On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the Los Angeles Dodgers reaching 4 million fans over the course of the MLB regular season.
The Dodgers are the first baseball team to reach that milestone since the New York Yankees and New York Mets in 2008. The only other teams to do it were the Toronto Blue Jays (1991-93) and Colorado Rockies (1993). It’s an average of 49,537 fans per game, and strong show of ticket sales for MLB’s highest-revenue club. The Dodgers made $855 million in revenue in 2024, according to Sportico’sMLB valuations, more than the Yankees’ $799 million.
Here’s the catch: No other MLB team could hit that 4 million fan milestone currently. Dodger Stadium’s 56,000-seat capacity is the largest in MLB. The Yankees, Mets and Rockies are all in new stadiums, and the Blue Jays downsized their building last year. The second largest stadium in the league is in Arizona with a max capacity of about 48,300.
Next the hosts talk about the Sphere, the MSG-backed entertainment venue in Las Vegas. While sporting events like UFC and concert acts like U2 get a lot of attention, it’s the non-live shows that deliver most of the economics for the venue. The latest is an adaptation of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, which has generated more than $65 million in ticket sales through June. Plans for a Sphere in London have been scrapped, but the group plans to open one in UAE via a franchise model in the coming years.
The hosts close by discussing upheaval in college and junior hockey, where better development and new rules have changed recruiting and career paths for young prospects.
(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves signed veteran pitcher Charlie Morton to a major league contract on Monday, a day after the right-hander was designated for assignment and released by Detroit.
Braves manager Brian Snitker did not say if the 41-year-old Morton will pitch for the Braves in the final week of the season. Snitker said Morton will be in Atlanta on Tuesday.
“I don't know what (the plan is) until we get him here and talk through everything,” Snitker said. “We don't really have a plan. We got him back. I don't know what that plan would be. I talked to him Saturday afternoon before batting practice (in Detroit). It wasn't even on the radar.”
This would be Morton's third career stint with the Braves. He was drafted by Atlanta in the third round (95th overall) of the 2002 draft. Morton made his MLB debut with Atlanta in 2008 and from 2009 to 2020 pitched for the Pirates, Phillies, Astros and Rays, respectively, before returning to Atlanta for the 2021-24 seasons.
Morton signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Orioles in January and was traded to the Tigers before July's trade deadline.
Morton won a World Series title with the Astros in 2017 and the Braves in 2021.
This season, Morton is 9-11 with a 5.89 ERA in 32 games, including 26 starts. Morton has a career regular-season win-loss record of 147-134 over 415 games (406 starts) and 2,266 innings. His 2,195 career strikeouts rank sixth among active MLB pitchers.
In a corresponding move, Atlanta optioned right-handed pitcher Jhancarlos Lara to Triple-A Gwinnett and designated right-hander Carson Ragsdale for assignment.
SAN FRANCISCO — Throughout an up-and-down second half, the Giants always have viewed this final homestand as a huge potential boost for their MLB playoff chances. They knew that if they could just get within a game or two of a spot heading into the final week, they would have a decent chance to try and run the table and reach October.
They did not, however, enter this homestand within a game or two of the third wild-card spot. And they’re not going to run the table, either.
The final homestand of the year started with a 6-5 loss Monday to the St. Louis Cardinals, who pulled into a tie with the Giants in the overall NL standings. The Giants officially could be eliminated from postseason contention as soon as Tuesday.
On another warm night at Oracle Park, the teams took turns hitting rockets. There were 10 balls hit at least 106 mph, including five at 110-plus (three by Matt Chapman alone).
The scoring started early with a solo shot from Heliot Ramos, and the Giants went up 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth on singles by Ramos and Patrick Bailey.
Verlander’s attempt to continue climbing the all-time charts stood out as one of the storylines of the final homestand, but he had a rough night. The right-hander has been one of the game’s best pitchers over the last month, but he was charged with six runs — four of them earned — in 4 1/3 innings and didn’t take advantage of the early lead the Giants gave him.
Through 28 starts, Verlander still has just three wins. This will be the first season of his MLB career with double-digit starts and fewer than five wins. In fact, prior to this season he never had won fewer than 11 games in a season with at least 25 starts.
Verlander remains tied for 39th all-time with 265 wins, but he should get one more chance this weekend to pick up No. 266 and tie Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey for 37th.
Leading Off
Ramos got the season’s final homestand off to a great start, blasting a solo shot off Michael McGreevy while leading off the bottom of the first. It was Ramos’ fifth leadoff homer of the year, which put him in pretty good company. The only other right-handed batter to hit at least five leadoff homers for the Giants is Bobby Bonds, who did it three times. Barry’s dad had an incredible 11 leadoff homers in 1973 alone.
Ramos, who later added a two-run single, has five games left to reach 20 homers for a second straight season. The Giants already have three players — Chapman, Devers and Willy Adames — who have reached that mark.
Good With The Glove
The best defensive center fielders often are the ones who never leave their feet, and generally, that has been Drew Gilbert. The rookie gets good jumps and has done an impressive job of running balls down as a Giant, but he had to lay out to rob Thomas Saggese of extra bases in the seventh.
Gilbert went 95 feet to make the catch, and it ended up being a big play. The next batter hit a ball into the gap, but the Cardinals wouldn’t score in the inning.
Gilbert’s role heading into next year is still unclear, but he definitely appears to be the roster’s best defensive outfielder. If he hits enough to become an everyday player, the Giants might have to have an interesting conversation about whether to play Gilbert in center and move Jung Hoo Lee to a corner.
Featured in the final MLB Power Rankings of the season, the playoff picture is finally coming into focus, the Tigers and Mets are flirting with the wrong kind of history, baseball is fun in the state of Ohio, Clayton Kershaw approaches the end, Mike Trout achieves a milestone, and Nationals center fielder Jacob Young does some straight-up magic against the Mets.
(Please note these power rankings are a combination of current performance and long-term projected outlook)
Let’s get started!
Note: Rankings are from the morning of Monday, September 22.
1) Milwaukee Brewers
Last week: 1
Three straight NL Central titles and likely homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. That’s great, but there’s plenty of uncertainty about the availability of Jose Quintana, Brandon Woodruff, and Trevor Megill. As of now, either Jacob Misiorowski or Chad Patrick figure to follow Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester in the postseason rotation.
2) Philadelphia Phillies
Last week: 2
Good news on Trea Turner, who is expected to face live pitching on Tuesday and Wednesday as he rehabs from a hamstring injury. He could be back in the Phillies’ lineup as soon as Friday, which would allow him to shake the rust in game action before the playoffs begin.
3) Toronto Blue Jays
Last week: 3
So far, the Blue Jays are the only American League team to clinch a postseason berth. They could also be looking at their first AL East title in 10 years. If they can hold off the Yankees, that is. One major advantage is that the Blue Jays hold the tiebreaker.
This is just the first step. There's more to accomplish.
The Dodgers’ rotation is falling into place just in time for the postseason, but it sounds like they’ll be missing Will Smith as he recovers from a hairline fracture in his right hand. Mookie Betts has picked things up this month, but this lineup isn’t nearly as scary without Smith in there.
