Category: Baseball

Box Score

For the third time this NLDS, the Brewers and Padres fought a very close game from start to finish, but this time, Milwaukee was unable to come out on top, as the Padres escaped with a 4-3 victory to cut the series lead to 2-1 for the Crew.

Things started off with a bang, as Jackson Chourio lined a ball into the left-center gap, but Jackson Merrill got a good jump and made a nice sliding catch on the warning track, robbing him of extra bases. Jake Bauers and William Contreras followed with a strikeout and flyout, respectively, but not before getting Nick Pivetta’s pitch count up to 17.

In the home half of the inning, Contreras inexplicably challenged the first pitch out of Dustin May’s hand, a call that was upheld upon review as he cut Milwaukee’s ABS challenges in half right away. May had a solid inning, though, allowing a two-out walk to Manny Machado but nothing else.

Milwaukee got the first hit of the night as Christian Yelich lined a one-out single to center, but he was left there before May went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning with a pair of strikeouts.

After another nice grab by Merrill to rob Sal Frelick, Joey Ortiz had a one-out single in the third but was left stranded, and the Padres got the first leadoff baserunner of the night in the bottom of the frame, as Samad Taylor picked up San Diego’s first hit on a liner up the middle. He then stole second base, advanced on a bunt by Jake Cronenworth, and scored on a groundout by Fernando Tatis Jr. for a 1-0 lead.

Already in a hole, May allowed a single to Merrill, who stole second and scored on a single by Machado to extend the lead to 2-0 before Ty France flew out to end the inning.

Contreras got one of those runs back quickly in the fourth, slugging a leadoff homer over the wall in left to make it 2-1 before Pivetta set the next three down in order.

May returned for the bottom of the fourth to face Ethan Salas, who he walked on four pitches. He then threw another ball to Xander Bogaerts before Pat Murphy pulled the Pat Murphy special, pulling him mid at-bat. JoJo Romero entered and fell behind Bogaerts 3-0 but fought his way back to induce a forceout at second. He then struck out Dustin Harris and got Taylor to pop out, keeping the deficit at one.

Pivetta allowed back-to-back singles to Cooper Pratt and Frelick before Ortiz bunted both over to put runners in scoring position for the top of the order. Pivetta was lifted for Jason Adam, who got ahead of Chourio with a pair of down-and-away sliders before he hit a shallow fly ball to left-center. Surprisingly, Harris caught the ball instead of Merrill (who has the stronger arm) and Pratt made the decision to tag from third, easily beating the throw to tie it up at 2-2.

With two outs, Bauers drew a walk before Contreras singled on a ball that, had it got past Bogaerts at short, would have scored another. Instead, the bases were loaded for Brice Turang, who had to face the lefty Yuki Matsui, who got him to ground out to escape the jam and keep it tied.

That tie didn’t last very long.

Romero stayed in for the bottom of the fifth, and on the first pitch of the frame, he hung a sweeper that Cronenworth promptly put over the wall in right, giving San Diego a 3-2 lead.

Romero and Antonio Senzatela combined to set the next three down in order, sending this one to the sixth.

Yelich started things off with a four-pitch walk before Mitchell got ahead 2-0, but he then took three pitches in the zone to strike out. Pratt followed with a single before Frelick moved both runners up with a groundout to first, and Matsui made way for Bradgley Rodriguez, who got Ortiz into a full count before he flew out to right, ending the inning and once again allowing San Diego to escape the jam.

Senzatela set France and Salas down to begin the bottom of the inning before Bogaerts singled, forcing Murphy to bring in the lefty DL Hall. Miguel Andujar entered as a pinch-hitter for Harris and worked the count full, with a wild pitch by Hall allowing Bogaerts to move up to second. Andujar then hit a broken-bat grounder to short, and Pratt fielded it cleanly but was clearly impacted by the flying bat and Bogaerts’ jump to avoid the ball, as his throw was low and hit the lip of the grass in front of Bauers, allowing Bogaerts to score and extending the lead to 4-2. Jase Bowen replaced Andujar at first and ended the inning as he was caught stealing, but the damage was done and the Brewers had some ground to cover if they wanted to end the series.

After Rodriguez struck both Chourio and Bauers out with ease, the Brewers mounted a two-out rally, as Contreras, Turang (of the bloop variety), and Yelich hit three consecutive singles to get a run back. With the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first, Mitchell was unable to come through, however, striking out to keep the score at 4-3.

Hall worked around a Cronenworth single in the seventh, keeping the deficit at one for the bottom-third of Milwaukee’s lineup, who would go up against Sunday’s starter, Michael King, on just one day of rest in the eighth.

King didn’t look like he had his best stuff, but he only allowed a two-out single to pinch-hitter David Hamilton, who was left there after Chourio grounded out to end the inning. Abner Uribe then made quick work of the 3-4-5 hitters, inducing three groundouts on seven pitches to send this one to the ninth.

