Category: Baseball

For the second time in less than two weeks, the Brewers are set to face off with the Cubs. The two squads split a four-game set at Wrigley last week, and Milwaukee will play host for three games this week, the final regular-season showdown between the teams this year. Milwaukee is 6-4 against Chicago this season, though just 1-2 at home.

Since their last matchup, the Brewers dropped two of three to the Reds in Cincinnati, while the Cubs took two of three from the Marlins in Miami.

No big injury or roster updates on either side, though Chicago outfielder Ian Happ is considered day-to-day with left knee discomfort, and pitcher Javier Assad was recalled from Triple-A to replace Tyler Ferguson, who was optioned. Milwaukee’s lone roster move is a waiver move, as Joel Kuhnel, who was DFA’d last week, was claimed by the Giants on Friday.

Just to remind you of what these two teams bring to the table offensively and on the mound, here’s a quick rundown of both squads.

Milwaukee is hitting .256/.339/.400 (.739 OPS ranks fifth), with 133 homers (last), 726 runs scored (third), and 140 steals (tied for fourth). The Cubs are hitting .252/.340/.431 (.771 OPS ranks first), with 201 homers (first), 768 runs scored (first), and 102 steals (10th). Two high-scoring offenses, two very different ways of doing it.

On the mound, Milwaukee ranks second in the majors with a 3.54 team ERA, including a 3.69 starter ERA (fifth) and a 3.36 bullpen ERA (fourth). They’ve struck out 1,379 batters (second) over 1,284 2/3 innings. Chicago ranks 19th with a 4.21 team ERA, including a 4.37 starter ERA (19th) and a 3.99 bullpen ERA (13th). They’ve struck out 1,111 batters (26th) over 1,286 2/3 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Monday, September 7 @ 1:10 p.m.: LHP Robert Gasser (4-5, 4.57 ERA, 4.37 FIP) vs. LHP Matthew Boyd (8-3, 4.05 ERA, 4.57 FIP)

We’ll get to see three pitching rematches from last week’s four-game set. First up is Gasser vs. Boyd. Gasser is 4-5 with a 4.57 ERA and 4.37 FIP this season, striking out 82 batters over 86 2/3 innings. He took a no-decision in what was a pretty “meh” game against Chicago last week, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and a pair of walks, striking out four in Milwaukee’s eventual 9-4 victory. For his career, he’s totaled 10 1/3 innings against Chicago, with a 1.74 ERA and 11 strikeouts.

Boyd, who is 8-3 with a 4.05 ERA, 4.57 FIP, and 79 strikeouts across 102 1/3 innings this year, took a no-decision last week against Gasser and the Crew, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out three over 5 1/3 innings before his bullpen faltered late. Boyd has made six career starts against Milwaukee, with a 2-2 record, 8.26 ERA, and 22 strikeouts over 28 1/3 innings.

Tuesday, September 8 @ 6:40 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (14-5, 1.97 ERA, 2.27 FIP) vs. LHP David Peterson (7-8, 5.39 ERA, 4.17 FIP)

Misiorowski, still the NL Cy Young favorite, is coming off his worst start of the year against Chicago, as he allowed five runs on five hits and four walks, striking out five over just four innings as the Cubs got to him early and often. Even so, the right-hander has a sub-2.00 ERA and leads the league with 227 strikeouts and a 0.794 WHIP. For his career, Miz is 2-1 against Chicago, with a 4.13 ERA and 33 strikeouts over 24 innings.

Peterson, who has turned his season around quite a bit with the Cubs after struggling early with the Mets, is 7-8 this year, with a 5.39 ERA and 4.17 FIP over 28 appearances (19 starts) between the two teams. He took the loss against Miz and the Brewers last week, allowing six runs on seven hits and four walks, striking out four over just 3 2/3 innings. Prior to that one, though, he had plenty of success against Milwaukee, winning four consecutive starts over the last four seasons, allowing just four runs (three earned) and striking out 19 over 25 1/3 innings.

Wednesday, September 9 @ 6:40 p.m.: RHP Logan Henderson (9-3, 2.48 ERA, 3.28 FIP) vs. RHP Kevin Gausman (9-11, 4.38 ERA, 3.58 FIP)

Despite having the best start of last week’s series against the Cubs, Henderson got pinned with a loss as he was outdueled by Kevin Gausman in Thursday’s series finale. Henderson went seven solid frames, allowing just two runs (on a two-run homer by Pete Crow-Armstrong) on three hits and no walks, striking out seven in Milwaukee’s 2-1 loss. Henderson is quickly turning into a clear No. 2 behind Miz for the postseason, as he’s now 9-3 with a 2.48 ERA, 3.28 FIP, and 93 strikeouts across 83 1/3 innings this year. This is Henderson’s second career start against Chicago.

Gausman is 4-1 with the Cubs across his six starts since being acquired at the deadline, with a 4.37 ERA, 3.84 FIP, and 38 strikeouts over 35 innings. He had one of his better outings since joining Chicago last time out, allowing just one run over seven innings on five hits (a solo homer by Andrew Vaughn) and a walk, striking out nine in the victory. Gausman has now made nine appearances (seven starts) against Milwaukee, with a sterling 1.89 ERA and 55 strikeouts over 47 2/3 innings.

How to Watch & Listen

Monday, September 7: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Tuesday, September 8: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Wednesday, September 9: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

The Brewers and Cubs looked very evenly matched last week, and I’d expect the same thing to happen this time around. I’ll take the Crew to win two of three with home-field advantage.