5) Chicago Cubs ⬇️
Last week: 4
The Cubs are back in the postseason for the first time since the COVID-shortened season in 2020. Craig Counsell's club should have home field advantage in the Wild Card Series next week, but will they have Kyle Tucker and Daniel Palencia?
6) New York Yankees ⬆️
Last week: 7
The Yankees are almost certainly playoff-bound, so the only question is if they’ll be able to chase down the Blue Jays for the AL East lead. While they are two games back in the standings, they’ll actually need to gain three games because of the tiebreaker. It’s a tall task even with a favorable schedule (White Sox, Orioles) to close out the regular season.
7) Seattle Mariners ⬆️
Last week: 8
After sweeping the Astros over the weekend, the Mariners probably have the AL West locked up. Depending on how things go this week, they could secure a first-round bye, as well.
Oh, and Cal Raleigh just keeps mashing dingers and setting records. How high can he climb this week?
We’re looking at DEFCON 1 levels of panic and anxiety. The Tigers have lost six straight and nine out of 10, giving them a skinny one-lead over the surging Guardians in the AL Central. They are fortunate that the Twins did them a major favor on Sunday. Now all eyes of the baseball world will be on a three-game series between the Tigers and Guardians in Cleveland, beginning on Tuesday.
9) Boston Red Sox
Last week: 9
The Red Sox had to go out there and make things more difficult for themselves by losing to the Rays on Sunday night. This is by no means an easy week to close out the regular season, as they get three against the Blue Jays (who are trying to finish out the AL East) and three against the Tigers, who are trying to avoid an epic collapse.
10) Cleveland Guardians ⬆️
Last week: 14
The Guardians’ winning streak was snapped at 10 games on Sunday, but they are just one game behind the free falling Tigers and also find themselves tied with the Astros for the final Wild Card spot. Absolutely incredible. You’ll be shocked to hear this, but the Guardians’ pitching staff has been the big key, as they’ve posted a 2.32 ERA this month.
11) San Diego Padres ⬇️
Last week: 10
Michael King bounced back from a brutal start against the Mets to deliver five scoreless innings against the White Sox on Sunday. The Padres haven’t officially clinched a postseason spot yet, but that’s more of a formality. King is the likely choice to start Game 2 of the Wild Card series, with Nick Pivetta expected to start Game 1.
12) Houston Astros ⬇️
Last week: 11
Missing Yordan Alvarez due to an ankle sprain, the Astros were swept by the Mariners at the home over the weekend. With the division looking unrealistic at this point, now they need to fight to keep a Wild Card spot.
13) Cincinnati Reds ⬆️
Last week: 18
Coming off a four-game sweep of the Cubs, the Reds are now in position for the final NL Wild Card spot thanks to their tiebreaker with the Mets. Hunter Greene set the stage on Thursday night with a complete game one-hitter. It would be so much fun to see him on the playoff stage.
With a pair of brutal losses to the Nationals over the weekend, the Mets no longer control their own destiny for a playoff spot. The Mets have struggled for a while, but it’s still a shocking fall for a team who had the best record in baseball in June.
15) Arizona Diamondbacks ⬆️
Last week: 16
No matter what happens this week, kudos for the Diamondbacks to even being in this position. Everybody knows about Corbin Carroll and his excellence, but Geraldo Perdomo has been playing out of his mind down the stretch.
16) Texas Rangers ⬇️
Last week: 12
After going on a 16-4 run to climb back into playoff contention, the Rangers have lost seven straight to effectively end their playoff hopes.
17) Kansas City Royals
Last week: 17
The Royals probably aren’t making the playoffs, but they still have a chance to secure their second-straight winning season. Recent call-up Carter Jensen has been a bright spot of late, hitting an even .300 (12-for-40) with two homers and 11 RBI over 14 games.
Carter Jensen is seeing double
The @Royals' No. 2 prospect becomes the first big leaguer since 2018 (Matt Carpenter) to hit three doubles in the first three innings of a game: pic.twitter.com/Pu1jlzddRL
The Giants rallied to avoid a sweep on Sunday, but they’ve lost seven out of their last nine to make them extreme long shots for the postseason. Quite the disappointment given how things looked after the trade for Rafael Devers.
19) Tampa Bay Rays
Last week: 19
This will be the first time the Rays have missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons since they missed the playoffs in five straight years from 2014-2017. With ownership set to change and executives Matt Silverman and Brian Auld stepping down, some big changes are afoot with this franchise.
20) St. Louis Cardinals
Last week: 20
We’re in the final week of the John Mozeliak Era in St. Louis. Cardinals fans are rightly eager to move forward now that the club has missed the postseason in three straight years, but it’s still been an incredible run.
21) Miami Marlins ⬆️
Last week: 22
Credit to the Marlins for keeping the pressure on, as they’ve won 10 out of 11 to give themselves a chance at a .500 season going into the final week. That would be a huge accomplishment.
22) Baltimore Orioles ⬆️
Last week: 23
This year will go down as a failure for the Orioles, but it’s at least easier to be optimistic about next year with Trevor Rogers returning to form and Kyle Bradish back in the fold from Tommy John surgery. Grayson Rodriguez will be a question mark as he returns from shoulder/elbow surgery, so the Orioles still have work to do with this rotation.
23) Athletics ⬇️
Last week: 21
The A’s were in Pittsburgh this weekend, which led to this cool moment between father and son.
Once upon a time, Jack Wilson caught a first pitch from his 4-year-old son Jacob.
The Braves are set to miss the postseason for the first time since 2017, but Matt Olson is finishing the season on the a high note. He’s hitting .357 with seven homers, 16 RBI, and a 1.217 OPS in September.
25) Los Angeles Angels ⬇️
Last week: 24
Mike Trout became the 59th player in history to reach the 400-homer plateau over the weekend, and my goodness did it he do it in emphatic fashion.
That Coors Field special traveled 485 feet, giving him the longest home run of the 2025 MLB season.
The coolest part of this whole thing wasn’t even the home run. It was the aftermath, which resulted in the fan who caught it getting to play catch with Trout.
The fan who caught Mike Trout’s 400th HR received some signed bats and he had one more request.
The Pirates finished their home slate with a 44-37 record, their best record at PNC Park since 2018. There’s reason for optimism here, if they can just spend some money to upgrade on the position player side.
27) Washington Nationals ⬆️
Last week: 28
Mets fans, look away. You probably don’t want to see this. Still, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t show Jacob Young’s circus catch from Sunday.
A lost year for Pablo Lopez is officially over due to a right forearm strain. He was great when healthy, posting a 2.74 ERA over 14 starts, but he also missed time with a hamstring strain and a shoulder strain. Fortunately, an MRI ruled out any concerns with his elbow or ulnar collateral ligament.
29) Chicago White Sox
Last week: 29
Losers of eight out of nine, the White Sox go into the week with 98 losses. Now they play six on the road (three against the Yankees and three against the Nationals). It’s going to be tough to avoid another 100-loss season.
