Category: Baseball

Last night it was reported that the Washington Nationals were closing in on a contract extension for Cade Cavalli, the staff ace. I was going to hold off on writing about this until it was official, but as more time passes, I thought it was important to give an update. Locking up Cavalli would be a strong statement of intent for both the front office and ownership.

Right-hander Cade Cavalli and the Washington Nationals are close on a contract extension, sources say. A deal is not done, but there is optimism about a new contract to keep the 28-year-old in Washington going forward.

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) September 17, 2026

Robert Murray was the first to report on this deal but many others, including Spencer Nusbaum have also confirmed that a deal is close. For years, Nats fans have wanted to see extensions. Locking up home grown players has not been happening very often in DC. The only time in recent history that the Nats gave out an extension was Keibert Ruiz’s 8 year deal back in 2023.

Since then, the Nats have been very hesitant to give out long term contracts. In fact, we have not seen them go past two years for any players since Ruiz. However, it looks like that will change soon with Cavalli. If/when this deal is done, it will be something that benefits both the player and the team.

For these extensions, it takes two to tango. With Cavalli, it is easy to see why he would be receptive to a deal. He had a very bumpy road back from Tommy John Surgery and many people lost faith in him. The organization always stood by him and kept him in the plans. That loyalty gave the two sides a strong relationship.

In his age 27 season, Cavalli has rewarded the faith and has emerged as one of the best starters in the National League. This season, he has a 3.12 ERA with 194 strikeouts in 164.2 innings. Cavalli should get some down ballot Cy Young votes in his first full season as a big leaguer. He has also taken his game to another level here in the second half.

Cade Cavalli over his last 12 starts:

72 IP
2.13 ERA
89 K : 17 BB

He has been on another planet post ASB!pic.twitter.com/2XBTiS6snp

— Andrew DeCeglie (@Andrew_FBB) September 12, 2026

Despite only making 11 career starts this season, the new regime had a ton of trust in Cavalli. We saw that when he was made the Opening Day starter. Giving that honor to such an inexperienced player is usual but it showed how much belief the team had in Cavalli. 

Seeing two parties with a good working relationship come together and make a deal is a beautiful thing. Hopefully this extension is done before too long. While the deal is moving, it does seem like there still are a couple final hurdles to clear. That is what Talk Nats reported earlier this morning. 

The fact this deal is public knowledge now makes me think it is very likely to happen though. Paul Toboni and the Lerner’s can’t really afford to let this slip away now that it is out in the open. Hopefully it can get done today before Cade Cavalli takes the mound tonight in St. Louis.

We still don’t know the official details of the deal. However, Mark Zuckerman did provide some insight. He said that the deal will buy out at least one of his free agent years. That means the deal will be at least four years.

The Nationals and Cade Cavalli are nearing a contract extension that would buy out at least one of his free agent years, per source. Young staff ace still has 3 years of arbitration eligibility, wouldn't be free agent until 2030. (@ByRobertMurray first to report nearing a deal.)

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) September 17, 2026

I would think that the sweet spot here would be a 5 or 6 year deal. At 28 years old, you don’t want to make the deal too long. However, I want to see them buy out multiple free agent years. A four year deal would just feel like window dressing to me.

Hopefully we can see the details soon. My final prediction is that this is a 5-year $80 million deal with a club option for a 6th year. That is just me looking at comparable deals and making an educated guess. When actual details come, I will keep you guys updated.

If you look at the roster for the 2013 Yankees, it reads like a fever dream. Sure, there are the Yankees of that era that you remember, but other than Robinson Canó and Brett Gardner, most of them hardly played that season. There are also some names that you probably don’t remember playing in the big leagues at all, never mind as Yankees. Then, there’s the ones that you may remember as players, but completely forgot that they donned pinstripes.

I remember a lot of players from that roster, because I am a sicko, but it would be completely understandable if you forgot about Brent Lillibridge — who celebrates his 43rd birthday day — and his Yankees’ run.

Brent Stuart Lillibridge
Born: September 18, 1983 (Everett, WA)
Yankees Tenure: 2013

Born in Washington state, Lillibridge was raised in the Everett, WA area and attended Henry M. Jackson High School. From there, he earned a baseball scholarship to the University of Washington, where he starred for the Huskies for three seasons. At UW, he made the All-Pac 10 team three-straight seasons, making him one to watch in the 2005 MLB Draft. The Pirates ended up taking Lillibridge in the fourth round.

After a couple years in Pittsburgh’s system, Lillibridge was part of a January 2007 trade that sent him and Mike Gonzalez to the Braves for Adam LaRoche and Jamie Romak. By that time, Lillibridge was cracking the top 100 prospect range according to some outlets.