Game Summary

The Cardinals, down by four, exploded for six runs. Led by Nolan Gorman’s 3-run blast, offense was found up and down the line-up. Kyle Leahy started out sharp, but finished with a thud, giving up 3-run HR on his last pitch.

Cooper Hjetpe’s MLB debut was very promising. 4 no-hit innings with 6 K will do that. Ultimately, the Cardinals scored a lot of runs and won two of three. Could be worse.

Pre-game notes

• Greetings from Denver, Colorado. It will be warm! day today.
• Leahy goes for the Cardinals. Expecting Hjerpe to follow.
• Gordon for the Rockies. He seems to be their new hope.
• Same lineup as last night. It’s the best they have.
• no crooked hats, expecting Rincon was optioned for Hjerpe
• Good crowds this weekend, a little sparse today.

The first innings

A lead off single and a successful challenge put runners at first and third with one out, but a Jordan pop out and Bernal ground out quelled the uprising. Lead off single in the bottom half led to a throwing error. After 2 K appeared to bring the inning under control but a dying quail falls in front of Baez for an RBI, followed by an RBI single. Another K. Rockies went up 2-0. We are reminded that the pitching relies heavily on sharp D.

In the second, Baez and Gorman add two more pop outs to the shady too high count. Hitters liking the slower Velo but unable to square up. Having said that, Sags doubles and Church drives him on, taking second on the throw. A K on Torres ends to inning. Cardinal cut the deficit to 2-1. An adventurous pop out to right and 2 Ks by Leahy resulted in a quick second. As he nears a strikeout per inning rate, he begins to make a strong case to be Opening Day Starter 2027, no?

Two K and a deep fly make for a quick top of the third. Hjerpe warming . He has used up a lot of nervous energy pacing already. A can of corn, another K, a single, another single and a long 3-run HR end Leahy’s afternoon. Man, innings sure go sideways fast here. Winquest in to get last out. Rockies now up 5-1.

The middle innings

In the fourth, Bernal lands another pop out. Baez about kills the first baseman with a shot for a single. Gorman and Sags ground out. In the bottom, Hjerpe makes his MLB debut. A ground out, a K and a fly out. One can already see he will be very tough on LH batters.

In the fifth a K followed by a ground prelude a sleepy inning. Herrera singers and Burly doubles brings up Walker, who has been spidered to death this series, but he works a walk to load the bases for Bernal who promptly drills a liner to right for 2 RBI, ending Gordon’s afternoon. Herget in. Baez about kills the CF with a liner, clearing the bases and tying the game. Baez ends up at third. Gorman then launches a moon shot to the Rockies bullpen. Funny how innings can change so fast here. Sags K. Inning over, Cards now up 7-5. A clean inning by Hjerpe continues the good momentum.

In the sixth, Manfredi relieved Herget, allowing only a two-out oppo single to Ivan. Hjerpe buzzed through the bottom of the inning, starting to line up goose eggs. Pitch count very manageable.

The decisive and bitter delightful end

In the seventh, Mejia in for Manfredi. Three backwards K is undone when Baez successfully challenges and trades an inning ending K for a walk, but then gets picked off.

Hjerpe back out for the seventh at 42 pitches. Back in at 53 pitches. 4 Ip no hits, 6 K. Attention getting for sure. He stays .

For the eighth, Frasso in to pitch for Colorado. Gorman skied out. Sags battled for a nine pitch single. Church K. Fermin singled. Herrera drills one into the RF corner for two RBI. When did he become an oppo hitter? Burly drills a single to right for another run, another explosion inning and another rockies’ reliever. Castano in. Walker grounds out. Cardinals now up 10-5. In the bottom, Gastelum in. Oli trying to set the bullpen up for the SF series. Look for a Graceffo opener. But back to the now, which has a way of intruding on future plans that can be annoying. McCarthy launches Gastelums first pitch into the Silver Bullet Bar. Wow! Impressive even by Coors Field standards. The rest was quiet. Cards now up 10-6.

For the nerve wracking ninth. Herrera walks and gets picked off. Mysterious. Scott II pops out. Gorman dribbles out. For the bottom, we see Ryne Stanek trotting in. With the new pitcher comes new positioning cards for each outfielder. Pop out for a good start. An HBP adds drama. A pitch over the head of the next batter adds more. A K. A single and Oli has seen enough. Soriano now in. Things could get exciting. The fireworks guy is reloading! An 2-RBI, with two strikes, single tightens things.

Cards win 10-8.

Post-Game Notes

• Be sure and check out “Tonight on the Farm – Sunday 9.6” over at The Feed.
• Making mental note of all the recent explosion innings. The Cardinals played from behind a lot this series.
• Can already see that Baez’ initial read/jump needs a lot of work. He doesn’t get to much out there.
• On to San Fran after this game. Tomorrow will be a very early evening start.
• Watching a game at Coors Field is indeed a pleasant experience.

Don Quixote has dismounted his donkey.

The dream is over.

Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to the Dodgers’ lineup on Monday for the start of a three-game series against the Reds, but he will come back as a one-way player.

Based on what manager Dave Roberts said, Ohtani will almost certainly remain a one-way player for the remainder of the year.

No more pitching for Ohtani.

No chance of him replicating his three-homer, 10-strikeout game from the playoffs last year.

No possibility of him making up for his disastrous start in Game 7 of the World Series.