After Bauers struck out, Contreras and Turang both drew walks to once again put the go-ahead run on, but Yelich hit into a game-ending 6-3 double play, ending this one just after midnight in Milwaukee.

It was a tough loss for the Brewers, as they out-hit San Diego 11-6 and out-walked them 4-2, but they left 11 runners on base in this one. Contreras led the offense with a homer, two singles, and a walk, while Pratt was the only other player with multiple hits, picking up two singles.

May was just fine to open things, and after Romero and Senzatela allowed runs in the fifth and sixth, the bullpen settled down to allow the offense an opportunity to make a come back.

We’ll be back here for a Game 4 on Wednesday night. Neither team has announced a starter yet, but it seems likely that we will see Robert Gasser for Milwaukee and Walker Buehler for San Diego. First pitch in that one is set for 9:08 p.m. CT. See you then.

SAN DIEGO — The Padres were one loss away from a vacation in Cancun, without their All-Star closer, and after blowing leads in both games in Milwaukee .

But on Tuesday night in Game 3, this time, they didn’t blink.

With Tom DeLonge of the band Blink 182 watching from behind home plate, the San Diego Padres held off the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Tuesday night at Petco Park, surviving a tense game to stave off elimination and trim Milwaukee’s lead in the National League Division Series to 2-1. 

Their reward? Another elimination game on Wednesday night.

At this point, they’ll take it.

San Diego struck first against former Dodgers’ pitcher Dustin May after Samad Taylor — inserted into the lineup when Gavin Sheets was scratched with a neck issue — singled and stole second.

Fernando Tatis Jr. brought him home with a groundout before Manny Machado punched a two-out RBI single into left for a 2-0 lead.

Nick Pivetta gave the Padres exactly what they needed early, but Milwaukee began its inevitable push in the fourth when William Contreras launched a solo homer to left, then took his time circling the bases and gestured between second and third as Petco Park serenaded him with boos.

The Brewers tied it in the next inning by stealing a run from underneath San Diego’s nose.

With Cooper Pratt at third, Jackson Chourio lifted a shallow fly to left. Pratt tagged anyway, challenging Dustin Harris’ arm, and scored when Harris’ throw arrived without enough mustard on it.

Unlike the hot dogs being devoured throughout the stadium by the sellout crowd of 47,708 at Petco Park.

For a Padres team that had watched Milwaukee steal both games at American Family Field, it felt ominously familiar for the Friars.

But reliever Yuki Matsui escaped a bases loaded jam and Jake Cronenworth put a stop to Milwaukee’s momentum by jumping on a JoJo Romero first-pitch sweeper in the bottom of the fifth for a leadoff homer that restored San Diego’s 3-2 lead.

The Padres added another run in appropriately chaotic fashion when former Yankee Miguel Andujar shattered his bat on a grounder to shortstop.

The broken lumber nearly found Xander Bogaerts, but he managed to avoid the splintered bat and the ball, while Pratt’s one-hopper to first wasn’t scooped cleanly by Brewers’ first baseman Jake Bauers and Bogaerts raced home for an insurance run. 

Milwaukee made it 4-3 on Christian Yelich’s two-out RBI single in the seventh, ensuring every remaining pitch would carry the weight of San Diego’s season.

And with Mason Miller unavailable after being placed on the Postseason Paternity List earlier Tuesday, the Padres reached for an unconventional fire extinguisher.

Michael King.

The Game 2 starter came roaring out of the bullpen to help finish what Pivetta and the Padres started, turning a starting pitcher into an emergency postseason weapon with San Diego’s season hanging in the balance.

Desperate? Absolutely.

October doesn’t award style points for bullpen management. It only asks whether you’re still playing tomorrow.

The Padres are.

What it means

San Diego finally punched back.

The Padres still trail the Brewers 2-1 and still have no margin for error, but Milwaukee missed its first opportunity to end this series.

Now Petco Park gets another October night Wednesday, with San Diego potentially choosing between Robbie Ray and veteran Walker Buehler for Game 4.

Turning point

Milwaukee had just embarrassed San Diego by scoring Pratt from third on Chourio’s shallow fly, tying the game and seemingly stealing the momentum again.

Cronenworth needed exactly one pitch to steal it back.

Did you see that?

There is no roof at Petco Park — and one Padres fan wanted Milwaukee to know it.

After Ty France’s potential go-ahead homer struck an overhead obstruction at American Family Field in Game 1, a fan arrived Tuesday with a sign delivering the perfect reminder:

“In San Diego there’s no roof to save you.”

Up next

The Padres and Brewers return to Petco Park Wednesday night for Game 4, with Milwaukee getting its second opportunity to clinch the series.

San Diego’s pitching plan remains the biggest question. Ray could return after starting Game 1, while Buehler gives the Padres another option, or they could go with an opener.

Whatever the choice, the assignment is refreshingly uncomplicated now.

Win Wednesday and send this thing back to Milwaukee.

Lose, and start packing for Cancun.

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The Phillies are going to have to dig a little deeper in their managerial search.

