Category: MLB

The Washington Nationals will be staying out of last place in 2026! With the 7-6 win last night, the Nats officially secured 4th place in the division. While 4th place is obviously not the goal, it is a clear step forward. As long as the Nats did not get swept, they would avoid last place and that is exactly what happened last night.

One thing that made it even sweeter is the fact that it will be the Mets who finish last. Despite being a bit of a meme, the Mets actually do not tend to bottom out. This is actually their first last place finish since 2003. Given their massive payroll, that is quite a disastrous outcome. The Nats made that outcome a reality last night.

The Mets finish LAST in the NL East for the first time since 2003 🤯

New York had MLB’s second-highest payroll at $357 million. pic.twitter.com/hXQ23eOiwp

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 26, 2026

It felt important to get that one win and stay out of last. With how the team played for most of this season, it would have been cruel to be in the basement at season’s end. Outside of a brutal 6 week stretch that basically doomed the season, this team has played inspired baseball.

The game last night was quite the whacky one. Andrew Alvarez has pitched so well this season, but he did not have it in this one. His command was all over the place from the jump. A combination of uncompetitive misses and pitches in the middle of the zone doomed the southpaw. 

Alvarez settled in a little bit and Blake Butera wanted to get him through 5 innings to qualify for a win. However, Alvarez allowed two homers in the 5th and was pulled. Despite pitching very well this season, Alvarez will finish the year with a 2-6 record.

Unlike most Alvarez outings, the Nats actually gave him a lot of run support tonight. That started with a CJ Abrams two run single in the first. Abrams thought it was gone and watched the ball fly, but it hit off the wall. He has not done that since Opening Day, but it was not the best of looks for CJ. A wild third inning which saw 4 wild pitches helped the Nats cash in four more runs.

However, the deciding run in this game came in the bottom of the 7th. After Justin Hagenman blew a fastball by Dylan Crews to start the at bat, he tried to do it again. This time Crews was ready and hit an absolute bomb out to left field to make it a 7-5 game.

DYLAN CREWS NUKE‼️#Natitudepic.twitter.com/AQvhO7I0vf

— SleeperNationals (@SleeperNats) September 26, 2026

After Jack Sinclair allowed a run on a sac fly in the 8th, we were going to be in for a tense finish. The only question was who was going to close the game. After working 4 times in 5 days, Erik Tolman was likely unavailable even after the off day. That limited the options.

Blake Butera turned to a surprise candidate, Josiah Gray. The former All-Star just rejoined the big league club, and now he was being thrust into a massive spot. Gray did not have a save in his career entering last night. Now, he was being trusted to face Lindor and Soto in the 9th.

Things started very well for the 28 year old. He got Christopher Morel to pop up and then struck out Lindor. After pitching around Juan Soto, it all came down to Bo Bichette. While Bichette has not had a great first season in Queens, he has had a lot of success against the Nats, including a home run in this game.

After getting ahead 1-2, Gray got Bichette to chase a breaking ball that was nearly in the dirt. Somehow, Bichette made contact, but it was only a dribbler back to the pitcher. Gray picked it up and fired to first to get his first save. He bounced on the Nationals Park mound in triumph as he got his first ever save.

JOSIAH 🙏 pic.twitter.com/0P5bU1vmHf

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 26, 2026

It was a very long road back for Gray, who was pitching at Nationals Park for the first time since April of 2024. You can tell he was very emotional, not only about the win. This was not just a feel good moment though. A performance like that also puts Gray in the mix for a bullpen, or even rotation spot in 2027.

Honestly, I quite like Gray in the bullpen. He can just spin guys to death with his slider, curve and sweeper. Gray only threw one fastball on the night, but he still had success. I think he has the chance to be a solid arm in the ‘pen.

Overall, this was a great night. It was fantastic to stay out of last place and do it in style with the Gray save. Today will be an early start at 12:45. The pun was intended there as Connelly Early will also be making his Nationals debut today. After last night, the Nats now have 10 more wins than last season. Let’s see how many more they can get.

Having moved a scheduled Saturday game against the Orioles up to Friday for a straight doubleheader, the Yankees and O’s split the twin bill. Baltimore blew out Brendan Beck and company in a 10-2 loss in the opener—an ignominious follow-up to CC Sabathia’s number retirement—but Ryan Yarbrough and Will Warren combined to lead them to 17 strikeouts in the 6-3 nightcap win. Most importantly, everyone remained healthy. Wins and losses don’t matter for the regular season at this point! Now, they wait at home for the storm to pass today and see if they can play a Game 162 tomorrow. If not … see you on Tuesday for the Wild Card Series, Boston.

Here’s what else was going on Friday among the remaining AL playoff hopefuls.

Tampa Bay Rays (97-63) 2, Philadelphia Phillies (87-73) 0

We’ll only take a minute on this one since—with all due respect to the playoff hopes of our friends in Philly (but boy is it suddenly getting tense with the Diamondbacks hot on the trail)—it really doesn’t mean much with Tampa Bay locked into the top AL seed. The Phils got a really nice outing from ace Cristopher Sánchez, who fanned 10 Rays in seven innings of work. But he did allow an RBI single to Jonny DeLuca in the first and a solo shot to catcher Nick Fortes in the second, and with the Phillies absolutely sputtering … yeah, that was it. Freddy Peralta blanked Philly through 5.1 before a quartet of relievers completed the four-hit shutout, Bryan Baker notching his 41st save of the season.

Boston Red Sox (86-74) 4, Chicago Cubs (88-72) 3 [Game 1]

It took a little longer than anyone expected, but the Red Sox officially locked themselves into the No. 5 seed in the American League and a date with the Yankees in the Wild Card Series. The best-of-three will begin on Tuesday with all games in the Bronx. At first, it seemed like Boston’s odd skid would continue when the Cubbies plated three within the first four outs. Tyrone Taylor had doubled in Seiya Suzuki following a one-out walk in the first, and the trio of Matt Shaw, Michael Busch, and No. 9 hitter Miguel Amaya continued the mini-parade against Alec Gamboa in the second with with a single and a pair of doubles, Amaya’s going off the Green Monster to drive in a pair.

Part of that rally had involved Shaw getting thrown out on a grounder to third though, and Chicago never scored that fourth run. They would rue that result, with typical starter Jake Bennett getting his first relief appearance in anticipation of the Wild Card showdown and throwing 3.2 scoreless. Greg Weissert and Raymond Burgos continued to keep the Cubs off the board for the rest of the game as their offense rallied off Clay Holmes. A rare error by Dansby Swanson brought in the first Boston run in the fourth, and Holmes allowed a leadoff single to former Yankees teammate Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the fifth, followed by a Roman Anthony double. He got one more out, but Caleb Thielbar entered and allowed a game-tying knock from Adley Rutschman.

