PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 25: Nick Fortes #40 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the second inning during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on September 25, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
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.
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”.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 25: Tarik Skubal #29 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the first inning at Oracle Park on September 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
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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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.
DENVER, COLORADO - SEPTEMBER 20: Jake McCarthy #31 of the Colorado Rockies hits a triple in the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Coors Field on September 20, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 12: Rafael Devers #16 of the San Francisco Giants hits a two run home run at Oracle Park on September 12, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 22: Mickey Gasper #30 of the Boston Red Sox runs after hitting a home run during the eighth inning of a game against the Cleveland Guardians on September 22, 2026 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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)
CLEVELAND, OHIO SEPTEMBER 1: Angel Martínez #1 of the Cleveland Guardians hits a fly ball to right center field for a two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field on September 1, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland leads 6-1. (Photo by Russell Lee Verlinger/Cleveland Guardians/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 25: Cristopher Sánchez #61 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches in the second inning during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park on September 25, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
Teoscar Hernández celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the second inning of the Dodgers' 2-0 win over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Friday night. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
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.
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.
Andy Pages, right, is congratulated by Dodgers teammate Kiké Hernández after hitting a home run against the Giants in the second inning Friday. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
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.
“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.
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 30: The scoreboard is seen with the message "Thanks for Coming" after the suspension of Game One of the American League Division Series due to weather between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium on September 30, 2011 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The game was called due to rain. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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?
New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) pitches the ball during a game against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium, Aug 13, 2025, Bronx, New York, USA. Yannick Peterhans/NorthJersey.com | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
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.
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.
SAN FRANCISCO – The sequence was promising on paper. In practice on Friday night, it was spectacular.
Roki Sasaki in the eighth inning.
Tanner Scott in the ninth.
Manager Dave Roberts emphasized they wouldn’t necessarily be deployed in that order come the playoffs, but their performances in the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory over the Giants indicated they could be the foundation of a championship-caliber bullpen for the Dodgers.
Roki Sasaki pitches during the eighth inning of the Dodgers’ 2-0 win over the Giants on Sept. 25, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“I don’t want you to pigeonhole me into using these guys in certain roles, but, yeah, I think it’s just better to have as many guys that you have confidence in leverage (situations),” Roberts said.
Scott retired the side in the ninth to record his 24th save.
On their World Series run last year, the bullpen was something the Dodgers had to work around. They were extremely dependent on their starting pitchers, whom they counted on not only to pitch deeper into games but also make relief contributions. Sasaki’s emergence as closer was as much a reflection of their lack of options as it was of the Japanese fireballer’s gifts.
The Dodgers should enter the playoffs next month with an entirely different feel.
Scott has recovered from his nightmare season last year, looking more like the Padres relief ace who shut down Shohei Ohtani in the 2024 playoffs to earn a $72-million payday with the Dodgers.
As for the 24-year-old Sasaki, he looks even better as a reliever than he did last year.
“I think the fastball’s better,” Roberts said. “I think the split’s better. It’s also nice that he’s already done it. So, just in total, he’s just a better pitcher than he was last year and a lot more confident. And certainly, the stuff was really good the last couple outings.”
Tanner Scott gets ready to throw a pitch during the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ win over the Giants. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Four of the six fastballs Sasaki threw were clocked at faster than 100 mph.
The other two registered readings of more than 99 mph.
“Overall, he just keeps getting better,” Scott said. “Even when he was starting, I thought he was pretty dominant. For him to get moved to the bullpen as we go into October, it’s huge for us.”
Sasaki started seven games after the All-Star break and was 2-0 with a 3.05 earned-run average. A blister on his pitching hand landed him on the injured list. When he returned earlier this week, he did so as a reliever.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts reacts during the Dodgers’ win over the Giants on Sept. 20, 2026 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
He also struck out two batters in his other relief appearance, a scoreless inning on Tuesday against the San Diego Padres.
“Throughout the season, I’ve sharpened myself technically,” Sasaki said in Japanese. “Compared to last year, I feel much better in that respect.”
Sasaki will likely pitch next in the regular-season finale on Sunday, Roberts said.
