ST. PETERSBURG, FL - SEPTEMBER 1: Dylan Ross #66 of the New York Mets throws against the Tampa Bay Rays in his Major League debut during the seventh inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on September 1, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The newly promoted Jefferson Rojas immediately introduced himself to the International League, singling in his first at-bat and going yard in his second. He was one of four Mets players to have multi-hit games, along with Ronny Mauricio, Ryan Clifford, and Vidal Brujan, the latter of whom had a three-hit evening. It was a group effort on the pitching side of things, but everyone who got into this game put up zeroes except for Dylan Ross, who allowed a run in his inning of work.
With the win, Syracuse gained a game on the Rochester Red Wings, who lost 9-8 to the Buffalo Bisons, and are 1.5 games back. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders won their game against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6-5 and are a single game behind first place.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: Cristopher Sánchez #61 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts after being pulled during the seventh inning of the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
That’s a bad loss. You can pick any of the multitude of reasons why it’s a bad loss, but it remains.
Sep 13, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Christian Scott (45) pitches in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
I honestly expected this meter to be worse, but the Mets concentrated most of their poor pitching performance into a couple of games—particularly the series finale against the Marlins, which they ended up winning by the skin of their teeth anyway. The past couple of weeks have also seen some shuffling of personnel—notably the return of Jonah Tong to the big leagues and Robert Stock shifting to the bullpen.
Player
Last week
This week
Chris Devenski, RHP
Daniel Duarte, RHP
Justin Hagenman, RHP
Nate Lavender, LHP
Sean Manaea, LHP
Nolan McLean, RHP
Tobias Myers, RHP
—
Dedniel Núñez, RHP
Jonathan Pintaro, RHP
Dylan Ross, RHP
—
Christian Scott, RHP
Kodai Senga, RHP
Robert Stock, RHP
Zac Thonton, LHP
Jonah Tong, RHP
—
Austin Warren, RHP
Jack Weisenburger, RHP
Jefry Yan, LHP
Nolan McLean’s run of dominance unfortunately came to an end at the hands of the Bronx Bombers on Friday night, who lived up to their namesake by taking him deep twice. McLean was shaky right from the jump in that outing, loading the bases in the first inning with nobody out and managing to escape with just one run on the board. But he didn’t get so lucky in the second when Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer to put the Yankees back in front, ultimately for good. All told, McLean gave up five runs on ten hits in five innings of work and took the loss to drop his record to 11-9. Jack Weisenburger, freshly recalled from Triple-A, soaked up the final three innings of that game in relief of Mclean and allowed one insurance run over the three frames. He struck out two, walked none, and gave up three hits. McLean avoids a bad grade though because he delivered a quality start in his first outing of the month against the Giants in which he earned the win. In that outing, he gave up just two runs on six hits in six innings of work, striking out seven batters and walking four and throwing a career-high 105 pitches.
Jefry Yan appeared twice in that Giants series—once in relief of McLean in the series opener and again the following day. Yan was scored upon in all three of his September appearances. He was unable to navigate his way through a clean seventh in relief of McLean, but luckily the Mets held on to win despite some shaky bullpen work. The next day he gave up a two-run homer in the eighth inning to put the game further out of reach. In Tampa Bay he did the same, yielding an insurance run in the eighth on three hits. Yan was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse after the Giants series.
The roster carousel has been moving when it comes to the pitching staff this month. When rosters expanded, the Mets briefly recalled Dylan Ross from Triple-A. Ross pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning in the 6-2 loss to the Rays and was immediately sent back down in favor of Justin Hagenman, who had spent all season on the injured list recovering from a fractured rib he suffered in spring training. Hagenman took the spot start in the series finale against Tampa to give Christian Scott an extra day of rest. Hagenman pitched well, giving up just one run on two hits in three innings of work. He pitched again in last Saturday’s loss to the Giants and gave up a solo homer, but the game was already well out of reach at that point. Chris Devenski also appeared in both games Hagenman pitched in and nearly spoiled Hagenman’s strong start by getting tagged with three runs in just 2/3 of an inning in relief, but luckily the Mets had their hitting shoes on and Andy Green gave Devenski the hook before the game could get away. Devenski was better last Saturday, pitching two scoreless innings of relief. He followed that up with a scoreless seventh inning in the series opener in Miami, but then was the primary culprit in the first of two times the Marlins clawed their way back from a massive deficit in the absolutely insane series finale. All told, Devenski was charged with five runs in just 1/3 of an inning in that game, after which he was designated for assignment and then outrighted to Triple-A.
Christian Scott clearly benefitted from the extra day of rest because he has been the most consistent performer in the rotation of late. In the series finale against the Giants, which ended in a comeback victory for the Mets, he gave up two runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings of work. Impressively, he struck out seven batters and walked none in that outing. He followed that up with arguably an even more impressive performance against the Yankees, but unfortunately the Mets were blanked by Cam Schlittler and Scott took the loss despite delivering a quality start. Scott gave up just two runs on three hits in six innings of work, striking out seven batters and walking two. Both runs he gave up came on a pair of solo homers to Ben Rice and Austin Wells.
Nate Lavender pitched in relief of Scott in both of his starts and did his job in both of those outings. He was called upon in Scott’s start against the Giants to pitch to Rafael Devers with the bases loaded and got a huge strikeout to keep the Giants off the board and helping to set things up for the comeback that was to come. Lavender pitched a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Scott on Sunday, but unfortunately the Mets did not have a comeback in them on that day. The aberration on Lavender’s otherwise spotless record is—you guessed it—the 15-14 game in Miami in which he participated in the collective bullpen nuclear meltdown. He was charged with three runs in just 1/3 of an inning in that game, blowing up what would have been a good grade otherwise because he also pitched a scoreless seventh inning and earned a hold in Tuesday’s win in Miami and earned a hold in the series opener in Tampa as well.
Sean Manaea started that game on Tuesday in Miami and earned the win despite a somewhat mediocre final line of four runs on five hits in five innings of work. He struck out four and walked none in the outing. But the Mets had their hitting shoes on against the Marlins and were able to out-hit the bad pitching all series long. The same cannot be said for Manaea’s other September outing, which took place in Tampa. He was roughed up for five runs on eleven hits in 5 2/3 innings of work and took the loss.