World Series-winning Red Sox manager Alex Cora informed the Phillies that he plans to sit out the 2027 season, meaning he will not be going to Philadelphia, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed.

Heyman reported that Cora’s decision mostly came down to family reasons, as he’s been enjoying time with them. He is also getting married in November.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first reported the news of Cora’s decision on Tuesday night.

Heyman reported earlier this week that Cora — who is owed over $7 million by the Red Sox next year — could decide to sit out 2027.

It’s not the first time Cora has turned down the Phillies and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski this year. After the Phillies fired Rob Thomson after a sluggish start, the team reached out to Cora — who had recently been canned by the Red Sox. Dombrowski and Cora had worked together in Boston for the team’s last World Series championship in 2018.

“I accepted to be a full-time dad,” Cora told The Post in late April.

The Phillies instead made Don Mattingly the interim manager. The Yankees great went 79-55 as the Phillies squeaked into the postseason as the final National League wild-card entrant. They fell in three games to the rival Braves in the first round.

Though it was previously reported that Mattingly was expected to be dismissed, Heyman reported Wednesday that it is possible he does return to the Philadelphia dugout.

Cora finished with a 620-541 record with the Red Sox and made the playoffs three times.

Boston went 10-17 to start 2026 before he and much of his coaching staff were axed.

Chad Tracy took over in an interim capacity — later getting promoted to full-time skipper with a three-year contract.

The Red Sox made the playoffs but were swept handily in the wild-card round by the Yankees.

ATLANTA –– Seemingly every October, the same question arises.

Over the years, Kiké Hernández has supplied a wide range of answers.

Sometimes, it’s a simple joke: “I like Halloween,” he quipped two years ago.

Others, it’s a more introspective –– albeit, self-deprecating –– response: “My brain’s all over the place, man,” he said before Game 7 of last year’s World Series. “I got really bad ADHD.”

Usually, however, the explanation boils down to one simple factor, having to do with focus and fearlessness in the highest-pressure of situations.

Why is he, as a relatively mediocre regular-season hitter over his 13-year career, such a consistent force in the playoffs?

“It’s almost like when you’re in school and you have a project for two months, and then you leave it for the last day,” he said this time a year ago. “That’s kind of a similar way [it works in the playoffs]. I’m able to stay in the moment and, like, stay really, really focused.”

In Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday night, that mentality paid off with more postseason heroics yet again.

As usual, the Dodgers deployed Hernández like an ace up their sleeve, inserting him into the starting lineup to face star Braves pitcher Chris Sale with the best-of-five series knotted at one game apiece.

And, as usual, Hernández delivered, producing the decisive swing on a two-run homer in the fourth inning of the Dodgers’ 3-1 win at Truist Park.

“It’s something I take a lot of pride in, but don’t really think about it too much,” Hernández said.  “It’s something that, once I’m done playing, I’m going to look back on and be really proud of, because the way my career has gone, in terms of finding myself each and every year in October.”

Indeed, Hernández has a way of looking –– and getting –– lost in the regular season, especially in recent years while being relegated to a part-time spot on the Dodgers’ bench.

This season, the 35-year-old appeared in just 41 regular season games, getting less than 100 total plate appearances because of elbow and oblique injuries, but also a loaded Dodgers roster that leaves at-bats at a premium for fringe players like him.

It didn’t help that he hit only .222, lowering his career regular-season average to .235 to go along with a .706 OPS (a shade under league-average production when measured by OPS+).

Entering this October, he had no clear pathway to regular playing time, either, with the Dodgers boasting entrenched regulars at all nine positions.

No matter.

Since rejoining the Dodgers as a trade deadline acquisition in 2023, the utilityman has come to accept that “my role is not to necessarily be in there all year or every day.” He knew that, at some point, he would be summoned to provide a boost for the two-time defending champions.

“It would have been nice to get a little bit of a warm-up before [having to face] Chris Sale,” he joked. “But I’m just glad I’m here talking about something positive and not something negative.”

Rare is it, of course, that Hernández doesn’t make a positive impact when called upon.

At this point, he has turned majestic playoff performances into an almost annual tradition.

There was his three-homer outburst in the Dodgers’ pennant-clinching victory in Game 5 of the 2017 NL Championship Series. His game-tying, pinch-hit blast in Game 7 of the 2020 NLCS. His go-ahead shot early in a winner-take-all Game 5 triumph over the Padres in the 2024 NLDS. His season-saving double-play in left field in Game 6 of last year’s Fall Classic.

And that doesn’t even include what he did for the Boston Red Sox during their run to the ALCS in 2021, when he batted .408 with five home runs during his one postseason campaign away from Los Angeles.

“He’s a big-time player,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s always prepared. He loves moments like this. He has a way to lock in.”

Thus, in the run-up to a pivotal Game 3 on Tuesday night, and in the face of a daunting task against the Braves’ left-handed ace in Sale, Roberts turned to Hernández to give the offense some “added intensity, urgency,” starting him at third base in place of the left-handed-hitting Max Muncy.