As he reached the upper levels of the minors, Lillibridge’s hitting stats were tailing off just a tad. However, he still got the callup to the majors in 2008, as the Braves needed an infielder to fill in as they dealt with injuries. He ended up appearing in 29 big league games for Atlanta in ‘08, putting up a .576 OPS.

That offseason, Lillibridge was on the move again. The Braves traded him to the White Sox as part of a package that sent soon to be Yankees Javier Vázquez and Boone Logan to Atlanta. In Chicago, Lillibridge became especially known for his defense. Having spent much of his early career in the infield, Lillibridge became a utility man for the White Sox, and playing a good amount in the outfield. In one 2011 game, he made a pair of impressive game-saving catches against the Yankees, including this one to win the game.

However, Lillibridge’s hitting never quite matched up to the fielding, and he became a bit of a journeyman in the years after that. In June 2012, he was part of a package that went to Boston with Kevin Youkilis going to the White Sox. However, he spent only a month in Boston before being traded to Cleveland. They released him that offseason, and Lillibridge went back to Chicago, albeit on a minor league deal with the Cubs.

In 2013, Lillibridge spent some time on the Cubs’ major league roster, but the injury-ravaged Yankees purchased him from Chicago in June. A month later, after having to put Derek Jeter on the IL in a very stop-start penultimate year for the Captain, the Yankees called up Lillibridge.

Lillibridge had been hitting well enough in the minors, and in his first couple games with the Yankees, he picked up two hits, a walk, and a couple RBI.

However, like so many others in that doomed 2013 season, his hitting fell off after that. In 11 games as a Yankee, he hit .171/.194/.200. On August 5th, the Yankees activated Alex Rodriguez after an injury and DFA’ed Lillibridge.

After that, Lillibridge returned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the rest of 2013. He opted to sign a minor league deal with the Rangers for 2014, but didn’t make it back to the majors. After that season, he retired from baseball. In the years since, Lillibridge has returned to his native Washington, where he is now one of the owners of a Baseball and Softball training center.

They somehow finished 2013 with a winning record, but that season was a cursed one for the Yankees. Brent Lillibridge was one of a number of players who tried their best in that cursed year.

---

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

The road to October has already ended for some teams.

While much of baseball remains focused on division races and wild-card battles, a growing list of clubs has been relegated to thinking about next year. That group includes the New York Mets, whose $375 million-plus payroll wasn't enough to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Here's every MLB team that has been mathematically eliminated from the 2026 postseason race.

What MLB teams have been eliminated from playoff contention?

American League

• Athletics
• Kansas City Royals
• Los Angeles Angels

National League

• Cincinnati Reds
• Colorado Rockies
• New York Mets
• San Francisco Giants
• Washington Nationals

Which teams are closest to elimination?

• Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals — Both of these NL Central rivals have an elimination number of 1, which means one more loss by either of them (or one more win by the San Diego Padres) will take them out of the playoff picture.
• Miami Marlins — Elimination number is 2, which means any combination of Marlins losses and San Diego Padres wins that adds up to 2 will take them out of the playoff picture.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB teams eliminated from playoffs 2026: Who's out of the postseason race?

In a battle for the final National League Wild Card postseason berth, San Diego Padres reliever Yuki Matsui has been one of the unsung heroes in the team’s second-half comeback. His dominance down the stretch has solidified him as a premier high-leverage bullpen option for the playoffs.

Let’s not forget that Matsui was hampered by a left groin strain that forced him to miss all of Spring Training. Before the season opener, the Padres placed Matsui on the injured list. 

The Friar Faithful feared he would struggle to get outs and end potential scoring threats. After rejoining the major league roster in early May, Matsui quickly emerged as a reliable arm in the Friars’ bullpen. 

The maturation of a MLB reliever 

In his third season in San Diego, Matsui has graduated from a situational lefty specialist to a multi-inning reliever. His 2026 stats have dwarfed the production from the previous two seasons. Matsui will eclipse his career-high in innings pitched before the regular season concludes. 

The 30-year-old southpaw is at his best when he can repeat his delivery. His four-seam fastball has touched in the mid-90s; it plays off perfectly when thrown in sequence with a sharp slider. However, Matsui’s most effective pitch is his devastating split-finger fastball. All three pitches have generated plenty of swings and misses this season.

Having good command of his pitches is why Matsui’s ERA is two runs lower than last season’s. It has also helped him achieve the highest strikeout rate (26.4) and the lowest home run rate (2.9) in his major league career.

The lone blemish on his breakout season is his walk rate (13.4), which is a little too high for comfort. 

Matsui has been outstanding down the stretch

In September, he is making a name for himself as a sixth- and seventh-inning pitching option. Matsui has posted a 1.57 ERA with a 0.88 WHIP, six strikeouts, and one earned run allowed in 6.2 innings pitched. 

