NEW YORK — Ejected from Yankee Stadium during his college days, Nick Martinez will be back in the Bronx trying to pitch the Tampa Bays Rays into the AL Championship Series.
Martinez spent 2009-11 playing for Fordham, a school just 5 miles from the big ballpark. His last trip to Yankee Stadium as a student was memorable.
“We had practice get canceled and so me and my roommate we went out pretty early. They were playing the Red Sox. Might have had a few too many adult beverages. Got kicked out,” he recalled in May. “It was rowdy. We were kind of rowdy. Next time I was at Yankee Stadium I was pitching.”
Hoping for its first World Series title, Tampa Bay has a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five AL Division Series against New York. Martinez is 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA in nine Yankee Stadium appearances.
“As a student at Fordham, whenever we had practice off or a day off and they were playing at home, we’d come over, catch a train and watch a game at Yankee Stadium and we’d be in the bleachers, my roommate or a couple buddies,” the 36-year-old right-hander recalled.
“Man, obviously playing here would be pretty badass,” Martinez remembered thinking back then.
He became a first-time All-Star this year, going 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA — including 7-3 with a 2.38 ERA and .232 opponents batting average on the road.
“It’s super cool to see a guy like that who’s been around for a long time, have the success he’s had,” Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca said. “It’s the vibes. It’s everything that he brings.”
Martinez primarily was a middle infielder in college, hitting .295 with four homers and 66 RBIs. He made five relief appearances as a freshman, none as a sophomore and 10 as a junior, totaling 26 1/3 innings.
He drew the attention of Texas Rangers scout Jay Heafner on March 14, 2011, throwing four shutout innings of three-hit ball against Charleston Southern. Heafner was tipped to watch Martinez by Juan Alvarez, a former major leaguer who also was a Rangers scout at the time and had given Martinez some pitching lessons during his junior year at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Kendall, Florida.
Martinez was selected by the Rangers in the 18th round of the 2011 amateur draft with the 564th pick and signed for a $60,000 bonus. He made his big league debut in 2014 and went 17-30 with a 4.77 ERA in 68 starts and 20 relief appearances while getting optioned to the minor leagues 13 times.
Not wanting to risk getting designated for assignment, Martinez left and spent four seasons in Japan with the Nippon Ham Fighters and Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. He pitched for the U.S. in the 2021 Olympics, beating South Korea in the group stage and allowing Munetaka Murakami’s go-ahead homer in the third inning of a 2-0 loss to Japan in the gold medal game,
“We could talk for an hour about how Japan changed my career,” Martinez said. “I just grew as a pitcher physically and mentally and was able to hone in my craft. Ultimately I was able to shake that label of being a depth guy, being a guy that can be in Triple-A and come up for a spot start and kind of ride that DFA train and bounce around teams and just fill in.”
He has blossomed back in the major leagues and has a 53-65 career record with a 3.99 ERA in nine big league seasons. After pitching for San Diego and Cincinnati. he joined the Rays for 2026 with a one-year, $13 million, deal.
“Induces soft contact,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We got a lot of guys and a lot of starters that get a lot of outs via the strikeout. We know and he knows that that’s not his bread and butter. It’s to try to get guys out early in the count, trust the defense. He does that as well as anybody.”
After bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen, Martinez became a full-time starter this season.
“I’ve always believed that I can be a starter,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed being one of the five or six horses on the team that the team relies on for a full season.”
Martinez impressed Cash as much with his demeanor.
“He is so genuine and authentic,” the manager said. “The selfless approach. I’ve heard him no less than 20 times this year look at me as like, `I don’t care. I’ll do whatever. I’ll pitch out of the pen. I’ll start games. I’ll do whatever you need me to do to help this team win.’”
Martinez returned to Fordham on Sept. 21, throwing long-toss at Jack Coffey Field with fellow Rays pitchers Drew Rasmussen and Freddy Peralta on an off day before his last start against the Yankees.
“In his head it logically made sense to come up to campus and throw more than I guess throwing in Central Park,” Fordham baseball coach Kevin Leighton said. “They easily could have taken it easy, but those guys were up early in the morning after a flight to New York and they were getting their work in up at Fordham. To me, that says a lot about those guys and their work ethic and commitment to being the best.”
The Chicago White Sox are on the cusp of accomplishing a feat 120 years in the making, while the Cleveland Guardians are on the brink of elimination.
These are the stakes as the White Sox host the Guardians at Rate Field on Wednesday, Oct. 7, for Game 3 of their AL division series. Chicago holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series after back-to-back wins in Cleveland and has a chance to close out a playoff series on the South Side for the first since beating the Chicago Cubs in Game 6 of the 1906 World Series.
Follow along for live score updates, highlights, analysis and reaction throughout a pivotal ALDS Game 3.
White Sox reliever Sean Newcomb has thrown first pitch and Game 3 of the AL Division Series between Chicago and the Guardians is underway at a raucous Rate Field. The sold-out crowd is donning all-black for a "blackout" effect and they're loud.
It's hard to imagine anyone – other than Game 2 starter Gavin Williams – not being available for Cleveland in this win-or-go-home scenario. Starters Joey Cantillo, Tanner Bibee and Foster Griffin have not pitched in this series, and neither has right-handed reliever Matt Festa. Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith have all pitched in both games.
Chicago put 12 pitchers on its ALDS roster and has used seven of them in two games. Right-handers Tyler Davis, Erick Fedde, Davis Martin and David Sandlin, and lefty Noah Schultz haven't seen any action, while Anthony Kay and Grant Taylor have appeared in each of the first two games.
White Sox vs Guardians ALDS schedule
03:10 PM ET, October 7 2026
Game 1 (Saturday, Oct. 3): White Sox 3, Guardians 0
Game 5 (Saturday, Oct. 10)*: At Cleveland, 5 p.m. ET
Guardians staying confident despite 0-2 series deficit
02:45 PM ET, October 7 2026, Nancy Armour
CHICAGO — The Cleveland Guardians are fully aware of the task ahead of them.
Teams with a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five series have gone on to win 89.2% of the time (83 of 93), and no Guardians team has ever overcome an 0-2 deficit. But the Guardians didn't come to Chicago to play out the string.
"Obviously, backs are against the wall. This is not how you draw it up when you start the series," Cleveland outfielder Steven Kwan said before Game 3. "But I feel like there's some sort of – I don't know even know what you'd call it, but the energy feels better today than it did the first day. Maybe the first day there were some nerves.