Kodai Senga earned the save in Miami on Tuesday despite a shaky outing. Luckily, Senga had some breathing room to work with and navigated his way through the inning with the lead still intact. That was Senga’s only earned run allowed across four outings covered by this meter in which he’s been a perfect 3-for-3 in save opportunities. One of his other saves came in relief of Scott in the series finale against the Giants in which he pitched a 1-2-3 ninth complete with a strikeout to successfully protect a two-run lead after the Mets put up a four spot in the bottom of the eighth. The other came in the series opener against the Rays. Senga also appeared in a non-save situation in the series opener against the Giants to cap off that victory in relief of McLean.
Robert Stock also came out of the bullpen for the first time this season in that game, coming to Austin Warren’s rescue after Warren gave up a three-run homer to Rafael Devers in the eighth that put the game in jeopardy. Stock recorded a key final out of the inning to bridge the gap to Senga. Stock started the series opener against the Rays on the last day of August and had his best outing yet. He pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks and earned the victory in that game. He then started again in last Wednesday’s infamous victory, pitching the first four innings of that game before things got really silly. He was charged with three runs on five hits in four innings of work, striking out four batters and walking two. Warren bounced back from his poor outing against the Giants with two good ones in Miami, including a scoreless fifth in relief of Stock on Wednesday that I suppose one could describe as the calm before the storm. Warren pitched a scoreless ninth inning complete with two strikeouts in the series opener in Miami as well and a scoreless ninth inning in Sunday’s loss.
The series opener in Miami was Jonah Tong’s 2026 debut and he pitched better than his final line indicates. Luckily the Mets were able to give him enough run support to earn the win, thanks in part to some poor defense by the Marlins. Tong struck out the side in the bottom of the first inning and had one tough inning in the second in which the Marlins dropped a four spot on him. But he was able to recover and bounce back to make his way through five innings and make himself the pitcher of record. He struck out seven batters in total and walked only one. It was surely a debut to build upon and yesterday’s outing against the Orioles will be covered in the next meter.
The bullpen was spotless in relief of Tong, including Dedniel Núñez, who has had a solid couple of weeks. Núñez worked around a couple of hits to pitch a scoreless sixth inning in relief of Tong in the series opener in Miami. He followed that up with a scoreless eighth inning the following day in relief of Manaea as part of a solid all around bullpen effort that day. Núñez also appeared twice in the Rays series—once in the opener and once in the finale. In the series opener, he earned a hold with a 1-2-3 seventh inning complete with a strikeout. He then earned the win in the series finale for calming things down and recording the final out of the fourth inning after Devenski failed to get through the inning. He went on to pitch a scoreless fifth as well.
Jonathan Pintaro pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to cap off the rubber game victory against the Rays. Pintaro followed that up with a fantastic outing against the Giants in that closely-contested series finale in which he delievered two hitless innings of work in relief of Christian Scott, striking out a batter in the process. Like Lavender and Núñez, Pintaro earned a hold in relief of Manaea with a scoreless sixth inning in the second game of the Marlins series, but like much of the rest of the bullpen, his record was besmirched by Wednesday’s disaster. He was charged with two runs on three hits in that game.
An unlikely hero earned the save to finally put the series finale against the Marlins to a merciful end: Tobias Myers, called up before the series finale at Citi Field against the Giants when Yan was optioned. With the Mets’ lead somehow once again cut to just a skinny run, Myers came in the game to replace Lavender with the tying run on first base. He allowed a single to Javier Sanoja and suddenly the tying run was in scoring position, but he bounced back to strike out Owen Caissie and get Graham Pauley to pop out to miraculously end the game with the Mets hanging on to win. Myers has been great since his return to the big leagues after nearly two months in the minors. Myers earned the win in the series finale against the Giants in his very first outing back with a scoreless eighth inning, after which the Mets put up four runs to take the lead. Myers also pitched the final two innings of Saturday’s raucous slugfest victory against the Yankees.
Those two scoreless innings from Myers came in relief of Zac Thornton, who earned the win with seven brilliant innings against the Mets’ crosstown rivals. Thornton was amped on Saturday, throwing six pitches at 95+ mph and needing only 81 pitches to get through those seven innings, over which he struck out four batters and walked one. He worked his way out of a jam in the seventh by inducing an inning-ending double play, after which he pumped his fist and yelled in triumph as he walked off the mound—deservedly so. That was a performance worthy of a high grade, but unfortunately Thornton’s other September outing thus far was a clunker. The Giants took him deep four times and he took the loss, charged with six runs in five innings of work, over which he struck out six batters and walked one.
If Daniel Duarte’s only shaky outing was in the wild series finale against the Marlins, I may have been lenient, but he nearly spoiled Robert Stock’s strong start against the Rays in the series opener in Tampa. He gave up two runs in the eighth to bring the Rays within a run before Chris Devenski got the final out of the inning to keep the Mets in front. His next two outings were positive; he pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the series finale victory in Tampa and then a scoreless eighth inning in Tong’s debut in the series opener in Miami. But he caught whatever disease the rest of the bullpen was infected with on Wednesday. He came in the game in the sixth with one out and Devenski struggling and walked the first man he faced to force in a run and then allowed a game-tying single—those runs all charged to Devenski. Hilariously, Duarte was tagged with the blown save in that game, but then also earned the win because the Mets took another big lead in the seventh which they managed to just barely protect. Duarte came back out for the bottom of the seventh and allowed a solo homer that added an earned run to his ledger.
Happy birthday to Vito Valentinetti, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1992 – The Cubs blow out the Phils, 14-9, to give Greg Maddux his 18th win. Led by Andre Dawson‘s four hits, the first four hitters collect 11 hits and 11 RBI for the Cubs. Dave Hollins homers for the Phils, while Dawson, Ryne Sandberg and Rick Wilkins go deep for Chicago. Mark Grace makes an error, ending his streak of 102 errorless games at 1B; his streak began after two errors on May 18th vs. the Dodgers, and 2014 – The Cubs’Jake Arrieta* throws a one-hitter in shutting out the Reds, 7-0. Brandon Phillips‘ two-out double in the eighth is the only blemish as Arrieta strikes out 13, and other stories as well.
