It’s not just Saturday’s score that’s impressive – anybody can put up double-digit runs on a given day – it’s the last week and a half of scores that should have the Mets excited about their potential for next year and beyond.
Over their last nine games, the Mets have scored 76 runs (8.44 runs per game) and are 7-2 during that stretch. Since the trade deadline, New York boasts one of the best offenses in the league and is 22-13.
One player who perfectly encapsulates the entire Mets’ season is Francisco Lindor, who was hurt during the majority of the first half but has been on a tear recently, especially in the power department with two home runs against the Yanks on Saturday. He now has 20 home runs in 91 games and seven in his last 15 games.
“It’s been an uphill fight this whole year,” Lindor said. “It sucks that we haven’t played as much together [as a whole group], but when we do play together and we’re all in the lineup, things like this could happen, you know?
“This is what we should’ve been doing since the beginning, but it’s part of the journey, it’s part of the year and we’ll try and make the most of it.”
Sure, with the pressure of trying to make the postseason off, some of what the Mets are doing should be taken with a grain of salt. However, during this recent surge, New York has looked competitive and even won some series against multiple playoff teams.
In fact, if the Mets win Sunday’s rubber game, not only will they have taken the series from the Yanks, they will have won the season’s Subway Series, 4-2.
“If we would have played together from the beginning, there was a lot of injuries and there was a lot of ups and downs – I didn’t play well when I was playing – so if we would’ve, from the beginning, done what we’re doing now it would’ve been a whole different layout,” Lindor said. “But we put ourselves in this position and we can only worry about what we have today. We’ll see what happens next year.”
While the Mets are still not technically eliminated from playoff contention (their tragic number is 3), they are playing the rest of the season out as hard as they can to try and play spoiler as well as playing for the guys in the locker room, both those who will be on the team next year and those who won’t.
“Build on our relationships and try to finish the year as strong as we can,” Lindor said when asked what can be taken from the final two weeks of a season like this one. “Guys would be lying if they [say they] don’t want to have good years, everybody wants to have a good year, whatever a good year means for them. But you try to finish strong, you try to give everything you got and learn each other, continue to build on the relationships.”
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 12: Josh Smith #9 of the Toronto Blue Jays scores a run on an RBI double by Andres Gimenez #0 in the sixth inning during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre on September 12, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Orioles’ already narrow path to a postseason spot just got a whole lot slimmer.
The O’s suffered a 7-3 loss to the Blue Jays, who jumped all over a visibly fatigued Kyle Bradish for an early five-run advantage and used a cavalcade of eight relievers to shut down the Birds’ bats. As of this writing, the Guardians are trailing in Minnesota, which would keep the O’s three games behind Cleveland for the third wild card spot. But with only 13 games remaining, the math may already be too much to overcome.
Friends, this was not a happy birthday for Kyle Bradish. The newly 30-year-old O’s right-hander was pitching on his birthday for the first time in his professional career, and the only gifts the Blue Jays offered him were a bunch of runs and a whole bunch of hits. Not cool, Blue Jays. Not cool.
The trouble started immediately when Bradish walked the first batter of the game, Brett Bateman. Two batters later, the badly struggling Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — who recently has been getting booed at home even by the notoriously polite Canadians — ripped an RBI double to give the Jays the early lead, one they would never relinquish. Guerrero promptly scored on an Alejandro Kirk RBI single, making it 2-0.
Bradish ended both the first and second inning by fielding a comebacker and turning it into a double play, but his struggles arose again in the third. Bateman greeted him with a leadoff homer, his second of the series and his career. Later in the frame, after a George Springer single, Kirk followed Bateman’s lead with a two-run dinger to left-center to make it a 5-0 game. Bradish ultimately gave up two more hits in the inning before finally escaping.
Bradish didn’t return for the fourth, and frankly he shouldn’t return to the mound again this season. And I don’t mean that as a diss on Bradish. But the guy clearly is beyond gassed. He threw only 71.1 major league innings from 2024-25 combined, with Tommy John surgery in between. Now he’s up to 155 innings this season. It’s been obvious for nearly a month now that Bradish’s pitch movement and command have declined significantly as his innings count has escalated.
It’s understandable that Bradish might be having trouble adjusting to a full season’s workload after missing so much time in the previous two years. What’s less understandable is why the Orioles keep putting him out there. I suppose they’ve felt that they couldn’t afford to shut Bradish down while the O’s are technically within shouting distance of a playoff spot. But come on, guys. Enough is enough. You’re doing a disservice both to the Orioles and to Bradish himself by continuing to pile onto his workload when he’s showing visible signs of fatigue. Why would you sign this guy to a $90 million extension and then be so reckless with his arm? Shut. Him. Down.