"We kind of got kicked in the face a little bit, and now I think everybody's just like, 'All right, we've got to have a plan now. We've got to stand on something.' If we go down with the ship, we go down with the ship. But we have to be confident in something. I almost feel like that gives us a little more confidence and positivity going into this game."
This is the White Sox's first home playoff game since 2021, having played the wild-card series in Houston and the first two games of the ALDS in Cleveland, and the atmosphere is sure to be raucous.
That makes it all the more fun, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
"I always ask the players, what do you like better? Do you like to make 50,000 people go crazy, or do you like to shut 50,000 people up?" Vogt said. "They're both very different feelings, but they're equally as fun."
How did White Sox take 2-0 lead in ALDS?
02:35 PM ET, October 7 2026
Game 1: White Sox 3, Guardians 0 — Munetaka Murakami blasted a two-run homer in the fourth inning and five Chicago pitchers shutout Cleveland on just three hits. Grant Taylor earned the save by pitching the final four innings, striking out six. Colson Montgomery added a third run for the White Sox in the seventh inning with a two-out opposite field double.
Game 2: White Sox 4, Guardians 3 — Chicago rallied from an early two-run deficit by scoring three runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by Braden Montgomery's two-out, two-run double. The White Sox's held on despite Cleveland's eighth-inning threat, when Jo Adell just missed a game-tying two-run homer and instead settled for an RBI triple. Adell was stranded and Grant Taylor set the Guardians down 1-2-3 in the ninth to preserve the win.
Guardians face elimination after falling behind 2-0
02:15 PM ET, October 7 2026, Mark Giannotto
Cleveland earned the AL's No. 2 seed and a bye to the division series, but the Guardians' have managed just three runs and seven hits through two games facing Chicago pitching. And now their backs are pressed firmly against the wall, one more loss ousting them from the playoffs and extending MLB's longest title drought to 78 seasons. Cleveland last won a World Series in 1948 against the Boston Braves.
White Sox can clinch ALCS berth with Game 3 win
01:55 PM ET, October 7 2026, Mark Giannotto
Chicago has won each of its first four playoff games this year, sweeping the best-of-three wild-card series from the Houston Astros and beating Cleveland on the road in their first two games of this best-of-five division series. Now they're one win away from the franchise's first appearance in the AL championship series since winning the World Series in 2005.
White Sox-Guardians starting pitchers and bullpen plans
01:35 PM ET, October 7 2026, Mark Giannotto
Lefty reliever Sean Newcomb will start for the White Sox as they once again turn to an unorthodox pitching arrangement built around several pitchers depending on the situation. Cleveland has just three runs and seven hits through two games facing White Sox pitching.
The Guardians will initially turn to right-hander Daniel Espino on the mound, but it will be all hands on deck for the road team. Lefties Joey Cantillo and Foster Griffin, and right-hander Tanner Bibee all figure to be at the ready for manager Stephen Vogt.
White Sox starting lineup
01:21 PM ET, October 7 2026
Chicago's starting nine against right-hander Daniel Espino:
CHICAGO — If the young White Sox are feeling the pressure of what is, for many, their first home postseason game ever, they're not showing it. Players were kicking a soccer ball around left field during pregame warm-ups, the ball bouncing around them as they stretched and did brief sprints.
"I think that's been our identity the whole year," White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas said. "It's October baseball. This means a lot for us. A lot of us have never been here before, and we're just trying to enjoy the moment and take the best advantage out of it.
"We cannot wait for today," he added. "Today at home is going to be special, and we'll have been talking about this moment playing baseball in October here at home. It's going to be special, and we cannot wait for it."
White Sox probable pitching plan
12:52 PM ET, October 7 2026, Nancy Armour
CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox pitching plans for Game 3 are a mystery. Even to manager Will Venable.
Sean Newcomb, a lefty reliever, will start the possible series clincher against the Cleveland Guardians. Given Newcomb pitched two innings of relief in Game 2, he probably won't go more than a couple of innings.
After that, it's anybody's guess.
"We're going to read and react, similar to what we've done," Venable said before the game. "There's a different calculus here, obviously, with a game potentially tomorrow, with no more off days, with what we've used of guys. So there's a lot of different inputs on this one.
"I wouldn't tell you the exact plan anyway," Venable added, smiling. "But truthfully, we're going to be kind of reading and reacting on this one."
Information in this article was imported automatically into a template written and reviewed by a USA TODAY Sports editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Our editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 06: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a solo home run in the fourth inning during Game Three of the National League Division Series presented by Booking.com between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Tuesday, October 6, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Freddie Freeman endured his worst offensive season since first putting on a Dodgers uniform, defined by a dramatic power outage where he hit just one home run over his final 66 games.
Freeman never finished any season hitting 21 home runs over his first four seasons as a Dodger. This included a two-month stretch in 2025 where he hit just two home runs over a two-month frame, but he still finished with 24 overall.
His final home run of the first half this year came on July 4 against the San Diego Padres, finishing the first half of the season with 15 home runs while slashing .290/.375/.487. Freeman still managed to maintain his pure contact ability at an elite level entering the second half, hitting .338 over his first 39 games, but he had just nine extra-base hits over that time, all of them doubles.
Freeman snapped his 47-game home run drought with a three-run shot against left-hander Brycen Mautz of the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 2. While the team posted a 13-5 record over the final 18 games with him in the lineup, Freeman limped his way to the tune of a .167/.208/.167 slash line with zero extra-base hits.
The first-round bye gave the Dodgers a much-needed week of rest, with guys like Freeman and Shohei Ohtani having dealt with lingering issues that crippled their second-half production. The culprit behind Freeman’s drop-off was a case of patellar tendonitis in his right knee. Although Freeman took a stumble into the visitor’s dugout against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 12, he noted that the issue didn’t stem from that play.
“I was having trouble moving [on defense]. I didn’t have a front side anymore [in my swing],” Freeman said of the way the injury had initially impacted him. “It just got to the point where it wasn’t giving me the best opportunity to play like I want to.”
Freeman experienced a similar fate two years ago when he suffered a sprained ankle during the Dodgers’ final regular season series. His production took a sharp nosedive over the team’s first two postseason series, but he ultimately managed to hit four home runs in a World Series MVP-winning five game clash with the Yankees.
So far this postseason, Freeman has managed to quickly turn the page on a woeful end to the regular season. His first big moment came against Grant Holmes on Sunday, smashing a solo home run that put the Dodgers on the board. The ultimate test for the NLDS came on Tuesday against left-hander Chris Sale, the only pitcher to toss a complete game shutout against the Dodgers in the regular season. After Kiké Hernández started the scoring with a two-run home run in the fourth inning, Freeman followed suit with his second blast in as many games, totaling his postseason home run total from last year’s title run.