The Dodgers resisted accepting this reality as long as they could, gaslighting general manager Brandon Gomes refusing to say as recently as Thursday that Ohtani wouldn’t pitch again this season.

Eventually, the calendar won out.

Ohtani hasn’t been “officially” shut down as a pitcher, Roberts said on Sunday, but with only three weeks remaining in the regular season, he doesn’t have sufficient time to build up the necessary arm strength required to take the mound in the postseason.

Ohtani hasn’t pitched in a game since July 3.

“Obviously, if you’re looking at the calendar, how much he’s thrown in the last week, I think we can all do the math,” Roberts said.

But doesn’t he still have enough time to prepare himself to pitch an inning or two as an opener?

“That’s unlikely,” Roberts said.

So that’s that.

Ohtani started this season as a two-way player, the first time he’d done so in his three seasons with the Dodgers.

The last time he attempted to hit and pitch for an entire season was in his final year with the Angels, in 2023. That effort lasted until August of that year, when Ohtani blew out his elbow, requiring him to undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career.

Ohtani was 29 then. He is 32 now.

The physical demands of shouldering a two-way workload at this age proved to be considerable. 

Ohtani was spectacular on the mound, maintaining a sub-1.00 ERA through his first 10 starts. His performance on the mound, however, came at the cost of his hitting.

His ERA was 0.74 on June 3. On that day, he had only 10 home runs in 61 games, well off the pace from his two previous seasons. Ohtani homered 55 times last year and 54 times the year before.

From that point on, Ohtani was suddenly hittable. Over his next four starts, his ERA was 4.38.

His left knee flared up.

He later revealed that he was experiencing discomfort in his right biceps.

He skipped his final start before the All-Star break, and every attempt to return to the mound since then was aborted.

With Ohtani’s status as a pitcher uncertain, the Dodgers acquired two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal a couple of days before the trade deadline. The addition of Skubal has given the Dodgers a rotation that can withstand Ohtani’s absence. Besides Skubal, the Dodgers have three other Cy Young-caliber pitchers in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow.

The question now is whether Ohtani is healthy enough to contribute offensively. Following a four-strikeout game on Wednesday in which he shook his arm during and after his final at-bat and looked incapable of generating his trademark power with his lower body, Ohtani was kept out of the lineup for the next four games, including the finale of a three-game series against the Nationals on Sunday.

Ohtani has six hits in his last 46 at-bats and has only one home run in his last 21 games played outside of Coors Field in high-altitude Denver.

In what sounded like an effort to divert blame from the front office for not placing Ohtani on the injured list or at least shut him down from pitching, Gomes tried to argue that it was “too hard to say” that he was slumping because of his injuries.

Gomes better be right.

Because the Dodgers won’t have Ohtani available to pitch for them in October, and they now might not have a productive version of him hitting for them.

The Texas Rangers scored eight runs while the Tampa Bay Rays scored six runs.

We had ourselves a certified Gore Inning (TM) today and it was a particularly bloody one as Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore was disemboweled for four runs in the top of the second inning.

The Rays loaded up on singles and let the Rangers make some questionable defensive decisions to collect their early lead. Up big early, it seemed like the Rangers were destined to another loss against Tampa Bay which would have sealed a series defeat to the AL’s top club. However, Jake Burger had other ideas.

The Rangers first baseman hit a solo home run to get the Rangers on the board and following another Rays run in the top of the third, Burger smacked his second homer, a two-run shot this time, to pull Texas to within a couple of runs.

MacKenzie was run out of the game after just three innings, which put a lot of pressure on the bullpen to work through some innings. They were mostly up to the task with latest arm Trevor Williams tossing two scoreless, Chase Silseth pitching in for a scoreless inning, and Tyler Alexander working out of a jam having allowed a run.

By the time Alexander allowed Tampa Bay’s sixth run, the Rangers had fully rallied and overtaken the Rays. In the same inning following Burger’s second dong, the Rangers got a few on base and Justin Foscue fought off a two-strike pitch to sneak a ball on the fair side of the line for a two-out, two-run double that tied the game.

The next inning Burger started a rally with a walk and after a Logan O’Hoppe single, the Rangers took the lead for good via an Elias Diaz single that scored Burger. The Rangers weren’t done there, though, as following the inning’s second out, Ezequiel Duran singled to drive in a run and give Texas a bit of a cushion.

After Alexander allowed Tampa Bay’s sixth run in the top of the seventh, the Rangers turned to Jacob Latz in the eighth inning with the top of the Rays’ lineup due in a one run game. The Rangers had been burned in some games recently waiting for their chance to use Latz in a traditional closer situation. Today they switched things up and used Latz in a set up role when things looked most dangerous.

After pitching two innings yesterday, Latz worked around a single and got through the eighth scoreless on 18 pitches. The Rangers opted to go with Jakob Junis for the save after Corey Seager reinvested in some insurance with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth. With a two run lead in the ninth, Junis nailed down the victory and the Rangers finished off the series with a split despite the big early deficit today.

All in all, a series win would have been preferable but the Rangers were competitive against the league leaders all weekend and remain in the hunt for one of the playoff spots in the American League with three weeks left in the season.

Player of the Game: Burger was responsible for Texas’ first three runs via a couple of home runs which helped the Rangers claw their way out of an early hole. Burger also scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth.

Up Next: The Rangers have Mondays off every week this month, including tomorrow. They will venture up to Seattle to take on the scuffling Mariners beginning on Tuesday night.