The game didn’t get any more interesting after the Orioles fell into their early deficit. Relievers Anthony Nunez and Cam Sanders allowed a run apiece to extend Toronto’s total to seven, while the O’s offense failed to replicate their dynamic performance from the previous night.
The Jays went with a bullpen game today, and for some reason, that’s been the kiss of death for the Orioles’ offense all season long. They just can’t seem to hit when the other team doesn’t have an actual starting pitcher. Could it be a lack of preparation? A lack of focus? Or just bad luck? Whatever the case, every Orioles opponent for the rest of the year should just skip their starters and cycle through random relievers to pitch every game. They’d beat the Birds every time.
Spencer Miles was the opener, and while the O’s worked him for 31 pitches in the first, they came up empty when Christian Encarnacion-Strand lined out to right with the bases loaded. Miles then struck out the side in the second, so clearly the Birds’ signs of life in the first were short-lived. Lefty Joe Mantiply tossed a scoreless third, and Spencer Arrighetti gobbled up the next 2.2 innings, allowing just an unearned run on a Kazuma Okamoto throwing error that plated Gunnar Henderson in the fourth.
The only O’s batter to actually drive in a run — two of them, in fact — was Pete Alonso, who bashed his 299th career home run in the seventh off his former Mets teammate Paul Sewald. Good old Pete. Unless he homers tomorrow, Alonso has a good chance of hitting his 300th career homer at his longtime home ballpark, CitiField, where the O’s play the Mets from Monday to Wednesday. The Polar Bear’s dinger temporarily brought the Orioles within three runs, but it never felt that close.
They didn’t score again. The Blue Jays’ shutdown late-inning duo of Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland retired all six batters they faced in the eighth and ninth, and that was that. The O’s took the loss, one of the precious few they can afford for the rest of the season if they intend to stay in contention. It’s nearly time to run the table or go home.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - July 7: General view as CC Sabathia #52 of the New York Yankees pitches to Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins on July 7, 2009 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Yankees won 10-2. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The early 1990s were famously not always a great time for the New York Yankees. The 1990 campaign where they went 67-95 is on the shortlist for the worst season in franchise history. It wasn’t until George Steinbrenner’s suspension that year that the team actually took time to let young players develop and make moves that would turn the team into the dynasty of the late 1990s.
That being said, they did still win games during the 1990 season. As the adage goes, just about every MLB team wins 50 games and loses 50 games, and your season is decided by how you do in the rest. One of the Yankees’ 50 of 1990 — or 67 to be accurate — came on July 22nd, where they got a wild amount of help from their opponent.
On July 22, 1990, the Yankees were in Minnesota to take on the Twins. While a year later, the Twins would win the World Series in a classic over Atlanta, the 1990 edition of the team would finish last in the AL West, with only the Yankees putting up a worse record in the American League.
On this particular day, the Twins struck first. Facing Yankees starter Andy Hawkins (of losing no-hitter fame), Gary Gaetti led off the second inning with a double and eventually tagged up and scored on a John Moses sacrifice fly.
Twins starter Scott Erickson started the game off with two scoreless innings, but got into some trouble in the third, only some of which was on him. Erickson did hit Roberto Kelly with a pitch to start the inning, but Minnesota shortstop Greg Gagne then threw away a Wayne Tolleson grounder to put two runners on. After a Deion Sanders single loaded the bases, Steve Sax grounded into a double play, which did score a run. Don Mattingly added another RBI single, which was followed by an Oscar Azócar two-run homer. The inning ended after that, but the Yankees had a 4-1 lead. Despite, giving up three hits, including the home run, Erickson wasn’t charged with any of the runs, as they all came after that double play, which theoretically would’ve ended the inning had Gagne not committed his error.
While the Twins got one of those runs back in the fifth, the Yankees answered in the sixth. Azócar singled and then scored on a Matt Nokes single. However, Azócar was greatly aided in that feat by a error by Minnesota right fielder Shane Mack, as his throw to third hit a sliding Azócar.
After that though, the Twins began chipping away at the Yankees’ lead. They scored one in the sixth and knocked out Hawkins. Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett was part of the action as they scored two more in the seventh to tie things up. Then in the eighth, Mack atoned for his error with an RBI triple that gave Minnesota the lead and put them three outs away from a victory. While they didn’t get charged for an error themselves in this one, the Yankees made a defensive miscue of their own in this inning. Pitching Greg Cadaret had Gagne — who scored on the hit — picked off, but the Yankees botched the ensuing run down, allowing Gagne to get back to first safely, and then eventually come around on the Mack triple.