He could close out games again in October, as Roberts said there could be games in which he calls on Scott to pitch against a particularly dangerous segment of the opposing lineup earlier in the game.
Scott said he was open to pitching in any situation.
“Just get outs,” Scott said. “That’s all that matters in October. Get outs.
“October is about winning every single game. It really doesn’t matter what roles you get asked to do. Just go out there and do it.”
I realize it makes it look like Bryce Miller is the one who committed defensive sins tonight; he did not. But apparently this barnburner of a game was not compelling enough to attract the photogs tonight so photo pickings are as slim as Bryce himself. | Getty Images
[Ed. note: if you don’t know the show Derry Girls and the wonderful character Sister Michael, I suggest you remedy that forthwith. It’s much more entertaining to watch than this game, I promise.]
Well, apparently you have some atoning to do, because somehow you’ve arrived here at the 2026 Mariners season, watching a fruitless game between two eliminated teams. The Angels, staving off a 100-loss season, managed to come out on the upper end of this particular tug of war, beating the Mariners 7-5. At this point you might be asking yourself:
And you would be right. The 2026 Mariners: putting the wake in Wake Me When September Ends.
Bryce Miller looked pretty hittable in the first, recording no whiffs and giving up some hard contact. He got stung on a Wade Meckler triple that rolled down the right field line just out of Josh Naylor’s reach; Meckler would then scoot home on a wild pitch, a splitter Miller buried in the dirt. However, the hard contact he gave up did allow for a chance for Dominic Canzone to make an eleventh-hour submission for his best catch of the year. If you read last night’s recap, you know that when I share defensive highlights, that means things are Not Going Well. MLB didn’t see fit to clip this one as a highlight, because they have apparently not watched as much of Dom Canzone playing right field as I have.
Unfortunately, the baseball gods punished Canzone by allowing Bryce Teodosio to make an equally excellent leaping grab to rob him of extra bases in the bottom of the inning, making it a 404-foot out and turning hte Mariners away without an answer-back score. Aside from an eighth-inning home run from Zach Neto off Eduard Bazardo, the other two furthest-hit balls tonight were that one from Canzone, and a 401-foot flyout from Cole Young in the fifth. Ah. So it would be one of these games.
(They were all one of these games.)
In the second inning, Miller finally was able to start getting some whiffs, getting a strikeout on his curveball and one on a nice elevated fastball up and out of the zone he got Josh Lowe chasing after. But the at-bat with Lowe consumed nine pitches, to add to an eight-pitch at-bat he’d had in the first.
To be fair, Miller pitched better than his line tonight, even if he went to some deeper counts than you’d hope. Miller led off the inning by walking Mike Trout on seven pitches, damaging both his pitch count and his FIP, and then tried too hard to get back into it, leaving a first-pitch slider in the middle of the plate for Meckler, who had already tripled off him. Meckler kept it to a single this time, but Vaughn Grissom also swung at the first pitch he saw, a splitter, for an RBI single to make it 2-0 Angels. Thankfully, because this is the Angels, they then made three straight outs to cap the damage there, including back-to-back three-pitch strikeouts; both came on well-executed fastballs up from Miller. It’s nice to see Miller working the top rail fastball again after it’s so often been low and uncompetitive this season.
“I gave up three [sic, it was two] hits in a row on first pitch and was like, all right, they’re gonna come out swinging, let’s be a little more aggressive here. So we went first pitch slider under to Lowe, got a swing and miss out of it. Those are the situations where you have to be a little more aware of what they’re doing, what’s our approach, and then adjust on the fly.”
Canzone finally broke up the no-hitter in the fourth, sending a ball to Teodosio that this time he couldn’t catch, but it turns out you generally need other players to make contact with the ball in order to score runs, and Canzone was left stranded. As someone who had to recap last night’s game, is recapping tonight’s, and will recap tomorrow’s, I have never related to Dominic Canzone more.
The Mariners did get a little traffic on in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Michael Arroyo—on base for the second time—leading off with a line-drive single and swiping second base. Fun player is fun! Cole Young then put a charge into a ball (the aforementioned 401-foot flyout) but unfortunately to the wrong part of the park, and Jhonny Pereda worked a nice nine-pitch walk, but Weston Wilson and Leo Rivas couldn’t pick up those runners.