Freeman’s adjustment this time around didn’t pertain to his knee issues, as he remarked that all he needed to do was open up his shoulders a couple inches to get better swings on the ball.
“The first couple days of the bye week, you’re just trying to figure out when looking at video what’s worked in the past, what it looks like in set-up, and we found something where my shoulders were a little too turned. All I really did was just open my shoulders a couple inches. Baseball is a game of inches.”
In the same stadium that Freeman called home for his final five years as a member of the Atlanta Braves, the Dodgers now go up against right-hander Tyler Mahle with the hopes of advancing to their third consecutive NLCS.
KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 08: Jac Caglianone #14 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning during the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday, August 8, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Tanner Gatlin/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Royals hit 170 home runs in 2026, tied for the second-most in club history and eleven more than last year. There were plenty of impressive and memorable blasts along the way, from towering shots to clutch home runs in big moments. Here are the best of the bunch.
April 26 vs. the Angels – Jac ties it up, Lane Thomas walks it off
Okay, technically this is two home runs. The Royals got down 6-0 early on against the Angels on a nationally televised broadcast, but clawed their way back amid a 90 minute rain delay. They still trailed by three in the ninth inning when Vinnie Pasquantino tripled (more unlikely than any home run!) and Salvador Perez singled. Jac Caglianone launched a ball 409 feet right down the right field line to tie things up and give the Royals new life.
Jason Benetti on the Peacock call as Jac Caglianone crushes a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth to send the Royals to extras vs the Angels. ⚾️💣🎙️ #MLBpic.twitter.com/Wl4vxJw8K8
The Royals bullpen coughed up the lead again in the tenth (shocker!) With two outs, Maikel Garcia walked to put two runners on for lefty-killer Lane Thomas to face southpaw Joey Lucchesi. Thomas put one in the seats to send everyone home, wet and happy.
Walk-off home run for Lane Thomas! Royals complete the comeback from down 6-0 to sweep the Angels! pic.twitter.com/8JDwwBZT41
May 9 vs. the Tigers – Bobby hits an inside-the-parker
Fans were still settling into their seats in the first inning of a May game against the Tigers when Bobby decided to start the show. He laced a liner up the right-field line that Tigers right fielder Kerry Carpenter misplayed. Bobby decided to touch ‘em all. With a sprint speed of 30.4 feet per second, Bobby went from home to third in 10.91 seconds for an inside-the-park home run.
July 2 vs. the Rays – Carter Jensen leads off with the longest home run of the season
Matt Quatraro moved Carter Jensen into the leadoff spot in late May, and it seemed to help get him going. He hit .249/.332/.529 as a leadoff hitter, and only seven teams hit more home runs out of the leadoff spot.
Jensen showed off that leadoff power in a July game against the Rays, when he crushed a first inning pitch from lefty Ian Seymour 449 feet, the longest home run of the season by any Royals hitter.
July 13 – Jac Caglianone goes third deck in the Home Run Derby
By midsummer, the baseball world was beginning to recognize that the Royals had a prodigious power hitter in their lineup in Jac Caglianone. He wasn’t selected as an All-Star, but he was invited to All-Star Weekend to participate in the Home Run Derby, becoming just the fifth Royals hitter ever invited to the event. With his father, Jeff, pitching to him, Caglianone put on a show, launching eight home runs before being eliminated in the first round. He may not have advanced, but he gave us some memorable blasts, including this triple-decker in Philadelphia.
Salvy would end the season with 324 career home runs, tying Gary Carter and Lance parrish for fifth-most all-time by a catcher. He also hit 21 home runs for the year, making him just the fifth catcher ever with ten 20+ home run seasons, joining Mike Piazza, Johnny Bench, Brian McCann, and Yogi Berra.
August 8 vs. the Cubs – Cags goes very deep twice
Jac Caglianone was on fire in August, hitting .411 for the month. In an August game against the Cubs, he set off first inning fireworks with a 448-foot blast off Clay Holmes.
This is a big boy blast from Jac Caglianone. He’s 2-for-2 tonight with a HR, 2B.
Over 388 AB: .260 BA, 19 HR, 47 RBI, 4 SB, .783 OPS. Only 23 years old. Only getting better.
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 30: Max Fried #54 of the New York Yankees looks on during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on September 30, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Despite the impending birth of his firstborn child, Max Fried is starting Game 3 as the Yankees look to avoid elimination from the ALDS.
During his last outing against the Red Sox in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, Fried held steadfast through six innings, striking out six and giving up a home run (a solo shot). With an offense that isn’t offering much support outside of Ben Rice, the Yankees can’t afford any mistakes from Fried tonight as they anticipate continuing their postseason run with a win at home. There’s no doubt that the roars from the Bronx crowd in an elimination game can be intimidating, but Fried must block out the noise to stay focused on shutting down the Rays’ offense.
It’s possible that home-field advantage could help the Yankees’ offense and hopefully fuel some fire as they fight through every at-bat. They’ll need as much ammunition as they can get to face Rays righty Nick Martinez, who has a 2.25 ERA through 12 innings in the Bronx this season with 14 hits and three earned runs allowed.
Yankees skipper Aaron Boone is expected to shuffle around the lineup heading into the do-or-die scenario, and it would be reassuring to give a few guys on the bench, including José Caballero and Anthony Volpe, a shot at making the start. Errors from Game 1 and Game 2 starters Ryan McMahon and Jazz Chisholm Jr. have frustrated fans, to say the least, and it would be reassuring to give Caballero and Volpe a shot at keeping the Yankees’ postseason run going for another day. Boone was reportedly considering starting Volpe at third over McMahon for Game 2, but was quoted as saying he wanted to “prioritize the defense.”
Volpe made his last postseason start in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series and got a hit off Red Sox rookie Payton Tolle. Caballero, on the other hand, has yet to make his postseason debut at the plate this year. He does, however, have decent numbers against righties this season, batting .233 with .295 OBP and .666 OPS.
The Yankees have their work cut out for them as they strive to stay alive against Tampa Bay, and hopefully we’ll see some changes to the starting nine that can instill some feelings of confidence.
ALDS Game 3 Info
Teams: No. 4 seed Yankees vs. No. 1 seed Rays
Series: Rays ahead 2-0
Ballpark: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Start time: 8:00 p.m.
TV: TBS/truTV
Streaming: HBO Max
National radio: ESPN Radio (Mike Couzens, Eduardo Pérez, Tim Kurkjian)
NEW YORK — Max Fried’s words were as sharp as the break on some of his pitches.