Jim Leyritz started the rally for the Yankees by leading off the frame with a single. Then, once again, the Twins’ defense cost them. On back-to-back plays, third baseman Gary Gaetti and first baseman Kent Hrbek — who made a bold attempt to get a force out at third on a bunt — committed an error each. The latter of those two brought home two Yankee runners to put them back in front. The inning was hardly over there either. Steve Sax and Bob Geren each recorded RBI hits in the inning, as the Yankees put up a five-spot in total, going up 10-6. The inning also only ended because Geren got thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double. Once again on the “the inning was only still going because of the errors” rule, all five once again went down as unearned ones.
Dave Righetti then came in for the bottom of the ninth. After all that, he needed just 10 pitches to record a 1-2-3 inning and seal the win.
If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed that, despite the Yankees reaching double digits, Twins pitchers never actually gave up an earned run in the game, thanks to the errors. Erickson’s ERA went from 3.72 to 3.15 despite being on the mound for five Yankee runs. Reliever Rick Aguilera’s ERA went down a bit even though he got just one of the six batters he faced out and was credited with five unearned runs. If you don’t count games from before like 1920 when gloves were in their infancy and every team made like four errors a game (that’s only a slight exaggeration), 10 is the most runs a Yankee team has scored in a game where they all went down as unearned.
After the game, the Yankees were in a good mood in what had been a tough season. Sax was quoted as saying ”We were talking on the bench, we need to run off about 10 in a row, get close to .500.”
He wasn’t exactly doing the math correctly, as that win got them to 34-57, which is a bit more than 10 away from .500. Still though, they weren’t the biggest screwups on the field that day.
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 10: Mike Yastrzemski #18, Michael Harris II #23 and Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves celebrate after the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Truist Park on September 10, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Join us and discuss tonight’s game in the comments below, as the Braves look to put another nail in Philly’s NL East coffin.
ATLANTA, GA - JULY 18: Texas third baseman Josh Jung (6) reacts during the MLB game between the Texas Rangers and the Atlanta Braves on July 18th, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Texas Rangers lineup for September 12, 2026 against the Arizona Diamondbacks: starting pitchers are Kumar Rocker for the Rangers and Brandon “Booty So” Pfaadt for the D-Backs.
Texas tries to get it together in Arizona. Josh Jung is back. That’s a positive, right?
The lineup:
Pederson — DH
Seager — SS
Jung — 3B
Nimmo — RF
Duran — CF
Langford — LF
Burger — 1B
Lopez — 2B
Diaz — C
7:10 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +110 underdogs.
Saturday was the second straight clunker for Gerrit Cole.
After allowing four homers in the loss against the Padres in San Diego a week ago, the Yankees right-hander came into Yankee Stadium looking to clinch the Subway Series with a win over the Mets. However, the Mets took Cole deep three times en route to a 12-2 victory.
While Cole bounced back from the early homers against the Padres -- going seven innings and allowing four runs -- the same wasn't true against the Mets. The Amazin's pushed across five runs and banged nine hits off of Cole -- both tying season highs -- as he was chased after just 4.1 innings.
After the game, Cole was asked what he believes the reason for the uptick in homers is and the former Cy Young winner was straightforward with his observation.
"The hitters are seeing the ball well and being able to deliver good strikes to it, regardless of the pitch type or the location," he said after the loss.
When asked if it's something Cole can change on his end, the 36-year-old wasn't sure, but offered that it's something he needs to figure out.
"I think it’s something we gotta figure out for sure. It’s one of those times in the season where you have to start making adjustments," Cole explained. "Sometimes adjustments are hard. But that’s the demand of the game. Have to find a way to get through it and move forward."
"Stuff looked ok but not getting it to places he needed to get to and they made him pay for it today," manager Aaron Boone said of Cole's start. "They didn’t miss. That was a little bit of it too. They were fouling pitches off and getting to balls and there wasn’t much swing-and-miss because he wasn’t getting it to spots."
The Yankees skipper said that despite the last two starts, Cole is having a great year and that the Mets were a hot team that hit him around.
Boone is right. Cole returned from Tommy John surgery in late May, and despite the physical progression needed, the right-hander was dealing before San Diego. He made five August starts where he allowed a combined eight earned runs over 30.2 innings (2.35 ERA) and allowed three runs in 5.1 innings against the Angels on Sept. 1 before the Padres and Mets got to him.