1966 – The Mets (5) and Giants (3) tie a major-league record by using eight pinch hitters in the ninth inning as the Mets win, 5-4. Willie McCovey hits a 500-foot home run, judged the longest ever at Candlestick Park.
1975 – Rennie Stennett ties a major league mark established in 1892 going 7 for 7 in a nine-inning game. The Pirates’ second baseman gets two hits in one inning twice (in the 1st and 5th innings), helping make the game the most one-sided shutout since 1900, as the Bucs crush the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 22-0.
1996 – A 5th-inning triple off Royals pitcher Jose Rosado gives the Twins’Paul Molitor3000 hits. He will become the first major leaguer to accomplish this milestone in a season in which he collects 200 hits. It is the first time a three-bagger is a career 3000th hit.
1996 – Backed by two three-run homers from Tim Raines, celebrating his 37th birthday, Jimmy Key stops the Blue Jays, 10-0. Raines’ second home run, a 457-foot blast to center field, is the longest hit by a Yankee this year.
2025 – Cal Raleigh keeps on setting records. By hitting two more homers in a 12-5 win by Seattle over Kansas City, he has now hit 56 this season, setting a new all-time mark for a switch-hitter (Mickey Mantle was the previous record holder with 54) and ties the Mariners record for most in a season (Ken Griffey Jr. had hit 56 twice).
Today in Cubs history:
1909 – President Taft attends a Cubs–Giants game in Chicago and players are introduced to him before the game. Giants ace Christy Mathewson then outdeals Chicago ace Three Finger Brown, 2-1, with each allowing seven hits. Taft downs popcorn and lemonade during the match, according to the Chicago Tribune.
1923 – The Cubs lose, 10-6, to the Giants in Chicago, despite the hitting of Hack Miller who collects three doubles and a triple. A riot occurs in the eighth inning when umpire Charlie Moran makes an out call at second base on Sparky Adams, Moran is pelted by hundreds of pop bottles. Judge Landis, in attendance at the game, shakes his cane at the angry mob, and play is held up for 15 minutes. John McGraw and the umpires need a police escort at the conclusion.
1935 – In the opener of a critical four-game series in Chicago, the Giants lose, 8-3, to Lon Warneke. The Cubs have now won 12 straight.
1971 – At New York, lefty Juan Pizarro of the Cubsshuts out the Mets and Tom Seaver, 1-0. Pizarro does it all, clubbing a solo homer to win his own game. It’s Pizarro’s second shutout in a row and Seaver’s first loss after seven straight wins. Tom’s last loss was August 1st, also to Pizarro.
1972 – In an 18-5 victory over the Mets, Cub infielder Glenn Beckert goes 0 for 6 and sets a record by leaving 12 men on base.
1998 – Sammy Sosa‘s grand slam in the 8th inning, his 63rd home run of the year, leads the Cubs to a 6-3 win over San Diego. He now has 154 RBIs for the season.
2000 – Cub outfielder Sammy Sosa joins Mark McGwire (1997-1999) as the only major leaguer to hit 50 home runs three consecutive seasons.
1620 – The Mayflower departs Plymouth, England, with 102 Pilgrims and about 30 crew for the New World.
1830 – Oliver Wendell Holmes writes poem “Old Ironsides” as tribute to the 18th-century USS Constitution.
1893 – Cherokee Strip, Oklahoma, opens white settlement homesteaders.
1908 – Carriage maker William C. Durant founds General Motors in Flint, Michigan.
1920 – The “Wall Street bombing” occurs at 12:01 when a horse-drawn wagon explodes on Wall Street, New York, killing 38 and injuring 143.
1960 – Amos Alonzo Stagg retires as a football coach at 98 years old after a 70-year career that included his final coaching role as the kicking coach at Stockton Junior College.
1965 – British singer Davie Jones changes his stage name to “David Bowie” to avoid confusion with the Monkee of similar name.
1977 – Sire Records releases “Talking Heads: 77,” the debut studio album by the American rock band Talking Heads, featuring the single “Psycho Killer”.
1978 – American rockers the Grateful Dead perform last of three-night stand at the Giza Sound and Light Theater beside the Sphinx at the foot of the Great Pyramid in Egypt.
2023 – A massive rockslide in Greenland creates a tsunami wave in the Dickson Fjord that shakes the earth for nine days
The Detroit Tigers have been on a roll of late, notching their sixth straight win on Tuesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays with a 10-1 triumph at the Rogers Center. If this keeps up, perhaps AJ Hinch and Co. might just sneak into the playoffs — but do not get your hopes too high just yet.
In the final game of the series for the Motor City Kitties, right-hander Keider Montero will make his 25th start of the season looking to keep the streak alive. However, the 26-year-old has failed to get past the four-frame mark in his last two starts and got shelled in one, surrendering six runs over four innings to the Guardians in Cleveland, resulting in a 7-6 loss on Sept. 4 in the first game of a doubleheader.
Montero bounced back the next game against the Minnesota Twins in Detroit, allowing just a pair of runs — both on solo homers — over four innings in what turned out to be a 7-2 victory for the Olde English D.
Sound the old friend alert! Fellow righty Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays in what should be the final season of his illustrious Hall of Fame career. The heterochromatic former Tiger had his best game of the season three starts ago against the Seattle Mariners at home, tossing seven frames of one-hit, shutout ball along with 10 strikeouts for his second win of the season.
The 42-year-old’s brown eye took back over in his last two appearances, resulting in a 7.59 ERA and 5.45 FIP across 10 2/3 innings on 12 hits (two home runs) and a pair of walks while striking out five, hitting a batter and getting called for a balk.
Take a look at how the two pitchers match up as Detroit goes for its second-straight sweep and seventh-straight win.
Detroit Tigers (72-79) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (75-77)
Time (ET): 3:07 p.m. Place: Rogers Center, Toronto, Ontario SB Nation Site:Bluebird Banter Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 152: RHP Keider Montero (9-8, 3.55 ERA) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (2-8, 6.38 ERA)
Five years into the expanded, three-wild card Major League Baseball format, it’s a bit of a fallacy that any team can simply get hot and steal off with a championship.