“It’s important to have a little bit of pride and to be able to say: `That’s not us and we’re going to prove it,’” the New York Yankees pitcher said.
After making four errors in a dismal Game 2 defeat, New York’s players and staff arrived home in a 2-0 AL Division Series deficit for the second straight year, this time against the Tampa Bay Rays. The best-of-five matchup resumes in the Bronx with Fried starting for the Yankees and Nick Martinez for the Rays.
With one more loss to Tampa Bay, the World Series title drought for Major League Baseball’s winningest team would extend to a 17th season — matching the most since Babe Ruth led New York to its first championship in 1923. New York hasn’t advanced past a higher-seeded team in a postseason series since 2020.
“This group has done a really good job all year of bouncing back through a tough game, through some tough moments in the season and handled it all very well. So that’s my expectation this time. It has to be,” said manager Aaron Boone, who spoke with players individually rather than give a rah-rah speech.
Tampa Bay could party at Yankee Stadium for the second time in two weeks, after clinching the AL East on Sept 22.
Seeking their first World Series title, the Rays are nearing an American League Championship Series against the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland. They haven’t advanced that far since 2020, when they lost in the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Martinez used to sit in the Yankee Stadium bleachers when he played college ball from 2009-11 at Fordham University, located about 5 miles away.
“I imagine it’s going to be an electric crowd with their season on the line,” he said.
Teams taking 2-0 leads in best-of-five postseason series have won 83 of 93 times, according to MLB. The last comeback from an 0-2 deficit was the 2017 Yankees against Cleveland.
“There’s no taking games off,” Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca said. “Obviously taking the first two has put us in a really good spot, but it’s still the same mindset going forward.”
Errors in postseason becoming new Yankees tradition
Third baseman Ryan McMahon, second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., shortstop George Lombard Jr. and catcher Austin Wells all made errors in Game 3 that led to three unearned runs in New York’s 5-2 loss.
In addition, Lombard didn’t field Chandler Simpson’s two-hopper and right fielder Spencer Jones allowed Jonathan Aranda’s liner — a ball with 65% hit probability — to fall starting the fifth, which sparked a four-run inning.
“It was just one of those things that it all kind of happened back-to-back-to back,” Lombard said.
Throwing errors by McMahon and Chisholm in the first along with a catcher’s interference call against Wells gave the Yankees their first three-error postseason inning.
“It didn’t seem like we really showed up today,” pitcher Cam Schlittler said.
Two years ago, the Yankees had two errors and a mental lapse that led to five unearned runs in a season-ending Game 5 World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Tampa Bay put 31 balls in play, two shy of the high for any team in a postseason game this year. The Rays were just behind Milwaukee for the top regular-season team batting average, .2585 to .2581, and led the American League in on-base percentage.
Simpson is 12th in sprint speed and DeLuca 16th among players with at least 150 competitive runs this year, according to MLB Statcast.
“Just very contact-oriented,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Just the speed getting down the line, the urgency it forces on the infielders, really good infielders — it forces them to get out of their comfort zone and make a highlight-reel play. Those are tough to make.”
Yankees’ vanishing offense
New York’s players in the third through seventh spots of the batting order went 0 for 33 with 11 strikeouts in the first two games: Luis García Jr., Jones, Lombard, Chisholm and Trent Grisham.
Aaron Judge’s absence has been glaring.
New York was fourth in runs, 13th in batting average and second in OPS through May 31, its last game before the three-time AL MVP went on the injured list due to a fractured rib.
From June 1 through the end of the season, the Yankees were 24th in runs, 29th in batting average and 27th in OPS. Judge returned for seven games from Sept. 8-16, hitting .174 with three RBIs before a calf strain.
“I’m considering a couple things but haven’t settled on anything,” Boone said of possible lineup changes.
Fried has baby on the way
Fried’s longtime girlfriend, Reni Meyer-Whalley, is due to give birth any day.
“I’ve got a really supportive family that understands that this is my job, and it’s not going to affect what happens tomorrow,” he said.
With the Phillies scrambling to figure out who their next manager will be, general manager Dave Dombrowski must now pull together a short list of candidates to lead the franchise.
The obvious top candidate is Don Mattingly, who led the Phillies to a playoff berth and a strong 79-55 record despite taking over a team that was 9-19. The Post’s Jon Heyman reported the club could keep their interim manager for 2027 after initially appearing like that would not be the case.
“I think I would like to do it,” Mattingly said during the summer as the Phillies were piling up wins and competing for first place.
Dave Dombrowski, President of Baseball Operations for the Philadelphia Phillies, has a big decision to make. Getty Images
So we know Mattingly will likely take it if Dombrowski offers him the gig, but whether that happens is another question entirely.
“I think Alex Cora is one of the finest managers in the game of baseball,” Dombrowski told reporters in April. “I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Hall of Fame managers like Tony La Russa and Jim Leyland. … If Alex Cora decides he’s managing, he has a chance to be in that same category. That’s how good he is.”
Mattingly was Dombrowksi’s second choice in Philadelphia in April, though, and he may be that again, though outside options are rather thin.
Don Mattingly has said that he wants to remain the Phillies manager. Mike Zarrilli/UPI/Shutterstock
Other potential hires could include Rocco Baldelli, Brad Ausmus and David Ross.
There’s no obvious link between Baldelli and Dombrowski, but he’s arguably the most credentialed of managers available. Baldelli is the third-winningest manager in Twins history, going 527-505 (.511), and won Manager of the Year in his first year after he went 101-61 in 2019.
Dombrowski could also look at Ausmus — the Yankees’ bench coach since 2024 — who has a close relationship with Dombrowski dating back to Detroit in 2013.
Former Red Sox manager Alex Cora is seen during wild card practice at Yankee Stadium before a Wild Card game against the New York Yankees in the Bronx, New York, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
Ausmus won 90 games in his first year with the Tigers before things cratered.
It was previously reported that Mattingly would be “gracefully dismissed” by the Phillies if they could hire Cora, though it now appears that Donnie Baseball might have a chance to stick around with the team longer than anticipated.
A Dodgers fan wearing a Yoshinobu Yamamoto jersey caught a foul ball during Tuesday night’s game. A spectator seated nearby was taking a video of his excited reaction then said, “Give it to the kid! Give it to the kid!”
The fan then looked at the camera, shrugged, and said, “I’m sorry, I can’t! I’m not giving it to the kid! I feel bad, but I’m not giving it to the kid!”