The White Sox are set to conclude their season series against the Minnesota Twins under the bright lights of Sunday Night Baseball. Bryan Hudson will be the opener for the Sox, his eighth time appearing in the role this year. He’s been largely effective to this point, allowing three earned runs over eight innings leading off a game, with five of those seven stints being scoreless.

It’s a selection of opener that would seem to indicate a confidence in him beyond the simple platoon advantage, as the Twins 2-3-4 hitters will all be facing Hudson from the right side. Manager Derek Shelton is alternating his lefties and righties at the bottom of the lineup, so given that José Urquidy lines up as today’s logical bulk man despite being on somewhat short rest, it might not be surprising to see Will Venable try to stretch Hudson for two innings to start things out against this lineup:

Venable counters with the team’s A-lineup, so to speak, against soft-tossing righthander Bailey Ober. He’s found a solid level of success against the Sox in the past, holding them to two runs (one earned) over five innings just last week, and running an overall 3.56 ERA in 16 starts countering the Pale Hose, the most he’s ever seen of one team. Chase Meidroth and Colson Montgomery have both notched homers against him, so having already connected on homers in consecutive games, a hope for what has already seemingly become a patented homer binge from Montgomery may be alive and well.

This is a Sox lineup that has zero postseason experience beyond platooner Andrew Benintendi and, if you want to count it, Munetaka Murakami in his native Japan. Playing in prime time on national TV doesn’t exactly have the same caché in baseball as the prestige of being featured on Sunday or Monday Night Football, but NBC’s decision to flex the Sox to this game should be taken with some pride. Does anyone care to guess the date of the last time the South Siders played a) on Sunday night b) at home c) while in first place?

At least we’ll have a friendly face in the booth. While I certainly wouldn’t want Jason Benetti to push the boundaries of his professionalism, there is a real part of me that wants to judge, by his approach to tonight’s game, whether we have any long-term hope of what would probably be the most joyous Chicago sports reunion since the words “I’m back” hit the newswires.

First pitch will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock at 5:20 p.m. CT. though Len Kasper and Darrin Jackson will be there with their usual radio broadcast on WMVP AM 1000. See you in the comments!

First Chuck: 5:20 PM (new anthem each week!)

The Tube: NBC/Peacock

The Dial: Treasure Island Baseball Network

Spies ‘R Us: South Side Sox

A few weeks ago, this contest was flexed into NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball—something that doesn’t often happen with matchups that aren’t LA/SF, BOS/NYY, or CHI/STL. Hey, at least someone somewhere said “we want to see the Twins in primetime” as late as the month of September—perhaps a win in and of itself!

This got me thinking about MN performance under the fluorescents versus in the glory of the planet Sol. A few stats on the subject (2010+ because in the Metrodome it was of course all Teflon all the time)…

Night Games

• 41-44 this season
• Best: 66-37 (.641) in 2019
• Worst: 36-62 (.367) in 2013
• Since 2010: 779-836 (.482)

Day Games

• 27-30 this season
• Best: 35-24 (.593) in 2019
• Worst: 19-37 (.339) in 2012
• Since 2010: 480-537 (.472)

Though nowhere near statistically significant, the Twins have fared slightly better under artificial lighting than the real deal. Hopefully that bodes well for the visitors this holiday weekend night (kinda—what a weird 5:20 PM start) within the AL Central as they try to take the series from the Sox.

Click here for Lineups!

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo left a Sunday, Sept. 6 game against the Houston Astros when he was hit by a teammate's line drive while on the basepaths.

Perdomo singled in the top of the third inning, and the next batter, Ketel Marte, hit an 93 mph line drive. Perdomo tried to get out of the way and covered up but was hit on the helmet. He dropped to the ground and was looked at by a trainer then eventually was helped up and left under his own power.

He was ruled out because he was hit by a batted ball. Nolan Arenado hit a two-run home run in the inning to give Arizona a 3-1 lead. The Diamondbackswon 3-2.

Perdomo was replaced at shortstop by Ildemaro Vargas, and Tim Tawa took Vargas' spot at first base.

Arizona's Geraldo Perdomo was struck in the head by a 93 mph line drive off the bat of teammate Ketel Marte and was down a few minutes before walking off the field without assistance. pic.twitter.com/3ig1cNyrug

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) September 6, 2026

Geraldo Perdomo injury update

The Diamondbacks announced Sunday that Perdomo suffered a head contusion on the play.

"He will continue to be monitored today and into tomorrow," the team said.

After the game, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters he believes Perdomo will be his starting shortstop on Monday.

"He is not in the concussion protocol," he said. "He's just in the observation stages. We feel like we dodged a bullet."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diamondbacks' Geraldo Perdomo hit in head by line drive, exits game

In just a few weeks, Pete Crow-Armstrong is expected to join Ernie Banks in a select group: Chicago Cubs players who have won National League Most Valuable Player honors.

Yet PCA has already one-upped Mr. Cub in one category.

Crow-Armstrong became the youngest player in franchise history to hit 40 home runs, reaching the honor on Sunday, Sept. 6 with a low line drive just inside the right field foul pole at loanDepot Park, a game-tying fifth-inning shot off Miami Marlins right-hander Tyler Phillips.

While the Cubs would go on to lose the game 10-3, there's little to stop the Summer of PCA.