Padres skipper Craig Stammen is eyeing the left-hander for a more prominent role once the postseason begins. He will have to be creative with his bullpen usage in the Wild Card round. 

If Matsui continues to produce, he will remain in the mix for high-leverage situations. 

The next step is executing when called upon.

The Phillies’ offense has largely sat as one of the worst in the sport, ranking 28th in wRC+, 23rd in on-base percentage, and 23rd in raw OPS. It’s probably about as bad as an offense can be while the team is on track to make the postseason.

There was supposed to be a switch that flipped. The Phillies had a meeting in late July to try to fix their approach issues.

It started producing results quickly. Through the first 21 games in August, the offense looked transformed overnight. They had the highest walk rate in the sport at 12.0%, a full tick above the next highest team in the Brewers. They struck out only 14.7% of the time with newly acquired Luis Arraez and a sudden Justin Crawford bump. There wasn’t a ton of thump in the lineup but they ranked 15th in ISO which is enough given what else they were doing.

There were some obvious reasons to believe the trend wouldn’t continue. Of the seven different teams they played over that 21 game span, only one of them rank above 15th in ERA and only one of them had a top half of the league walk rate. They were inevitably going to work a few more walks but it still seemed like something could click.

In the next 21 games, which include a 13-walk performance against a Washington Nationals bullpen game, their walk rate dropped to 8.6% (and if you take that game away, it drops to 7.3%) and they have the worst offense in the sport. Both trends are small but the latter one is a bit closer to where the team was before for the previous 4 full months.

The last time a team that finished in the bottom 10 in wRC+ to make the World Series was the 2014 Kansas City Royals, who finished 21st. The biggest question for the Phillies heading into the playoffs is if it’s possible to make a deep postseason run with one of the worst offenses in the sport. The answer is probably no.

Brandon Marsh

One of the tougher calls that Don Mattingly is going to have to make is what to do in left field over the next few weeks. Since July 1, no qualified hitter in baseball has a worse wRC+ than Brandon Marsh and the gap isn’t close. He’s hitting just .179 with a .489 OPS and has been worth -1.5 fWAR in that span. He’s a mess.

There have been a few contributing issues that have brought Marsh to this point but if we just want to focus on the recent struggles, he is actually putting the ball in play a bit. Given his career trend to run a strikeout rate in the high 20s or low 30s, an 18.4% K% since the start of August sounds amazing but his average exit velocity is down to 88.2 mph with a 38% hard hit rate.

Compare that to 2025, where he was still getting platooned but put together a nice season overall with a .785 OPS that played a solid left field. His average exit velocity was nearly 3 mph harder and a hard hit rate that was over eight percent higher. He needs to hit the ball hard to do damage.

As John Kruk said it on the broadcast last night, Brandon Marsh looks like a guy who is swinging not to miss and not swinging to do damage. That just doesn’t work for him.

The Phillies have two alternatives and neither seems amazing. They could give Bryan De La Cruz more starts but he’s just 5 for 21 in August while mostly getting favorable matchups.

The other option is sliding Justin Crawford to left field for Derek Hill to play center. It would boost the outfield defense but Derek Hill has a .656 OPS against right-handed pitchers this year in a very limited sample size. Their best bet might just be to hope Marsh figures something out.

Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below. Check out the previous day’s recap here.

AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (72-74) lost 7-5 (BOX SCORE)

Sugar Land got on the board in the first inning on a Schiavone RBI double. Mayer got the start but ran into some trouble in the 2nd inning allowing 5 runs. He ended up going 4 innings and allowing 6 runs, 5 earned. Sugar Land got a run back on a Ferreras RBI groundout and another in the 5th on a Matthews sac fly. The offense picked up 2 runs in 7th as they cut the lead to one. Munoz allowed a run in the 9th and the offense was quiet the rest of the way as Sugar Land fell 7-5.

Note: Teng has a 2.70 ERA in Triple-A.

• Lucas Spence, RF: 1-for-4, R, 2B, BB
• Pascanel Ferreras, 3B: 0-for-4, RBI, BB
• Jason Schiavone, 1B: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
• Zach Cole, CF: 1-for-4, 2B
• Collin Price, C: 1-for-3, BB
• Cesar Salazar, DH: 1-for-2, 3 R, 2 BB

• Bryce Mayer, RHP: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 8 K
• Christian Roa, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Alimber Santa, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Kai-Wei Teng, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Logan VanWey, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Roddery Munoz, RHP: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

---

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (62-76) SEASON OVER

---

A+: Asheville Tourists (43-87) SEASON OVER

---

A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers – CAROLINA LEAGUE CHAMPS

---

Today’s minor league starters:

SL: Ryan Weiss – 7:05 CT

CC: SEASON OVER

AV: SEASON OVER

FV: SEASON OVER

The Orioles backed themselves into a corner where they probably need to win every remaining game or all but one remaining game in order to make the postseason. They responded to being in that corner by sweeping the Mets, a not very good team, in a series where the Mets fans were all continually cheering for the best Orioles player. Now they are back in Baltimore to face the team in MLB with the best record so far this season, the Milwaukee Brewers.