After all, three of the four World Series titles in this era were won by division champions, and the lone wild card – the 2023 Texas Rangers – tied for the American League West title. The cream typically rises in October – and the advantages available to a division champion are real.
In this year of rampant mediocrity, though, there are some live dogs lurking below the topline across the divisions. Here’s a look at six non-division winners with the best shot to cause havoc in October – and perhaps make off with the flag-covered trophy:
6. Chicago Cubs
Good luck finding a piece of promo art for the upcoming playoffs that doesn’t have Pete Crow-Armstrong’s face plastered prominently across it. For good reason: The presumed NL MVP is an absolute wonder, closing in on a 10-WAR season and a 40-40 campaign, albeit under the looser, modern stolen base guidelines.
Yet unlike another Chicago icon and MVP, PCA won’t be able to take over these playoffs like Michael Jordan once did.
That’s not to say the man has to go it alone. Chicago’s lineup is plenty potent, and Alex Bregman’s second half resurgence (15 homers, a 1.063 OPS in 46 games since July 27) is just the latest proof he’s a truly clutch player and a legitimate difference maker.
Yet it’s the pitching that will give cause for concern. Cubs pitchers rank 26TH in the majors in strikeouts per nine innings (7.81), which means many more balls in play, inviting the postseason randomness goblins to the party. Their front four of Kevin Gausman, Shota Imanaga, Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd are all serviceable, yet in a postseason setting, it’s hard to imagine any of them getting more than 15 outs. That will be the red zone for a club that has a potentially potent back end of the bullpen thanks to Ryans Rolison and Zeferjahn and the return of Daniel Palencia.
Still, they’ll make for great theater – particularly watching PCA aim to stay disciplined as opposing pitchers are loathe to give him anything to hit.
We’ll start at the front and the back end – this club has a bona fide ace in Gavin Williams and one of the game’s greatest closers in Cade Smith. Not a bad foundation.
Naturally, filling in the rest of it is the trick and the Guardians will lean heavily on their bullpen to do so. Not a bad thing: The club’s 1.88 ERA in September led all of baseball entering this week and the big three of Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski are very playoff-seasoned.
So, too, is manager Stephen Vogt, who shines pushing buttons in October, even if he may not have all the horses his opponents enjoy. But there’s some nifty X-factors, most notably rookie lefty Parker Messick, who’s posted a 1.03 WHIP, 2.51 ERA and 5.8 WAR in 29 starts. He’s a bat-misser, unlike fellow lefty Foster Griffin, who relies on a beguiling seven-pitch mix. Can Griffin miss enough of them in October?
The Guardians are volatile, relying on rookies Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana and Angel Genao to juice a lineup that has missed Jose Ramirez’s usual production as he reocvers from a hamate injury. But they’ll be a tough out – and one of these Octobers, it will all click for them.
Do stout bullpens win championships? The Padres would love to find out.
It’s not a stretch to say that the game is over if the Padres are leading after five innings and can line up closer Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, Bradgley Rodriguez and Yuki Matsui. And thank goodness for that, as it may be charitable to call some of the Padres’ starters five-inning pitchers.
Clearly, the club will have to lean heavily on a “pitching chaos” type of scenario, with starters working out of the ‘pen and relievers coming in at unpredictive times. It is helpful that Nick Pivetta has returned from injury and can slot in behind Michael King. But trade acquisitions Robbie Ray and Casey Mize – who struck out zero in his last start – aren’t going to shut anyone down, nor is the 2026 version of Walker Buehler.
On a more positive note, the lineup has been unstoppable since the All-Star break, as Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill have all been on heaters, Merrill posting a .915 OPS and 21 extra-base hits since Aug. 1. Are they the proverbial “got hot at the right time” dark horse, or will the shortened rotations and bullpens of the postseason send them back to mediocrity?
In just four short years, these guys have gone from the wonder of a surprise World Series trip to Sisyphus, trying to push the boulder up Broad Street.
Yet you’re never out of it with good starting pitching, and that’s why Jesus Luzardo’s shoulder inflammation might be the most watched injury among all contenders. He hasn’t pitched since a 109-throw shutout against Atlanta that affirmed his status as the Phillies’ best pitcher at the moment.
Yes, even better than Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler. Unless we count Aaron Nola’s recent run of nine consecutive excellent starts has bailed them out.
Get the picture? They can pitch. Yeah, their fate will once again rely on a bullpen that can make hearts palpitate faster than anything Wawa might serve over the counter and the boom-or-bust lineup that simply needs to find it for a couple weeks.
Dangerous club – for opponents and for their tortured fans.
On paper, the Red Sox’s arms don’t run as deep as the Phillies’ nor the club ranked one spot above them. Yet start with the building blocks of a postseason team – Nos. 1-2 starters and eighth- and ninth-inning guys – and the Red Sox look very much alive.
At 36, Sonny Gray is having one of the finest seasons of his career, his 148 adjusted ERA third-best in his 14 years that includes three All-Star appearances. The Red Sox have been judicious in his usage, as he’s pitched just 156 2/3 innings (he spent two weeks on the IL with a hamstring strain). Perhaps he doesn’t miss enough bats for a No. 1 playoff starter, but another guy does.
That’d be Payton Tolle, the gruntin’ southpaw who has struck out 166 in 143 innings; the Red Sox are 15-10 in his starts.
Meanwhile, closer Aroldis Chapman and set-up man Garrett Whitlock shorten the game considerably, with Chapman holding lefties to a .278 slugging percentage with zero home runs. Lefty Erik Miller, acquired from San Francisco at the deadline, is a beast.
So start there. Will the Red Sox hit enough, particularly a bottom of the order that looks much thinner with Caleb Durbin and Jarren Duran scuffling? It’ll look livelier when Ceddanne Rafaela returns from a quad injury, but there are potential holes.
Is this the most low-key playoff run the Yankees have ever had?
They missed Aaron Judge for 75 games and shrugged through it, didn’t panic when the Tampa Bay Rays kept them at arms’ length in the East and seem wholly confident they’ll repeat their conquest of the Red Sox in the wild-card series and enter the main draw of the AL playoff field as if nothing’s happened.
Perhaps there’s something to that.