30) Colorado Rockies
Last week: 30
Hey, at least the Rockies won’t be the worst team ever? The Rockies took two out of three from the Angels over the weekend to get them to 43 wins, two more than the White Sox had last season when they set the modern record for losses in a season.
From the shore of Lake Erie to the Kentucky border, baseball’s regular season is set for a dramatic final week in the state of Ohio.
The Cleveland Guardians have a chance to complete the biggest comeback in the history of divisional play. They now trail Detroit by one game in the AL Central after once being 15 1/2 back. At the southern end of the state, Cincinnati pulled into a tie for the final wild card in the National League with the New York Mets — and the Reds have the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two.
No team ever has won a division after being more than 14 games behind, and Cleveland’s 15 1/2-game deficit in early July doesn’t even do this comeback justice. As recently as Sept. 11, Detroit led the division by 9 1/2 over Cleveland. Since then, the Tigers (85-71) have been trapped in a Motown Meltdown, losing nine of 10 while the Guardians (84-72) went on a 10-game winning streak that finally was snapped. Cleveland cut the lead from 9 1/2 games to one in a span of only 10 days.
For the Reds, the situation has looked bleak at various points. They were six games out of a playoff spot on Sept. 6 — and also trailed San Francisco and Arizona — before a New York skid helped the Reds pull within 1 1/2 games less than a week later. The Cincinnati fell three games behind, but a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs now has the Reds and Mets even, with the Diamondbacks only a game back of them.
Other races that are coming down to the wire:
— The AL East, where Toronto (90-66) leads the New York Yankees (88-68) by two games. Those teams have the top two records in the American League, so a first-round bye is at stake here.
— The AL West, where Seattle (87-69) leads Houston (84-72) by three — and the Mariners have the tiebreaker. The Astros have not missed the postseason since 2016, but they’re in danger now with the Red Sox (85-71) in play for a wild card along with the AL East and AL Central runners-up.
— San Diego is three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the NL West, but the Dodgers have the tiebreaker and the teams don’t play each other this week.
Head to head
Detroit will have no choice but to snap out of its funk if it wants to save its season. The Tigers go to Cleveland for three games before finishing the regular season with a series at Boston.
Line of the week
Dominic Canzone went 5 for 5 with three homers and four RBIs to help Seattle to a 12-5 win over Kansas City. That game capped a 10-game winning streak for the Mariners, who have now won 14 of 15 to turn a 3 1/2-game deficit in the division into a three-game lead.
Comeback of the week
Philadelphia rallied from a four-run deficit in the sixth inning to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. That was after Shohei Ohtani no-hit the Phillies for five innings. He also homered in the game.
Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler both homered during a six-run sixth for Philadelphia, and after the Dodgers tied it at 6, Rafael Marchan hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth to provide the winning margin. Los Angeles had a 94.1% win probability in the sixth, according to Baseball Savant.
SNY's Joe DeMayo answers your Mets prospect questions...
Have the Mets ever had a season with this much organizational team success? - @JacobMunch1 on X
The short answer is no. But you aren’t here for short answers.
It is a credit to the players, the amateur scouting department -- both domestically and internationally -- as well as the player development staff at every level putting together an excellent minor league season.
Here is a breakdown of what each affiliate accomplished this season:
Double-A Binghamton: Set a franchise record with 90 wins and as of this writing are down 1-0 in a three-game series against Erie for the Eastern League Championship. They reaped the benefit of having most of the top prospects listed above, who ended the season with Syracuse. The Rumble Ponies also had breakout players in No. 8 prospect, third baseman Jacob Reimer and No. 9 prospect, outfielder A.J. Ewing.
On the pitching side, they had the next wave of starters after the graduation of McLean, Sproat and Tong, with No. 10 prospect Jonathan Santucci, No. 11 prospect Jack Wenninger, No. 14 prospect Will Watson, and R.J. Gordon. On the relief side, they have No. 21 prospect Ryan Lambert,whom I can envision making his big-league debut in 2026.
St. Lucie Mets pitcher Will Watson / St. Lucie Mets
High-A Brooklyn: 72-59 record and won the South Atlantic League Championship for the first time since being moved to full-season ball in 2021. Their season was largely carried by a lot of the names you have already read, as well as players who were included in trades at the deadline like Jesus Baez and Raimon Gomez. In the stretch run and into the postseason they got contributions from pitchers like Noah Hall, Joel Dîaz and Brett Banks, among others.
Offensively, names like outfielder Eli Serrano and infielders Boston Baro and Marco Vargas contributed late.
Low-A St. Lucie: 78-52 record and was eliminated in three games in the Florida State League Divisional Series by Daytona. Ewing was the highest regarded prospect who played for St. Lucie this year. They received contributions from top 30 prospects in No. 20 prospect (infielder Trey Snyder), No. 25 prospect (catcher Daiverson Gutierrez), No. 26 prospect (infielder Jeremy Rodriguez) and No. 30 prospect (right-hander Jace Hampson).
This is also the team that had the professional debuts of exciting 2025 draft picks Mitch Voit, Antonio Jimenez, and Truman Pauley. A name to keep an eye on for 2026 is outfielder Randy Guzman, who posted a .985 OPS in 26 games.
ESPN recently ranked the Mets' system as the best system in baseball. That ranking naturally will take a dip at some point next year when McLean, Sproat, and Tong graduate. But this organizational success is an example of the Mets' improved player development system under senior vice president of player development Andy Green.
In order to have sustained success, player development needs to be constantly churning out prospects who either come to the big league team themselves and help or are valuable in trades to get veterans to help the big league team. The Mets are on their way to being that type of organization.
How soon next year could we see Carson Benge? Or do you feel the Mets should sign someone else for center field? - @thecmoney21 on X
The Mets were impressed with Benge’s growth as a center fielder defensively throughout this year. It is a new position for him, as he played right field in college. While he is not an elite athlete, he is a good one who showed improved jumps and reads as he got more reps in center field. He still has more to prove defensively, but there is optimism that he could stick there.
As far as how quickly he could be in the big leagues, a lot of that will depend on how Benge performs and what the true need ends up being at the big league level.
I envision the Mets being sure they are covered from a veteran standpoint, ideally on a short-term deal to not block young players like Benge or Williams or Ewing, who could potentially hold down center field before long.
Benge reached Triple-A in his first professional season after he beat up High-A and Double-A pitching to the tune of a .308/.413/.513 slash line with 24 doubles, six triples and 12 home runs in 92 games.
The results in Triple-A weren’t quite there consistently, but it was just a 24-game sample size, and he missed nearly two weeks after being hit in the wrist area by a pitch.
He closed out the year strong, hitting .320 with a 1.132 OPS in his last seven games with two home runs.
Benge has emerged as a consensus top 35 prospect in baseball in the latest rankings from major outlets like MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and The Athletic.
I expect him to receive a big league spring training invite and if he continues his offensive trajectory and takes that next step defensively, I think it is realistic to see Benge in Queens by Memorial Day 2026.
It’s the final week of September, and Boston Red Sox fans are officially on Standings Watch.
That’s a welcome change from the past three seasons, when the Red Sox didn’t play any meaningful baseball past Labor Day. But October baseball in 2025 is far from guaranteed for Alex Cora’s club, which sits precariously in the second American League Wild Card spot after dropping its series finale to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.