FORTYYYYYYYY pic.twitter.com/V6iTmOOkcZ

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 6, 2026

He's now second in the major leagues with 40 homers, trailing only Philadelphia DH Kyle Schwarber's 42, and his 8.6 WAR leads all position players. At 24 years, 165 days old, Crow-Armstrong is 49 days younger than Banks was when the Hall of Famer hit his 40th home run in 1955, the first of his eight consecutive All-Star seasons.

Banks would win NL MVP honors in 1958 - hitting a career-best and major league-high 47 homers - and 1959. He's one of 11 Cubs players to win the award.

Crow-Armstrong, with his .946 OPS, 33 stolen bases and defensive metrics that lap his rival center fielders, is expected to supplant the currently idled Shohei Ohtani, who won the past two NL MVPs.

For now, though, Crow-Armstrong has banked 40 homers for a club firmly entrenched in an NL playoff position.

"Forty homers, it's a hard number to get to," Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters in Miami. "And the season's not over."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong hits 40th home run to boost NL MVP case

Jays 1 Royals 6

This one, well, it was a great game to watch. Right from the first inning. Brett Bateman was hit by a pitch to start the game, but Nathan Lukes hit into a double play, and Vladimir Guerrero grounded out.

And the bottom of the inning went single (roller down the first base line, and by the time Spencer Arrighetti got to the ball, it was a single (not that he didn’t throw to first, wide, but no harm; no foul). Next batter walked, and Vinnie Pasquantino homered. 3-0 before we got an out. After that, there were three quick outs, horses and barn doors and all.

The Royals got two more in the third, on a Salvador Perez home run. And one more in the fifth, on a walk, hit-by-pitch, and single.

Arrighetti went 4.2 innings with 6 hits, 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. The unfortunate thing is that we don’t have enough starting pitchers; Arrighetti will have to figure it out.

The bullpen threw 3.1 innings of 1-hit ball, with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts. Braydon Fisher (0.1 innings), Ricky Tiedemann (1.2 innings) and Joe Mantiply (1.1 innings) all pitched.

---

Offensively, we ended up with 8 hits, one more than the Royals, but the Royals had two homers to our one. Josh Smith put up our only run on a home run.

Bateman had 3 hits. Lukes, Straw, McAdoo, Smith and Springer each had one hit.

But several went hitless: Vlad, Sanchez, Okamoto, Keys, Gimenez and Valenzuela.

Jay of the Day? No one had the number, but let’s give one to Bateman (0.07).

Other Award: Arrighetti (-0.29) and Lukes (-0.09).

Two of three with the Royals is good. Three of three would be better, but we want it to be exciting.

The Jays are flying off to Las Vegas (no, no), Oakland (nope), Sacramento to play the A’s. Tomorrow, Dylan Cease and Jacob Lopez are the starters. It is a late start, 10:00 Eastern. Let’s win another series.

The Diamondbacks came into the game looking for a series win, and with a little bit of luck, putting some more space between their competition for the final NL Wild Card spot. Having Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound was a point in their favor, but the offense still RVSP’d maybe when invited to the game.

The Diamondbacks were quiet in the top of the first, with the only baserunner being a Geraldo Perdomo hit by pitch, and that allowed the Astros to strike first. E-Rod got Jeremy Pena to ground out, but Yordan Alvarez absolutely clobbered one for a solo home run. That was the first indication that Rodriguez didn’t have his best stuff today, but the next few batters hammered that home, even if there wasn’t much damage done. He walked both Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker, but alternated those walks with a line out from Jose Altuve and got out of the jam with a Nelson Velasquez strike out. 0-1 Astros

This, of course, did raise some concerns amongst the faithful about the early need to score more than one run. That’s been a challenge for the Diamondbacks, last night’s four run outbreak aside. The offense decided to do some to assuage those fears, but did not manage to score multiple runs right away. Corbin Carroll started off the second inning with a double, advanced on a sac bunt from Tommy Troy, and then scored on a sac fly from James McCann. Illdemaro Vargas tried to keep things going with a two out single, but Lawler was unable to step up and ended the inning with a line out to third. Tied 1-1

Rodriguez issues with command continued right away in the bottom of the second, walking Dalton Varsho. Never a good idea to walk someone like him, as he showed when he stole second to get into scoring position two outs later. Too late for it to matter, though, as Jeremy Pena only saw three pitches and flew out to end the inning.

The third inning was… something. Perdomo singled to lead off the inning, bringing Ketel Marte to the plate. Marte got an 86 MPH changeup down and away and turned it around for what looked like an easy single. The only with that is the ball also acted as a heat seeking missel straight to Perdomo’s helmet. He hit the ground immediately and quickly found himself surrounded by trainers from both teams. Eventually he left under his own power to a nice ovation from the Houston crowd, as one does.

The official scoring on the play was a single for Marte, and Perdomo was out on runners interferrence. So one out, Marte at first. Gabi, playing as the DH today, popped out for the second out, bringing Nolan Arenado to the plate. A 2-2 count set the table, and the player with the second most home runs became tied for first. Arenado put one in the seats and just like that the Diamondbacks had scored more than one run for the second game in a row. 3-1 Diamondbacks

Great pitchers can make it work without their best stuff. Rodriguez clearly did not have his best stuff today, but frankly got better as the game went on, even with that limitation. The third inning saw him take the mound with a lead, and he did not waste it. He gave up a single in the third, but nothing else. He sat down the side in order in the fourth and fifth, while facing 1-5 of the Astros line up in the process. After throwing 25 pitches in the first, one would be forgiven for wondering how far Rodriguez would go in the game, but he went out for the sixth anyway. He didn’t quite have a third 1-2-3 inning, but worked around a one out single to end his day. Final line 6 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, and 1 HR.