“We needed a little bit of that Kiké dust,” Roberts said.

And, surprise, surprise — he came through once again.

After the Dodgers squandered several early chances against Sale, Hernández stepped up with one on and one out in the fourth inning, hoping to simply “grind out the at-bat” and keep stressing Sale’s climbing pitch count.

But when the former Cy Young Award winner tried to sneak back-to-back changeups by him, Hernández was ready for it.

“He doubled up on the changeup,” Hernández said. “My eyes recognized it.”

With a vicious swing that sent the ball screaming off his bat at 106.8 mph, Hernández launched a 406-foot drive deep into the left-field seats, breaking open what had been a scoreless pitchers’ duel previously.

The scene that followed was triumphantly familiar, with Hernández pounding his chest and screaming his lungs out as his Dodgers teammates erupted in the dugout down the third-base line.

The 2-0 lead would last, as well, thanks to seven dominant innings from Yoshinobu Yamamoto –– who, while facing a jam in the fifth, also got a quick pep talk from Hernández instilling him with confidence and featuring a “dirty word,” the pitcher joked –– that propelled the Dodgers to a two-games-to-one series lead. 

“He converts himself into this kind of monster when it comes to the playoffs, and when it matters the most,” said teammate Miguel Rojas, another veteran role player who has drawn so much inspiration from Hernández’s repeated heroics that he texted him last week to tell him “how much I appreciate what he taught me without even telling me how to do it.”

“He wants the situation. He wants the moment. He wants to be the guy,” Rojas added. “His value is way higher than what people think that he can be. He’s a great asset for us.”

The home run marked the 17th of Hernández’s postseason career, tied for 18th-most all-time along with the likes of Aaron Judge, David Ortiz and Jim Thome. In the playoffs, he now has a .272 average and .831 OPS in 105 career games (93 of which have come with the Dodgers, most in the franchise’s illustrious history).

“I wish there was a recipe for that so we can all take it from him,” first baseman Freddie Freeman, who went deep himself later in Tuesday’s fourth inning, joked afterward. “It’s incredible … He’s ready to go at all times.”

Hernández himself, yet again, still lacked a definitive answer for why his play in the postseason seems to inevitably elevate, outside of ample October experience and a slow heartbeat in such moments.

The only thing he did know for sure: “I was going to be ready,” he said, “whenever Doc put my name in the lineup.”

Once again, it might have swung the direction of the Dodgers’ season.

“Having him in a lineup in the postseason,” Roberts said, “just adds that extra sort of urgency, that kind of grit that you need.”

SAN DIEGO – Jake Cronenworth hit a solo home run to put the Padres back on top with a 3-2 lead in Game 3 of the National League Division Series at Petco Park on Tuesday, Oct. 6. 

Cronenworth sent the ball 368 feet to right field during the bottom of the fifth inning.

The run cuts into the momentum the Milwaukee Brewers started building in the top of the inning.  

Milwaukee had just evened the score with a run scored in the top of the fifth inning, but the Padres managed to prevent the game from getting out of hand as the Brewers were in position add more runs with the bases loaded.

Keep Their Heads Ringin' pic.twitter.com/La85pegAE9

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 7, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jake Cronenworth hits solo HR to put Padres ahead of Brewers in NLDS Game 3

It’s Tuesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. We leave the light on for a reason. There’s no cover charge. We still have a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

The last time we met, I asked you about whether you’d give outfielder Ian Happ a qualifying offer. The vote was very close, reflecting the divided opinion of Happ that seems to be a fixture of Cubs fandom these days. In any case, 51 percent of you said no, you wouldn’t give Happ a qualifying offer and 49 percent of you said you would. So yeah, really close.

On Tuesdays, I don’t normally do any movie stuff. But I did want to take a moment to remember Eva Marie Saint, who passed away today at the age of 102. Saint won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for On the Waterfront, which was her on-screen debut. Of course, she also co-starred with Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest, which won our Hitchcock tournament a few years ago. But she was more than just her two most famous films and she had a long career that continued into her nineties.

So rest in peace, Eva, and thank you for all your performances that made so many people happy.

Tonight we have one of those NPR Tiny Desk concerts featuring Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana and Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The two are joined by Pablo Menares on bass and Kush Abadey on drums. This is from just last week as part of Latin Music Month.

Welcome back to everyone who skips all that jazz.

The Cubs have a very good infield of Alex Bregman, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch. They also have two solid reserve infielders in Pedro Ramírez and Matt Shaw, both of whom would start for many other teams. Shaw, of course, started for the Cubs in 2025.

Six good infielders is nice to have, but it’s a bit of a luxury. While Matt Shaw played more outfield than infield in 2026 and the Cubs have experimented with Ramírez in the outfield, both Shaw and Ramírez’s best positions are second and third base. And while both of them have the potential to be pretty good hitters for a second or third baseman, they aren’t projected to have the kind of power that contending teams want out of their corner outfielders.