However, there are some underlying concerns. Cole's swing-and-misses are down, which he acknowledged is "something we need to tackle," and the looming reality that, physically, he's still trying to bounce back from major surgery. Boone says Cole's arm isn't getting tired, and Cole said he's pleased with how he feels physically, considering he's coming off of Tommy John.
But Cole couldn't rule out whether this is just part of the progression from his surgery.
"Hard to pin it on one thing," Cole said. "Again, at a certain point, starting pitchers throughout the year have to make adjustments. Hitters are good, offenses are good. High-stakes games with good offenses- sometimes they teach you lessons like today."
Despite the results, Cole isn't concerned. He says he's healthy and his experience should benefit him in figuring out what adjustments need to be made to be more effective.
"It’s not easy. It’s a tough game," Cole said. "Have to make hard adjustments; that’s why it’s the big leagues."
Cole added, "Hitters are really good. There’s credit to be dished out, but at the same time we expect better. That’s what we’ll be chasing."
And Boone has those same expectations.
"I expect him to be right next time."
The Yankees hope Cole is right as they head to the final two weeks of the regular season. After the loss, the Rays hold a 3.5-game lead in the AL East with a massive four-game series between the Yankees and Tampa Bay coming up.
Even if the Yankees don't catch Tampa for the AL East crown, they'll need Cole to make a deep playoff run this October.
"It's not easy. It's a tough game, got to make hard adjustments. That's why it's the big leagues."
That… that was not quite the way I’d have drawn up another Cubs win, but we will take them any way they come.
The Cubs defeated the Pirates 4-3 on an eighth-inning two-run rally in which they had only one hit. This, after hitting two home runs off Paul Skenes and going behind thanks in part to a rare Nico Hoerner error.
Let’s begin at the beginning, shall we?
Clay Holmes dispatched the Pirates scoreless in the first, then after the first two Cubs were easy outs in the bottom of the inning, Michael Busch went oppo [VIDEO].
About Busch’s blast, from BCB’s JohnW53:
Michael Busch’s home run was the 28th by a Cub that has been the team’s first hit of a game. That is nearly one every five games. Busch had done it once before, on July 18, at home vs. the Twins. Pete Crow-Armstrong leads by far, with 10. Seiya Suzuki has four; Alex Bregman, three; Busch, Michael Conforto, Ian Happ and Dansby Swanson, two; and Nico Hoerner, Matt Shaw and Tyrone Taylor, one.
Watching Skenes pitch, he is a different guy than he was a year ago. His velocity has dropped from “elite” (100 or over) to “above average,” hitting 96-97 most of the time. That can be hit, as the Cubs showed. He was getting swings and misses mostly on his slider. He’s still a very good pitcher, obviously, but will he ever recover the level he was at for the first two years of his career? That remains to be seen.
More on Skenes from John:
This was Paul Skenes’ 85th career start. It was just the eighth in which he has allowed multiple home runs, with five of them this year. He gave up three just once: at home vs. the Cubs, on May 1 of last year. The Cubs won the game, 8-3.
The Cubs have hit seven homers off him. No other team has hit more than three.
Michael Busch became the first batter to hit two homers off Skenes. Pedro Ramirez was the 36th to hit one.
Anyway, Holmes and the Cubs nursed that 2-0 lead into the sixth, when Brandon Lowe, who has killed Cubs pitching all year, led off with a single. Then came the aforementioned Nico error, which might have wound up a double play or at least a force out. Instead, the Pirates had two men on and nobody out. One out later, Ryan O’Hearn launched a homer and the Bucs led 3-2.
Holmes then loaded the bases on a walk, single following a fly to left and another walk. Craig Counsell called on Jacob Webb to face Oneil Cruz and — be honest now — you didn’t much like that matchup. I sure didn’t. But Webb got Cruz to ground to second to end the inning.
The Cubs couldn’t do anything in the sixth or seventh. Webb threw a scoreless seventh after a leadoff walk, and hopefully this outing will help him build confidence back. Ryan Rolison threw a 1-2-3 eighth and then the Cubs got to work after Skenes was lifted for Gregory Soto.
Ramirez led off with a double, but the next two Cubs were retired, including PCA on a called third strike. I think he was looking slider and Soto rammed a fastball right down the middle.
Then Soto lost the zone almost completely. He hit Alex Bregman and walked pinch-hitter Seiya Suzuki to load the bases.