Apologies if it seems like I’m moving through the game without talking much about the offense, but after that Arenado home run they took an extended break from the game. From the final out of the third, Peter Lambert sat down 12 in a row, including just a six pitch sixth inning, into the seventh inning. It took another hit by pitch for that streak to be broken (Naturally Jordan Lawler, because of course it was). Would of been nice if they had made something of that, and for a moment it looked like they might when it was followed by a Tim Tawa single.

The bottom of the seventh was interesting, especially if you like gamesmanship in your baseball. Juan Morillo came in to relieve Rodriguez, and ended up putting two on with two outs. Yordan Alvarez was due up, and Brandyn Garcia was trying to warm up in the bullpen to face him, but wasn’t quite ready. The entire team went into hard core buy time mode. First Kaplan came out for a mound visit, then when that finished they waited as long as would be allowed before a pitch clock violation before McCann went out for a second visit. They milked that as long as they could, and the Astros fans were loudly getting restless. That broke up, they waited some more, then Morillo took a disengagement. The Astro fans got very upset at that one. That finally bought enough time and Lovullo made the expected move.

That wasn’t the end of the drama, however. Brandyn Garcia still needed to face the presumptive AL MVP in a big situation for the second game in a row. As Josh Collmenter mentioned several times on the broadcast, Garcia is really blossoming into a great reliever for this team, and he showed it once again today. Alvarez only saw three pitches, then popped up harmlessly to end the inning, and the lead remained.

The Astros weren’t finished putting pressure on the Diamondbacks bullpen. Next up was Johnathan Loaisiga. He gave up a one out double to Altuve, his 2,499th career hit. He moved to third on a bloop single from friend-turned-enemy Christian Walker, putting runners on the corners. Another softly hit single, this time from LaMonte Wade Jr. brought Altuve home on another bloop single. Another friend-turned-enemy came to the plate, this time Dalton Varsho. Loaisiga struck him out on four pitches to get the second out, and so very close to getting out of the inning with a lead. Taylor Trammell hit the Astros’ third bloop hit, but this time Marte was able to chase it down in the outfield grass for the final out. 3-2 Diamondbacks

The bottom of the lineup was due up for the Dbacks in the top of the ninth. McCann lead things off with a single, and Vargas hit a very loud, very deep out to right center field. Lawler struck out, and then Tim Tawa flew out to Varsho in center to end the inning.

Kevin Ginkel got the call to close out the game. He would face Yanier Diaz as a pinch hitter to start, lead off hitter Pena, and then, once again, Yordan Alveraz. It started well with a strikeout… and then another strike out. It was the ideal situation, facing Alvarez with the bases empty, but I think I speak for all Diamondbacks fans when I say the nerves were there for sure. Ginkel, however, was unphased. He went right after Alvarez and struck out his third straight batter to end the game. Final

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During the game, the team did give an update on Perdomo. They’re currently calling it a head contusion, but specified that he would continue to be monitored for the rest of today as well as tomorrow. That seems to rule him out for the first game of the Royals series, at the very least, and quite possibly more depending on what those evaluations show. Of course, we’re all sending good vibes his way, following a scary moment such as that.

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I don’t think anyone will find it surprising that Eduardo Rodriguez lead the way with 25% WPA, nor that Nolan Arenado’s home run gave him the highest offensive WPA% at 15%. Marte was the other end of the spectrum at -12%, but no one else swung the needle too far in either direction.

COTD to gzimmern for accurately describing today’s game. They did, in fact, have to score more than one run

Great day looking up in the standings, with both the Cubs and Phillies losing. Below us, we aren’t getting much relief. The Marlins were the team that beat the Cubs. St. Louis is winning in Coors, and the Padres started their game off with three straight home runs off Gerrit Cole, not a sentence you hear often. Just need to keep winning.

Day game tomorrow, with the holiday. No word as of yet who will be the starter, and there is a good chance it ends up being a bullpen game. They’ll have high standards to live up to after their last outing. Until tomorrow!

An early 3-run home run from Vinnie Pasquantino and a 2-run home run from Salvador Perez put the Royals up 5-0, and they never looked back as they knocked off the Blue Jays 6-1 on Sunday.

After a couple nice plays in the top of the first inning, allowing Randy Dobnak to face the minimum, the Royals jumped out in front of the Blue Jays in the bottom of the frame.

John Rave, batting leadoff reached on an infield single, moved to second on a walk to Bobby Witt Jr., which cleared the way for Pasquantino, crushing a 3-run dinger, his 11th on the season, a 406-foot shot to right.

Hot start! 🔥

Vinnie Pasquantino has us off and running with a three-run blast! pic.twitter.com/7kXiLHxzxr

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) September 6, 2026

Fast forward to the bottom of the third inning, Jr. led off with a rocket of a double to left field, 112.5 mph off the bat, his 30th of the season. The Captain, Salvador Perez launched his 19th homer on the season, just over the wall in left center. 5-0 Royals on Salvy’s 322nd career homer.

The Captain sends one out! 🫡

A two-run shot for Salvador Perez! pic.twitter.com/8ql75oyMzN

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) September 6, 2026

Nick Loftin had an infield RBI single in the 5th to make it 6-0, but the story the rest of the way was the good pitching and defense the Royals played. Countless good plays along the infield helped Dobnak and the bullpen hold the Jays down.