That 2025 wild-card series was Cam Schlittler’s coming-out party, and you wonder how he’ll handle the onus of definitive No. 1 starter from the jump this postseason. Gerrit Cole hasn’t been great lately. But Carlos Rodón is back and Max Fried is aiming to build back up and Will Warren looks very good as a back-end starter/long guy.
Oh, and did we mention Judge is back? Hit a home run, even.
No, this is a very good team, one that will win around 95 games and an opponent the Rays can’t be thrilled to face in their AL Division Series. Perhaps the Red Sox will do the dirty work and get them out a round earlier.
If not, there’s significant risk for the rest of the field to let these guys get hot.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W, 6-5 vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp — Scranton got just four hits, but made the most of ‘em
LF Jarred Kelenic 0-5, K RF Jasson Dominguez 0-2, 2 BB, K, SB, throwing error C J.C. Escarra 1-3, 2B, BB 2B Marco Luciano 0-2, 2 BB, SB, throwing and fielding errors DH Yanquiel Fernández 0-3, BB, K SS Oswaldo Cabrera 0-3, BB, K, SB 3B Max Schuemann 1-3, 2B, SB, HBP 1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K CF Duke Ellis 1-4, 2 RBI, 3 SB
Elmer Rodriguez 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 5 BB, 3 K — he’s had a few starts this year where he just couldn’t corral the walks Zach Messinger 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (win) Yerry De los Santos 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K (hold) Chris Kean 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR (save) — things got hairy in the ninth bet held on for the save
Low-A Tampa Tarpons: W, 4-1 vs. Jupiter Hammerheads; we’re all tied at two apiece in the best-of-three FSL Championship Series
SS Dax Kilby 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, K CF Yostin Pena 0-5, 2 K RF Wilberson De Pena 1-3, RBI, 2 BB, CS — gave the Tarpons a lead in the sixth, scoring on a passed ball 3B Anthony Potestio 0-4, BB, 2 K, throwing error 1B Tyce Armstrong 0-3, 2 BB, K C Luis Puello 3-5, 2B, 2 K LF Diego Castellanos 2-5, RBI, 2 SB DH Luke Pettitte 0-2, 3 BB, 2 K 2B Luis Escudero 1-4, 3 K
Wyatt Parliament 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K (win) Tyler Boudreau 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K (hold) Matthew Tippie 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (hold) Pedro Rodriguez 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K (hold) Greysen Carter 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (save) — struck out the final batter of the game with the tying run at the plate
Wyatt Parliament powered through 5 innings with a 1.80 ERA 🔥
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 14: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on during a game between the Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees on September 14, 2026 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As the Yankee offense wilted throughout the summer, Aaron Boone was asked repeatedly about what he would do to juice the lineup, and about when the club’s bats would turn things around. The team was pretty insistent that the offense would pull through, in spite of night after night of woeful performance, and that the recoveries of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton on the horizon promised a return to form for the lineup.
Stanton, of course, failed to even make it back to the team, but Judge and Bellinger are both back in the fold. The playoffs are in sight, with the team in possession of a clinched spot and still gunning for the AL East crown. It’s time to ask: is the Yankee offense back?
The early returns have been promising in light of Bellinger and Judge’s respective re-entries to the lineup. Judge has only been back a week or so, but the Yankees have averaged nearly six runs a game in that span with a 123 wRC+ (and that’s before they hung another eight runs on Minnesota last night). If we zoom out to Bellinger’s return, the numbers aren’t quite as robust, but still strong, with the Yankees posting a 116 wRC+ since then, sixth in baseball.
That all jives very conveniently with the team’s performance before injuries ravaged the lineup. On May 31st, the day Judge finally went down, the Yankees had a 116 wRC+, best in the American League. In 2025, they posted a 117 wRC+, tops in MLB, and in 2024, you guessed it, a 117 wRC+, once again tops in MLB. In recent years, a reasonably healthy Yankee lineup has been drawn to a wRC+ in the 115-120 range like a moth drawn to a flame, and that’s exactly what they’ve been when anywhere near healthy this year.
So, now that the offense is rolling along basically just as well as it always does, can we confidently say that we’re out of the woods? The depth of this summer’s offensive swoon casts at least a little doubt. Up and down the card, whether it was Ben Rice, Paul Goldschmidt, Austin Wells, Trent Grisham, or Jazz Chisholm Jr., nearly every Yankee bat floundered with Judge, Bellinger, and Stanton gone. You’d be forgiven for worrying that the bounceback over the last few weeks could prove to be a mirage.
But to me, the track record of this offense when not brutally injured is compelling, and the consistency is hard to ignore. That they seemingly need Judge to maintain a respectable level of offense is frustrating, but he’s here now, and the offense is humming again. Have you seen enough to declare the offense back? Is the team going to peak at the right time with October right around the corner?
This morning, with a playoff spot in hand, Josh takes the first swing at analyzing the Yankees’ potential playoff roster. Also, Madison goes through Tuesday’s AL action in today’s Rivalry Roundup, Jeremy’s entry in the Yankee Birthday series features the great Tim Raines, and later, a longtime contributor bids farewell.
ALTOONA, PA - SEPTEMBER 08: Easton Carmichael #28 of the Altoona Curve bats during the game between the Akron RubberDucks and the Altoona Curve at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Tuesday, September 8, 2026 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bryce Mosmen/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
The Pittsburgh Pirates have had issues in recent history of finding consistent play at the catcher position. However, there could be a possible catcher of the future for the Buccos playing in Altoona.
Easton Carmichael has impressed in his short stint as a professional baseball player, and his upside as a future major league contributor is what’s getting fans talking.
Carmichael was drafted in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft after a solid college career at the University of Oklahoma. Ahead of the draft he was listed in the top 100 of the top 250 draft prospects in 2025 and certainly looked like one of the best college catchers in the class. During his time as a Sooner, Carmichael was named to the Cape Cod League All-Star Game and was awarded MVP honors from the game.
In his pro debut, Carmichael was out of action because of a wrist injury, and thus only saw action in 14 games with High-A Greensboro in 2025. Carmichael would start his 2026 back with the Grasshoppers, and was a consistent performer at the plate. In 74 games with the club Carmichael would finish with a slash line of .305/.350/.518 with an .868 OPS. He also had 16 homers as a Grasshopper.