The Red Sox took the lead in the seventh, breaking the tie off Aaron Civale when Anthony tripled and Connor Wong doubled him in. With Weissert and Burgos silencing Chicago, that was all she wrote. The only downside for Boston was that surprise story Mickey Gasper had to leave the game early with biceps discomfort.

Boston Red Sox (87-74) 2, Chicago Cubs (88-73) 0 [Game 2]

The weather got gloomier as the day went along but the Red Sox left Fenway with a clean doubleheader sweep. Boston kept Brayan Bello in playoff tune-up mode despite coming off an outing of eight innings of 11-K, one-run ball, and they still twirled a shutout. Bello blanked Chicago through four, departed with his pitch count at 58, and gave way to rookie Jedixson Paez, making his fifth career appearance. Paez outpitched Bello, fanning five in five shutout frames to earn his first career win.

David Peterson’s own five zeroes for the Cubs were in vain. The scoreless tie was broken up in the eighth with IKF and Jahmai Jones (another former Yankee) on base after walks. Wilyer Abreu cracked a double off Ryan Rolison to plate both runners. That was all Boston needed. The Cubs had hoped to host a Wild Card Series at Wrigley, but that’s looking unlikely now with the Padres a game and a half ahead of them. Game 162 will determine their flight path, and they’ll need a flight just to play it. The nor’easter is not supposed to get any better in Beantown over the weekend, so the Sunday game will be at a neutral site: Tropicana Field. Let’s get weird.

Texas Rangers (79-81) 2, Minnesota Twins (76-84) 10

When Jacob deGrom was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, opportunities like this one undoubtedly drove him. Yes, the AL West is lousy, but the Rangers can easily win it and they had deGrom out there against a team playing out the string in the Twins. Even with Joe Ryan on the bump opposing him, they felt great. Instead, Minnesota clobbered deGrom and tallied six in the second, Luke Keaschall delivering the big blow on a two-run triple. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was tagged for eight runs in four innings of work. The news got worse for the Rangers learned that top bat Josh Jung broke his hand on a hit-by-pitch; he’s likely done for 2026. This one had to hurt, and deGrom was furious at himself in the postgame, saying multiple times that he was “embarrassed.”

Houston Astros (79-81) 5, The Athletics (64-96) 6

Well don’t worry Jacob because remember: the AL West is lousy. The Rangers lost while the Astros were still playing on Friday, so they had a golden opportunity to seize control of the AL West, especially because they own the tiebreaker and were facing a terrible A’s team. Said terrible A’s team held off Houston and won, 6-5. A six-run sixth proved to be enough for the A’s offense as Hunter Brown’s once-solid outing went by the wayside with awful relief from Bennett Sousa, who failed to record a single out and allowed three runs. Henry Bolte smacked a two-run triple in the frame and the A’s had a commanding 6-1 lead.

Houston did fight back, in part because the A’s bullpen is horrific. Cam Smith homered and a rally in the eighth broke the score to 6-5 with runners on second and third after a wild pitch. Baby Bomber alum Luis Medina fanned Smith though and Houston was held at bay. Nelson Velázquez got a one-out walk in the ninth to put the go-ahead run on against Hogan Harris, only to be erased on a Jeremy Peña double play ball, stranding Yordan Alvarez in the on-deck circle. For the first time in MLB history, we are guaranteed a full-season division winner with either a .500 record or worse because neither Houston nor Texas can be better than 81-81.

lol

Cleveland Guardians (84-76) 12, Kansas City Royals (68-92) 9

Funky one in KC. The Guardians maintained their hot streak and withstood rallies from the Royals to win late without actually getting all that many hits. They had a dozen runs scored but only nine hits. Carter Jensen slugged two homers and drove in five for the Royals, but it wasn’t nearly enough, even with a tied-up ballgame at 7-7. Six walks and a fielder’s choice in the eighth led to Cleveland plating three without a hit before the surging Angel Martinez drove in two with a double to make it a 12-7 game. Salvador Perez’s 324th career homer cut into the lead in the ninth, but the Guardians held on to maintain their one-game lead in the AL Central.

Chicago White Sox (83-77) 6, Colorado Rockies (57-103) 1

Munetaka Murakami clobbered a pair of dingers to reach 35 in his rookie MLB season, and both came off countryman Tomoyuki Sugano, who he’d homered against twice in NPB play. Sean Burke threw 5.1 innings with one run allowed, and all that was easily plenty for the Pale Hose to take care of business on the South Side. They’ll just need some help from KC if they’re going to pass Cleveland for the division again.

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AL Standings

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Meet the Mets

The Mets fell to the Nationals 7-6 in what was an sloppy game for both teams, but a disastrous third inning that featured four wild pitches—two of them forcing in runs—sealed the Mets’ fate. On the bright side, with his 20th home run last night, Carson Benge became the first Mets rookie to have a 20-20 season.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Faith and Fear in Flushing, MLB.com, New York Daily News, New York Post

The second game of this weekend’s series between the Mets and Nationals, originally scheduled for 4:05pm, will be played at 12:35pm due to the rain in the forecast later this afternoon and evening in Washington DC.

“Anything that can be in the history book and done for the first time is something special,” Carson Benge said about becoming the first Mets rookie to have a 20-20 season. “I hold that close to my heart.”

“If it matters to a Mets fan, it matters to me, but deep down, if I think about it, there’s playoffs and there’s not playoffs. There’s nothing we’re going to do to get to that spot,” said Andy Green prior to last night’s game about the importance—or lack thereof—of avoiding the cellar in the NL East. “As we watch other teams celebrate inclusion in playoffs, that should leave a bitter taste in all of our mouths to get back there. That’s all I’m really concerned with.” Last night’s loss to the Nationals ensured that the Mets will indeed finish in last place this season.

Prior to yesterday’s game, the Mets called up Justin Hagenman, who pitched the bulk of last night’s game in relief, and optioned Jack Weisenburger. Also, Xzavion Curry cleared waivers and was outrighted to the FCL Mets.

“It would be something that I would cherish for the rest of my career, probably one of the most important awards that I earn, that I win,” said Francisco Lindor about being nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award for the fourth straight year and what it would mean to win.

Around the National League East

The Phillies were shut out 2-0 by Freddy Peralta and the Rays, as the Diamondbacks won their game last night and inched within a game of Philadelphia for the final NL Wild Card slot (and own the tiebreaker over the Phillies) with two games to play. The Phillies were five games ahead of Arizona with eight games to play and are now in danger of missing the playoffs.

The Braves, with their NL East title already secured, were shut out by the Marlins 3-0. Eury Pérez ended his season on a high note with a one-hit shutout, striking out eight.