Dobnak finished the day going 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, 1 run, striking out 3. Anthony Gose, Jose Cuas, Connor Thomas and Nolan Hoffman had scoreless outings to preserve the win.

The Royals drop the series but split the season series with Toronto. They are 64-80 on the season now. They open a 3-game series tomorrow afternoon against the Diamondbacks to close out the homestand. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. CT.

It’s no secret that the 2026 season hasn't gone the way the Mets hoped it would, but Sunday’s game was the latest example of a team that doesn’t seem to have quit, as they rallied in the eighth inning for a 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. 

Trailing 2-0 in the eighth, Brett Baty hit a pinch-hit solo home run to cut the lead in half. Later in the frame, after the Giants elected to not pitch to Juan Soto, it was Bo Bichette playing hero, blasting a three-run homer to give the Mets the lead for good. 

"Bo's a star,” interim manager Andy Green said after the game. “Stars should play like stars when they're on the baseball field. That's how we see him, that's what we think about him. I think when you look at who he's been since maybe the middle of May... it's been really, really good.

“That’s a huge swing, and like I said, we’ve got all the confidence in the world in him no matter what’s happened in a game up to that point in time that Bo was going to be equal to the task.”

Bichette even admitted there was “probably a little bit” of extra juice after Soto was walked by Giants reliever Carson Seymour in front of him.

“He deserves that respect, so I just go up there with the same plan,” said Bichette, who now has 16 home runs and 71 RBI on the season. 

While the late-inning heroics will be what’s remembered most from Sunday’s win, Christian Scott’s effort on the mound shouldn’t go unnoticed. 

Scott went just 4.2 innings, but he only allowed a pair of runs on four hits. He struck out seven Giants, and perhaps more importantly, he didn’t walk a single hitter.

“I didn’t get in many deep counts, besides the first inning,” Scott said. “I felt like I was able to establish the fastball really well today. I threw a lot of fastballs today, so was able to really establish the strike zone with that pitch, keep them honest with it, and then able to expand late. That was big for me, but … no walks, that’s gonna help us win games more times than not, so being able to be in the strike zone more effectively was huge today.”

The Mets took two out of three games from the Giants, and will head to Miami next for a series against the Marlins, starting on Monday afternoon at 1:10 p.m. on SNY.

Just when you thought the Mets were going to go quietly, an eighth-inning power surge changed the narrative Sunday in New York.

Brett Baty and Bo Bichette both homered in an epic eighth-inning rally to secure a 4-2 victory over the Giants, as the Mets stole a win and the series.

Stymied by Giants rookie pitcher Cesar Perdomo, the Mets finally broke through against the Giants bullpen thanks to Baty’s and Bichette’s heroics. Trailing 2-0, Baty pinch-hit for Nick Morabito and injected life into a sleepy game with a solo shot to get the Mets on the board. AJ Ewing singled before the Giants intentionally walked Juan Soto to get to Bichette. Perhaps the former All-Star took that personally, because Bichette crushed a three-run homer to take the lead and eventually the game.

Kodai Senga quickly retired the Giants in order in the ninth inning to earn the save and close out a good day for the Mets pitching staff, including a solid start from Christian Scott.

Up until the explosive eighth inning, the story was Perdomo, who made it look easy in his first career start. The Mets scored 15 runs in the first two games of the series with the Giants, but couldn’t get traction against the young pitcher.

The Mets had baserunners in each of the first three innings against Perdomo before he settled in to retire 10 straight batters. He gave up a walk to Francisco Lindor in the sixth, but Soto grounded into a double play to end the inning as Perdomo finished with six scoreless frames.

With Perdomo finally out of the game, Carson Benge laced a double down the right-field line in the seventh inning off of Giants reliever Joel Kuhnel. Jared Young and Marcus Semien couldn’t bring Benge home, setting the stage for Baty and Bichette in the eighth.

Scott, Nate Lavender, Jonathan Pintaro, and Tobias Myers all did their part to keep the Mets within striking distance and give the Mets a realistic chance for a late rally.

Scott was sharp early, throwing three perfect innings to start the game. He struck out the red-hot Rafael Devers with a devastating cutter in the first inning and kept it rolling from there, with a little help from the Mets’ fielders. To start the third, Morabito made a crashing catch into the wall to retire Grant McCray.

It seemed like Scott would cruise through the order for a second time after he struck out Drew Gilbert, then struck out Devers with another cutter. But the Giants finally got to Scott with two outs in the fourth, poking three straight hits, including a two-run single from Jung Hoo Lee.

The Giants had more base traffic in the fifth with the help of an error by Mark Vientos at first base. Drew Cavanaugh singled before Christian Koss sent a grounder down the line that Vientos couldn’t handle. The ball bounced away from Vientos, allowing Cavanaugh and Koss to advance to second and third. With Devers due up, interim manager Andy Green pulled Scott in favor of Lavender. Electing not to put Devers on the open first base, Lavender struck out Devers in a crucial at-bat.

Scott finished with seven strikeouts and zero walks across 4.2 innings. Pintaro pitched two scoreless innings with the help of a beautiful diving catch from Benge to end the sixth. Myers added a scoreless appearance of his own in his first Major-League action since July.

Giants reliever Carson Seymour took the loss after giving up four runs in the eighth inning. He had given up four runs total in his previous 13 appearances entering Sunday’s game. Baty’s pinch-hit homer was his first long ball since Aug. 10 in Atlanta. Bichette was 0-for-3 with a strikeout before his go-ahead home run.