FanGraphs pegs Boston’s postseason chances at 90.3 percent as of Monday afternoon. But a lot can change between now and Sunday, a six-game stretch that features two series against current division leaders — the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers — to finish the regular season.
So, what exactly does Standings Watch entail for the Red Sox? First, we’ll take a look at the Wild Card standings as of Monday. Then we’ll highlight five teams that Sox fans should monitor this week as a tight AL playoff picture shakes out.
AL Wild Card standings
The New York Yankees own a three-game lead over Boston for the top Wild Card spot. If the season ended Monday, the Yankees would host a three-game Wild Card series vs. the Red Sox, with every game at Yankee Stadium.
The Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros are both just one game back of Boston, however. Only three Wild Card teams make the playoffs, so assuming the Yankees keep the top spot, either Cleveland, Houston or Boston will be eliminated.
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Here’s a more in-depth look at the Red Sox’ top competitors in the AL Wild Card race, sorted from best to worst record:
New York Yankees
Record: 88-68
Games ahead of Red Sox: +3.0
Remaining schedule: vs. Chicago White Sox, vs. Baltimore Orioles
The schedule gods clearly favor the Yankees, who close out the regular season with three-game series against two of the worst teams in the AL. So, barring a complete collapse, New York should have the top Wild Card spot wrapped up by the weekend. (But a complete collapse would be fun, wouldn’t it?)
Seattle Mariners
Record: 87-69
Games ahead of Red Sox: +2.0
Remaining schedule: vs. Colorado Rockies, vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Mariners took control of the AL West with a weekend sweep of the Astros and now lead Houston by three games.
Assuming they take care of business vs. the Rockies and take at least one game from the Dodgers, they should win the AL West crown. But they’d slide into the Wild Card race if Houston overtakes them, so keep one eye on Seattle this week.
Detroit Tigers
Record: 85-71
Games ahead of Red Sox: 0
Remaining schedule: at Cleveland Guardians, at Red Sox
The Tigers are a sneaky team to watch. The Guardians are on an absolute tear (10-1 in their last 11 games), and if they win this upcoming series with their AL Central rivals, the Tigers will bump down to the Wild Card race.
That could set up a weekend showdown vs. the Red Sox at Fenway Park (Friday to Sunday) with massive implications for Wild Card seeding on the line.
Cleveland Guardians
Record: 84-72
Games behind Red Sox: -1.0
Remaining schedule: vs. Detroit Tigers, vs. Texas Rangers
As mentioned above, the Guardians are coming in HOT. So if you’re a Red Sox fan, you may want to root for Cleveland winning its series vs. Detroit to bump the Tigers — who are 1-9 in their last 10 games — into the Wild Card mix.
If the Tigers win their upcoming series vs. the Guardians, the Red Sox will need to take advantage with at least one or two wins in Toronto to maintain their narrow lead over Cleveland.
Houston Astros
Record: 84-72
Games behind Red Sox: -1.0
Remaining schedule: at Athletics, at Los Angeles Angels
The Astros had a brutal weekend, but they shouldn’t be completely ruled out, especially with two series against the AL West’s cellar dwellers to finish their season. It’s worth noting, however, that Houston is just 4-5 versus the A’s this season and 6-4 versus the Angels.
The good news for Boston: The Red Sox own head-to-head tiebreakers over both the Astros and Guardians.
For a while it looked as if the kid pitchers might save the season and even make a deep October run more feasible. But now, with a Wild Card berth slipping away from the Mets, the instant success of their three rookies in recent weeks is beginning to look more like a consolation prize of sorts for what suddenly looms as a disappointing finish.
Albeit an important one, to be sure.
That is, if the Mets’ collapse leaves them out of the postseason, at least they would go into the offseason feeling as if they have the makings of a dominant starting rotation next year and beyond.
Such is the sense of hope the trio of Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong provide for Mets fans in what otherwise could be a long winter of demanding answers from David Stearns as to what went wrong this season.
"If they don’t get there, there’s no way to sugarcoat it," an MLB scout said on Monday. "With their payroll and the high expectations, missing a six-team postseason would be a major failure. But those young pitchers would give them something to hang their hat on as far as changing the conversation.
"They’ve been impressive, to different degrees. You need to see more but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that potentially they give you a high-ceiling nucleus for a starting rotation."
That’s the consensus opinion from scouts and evaluators I spoke to in recent days, as well as former pitchers Ron Darling and Dan Plesac, for this story after McLean, Sproat, and Tong have lived up to the hype as highly-touted prospects in recent weeks.
Without them, especially McLean, the Mets almost certainly would be out of the Wild Card race, as the rest of the rotation has fallen apart, due to injury and underperformance.
For that matter, if the Mets do still find a way into that third Wild Card spot, Darling didn’t hesitate when I asked him on Sunday at Citi Field about who the starters should be in a Wild Card series.
"McLean is the best option and Sproat is right behind him," Darling said. "Maybe (David) Peterson would get the nod just because of the experience, but the question you have to ask, if you’re being honest and not trying to do some tactical BS, is who gives you the best chance to win. Right now it’s the young guys.
Sep 20, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Nolan McLean (26) pitches in the third inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
"With McLean it’s obvious, but Sproat has impressed me too. I thought he was going to be Spencer Strider, 100 percent on every pitch, gripping it and ripping it. There’s a lot more nuance as far as the art of pitching, that I’m really happy to see."
Darling referred to McLean’s impact as "obvious," and indeed his performance to this point, with his 1.27 ERA in seven starts speaks for itself. But it’s the way he pitches, combining mound presence with his ability to create movement with various pitches, that has so many observers falling hard for him.
Plesac, for example, pitched in the big leagues for 18 years. And he’s been an analyst at MLB Network for 17 years, breaking down success and failure on a nightly basis, so he’s pretty much seen it all. Yet he’s so captivated by McLean that he gets some ribbing for it from his colleagues.
"From the first time I saw him pitch I was ultra-impressed," Plesac said by phone recently. "One time on our show I was going on about him to the point where (host) Greg Amsinger says, 'Geez, you’ve got a man-crush on this guy.'
"I just love everything about the way he pitches, his poise, his ability to throw breaking balls behind in the count, his slow heartbeat that keeps the game from speeding up on him. He is so advanced for a guy who just got to the big leagues. As a former pitcher, he’s the guy I want on the mound in a big game."
To that end, Darling makes note of McLean’s background as an all-around athlete good enough to be recruited as a quarterback by Oklahoma State, where he red-shirted at the position for one year before deciding to play only baseball – as both a position player and pitcher.
"His maturity on the field stands out," Darling said. "There’s something to be said for a kid who played big-time football as a quarterback, a leadership position. He has a presence about him that you don’t see often for a guy who just reached the big leagues."
Scouts I spoke to echoed such sentiments.
"He’s a scout’s dream," was the way one put it. "You don’t need a radar gun to evaluate him. He throws hard but he doesn’t chase velocity. His ability to spin the ball separates him but he also gets great movement on his two-seamer. He knows what he’s doing out there, setting up hitters, pitching to spots. He’s fun to watch."