This is just a roundabout way of saying that Shaw and Ramírez might be more valuable to another team than they are to the Cubs. And in that case, it might be a good idea to see if a team would be willing to send the Cubs a pitcher or an outfielder for one or both of them.

The other point is that Shaw and Ramírez are pretty similar players and it’s not always great to have two similar players on the roster. Sure, it’s nice to have a backup if one or the other gets hurt, like Shaw did for a chunk of this year, but if they’re both healthy, they’ll be fighting each other for playing time. (Not literally. No punches will be thrown.) Both Shaw and Ramírez had a similar OBP last year (.327 to .321) and a similar slugging percentage. (.410 to .402). We can argue about which one is the better fielder. Ramírez had much better defensive metrics last year, but Shaw was also forced to play a majority of his games out of position as a corner outfielder. Shaw was much better defensively in 2025 as an everyday third baseman.

Ramírez is also two years younger than Shaw and has one more year of control. That might mean Ramírez would bring back more in trade, despite the two being so similar in many other ways.

So which one of these two players would you try to trade this winter? Shaw or Ramírez? Or would you trade neither? Both?

Obviously there’s an answer of “Whichever one brings back the most.” I’m going to ask you to take into consideration which one you think will bring back more in trade. So if you are willing to deal the one you think is better for a better return, vote for that player. I’m not going to tell you which one that is. Like I said, I think the two are pretty similar except that Ramírez is younger.

So what would you do with Matt Shaw and Pedro Ramírez?

Thank you for stopping by tonight. We were so glad to see you. Tell your friends about us. Get home safely. Recycle any cans and bottled. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.

Not even the Orioles mascot escaped the layoffs that have swept through the MLB organization.

More than two dozen employees were let go by the Orioles in layoffs that touched everything from ticket sales to graphic design and included the individuals who played The Oriole Bird and Mr. Splash, The Athletic reported Tuesday.

The team is planning to continue to operate its Bird Bath section in left field despite the news on Tuesday impacting Mr. Splash, whom the Orioles debuted in May 2023. He was in charge of spraying fans with water in the special section when the team connected on extra-base hits. 

Multiple outlets reported on the layoffs on Tuesday, and a spokesperson told The Athletic that the cuts had impacted the Orioles’ business department. 

The Orioles spokesperson also said the team does not comment on employee matters. 

The Baltimore Banner reported that the number of employees who were let go was at least in the teens, and one source described it as a “bloodbath.” 

President of business operations Catie Griggs wrote in an internal memo that the cuts were “not about reducing headcount” and that the ballclub would “continue to recruit for critical roles and will add talent in areas where we have clear needs.”

“Today we made difficult changes to our business, reshaping some roles and reporting lines and saying goodbye to colleagues,” Griggs wrote in the memo, obtained by multiple outlets. “Some of the people leaving have been here for more than a decade, others for a much shorter time, and every one of them was part of our team. To many of you, they are friends as well as coworkers.

“For those of you who have been here a long time, today may also feel like losing part of what this place has been. That history matters, and it remains part of who we are. We’re grateful for what each of them gave this organization.”

While the MLB playoffs roll on, the league is possibly headed for a lockout in December once the current collective bargaining agreement expires. 

It’s unknown if the layoffs were made with the potential lockout in mind.

SAN DIEGO —  Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras cut into the San Diego Padres' lead Tuesday with a solo home run during the fourth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS.

Contreras slowly trotted around the bases, even stopping briefly to celebrate, before crossing home plate at Petco Park.

The home run served as a quick response to the Padres, who scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning.

William Contreras gets a run right back for the Brewers! pic.twitter.com/AozYKwNKC9

— MLB (@MLB) October 7, 2026

The Padres led the game 2-1 as action headed to the bottom of the fourth.

It was the second home run of the series for Contreras, who hit a go-ahead solo home run to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie in Game 1 on Oct. 3.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: William Contreras' home run gets Brewers back into NLDS Game 3 vs. Padres

Shohei Ohtani has not hit a home run since Aug. 18. The Los Angeles Dodgers are 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the National Division Series.

And they are now one win away from the NL Championship Series anyway.

That’s what all the money really buys.

On Tuesday night, it bought the insurance of having Enrique Hernandez.

Dave Roberts dropped Ohtani to fifth in the lineup Tuesday night, the first time he’d hit there this postseason. Ohtani struck out with two runners on in the first inning. The Dodgers still won 3-1 and now lead the National League Division Series 2-1.

Hernandez won it.

He’s making just $4.5 million on a one-year deal. He played 41 games in the regular season after elbow surgery and a torn oblique. He was only in the lineup Tuesday night because Roberts benched a slumping Tommy Edman. In the fourth inning, he hit a Chris Sale changeup for a two-run homer, the 17^th postseason home run of his career. Freddie Freeman added a solo shot two batters later.

Every contender pays for stars. The Dodgers pay for the guy who wins the game when the star is slumping.

Justin Verlander seemingly didn’t have to think too hard about whether it was time to retire after 21 MLB seasons. 