Around Major League Baseball

The Mets weren’t the only team whose games were impacted by the incoming Nor’easter this weekend. The Cubs and Red Sox—already originally scheduled to play a doubleheader yesterday—instead had the final game of their series moved to Tropicana Field in Tampa to avoid a soggy Fenway Park. The Yankees and Orioles preemptively moved the game originally scheduled for today and played a doubleheader yesterday.

With a 4-3 victory over the Cubs in Game 1 of yesterday’s doubleheader, the Red Sox secured the No. 5 seed in the AL and a matchup with the Yankees in the AL Wild Card Series.

“I don’t know,” said George Springer when asked whether he plans to retire after this season. “I love this organization. I loved being a Blue Jay. I’ve loved every single bit of being here. I haven’t really gotten that far yet. I’ve kind of taken every day with these guys in stride.”

The Twins and assistant general manager Daniel Adler have agreed to part ways.

“No comment,” Pope Leo XIV said with a smile when asked if he had any divine influence over the White Sox’s 2026 season. ”Great things happen in Chicago.”

MLB.com ran down the top 20 selling jerseys for the 2026 season. Not surprisingly, Shohei Ohtani was number one with Aaron Judge and Pete Crow-Armstrong rounding out the top three. Juan Soto was tenth, the only Met to make the list.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. apologized yesterday afternoon for comments he made earlier in the week in a Spanish-language interview with Veronica Batista, in which he said that he was being paid his $500 million contract for what he’d done in the past, not what he’d do in the future. “I just gave it some thought, and I felt like the comments I made the other day were not really what I wanted to say,” he said. “I felt that everyone, my fans and everyone, deserves an apology from me.”

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Vasilis Drimalitis previewed the final series of the season between the Mets and Nationals.

In a new episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series, Brian Salvatore and Chris McShane discuss Andy Green being installed as the new permanent Mets manager and the Mets’ addition of Derek Falvey to the front office.

This Date in Mets History

The Mets became the first New York baseball team to draw 3 million fans in a season on this date in 1987, the year after their championship campaign. The Yankees would eventually do it too, but it would take another dozen years.

The Rays stayed healthy in a game that didn’t matter to them — and won.

That’s about all you can ask for at the end of the regular season post-clinching. And they looked good doing it, sporting the sweet new Tampa Bay road grays.

Jonny DeLuca got the jump on Phillies lefty Christopher Sanchez (‘fOrMeR rAy!’ Yes, we get it.) with an opposite field RBI single, 1-0 Flappy Boys in the first.

Nick Fortes cut through the 17 MPH wind in from left field at Citizens Bank Park to extend the Tampa Bay lead to 2-0.

OH MY GOD NICK FORTES OWNS “Christopher Sanchez” 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/R4E6hD3Ms7

— Caminero Fan Club (@CamineroFanClub) September 25, 2026

In the top of the third, Junior Caminero nearly left the yard but the aforementioned wind took 38 feet off the distance of his 107 MPH missile to center field, resulting in a flyout to Justin Crawford (damn I’m old).

Freddy Peralta dazzled yet again, going 5.1 IP while striking out four and only allowing four hits.

In Peralta’s last six starts, he’s gone 5-0 with a 0.79 ERA, only allowing three earned runs over 34 innings.

Freddy Peralta tonight:

5.1 IP | 4 H | 0 ER | 3 BB | 4 K | 12 Whiffs

He was up in velocity, sitting 96.2 mph and topping out at 98.5 mph. His changeup returned a 40% Whiff%, and he mixed in some sliders and sweepers.

Over his last 6 starts (34 IP), he has a 0.79 ERA. pic.twitter.com/031r63eSER

— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) September 26, 2026

Cam Booser, Kevin Kelly and Cole Sulser each earn holds while Brian Baker earns his 30th save in a row, a team record.

You could tell the Phillies were pressing tonight.

They have not clinched a postseason berth, and their magic number was two coming in to tonight’s game.

Not only did they go 0-6 with runners in scoring position, and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team directly behind them in the NL Wild Card standings, won 11-4.

As expected in Philly, they got booed mercilessly at “The Bank”.

Tarik Skubal’s final regular season tuneup went about as well as he and the Dodgers could have hoped, with 10 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings on only 75 pitches, with no walks against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. On the season the left-hander had a 2.72 ERA and 3.06 xERA in 158 2/3 innings, including a 2.61 ERA, 3.15 xERA, and 23.2-percent strikeout-minus-walk rate in 10 starts for the Dodgers.

Tom Verducci at Sports Illustrated wrote about Skubal being the latest ace to join the Dodgers starting rotation, looking forward to an October run. Skubal on the Dodgers:

“It’s awesome to be a part of something where the standard is winning a World Series. That’s the way everybody goes about their business, from ownership to president to GM to manager to players, and then you talk about support staff and the chefs in the kitchen, the flight attendants … They all go out of their way to make sure you have everything you need to go out there and perform. I feel like everyone in this organization is rowing in the same direction and everybody wants a World Series just as bad as the players do.”

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Jarrett Seidler at Baseball Prospectus ranked all 30 MLB front offices and wrote many words about his hierarchy over the last few weeks. After writing about Nos. 21-30 and Nos. 11-20, Seidler on Thursday wrote about his top 10 front offices, with the Dodgers No. 2 overall, one of three teams in his top tier along with the top-spot Brewers and No. 3 Rays. From Seidler:

The Dodgers remain the best team around at trades, both buying and selling. They remain at or near the top in draft acquisition, player development, and research. They are going to be one of the best teams in baseball deep into the 2030s on an annual basis. They got Shohei Ohtani to sign with them. So there’s a lot going for them.

But I just don’t know how one can call the guys who signed the Kyle Tucker deal seven months ago—a deal that is currently trending towards being the literal worst contract in the history of the sport—the best front office in baseball, ultimately.

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Baseball America named its players of the year at every level. Josue De Paula, who won Texas League MVP, was named Double-A player of the year by BA, and California League MVP Easton Shelton was named Class-A player of the year. Eduardo Quintero lost out to Great Lakes outfield mate Charles Davalan for Midwest League MVP, but Quintero was tabbed by BA as High-A player of the year.

Other Dodgers minor leaguers named All-Stars at their level were James Tibbs III as designated hitter in Triple-A, third baseman Jake Gelof in Double-A, Davalan and pitcher Zach Root in High-A, plus third baseman Chase Harlan and outfielder Jaron Elkins in Class-A.

Triple-A end-of-season awards should be announced on Saturday, with the Triple-A title game coming at 7:05 p.m. PT in Las Vegas between PCL title-winning Oklahoma City and Rochester, the International League champs.

History, meet Pete Crow-Armstrong. pic.twitter.com/EnY3bBzyoT

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 24, 2026

Today’s Reflections

Congratulations to Pete Crow-Armstrong for 40/40!

Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs for making the playoffs!

Best wishes to Taylor McGregor at ESPN!

Hooray for Bleed Cubbie Blue!!!

Okay. That’s enough. For now.

Just like with No. 39, Stolen Base No. 40 was easily swiped by PCA on the first pitch. As has been said, the only way that PCA wasn’t going to get to 40/40 was if he didn’t stop hitting home runs. But as hard as it could be to imagine, this accomplishment was just one of a number of them Thursday.

Matthew Boyd added yet another stellar performance in the Wild Card clincher. Boyd allowed one run on five hits and two walks in seven strong innings while having struck out three.

Going into the bottom of the fifth, down 1-0 to the Marlins, it was beginning to look like runs were going to be at a premium. Then Seiya Suzuki’s 26th home run tied up the game at 1-1.

The Marlins blinked again in the sixth, when Ian Happ hit a triple to right-center and was driven home on Nico Hoerner’s RBI single for a 2-1 advantage. Daniel Palencia and Ryan Zeferjahn teamed up for scoreless eighth and ninth innings to head to the playoffs.

Wednesday saw the Cubs lose their second straight to Miami, but that was after Kevin Gausman’s yeoman efforts on and off the mound. Gausman fired off 101 pitches in 5.2 IP, 67 by strike, having allowed two runs on six hits and a walk while having added seven strikeouts. On pitch 101, Gausman went to cover a vacant third base, took the throw from first and made an awkward tag for the putout. It is hopeful that the non-pitching shoulder soreness won’t delay his return next week.

Offensively between the two games, with only four runs scored, there weren’t any big numbers. But leaders were Suzuki, 3-for-7 with a walk and HR, and Happ, Hoerner and Pedro Ramirez all went 2-for-7. Happ had a walk, two runs scored, a double and a triple. Hoerner had the GWRBI. In addition, Michael Busch went 2-for-4 with a run scored, and Michael Conforto had a double, both on Wednesday.

I appreciate your reading.

Complimentary Starting Pitcher Solo Home Run*

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Thursday’s Game Stories:

• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs clinch postseason spot with win over Marlins, wild-card seeding still a mystery. “As for what seed they’ll be on the NL side of the bracket and where they’ll be playing their opening-round, best-of-three series, that all remains to be figured out.”

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Chicago Cubs clinch playoff spot for 2nd straight season and set sights on top NL wild-card seed. “While the initial on-field reaction was subdued when the Cubs clinched a playoff spot Thursday with a 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins at Wrigley Field, they savored the moment during their postgame clubhouse celebration.”

• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Powered By Departing Heroes, Cubs Clinch Playoff Berth in Last Chance Before Home Fans. “In what might have been his final home game as a Cub, Ian Happ hit a clutch triple and scored the winning run. The Cubs clinched a trip to the postseason, on a sun-splashed day that gave a valiant team a fitting sendoff as they prepare for the tournament.

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Cubs punch return trip to postseason on banner day for PCA. “No team is immune to trials and setbacks, but the 2026 Cubs were battered with injuries and obstacles that tested the group and created some drama when it came to finally punching the ticket to the postseason.”

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Wednesday’s Game Stories:

• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Kevin Gausman bangs up shoulder, Cubs lose another to Marlins: ‘The baseball gods are going to test you’. “Gausman and the Cubs will wait and see what shape the righty pitcher’s shoulder is in after he made a tag play that forced him out of Wednesday’s game, another Cubs loss that kept their magic number to clinch a playoff spot stuck at one.”

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Cubs fall to Marlins, still in pursuit of elusive playoff spot. “The Cubs took the field Wednesday night with a chance to clinch their spot in the National League postseason field. They headed back into the clubhouse with uncertainty still hovering overhead, even as a trip to the playoffs remained the probable outcome.”

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PCA-Mania 40/40 Appreciation Section:

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Pete Crow-Armstrong becomes the 1st Chicago Cub with a 40-40 season — and only the 7th player in MLB history, “Even Crow-Armstrong couldn’t deny the magnitude of the moment Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs marvel at Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 40-40 campaign: ‘One of the all-time seasons in baseball history’. “Crow-Armstrong, the MVP favorite, did something only six players had done previously in baseball history, the latest reason for his teammates to stand in awe at an unbelievable campaign.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs are facing an unfamiliar reality thanks to Pete Crow-Armstrong’s historic 40-40 season. “40-40 looks good on PCA. This incredible feat of history ends all doubt about his NL MVP award.”

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Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?! You betcha!:

• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Anthony Rizzo has absolutely insane take on how Cubs should approach the Wild Card. “Yeah, I get what he’s saying, but I don’t know how much I vibe with this proposal.”
• Andy Martinez (Chicago Tribune {$}): ‘OK, job isn’t done’: Chicago Cubs toast return to postseason — and eye a deeper run. “
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs clinch postseason spot, celebrate and see what’s possible: ‘We’re built for the weird [stuff]’. “The Cubs are officially into the postseason after beating the Marlins on Thursday. After a season weathering all sorts of challenges, they see big things possible in October.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: In a splendid moment of Chicago baseball symmetry, White Sox and Cubs clinch 2 minutes apart. “The idea of both Chicago teams getting a bite of the postseason seemed laughable before the Wrigley Field ivy turned green.”

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Assorted Pitching Stories:

• Miracle Dimwish (The Big Lead): MLB denies Cubs request ahead of potential doubleheader with Red Sox. “Chicago’s request was about protecting its pitching staff at a pretty important time.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Gausman day to day after ‘best defensive play of his career’; Cubs could see Bregman, Steele return. “Cubs starter Kevin Gausman called the diving tag he made on Miami’s Heriberto Hernández in the sixth inning on Wednesday night the best defensive play he has made in his career.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Jed Hoyer’s cautious Justin Steele assessment exposes difficult Cubs playoff roster decision. “Justin Steele could return to the Chicago Cubs this weekend, but it doesn’t sound like Jed Hoyer has any plans of utilizing him in a high-leverage spot.”
• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports): How the Cubs Playoff Rotation is Shaping Up. “With the MLB postseason race shaping up, the Chicago Cubs’ playoff rotation is becoming clearer.”
• Elias Schuster (Chicago Cubs On SI): Here Comes Justin Steele? Cubs Say He Could Be an “Option” Before Playoffs. “The Chicago Cubs might be preparing for a scenario where Justin Steele takes the mound this weekend.”

