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Here we go, folks! The Atlanta Braves went up to Philadelphia and got a split in a four-game series against the Phillies last week and now they’ll have to hold serve against this same Philadelphia team a week later if they want to ensure that their hold on the NL East lead is as sturdy as possible as the calendar begins to wind down. Will Chris Sale continue to come up big for the Braves? Can Atlanta figure out a way to do some damage against Aaron Nola? Hopefully we’ll be talking about a win for the Braves once the night is over!
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Shohei Ohtani was officially placed on the injured list on Friday.
After months of speculation surrounding a plaguing biceps and knee injury, the Dodgers conceded their two-way player isn’t 100%. The California Post’s Dylan Hernandez and Jack Harris discussed the seriousness of Ohtani’s absence with the former stating there’s a possibility the four-time MVP completely misses the playoffs.
“He’s done for the season,” Hernandez said on The Dodgers Post. “[The Dodgers] are just pretending he’s not. He’s done for like all intents and purposes.”
Ohtani hasn’t made a pitching start for the Dodgers since July 3 and has been completely shut down as a hurler. For months now, the two-way star has dealt with multiple injuries that have evidently affected his performance in the batter’s box as well.
Ohtani is just 6-for-52 since late August. That is not a typo.
And so, does Hernandez really believe Ohtani won’t return in 2026?
“I think there’s a decent chance that he won’t. I think that even if he does come back — you’re counting on like a Kirk Gibson type moment…” Hernandez told Harris, who was much more optimistic about Ohtani’s looming return.
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“I think it’s possible he doesn’t play in the regular season,” Harris said. “There’s no chance he’s not going to play in the playoffs.”
The Dodgers have been extra cautious with a number of their star players as they nurse injuries throughout the regular season. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are prime examples of the Dodgers’ decision to limit their stars in the regular season in order to be fully healthy in October.
But a different approach was taken with Shohei Ohtani. Whether that was the right choice by the Dodgers remains to be seen.
“With every other player, their MO is to be cautious, is to shut them down, is to play for October. And the fact that they couldn’t do that with the most important player on their team is a failing either of the way they manage him, of the way the two sides work together,” Harris said.
The back-to-back World Series champions have seemingly sustained a self-inflicted wound by their mismanagement of Ohtani. Despite his ongoing struggles at the plate, the Dodgers were reluctant to admit anything was wrong with their two-way star.
Hernandez gave fans a piece of advice as the next few weeks unfold.
“The Dodgers have proven themselves to be horrible sources of information regarding Ohtani,” Hernandez said.
“So, don’t listen to anything that they say. Use your eyes.”
We are starting a series with the Blue Jays tonight.
The team says Dylan Cease won’t be starting tomorrow, they will hold him back until Sunday. It will be some sort of bullpen day with Arrighetti being the bulk guy or starter.
The recap is likely to be late tonight, we are going out for my middle boy’s birthday and then coming back here for dessert.
No Rudy Martin in today’s lineup. I was wondering why Yohendrick Piñango wasn’t the choice, but I see that he’s having a hard time of it in September.
Go Jays Go
The only team Seth Lugo has a worse career ERA (min. three appearances) against than tonight’s opponent, the Boston Red Sox, are the Cleveland Guardians. And considering how poorly Lugo has pitched since the All-Star Break and how often the Red Sox get to him, it doesn’t take much imagination at all to see his ERA of 5.61 against them going higher than the 5.88 he has against the Guardians.
Add in that the only AL team the Royals have performed worse against in the past 3 years are the New York Yankees. Then slap some “Sonny Gray has dominated the Royals with a 10-2 record and a 1.74 ERA in 14 career starts” on top, and tonight’s game seems ripe for disaster for the good guys.
Honestly, I don’t think I have anything more to say about the pitching matchup.
We are coming down to the end of this thing. The Orioles still have a remote possibility of doing something fun, a decent possibility of doing something moderately interesting, and also a decent possibility of the wheels just coming off the wagon, like you tried to ford that shallow river in Oregon Trail and all that happened is you got stuck in the muddy water so you lost who knows how many days of travel while you tried to fix things, and winter is coming and you’re running out of food, and the next person who plays the game is going to find your tombstone.
Sorry, where was I? There are 15 games left in the 2026 Orioles season. They probably need to go 12-3 over those 15 games. Maybe, if they’re lucky, they can get away with 11-4. Which is to say that they have fewer than one hand’s fingers worth of games that they can lose for the remainder of the season. Six of those games will be played against the Blue Jays, starting with this three-game series that begins tonight.