Milwaukee has been laying waste to just about all comers as this season goes along. Their 95-58 record is the best thing anybody has going on this year. They have already clinched their division title, and at this point they only “need” to win games to make sure they stay ahead of the Dodgers for the #1 seed in the National League. The back-to-back champions are currently at 93 wins. That one isn’t a done deal yet for the Brewers.

One part of why the Brewers have been able to do this is the absolute freak Jacob Misiorowski, a second-year starting pitcher who’s taken a big leap this year after a mixed bag rookie season a year ago. Misiorowski is averaging over 100mph on his fastball and it’s proving mostly unhittable, which is how he’s been able to drop a 1.89 ERA and 0.812 WHIP on the league. As of this writing, it seems that we will not see Misiorowski pitch in this series, though the Brewers do have a TBD for Sunday and until that turns into someone else, I guess it might be him.

The bullpen is holding up its share of the weight as well. There are six relievers, including former Oriole DL Hall, who are sitting with a 3.50 ERA or better. Hall, in fact, has a 2.17 ERA through 43 games. Closer Trevor Megill has a 0.902 WHIP in his 57.1 innings. You are doing pretty well as a closer if you are allowing fewer than one baserunner per inning pitched. It is a very good way to seal wins.

The Brewers have also scored more runs than anybody else in baseball. They have been able to do this in part because there are six decent-to-great hitters in their regular lineup, plus two guys on the bench (including former Oriole Gary Sánchez) who are doing well in their reserve opportunities. They’re getting a breakout season from first baseman Jake Bauers at age 30, another “good hitting, great defense” season from Brice Turang, and even former Oriole Joey Ortiz, who was absolutely terrible at the plate a year ago, has bounced back to decent.

These guys are helping themselves out by cashing in the scoring opportunities that they do get. Their split with runners in scoring position is nearly 60 points higher than their regular batting. This is the #1 number among all MLB teams. (The Orioles, with a .759 OPS with RISP, are in 10th.)

This is a complete team that hasn’t had much postseason success despite fairly dominant regular seasons. They have won their division five times since the 2018 season, with two wild card bids, and have advanced past the first round in which they played just twice. That gives them the edge over the Mike Elias era Orioles in two ways: They’ve actually been consistently good, and they’ve actually won a few playoff games here and there.

The Orioles are inferior to this team in basically every way and they’ve got to manage to sweep this series or at the absolute worst win two out of three. Yeah, good luck with that.

As of this writing, the Orioles are listing TBD as their starting pitchers for every game of the series. Very helpful for bloggers who are trying to say something informative about the series. It appears likely that Cade Povich will be recalled from Norfolk to start one of the games.

Game 1: Friday, 7:05pm Eastern

• BAL starter: TBD
• MIL starter: Dustin May – 4.49 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 1.287 WHIP in 28 games (Cardinals then Brewers)

May was a well-regarded pitching prospect so long ago that people were hoping that the Orioles would be able to pry him loose from the Dodgers in the Manny Machado trade, and disappointed when they did not manage to do so. Due to a variety of injury challenges (and one global pandemic) he hasn’t pitched a full season worth of starts in his seven-year career until this season. Dean Kremer, the pitcher the Orioles actually got, has more than doubled May’s career bWAR to date.

The 29-year-old 6’6” righty appeared to be a victim of bad luck with the Cardinals earlier this year, allowing a .322 BABIP that probably wasn’t all his fault. Since joining the Brewers, May’s BABIP luck has improved (.288) but he’s getting substantially worse results, probably because he’s now giving up home runs and other hard contact like it’s going out of style. There does exist the possibility that the Orioles will show up with a game plan that allows them to take advantage of this.

Game 2: Saturday, 7:05pm Eastern

• BAL starter: TBD
• MIL starter: Robert Gasser – 4.30 ERA, 4.32 FIP, 1.266 WHIP in 19 games

Gasser is in his third season with the Brewers, though he had to get Tommy John surgery just five starts into his MLB career and as a result, he’d only pitched in seven major league games before this season. He started this season out with Milwaukee’s Triple-A team and eventually was added to the MLB club, since when he’s done… fine. He has the same ERA+ as Trevor Rogers this season. That feels less bad when you’ve got a guy doing what Misiorowski has done at the top of the rotation as compared to what has happened with Orioles starting pitching.

The Statcast peripherals for Gasser are not good. He has been particularly vulnerable to giving up hard contact. He does not get many ground balls, he does not throw the ball hard, he does not get a lot of swing-and-miss and he doesn’t get batters to chase very often outside of the strike zone. Absolutely none of which means that the Orioles offense will do well against him on Saturday. Gasser is left-handed.