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Assorted Hitting Stories:

• Steve Drumwright (North Side Baseball): Alex Bregman In Lineup For Game 1 Of Doubleheader; Cubs’ Edward Cabrera On Bereavement List. “The third baseman is making a surprise return to Chicago’s batting order as the DH after being struck in the face by a foul ball Sunday.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Two Great Items on Pete Crow-Armstrong. “As we await his entry into the 40-40 club – and his eventual coronation as the most glaringly obvious NL MVP – I happened upon a couple great Pete Crow-Armstrong items I thought you might enjoy.”
• Chris Pownall (DaWindyCity): Craig Counsell delivers concerning Alex Bregman injury update as Cubs face crucial stretch. “The Chicago Cubs desperately need Alex Bregman back in their lineup, but his recovery isn’t going quite as smoothly as they’d hoped. Craig Counsell delivered an injury update Thursday that included some encouraging progress at the plate, along with a lingering concern that could complicate his return.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Alex Bregman ‘felt like I got hit by a baseball bat to the face,’ working to make quick return to Cubs. “The Cubs’ third baseman is dealing with significant aftereffects just three days after he was hit in the face with a foul ball, but the lauded hard-worker is attempting a speedy return to the lineup with a lot on the line in the regular season’s final days.”
• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): A Timely Turn: Michael Busch Trending in Right Direction (Literally) at Right Time. “All year, Michael Busch has been searching for something: a consistent way to drive the ball to right field, the way he did throughout 2025. He might have finally found it.”

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N’eastern-pocalypse stories!:

• Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs-Red Sox game Sunday might move to Tropicana Field, which is preparing to host. “After Game 2 of a split doubleheader Friday in Boston, the Cubs are set to fly to St. Petersburg, Florida.”
• Rodney Knuppel (Sporting News): Cubs’ playoff countdown gets complicated by Kevin Gausman injury and Boston weather. “Cubs lose another chance to clinch, then face an unusual final weekend.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: Alex Bregman’s return and a nor’easter could bring dramatic pause to the Chicago Cubs’ final weekend. “Bregman was already showing impatience on Wednesday and told reporters he was hoping to get an at-bat in the night game against the Miami Marlins in the potential postseason clincher at Wrigley Field.”
• Jesse Rogers (ESPN): Counsell says Cubs at disadvantage after schedule change. “Cubs manager Craig Counsell was quick to point out the disadvantages his team faces this weekend after the league moved Sunday’s contest against the Boston Red Sox to Friday due to a poor weather forecast.”

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Assorted Stories:

• Stephen Douglas (The Big Lead): Ian Happ surprised Wrigley Field bleacher bums with special gift in final Cubs game. “Ian Happ tossed an autographed ball and $300 into the bleachers in what may be his final game at Wrigley.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Taylor McGregor, Marquee’s Chicago Cubs sideline reporter, is leaving to join ESPN full time. “A staple of Chicago Cubs TV broadcasts since Marquee Sports Network launched in 2020, Taylor McGregor is leaving her sideline reporting role to work full time for ESPN.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Key piece of 2016 Cubs front office singled out as a top exec by anonymous MLB agent. “A former top lieutenant to Theo Epstein continues to draw praise in important circles.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Andy Green’s former Cubs boss is one of the biggest losers in his sudden change of heart. “Before the offseason even began, the Mets’ managerial job is off the table.”

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Food For Thought:

Gaye Adegbalola was born on March 21, 1944, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Adegbalola’s father, Clarence R. Todd, was the first Black school board member in Fredericksburg, as well as a jazz musician. Adegbalola’s occupations after college included being a technical writer for TRW Systems, a biochemical researcher at Rockefeller University, and a bacteriologist at Harlem Hospital where she was also the local union representative. She helped her father direct the Harambee Theater, sometimes acting in performances herself, until his death in 1977. That same year, Gaye began studying guitar.

Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women was first formed as a duo in 1984 by Adegbalola and her guitar teacher, Ann Rabson, with Earlene Lewis joining later to form a trio. Adegbalola later became a full-time blues performer and in 1990 the band recorded its first album for Alligator Records. During the 1990s, Adegbalola held workshops on various aspects of blues music and worked as a blues music reporter for the World Cafe program on National Public Radio. Her first solo album, Bitter Sweet Blues, was recorded in 1999. In addition to her own original compositions (“You Don’t Have to Take It (Like I Did),” “Big Ovaries, Baby” and “Nothing’s Changed”), the album had cover versions of songs by Bessie Smith, Smokey Robinson, Ma Rainey and Nina Simone.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

Good morning, Purple Row!

There are two games left in the 2026 season, and there is absolutely nothing left for the Rockies to settle in the standings.

There is, however, one oddly specific statistical chase still worth watching.

Jake McCarthy enters Saturday with 30 doubles, 13 triples, 15 home runs and 32 stolen bases. He needs two more triples over the final two games to reach 15 in all four categories.

Individually, none of those numbers jumps off the page, but putting all four together is rarer than you might think.

Corbin Carroll has done it this season and in 2025, accounting for the only two 15-15-15-15 seasons in the last 10 years.

Before Carroll, you have to go back to 2011, when Shane Victorino did it. Looking all the way back to 2006, the other examples are José Reyes in 2008 and 2006, Jimmy Rollins and Curtis Granderson in 2007, and Carl Crawford in 2006.

That makes just eight such seasons by six players over the past 21 seasons.

McCarthy still needs two triples in two games, so it is very much an outside shot. But it gives the Rockies one more quirky statistical chase before the season ends.

Beyond Colorado, there are only three real races left in the standings.

In the American League, Houston and Texas enter Saturday tied atop the West at 79-81, with the Astros holding the tiebreaker. Cleveland also holds a one-game lead over Chicago in the AL Central.

In the National League, Arizona has stormed to within one game of the sputtering Phillies for the final Wild Card spot. The Diamondbacks have won six straight while Philadelphia has dropped three in a row.

There isn’t much left to the regular season, but there are still plenty of reasons to keep tuning in.

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Rockies News & Links

Rockies’ rotation shortcomings have club searching for answers going into 2027 | MLB.com

Thomas Harding digs into Colorado’s biggest offseason problem: a rotation that has spent the season near the bottom of just about every meaningful category and helped drive a brutal late-season collapse. The Rockies are expected to be aggressive in free agency and on the trade market, while also considering more creative ways to piece together innings with the pitchers already in the organization.

Grading Rockies’ Tomoyuki Sugano’s 2026 Season | SI.com

Sugano’s season gets a C-minus from Miguel Mike Medina, though the grade was handed out before he actually made his final start of the year. He then closed things out Friday by allowing four earned runs over 6.2 innings, putting the finishing touch on a season that had some legitimately strong stretches before falling apart late. The grade is a little harsher than I probably would have gone, but it is still a useful look back at Sugano’s uneven one-year run in Colorado.

José Quintana returns to the South Side for what could be his final career start, with his former team chasing an AL Central title | WhiteSoxRoundtable

Sam Phalen looks ahead to José Quintana’s return to the South Side, where the longtime White Sox starter could now complicate Chicago’s push for the AL Central. Quintana spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2012-17 and built a reputation there as one of baseball’s steadier starters before bouncing around the league, making Saturday a pretty fitting setting for what could be his final major-league start.