That’s part of what gives the Orioles some slim hope, because that gives them the opportunity to pull back games directly against one of the three teams that they need to pass to get into the last AL wild card spot. If they are able to go 4-2 against Toronto, they take back the two games deficit to the Jays and they get the head-to-head tiebreaker. That might not be good enough; there’s still the Guardians and Rangers to consider. Maybe they need 5-1, in which case, if they lose tonight, they’re really screwed and needing to run the table here.
It’s improbable! It’s not impossible. All they have to do is play as good as they have played for short amounts of this season, and then do that for two and a half weeks instead of doing it for three games before taking a trip back to Stinkville.
The Orioles were late putting out a starting lineup, much to this writer’s mild annoyance. That’s almost certainly because they were waiting as long as possible to figure out whether Gunnar Henderson would be able to play. It seems that he can. Or perhaps to be more accurate, I should say that he has convinced the team he is well enough to be in the starting lineup. They may not have taken much convincing.
Chris Bassitt is the starting pitcher for the Orioles. He has a 4.34 ERA since returning from the injured list on August 14. Nobody would celebrate the signing if that was his season-long performance, but there would probably be less lament about it.
Max Scherzer, who is 42 years old, is the Toronto starting pitcher for this game. Prepare for hearing about how it’s two old guys starting against one another, even moreso than when it was Bassitt and Sonny Gray in one of those Orioles-Red Sox games last weekend.
Today, of course, is the anniversary of an event that means so much more than baseball. Twenty-five years ago, the September 11th attacks rocked the US, especially in New York. There are commemorations of all sort taking place around the country today. While the tragedy of that day in 2001 means more than baseball, in New York, the two baseball teams will honor the day in their own way: playing baseball. Starting tonight, the Subway Series is back for a weekend set, beginning on the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
To go to the baseball for a minute, Carlos Rodón will get the start for the Yankees in this one. For the season, Rodón’s numbers are generally pretty good, but his habit of taking a little too long to put away batters tends to prevent him from going long. While the Yankees didn’t have to use too many crucial arms, the bullpen did have to pitch a decent amount of innings yesterday, so they could use a good day from Rodón.
As for the rest of the lineup, Aaron Judge is back after getting last night off, while Anthony Volpe is at second again after his five RBI performance.
For the Mets, Nolan McLean will take the mound. He’s been really good for them, posting a 3.06 ERA in 161.2 innings. Across his last dozen starts, the rookie has been even better, with an even lower ERA of 1.87.
Here’s everything to know on how to catch tonight’s action, and we hope you’ll come join us in the game thread.
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium — The Bronx, NY
First pitch: 7:05 pm ET
TV broadcast: YES, WPIX
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App 92.3 HD2 (NYM)
Online stream: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)
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Time/Place: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site:Purple Row
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Framber Valdez (9-10, 4.17 ERA) vs. RHP Mason Adams (0-0, 3.95 ERA)
| Player | G | IP | K% | BB% | GB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valdez | 28 | 157.2 | 17.3 | 8.4 | 55.4 | 4.19 | 1.7 |
| Adams | 3 | 13.2 | 28.8 | 10.2 | 36.1 | 5.73 | 0.0 |
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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked fans which area of the team was most concerning as the Brewers near another playoff run. The results showed two clear frontrunners among the three options:
With 126 votes in total, the team’s starting pitching garnered 52% of the vote, closely followed by 45% for the offense and just 3% for the bullpen. Given the split between the starting rotation and the offense, I’ll touch on both.
One quick disclaimer, though: Even if these are areas of concern, the Brewers still rank among the league’s best in both areas. Entering this weekend’s series against the Reds, the offense ranks top five in the majors in OPS (.739), runs scored (742), and steals (143). On the mound, the team ranks second in team ERA (3.56) and strikeouts (1,406), including a 3.63 starting ERA (fifth) and 839 strikeouts by starters (second).
Offensively, the biggest concern is probably a lack of a big bat — think players like Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper for the Phillies, or Pete Crow-Armstrong for the Cubs. Milwaukee does have a bunch of solid offensive players who, altogether, have made the Crew one of the best offenses in baseball with a balanced, small-ball approach. But they don’t hit a lot of homers — they rank last in the league with just 137 this season, far behind some of their NL competition in the Cubs (204), Braves (183), Dodgers (180), and Phillies (173). That usually doesn’t bode well for teams trying to win the World Series, as Paul explored earlier this season.