Game 3: Sunday, 7:20pm Eastern

• BAL starter: TBD
• MIL starter: TBD

Note: This game airs on Peacock and only on Peacock.

Double TBD. Sheesh. Get it together, teams.

**

How do you think this series is going to go for the Orioles? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

With a suspended meeting in Triple-A and Tulsa losing a winner-take-all matchup, it was an eventful day despite a low number of games in the Dodgers’ minor league system.

Player of the Day

In a game where hits were incredibly difficult to find for the Drillers, recently promoted outfielder Charles Davalan recorded one of his team’s RBI in a 6-4 loss.

🚨 TIE GAME 🚨

Charles Davalan singles and Sirota scores 🔥 pic.twitter.com/buJvVnRMXy

— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) September 18, 2026

Elected the Midwest League MVP for his efforts in High-A with the Loons, Davalan ends the year positively, even with Tulsa failing in its final objective.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Both offenses were rolling through the first four before the rain put a stop to this game. Austin Galthier left the yard with a two-run shot, and twice hitting with runners in scoring position, first baseman and cleanup hitter Matt Gorski drove in a run with an out.

Gauthier goes the other way☄️ pic.twitter.com/hcV67SqMcF

— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) September 18, 2026

While the Chihuahuas had already gone to the bullpen in the fourth inning, Charlie Barnes was the only Comets pitcher to appear in this one before its suspension. The left-hander was averaging nearly 20 pitches per inning and running into all kinds of trouble.

It’ll be Hyeseong Kim coming to bat in the top of the fifth when the game resumes later today. Kim is one of only two Comet hitters yet to reach safely in this game.

Double-A Tulsa

For a team that was nearly outhit four to one by their opponent, the Drillers did about as decent a job at staying competitive as they could’ve hoped: eventually losing 6-4 to the Cardinals and saying goodbye to the postseason, dropping the Division Series in three.

Cardinal starter Liam Doyle refused to let the Drillers put the ball in play, allowing five walks but striking out eight in 3.2 innings and ultimately only letting across one earned run.

Despite their hitting struggles, the Drillers managed to take a 3-2 lead in the seventh thanks to an Elijah Hainline sacrifice fly. However, relievers Christian Suarez and Jacob Kmatz both allowed multiple runs in the eighth and ninth to quickly surrender control of the game to the Cards.

ONEOK FIELD IS ROCKIN' 🔥

Hainline hits a sacrifice fly and Young scores to put the Drillers in the lead! pic.twitter.com/aUDLolbvxT

— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) September 18, 2026

Not only did Tulsa finish the game without a homer while the Cardinals had three, but they didn’t even record an extra-base hit, limited by three strikeout games from Mike Sirota and Jake Gelof.

Partially responsible for the game being so close, starter Christian Zazueta had a productive performance, allowing just a pair of runs in five innings, both of them solo shots. Zazueta recorded seven of his 15 outs via strikeout as he was inducing whiffs at will, ultimately undone by his team’s lack of run support.

Christian Zazueta strikes out 7️⃣ tonight! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mh9yCo1GT3

— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) September 18, 2026

High-A Great Lakes

The Great Lakes Loons were eliminated by the Dayton Dragons in the Division Series, losing it two games to one.

Class-A Ontario

The Ontario Tower Buzzers were swept by the Lake Elsinore Storm in the Division Series.

Transactions

The Dodgers optioned Bobby Miller back to Triple-A and called up Landon Knack.

Thursday’s scores

• Springfield 6, Tulsa 4
• El Paso 5, Oklahoma City 5 – suspended game will resume today

Friday’s schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: OKC and El Paso resume yesterday’s suspended game tied 5-5 in the top of the first inning
• The regularly scheduled Friday matchup between OKC (Christian Romero) and El Paso (Jhony Brito) will start after the end of the first game. It’ll be a seven-inning affair.

As you know, the Cubs hold the tiebreaker over the three teams closest to them in the Wild Card race, the Phillies, Diamondbacks and Padres.

This is extremely important because the Cubs are now tied with the Phillies entering Friday’s action after the Phillies beat the Mets Thursday, and lead the Padres by one game, as San Diego also won on Thursday.

The Cubs lead the Diamondbacks by five games and thus the magic number for the Cubs clinching a Wild Card berth is four.

The magic number for the Cubs to clinch the first wild card over the Phillies is 9. But for the Phillies to surpass the Cubs, their number is 10, due to the tiebreaker.

Tankathon has the Phillies with the toughest strength of remaining schedule of the four clubs (third). The Padres are ninth, Cubs 14th, and Diamondbacks 16th, with nine games remaining for all four teams.