Renck: Rockies keeping Warren Schaeffer, talking improvement during awful finish is a tough sell| The Denver Post($)

A brutal 7-28 finish makes the Rockies’ progress a tough sell, and Troy Renck argues that the biggest culprit is a familiar one: starting pitching. He also digs into Josh Byrnes’ support for Warren Schaeffer and a front office willing to rethink everything from rotation usage to unconventional pitching arrangements as Colorado searches for answers heading into 2027.

Around MLB

Aaron Boone’s Anthony Volpe reveal may finally stick a fork in Ryan McMahon before Yankees playoff run | yankeesgoyard.com

Anthony Volpe getting a look at third base could further squeeze former Rockie Ryan McMahon out of New York’s postseason plans. McMahon still brings value with the glove, but his offensive struggles have become increasingly difficult to overlook as the Yankees experiment with other options at the hot corner heading into October.

AL West ineptitude: MLB to have first playoff team with non-winning record after full season | The Athletic

Johnny Flores Jr. puts the AL West’s mess into historical context: Houston and Texas are both 79-81 with two games remaining, meaning the division champion can finish no better than 81-81. That guarantees MLB will have its first playoff team from a full 162-game season without a winning record.

Brewers reach 100 wins for 1st time, lock up home field as No. 1 overall seed | MLB.com

The Brewers reached 100 wins for the first time in franchise history and locked up the No. 1 overall seed. They did it in unusual fashion, too: Milwaukee became the first 100-win team in MLB history without a winning streak longer than five games, and now heads into October trying to avoid the early exits that have tripped up most recent 100-win clubs.

Bregman back in Cubs’ lineup, plays full game days after being hit in face with foul ball | MLB.com

Just days after taking a foul ball to the face and suffering multiple fractures, Alex Bregman was already back in Chicago’s lineup Friday. He went hitless in four plate appearances, but simply getting through a full game was a big step for a Cubs team that will need him healthy for October.

Surging D-backs pull closer in Wild Card race with 6th straight win | MLB.com

Arizona just keeps applying pressure. Steve Gilbert breaks down the Diamondbacks’ sixth straight win, an 11-4 rout of San Diego that pulled them within one game of Philadelphia for the final NL Wild Card spot. Arizona still needs some help, but it owns the tiebreaker and has turned what looked like a long shot into one of the last real races of the regular season.

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Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks! 

Good morning, baseball fans!

The final weekend of San Francisco Giants baseball is upon us, and as we have spent the rest of the season picking the Player of the Week, I thought today we would make our picks for Player of the Year.

BUT, before we get started, there is to be no stat checking whatsoever. This is strictly based on your memory of the season that was. The time will come for player reviews and further introspections. This is not that time. This is the time for vibes.

So, based on my recollection of this season and having picked players every week of it, my pick absolutely has to be Rafael Devers. I don’t keep stats on how many times I pick players during the course of a season, but I know for absolute certain that I picked Devers more than any other player. He was a rare bright spot in a season of dark clouds. So he’s my guy.

Who is your pick for Player of the Year?

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants play game two of this three game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers this afternoon at 1:05 p.m. PT.

As sleuthed out by our own Jacob Roy prior to last night’s game, the Red Sox-Cubs series has officially been moved to Tampa. Despite the fact that the teams flew out last night, though, the final game of the season won’t take place until Sunday at 3 PM, maintaining MLB’s recent practice of all 30 teams playing the final game of the season at the same time. (Jordan Bastian, MLB.com)

While Sunday’s game will be played at the Trop, it will technically be a Red Sox home game. And the Rays stadium production crew is going to do it’s best to make it feel like one. “The Rays staff will handle the in-game production and present it like a game at Fenway Park, so expect to hear the odd-for-the-Trop sounds of “Sweet Caroline” playing during the game and “Dirty Water” and “Tessie” afterward if the Sox win. ‘We’ll have some fun with it,‘ Rays CEO Ken Babby said. (Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times)

But the more important scheduling news to come out of yesterday’s action was the fact that the Sox and Yankees officially locked themselves into a Wild Card Series battle. We’ve known this was coming for a while now, of course, and the players sound up for it. “You can definitely tell there’s just a different level of buzz with [Red Sox-Yankees], just with the atmosphere of the stadium and everything going on,” said Red Sox catcher Adley Rutschman. “So definitely, it’s a little bit more elevated, and I’m sure in the playoffs, it’s going to be even more than that.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)

And while it might seem like a case of deja vu with the Sox and Yankees meeting each other in the first round two years in a row, there has been a lot of roster turnover in the last 12 months. (Daniel Chavkin, NESN.com)

Unfortunately, the Sox are going to have to take on the Yankees without one player who became one of the most surprising stories of the season. Mickey Gasper suffered a biceps injury on a swing during the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader and the subsequent MRI didn’t look good. It sounds like he’s done for the year. “At this point, it looks like a significant biceps injury,” said Chad Tracy. “He’s gonna still be seeing more doctors and stuff like that. “We’ll get a final conclusion, but it’s a pretty significant biceps injury. It’s probably gonna take him out.” (Kayley Brown, Boston.com)

Alex Bregman nearly missed this Red Sox series with a series injury of his own — a facial fracture. But he really wanted to make it back in time to play in Fenway again. “So many lifelong friends and just memories and friendships that are all cherished forever,” Bregman said. “And obviously, playing here is so special. Love playing here. Fans here are awesome. So, great experience.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

The Guardians came out on top in a back and forth high scoring thriller to maintain their one game lead in the Central.

After a 40 minute rain delay neither starter could settle in. Walks were being handed out left and right and it was an absolute battle for the first 4 innings. 

The Guardians would strike first on a 2 run single by Angel Martínez in the first inning with the bases loaded, but the Royals would answer right back after a walk to Bobby Witt Jr and an absolutely scalded RBI double from Jac Caglianone. The Big Rig would avoid giving up and further damage thanks to a baserunning blunder by Caglianone, and a clutch K by The Big Rig.

On the board first.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/T9uzsA00Gr

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 26, 2026

In the 2nd inning the Guardians wouldn’t wait long to respond as Austin Hedges would lead off the inning with a solo shot to left center field, making it a 3-1 Guardians lead! KC would not be kept down. Carter Jensen would do the damage for the Royals with a 2 run bomb tying the game at 3 in the bottom half of the inning.