The Mets travel to Miami for a series with the Marlins. Jonah Tong is scheduled to start the first game of the Marlins series Monday at 1:10 PM EDT. It’ll be Tong’s first Major League appearance since June 2.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, +54% WPA
Big Mets loser: Luis Torrens, -11% WPA
Mets pitchers: +16 WPA
Mets hitters: +34 WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Bo Bichette three-run home run in the eighth +63.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jung Hoo Lee two-run single in the fourth, -20.5% WPA

SAN DIEGO — Trent Grisham has the same level hamstring strain as he had in June, when he missed three weeks.

With three weeks left in the regular season, that means the Yankees center fielder “could be” out for the rest of it, Aaron Boone acknowledged Sunday.

“We’ll see,” Boone said before the series finale at Petco Park. “We’re not putting a timetable on it right now. Keep him moving and see how long it takes.”

After suffering the injury Friday night, Grisham underwent tests on Saturday that revealed a moderate, Grade 2 strain in his right hamstring — the same one he hurt in June, but in a different spot.

For the second straight day, Grisham was out on the field before Sunday’s game doing some light jogging and agility drills. But whether that leads to a shorter absence than the last time remains to be seen.

“He is doing well enough to be able to move right away, which is a good sign,” Boone said. “So he’s already doing things right now. Ultimately we’ll see how long it takes.’

Even if Grisham can return before the regular season ends, there is no guarantee he will get his job back in center field, as Spencer Jones had already threatened to overtake him there when Aaron Judge returns as soon as this week.

Now, Jones will get most of the playing time in center field down the stretch, trying to build on his recent surge that had him hitting .303 with an .881 OPS over his last 23 games entering Sunday.

Sunday’s series finale between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles wasn’t a playoff game. It didn’t even carry playoff stakes; the Red Sox are all but locked into their spot. It did, however, play out like a game you might see in the postseason.

Payton Tolle started the game for the Red Sox and was brilliant. I’ve probably made this analogy before, but he pitched like the kid who was bigger than everyone else in Little League, pounding his four-seam fastball in the zone. The prepubescent lineup, the Orioles in this case, could do little with the pitch. He threw a first-pitch strike to a remarkable 17 of 21 hitters, lived in the zone, and dared them to put the ball in play. The Orioles failed to do so, whiffing 17 times and punching out 12 times in the first six innings. The only blemish came in the first inning, when Tolle allowed back-to-back two-strike, two-out doubles for the Orioles’ only run. On the day, he threw 77% strikes — a season high.

The only offense of the day for the Red Sox came in the second inning. Caleb Durbin drew a walk on five pitches against Orioles starter Kyle Bradish. He later advanced to second on a groundout by Jarren Duran. With two outs, Andruw Monasterio hit a ground ball to deep shortstop that Gunnar Henderson couldn’t handle, putting runners on the corners with two outs. And of course, when you give a team four outs, they often make you pay. In this case, Eli White hit a ball into the seats to put the Red Sox up 3-1. That would go on to be the final score.

After Tolle exited the game, Erik Miller retired three hitters in a row in the seventh inning. Jovani Moran handled the eighth, seeing the bottom of the Orioles order and making quick work of them. Aroldis Chapman took the ball in the ninth and allowed Pete Alonso to reach base with one out via a ground-ball single, but struck out the final two hitters to secure the victory and record his 400th career save. Notably, his final pitch of the at-bat was 101.0 mph. It was his first time reaching that number since July, and just his third time hitting 101 (without rounding) this season. The milestone was likely on his mind, but it’s nice to know he can still reach back and bring the heat in a high-leverage situation.

So, why did this feel like a postseason game? It had (almost) all of the ingredients of winning in the postseason. Starting pitching? Payton Tolle was lights out. Home runs? It’s hard to string together hits against elite pitching in the postseason to put together big innings. Home runs are often the deciding factor. Today, Eli White stepped up with two runners on base to put up a crooked number. Bullpen? The bullpen allowed just one hit over the final three frames today.

It will look different for the Red Sox in October this season, given the number of players returning from the injured list. Willson Contreras will play a part. Ceddanne Rafaela will be back as well. Tyron Guerrero, and maybe even Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, or Johan Oviedo could be throwing innings out of the bullpen. A notable omission from today’s game was Garrett Whitlock. The eighth inning would typically be his in a two-run game, but Chad Tracy opted for Jovani Moran, who has struggled, instead. With Whitlock working on both Thursday and Friday, he was likely unavailable. The team has been careful to manage their arms down the stretch to be prepared for the postseason, but that might be a hint as to where he is healthwise.

The Red Sox return home on Monday for a six-game homestand against the Angels and Royals.

Three Studs

Payton Tolle (6 IP, 1 ER, 12 K, 0 BB, 1 Pushup)

Payton Tolle just slipped on the mound and did a push up right after. This man is a national treasure. 😂 pic.twitter.com/2DKiFojsDR

— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) September 6, 2026

Eli White (2-4, HR)

Erik Miller, Jovani Moran, Aroldis Chapman (3 IP, 1 H, 5 K)

Three Duds

Mickey Gasper (0-1, 2 BB, HBP)

Mickey Gasper didn’t even hit a home run today. What a bum.

Roman Anthony (0-4, BB)

Nick Sogard (0-4, 3 K)