A Los Angeles Dodgers fan refusing to give a ball he caught at the NLDS to a little kid. (TikTok/@the_hammyshow).A child wearing an Atlanta Braves jersey who was trying to receive a ball from a Los Angeles Dodgers fan at the NLDS. (TikTok/@the_hammyshow).
The video then panned to the kid in question, who was wearing a Braves jersey and had a disappointed look on his face.
The camera then panned back to the Dodgers fan, who was gloating over his ball then posed for a photo with it.
The video has gone viral, with one X user who reposted it getting over 2.6 million views on about 12 hours. The original TikTok video also has nearly a million views.
It has sparked a debate about whether adult fans are obliged to give little kids balls that they catch at baseball games. Some believe an adult fan who caught a ball fair and square should not be shamed if they want to keep it, while others feel like an adult fan should be entitled to give their catch away to a fan.
This Dodgers fan was clearly in the former group.
Fans, from left, Ethan Cho, Victor Rivas and Charlie Kahanlarian gather before Game 1 of the NLDS, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Los Angeles. Wally Skalij for CA Post
SAN DIEGO — Mason Miller probably will want to come up with something a little better than cigars for his San Diego Padres teammates when he returns to the club as a first-time father.
Not only did the Padres cover splendidly for their top reliever in their gritty playoff victory in Game 3, they kept San Diego’s season going likely long enough for Miller to pitch again.
The Padres announced their All-Star closer was on the paternity list and would miss Game 3 of the NL Division Series only about 45 minutes before they faced the Milwaukee Brewers with their season on the line. San Diego did not announce that setup man Adrian Morejon also was unavailable because of discomfort in his shoulder.
The Padres had to face the MLB-best Brewers without the top two relievers in their vaunted bullpen — but that didn’t deter a team that fought through a midseason malaise and streaked into the postseason with a sensational September.
“It was a chance for the other guys to pick those two up,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “We relied on them and got a lot of wins because they pitched so well this season. All the other guys stepped up and did their job today.”
After starter Nick Pivetta faltered in the fifth, three relievers fought to get eight outs against the Brewers’ relentless lineup before Game 2 starter Michael King took care of the final two innings in a 4-3 victory for his first save since 2023.
After the Padres survived this desperate day, pitching coach Ruben Niebla said they expect Miller to return to the team for Game 4. King said Morejon also could be available.
San Diego’s bullpen was taxed in Game 3 but held on thanks to King, who stepped up on one day of rest and delivered. He yielded a base hit in the eighth and then two walks in the ninth before Christian Yelich smacked a 107 mph line drive up the middle. But veteran shortstop Xander Bogaerts stopped it on a short hop and turned a game-ending double play, finishing King’s emergency outing at 40 pitches.
“I know that I have bullets in my arm that I don’t want to save,” King said. “I felt like it needed to be the right time. I think that it all aligned with Mason going on paternity. Even if he was available, I was still going to be up and ready to go in whatever situation that presented itself. If you’re in an elimination game, you want everybody to be all in on it, and I feel like not just me included, we have a bunch of dogs down there that are all in.”
King pitched seven innings a week ago against the Chicago Cubs and five more on Sunday against the Brewers, throwing 169 total pitches. But he was ready for more immediately after leaving the mound in Milwaukee.
“He said it as soon as he came out of the game the other day: ‘I’m going to be ready for Game 3 and 4,’” Padres slugger Manny Machado said. “I kind of told him, ‘Why? Get ready for Game 5.’ But he wanted the ball, man. He definitely showed up today for us and closed it out. It wasn’t easy. They’re a hard ballclub over there. They didn’t make it easy for us.”
Miller was one of the best closers in the majors this season. With a fastball that regularly touches 104 mph, he converted 38 of his 41 save opportunities and went 5-2 with a 0.90 WHIP and 129 strikeouts over 70 innings.
But the right-hander also blew a save in the ninth inning of the Padres’ 4-3 loss in Milwaukee, putting San Diego in an 0-2 hole in the best-of-five series. While attempting to finish a two-inning save, Miller issued three walks before Jackson Chourio delivered a two-out, two-strike, two-run single to win it on Miller’s 40th pitch.
FORT MYERS, FL - MARCH 3: Former Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz reacts with Kiké Hernandez #5 of the Boston Red Sox during a Spring Training team workout on March 3, 2023 at JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning! Kiké Hernandez hit a home run in the postseason last night, which is a thing that Kiké Hernandez likes to do. But this one was particularly notable, as it was his 17th career postseason homer, tying him with David Ortiz on the all-time list.
I don’t love that Kiké may knock Big Papi down a slot. But now that he has, I’m hoping he can pop off another couple of homers before the Dodgers run is over. And I’ll say the same about Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, and even Giancarlo Stanton. Why? Because they are all exactly 2 homers behind Derek Jeter on the all-time list, with Kiké 3 behind.
I once got into an argument with a fan at Yankee Stadium who was adamant that Derek Jeter was the greatest postseason player in baseball history. But, in making his argument, this fan revealed that had no idea that Jeter had played in far more postseason games than any other player in history owing to the fact that, for most of baseball’s history, the World Series was the only playoff round there was (Yankee fans, they’re not always the best and brightest). The fact that the ever-expanding postseason has warped the record books to such an extent that it does in fact look like Jeter and Bernie Williams are the undisputed gods of the sport has always bothered me and I demand an end to it right this second!
So, aside from rooting for the Padres, I am now fully invested in one thing this October: seeing massive dongs from Kiké, Freddie, Max, and even Giancarlo (let’s face it: many Yankee fans would actually be pissed if he ends up passing Jeter).
Use this space to talk about postseason records and whatever else you want and, as always, be good to one another.
\n\n\n\tATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 06: Los Angeles pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) gets high-fives in the dugout during the NLDS game 3 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves on October 6th, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images\t\n\n
Yamamoto allowed only one run in the win, and got through seven innings on 98 pitches. On the season, Yamamoto has allowed zero or one run in 15 of his 29 starts.
\n
“Wow, what a performance,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Atlanta. “He just has a way to just make pitches, calm his heartbeat. And I think he made two mistakes all night — the first pitch to [Matt] Olson; Lane Thomas, that cutter that just didn’t get there. But outside of that he was awesome.”
\n
Yamamoto has started 10 times for the Dodgers in the postseason, plus one relief appearance. That’s 11 total appearances, and the Dodgers have won 10 times. Yamamoto himself is 8-1 in the postseason with a stingy 2.14 ERA. His last five postseason outings, dating back to last year’s NLCS, are wins.
\n
\n
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the only pitcher in MLB history to earn the win in 5 straight postseason appearances while not allowing more than 1 run or 1 walk in any of them.