Hedgehogged.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/5akfF61uBI

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 26, 2026

After a quiet 3rd inning for both teams, the Guards would get something going in the 4th with a leadoff walk from Hedgey and a single lined up the middle from Brayan Rocchio. Steven Kwan would move both the runners up with a sac bunt, and it would be José Ramírez with the clutch fly ball to right field just deep enough to score Hedgey from 3rd. But the Royals would have a response again in the bottom half. A leadoff walk and a sac bunt would put a runner in scoring position, and that would be the end of the day for The Big Rig (Final line 3.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K) as Stephen Vogt would go to Tim Herrin to try and finish off the inning. After a stolen base to get the runner to third base it would be Carter Jensen again getting the Royals a sac fly of their own to knot it back up at 4. But the Royals weren’t done yet. With 2 outs Bobby Witt Jr. would single then steal 2nd and score on an RBI single from Jac Caglianone. The Royals, now up 5-4, would go on to run themselves out of the inning on a soft grounder to José where Caglianone got caught a little too far off second after rounding the base.

The Guardians would once again have an answer. Jo Adell would lead off with a double, and then it would be David Fry’s turn to be a hero as he absolutely smashed a 2 run bomb to left field, putting the Guardians back on top 6-5. They weren’t done yet. After Bazzana ended up on 2nd on a botched attempt to catch a flyball in right field he got to third on a grounder by Hedgey, and scored on a RBI groundout by Brayan Rocchio.

Gotta get down on Fryday.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/caKb0NVoEa

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 26, 2026

Now armed with a 7-5 lead the Guardians bullpen would lock things down. Shawn Armstrong, Daniel Espino, and Erik Sabrowski would combine to pitch the next 3 innings and only give up 1 hit, walking none, and striking out a pair. 

The Royals would not go quietly. After a lead off single then a spectacular double play on a flyball to deep left field where Kwan and Rocchio combined to double up Michael Massey at first it looked like the Guards were ready to roll into the 9th. But a 2 out single by Kyle Isbel would pave the way for Carter Jensen to crush his second 2 run homer of the game, making it a 7-7 game.

The Guardians’ patience would come to their rescue in the 9th when the Royals bullpen lost the ability to throw strikes. The Royals would walk 6 of the first 8 hitters in the inning including 3 with the bases loaded. The Guardians now up 10-7 would get one more clutch 2 run double from Angel Martínez, before turning to Matt Festa to get the final 3 outs of the game.

White Sox fans are gonna hate this lol.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/mch0XDJOho

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 26, 2026

Festa had a rocky 9th, but one that was good enough to get the job done. He gave up an ultimately inconsequential 2 out 2 run homer to Salvador Perez then got the final hitter of the game to weakly ground out to first giving us our final score of 12-9.

The Guards look to take the series and lower their Magic Number to clinch the division to 1 tomorrow at 7:10 Eastern. It’ll be Tanner Bibee on the mound for the Guards up against Michael Wacha with Kansas City.

Around MLB:

The White Sox handled the Rockies with ease, both the Astros and Rangers lost, and the Phillies are now only one game ahead of the Diamondbacks with two to play for the last wildcard.

Another streak of strikeouts by a Phillies starter was created last night by Cristopher Sanchez, this one a bit shorter than what Zack Wheeler had. Sanchez struck out the last seven hitters he faced, three short of the ten Wheeler started his start off this week with.

At least that’s something positive.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• So far, it’s a left ankle sprain for Luis Arraez, something of a sigh of relief. How long he’ll be away is still a mystery.
• Bill Giles, former team president of some good Phillies teams and some bad, passed away yesterday at the age of 92.
• Alec Bohm is probably on the way out after the season. Who else is probably going out the door once the season ends ($)?

MLB news:

• Paul Skenes has blamed the WBC for his lack of velocity this season. Look around the game and maybe that isn’t an argument to make ($).
• If you’re looking for a number of games that MLB probably doesn’t want to miss if they miss any at all in 2027, 60 is probably the number you’re looking for ($).
• Alec Burleson leads the league in RBI this season. If the Cardinals want more of that, he’s open to an extension.
• Camilo Doval is going back to the Giants on a waiver claim one year after San Francisco traded him away.

This is the 60th anniversary of the 1966 World Series, in which the losing team did not score for the final 33 innings of the series.

That losing team was the Dodgers. Over the final three games of the series, Jim Palmer, Wally Bunker and Dave McNally of the Baltimore Orioles each pitched a complete-game shutout.

That art of pitching is not in style today. Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched two complete games last October, but he cannot pitch every game, even if he left that impression upon the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Dodgers’ clearest and cleanest route to a three-peat nonetheless rests upon the four shoulders of Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. If the four aces can do to October opponents what the 1966 Orioles did to the Dodgers, or some reasonable 21st century facsimile, we’ll see you at the parade.

Does Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believe his starting pitchers will have to carry the load in October?

“I hope not,” Roberts said.

Read more:Tarik Skubal dominates in final tuneup before playoffs in Dodgers' win over Giants

Friday’s 2-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants offered two encouraging swings. Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages each hit home runs, a reminder that a properly tuned Dodgers offense runs on more than Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith.

Skubal scattered three hits and struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings, which would have gone for naught without the Hernández and Pages home runs. Given that the Dodgers were playing the Giants and the remains of their depleted roster, it was something of a warning sign: this could happen against a postseason team.

No team can plan to score a lot of runs against the Dodgers’ starters. The opposing game plan would be to neutralize them and keep the game close enough to where one or two big swings can make the difference. The Giants, who have the National League’s second-worst record, almost pulled it off.

“When you get to the postseason, they’re going to try to eliminate Shohei and try to make other guys beat you,” Roberts said. “So it always sort of comes to the middle to the bottom of the order, where you’ve either got to get guys on base or get hits, get big hits.”

In October, Hernández is who you want at bat. He has homered in six of the seven postseason series he has played for the Dodgers, including each of the last five. In 33 postseason games for the Dodgers, he has driven in 25 runs.

For most players, offensive production drops in October, when batters face the best pitchers from the best teams. For Hernández, his career OPS is .796 in the regular season and .792 in the postseason.

And, for all his summer struggles, he is batting .354 this month, with an OPS just shy of 1.000. He’ll be, as the league-issued hoodies used to say, October ready.

For Pages, however, last October was cruel.

This October was not looking particularly promising, either. Pages missed 27 games because of a broken hand, leaving him the final six games of the regular season to get his swing back into rhythm.

“You think that you take five weeks off,” Roberts said, “that your timing is going to be off a little bit.”

So far, so good: five hits in 12 at-bats, including the home run Friday.

Pages ended the regular season last year with four hits in his final 28 at-bats. That, Roberts said, tells him this October will be different for Pages.

“I think the one thing is the confidence, how he went into last October really scuffling, and it sort of bled into October,” Roberts said, “where I think right now he feels really confident, swinging the bat well, and the hope is that this one bleeds into October as well.