The future Hall of Fame right-hander was injured in his first start back with the Tigers on March 30 and was placed on the injured list with left hip inflammation.

It proved to be the only start the 43-year-old made this season before the final one of his career on Sept. 26, after he suffered a left hamstring strain during a bullpen session in June.

It was then that Verlander knew his career was over before fighting his way back for his swan song.       

“It was pretty easy,” the three-time Cy Young winner told the MLB on Fox crew before the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLDS. “I make the first start of the season and my leg starts hurting. I said, my entire career, man, I love this game. I love giving everything I got. I’m gonna play until the wheels fall off. The wheel falls off in the first game.

“Then a couple [of] months later, the wheel’s still falling off.”

One last thing sealed it, as Verlander got to spend more time with wife Kate Upton, 7-year-old daughter Genevieve and young son Bellamy.   

“My daughter comes up. My family comes up. I mean, this is pretty sweet here, hanging out with them,” he said. “It just made it pretty clear. The arm held up great. It always has. But the leg man gave out on me.”

The former MVP and two-time World Series champion admitted before his final start that he was “skipping a lot of steps, risking some serious injury potentially” to get back on the mound.

It proved to be all worth it as he got emotional during an on-field ceremony and caught his daughter’s first ceremonial pitch. A day later, he turned in a performance to be proud of.

Verlander allowed two runs on five hits and walks with six strikeouts over 5 ⅓ innings against the Pirates.

His daughter joined Tigers manager A.J. Hinch to take him out of the game.

Verlander finished his career with a 266-159 record, 3,560 strikeouts (eighth all time) and a 3.33 ERA to go along with a pitching Triple Crown in 2011.       

The Yankees’ struggles at Tropicana Field run deeper than poor play on the field, according to a former MVP who once donned the pinstripes.

Andrew McCutchen, who spent the final months of the 2018 season in The Bronx, revealed how struck he was by the roster’s visceral response to facing the Rays on their home turf.

“When I came over, we went to [Tropicana Field] and I remember them all talking about how they just can’t beat the Rays in Tampa,” the 2013 NL MVP and five-time All-Star revealed Tuesday during an appearance on MLB Network, a day after the Yankees’ loss to the Rays in Game 2 of the ALDS put them on the brink of elimination. “That was always the thing that they talked about.

“I remember being like, ‘Dude, we’re a good team, let’s go, let’s win.'”

While the Yankees finished 2018 with the second-best record in the American League (100-62), they did not fare well against their AL East rivals.

Before McCutchen’s acquisition in August, the Yankees went just 1-5 at Tropicana Field before winning three of four in Tampa Bay in their second-to-last regular-season series of 2018.

Despite that strong finish, McCutchen said the club’s negative attitude toward the Tampa turf never wavered.

“We ended up winning…but that’s not the thing they think about, I know that,” McCutchen, 39, said. “That’s the cloud over their head.”

Tropicana Field’s status as a house of horrors has been a consistent theme in 2026 once again, as the Yankees lost five of seven games at the venue during the regular season.

After failing to catch the Rays in the AL East, the Yankees promptly disposed of the Red Sox in two games during the wild-card series — but the ALDS has been a different story.

The Yankees’ performance across the first two games of the ALDS has been defined by an anemic offense and a barrage of sloppy play.

The Bombers managed just a single hit in Game 1, an eighth-inning double by Austin Wells, which was negated by the catcher’s ill-advised attempt to stretch the knock into a triple.

Despite having Cam Schlittler on the mound and two homers from Ben Rice in Game 2, a comedy of errors sunk the Yankees in a 5-1 loss.

As the series shifts to Yankee Stadium for Game 3, New York will hope to kick off the difficult task of winning three straight games to advance — and McCutchen thinks his former club can pull it off.

Even with Aaron Judge still sidelined and the offense scuffling, McCutchen said the Yankees’ home field advantage gives them the edge.

“Going back to New York, they’re going to have a lot of fun. They know being at home, in their home stadium, they’re going to bring it, those fans are gonna be loud,” McCutchen said.

“I see them going and doing really well for those next two games.”

A trio of Mets rookies was honored on Tuesday night after being named to MLB Pipeline's 2026 All-Rookie Teams.

Right fielder Carson Benge took home First-Team honors while center fielder A.J. Ewing and starting pitcher Nolan McLean were picked for Second-Team after all three had great rookie seasons in New York.

Benge, who had a slash line of .282/.346/.430 (.776 OPS) with a 20/20 season to go along with 22 doubles, finished with a 4.3 WAR in 156 games -- the third-highest among rookie position players. 

The 23-year-old is also one of the top contenders for the National League Rookie of the Year award with two of his competitors, Cincinnati Reds designated hitter Sal Stewart and St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt, also making First-Team.

After getting promoted to the big leagues in May, Ewing hit the ground running and made an immediate impact with the Mets. He struggled in the middle of the season, but the 21-year-old ended the season on a high note and led the club with 25 steals, a new franchise record for a rookie. 

