Category: Baseball

Gleyber Torres returned to The Bronx for the first time as a visitor, and the Yankees and their fans welcomed their former infielder with a tribute video during Tuesday's series opener against the Tigers.

Batting second for Detroit, Torres was acknowledged by the Yankee Stadium crowd with a nice ovation before his first at-bat. Torres stepped off and tipped his helmet to the fans. 

Before the start of the second inning, the Yankees played the aforementioned tribute video showcasing Torres' career in pinstripes. From his call-up in 2018 to his numerous big hits and heroic defensive plays throughout his seven-year career with the Yankees. 

Gleyber Torres waved to the Yankee Stadium crowd after getting a tribute video from the Yankees pic.twitter.com/GjfuksSiyq

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 9, 2025

Torres signed with the Tigers on a one-year deal after seven years with the Yankees. Although Torres expressed interest in returning to the Yankees, it was clear New York was ready to move on.

Although Torres' tenure in The Bronx ended suddenly, he was very good in his career in pinstripes. Torres slashed .265/.334/.441 with an OPS of .774 in seven seasons. He also smashed 138 home runs while amassing two All-Star selections and placing third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2018. That season, Torres hit .271 with 24 home runs and 77 RBI. The next season, Torres had the best year of his career, hitting 38 homers and driving in 90 RBI, both career highs. In addition to his second consecutive All-Star selection, he finished 17th in MVP voting. 

Torres' final year with the Yankees saw him hit .257 with 15 homers and 63 RBI, and help New York win its first AL pennant since 2009. 

Speaking of postseason performance, Torres was pretty good with the Yankees. In 14 playoff games across six seasons, Torres slashed .267/.359/.436 with an OPS of .795 to go along with seven home runs and 25 RBI.

In his first year with the Tigers, Torres was voted to his third All-Star Game. Entering Tuesday's game, Torres is slashing .259/.362/.396 with an OPS of .758 to go along with his 15 homers and 66 RBI. He's helped Detroit to the best record in the American League.

"He's been a key part of their season and why they're in first place over there," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Torres prior to Tuesday's game.

The Yankees skipper was asked what kind of reception he expected Torres to receive from the Yankees fans, and Boone said, "a good one." 

"I would expect that. He certainly deserves that," he said.

Schwarber belts 50th homer, Phils reflect: “Looks like a video game for the guy” originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

“What a year he’s had, and it couldn’t happen to a better guy. Really happy for him.”

Rob Thomson wasn’t exaggerating.

Kyle Schwarber became just the second player in franchise history to hit 50 home runs in a season, joining Ryan Howard, when he launched a three-run shot in the seventh inning of Tuesday’s 9-3 win over the Mets.

Citizens Bank Park erupted, and Schwarber tipped his helmet as the ovation thundered.

“It’s something you don’t take lightly. All the personal accolades will probably mean more whenever it’s all said and done,” he said.

For Schwarber, the moment was as much about the fans as the milestone itself.

“It’s been so cool the past four years to see how they’ve latched onto us as a group,” the slugger, who is in a contract year, said. “They want us to succeed and they want us to do well. When the place is packed out, 40-plus thousand strong, screaming and yelling, you feed off that energy. It brings another gear to you.”

His teammates recognized the weight of the roundtripper, too.

“Unbelievable,” rookie Otto Kemp said. “It really just looks like a video game for the guy. It’s something you’ll never forget, and I hope this isn’t the only year I get to play with him.”

Schwarber now has 181 homers in a Phillies uniform, further cementing his place among the franchise’s premier sluggers.

“To join [Howard] in that exclusive Phillies club — it’s an honor, it’s a privilege,” Schwarber said. “That guy’s done so many great things for Philadelphia, and you can only hope to follow the way he went about his business, the way he played the game, and the excitement he brought to the fans.”

Asked if he ever imagined being a “50-homer guy” when he broke into the Majors, Schwarber cracked a grin.

“That’s a great question. I don’t think so,” he said. “You just try to find a way to be productive for your team every day. It’s not like I’m going up there trying to do that. It just happens. And it’s cool — really cool — to be part of that.”

For Schwarber, the milestone was special, but the focus stayed the same. There have been just 52 50-homer seasons in Major League history, dating back to Babe Ruth’s 54 in 1920. Still, Schwarber was quick to steer the conversation back toward October.

“It’s a cool moment, and I want to enjoy it,” he said. “But there’s still a lot more baseball to be played. Every day I’m just trying to help the team get to where we want to be.”

Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba have a lot in common. They're both professional hockey players. They both played for the New York Rangers and now play for the Anaheim Ducks after having similar unceremonious exits from the Big Apple. Both are married and have young families. Both players also love baseball.

Kreider and Trouba were on hand for the ceremonial first pitch of the Los Angeles Angels' Sept. 5 matchup against the formerly-located Oakland Athletics. Kreider dealt the pitch and zipped a strike to Trouba at the plate. "Low and outside," Kreider cracked afterwards as Trouba unraveled into a fit of laughter.

Ducks 🤝 Halos

Chris Kreider delivered a perfect strike to Jacob Trouba at Ducks Night with the @Angels ⚾️#FlyTogether | #RepTheHalopic.twitter.com/T8jF25piv9

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) September 6, 2025

"That was a dream come true," Kreider said. "That was super cool. Yeah, that was awesome." The former New York Ranger and Boston College alumnus grew up about 30 miles from Boston in Boxford, where he played baseball up until high school. Kreider said that he went to a lot of Boston Red Sox games growing up with his family and grandfather and that every game 'was like a national holiday' during the 2004 postseason, when the Red Sox reverse swept the Yankees in the ALCS and then broke the Curse of the Bambino by sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series and earning their first title since 1918.

Kreider, who was acquired by the Ducks this past June, just arrived in Anaheim this past week with his family and has now settled into a place close to Trouba and a few of his other new Ducks teammates.

"Everyone's super welcoming, super kind," Kreider said. "The organization's has been fantastic. Yeah, just really excited."

"I was excited coming to (Anaheim), knowing Stromer (Ryan Strome) and Frank (Vatrano)," Trouba said. "Then the (Kreider) situation happened this summer, obviously excited about that. Having people you're familiar with is great. I don't think you'll find a guy around the league or on our team that'll say a bad word about Kreids. A great addition, I'm excited to have him here. Do what I can to make him as comfortable as possible coming into this situation. Obviously, it's different for him to play in only one place and then go somewhere else. It's a challenge to get comfortable as soon as you can. So, whenever I can help him, I'm hoping to do that. He'll be a big part of our team."

Trouba's baseball experience is a bit different from Kreider's. Though he also grew up just outside of a major city with an MLB team, Trouba's Detroit Tigers were not as highly successful as the Red Sox. He mentioned going to a lot of Tigers games as a kid, especially during the 2003 season when they lost a whopping 119 games.

"I went to Comerica (Park) when it first opened," Trouba said. "Damion Easley was my Tiger as a kid. I was actually at the game when Magglio Ordóñez hit the home run in the ALCS (in 2006 against the A’s). That was probably my biggest Tigers moment that I was there in person. Just a lot of good memories of going downtown with my family and brothers and going to games with my dad. It was a fun thing we always did as kids."

Trouba's family has now switched coasts after being unable to do so immediately after his trade to the Ducks this past December. "It's been great," Trouba said. "I think that was a big piece for me missing last year. We've been here now for a couple of weeks. We're pretty settled in. It's a great life. Obviously different than the city life that we're used to, but adjusting, and it's been fantastic. 
I think my wife loves it. My son loves it. We're all happy, so this is a place we're hopefully going to enjoy a lot this year."

"(Ducks Night) was good. I was around for the Angels at the Ducks game, so coming (to Angel Stadium) has been fun. I grew up loving baseball. I went to a lot of Tigers games in Detroit as a kid. Kreids throwing out the first pitch was pretty fun to be a part of. Our families are here, our wives are good friends. He just got here this week, so it's fun to kind of kick off (with this), be around each other. Our families are all here and our kids are here. Enjoy the game.
I've always enjoyed going to baseball games, so this is fun for me."

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Rookie fireball reliever Joel Peguero keeps Giants' wild-card flame flickering originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

In a scenario tricky enough to stump the best, rookie right-handed pitcher Joel Peguero let his best work do the talking with everything on the line for the Giants.

With the Arizona Diamondbacks two runs behind and with runners in scoring position, Peguero unleashed his velocity, striking out Tim Tawa and pinch-hitter Adrian Del Castillo to end the sixth inning and, in many ways, assuring the Giants a crucial 5-3 win on Tuesday night at Oracle Park.

Giants manager Bob Melvin recognized the importance of Peguero’s impact out of the bullpen. 

“There are certain points of the game that are bigger than others. There was nothing bigger than that today,” Melvin told reporters.  