Read more:Shaikin: For the Dodgers, the varsity will take it from here

“So, I think it’s definitely a different result going into October, and then also his headspace. There’s a lot more confidence this year.”

In 2025, when the Dodgers won the World Series, they ranked second among the 30 major league clubs in runs scored, and in home runs. In 2024, when they won the World Series, they ranked third in runs scored, and in home runs.

The Dodgers rank fourth in runs scored this year, and seventh in home runs. The offense is down some, if not much. In all the national postseason hype, the Dodgers projections will boil down to one sentence: Can anyone stop those starters?

“I think at first glance that’s what you see in our ballclub,” Roberts said. “But we have a lot of talented, really good hitters and I hope they work hand in hand and not just our pitching and defense carry us.”

For the Dodgers, the postseason opens one week from Saturday. If the Dodgers roll out the 1966 playbook, their October stay will be short.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

A good chunk of the East Coast is getting slammed by a nor’easter this weekend, so if you’re in the area, we hope you stay safe! Since this current Yankees series against the Orioles is meaningless aside from the obvious goal of staying healthy, the game originally scheduled for today was played yesterday in a straight doubleheader. They’ll take a beat today and try to play tomorrow (rookie Elmer Rodríguez is announced as the probable starter for New York in a cameo), but if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. We may just have a 161-game regular season.

Anyway, the postseason looms on Tuesday! Monday’s league-wide offday is the calm before the storm, but we’ll have plenty of material coming up then so consider today our personal Pinstripe Alley calm before the storm. It’s not all quiet though, as I’m on the Rivalry Roundup, Nick is celebrating the 101st (!) birthday of the oldest living Yankee, and Michael is discussing how the Yankees’ low-minors teams fared in 2026.

Today’s Matchup:

Game preemptively moved up to yesterday for a twin bill, so it’s an offday with Game 162 tomorrow

Questions/Prompts:

1. Assuming Carlos Rodón is not in the Wild Card Series rotation, what do you think is the best spot to potentially deploy him out of the bullpen?

2. Think the Phillies continue their collapse and let the Diamondbacks steal the last NL Wild Card spot from them?

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Cam Schlittler put the finishing touches on his Cy Young season Thursday night against the Rays. It wasn’t his sharpest start, Schlittler needing 70 pitches to navigate three innings, but it put his ERA on the season at 1.95, the lowest mark by a Yankee starter since Ron Guidry posted a 1.74 ERA in his legendary 1978 season, and the third-lowest ERA in franchise history. It’s also the lowest ERA by an American League starer since Justin Verlander’s 1.75 ERA in 2022, which won the future Hall of Famer* his third Cy Young.

*Incidentally, Verlander is making his final career start today in Detroit.

New York Post | Dan Martin: Speaking of Schlittler, you’d expect a pitcher of his stature to be a shoe-in for Game 1 of a playoff series. However, the Yankees are considering saving him for Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series. Max Fried could start Game 1, on extra rest, and thus also give Schlittler an extra day of rest before the Yankees embark on what they hope will be a long postseason run. Schlittler would have enough rest to start Games 2 and 5 of a potential ALDS regardless of whether he pitches Game 1 or 2 of the Wild Card Series. Is it possible the Yankees are overthinking it? Yes, admits pitching coach Matt Blake, but these are precisely the things the club’s staff is paid to overthink.

Whichever way the Yankees line things up, the good news is that their excellent rotation means that they’ll have an ace-caliber talent going every night. As an aside, Andrés wrote up this debate for earlier in the week, and that’s worth a read if you haven’t checked it out yet.

The Athletic | Evan Drellich and Andrew Marchand: Drellich and Marchand report on the looming lockout, and one mark to look out for next year: 60 games. Apparently, if MLB misses 60 or more games in the 2027 season, the league’s national broadcast contracts would extend an extra year, into 2029. That introduces an interesting wrinkle into the owners’ calculus when it comes to this round of labor negotiations. On the one hand, the league would still receive their negotiated dues as part of their deals with their broadcast partners. On the other, extending those deals another year means the league can’t negotiate new national deals for another year; the league is likely seeking to earn a hefty raise on their next round of national contracts. The league also wouldn’t get paid in 2029 under this scenario. 

SNY | John Flanigan: Ryan Weathers threw a live bullpen session yesterday, facing hitters including Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham. Aaron Boone said Weathers was up to 96 mph on his fastball, though called his control a little “scattered.” According to Boone, Weathers is on track to be an option during the playoffs, but it’s unclear if the Yankees will put the left-hander on the Wild Card roster. Carlos Lagrange also threw to hitters at Yankee Stadium yesterday, though it’s unlikely he’ll be on the playoff roster soon. Boone said he isn’t in play for the Wild Card roster and Matt Blake threw cold water on the idea of him debuting in the playoffs, though it still remains a (remote) possibility that Lagrange could factor into the Yankees’ plans later in the postseason if the team advances and Lagrange’s rehab continues to go well. 

Tony Vitello shares realistic expectations for Matt Wilkinson's future potential originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

In the midst of a fifth straight MLB season at or under .500, few bright spots exist for the 65-94 Giants, but the emergence of rookie left-handed pitcher Matt Wilkinson certainly is one. 

Wilkinson was acquired in May from the Cleveland Guardians as part of the Patrick Bailey trade and made his major league debut against his former team on Aug. 19, tossing two scoreless innings. 

The Giants have exercised precaution with Wilkinson as he ramped up his arm. In five starts so far, Wilkinson has exceeded four innings just twice and has thrown under 80 pitches in six of his seven appearances. 

Despite the pitch limit, Wilkinson appeared increasingly comfortable as the season progressed. He has gone 10 consecutive shutout innings over his last three appearances, including his first win in relief against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sep. 9 and a five-inning, six-strikeout performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Sunday. 

“I think with Tugboat [Wilkinson], it’s silly to limit what he can do, but I do think he’s always going to kind of fit in that category if things are going to work out for him as a starter – he’s just a get-it-done guy,” Giants manager Tony Vitello said Thursday on KNBR’s “The Executive Show”. “He competes. He attacks the zone. He’s not afraid. He doesn’t get rattled when guys are on base. And if things don’t go well, he’s just going to get more determined to come back and be better the next time.”

Vitello has utilized Wilkinson as both a starting and relief pitcher over the past month, but did not want to put a ceiling on the 23-year-old’s future potential when asked about it.

“I think you know what you got if you’re looking for a guy to just get you three outs or to get you out of a jam and come in and get a lefty out,” Vitello said. “He’s equally good on lefties and righties, so I think he can be that one-inning guy. He’s already shown that he could be a long relief guy. So why not find out if he can start and push it to the brink?”

Vitello also confirmed that Wilkinson will start Saturday afternoon’s home matchup against the Dodgers in the Giants’ penultimate game of the season. 

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