The offense also has a tendency to suddenly go completely quiet. We learned that the hard way in last year’s postseason, when the offense scored just four runs in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in the NLCS.
For the starting rotation, there are two clear stars at the top — Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson — but a whole lot of question marks behind them. Kyle Harrison had a fantastic start to the season but has been roughed up several times this year, including in each of his last two outings against the Cubs and Reds. Dustin May looked solid out of the trade deadline but hasn’t looked great in his last few outings. Shane Drohan and Robert Gasser often deal with a lot of traffic on the basepaths and don’t strike out a ton of guys.
How will Pat Murphy and Co. address these issues? Only time will tell, but I have faith in the two-time reigning NL Manager of the Year. And if you don’t think the Brewers have what it takes to make the World Series, well, a lot of other people do. In one of this week’s national Reacts surveys, they asked: “Who will win the NL pennant?” The Brewers led the voting with 37%, outpacing the two-time reigning champion Dodgers (33%), Cubs (13%), Braves (7%), Phillies (6%), and D-backs/Padres (3%).
Think the Brewers can win the NL pennant for just the second time ever and the first time since 1982? Think they can claim their first World Series ever? Be sure to check out FanDuel Sportsbook for all your betting needs, where the Brewers currently have +600 odds to win the championship.
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The Nats have been a chore to watch the last month and a half. We really saw that on display during an 0-6 west coast trip. Many of the games were close, but the Nats consistently found ways to lose. That is just what they have been doing lately. Hopefully that can change at home against the Angels.
With a lefty on the mound, Daylen Lile is actually out of the lineup. The outfield will be Dylan Crews, Jacob Young and James Wood. Andres Chaparro will get the DH duties, with Yohandy Morales at first base. With Nasim Nunez on the bereavement list, CJ Abrams will be at shortstop. Harry Ford will do the catching in this one. Nats ace Cade Cavalli will look to snap the losing streak.
The Angels have a couple big names at the top of the lineup with Zach Neto and Mike Trout. There are a lot of younger players and journeymen after that though. Wade Meckler has been the most productive of that group and he will be a bat to watch. Veteran lefty Yusei Kikuchi is on the hill tonight.
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Game Info:
Stadium: Nationals Park
Time: 6:45 PM EST
TV: Nationals.TV
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
With Cavalli going up against the Angels, the Nats have to be looking at this as a game that needs to be won. The losing streak is starting to really drag on. Back at Nats Park, the boys have a chance to snap this ugly streak. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
Josue De Paula makes his major league debut on Friday night for the Dodgers against the Marlins at loanDepot Park in Miami. De Paula is the designated hitter, as expected, and bats seventh in his first game in the big leagues.
Right-hander Ryan Gusto starts on the mound for the Marlins. The lefty-hitting De Paula this season in Double-A Tulsa hit .314/.416/.600 against right-handed pitching this season, compared to .267/.351/.371 against southpaws.
At 21 years, 110 days old on Friday, De Paula is the youngest Dodgers player since Alex Verdugo on September 2, 2017, playing center field in both games of a doubleheader at Petco Park in San Diego on his second day in the majors. In the 2000s, De Paula is just the eighth Dodgers player 21 years, 110 days old or younger, along with Adrian Beltré (2000), Edwin Jackson (2003-04), Jonathan Broxton (2005), Clayton Kershaw (2008-09), José Peraza (2015), Julio Urías (2016-17), and Verdugo (2017).
De Paula is the youngest Dodgers player to bat seventh since Beltré on July 13, 2000.
De Paula is the fifth different Dodgers player to make a major league debut in Miami. The most memorable was Eric Gagné, who pitched six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts on September 7, 1999. Hopes were high for Gagné, who was a starter for two more seasons before getting Cy Young Award votes in three straight 82 1/3-inning campaigns.
Like De Paula, Gagné 27 years ago was the top Dodgers prospect at the time of his call-up, and joined the majors directly from Double-A.
“I’ve seen a lot of good pitchers break into the big leagues, and this [performance] was right up there at the top,” Dodgers manager Davey Johnson told Jason Reid of the Los Angeles Times. “He showed three quality pitches and he really had no problems. Just a real impressive performance. Real impressive.”