“Obviously, [Willy Adames’] homer and [Dominic Smith’s] play in the ninth inning. But coming in, one out, rookie and with guys on base and getting two punchouts like that threw a lot of momentum back into our dugout.” 

“Nothing bigger than that.”

Bob Melvin praised Joel Peguero for his game-changing impact out of the bullpen pic.twitter.com/p2W5JmTL7s

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 10, 2025

Peguero’s big MLB moment was a decade in the making. 

Earlier this year, the Giants brought Peguero in this spring as a minor-league free agent. Months later, on Aug. 21 after 10 years in the minors, the 28-year-old made his big-league debut against the Baltimore Orioles.

Now, in the thick of what once was a pipe dream MLB playoff push, Peguero’s heroics trimmed the New York Mets’ wild-card lead over San Francisco to two games. 

“What it is is that I have more trust in myself,” Peguero told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Bonta Hill, George Kontos and Sergio Romo on “Giants Postgame Live.”

“I have faith. I have been able to work on that. I trust myself when I go out there. All the years in the minor leagues taught me to be able to trust myself, trust my stuff and attack the zone now that I’m up here.” 

In the act of ending the rally, Peguero, who has yet to give up a run since being called up, threw 11 pitches over 100 mph.

The top-5 velocities in baseball today all belong to Joel Peguero. Peguero came into a jam and struck out 2 batters to end a potential rally #sfgiantspic.twitter.com/2qHNOGbBRQ

— Jeff Young (@BaseballJeff1) September 10, 2025

On a night in which Adames hit his 28th home run of the 2025 MLB season and Patrick Bailey went yard for a second straight game, Peguero’s hard-throwing ways didn’t go unnoticed.

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Mets manager Carlos Mendoza provided some updates prior to Tuesday night's game against the Philadelphia Phillies…

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CF plan with Siri's return

The Mets will receive a nice boost on Tuesday, as Jose Siri was activated from the IL.

Siri's been sidelined since mid-April, but he immediately slides into the lineup, batting ninth and playing center. 

The speedster is expected to take on the bulk of the playing time against left-handed pitching, but Jeff McNeil and the struggling Cedric Mullins will still be in the mix. 

“We’re going to play matchups,” Mendoza said. “Cedric has had some good numbers against lefties, but we’re going through a a rough stretch, and getting Siri back there’s a good chance he’ll hit lefties and Cedric will face some righties when we need.

“Jeff is in the conversation too, especially if I want to get an extra lefty in the lineup, we’ll do it. So it’s really just playing the matchup, or playing the hot hand if you want to call it that, and we’ll go from there.”

Another strong defender could be jumping back into the mix soon, too, as Mendoza said Tyrone Taylor is doing well in his recovery from a hamstring strain and could begin a rehab assignment as early as next week. 

A positive from Hells Bells

Things haven’t gone well for Ryan Helsley since joining the Mets, but the right-hander finally pieced together a strong outing on Monday. 

It was arguably his best appearance while donning the orange and blue. 

Helsley struck out two of the three batters he faced as he pieced together a perfect bottom of the eighth to keep it a 1-0 ballgame. 

The biggest change? Just one of the 15 pitches he threw was a fastball.

“It was a really good step in the right direction,” Mendoza said. “He needed that for his confidence, especially for the situation we put him in. We kept talking about putting him in low-leverage spots, and here we were in a one-run game in the eighth.

“I know he’s working really hard. For him to get the three outs and give the team a chance to get back in the game yesterday, I really liked what I saw.”

The team feels Helsley has cleaned up his tipping issues, now it comes down to execution.

Jose Siri’s recovery took longer than even he expected. 

The outfielder landed on the injured list back in mid-April after fouling a ball off his left leg during an at-bat against the Athletics.  

After undergoing X-rays and taking a few days, he was diagnosed with a fractured tibia. 

Siri’s initial timeline called for a six-to-eight week recovery, and he took some positive steps forward as he began closing in on that mark. 

However, imaging showed that the bone hadn’t healed to the Mets’ liking, so trainers decided to shut him down from baseball activities for a few more weeks. 

Finally in late-August he was able to resume a rehab assignment, and after putting together a string of successful minor league games, he was activated ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Phillies. 

Siri immediately jumps into the lineup batting ninth and playing center. 

“I feel good, thank God,” he said through a translator. “I put in a lot of work and spent a lot of time during my rehab assignment making sure that I feel 100 percent, so up to this point I feel really good and ready to go.”