On July 24, Carmichael was promoted to Double-A Altoona where he’s still been solid, but still seems to be finding his footing in the new league. Through 37 games he’s slashed .244/.313/.412 and just four homers. He’s certainly cooled off, but in just his second season of professional baseball there’s a lot to build on.
BOOM
Easton Carmichael gets us started with his 20th homer of the season (4th with us)! pic.twitter.com/QpEuDs0up9
Carmichael will get another platform to showcase his talents as he was just assigned as one of the three catchers to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. Plenty of Pirates’ prospects over the past couple of seasons have had breakout success through the AFL, and Carmichael could very well be the next player to benefit from some playing time in the fall.
Carmichael has the attributes to become a very solid all-around catcher. He has above average athleticism for the position and has great arm strength from behind the plate. He has a disciplined approach at the plate, and with further development could be a capable power hitter as well. He has some mechanics to fine tune as far as receiving goes along with timing and glove positioning, but overall Carmichael has the makings of a very well-rounded player.
Easton Carmichael is currently ranked as the eighth-best prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 14: Austin Wells #28 and Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees celebrate clinching a playoff spot after defeating the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Monday, September 14, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Andrew Ritter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Put down the torches and pitchforks, people. The fan reaction was overwhelmingly negative to the Yankees’ champagne celebrations of clinching a postseason berth with a win over the Twins on Monday (they had technically already clinched with Toronto losing earlier). However, Aaron Judge provided a new and valuable perspective on the importance of celebrating even the small victories.
“There’s a lot of guys in this room that are going to wear this pinstripe jersey one time, and they might not have [another] opportunity to ever make it to a postseason. So you gotta celebrate that because, at the end of the day, you work your butt off in spring training and all season long to get an opportunity to go out there and win a World Series.”
To that point, eight Yankees have never made it to the postseason, including rookies George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones, trade deadline acquisitions Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos, and journeyman-turned-relief-ace Brent Headrick. However, the most poignant example is Michael Fulmer, who missed all of 2019 and 2024 to injury and contemplated retirement following his second Tommy John surgery in 2023. Fulmer soaked in the celebrations he once thought he’d never get to be a part of, but made sure to share a final point. With every hug he received, the message remained the same: “Job’s not finished.”
The Athletic | Brendan Kuty ($): Being the starting shortstop for the Yankees is one of the heaviest, most scrutinized burdens to bear in MLB, much less for a 21-year-old rookie called up midseason and handed the job. Anthony Volpe knows this better than anyone, and that’s principally because of the astronomically high bar set by a certain Derek Jeter. Now, George Lombard Jr. gets to experience the full weight of the job, but he’s not going into it unprepared.
In January, Lombard sat down for a private breakfast with Jeter and used the opportunity to pick the brain of the player perhaps more qualified than anyone to speak on what it takes to play for the Yankees. At that point, Lombard was coming off a successful half-season at High-A followed by some minor growing pains at Double-A, and was preparing to participate in major league spring training. Lombard focused his questions around the parts that the cameras don’t capture:
“I think the better questions — and the ones that are more valuable — are all the non-baseball (questions). How he approached dealing with New York. Dealing with everything that comes with it. The media. The off-the-field stuff. How, in his case, being the captain, dealing with all of those responsibilities.”
More than preparation, routine, media, and many other team-related responsibilities, the piece of advice that struck Lombard the most sounds simple: to be an authentic, stand-up human being. That impacts all facets of the game, from interactions with teammates to remaining grounded, humble, and hungry to always improve.
New York Post | Greg Joyce: Ryan Weathers is progressing in his rehab from a left forearm flexor strain suffered on August 22nd. Weathers threw his first bullpen session on Tuesday, throwing 15 pitches with the velocity sitting at 87-90, which he assured was harder than he normally throws in his bullpen sides between starts. The next step is to throw another bullpen on Friday followed by live batting practice. It’s a race against time to get fully built back up before the regular season ends Sunday after next, but Weathers has the added advantage of potentially not having to build up to a full starter’s workload if the plan is to deploy him out of the bullpen in the postseason. At the time of his injury, Weathers was 5-8 in 25 starts, with a 3.60 ERA, 3.62 FIP, and 143 strikeouts in 137.1 innings.
Sep 15, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Cade Smith (36) follow through on a pitch in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
For the second straight day (they might be on #3 by the time you read this) the White Sox went with a tried-and-true Guardian-dominating strategy: They started a left-handed relief pitcher.
But Chris Murphy was terrible. Adell & Bazzana hit b2b jacks off him and things were looking good. But as usual, the Guards did nothing against the “bulk” pitcher—one run was because he threw errantly to first base and drilled the helmeted umpire with his bouncy projectile.
The sleepy offense might have been enough, but Craig Yoho’s attempts to find the strike zone Only Lived Once and Hunter Gaddis couldn’t miss any bats.
Steve Vogt managed this game like he should have—like winning it would possibly earn him a 1st round playoff bye eventually—and got Sabrowski, Gaddis and Cade Smith in way earlier than usual. Cade was awesome and kept things close for our September and October hero Brayan Rocchio.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 15: Starter Michael Soroka #34 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches against the Miami Marlins during the fourth inning at Chase Field on September 15, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dbacks had a real opportunity tonight to ride the momentum of the late heroics from last night as well as pick up a game on the Padres and the Cubs, yet the offense sputtered again in fantastic fashion.
Michael Soroka pitched well giving the team 5 IP allowing only 1 ER while striking out 6. The bullpen also continued to be terrific tossing 5 scoreless innings. All in all Dbacks pitching allowed only 1 run to the Marlins offense tonight for 10 innings which should have been plenty to get past a team like the Marlins.
Unfortunately it would not be as this Dbacks offense perhaps slumped to its lowest low of the season not being able to score against a very mediocre Marlins pitching staff for 9 innings after a first inning solo home run from Gabi Moreno.
There were a few questionable plays in this one including a blocking of home plate which is apparently completely legal if the infield is playing in according to Torey Lovullo in the post game presser. However the reality is this game shouldn’t have had to be that close. Especially when your pitching comes out and does what they did tonight. Its really not even worth diving that deep into the game when its pretty much the same thing day in and day out, this offense cant score. They went 1-13 tonight with RISP.