Ewing's biggest contributions of the season possibly came in the outfield, where he manned center field masterfully while occasionally getting reps at the corners as well. He finished with a 3.1 WAR in 120 games.

McLean rounds out the group after a sensational first full campaign in the big leagues. The right-hander burst onto the scene in 2025 when he made eight starts down the stretch of the season during a pennant race and went 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA.

Despite New York struggling as much as it did this season, McLean was one of the most consistent players on the team. He made all 31 of his starts and had a 3.16 ERA across a career-high 179.2 innings while striking out 194 batters. He's joined by Milwaukee Brewers starter Logan Henderson on the Second-Team.

The Philadelphia Phillies have been spurned again by Alex Cora.

Dave Dombrowski, Phillies president of baseball operations, spoke with Cora about becoming their manager in 2027, but Cora informed Dombrowski he’s taking the season off, according to a high-ranking Phillies executive with direct knowledge of their talks told USA TODAY Sports.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Phillies still have not decided who will manage their team.

Cora, who won a World Series with the Red Sox with Dombrowski in 2018, was offered the Phillies’ job in April before firing Rob Thomson, and he declined it, saying he wanted to spend the rest of the summer with his family.

More: Phillies need hard reset with Mattingly paying the price

Welp, that wasn’t ideal!

The home field advantage that the Atlanta Braves snatched away from the Los Angeles Dodgers has slipped right out of Atlanta’s fingers thanks to a brilliant Yoshinobu Yamamoto and more power hitting from the Dodgers. They still haven’t scored with anything but homers and unfortunately Chris Sale was the latest victim of LA’s obsession with the long ball.

“They did a nice job of really grinding the at-bats and passing the baton,” conceded manager Walt Weiss when he was asked about the Dodgers’ approach against Sale in the postgame press conference. “[Sale] had to work hard. He had to work hard to get the outs that he got. He looked like Chris Sale to me [but] they did a nice job.”

Weiss also stated that he felt like Sale’s stuff was still good but the command may not have been there in his eyes. Either way, there’s no way around it: The Dodgers were better on this particular night and they did a solid job of bouncing back from Sale’s dominant outing when this team came to visit back in August.

With that being said, I’d imagine that the thing that’s on every Braves fan’s mind right now is that this lineup has got to start hitting consistently — and soon. While Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the rest of LA’s pitching staff is as imposing as it gets and it’s a much easier said-than-done task on Atlanta’s hands, it’s still the Postseason and the Braves are here for a reason — they’ve got to find a way to make something happen against this pitching staff.

That goes doubly for the stars like Drake Baldwin, Matt Olson and Ronald Acuña Jr., who have stayed largely dormant during this series so far. It was another quiet night for Acuña in particular, who has been picking up hits and getting on base but not at the rate or level that you’d expect out of a superstar-caliber player. Acuña had another chance to make something happen in a big moment in Game 3 when the fifth inning rolled around and he had a chance with two men in scoring position and two outs.

It could’ve been a special moment had Acuña come through and either tied the game with a knock or even electrified the stadium with a dinger. Instead, Acuña grounded out again and the moment went by the wayside. That ended up being Atlanta’s best chance of the night and the face of the franchise came up short again.

While it’s not just Acuña who has been underwhelming at the plate so far during this Postseason, it’s on him as the star of this ballclub to step up in the situations where the stars need to shine. While Acuña might have been dealing with a sore knee, it’s not an excuse — Weiss stated in the pregame that he hasn’t seen Acuña suffer any ill effects from the lower leg contusion that he sustained in the final week of the regular season and also Acuña’s knee was still in good enough position for him to play tonight.

If he’s not pressing at the plate (which Weiss insisted both during the pregame press conference and the postgame presser as well) then something’s got to change. If I knew what needed to change, I’d be getting paid a lot of money working in baseball instead of writing about it so it’s on Acuña and the coaching staff to figure it out. With their backs in the wall, the Braves are going to need everybody to contribute and hopefully the face of the franchise can finally lift his game for the Postseason before it’s too late.

It’ll also be on Tyler Mahle to make something happen on the mound for the Braves in Game 4. In the pregame presser before Game 3, Mahle at least expressed confidence that he’ll be up for the challenge for his start with Atlanta’s backs facing the wall. “…All you can do out there is make pitches. I’m not trying to trick them. [The Dodgers] know. They’ve seen me,” said Mahle when he was asked about approaching the Dodgers lineup in Game 4. “I’m sure they’re going to watch film, whatever. So it’s making pitches at the right times and that’s all you can hope to do.”

With that being said, the Dodgers also appear to be ready for the challenge of getting it right against Mahle with a trip to the NLCS in sight. Freddie Freeman spoke with the media following Game 3 and he talked about how the Dodgers plan to deal with Mahle on Wednesday evening. “If you’re chasing splitters down below, you’re going to be in trouble,” explained Freeman when he was asked about dealing with Mahle. “Just like we did with Sale, you gotta get him in the zone, get him off the bottom and hopefully he makes mistakes and you’re on time for them.”