Prior to the injury, he had just one hit in 20 at-bats but provided a boost with his speed and high-energy play. 

The Mets are hoping Siri will be able to do the same down the stretch, as he takes over the bulk of the playing time against left-handed pitching with Tyrone Taylor still hurt and Cedric Mullins struggling mightily.

“My job is to go out there, give it 100 percent and make sure the vibes are high,” Siri said.

“We know we’re getting an elite defender and a plus baserunner,” Carlos Mendoza added. “Even on days when he isn’t in the lineup to have a guy who can go out and steal a base or score from first when you need it is important, especially with where we are in the schedule.”

Schwarber's 50th, Suárez's brilliance help Phillies top Mets originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Creativity can stem from uncertainty.

When Trea Turner and Alec Bohm both landed on the IL on Monday, it forced Rob Thomson’s hand.

First, the Phillies recalled Otto Kemp from Triple-A.

Then, Thomson tinkered with the leadoff spot. Bryce Harper got the nod against a righty Monday. Tuesday, with Mets’ lefty Sean Manaea on the mound, it was Harrison Bader’s turn.

It’s safe to say, it worked in the Phillies’ 9-3 win over New York.

After Nick Castellanos struck first — for the second straight night — with a two-out, two-strike, two-run double, Kemp and Bader followed with back-to-back homers to make it 4-0.

For Kemp, the homer made his 25th birthday unforgettable. “Definitely one of the top baseball moments I’ve had,” he said. “It’s been cool to get back up here and just try and contribute any way I can.”

The Phillies hardly looked like a team that has been haunted by the Mets since last October.

There’s nothing creative about running Ranger Suárez out there every fifth day. But when Zack Wheeler went down for the season, the question became whether the Phils’ top lefties could carry an ace’s load.

Suárez has answered. He came in with a 1.09 ERA over his last three starts. And Tuesday night, he only strengthened that case.

The lefty delivered six innings of one-hit, scoreless ball, baffling Mets hitters by getting ahead in counts and mixing his full repertoire.

“I think he was in the strike zone when he needed to be, and he was out of the strike zone when he needed to be,” Thomson said. “Masterful, really… all his pitches were good, his command was good.”

New York often looked off balance, as if the on-deck circle’s eight pound sledgehammer had thrown their timing out of sync.

And Suárez keeps raising the bar. Over his last five starts, he’s tied his career high in strikeouts (10), broke it with 11, and topped it again with 12 on Tuesday night.

Suárez himself admitted the strikeout total was a pleasant surprise. “It feels great,” he said. “I don’t usually strike out a lot of guys — I’m more of a pitch-to-contact guy — but every time we got into two-strike counts, we tried to put them away, and we could do that today.”

The Phils starter said the difference from last year’s injury-plagued finish is health. “Obviously, when you’re healthy, you give your 100% every time you’re out there. Last year, that wasn’t the case … I feel way better now,” he said.

And his manager didn’t hesitate to back the “big-game pitcher” label. “The heartbeat never changes,” Thomson said. “He’s just his own man, and he goes out there and pitches.”

The bats backed his strong performance. Following Mark Vientos’ solo homer off David Robertson in the top of the seventh, Bryson Stott legged out an infield single in the bottom half. Harrison Bader added a two-out knock, setting the stage for a memorable moment in Phillies history.

On a 3-1 count, Kyle Schwarber unloaded on an outside cutter, sending it 437 feet into left-center for his 50th homer of the season.

He became just the second Phillie ever to reach the milestone, joining Ryan Howard (2006).

The three-run blast — scorched at 110.4 mph — pushed the lead to 7-1.

The Mets and Phils traded runs in the eighth. Juan Soto lined an RBI single off Tanner Banks, but Bryson Stott answered right back with one of his own.

In the ninth, Bader’s scorching stretch continued. His RBI single gave him three hits on the night and a second straight three-hit game.

“[Bader’s] been swinging the bat great and playing great defense,” Thomson said. “[Brandon] Nimmo hits that ball in the ninth inning and he gets a great jump on it — it looked like it was in the gap — and he just covers it.”

With the Phils up seven, Max Lazar handled the final inning. The Mets scratched one across, but that was it.

The Phillies moved to 85-60 with the win, nine games clear of New York. For a team that had struggled mightily against its rival all year, the beat-up Phils have buckled down to take some massive games.

