm, Juan Brito doubled to center field to drive in the Reds’ fourth run of the game.

With the game in the early stages and the Reds running away with things, the Brewers offense needed to find something; cue a Jake Bauers home run. Bauers hit a two-run blast to cut the Reds’ lead in half, driving in Jackson Chourio to make the game 4-2. Later in the inning, Cooper Pratt played small ball and dropped a sacrifice bunt to bring home Garrett Mitchell, who reached base on a triple, to pull the Crew within 4-3.

Pat Murphy, trying to instill any sort of confidence in Harrison and his fastball again, sent him back out to the mound for the bottom of the fourth inning. The Reds quickly responded on offense as De La Cruz hit his 23rd home run of the season to push the lead back to three runs. It took another base hit and his fourth walk of the inning to force Murphy to remove Harrison from the game.

Harrison threw 92 pitches in just 3 2/3 innings, with 41 of those being balls. His command issues led to four walks in the afternoon, matching a season high in that category. Overall, he has given up 19 hits in his last two outings, including six homers. Harrison has been a key piece to the Brewers’ success this season, and with the playoffs a few weeks away, they desperately need him to get back on track… quickly.

The Brewers offense kept them in the game, racking up back-to-back walks before Mitchell drove in a run to make it 6-4. Turang crushed his 31st double of the season to bring around the tying run to complete the Brewers’ comeback. Unfortunately for the Brewers and their bullpen, that was the closest they would get to grabbing a lead.

De La Cruz continued to be a thorn in the Brewers’ side this series as he smacked his 25th double of the season, and his second of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. The double brought two more runs around and put the Reds up 8-6. Overall in the series, De La Cruz collected seven hits, five RBIs, two home runs, and two walks, no doubt taking the player of the series award, if there was one.

The Reds were finally held quiet throughout the bottom of the sixth and seventh, and the Brewers did put together a last-ditch attempt over the final two innings, but ultimately couldn’t come up with the big hit. Pratt and Turang drew back-to-back walks to lead off the top of the eighth inning. Bo Naylor collected his first hit as a Brewer with a base hit to left field to drive in a run to make it 9-7.

Then, in the bottom of the eighth, the final nail was driven into what was another frustrating bullpen disaster for the Brewers. The Reds stepped up to the plate and drove in three runs to put the game out of reach. The Brewers were only able to scratch across one run in the top of the ninth, leaving the tying run in the on-deck circle for a 12-8 loss.

This is the first series the Brewers have dropped to the Reds since the final series of the 2025 season, when they dropped two of three. The Brewers will be headed back home after a week on the road to take on the same opponents they did over the last week. They’ll start against the Cubs in a three-game series on Labor Day afternoon, with first pitch at 1:10 p.m.

Just when hope was fading and the Braves were staring down a second straight loss to the Phillies which would have dropped their NL East lead to three games, La Bestia showed up in a major way.

Ronald Acuña Jr.’s three-run homer in the eighth inning erased a 4-1 deficit. Austin Riley’s RBI triple in the top of the ninth scored Ozzie Albies, who led off with a double, to complete the comeback and help the Braves pull out a 5-4 win over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.

The rally pushed Atlanta’s division lead to five games and means it will at the very least keep the division lead where it was entering the series should the Braves lose Monday afternoon’s series finale.

Acuña, who also had a sacrifice fly, tied his season high with four RBIs in the win, hitting his 16th homer, which may be his most impactful of the season. Mike Yastrzemski and Drake Baldwin set the stage for the bomb as the baserunners, working a walk and a single, respectively, to bring up Acuña as the tying run.

After a season that hasn’t lived up the slugger’s lofty expectations, he now has hits in eight of his last nine games, including four straight multi-hit games and six multi-hit games in that span. Over the last nine games, Acuña is 17-for-34 with three doubles, two homers, six runs and seven RBIs.

Raisel Iglesias allowed a leadoff single to Bryson Stott in the bottom of the ninth. He reached third with one out after a groundout and a passed ball. But Iglesias got Bryan De La Cruz to line out to short and struck out Edmundo Sosa on three pitches to secure his 31st save.

The Braves dug themselves an early hole with a pair of unearned runs in the first inning on Mauricio Dubón’s throwing error which negated a potential 6-4-3 double play.

Instead, his fifth error of the season gave the Phillies two runners in scoring position with no outs. A Luis Arraez sacrifice fly followed by Alec Bohm ’s two-out RBI double staked Philadelphia to a 2-0 lead behind a pair of unearned runs.

The Phillies threatened a few more times in the next two innings — including putting runners on the corners with one out in the third — but Mahle escaped that jam unscathed and really settled in from there, retiring the final 11 batters he faced.

He finished allowing the two unearned runs on four hits over six innings, striking out three and walking none. He lowered his ERA through six starts with the Braves to 1.24.

The Braves scraped across one run in the sixth on Acuña’s sacrifice fly, but squandered a few chances over the middle innings which made it seem like Mahle was headed for a tough-luck loss.

Solo homers from Derek Hill and Kyle Schwarber in the seventh inning dug the Braves into an even deeper hole.

Phillies starter Aaron Nola was excellent, taking a perfect game into the fourth and allowing one run on four hits over seven innings, striking out five and walking one.

The same can’t be said for Philadelphia’s bullpen, though. Rookie Alex McFarlane blew his first career save, giving up all three of the runs in the eighth. Phillies closer Jhoan Duran (2-5) then took the loss for giving up the run in the ninth.

Dylan Lee (6-0) recorded the win with a scoreless eighth inning in his first appearance since Aug. 31.

The Braves go for the series win Monday afternoon (1:05 p.m. ET) with Bryce Elder Grant Holmes starting against Philadelphia’s Jesus Luzardo.