“I wish baseball was so much more of ‘This is what we’re gonna do’ but sometimes we strip it down and it’s not that complicated. If we can just get him up off the bottom of the zone, hopefully we can have some great success tomorrow. We’ve gotta treat every game like an elimination game.”

All the way back in April, Mahle threw seven shutout innings against the Dodgers as a member of the Giants. A repeat performance will be sorely needed for the Braves and a star-making performance from any of the stars in this lineup would also be greatly appreciated as well.

The moment is there for Atlanta, they’ve just got to rise up to it and make something happen. We’ll see how it goes as the Braves play with the season on the line on Wednesday night in Cobb County.

ATLANTA — Build him a statue.

Retire his number.

Let him press his golden right hand into wet cement on Hollywood Boulevard.

What’s the wait?

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is only in his third season with the Dodgers, and the 28-year-old Japanese right-hander is already one of the greatest postseason pitchers in franchise history.

He produced his latest October masterpiece on Tuesday night in a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park that shifted the balance of their National League Division Series back in the Dodgers’ favor.

Didn’t matter that former Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale was pitching opposite him.

Didn’t matter that Shohei Ohtani was a non-factor again.

Yamamoto was dealing, and the Dodgers now have a chance to close out the series on Wednesday after taking a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-five series.

“Wow,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

How else could he describe the seven innings over which Yamamoto limited the Braves to one run and four hits?

The 10-strikeout performance further solidified the Dodgers’ belief in Yamamoto, who was the World Series MVP last year.

“He’s becoming one of the best pitchers on this stage,” infielder Miguel Rojas said. “Obviously, he hasn’t won a Cy Young here or been the best pitcher in the league, but we feel like very time he takes the mound, he’s the best pitcher for us.”

Yamamoto was pushed by the memory of the last time he pitched in this stadium against Sale. In that late August start, Yamamoto limited the Braves to a run in 6 ⅓ innings. Sale pitched a complete-game shutout, and the Braves won, 1-0.

“The last time I was here, I gave up the go-ahead run and we lost because he was able to hold us,” Yamamoto said in Japanese. “I was extremely mindful about the first run.”

While the Dodgers’ lineup made Sale work by extending at-bats, Yamamoto cruised through the first three innings. The only hit Yamamoto gave up over that span was a bunt single by Michael Harris II in the second inning.

Maurico Dubón stole a home run from Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman by reaching over the left-field fence in the top of the third inning, but the Braves couldn’t turn that moment of jubilation into sustained momentum. Yamamoto wouldn’t allow it, retiring the Braves in order in the bottom half of the inning.

Finally, in the fourth inning, Sale broke. He gave up a two-run home run to Kiké Hernández, then a solo shot to Freeman. The Dodgers were up, 3-0.

Yamamoto’s first and only encounter with trouble came in the fifth inning. Yamamoto started the inning by giving up back-to-back singles to Dubón and Lane Thomas. With one out, he walked pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez to load the bases. A groundout by Drake Baldwn pushed in a run.

Up next was Ronald Acuña, the former NL MVP.

The showdown was representative of Yamamoto’s mindset. Yamamoto was determined to take on Acuña, or anyone else for that matter, on his terms. Even after falling behind in the count, 3-1, Yamamoto refused to throw a strike for the sake of throwing a strike. He still had a two-run lead. If he walked Acuña and forced in a run, he could preserve his team’s advantage by retiring the next batter.

Yamamoto threw a splitter that just nicked the bottom of the strike zone, Acuña grounded out to second base, and the Dodgers maintained their 3-1 lead.

Limiting damage, Yamamoto said, was prioritized over efficiency.

“As long as I didn’t give up runs, I didn’t mind if I ran up my pitch count,” Yamamoto said. “I was going to throw the ball in places in which it would be difficult to hit.”

Turned out he didn’t have to make that sacrifice.

Yamamoto completed seven innings in 98 pitches, which spared Roberts the torture of using any relievers other than Tanner Scott and Edwin Diaz.

Tarik Skubal, who pitched six shutout innings in a Game 1 victory, was already an admirer of Yamamoto before the Dodgers acquired him from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline. Sharing a locker room with Yamamoto over the last couple of months further intensified his respect for him.

“Nobody’s more deserving to go out there and perform and have success,” Skubal said. “He does everything the right way. He works his [butt] off. He’s relentless.”

Skubal marveled at Yamamoto’s distinctive training regimen.

“I’m never going to be doing what he’s doing,” Skubal said. “I’m not throwing javelins. The way he prepares is insane. He’s doing headstands. I’m not doing that. I weigh a little bit more than he does.”

Skubal chuckled.

Skubal is listed at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, and Yamamoto 5-foot-10, 176 pounds.

But the more Skubal spoke about Yamamoto, the more it became clear he viewed Yamamoto as a figurative giant.

“You want a guy on the mound in any situation,” Skubal said, “it’s probably him.”