Of note, Pavin Smith continues to start almost every night since he has been called back up and he went 0-3 again tonight. Lars Nootbaar, who to his credit has been pretty hot, went 0-5 with 4k’s. Same can be said for Jordan Lawlar who also has been swinging a good stick lately, went 1-5 with 4 ks including an extra miserable 11th inning at bat where the Marlins reliever threw him nothing but fastballs middle middle and Lawlar struck out.
The Dbacks will look to salvage a series win tomorrow night against the Marlins and hope that they can get another opportunity like this with another Padres loss. They will send Merrill Kelly to the mound with almost no room for error with how this team has been swinging it. Snakes Alive (barely)…
Sep 15, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) reacts after striking out during the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Two weeks from tonight, the Red Sox will likely face the Yankees for Game 1 of the Wild Card series in New York. Not only that, but assuming the Yankees are unable to chase down the Rays and then choose to stack their rotation with Cam Schlittler at the top, the Sox will be facing a power right hander on the road in a game the opponent has to win and also has a solid bullpen to lock things down.
In other words, they’ll be facing a situation rather similar to what confronted them in Texas on Tuesday night:
Jacob deGrom is a power right hander worthy of a Game 1 start, and still has a fastball that sits in the upper 90s.
The Rangers are just one game behind Houston for the AL West lead, so they need to win to keep pace.
The Texas bullpen has been strong all season, and they’ve only lost one game when leading after six innings.
So for all the red herrings that run rampant in September baseball, tonight’s pedestrian performance by the offense isn’t one of them. This is as close as you’re going to get to a practice run for the setup on September 29th, and I’m sorry to say, the Sox failed miserably!
They struck out 15 times.
They went hitless with runners in scoring position.
Not a single Sox player batting one through eight managed an extra base hit.
If you rank all 71 plate appearances in this game by leverage index, the Sox were actually at the dish for 11 of the 13 highest moments. However, they didn’t manage a single hit during any of them. Meanwhile, Texas cashed in with a Corey Seager single and an Elias Diaz double during their only two high leverage at bats of the night.
In the end, this game perfectly illustrated what I consider to be the biggest problem with this Red Sox team: As good as they are at working together as a group, and as good as they are at pounding the pulp out of subpar pitching, and as good as they are at taking advantage of cracks in an opposing bullpen, they don’t seem to have the artillery necessary to match up when the war turns nuclear.
Tonight, they faced a great starter who despite only lasting five innings managed to strike out eight. That was enough to link directly to a deep and reliable Texas bullpen, who shut things down the rest of the way from there. This tenacity without thump routine scares the hell out of me because this is exactly how I fear a trip to Yankee Stadium might go at the end of September.
The Sox spend the whole night needing just one or two big hits, but the one that truly matters never comes, and we wait forever for a ship that doesn’t come in. The opponent bridges a power starter to a potent bullpen, and the Sox just don’t have an answer. They certainly didn’t when the Rangers used that formula tonight.
Studs
Nick Sogard: For all the lousy results at the plate in this game, Sogard was the exception. His third inning homer knocked in both Boston runs, and he then later added both a sac bunt and this tremendous double play on defense to end the Texas fifth:
The bullpen: Brayan Bello, Alec Gamboa, Wyatt Olds and Jovani Moran combined to go 5.1 scoreless innings and give the Sox a chance to come back. Unfortunately, the bats stayed silent.
Duds
Wilyer Abreu: Looked totally overmatched in this game. 0-4 with three strikeouts.
Andruw Monasterio: Pinch hit with the platoon advantage and the bases loaded in the eighth inning. He struck out on 97mph heat, ending the last best chance for the Sox on the night.
Patrick Sandoval: This one is obvious, and in a game earlier in the season he’d be the No. 1 dud for this dreadful performance in which he gave up four runs in just 2.2 innings. But let’s face it, this guy isn’t going to sniff a meaningful inning in October unless he somehow sneaks into the absolute last spot on the pitching staff and a game goes about 17 innings. So while he stunk again, and he’s a frustrating watch, and that 44 pitch second inning was a complete debacle, nothing he did here is a threat to carry over into the playoffs.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the offense.
Play of the game:
This play is worth noting because not only did it result in what turned out to be the winning runs, but it also underscored why many fans find themselves holding their breath every time a ball is hit towards Trevor Story nowadays.
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 15: John Peck #18 of the Detroit Tigers throws to first base to get Myles Straw #3 of the Toronto Blue Jays out in the eighth inning during a game at Rogers Centre on September 15, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tigers 10 Blue Jays 1
That was less than fun.
We’ve done well on bullpen days, but the problem with bullpen days is if it doesn’t go to plan, you can’t really change on the fly. If a pitcher is having a bad day, you really have to use him anyway. Especially if it is the ‘bulk guy’. You can’t have nine guys pitch an inning each, someone has to give you at least a couple of innings, but preferably more.
Today, Michael Lorenzen was to be the bulk guy but he was hit hard. But the team couldn’t take him out after just two outs. Lorenzen got two quick outs, getting a strikeout and a ground out. All looked good. Then he lost the zone. Two walks. And then a double. Then a home run. Four runs came up very quickly. He gave up one more run in the fifth.
Other than that Mrs Lincoln, how was the show?
Well, Braydon Fisher got the first four outs, Brendan Cellucci got the next five (he looked terrific). All the Braydons, Brendans, Brendons remind me of when my kids played hockey, I could swear there were 20 kids and four names total.
Spencer Arrighetti gave up 2 unearned runs helped along by catcher’s interference and a throwing error, both by Kirk in his two innings. Since Lorenzen couldn’t give us more than two innings, Arrighetti was needed to pitch too (and he is supposed to start or be bulk guy on Friday. Joe Mantiply gave up two more runs in the ninth.
I’d imagine there will be a pitcher move or two tomorrow.
Offensively, we didn’t do much, just 6 singles total. Amazingly we got a run out of that. As much as Lorenzen was terrible, we weren’t going to win with just one run scored.
An=bout the only good moment was an amazing play by Ernie Clement at second base, a diving stop, popup and throw.
Jay of the Day: Let’s give one to Cellucci (0.08 WPA) and Fisher (0.07).