“Everything I read about him was true, and everything they told us about him also was true,” Yankees star Mickey Mantle said of Koufax to the Associated Press. “What a pitcher!”
Koufax had three double-digit strikeout games in the World Series, with his other two a pair of games with exactly 10 strikeouts over a span of only four days in 1965, pitching shutouts in Games 5 and 7 to beat the Minnesota Twins.
\n
Prior to Yamamoto, the last Dodgers pitcher with 10 strikeouts in a postseason game was Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS, when Shohei Ohtani struck out 10 Brewers while also hitting three home runs en route to winning NLCS MVP.
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 29: Cade Cavalli #24 of the Washington Nationals pitches in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park on August 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Ever since Max Scherzer left the team at the trade deadline in 2021, Nationals fans have been waiting for an ace to emerge. For years, we were holding out hope that MacKenzie Gore would be that guy. He showed great things early in seasons but would inevitably fall apart. Once he was traded, it was on to the next guy in the hunt for an ace.
Heading into this season, our hopes hinged on Cade Cavalli, a 27 year old who had only made 11 career starts. Despite his inexperience, Cavalli was named the Opening Day starter due to his high potential. This season, Cavalli rewarded the team’s faith and emerged as a true front of the rotation arm.
Talent has never been the issue for Cavalli. He was drafted in the first round in 2020 out of Oklahoma due to his electric arm talent. Cavalli established himself as a top prospect and made his debut at the end of the 2022 season. However, that is where the trouble began.
During Spring Training of 2023, Cavalli had to undergo Tommy John Surgery. He missed all of that season and only threw 8.1 innings in 2024 due to a litany of setbacks. After struggling in AAA to begin 2025, Cavalli looked like damaged goods.
However, he ended his season on a positive note, making 10 solid starts in the big leagues. His 4.25 ERA and 1.48 WHIP was not anything special, but he was averaging 97 MPH with a nasty curveball. Even if the results were not there, you could see the vision.
During Spring Training, it became very clear that the new regime was tantalized by Cavalli’s potential. Blake Butera talked about how special he could be and he quickly was named the Opening Day starter.
It is easy to forget now, but for the first three months of the season, Cavalli was fine but not elite. After his June 25th start, Cavalli had a 4.00 ERA and was averaging under 5 innings per start. He was not having a bad season by any means, but he was far from elite.
The turning point came during his June 30th start against the Red Sox. Of course, that was the infamous ‘sit down boy’ game. In that contest, Cavalli struck out 13 hitters, allowed just 1 hit and got 25 whiffs. He looked like a dominant force at Fenway Park that night.
His role in starting that brawl put him in hot water, but the way Cavalli handled that was impressive. He seemed genuinely remorseful and handled the aftermath of that situation as well as he could have. It also did not stop him from going forward with his season.
In his last 15 starts of the season, Cavalli went 9-1 with a 2.08 ERA, striking out 111 hitters in 86.1 innings. He made the leap from solid big league starter to staff ace. As the season went on, you could just see that confidence growing each time he took the ball. Cavalli performed like an ace on the field, but also carried himself like one.
His nasty stuff and leadership were rewarded with an extension at the end of the season. The Nats and Cavalli agreed to a 4-year deal which has a club option for a 5th season. After all the injury set-backs Cavalli has faced, that had to be an awesome moment for him. It was also great to see the team lock up a rising star.
THIS ONE’S FOR D.C.
Cade Cavalli has agreed to a 4-year contract extension through the 2030 season with a club option for 2031. pic.twitter.com/mZiTaR92of
We have talked a lot about his story and rise to prominence, but now I want to dive into the data. For the season, Cavalli finished with a 3.02 ERA and an even 200 strikeouts in 169.2 innings of work.
His underlying numbers were also stellar, with a 3.25 FIP, a 3.67 xERA and a 3.13 xFIP. From a value perspective, Cavalli had 3.9 fWAR and 3.7 bWAR. The strikeout and walk numbers were also phenomenal. Cavalli struck out 28.3% of hitters while only walking batters at a 6.8% clip.
When you look at his pitch mix, Cavalli made a couple big changes. The first one was adding a sweeper to go with his already fantastic curveball. His sweeper gave Cavalli a new weapon, particularly against right handed hitters, who he struggled with in 2025. Cavalli’s sweeper is a hard one, averaging over 86 MPH. It also had much more drop than your average sweeper because he throws it similarly to his curve.
The hard sweeper is a pitch that has been really successful for big name starters this year, and Cavalli is part of that trend. Gavin Williams and Jesus Luzardo are a couple other high end arms with high velocity sweepers. Batters hit just .115 with a 37% whiff rate against the Cavalli sweeper.
One change that coincided with Cavalli’s quantum leap was an increase in cutter usage. The cutter was a pitch Cavalli had thrown in the past, but he did not use it much in the beginning of the season. However, he started throwing it more starting in that Red Sox start. He threw it about 12% of the time from July onwards.
The cutter on its own is nothing special, but it mixed well with his other pitches. It also gave him an offering he could consistently throw in the zone. With these new weapons, Cavalli had all the answers.
Those new weapons are cool to talk about, but another big part of his rise was an improvement in command. In the second half of the season, Cavalli walked less than 6% of hitters and was executing at an extremely high level. It felt like he could put pitches wherever he wanted.
When I watch the playoffs this year, I am confident that Cavalli can thrive in that environment. He has the stuff, command and moxy to succeed against the best hitters. We saw that in his biggest matchups this year. When the lights got bright, Cavalli was at his best.
With that extension, we now know that Cavalli will be a National long term. That is great news because he pitched like an ace down the stretch. If that is what he looks like moving forward, Cade Cavalli could challenge for Cy Young’s. It is so great to finally have a horse at the front of the rotation.
Minor League Baseball: View of Hudson Valley Renegades players warming up in outfield before game vs Brooklyn Cyclones at Maimonides Park. Brooklyn, NY 5/18/2021 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X163621 TK1)
First Half Record: 25-40 (6/6 South Atlantic League North)
Second Half Record: 32-34 (4/6 South Atlantic League North)
The 2025 season was a magical year for the Brooklyn Cyclones. The team dominated the first half of the South Atlantic League season, earning a playoff berth, and for first time since 2019, a championship trophy was hoisted over Coney Island.
The Brooklyn Cyclones team that Eduardo Núñez had in 2026 was a very different team than the squad Gilbert Gomez had in 2025, and it showed. A general sense of malaise permeated throughout the entire Mets minor league system, but no team was worse than the Brooklyn Cyclones, who went 25-40 in the first half and were the second-worse team in the South Atlantic League.