Gagné debuted in Pro Player Stadium, which was also the home of the Miami Dolphins, a stadium that is currently called Hard Rock Stadium. That building was called Joe Robbie Stadium on opening day four years earlier, on April 25, 1995 when the first two Dodgers Miami debuters played their first major league game.
Todd Hollandsworth took over in left field for Billy Ashley in the sixth inning, and grounded out to second base to end the seventh inning.
Antonio Osuna entered in the seventh inning with an 8-2 lead. He allowed a solo home run in the eighth inning and got two more outs in the ninth inning, coming one out shy of being the first Dodgers pitcher to record a three-inning save in his major league debut – Osuna would have been the eighth major league pitcher to do so – but had a rough final frame, allowing four runs as the Dodgers held on to win 8-7.
“I tell you one thing,” Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda told Bob Nightengale of the Los Angeles Times, “it kept me praying. That ninth inning scared the hell out of me.”
The last Dodger to debut in Miami came at loanDepot Park on July 6, 2021. Jake Reed relieved Tony Gonsolin and got the final two outs of the sixth inning, and allowed two singles, a double, and intentional walk, though the second single was originally scored an error on shortstop Gavin Lux before getting changed to a hit. Reed allowed one run, but left the bases loaded thanks to a lineout by Jorge Alfaro to second baseman Chris Taylor.
⚾️ First Pitch: 7:10pm EDT – Fenway Park, Boston, MA
📺 TV: NESN
📻 Radio: WEEI
Feel better now?
The Cubs spotted the Pirates a first-inning lead and then brought out the big bats against a bullpen game for the visitors.
Regardless, those bats provided 16 hits. Alex Bregman homered and had three hits and Seiya Suzuki added three, including a triple, and the Cubs won a laugher, 12-2, likely something the whole team badly needed.
Things did not start well for Shōta Imanaga, who allowed a leadoff triple to Konnor Griffin and RBI single to Oneil Cruz and the Pirates had a 1-0 lead after just two batters. But Imanaga settled down, helped out by Carson Kelly throwing out Cruz trying to steal [VIDEO].
Thus it was still 1-0 entering the bottom of the second when the Cubs began hitting.
Bregman led off with a single and advanced to second on a single by Ian Happ. Nico Hoerner also singled, loading the bases.
Michael Conforto hit this fly ball into the seats that went for a sac fly [VIDEO].
Pedro Ramirez hit into a force play, with Happ taking third. Both runners scored on this double by Kelly [VIDEO].
So it’s 3-1 Cubs heading to the bottom of the third and the Cubs kept hitting. Seiya Suzuki led off with a single and scored on this double by Michael Busch [VIDEO].
After a popup by Bregman, Happ walked, and this fielder’s choice by Nico made it 5-1 [VIDEO].
The five runs produced this fact from BCB’s JohnW53:
This was the 80th game of the season in which the Cubs have scored at least five runs. One more such game means they will have done it in at least half of all their games for the year.
The Cubs last had more such games in 2019, with 82. From 2021-25, they had 65, 56, 78, 73 and 72.
This is the 11th season since 1901 in which they have reached 80 and the fourth this century. They had 84 in 2016 and 87 in 2008, their third most ever.
Their record is 104, in 1930, then 94, in 1929.
But the offense didn’t stop there. Four more Cubs runs crossed the plate in the fourth. Kelly was hit by a pitch and Pete Crow-Armstrong walked. This single by Suzuki made it 6-1 [VIDEO].
PCA took third on that hit. Busch popped a ball into short center that was caught by Griffin, but when he fell over, PCA alertly scored [VIDEO].
And that was followed by Bregman’s 25th homer of the year into the basket [VIDEO].
That made it 9-1, and if the rout hadn’t been on before, it certainly was now.
Imanaga completed six innings and, well, did allow a home run leading off the sixth. That made this game the first time Imanaga had ever allowed two runs to the Pirates, as he’d allowed them one run total in 38 career innings before today. Can’t be too upset about a six-inning, five-hit, two-run start, though. From John:
Shota Imanaga now has 13 quality starts among his 29 of all kinds this season. Matthew Boyd is a distant second among Cubs, with eight, followed by Colin Rea, six. Eight others have one to four.
The Cubs began today with 49, exactly one of every three games, tying them with the Cardinals and Rangers for 16th most, one behind the Angels and Brewers. The Dodgers led by far, with 77 to the Phillies’ runner-up 68.
Here’s more on Imanaga’s outing [VIDEO].