As such, the Mets might just have a true No. 1 starter for years to come. Sproat doesn’t generate quite as much excitement from observers, but he too has elite stuff, and as Darling noted, has shown nuance, demonstrating an ability to change speeds and throw his breaking stuff for strikes, in addition to his upper-90s fastball velocity.
Sep 19, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Brandon Sproat (40) follows through on a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Citi Field. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Speaking of both Sproat and McLean, Darling said, "At their level of experience, these guys can spin it as well as I’ve ever seen. David Cone was the best guy I ever saw at being able to spin the ball, and I’m hesitant to put them in that category already but they remind me of him."
And then there’s Tong, the youngest of the three rookies, at age 22, with only two starts at Triple-A before being called up. His inexperience has shown at times, to the point where he had that rough start against the Texas Rangers, failing to get out of the first inning, but in that regard his strong bounce back start last week against the San Diego Padres was an important sign.
"He showed some backbone," said Plesac. "I know what that’s like, being out there as a young pitcher and nothing is working for you. The speed of the game at the big league level is so different than the minor leagues, and when you compound that with coming up late in the season in a pennant race, it’s hard.
"That’s why I was so happy to see him bounce back. I think he’s got a gigantic ceiling. It just might take him a little longer to get there than the other two guys. He has to attack the strike zone. When he does that, and he’s using all his pitches, you see the swings and misses he gets with his fastball."
Adds a scout:
"Tong has real deception with that delivery, the Tim Lincecum delivery. He’s got that big induced vertical break that everyone talks about now that gives his fastball the extra ride at the top the zone. He found out big league hitters can hit that pitch, though, if they’re sitting on it, so he needs to be able to throw his curve ball and changeup for strikes. When he does that he may be able to dominate the way he did in the minors."
All in all, then, there is plenty of reason to believe the young trio can have long-term success.
For one thing, as Plesac noted, "You watch all three of them and one thing I notice is when they miss their location, for the most part they don’t miss over the plate. They miss off the plate, to the side of the (catcher’s) glove. They’re not just spraying the ball all over the place, relying on velocity.
Sep 18, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jonah Tong (21) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Citi Field. / Brad Penner - Imagn Images
"Whoever has worked with them coming up through the Mets’ system, especially McLean and Sproat, they deserve a pat on the back, because those guys certainly learned how to pitch in the minor leagues. And the experience they’re getting in these high-pressure games right now, it will be invaluable for them going into next year."
So even if this season ends in failure, emergence of this young pitching may be remembered for launching a new era for the Mets. It doesn’t always work out, of course, for anyone who remembers the much-hyped Generation K of the early ‘90s, or even the 2015 staff that seemed to offer so much promise beyond the 2015 World Series.
But Darling was quick to point to the success of the 1980s, when he was part of the young pitching group that included Doc Gooden, Sid Fernandez, and Rick Aguilera, that helped usher in a championship era.
"I think the Mets are in a good spot going forward with these young pitchers," Darling said. "This organization has always had waves of good pitchers. I think that’s how people felt in ’84, and that turned into something special.
"It’s not often that they all pan out, but I wish that for these guys. They have the ability. Everybody talks about the need to make adjustments as hitters see you more, but I never felt like I had to make adjustments. I felt like if I took care of my own house, my stuff was good enough, and these guys should feel the same way. The hitter should be inconsequential to these guys if they execute pitches -- that’s how good their stuff is.
"I mean, right now, you’d have to see all three of them in the rotation next year."
That’s an enticing thought. It’s also worth remembering that Christian Scott showed similar promise as a rookie in 2024 before needing Tommy John surgery, and could be part of that high-ceiling future as well.
With that in mind, an executive from an AL team made perhaps the most salient point about the big-picture state of the Mets, regardless of what happens in this final week of the season.
"More than ever," the exec said, "the most precious commodity in the game is young, home-grown starting pitching, and to have three young guys come up at the same time and get results in high-leverage games and show the potential for long-term success. ... that’s at the top of every organization’s wish list."
Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Cubs play a three-game series at Wrigley Field starting on Tuesday at 7:40 p.m. on SNY.
5 things to watch
Mets no longer control their playoff destiny
Entering play on Saturday, the Mets had a 2.0 game lead over the Reds for the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League. That lead is now gone.
By losing back-to-back games to the woeful Nationals on Saturday and Sunday, the Mets are tied with Cincinnati -- but it's the Reds who hold the tiebreaker after winning the season series.
The Mets would not make the playoffs if the season ended today, and now need help to get in.
The Reds play three games at home against the Pirates starting on Tuesday before traveling to face the Brewers for three. The Pirates have the third-worst record in the National League, and have scored just 561 runs this season -- worst in MLB. Meanwhile, the Brewers -- who have clinched the NL Central and are on pace to finish with the top seed in the NL -- could have literally nothing to play for this coming weekend.
After facing the Cubs, the Mets travel to Miami to face a Marlins team that is 9-1 over its last 10 games and still mathematically alive for a playoff spot.
Sproat, who toes the rubber on Thursday had a hiccup in the third inning of his start on Friday. But New York's outfield defense cost him two runs in the frame. He rebounded from it with a strong fourth inning to cap his start.
While Nolan McLean has stolen the show while being both dominant and ultra reliable, Tong and Sproat have performed admirably while showing flashes of excellence.
Center field, especially on the defensive side of things, has been an issue for the Mets down the stretch.
On Friday night, it was Jose Siri who had what should've been the third out of the third inning bounce out of his glove and took a poor route on a hit later in the frame, allowing it to get by him.
On Saturday, it was Cedric Mullins who misplayed the carom of an 11th-inning hit off the wall, leading to an inside the park home run in New York's loss.
Is help on the way?
May 28, 2024; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets right fielder Tyrone Taylor (15) makes a catch for an out during the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field. / Vincent Carchietta - Imagn Images
Taylor, who is truly elite in center field, could be activated ahead of Tuesday's game.
Cubs have nothing to play for, and they've been playing like it
Chicago has been eliminated from contention for the NL Central title, and they're basically locked into the top Wild Card spot.
There's a chance they drop to the second Wild Card, but it's unlikely -- they have a three-game lead over the Padres with six games to go.
And the Cubs have been recently playing like a team with nothing at stake, getting swept in a four-game series by the Reds that helped land the Mets in their current predicament.
This is not to say that the Cubs won't be a tough opponent. They will be.
But it's hard to see a scenario where their starting pitchers are pushed or where their key relievers are asked to shoulder a ton of the load.
Cade Horton has been elite
The 24-year-old Horton starts the series-opener, and the Mets will have their work cut out for them.
Horton has been phenomenal over the last three months.
He had a 1.52 ERA in July and a 1.20 ERA in August, and has a 1.10 ERA in three starts in September.
Horton has allowed zero or one runs in 10 of his last 11 starts.
Predictions
Who will the MVP of the series be?
Pete Alonso
Alonso's power surge should continue at the friendly confines.
Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?
Jonah Tong
Tong found the best version of himself against the Padres.