The team perked up a bit in the second half, going 4-0 in June, 10-13 in July, and 15-11 in August. At the beginning of September, Brooklyn found themselves six games behind in the standings, playing a seven-game series (a game from July was being resumed) against the first-place Frederick Keys. While an extreme long shot, a sweep of the series would have rocketed the Cyclones up in the standings, potentially into first place depending on how the rest of the South Atlantic League North did that week. Their final series of the 2026 season unfortunately did not go the way the team and its fans were hoping, as Brooklyn kicked things off by dropped both games of the series opening double-header to immediately have their playoff hopes dashed, and then lost it to fall a game below .500 not just in the second half, but on the season. With the series loss, Brooklyn ended both the first and second halves of their season below .500, the first time for them to do that since the South Atlantic League moved to a split-season format in 2022.
John Bay, whose father played football at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, was a three-sport all-state player at Shattuck High School in Shattuck, Oklahoma, but when he began his collegiate career at OSU, he quickly found out that he was a big fish in a small pond. Competing for playing time thanks to the havoc that COVID-19 played on the college baseball season and decisions that were later made to attempt to do right by the players who missed the season, Bay ended up redshirting in his freshman season in 2021. He played in the Appalachian League that summer and hit .229/.381/.473 in 51 games, leading the league with 10 home runs. That was enough to get him a little playing time in 2022, and the outfielder appeared in 26 games, accruing 34 at-bats and hitting .324/.415/.500.
That summer, he was recruited by former Cowboys assistant coach Roland Fanning, who left OSU for Austin Peay University after the season ended. Bay played for the Lakeshore Chinooks of the Northwoods League that summer and entered the transfer portal, transferring to Austin Peay. He missed roughly a month at the beginning of the season due to a hamate injury but ended up appearing in 26 games for the Governors, hitting .225/.343/.528 with 8 home runs. In 2024, his redshirt junior season, he had a breakout season, hitting .365/.471/.817 in 55 games with 24 home runs. He followed that up with a strong stint in the Cape Cod Baseball League, hitting .254/.393/.507 with 4 homers in 23 games for the Chatham Anglers, but the 2024 MLB Draft came and went without the 23-year-old Bay’s name being called.
Bay finished up his collegiate career in 2025 hitting .360/.507/.769 in 59 games with 22 more home runs, giving him a cumulative .338/.463/.732 batting line with OSU and Austin Peay with 42 doubles, 6 triples, 55 home runs, 24 stolen bases, 99 walks, and 166 strikeouts in 166 total games. Once again, the draft came and went and Bay did not hear his name. He had numerous independent league offers on the table, but no major league offers were extended until the Mets called; Bay agreed immediately.
The 24-year-old outfielder was assigned to the Low-A St. Lucie Mets and he hit the ground running, hitting .333/.464/.593 in his 17 games there, logging 3 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 4 stolen bases, and drawing 9 walks to 21 strikeouts. He was promoted to High-A Brooklyn at the end of the season and hit .103/.333/.207 in 10 games for the eventual South Atlantic League champions. A few weeks after the season ended, he was selected to replace the injured D’Andre Smith in the Arizona Fall League and went 1-10 in the 3 games he appeared in drawing two walks and striking out 5 times. He remained in Brooklyn to begin the 2026 season and continued showing his trademark power even in a ballpark that dampens offense, appearing in 77 games and hitting .232/.360/.458 with 16 doubles, 3 triples, 13 home runs, 18 stolen bases, and drawing 35 walks to 88 strikeouts. In late July, he was promoted to Double-A Binghamton and appeared in 39 more games for them, hitting 252/.363/.366 with 6 doubles, 3 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and 20 walks to 48 strikeouts.
The 6’1”, 220-pound Bay stands square at the plate, holding his hands high at the eyes, wrapping his bat behind his head angled at 2:30, almost perpendicular to the ground. He swings with a slight leg kick, and has a quick, long-levered stroke. He has above-average power when he can get extended and pull the ball in the air. He has enough barrel control and makes decent enough swing decisions that he is not a one-dimensional stomp-and-lift hitter and does use the rest of the field. While his swing-and-miss rate is high and his strikeout rate concerningly high, his overall contacts numbers have been about average, and he has shown the ability to draw a high number of walks.
Bay is athletic and is a solid defender. The majority of his playing time in the outfield has come in center, with a bit less time in right field and a bit less time still in left. The 25-year-old does not have an explosive first-step, but is speedy, reaching his running gait quickly. His arm is a bit stronger than what is expected of most centerfielders, but is fringe-average or so for right field.
A native of Havana, Cuba, Daviel Hurtado left the island nation and took up residency in the Dominican Republic in 2022. Having played on the U-12 and U-15 Cuban National Baseball Teams, the left-hander drummed up some interest but elected to wait to for the 2023-2024 international signing period to begin instead of signing with a club immediately in order to better showcase his talents and maximize his potential contract. On January 15 2023, when the signing period began, he came to terms with the Mets and was given a $640,000 signing bonus. He was assigned to the Dominican Summer League for the 2023 season, but did not actually pitch, as Tommy John surgery kept him off the mound all season.
After the healing and rehabbing process came to an end, he finally made his professional debut in May 2024 with the FCL Mets. He remained with them for the entire 2024 season and appeared in 8 games, all starts, posting a 6.32 ERA in 15.2 innings, with 15 hits allowed,10 walks, and 23 punch outs. The organization had him remain in the FCL when the 2025 season began but they quickly promoted him to Low-A St. Lucie after he began the year allowing just a single earned run in 19.0 innings, allowing 8 hits, walking 5, and striking out 25. With the St. Lucie Mets, he appeared in 13 games, making 7 starts, and posted a 2.70 ERA in 46.2 innings, allowing 45 hits, walking 19, and striking out 50.
The 21-year-old began the season with St. Lucie but was promoted to High-A Brooklyn after four starts. With the Cyclones, he appeared in 17 games and made 15 starts, posting a 2.69 ERA in 77.0 innings, allowing 52 hits, walking 26, and striking out 74. Altogether combined, the southpaw posted a 2.93 ERA on the season, allowing 62 hits, walking 27, and striking out 89 in 86.0 innings.
The 6’1”, 165-pound southpaw is well proportioned and lean. He throws from a high-three-quarter arm slot with loose, whippy arm that utilizes a long arm action through the back. He throws from the far first base side of the rubber, further amplifying the difficult angle that his pitches attack batters from. The southpaw has a repertoire that includes a four-seam fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup.
His fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s, sitting in the low-90s and topping out comfortably at 95 MPH. The pitch has about 15 inches of induced vertical break and features above-average run thanks to its spin efficiency and the left-hander’s slingy delivery, so much so that it often gets characterized as a sinker. The pitch doesn’t really miss too many bats, nor do hitters have problems dealing with it and putting it in play with authority.
The southpaw’s curveball sits in the mid-70s-to-low-80s, featuring 55 inches of vertical drop and 5-10 inches of horizontal movement, making it a loopy, slurvy 11-5 bender. His slider sits in the mid-to-high-80s, featuring 35 inches of vertical drop and 3-5 inches of horizontal movement, giving the pitch hop. The two breaking balls tunnel well with each other, the slower curveball featuring more overall movement and the faster slider featuring less.
Infrequently, Hurtado throws a changeup. The left-hander has been more effective against right-handed batters than fellow lefties over the course of his career, but he has been effective enough against left-handed batters and as such has not really needed to develop a pitch to neutralize them.
While none of his pitches individual grade out as much better than average, with his fastball a decidedly below-average pitch, his total ability plays up thanks to his ability to tunnel his pitches and his ability to command everything pinpoint control. Hurtado is at his best when he is nipping the zone for strikes and then expanding it for strikeouts or weak contact with his breaking pitches. The southpaw was able to limit damage to an extreme degree in 2026, posting a 23.4% line drive rate, 54.6% groundball rate, and 22.0% flyball rate, with a 10.4% HR/FB rate. The Cuban left-hander does not have much of a resume, but his damage-prevention abilities might not simply be a product of Maimonides Park, as he a similarly favorable 23.5% line drive rate, 43.6% groundball rate, and 32.9% flyball rate with a 6.1% HR/FB rate in his 65.2 innings in the complex and St. Lucie in 2025.
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 05: Travis Bazzana #37 of the the Cleveland Guardians warms up prior to Game Two of the American League Division Series presented by Booking.com between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Monday, October 5, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Grace Hoppel/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Cleveland Guardians’ season comes down to an afternoon tilt in Chicago. Here are some keys to pushing the series to Thursday:
Manage Emotions and Nerves with a Wildly Hostile, Home Crowd:
There is no doubt that the White Sox fans will be loud and desperate to see their team clinch their first playoff series at home since 1906 and complete an entire redemption of their late-season collapse to lose the AL Central. The literal Pope, ghosts of 2005, and probably even whoever is chosen to throw the first pitch will be present to haunt the current Guardians. This young team will have to shut all that out and focus on playing the best baseball game they can play. They can’t get caught up in thinking about being eliminated and the second-straight October humilation that would entail. They just need to play crisp, fundamental baseball, putting up professional at-bats as hitters and pitchers.
Score Early, Tack on Late:
Shadows will creep into play by about 5 or 5:30PM ET, so the Guardians need to find a way to score. They can’t afford to be shutout by opener Sean Newcomb and whoever comes after him and let it get to the 4th inning not having scored because the 4th-7th innings should be pretty difficult for hitters. By the 8th and 9th, the Guardians will probably see Grant Taylor and/or Hagen Smith AGAIN. They can’t afford to not get to one of these pitchers. They need to take advantage to tack on at least one more run when the shadows are gone and these familiar arms re-emerge.
Hit At Least One Home Run:
It’s very, very hard to win a postseason game without hitting at least one home run. (The White Sox just did it, though, haha. Haha.). So, who is going to hit the Guardians’ first postseason homer? Jo Adell, who should have had one Monday night? Chase DeLauter, Hit a Homer, Take Me Home (for Game 5), Country Roads? Jose Ramirez Back from the Dead? Playoff Rocchio? Patty Barrels? We need a hero, folks.
Have a Quick Hook with Pitchers:
I am very excited to have Daniel Espino start the game, but this needs to be an “all-hands on deck” game for Cleveland. Literally, every pitcher, including Gavin Williams, should be available as needed. I am sure the team has an ideal plan for who will pitch where, but Stephen Vogt needs to be quick to make moves based on swing data, handedness, and the game situation and not hesitate to use arms he hasn’t used yet. Throw the kitchen sink at the White Sox and snuff out rallies without worrying about tomorrow because tomorrow may never come.
Maintain an Overall, Good Approach from Game Two:
Aside from Angel Martinez, I think the Guardians executed a good approach, overall, in game two. They were disciplined to make pitchers work but also aggressive on pitches in the heart of the plate. They can’t afford to have, as I just mentioned, Martinez flailing at uncompetitive pitches. They also can’t afford to have Travis Bazzana, who put up some great at-bats as a whole, take a pitch down the heart of the plate for strike three after working the count full. Do not go up there with a 3-2, 3-1 or 3-0 count looking to take a walk. Look for a pitch you can do damage on and take advantage of it in those situations. The mix of discipline and aggression in game two was right… just gotta get some of those well-hit balls to find grass or the seats, and consistently force White Sox pitchers to get the ball in the zone.
I love this Guardians’ team. I hope today isn’t the last game I get to watch them this year, and I am confident they will do their best to avoid a sweep to a division rival. Let’s go, Guardians!
Still hoping for that bounce-back, Eric. | Michael Turner / MLB Photos via Getty Images
In reviewing Arizona Fall League rosters for the original draft of this article, Twinkie Town writer Matt Monitto was stunned into silence by what he saw.
“I’m scrolling through the rosters on MLB.com, and I come across Frank Mozzicato, Tate Southisene, and I have to sit back,“ Monitto said in an interview with a mirror. ”These are guys I came across in Out of the Park franchises, and I thought they were computer-generated names. But they’re real?“
Indeed, Royals prospect Mozzicato and Braves prospect Southisene are among those assigned to the AFL by their parent clubs.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve had Mozzicato on one of my teams,“ Monitto added, ”when I did a Royals franchise a few years ago. That just makes it odder.“
When reminded that such oddity did not stop him for rooting for the eventually-demoted Eric Orze in 2026, he simply shook his head.
“I guess there, I had him as a Twin for a good number of seasons, and then he became a Twin. I’m still pulling for him.
“But when it’s other teams,” he continued, “it’s always strange. It’s cool to see Jake McCarthy breaking out for the Rockies, yet it’s a bit weird because he was my Diamondbacks left fielder for a while. And guys like Yohendrick Pinango and Yanquiel Fernandez… I thought for sure the game made up those names. A few years later, they’re in the Show.”
Monitto did not know if the same concept applies to players of MLB The Show as he has not played that game.
“But if so,” he said, “I bet there’s just as much awe… after blinking to make sure the names and players are actually real, of course.”