The Cubs increased their lead in the bottom of the sixth. Suzuki’s triple began things, and he scored on a single by Busch. Here are both hits [VIDEO].
Bregman followed with his third hit of the game, a double, with Busch stopping at third. Busch then scored on this sac fly by Tyrone Taylor [VIDEO].
That made it 11-1. Javier Assad relieved Imanaga and allowed an infield hit leading off the seventh but got out of it scoreless, and then the Cubs completed their scoring in the bottom of the inning. Ramirez led off with a double and went to third on a single by Kelly.
PCA drove in Ramirez with a single, giving him 98 RBI for the year [VIDEO].
Daniel Palencia, who’s had a rough time since returning from the IL, was given a low-leverage eighth inning. He issued a one-out walk but got out of the inning scoreless. His velocity did still seem down a tick or two and the Pirates did hit the ball in the air. I suspect Palencia still is not 100 percent.
The Pirates could have opted for a position player to throw the eighth and instead kept Antwone Kelly (not to be confused with Antoine Kelly, who pitched briefly for the Cubs earlier this year) in the game. He threw a 1-2-3 eighth and thus it was left to Trent Thornton to wrap things up. He allowed a leadoff single but retired the next three Pirates, finishing the inning on just seven pitches. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].
This win ought to let you exhale, a bit, after the Cubs lost four in a row, three of them in excruciating fashion in Milwaukee. There’s still work to do, of course. We’ll all be watching the Braves/Phillies game this evening, which features Chris Sale for Atlanta and Aaron Nola for Philadelphia. That game begins at 6:15 CT.
Saturday, the Cubs will send Clay Holmes to the mound to face Pirates ace Paul Skenes. The Cubs, as you know, have handled Skenes pretty well in the past, so hopefully that will happen again. Game time Saturday is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
The Phillies begin a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Field on Friday night. The teams split a four-game series in Philadelphia last weekend.
Aaron Nola will start for the Phillies. When he faced the Braves last weekend, he allowed just one run in seven innings.
Chris Sale will be the Braves’ starter. He gave up two runs in six innings when he faced the Phillies last weekend.
Game time is 7:15 PM Eastern and will be televised locally on NBCSP.
Those little-town blues didn’t start melting away, and the Colorado Rockies (55-91) didn’t get a fresh start in old New York, getting swept in three games and inching closer to another 100-loss season. Now, they are in Detroit to kick off a weekend series against the Tigers (67-79).
It’s been a middling season for the Tigers as they hoped to be in the thick of the playoff race in the American League Central. However, after a dismal May where they posted a 6-22 record, they haven’t been able to gain ground behind the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians, currently sitting fourth in the division. The pitching has kept them competitive most nights, but the overall offensive lineup has lacked some depth and consistency. Still, there is plenty of pop in the lineup, and rookie Kevin McGonigle is a strong candidate to earn AL Rookie of the Year honors.
Rookie starter Mason Adams (0-0, 3.95 ERA) will take the hill for the Rockies. There has been plenty to like about Adams through his first three starts in the big leagues, allowing six runs on 16 hits over 13.2 innings. As advertised, Adams is generating plenty of strikeouts with 17 so far while allowing six walks. He is throwing strikes 67% of the time, which is a positive sign; now he just has to work on the efficiency of his pitches. In his last start, Adams worked 4.2 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, allowing three runs on eight hits, including two home runs. He did manage seven strikeouts against one walk. The Rockies have kept him limited with his pitch count, as the 78 pitches were the most he’s thrown so far. The limit makes it more paramount that he be quick and efficient to save the bullpen as much as possible.
The Tigers will send out veteran left-hander Framber Valdez (9-10, 4.17 ERA). While the ERA has been higher than usual this season, Valdez is still just as dangerous as he was in Houston. Valdez represents the veteran anchor for the Tigers’ staff, especially after Tarik Skubal was traded to Los Angeles. The command has wavered at times this season, and the strikeouts have fluctuated from start to start, but Valdez is sturdy and can still throw out excellent starts. In his last outing, he fired seven shutout innings against the Guardians, giving up just three hits. He’s been an absolute menace against the Rockies, posting a 1.40 ERA in 25.2 innings over four starts. In that span, he has 24 strikeouts against seven walks. His last start against Colorado came in 2025, when he fired seven shutout innings.
First pitch: 4:40 p.m. MDT
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)
Tigers SB Nation: Bless You Boys
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