Which Cubs player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?
Seiya Suzuki
It hasn't been a huge season for Suzuki, but the power threat is real.
PHOENIX – Kyle Schwarber is a pending free agent—and he’s having a career season at just the right time.
The 33-year-old National League MVP candidate is one of the top hitters available on the upcoming market. He boasts a Major League Baseball-leading 129 RBIs, and with 53 homers so far this season, he’s only the second player on the Philadelphia Phillies to hit 50 homers in a season. Ryan Howard owns the Phillies homer record with 58 collected in 2004.
“[Schwarber’s] had by far the best season of his career,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said in an interview this weekend at Chase Field, where the National League East winners dropped two of three to the Arizona Diamondbacks. “It’s an MVP-type season for an MVP-type person.”
Schwarber was voted MVP of the All-Star Game in Atlanta on July 15 when he came off the bench to win the first home-run swing-off in All-Star history, deciding the game for the NL.
“He’s impressive,” D-backs starting pitcher Zac Gallen said. “His season has been unbelievable. Every time he’s in the batter’s box, he’s a threat to leave the ballpark.”
Schwarber is among the greatest players in recent Phillies history, joining the likes of Howard, Mike Schmidt, Jimmie Rollins, Chase Utley and Bryce Harper.
“It’s an honor, it’s a privilege to be compared with them,” Schwarber said in an interview. “It’s something you don’t take for granted. All of it. My mind doesn’t process it really well because I’m so attuned to what we’re going through right now.”
Schwarber will hit free agency along with Chicago Cubs’ Kyle Tucker, New York Mets’ Pete Alonso, Boston Red Sox’s Alex Bregman, New York Yankees’ Cody Bellinger and Toronto Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette as the top hitters on the market.
Alonso, Bregman and Bellinger—all Scott Boras clients—can exercise player options for 2026 built into their respective contracts without the burden of the qualifying offer affecting their free agency again. There’s no double jeopardy as far as the qualifying offer is concerned; a player can’t be tagged with it twice.
Schwarber, in contrast, was not tagged with the qualifying offer in his first two runs at free agency in 2020 and 2021. But this time, he will certainly get one from the Philles, who’ve made it clear they want to re-sign him, though there have been no substantive talks since spring training.
“We need no motivation when it comes to [signing] Kyle Schwarber,” Phillies owner John Middleton recently told a group of media. “He’s great. We thought he was great when we signed him years ago. He’s been great for us ever since. We love him. We want to keep him.”
The Phillies signed Schwarber to a four-year, $79 million contract prior to the 2022 season, a bargain as the prices on the market have grown ever since. Prior to Philadelphia, Schwarber played briefly for the Nationals and the Red Sox, and he was just a kid with the 2016 Chicago Cubs when they won the World Series for the first time in 108 years.
“Pretty much my entire tenure with the Cubs prepared me for where I am now,” he said.
Schwarber will have three problems to overcome this time around in free agency: his age, his lack of flexibility defensively and the qualifying offer.
Schwarber is well into his 30s, and teams recently haven’t signed players of his age to long-term, big money deals. For example, Joc Pederson, a left-handed DH, and a recent World Series winner in Los Angeles and Atlanta, signed with Texas this past winter for two years at $37 million heading into his age 33 season. The above offensive players on the market are all younger.
On the field, Schwarber is also full-time left-handed designated hitter, while the other free agents on the market excel at their various defensive positions. He’s only started 13 games in left field since 2023 and eight this season, DH-ing 291 times including 144 this season.
If Schwarber is anxious about all of this he’s not acting like it. His focus is not on free agency.
“For me here it’s just about trying to help the team,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of success the last three years and that’s the best part about it. We all have expectations for each other. We all hold us accountable for how we play and go about preparing for it.”
The MVP races in both leagues have come down to four magnificent players: Schwarber and Shohei Ohtani in the NL, Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh in the American League.
Ohtani and Judge are the favorites; as defending MVP holders, they should repeat. Ohtani will continue to do so as long as he pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers and hits 50 homers. He has 53 at this writing, a 180 OPS+ and 7.2 WAR.
Judge is out of this world playing right field and DHing for the New York Yankees with 49 homers, a Major League-leading .326 batting average, a 209 OPS+ and a 9 WAR.
Raleigh set records for a catcher and switch-hitter this season with 58 homers for the Seattle Mariners.
Schwarber? He has a slim chance of winning in the NL with his 149 OPS+ and 4.4 WAR, but will get plenty of votes.
“I always say any time there’s a personal feat I’ll think about that when I’m done,” he said. “That’s when I can sit back, probably have about 20 beers, and look at my career when it’s over and, go ‘Wow, you got to accomplish a lot of really cool things.’”
With six games remaining in the regular season, the Mets are looking to nab the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League.
The Reds hold tiebreaker over the Mets due to winning the season series. The tiebreaker between the Mets and Diamondbacks is TBD, and will likely be based on intradivision record since the two clubs split the season series
Here's everything you need to know ahead of play on Sept. 22...
Reds: 80-76, tied with Mets for third Wild Card
Next up: vs. Pirates, Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. (Brady Singer vs. Johan Oviedo) Latest result: 1-0 win over Cubs on Sunday Remaining schedule: 3 vs. PIT, 3 @ MIL Odds to make playoffs: 41.6 percent
Mets: 80-76, tied with Reds for third Wild Card (Reds hold tiebreaker)
Next up: @ Cubs, Tuesday at 7:40 p.m. on SNY (David Peterson vs. Cade Horton) Latest result: 3-2 loss to Nationals on Sunday Remaining schedule: 3 @ CHC, 3 @ MIA Odds to make playoffs: 51.7 percent
Diamondbacks: 79-77, 1.0 game back of Reds and Mets
Next up: vs. Dodgers, Tuesday at 9:40 p.m. (Brandon Pfaadtvs. Shohei Ohtani) Latest result: 9-2 win over Phillies on Sunday Remaining schedule: 3 vs. LAD, 3 @ SD Odds to make playoffs: 6.4 percent
Giants: 77-79, 3.0 games back of Reds and Mets
Next up: vs. Cardinals, Monday at 9:45 p.m.(Justin Verlander vs. Michael McGreevy) Latest result: 3-1 win over Dodgers on Sunday Remaining schedule: 3 vs. STL, 3 vs. COL Odds to make playoffs: 0.2 percent
Dodgers injured starting pitcher Roki Sasaki runs in the outfield before a game against the San Diego Padres in June. The Dodgers' dreadful bullpen might force Dave Roberts into using Sasaki as a reliever in the playoffs. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
There’s desperate, and there’s desperate to where you’re looking for Roki Sasaki to be the answer to your team’s late-inning problems.
The same Roki Sasaki who hasn’t pitched in a major league game in more than four months because of shoulder problems.
The same Roki Sasaki who posted a 4.72 earned-run average in eight starts.
The same Roki Sasaki who last week in the minors pitched as a reliever for the first time.
The Dodgers’ exploration of Sasaki as a late-inning option is a reflection of the 23-year-old rookie’s upside, but this isn’t a commentary of Sasaki as much as it is of the roster.