It’s been a whirlwind 12 hours for Michael Arroyo, who got notice just after finishing his game last night for Triple-A Tacoma that he would be getting on a plane from Albuquerque to Seattle to make his big-league debut. Arroyo got on a plane in Albuquerque at 6 AM; by 10 AM he was in the Mariners clubhouse, where Randy Arozarena gave up his extra locker to accommodate Arroyo; and at 11:45 AM, he was meeting with the media for the first time as a member of the big-league club.

But even though he said it was a surprise to get the call, Arroyo appeared composed and calm. It’s the same unflappable demeanor Arroyo has brought to each stop at the minor leagues, where he’s progressed steadily since making his stateside debut in 2023. Arroyo’s numbers are eerily consistent at every level; even if he’s struggled initially to adjust when he’s jumped levels, he’s always come back the next season and conquered it, making the necessary adjustments for success. The consistency is the thing he says he’s proudest of, and the thing to which he credits his ascent to the big leagues as a 21-year-old.

“I have maintained my consistency in everything I’ve done,” Arroyo said. “I wasn’t trying to change too much, just keep doing what I’ve been doing and enjoying the game.”

Enjoying the game is a lesson that came to Arroyo at a young age, when he was playing with much older players as a member of Colombia’s national team. There have only been 34 Colombian-born players in MLB; when he takes the field, Arroyo will the the 35th, and the ninth active Colombian player. It’s a much smaller fraternity than, for example, the Dominican-born or Venezuelan-born players, and he credits his fellow Colombian players with putting their arms around a teenaged Arroyo and teaching him how to be a professional but also have fun with the game.

“[On the Colombian team], I learned how to really enjoy the game. When you’re a younger player with less experience, you want to do everything totally perfect, try to force big things, try to prove yourself. And being around those older guys, they told me to just relax, be myself, enjoy the game, and that really helped me. Even now I try not to get my emotions get way too high. Just enjoy the game.”

That consistency is the thing that most stood out to Dan Wilson about Arroyo this spring.

“One thing that has impressed my is his ability to stay very even. He’s a kid who’s very mature for his age. As he’s jumped levels, things don’t seem to affect him one way or the other. He just continues to be who he is.”

To Wilson, that maturity in the clubhouse translates to Arroyo’s performance in the box. For a team that’s been lacking in on-base ability since Brendan Donovan went to the concussion IL, Wilson is encouraged about the type of at-bats Arroyo can bring to the team.

“He’s a kid who understands his swing. He understands the type of hitter he is, and he stays within that…He stays inside the ball really well and is able to use the whole field. He’s balanced during the at-bat, he’s tough to fool, and that puts him in a really good spot to be successful..A chance to put up some good at-bats, see some pitches, get on base and make some things happen, and that’s what we’re looking for him to do.”

Arroyo’s performance in the box has never been in doubt; the question has been where he’ll play in the field. Historically a second baseman, a big-league role that’s now blocked by Cole Young, the Mariners have tried Arroyo out in the outfield to try to get some positional flexibility. But Arroyo has drawn praise from infield coach Perry Hill, who has been working with Arroyo for several springs now, for his improvements on the dirt. Arroyo, for his part, speaks worshipfully of the legendary infield coach.

“It’s not something you think about when you sign with a team, but being able to work with Perry, I’ve learned so many great things, he’s taught me everything. I learned a lot and it’s stuff that I still put in place whenever I’m out at second base.”

For now, Arroyo will share time at second base with Cole Young, who has been perhaps showing some signs of fatigue down the stretch after leading the 2026 Mariners in innings played, posting up at second base day in and day out. The two form a natural platoon pair, with Young a lefty and Arroyo a righty, but the hope is each will hit enough to earn an everyday slot. For now, that might mean DH days or outfield days for Arroyo, who gets to join his long-time teammate Lazaro Montes in Seattle (Laz even offered to pick up Arroyo from the airport this morning; Arroyo declined, telling Montes to rest up for the day’s game). By a stroke of luck, Arroyo’s mother and brother – who he played with on the Colombian team – happened to be visiting Arroyo in Albuquerque and were able to make the trip up to see him in his debut when he will officially become the 35th ever Colombian-born MLB player. It’s something Arroyo, who did his first big-league media appearance wearing his Colombian flag headband, has been working toward since the day he signed.

“It means everything,” he said. “From the first moment when I signed in 2022, that’s my mentality every day. I want to be a big leaguer from Colombia.”

Four years later, Arroyo’s dream is about to come true, thanks to his consistency on the field and off.

The Mariners will look to avoid the ignominy of being mopped at home – something that they’ve managed to avoid since August 2017 – by the lowly A’s this afternoon, but hey, we’ll be treated to another big league debut! In case you didn’t know, we love those around here, and it’s at least something to keep an eye on as the club plays out the string.

Lineups:

Michael Arroyo makes his long-awaited debut in Seattle batting eighth and playing second base, giving Cole Young a rare day off. Jhonny Pereda will be behind the dish for Bryan Woo while Cal Raleigh – whose hot hitting continued with a three-hit night on Saturday – will remain in the lineup at DH. Lefty rookie Gage Jump will start for the Athletics, so Weston Wilson once again will be at the hot corner. Sacramento’s lineup is fairly similar to last night’s, with the exception of Carlos Cortes being back in left field and Jonah Heim sitting in favor of Brian Serven. This will be the first time Jump has faced the Mariners since his Major League debut on May 26th, in which he gave up four runs over five innings. Something close to that would be more than welcome after last night’s beatdown from Jeffrey Springs.

Game Info:

First Pitch: 1:10pm

TV: Mariners TV

Radio: Old Reliable