As so often happens, the missed chance immediately bit the Mariners. The Angels broke things open in the sixth, as the Rube Goldberg machine of embarrassment that is the 2026 Mariners finally got up to full power. You’d look at the Angels scoring three runs in the sixth and think “typical, Dan left Miller in an inning too long,” but it actually wasn’t entirely Miller’s fault. Things started off badly when Miller coaxed a lazy fly ball off the bat of Meckler that dropped between Leo Rivas, Michael Arroyo, and Julio Rodríguez in a trio of futility: Arroyo couldn’t get to the ball, Rivas couldn’t make the basket catch, and Julio was slow to pick up the ball, allowing Meckler to reach second. Miller then walked Vaughn Grissom on eight pitches, again with the problem of the long at-bat. Miller, trying to be less inattentive to baserunners then he’s been, attempted to pick off Meckler at second, but Rivas let the ball squirt out of his glove, allowing both runners to advance. A lineout to Cole Young that could have been an inning-ending double play was missed when Rivas was slow to get to the bag. Then, in the most predictable sequence of events possible, in an 0-2 count Miller tried to go top rail with the fastball again to Christian Moore – not a bad plan, as he’d struck out Moore on that exact pitch the previous at-bat. This time, though, Moore got on top of it for a three-run homer.
“I’ve beat a lot of really good hitters with that pitch,” said Miller. “I don’t know how he got to it but credit to him, good swing. We struck him out on it in the second-at bat, and then first pitch of the at-bat he swung and missed and I actually missed a little bit too much in the zone there. Then got a foul ball and then…yeah. It kind of sums up how the second half of my year’s gone. It’s 0-2, two outs, sixth inning, and I thought that was a good pitch and he got to it.”
While it’s possible to argue pitch selection – maybe Miller should have tried a sweeper out first before going back to the top rail – he also didn’t have a ton of whiff tonight on anything that wasn’t the four-seamer. Attacking Moore, who strikes out over 30% of the time, with a fastball up is a solid plan. The bigger problem is that was a three-run homer and not a solo shot because of the walk and sloppy defense.
The Mariners continued not to do anything against Reid Detmers and the Angels, while Zach Neto added some insurance in the form of a home run off Eduard Bazardo. That’s the fourth homer Bazardo has given up in 5.1 innings pitched in September for a home run rate that ranks…oh who cares, I don’t want to calculate it.
The Mariners did claw back two in the bottom of the eighth against the Angels bullpen – and it was a claw, starting with pinch-hitter Lazaro Montes working a one-out walk. A pair of singles from the top of the order loaded the bases, and then Angels reliever Sam Bachman hit Julio with a pitch, forcing in a run. Michael Arroyo came up with a clutch two-out infield single, hustling down the line to scrape another run on the board. Cole Young couldn’t come up with another big two-out hit against a lefty, old friend Tayler Saucedo, who speedily dispatched Young to quell the threat.
In the ninth, realizing he hadn’t yet done his Earn A Big Payday play of the game Randy Arozarena scored the Mariners’ most ethical run of the night, lacing a triple into right field and scoring Weston Wilson, who had walked. Dom Canzone, my fellow strongest soldier, finally got revenge for that robbed home run, reaching for a slider away and muscling it out onto the netting over Edgar’s in left. That man is strong. That brought the Mariners into a garbage-time score of 7-5 that looks a lot more respectable in the box score than it was to watch, so between that and Bryce Miller, no justice was had in the box score tonight.
“His fate was – it should have been better,” said Dan Wilson about Miller’s outing.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 25: Michael Arroyo #96 of the Seattle Mariners watches a three run home run hit by Christian Moore #4 of the Los Angeles Angels (not pictured) go over the back wall during the sixth inning at T-Mobile Park on September 25, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Angels 7, Mariners 5
(the arrow changed a little after Dom’s homer but I’m not remaking the chart art, sorry, losing to the Angels still results in getting put in the Shame Machine)