What we learned as Giants gain wild-card ground with another win vs. D-backs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – From hobbling to homering, Willy Adames powered the Giants to a 5-3 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night at Oracle Park. 

The win secured a series win and put San Francisco only two games back of the final NL wild-card spot after the New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies earlier in the day. 

Heliot Ramos and Rafael Devers each worked seven-pitch at-bats that ended in walks to begin the game for the Giants before Adames stepped to the plate. On the first pitch he saw, Adames fouled a sinker off his left leg and had to be looked at by manager Bob Melvin and senior director of athletic training Dave Groeschner. On the next pitch, Adames launched a sinker into the left-field bleachers. 

ADAMES BOMB 💣 pic.twitter.com/gaU7nLx62u

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 10, 2025

While the Giants scored five runs on five hits, three fewer than the Diamondbacks, Robbie Ray had his best start in three weeks. Ray made it through five innings after failing to do so his past two starts and gave up only three hits and two earned runs. He also finished with five strikeouts and now has struck out five or more in 22 of his 30 starts this season.

Here are three takeaways from the Giants’ win, improving to 74-71 on the season.

Ray Finds His Mojo 

The night after Logan Webb eclipsed 200 strikeouts and 200 innings pitched, Ray showed what kind of dynamic duo on the bump the two can be when he’s right. This was the exact kind of bounce-back outing the MLB All-Star needed. 

Ray in his previous three starts had allowed a total of 19 hits and 13 earned runs over 14 innings, all ending with a Giants win but a no-decision for the lefty. He went from having a 2.85 ERA to a 3.31 ERA after those three starts. But Ray found his groove Tuesday night, just at the right time. 

He began the night by striking out Ketel Marte on four pitches for his first of five strikeouts. Ray forced 10 swing and misses, three groundouts and four flyouts. He battled through weird weather of humidity and a heavy mist that turned into light rain for stretches. 

The D-backs finally got to Ray in the fifth inning, scoring both of the two earned runs he allowed. Between battling tough elements and a recent rough stretch of outings, Ray and Melvin have to be happy with his five innings of work.

Powered By Willy 

In his first season as a Giant, Adames officially has entered Barry Bonds territory. Adames became the first Giants player to homer in eight consecutive series since Bonds did so in 2003. The Giants shortstop homered at least once against the Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals and now the Diamondbacks.

He’s closing in on a more well-known Bonds stat, too. Adames now has 28 homers this season. With two more over the next near three weeks, Adames would become the first Giant to have a 30-homer season since Bonds in 2004. 

That’s pretty good for someone who was batting .220 and had hit 12 homers at the All-Star break.

Orange and Black Insurance 

For how huge Adames’ deep fly in the first inning was, the Giants’ next two runs proved to be equally important. 

Matt Chapman continued his strong play since returning from the IL, and it was his heads-up play that proved to be the difference for the Giants’ fourth run of the night. Tagging up on a shallow fly ball to right field, Chapman turned the jets on and just barely beat Corbin Carroll’s throw home, making it a 4-0 game in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

Schmitty's bat 🤝 Chappy's wheels pic.twitter.com/yytzTsYM00

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 10, 2025

The Giants improved to 13-3 since Chapman returned from the IL on Aug. 23.

One inning later, it was time for Giants fans to again cheer on one of their own trotting around the bases. Patrick Bailey knew it the moment he made contact.

On the first pitch he saw, Bailey hammered a knuckle curve over the right-field wall, easing the pain of the two runs Ray had just given up. The solo shot was Bailey’s second straight game going deep, and his fifth of the season.

Patty Barrels makes it two straight games with a homer 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4CAYdmyR6R

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 10, 2025

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The Mets are receiving a nice boost ahead of Tuesday's game against the Phillies, as Jose Siri has officially been activated from the injured list.  

Siri immediately jumps back into the starting lineup, batting ninth and playing center. 

In a flurry of corresponding moves, Jared Young has been optioned back down to Triple-A, right-hander Wander Suero has been designated for assignment, and Justin Garza was outrighted to Syracuse. 

Siri has been sidelined since the middle of April due to a fractured left fibula. 

He appeared to be closing in on a return in late July, but hit a bit of a setback in his recovery when imaging showed the bone hadn't healed to the Mets' liking.

The speedster was shut down from all baseball activities until resuming a rehab assignment the past few weeks, in which he recorded hits in five of six games. 

Siri figures to take on the bulk of the playing time in center down the stretch with Cedric Mullins struggling mightily and Tyrone Taylor still in the IL with a hamstring injury. 