The team’s bullpen problems have persisted into the final week of the regular season, and the potential solutions sound like miracles, starting with Sasaki’s audition for a postseason role as a reliever.
Sasaki pitched twice in relief for triple-A Oklahoma City, touching 100 mph in a scoreless inning on Thursday and retiring the side on Sunday.
Manager Dave Roberts said Sasaki would rejoin the Dodgers for their upcoming road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The earliest Sasaki would be available to pitch would be on Wednesday.
With only six games remaining in the regular season, Sasaki figures to pitch no more than twice for the Dodgers before the playoffs. That being the case, do the Dodgers plan to use him in high-leverage situations to learn how he performs in late-inning situations?
“We’re still trying to win games, and this would be his third outing in the ‘pen, first in the big leagues, so not sure,” Roberts said.
Then again, what’s the alternative? Continue to run out Blake Treinen?
The most dependable reliever on the Dodgers’ World Series run last season, the 37-year-old Treinen was re-signed to a two-year, $22-million contract over the winter. He missed more than three months of this season with a forearm strain and hasn’t rediscovered the form that made him a postseason hero. Treinen is 1-7 with a 5.55 earned-run average for the season and has taken a loss in five of his last seven games.
Treinen cost the Dodgers another game on Sunday when he inherited a 1-0 lead, only to give up three runs in the eighth inning of an eventual 3-1 defeat.
Roberts was booed when he emerged from the dugout to remove Treinen, but whom did the fans want the manager to call on to pitch that inning instead?
Tanner Scott?
Kirby Yates?
Alex Vesia is the most trustworthy bullpen arm, but if he pitched the eighth inning, who would have pitched the ninth?
Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen, right, reacts after giving up a bases-loaded walk in a 3-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Roberts acknowledged he was basically reduced to holding out hope that when the postseason starts Treinen would magically revert to being the pitcher he was last year.
Wouldn’t it be unsettling to have to count on Treinen without seeing him pitch better in the regular season?
“Certainly, I’d like to see some more consistent performance,” Roberts said. “But at the end of the day, there’s going to be certain guys that I feel that we’re going to go to in leverage [situations] and certain guys we’re not going to.”
Evidently, Treinen is still viewed as a leverage-situation pitcher.
Roberts said: “My trust in him is unwavering.”
There aren’t many other choices.
Maybe Will Klein, who was called up from the minors for the third time last week. Klein struck out the side on Saturday and gave up a leadoff double in a scoreless inning on Sunday.
Maybe Brock Stewart, who has been sidelined with shoulder problems for the majority of the time since he was acquired at the trade deadline. Stewart will rejoin the Dodgers in Arizona.
The playoff picture is unlikely to change for the Dodgers between now and the end of the regular season, as they are four games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the No. 2 seed in the National League and three games ahead of the second-place San Diego Padres in the NL West. Nonetheless, Roberts said he was unsure of how high-leverage innings over the next week would be allocated, which spoke to the degree of uncertainty about the bullpen. Should these innings be used to straighten out previously-successful relievers such as Treinen and Scott? Or to experiment with unknown commodities such as Sasaki and Klein?
Just a couple of weeks ago, the door for Sasaki pitching in the playoffs was locked and bolted. The Dodgers have been rocked by the dreadful performance of their bullpen, so much so that a door that was once slammed shut is now wide open.
HOUSTON — Seattle’s Cal Raleigh hit his MLB-leading 58th home run on Sunday night, a two-run shot in the second inning against the Houston Astros.
The Mariners were up 5-0 after a grand slam by J.P. Crawford in the second when Raleigh, who was batting left-handed, connected off Jason Alexander for his home run to right field to extend the lead.
The shot comes a night after he passed Ken Griffey Jr. for the franchise’s single-season home run record with his 57th homer. Griffey hit 56 in both 1997 and 1998.
Raleigh has also surpassed Mickey Mantle’s MLB record of 54 home runs by a switch-hitter that had stood since 1961. He has also set the MLB record for homers by a catcher this season, eclipsing the 48 hit by Salvador Perez in 2021.
Raleigh is five home runs ahead of Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, who are tied for second place with 53 each.
If you want to believe the fates are somehow conspiring against the Mets as their wild card berth slips away, Jacob Young’s two spectacular catches at the center field wall in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals, one that included kicking the ball skyward to keep it from hitting the ground, played into that narrative.
As Carlos Mendoza said in amazement, “I’ve never seen that before.”
But if you’ve been watching these Mets play some dreadful baseball in recent days, weeks, even months, from their bad defense to boneheaded baserunning to the bats going silent far too often, you know that’s the furthest thing from the truth.
It’s not fate. The Mets have played poorly for much of the last three months — 17 games under .500 since June 13. And now it appears they’re also collapsing under the weight of trying desperately to avoid the embarrassment of missing the postseason with their star-studded roster and their gazillion-dollar payroll.
In short, there’s really no other way to put it: They’re giving it away.
How else to explain losing two of three games to the lowly Nationals at such a crucial point in the season, and playing raggedy defense when their focus should be as heightened as possible.
How else to explain failing to muster any real offense against Jake Irvin, one of the worst starting pitchers in the majors for the last several weeks, as evidenced by his 9.36 ERA over his last seven starts. Or the inability to score against the Nationals’ bullpen, whose 5.60 ERA coming into Sunday ranked dead last in MLB.
How else to explain all the defensive and baserunning miscues lately, to the point where a week ago Mendoza admitted, “We’re not playing good fundamentally right now.”
All of it only happens to a team as talented as these Mets when they’re playing tight, squeezing the sawdust out of the bat, trying not to make mistakes rather than playing freely.
And now the prospect of a full-blown collapse is more real than ever, after the Cincinnati Reds won their fifth straight game on Sunday to pull even with the Mets for the third wild card spot — but not really even, since they own the tiebreaker should the teams finish with the same record.
So in truth the Mets are suddenly behind, to the point where even winning their final six games, three in Chicago against the Cubs, and three in Miami against the Marlins, wouldn’t get them in unless the Reds cooperate.
In the Mets’ clubhouse on Sunday, Brandon Nimmo was doing a group interview when the Reds’ score went final, and he was asked if he could believe the Mets were now out of playoff position.
“Yeah, I can definitely believe it,’’ he said. “It’s been happening right in front of our eyes.”
Yes, the Mets have been sliding for weeks, letting teams like the Reds, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the San Francisco Giants back into the race. And the closer those teams have gotten, the worse the Mets have been playing.
On Sunday, in fact, in what the Mets had to feel was a must-win game, they met the moment with a litany of mistakes early that contributed to a 3-0 deficit by the second inning.
There was Juan Soto getting picked off first base. There was a throwing error by Francisco Lindor that helped fuel the Nationals’ three-run rally. There was a fumble of a routine ground ball by Pete Alonso for another error.
There was also Sean Manaea giving up a two-run home run to a light-hitting backup shortstop named Nasim Nuñez on a flat fastball, which led reporters to ask him why, as Mendoza said, he again wasn’t able to elevate his fastball.
Said Manaea, after several seconds of thought: “I don’t know.”