Here are the remaining schedules for all four Wild Card contenders. Home games in boldface.

Cubs, 9 games (3 home, 6 road)

at Reds (3), Marlins (3), at Red Sox (3)

The Reds are in disarray at this point, having lost eight of their last 10. The Marlins are just 31-44 on the road, though they did just take two of three from the D-backs in Phoenix.

The interesting series is the last one, as both the Cubs and Red Sox will be jockeying for postseason positioning.

Phillies, 9 games (6 home, 3 road)

at Mets (3), Brewers (3), Rays (3)

The Phillies do get to finish their season with a six-game homestand — but with both series against the teams with the best records in their respective leagues.

So hopefully the Brewers do the Cubs a solid and beat up on the Phillies. And Cubs fans will have to hold their noses and root for the Mets this weekend.

Padres, 9 games (6 home, 3 road)

Marlins (3), at Dodgers (3), Diamondbacks (3)

As noted, the Marlins did win a series in Arizona, and they will be facing the Padres on the road just before heading to Wrigley.

Diamondbacks, 9 games (3 home, 6 road)

Yankees (3), at Rockies (3), at Padres (3)

The D-backs play a pair of teams, one in a postseason spot and fighting for one. In between they face one team way out of it. The D-backs and Padres have split their first 10 games this year, and the teams also have split at each other’s parks, 2-2 in San Diego and 3-3 in Arizona.

If Arizona is eliminated before that final weekend (or even if they aren’t), they could help out the Cubs by defeating the Padres.

Fasten your seat belts!

Diamondbacks News

(San Diego Union-Tribune) Padres rout Rockies, add to lead in playoff race

The Padres came down from the mountains with the margin they need after winning on Thursday by a large margin.

With a 9-2 victory over the Rockies, the Padres increased their lead in the race for the final National League playoff spot to four games with nine games remaining in the regular season.

That lowered the Padres’ “magic number” to six, meaning any combination of Padres wins and Diamondbacks losses that add up to six assures the Padres a postseason berth.

(Purple Row) Second-inning disaster sinks Rockies in 9-2 loss to Padres

The Padres’ offensive aggressiveness claimed another Rockies victim in Tanner Gordon. After a pedestrian top of the first inning in which he allowed a couple of singles and had a couple of strikeouts, Gordon had a 1-0 lead to work with heading into the second inning.

Then the wheels fell off.

(SI.com) Diamondbacks Stare Down Dangerous Yankees as Playoff Hopes Dwindle

The Arizona Diamondbacks are running out of time.

This weekend, Arizona will play its final three-game set of the regular season in front of the Chase Field home crowd.

It’s likely to be packed, with the 88-64 New York Yankees coming to town, and a 25-year celebration of the Diamondbacks’ World Series victory over those same Yankees.

(Burn City Sports) D-backs CEO Derrick Hall addresses roof leaks at Chase Field

A roof leak during a storm may sound like a minor inconvenience, but in Phoenix, where a retractable roof is supposed to be one of the building’s defining features, it becomes another uncomfortable reminder of Chase Field’s aging infrastructure. This is also hardly a new problem. Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall acknowledged the roof has leaked before, saying he first witnessed an issue during a monsoon roughly 20 years ago. The roof is only the latest concern surrounding the stadium, which has also dealt with unresolved HVAC problems, a roof motor that reportedly has not functioned properly for years, and piping issues on the upper level.

MLB News

(CBS Sports) Mets’ Jared Young carted off field after colliding with Nolan McLean during play at first base

Mets first baseman Jared Young “avoided the scariest outcomes” after a terrifying collision with pitcher Nolan McLean during the top of the sixth inning during the Phillies-Mets bout at Citi Field on Thursday night, manager Andy Green told reporters after the game.

A weak grounder to first base off the bat of Justin Crawford brought Young and McLean together and a bit of miscommunication caused a really ugly and scary collision. While both fielders scrambled for the ball, McLean’s knee appeared to strike Young’s head, sending the first baseman to the ground.

(ESPN) Dodgers clinch fifth straight NL West title, 13th in 14 years

The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their fifth consecutive National League West title and 13th in the past 14 seasons with an 8-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon.

“It’s a big deal,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think that a lot of people think that it’s just a rite of passage, [but] it’s not easy. So it’s something that we’re all really proud of, but really understand that’s not the end goal.”

(Yahoo! Sports) Dodgers exec Andrew Friedman expects Shohei Ohtani to return from IL in the regular season: ‘He’s progressing well’

“He’s doing well,” Friedman said, via Jack Harris of the California Post. “He’s progressing well.”

When asked if Ohtani would be back in time to join the Dodgers in the playoffs, Friedman pointed to the two-way player returning even sooner: “I expect him back in the regular season,” he said.

Good morning A’s fans. Happy Friday!