Prior to the injury, he had just one hit in 20 at-bats, but provided a nice spark with his speed and defense. 

Ryane Clowe left the San Jose Sharks to join the New York Rangers organization. 

After serving as the Sharks’ assistant general manager for one season, Clowe announced his resignation from the position on Sunday.

“I loved being back in San Jose and working with [Sharks GM] Mike Grier and his entire team, but at this point, this decision is in the best interest of my family,” Clowe said in the statement. 

“The franchise has an exciting future ahead and is set up to be successful for a long period of time, and I am grateful to Mike and [team president] Jonathan Becher for giving me the opportunity to return to San Jose.”

One day after resigning, he joined the Rangers, becoming the team’s assistant general manager along with Jim Sullivan.

From 2021 to 2023, Clowe served as a hockey operations advisor for the Rangers while he was elevated to the position of senior advisor during the 2023-24 season before leaving for San Jose.

With October ahead, how will things shake out for the Phils? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

With the Mets in town and the air a little more crisp in the second week of September, it’s easy to think about the postseason.

The Phillies currently hold an eight-game lead in the National League East. The remainder of this four-game set against New York could take a great deal of pressure off the Phils as October approaches.

Making the postseason is basically a given at this point, with their magic number sitting at seven, it’s much bigger than simply clinching.

With the recent injuries to Trea Turner and Alec Bohm, the optimal scenario is giving both former All-Stars time not only to regain rhythm, but also to get as close to full health as possible.

Turner’s case is especially critical. His game is built on speed, and more recovery time can only help come October.

After Monday night’s win over the Mets, he emphasized his hurry to get back and make an impact: “As soon as possible, obviously, but more importantly for the playoffs is the most important. So trying to find that fine line of trying to get ready for that, but also not rushing it back and coming back for no reason.”

So how can Turner return to his do-it-all self?

The Phillies can help themselves by locking in a top-two seed among National League division winners. That would give them an automatic ticket to the Division Series, bypassing the grind of a best-of-three Wild Card round.

Not only would that aid Turner’s recovery, it would also give a breather to a bullpen that has carried a heavy load in the second half.

The Phillies currently hold a four-game lead over the NL West-leading Dodgers. Next Monday’s three-game set in Los Angeles is a control-your-own-destiny opportunity for both clubs — and could be the difference in who skips the Wild Card round.

What will the postseason rotation look like?

There’s no debate about the first two names: Cristopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez will headline.

From there, it gets more interesting.

Jesús Luzardo seems to have earned the No. 3 spot. He leads the team in starts and wins this year, and while his postseason résumé is rocky, his velocity and swing-and-miss stuff should play. His first October in 2019 with Oakland — three scoreless innings out of the bullpen in a Wild Card game — showed his potential, but he has since struggled.

The question is whether the Phillies would run out three consecutive lefties in October against righty-heavy lineups like Milwaukee or San Diego.

That makes the fourth spot even more intriguing.

Aaron Nola’s Monday night gem against the Mets was his first scoreless outing since May. It reminded fans what he can still bring, even in a season marred by injuries and inconsistency. His 10 postseason starts and 4.02 ERA make him a trusted option in October.

Beyond that, there are situational options.

A bullpen game could work if the Phils are up in a series.

Taijuan Walker looks more likely to serve as a long reliever.

And the long shot?

Walker Buehler.

His 2025 regular season has been underwhelming, but his 3.04 career postseason ERA over 19 appearances speaks for itself.

The lineup picture

If Turner and Bohm return, the lineup sets itself. If not, Rob Thomson has shown he’s willing to experiment.

Bryce Harper led off Monday night, and Harrison Bader is hitting first Tuesday. If Turner can’t go, Bader could be an option against lefties — and his October history makes that exciting.

The Bronxville, New York native carried the Yankees in 2022 with five homers in nine games, proving he can step up.

The rest of the outfield mix is battle-tested. Max Kepler, Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos are all in rotation, but Castellanos is the one to watch.

He’s been vocal and mature about the playing-time shuffle, and he’s delivered when it matters. You have to love this season’s storyline too.

After struggling in the 2022 postseason, he’s posted an .898 OPS in his last 17 playoff games.

He has to be out there.

The bottom line

It’s early, but not too early. October is 22 days away.

Some say the Phillies’ championship window is closing. Without Zack Wheeler, the road ahead will be rough, but baseball history is loaded with teams that won without their ace.

It’s baseball. Anything can happen.