Other Award: Lorenzen (-0.39) and Kirk (-0.10)
Tomorrow is a 3:00 Eastern start. Max Scherzer (2-8, 6.38) vs Keider Montero (9-8, 3.55). A win would be nice. Or at least a good effort.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 15: Bryce Eldridge #8 of the San Francisco Giants points to the dugout after hitting an RBI double against the St. Louis Cardinals in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium on September 15, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Have you ever had to fire someone?
I haven’t. I’ve yet to climb the employment ladder high enough to where someone else’s paycheck is in my hands, which is bad news for my bank account and great news for my constitution. I’m not sure I have it in me.
Once, for about 45 seconds, I harbored dreams of working in a professional sports front office, as it seemed the closest I would ever get to seeing my childhood athletic dreams materialized. Then I watched Moneyball, and saw Brad Pitt’s character teach Jonah Hill how to cut players and that dream ended on the spot. I’m not made for that job.
Buster Posey, we can conclude, is comfortable firing people, trading people, and cutting people. It comes with the job, but we knew it before he was named president of baseball operations of the San Francisco Giants. I would shake plum out of my cleats if asked to stand in against the slowest changeup in the Majors, yet Posey repeatedly stared down the barrel of triple-digit fastballs; were I to play in the pros, I would have retired on the spot after getting hit by a pitch, but Posey took them — and much worse — in stride.
That Posey has a stronger constitution than I do is hardly news. We’ve known it for nearly two decades.
Which is good, because Posey — or the Jonah Hills that he delegates to — have a lot of difficult conversations to have in about two weeks. The Giants have an almost unfathomable 16 players on the 60-man roster, a number that is compounded by the fact that they have just one impending free agent (J.T. Brubaker).
Pull out your TI 84, beep and boop a few numbers in, and you’re left with this: the Giants need to clear 15 players when the season ends just to get back to 40. By the time you factor in opening space for Rule 5 protections, free agents, and hell, maybe even a waiver claim of their own, and that number will comfortably be in the 20s.
Those aren’t fun conversations to have, but they are ones that are, as regulated by the CBA, mandatory. And they’re conversations that will, at some level, be informed by what happens over the final two weeks of the season.
And really, that’s what’s left to watch. The Giants roster right now is teeming with people who will be waiting anxiously to be tapped on the shoulder when they arrive at the ballpark at the conclusion of the season to pack up their gear. Those players are auditioning for their futures, and while one shouldn’t exactly find glee in watching someone dance for their life, it does offer some interesting storylines to follow.
Many of those players shined on Tuesday, as the Giants broke a four-game losing streak with a lopsided 10-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
There was shortstop Christian Koss, for instance, desperate to stick around as the backup infielder. He had a three-hit night, which featured perhaps the defining moment of the game. With two on and two out in the third, Koss came to bat with the Giants leading 5-1. That four-run advantage so early hung right in the perilous sweet spot: small enough to seemingly guarantee a bullpen implosion, and large enough to ensure it would hurt.
Koss jumped on an Andre Pallante sinker and inside-outed it down the line, seemingly tucking it right inside the bag for a double. To the great horror of everyone wearing a Giants jersey, the first base umpire — who had to jump to avoid being castrated by the baseball and, as such, probably didn’t have the best view — called the ball foul, with no help from the home plate umpire to get the call correct.
And yet, two pitches later, again facing a Pallante single, Koss again inside-outed it down the line, scoring both runs and giving you the feeling that the Giants would, in fact, win the game.
And then there was second baseman and third baseman Osleivis Basabe, also hoping to avoid the chopping block and stay on as a backup infielder. He squandered a pair of runner-on-third, less-than-two-outs situations in the opening innings, only to make up for it in the fourth with a two-out RBI single.
Left fielder Turner Hill seems likely to have his spot secured through the winter, but difficult decisions will need to be made, good players will need to be cut, and Hill entered the game on quite a slump, as he seeks to seperate himself from the roughly three trillion other outfielders vying for spots on next year’s roster.
As if to stamp his case, Hill wasted no time impacting this game, and wasted no opportunity, either. In the first inning, after Basabe had failed in a situational at-bat, Hill picked up his teammate with a two-out RBI single.
In the third inning, again after Basabe had failed in a situational at-bat, Hill found the right part of the infield for a productive, run-scoring out.
And in the ninth inning? With the game already decided and the team already loose and happy, Turner realized it was the perfect time for his first career home run.
Along the way, he snuck in not one, not two, but three leaping catches in the outfield.
While those players are battling not just for spots on next year’s active roster, but for spots on the 40-man roster through the winter, some players have more secure spots.
Blade Tidwell is one such player, as his performance this year has certainly guaranteed that, barring a trade, he’ll be employed by the organization come March, be it as a Major League starter, a Major League reliever, or a Minor Leaguer.
He was sensational.
The third batter he faced, Alec Burleson, smoked a monstrous home run, but other than that, the Cardinals wanted no part of the Giants youngster. He pounded the strike zone, throwing 62 of 95 pitches for strikes. He challenged repeatedly, walking just one of the 25 batters he faced, while trusting his stuff in every count. He kept hitters off balance, changing velocities, bouncing between pitches and movements and locations, and allowing just three hits all game.
In all, Tidwell went 6.2 strong innings, struck out four batters, gave up just two runs, and earned his first win in a Giants jersey.
One other such player is Bryce Eldridge. He may be the youngest player on the roster, but with so many veterans injured, he somehow feels like the elder statesman of the lineup. And with Rafael Devers sidelined, there can be no denying Eldridge’s crown as the best hitter on the team, by a wide margin.
But, if you had any doubts about that, Eldridge immediately put them to rest. On just the eighth pitch of the game, Eldridge — with Drew Gilbert on first, no outs, and a 2-1 count — put the kind of charge into a baseball that very, very, very few humans can.
It was the 17th home run of his rookie season, and it traveled further than any other ball at Busch Stadium has this year: 461 feet.
Eldridge would add a fourth-inning walk to jumpstart a rally, and an eighth-inning double to score a run, and all the while he made one thing clear: he is now, as much as Logan Webb is, the face of the franchise. He is the player to build around.
And in a season where all else has gone to hell, he is the player worth being excited about.