The Athletics entered their final road trip of the season riding high after scoring 25 runs and securing both series victories during a six-game homestand last week. The American League-best Tampa Bay Rays halted the Athletics’ momentum by sweeping them in three games for the second time in as many months.

The A’s used to be the embodiment of small-market success, but that baton has now been passed to the Rays, who have a legitimate shot at reaching the World Series this fall. If the A’s want to reclaim their crown, the team must upgrade its pitching and defense, two major weak spots that heavily contributed to the Rays’ blowout victory yesterday.

That will be an offseason focus, as it is too late in the season to expect changes. At 92 losses with nine games left, the A’s need to win at least two games to avoid a dreaded 100-loss campaign.

This weekend, the team wraps up its road slate with three games against the 78-75 Cleveland Guardians, who are in a fierce battle with the Chicago White Sox for the American League Central title. After failing to play spoiler in Tampa Bay, the Athletics will look to lower the Guardians’ hopes of a third straight playoff appearance under manager Stephen Vogt—an A’s fan-favorite during his playing days.

Right-hander Mason Barnett will return from Triple-A Las Vegas to start tonight, while Cleveland will counter with opener Daniel Espino. Left-hander Jacob Lopez and right-hander Jack Perkins will make the Athletics final two road starts of 2026, while the team’s offense will look to scratch runs across against Guardians right-handers Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams.

What are you hoping to see from the Athletics in Cleveland? Which players should the A’s further evaluate and who should sit on the bench over these final nine games?

A’s Coverage:

• A’s Swept By Rays, Drop Finale 10-1
• Paralyzed A’s prospect Lasko released from rehab facility to ovation from staff
• Rays Walk-off A’s, 2-1, in Series Opener
• Injuries Out Of Control, But Why?
• No. 2 prospect in baseball De Vries undergoes successful shoulder surgery
• 2027 Infield Landscape Ever Changing
• A’s Win Series, Beat Mariners 8-7
• A’s Walk Off Blue Jays 6-5
• “Fast Movers” Might Be Key To Contention
• Billy Beane comments on the job Mark Kotsay has done this season.
• What the A’s Hiring Mike Rizzo would Signal and the Questions it Would Raise
• Bi-Polar Performance Arcs Make Evaluation Difficult
• A’s Designate José Suarez For Assignment
• Q&A: Clarke determined to finish strong with A’s after long IL stint
• It’s Been a Bummer Summer in Sacramento
• The A’s valuation rises with sales of 2 MLB clubs as Las Vegas move looms
• A’s, Circa ink 1st Las Vegas founding partnership deal
• Your 2026 Hacktastic A’s
• Athletics Considering James Click For GM Vacancy
• Daejon Love case brings back Eric Byrnes’ bizarre story of an A’s bat boy impersonation
• Get the best of Athletics Nation on the new SB Nation app

MLB News and Interest:

• MLB teams with potential 2026 managerial, front office changes
• Nats in extension talks with ace Cavalli (source)
• The next Shohei Ohtani? Why we haven’t seen more two-way stars
• Why Arte Moreno’s Angels sale may be unlike anything we ever see again
• Yankees activate Schmidt from 60-day IL, DFA Cabrera
• MLB Farm System Grades For Every Team In 2026
• Phillies place Jesús Luzardo on IL with shoulder inflammation
• Jameson Taillon Seeking Additional Opinions On Elbow, Won’t Return This Season
• Twins’ shortstop Kaelen Culpepper to injured list with hamstring strain
• Phils claim veteran pitcher Urquidy off waivers from White Sox
• Cardinals activate rookie 2B JJ Wetherholt from injured list
• D-backs To Activate Ryne Nelson, Designate Derek Law For Assignment
• Will these 5 teams take the next step in 2027?
• Picking the best player at eac h position who wasn’t a 2026 All-Star
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Not good optics. Will the team turn things around before moving to Las Vegas, or will the losing stretch follow them to “Sin City”?

From A's PR: A's lost their 90th game last night and have now lost 90 or more games in 4 of last 5 seasons and lost 483 games over last 5 years, which is second most in MLB (Rockies, 512) and most by A's over a 5-yr span since 1961-65 in Kansas City when they had 487 losses.

— LVSportsBiz.com (@LVSportsBiz) September 16, 2026

Yesterday’s game was not the first time sloppy defense and walks have resulted in an A’s loss this season. Both are areas that can be coached. The fact that these problems continue to happen suggests that manager Mark Kotsay and his coaching staff are struggling to teach these players how to play error-free baseball.

A's had one-run losses in first two games vs. Rays. Today, a 4th-inning defensive meltdown, 2 errors and 10 walks led to a 10-1 loss.

Kotsay: "We played sloppy defense and walked so many guys I stopped counting. Any time you play like that, you’re going to get your ass kicked.”

— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) September 17, 2026

Athletics’ Las Vegas stadium feature update: The organization is fully embracing the casino culture synonymous with the city.

The Circa Dugout Box that will be inside the A’s Las Vegas ballpark as part of the founding partnership deal. #vegas#athletics#mlbpic.twitter.com/FaOYHoARnK

— Mick Akers (@mickakers) September 17, 2026

Do you think it’s fair to compare A’s players to legends of the game’s past? If so, share your best comparisons for the current members of the Green and Gold in the comments.

🚨 SPECIAL SHOW TONIGHT AT 8:00 PM PACIFIC! 🚨

The A’s were swept by the Rays in Tampa, but Sam @StraightAs123 is turning postgame duty into one of the most entertaining experiments of the season.

On a special WHERE STATS MEET INSTINCT, Sam will compare EVERY A’s position… pic.twitter.com/CzlENnL7XL

— The House Always Wins Media Network/Las Vegas A's (@lasvegasaspod) September 17, 2026

Thursday was an off day for the Yankees, but as we progress into the final weeks of the 2026 regular season, every game matters for many teams around the Junior Circuit. Between the mediocre races in the Central and West, or the fight for the final wild card spot, there is plenty of moving that could take place before the end of the season.

Let’s take a look at what went down on Thursday.

Tampa Bay Rays (93-59) 10, Athletics (61-92) 1

On a night where they had a free half-game to take in the East, the Rays took full advantage on Thursday. Despite a quiet start on both sides, a big fourth inning fueled an easy Tampa Bay win against the A’s.

Starters Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen kept the game scoreless through three innings of play, before the Rays’ bats turned the corner in the fourth. In that inning, Chandler Simpson’s single score a pair, before a double from Richie Palacios cleared the the bases to plate three more. After the dust settled in the fourth, the Rays were up 6-0 and cruising into the middle innings.

Rasmussen turned in a good day at the office, tossing five scoreless for the Rays, while the offense continued to plug away, led by Simpson, Palacios, Liam Hicks, and Taylor Walls, who all tallied a pair of RBIs each. They made the most of their opportunities, as they needed just seven hits to reach their double-digit run total.

The only noise the A’s made in this one came from a long Lawrence Butler home run in the sixth, though it was a only a blip in the blowout the Rays dished out. With the win, they jump to a daunting five game lead in the East.

Other Games:

Texas Rangers (76-77) 3, Boston Red Sox (83-70) 4:

In the race in the West, the Rangers dropped a crucial one, as the Red Sox came back to win on Thursday. The Rangers went up 3-0 early on, with help from Josh Jung’s 10th homer of the season, and held that lead through six innings. After scratching a run across in the seventh, the big blow came off the bat of Trevor Story, who belted a three-run bomb to suddenly give the Sox the lead. They’d hold on to it, as they inch closer to clinching a postseason berth.

AL Rock Fight:

Houston Astros (77-76) 6, Kansas City Royals (67-86) 2: The Astros popped back above .500 with a win over the Royals on Thursday. Of their six runs, five of them came on a quintet of solo homers, including Jeremy Peña’s 20th of the season that tied things up in the first, as well as Yordan Alvarez’s 40th bomb of the season. Meanwhile, five different Houston pitchers helped to keep this one calm, as the Royals were only able to plate a pair with just three hits

The race in the West may very well come down to the final days of the season.

Chicago White Sox (78-75) 3, Detroit Tigers (72-81) 1: The White Sox rode the wave of a three-run bomb in the first inning, as Munetaka Murakami’s 32nd long ball of the season gave them a lead they’d never give up. The win gets them into a dead heat atop the Central alongside the Guardians, who had Thursday off.

Good morning friends and happy Friday!

The M’s kick off their three-game set against the Rockies tonight with first pitch scheduled for 5:10pm PT. Let’s check out what else is happening around baseball.

In Mariners news…

• Brooks has unveiled a new Mariners-themed set of sneakers.
• For yesterday’s off-day prompt, Kate Preusser asked you folks what the origin of your SBN/LL username is.

Around the league…

• Things haven’t been going great for Luis Castillo in Chicago, and now the White Sox are moving him to the bullpen.
• The Nationals are reportedly closing in on a contract extension with right-hander Cade Cavalli.
• Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic previewed the winter’s coming managerial carousel by discussing the six most vulnerable skippers around the league. ($)
• Jarrett Seidler at Baseball Prospectus continued his ranking of the sport’s front offices by revealing Nos. 20-11. ($)
• Despite the fierce odds against a playoff appearance for the Marlins, right-hander Sandy Alcantara still believes. Matthew Trueblood at Baseball Prospectus has more. ($)
• This post reads like a Mad Lib.

• The nations of Bagladesh and Malaysia have launched women’s baseball programs as the sport continues its international surge.