Even with all of that, the Mets’ worst mistake in some ways, and one that epitomized their play of late, was Cedric Mullins’ lack of awareness on the bases that proved costly.
It happened on a weird play in the fourth inning: with Luis Torrens on second base, Mullins’ fly ball down the left field line at first appeared to be caught by a diving Daylen Lile. But as he hit the ground, the ball came out of his glove, and according to Mendoza, third base umpire Jeremie Rehak made a safe sign, indicating the ball was in play.
With the ball in plain sight on the ground, and Lile writhing in pain, Torrens took no chances and went back to tag up, then ran all the way to score as the ball still stayed untouched on the ground. Mullins, meanwhile, said he saw no signal from the umpires (nor did first base coach Antoan Richardson), and because he saw Torrens tag up, “my assumption is that it was an out.”
So he lingered around first base, watching Torrens run. Meanwhile, Mendoza said, “We were all screaming from the dugout” to go to second. Mullins didn’t hear them, and only noticed when he finally started to go back to the dugout himself. At that point, umpires had called timeout, and though Mullins did go to second (he was tagged out, though Mendoza said they would have challenged), the play was ruled dead and Mullins was awarded first base.
Clearly Mullins should not have assumed, since he didn’t see a signal, and instead kept running. And it mattered when he was immediately doubled off first on Lindor’s line drive to Josh Bell. When Soto followed with a double to the right field corner, Mullins’ mistake loomed even larger.
Had the Mets’ offense come to life at some point, of course, the play would have been a footnote. Instead, it potentially had a major impact on the outcome. Another blunder that has become far too common for this ballclub.
And so now the Mets are up against it. In their quiet clubhouse the players insisted they still believe. But the tone of their comments shifted as the chasers now.
“We put ourselves in this position, we’ve got to find a way out of it,” said Lindor. “If we want to be where we want to be, we have to play better.”
“We can turn it on in an instant,” added Nimmo.
At this point, though, it’s hard to believe they can merely flip a switch. They’ve been a mediocre-to-bad team longer than they were a good one on this long and winding road of a season.
And most significantly, no matter what they do, they now need help.
Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan delivers during a 3-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Half-filled duffle bags littered the floor of the Dodgers' clubhouse Sunday afternoon while a jumble of suitcases stood inside the locker room door.
Sunday’s 3-1 matinee loss to the San Francisco Giants, a game which featured another late-inning bullpen meltdown, was the last chance to see the Dodgers at home during the regular season and 46,601 people brought tickets to mark the occasion, pushing the team’s attendance above 4 million for the first time.
But the vibe wasn’t so much “goodbye” and it was “we’ll be right back,” since the team and its fans are expecting to return to Dodger Stadium to open the National League playoffs next week. Even the retiring Clayton Kershaw made that point when he briefly addressed the crowd before the game.
“Remember, we’ve got another month left,” he said. “So we'll see you at the end of October.”
That may be a bit ambitious. But barring disaster — never count out the Dodgers’ bullpen — the team is guaranteed at least two more games at home this season. The Dodgers will hit the road Monday for their final six games of the regular season with a magic number at three, meaning any combination of Dodger wins and Padres losses totaling three will give the team its 12th West Division title in 13 years — and the Dodger Stadium playoff dates that go with it.
“Our head right now, to be honest, is on winning this division and going forward,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I just want to win the division and get to the postseason.”
The team missed a chance to move a big step closer to that goal Sunday when it wasted another brilliant performance from right-hander Emmet Sheehan, who held the Giants to a hit over seven innings, retiring 15 in a row at one point.
Sheehan, who didn’t allow a runner after hitting Andrew Knizner to open the third, matched a career-high with 10 strikeouts. But for the third time in four appearances that wasn’t good enough to get the win after reliever Blake Treinen gave up three eighth-inning runs to turn a 1-0 lead into a 3-1 loss.
And that left Roberts to once again profess his faith in a pitcher who has taken the loss in four of his last five appearances and given up 11 earned runs in his last 5 1/3 innings.
“I've got to trust what I'm seeing, and not solely bet on the person or track record,” Roberts said of Treinen, who is 0-5 with a 11.57 ERA in seven innings this month. “We all need to see a couple good outings but most importantly, I want to see his confidence up. And to be quite honest, I think that right now he's just not as confident in himself as I am in him.
“The main thing is that we got to get that confidence back.”
That didn’t happen Sunday when his brief appearance turned a pitchers’ duel into batting practice.
Giants’ starter Trevor McDonald, who was making his first big-league start, nearly matched Sheehan through six innings before tiring in the seventh. Max Muncy opened the inning with a walk — the only one McDonald issued — and moved to second on a two-strike single to right by Andy Pages. Michael Conforto then looped the first pitch he saw into left field to score Muncy and end McDonald’s day after 89 pitches.
The Dodgers could get no more, however, with pinch-hitter Tommy Edman lining into a double play to end the inning. And that proved costly when Treinen (1-7) came out of the bullpen to give up three consecutive hits, the last a run-scoring double from pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey.
Three batters later, Willy Adames drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Giants the lead, an advantage they extended to 3-1 on Matt Chapman’s soft grounder to short.
Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen, right, speaks with pitching coach Mark Prior and catcher Dalton Rushing after giving up a bases-loaded walk Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers went quietly after that, with a pair of Giant relievers holding them to just a hit over the two innings, spoiling the day for a sun-splashed crowd that made history by pushing the Dodgers’ home attendance to a franchise-record 4,012,470.
The Dodgers, who averaged 49,537 fans a game in 2025, have led the majors in attendance the last 12 years — excluding 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced teams to play behind closed doors. But the most they had drawn in a season previously was 3,974,309 in 2019.
The Dodgers are the fifth team to top 4 million, joining the Blue Jays, Rockies, Mets and Yankees, but the first to do so since 2008, when both New York teams did it. Colorado holds the major league record having sold 4,483,350 tickets during it inaugural season in 1993, when it played at an 80,000-seat football stadium.
“Like every season it's been up and down, an emotional year. And for these fans to show up every day, it's incredible,” Roberts said. “There's a reason why I feel that we have the best fans in sports, and the numbers speak to it.”
The Dodgers rewarded that loyalty, with their 52 wins at home this season ranking second in the majors. What they weren’t able to do was clinch the division title in front of their fans.
But if they can do that on the road this week, they’ll be right back home for at least two more games at Dodger Stadium in the playoffs.
Notes
Right-handers Brock Stewart and Roki Sasaki both pitched scoreless innings in relief for triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday in their final rehab appearances before the postseason roster is set. Stewart struck out one and gave up a hit, throwing nine of his 15 pitches for strikes. Sasaki did not allow a runner, striking out one of the three batters he faced and getting strikes on five of his eight pitches.
Both pitchers will join the team at the start of the road trip in Arizona, as will right-hander Brusdar Graterol, who threw a bullpen Sunday. It’s a sign of just how uncertain the Dodger reliever corps is that Graterol, who hasn’t pitched all season, is still a possibility for the postseason roster spot. Graterol made just seven regular-season appearances last year but pitched three times in the World Series.