I don’t know if you can tell from that clip but the energy level from the 39,422 in attendance was tremendous at Wrigley Saturday afternoon. Loud and engaged on every pitch in that inning.
The Cubs will take runs any way they can get them, of course, and now had a one-run lead to protect in the ninth.
Rolison was left in the game. The first batter was pinch-hitter Rafael Flores Jr., who hit a ground ball to Bregman that Alex couldn’t handle and it went for a hit. Rolison then retired the next two Pirates on fly balls, and Counsell called on Ryan Zeferjahn to face Bryan Reynolds.
You know, I’m not sure I’d have done that either, but I can see what Counsell is doing here — trying to figure out who’s going to close games and give some relievers tough situations to see how they handle them.
Again, I’m not sure the tremendous crowd energy comes across well in the video clips. Everyone in the ballpark was really into every pitch, almost a playoff atmosphere. This isn’t the way I’d have drawn up this win, but wins are wins and the Cubs will certainly take it. More from John:
This was the Cubs’ 42nd come-from-behind win — more than half of all 83 total wins. Going into today, only two teams had more: the Diamondbacks, 44, and Dodgers, 42. The Brewers and Padres had 40.
So the Cubs have a chance to go a full game up on the Phillies for the top wild card if the Braves can defeat Philadelphia again this evening. Tyler Mahle will start for the Braves and the Phillies are going with a bullpen game, started by Tim Mayza. That game begins at 6:15 p.m. CT.
As for the Cubs, they’ll go for the sweep of the Pirates Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Matthew Boyd will start for the Cubs and Bubba Chandler goes for Pittsburgh. Game time Sunday is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 04: Shane Drohan #55 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park on September 04, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a complete drubbing of the Cincinnati Reds last night, 20-0, to clinch a berth in the postseason, the Milwaukee Brewers are back for more against their NL Central foe.
The Brewers have a magic number of 4 to clinch the NL Central coming into tonight’s game. The Chicago Cubs did win their afternoon contest against the Pirates, which means the Brewers can no longer clinch on Sunday and the earliest they could possibly be crowned is on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
While it’ll be difficult for the Brewers offense to replicate the kind of offensive outburst they had on Friday night, they have been swinging the bat quite well of late. Jackson Chourio has especially been on a roll, batting .379/.404/.621 (39-for-103) with 6 HR and 18 RBI in his last 23 games.
To no surprise, Chourio is back in the leadoff spot for tonight’s game. He’ll be followed by Brice Turang and Jake Bauers atop the order. Christian Yelich, William Contreras, and Garrett Mitchell form the middle of the order. Then the bottom of the order has Sal Frelick in right field, Cooper Pratt at short, then David Hamilton at third base.
After a clutch home run robbery last night from Lara and a career-high 4 hit game from Joey Ortiz, neither of them are in the starting lineup for tonight’s game.
The Reds will have right-hander Brady Singer on the mound. He works primarily with a sinker-slider combo. The Brewers recognize Ortiz’s struggles against right-handed sinkers, which is likely contributing to him not being in the lineup tonight. The last time Singer was out on the mound, it was against the Brewers. He didn’t pitch particularly well, allowing six runs over 5 IP, but the Reds still won.
Singer is having a tough season, with his ERA experiencing a full run increase over last year. He has a 5.03 ERA in 2026 in his 28 starts.
The Brewers will be countering with Shane Drohan, who has a 7-5 record and a 4.09 ERA on the year. Drohan faced the Reds his last time out and had a tough game, allowing six runs in 4 IP. Ironically, that was the only game of that Reds series last weekend that the Brewers won.
Drohan will face a Reds lineup that’s led by Dane Myers, Elly De La Cruz, and rookie sensation Sal Stewart at the top of the order. Tyler Stephenson, Eugenio Suarez, and JJ Bleday form the middle of the Reds lineup. Then Juan Brito, Hector Rodriguez, and Ke’Bryan Hayes round out the bottom of the lineup card for manager Terry Francona.
Can the Brewers continue their push for 100 wins for the first time in franchise history? Can they make their NL Central magic number dwindle a little bit more? We’ll find out. First pitch is at 6:10 PM.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 06: (EDITOR’S NOTE: Image has been taken using a tilt-shift lens) Peter Lambert #38 of the Houston Astros reacts in the seventh inning during the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Daikin Park on September 06, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (75-73) and Tampa Bay Rays (88-59) play the 2nd game of this 3-game set tonight at Tropicana Field.
RHP Peter Lambert (8-8, 3.67 ERA) will start for the Astros as he takes on Rays LHP Ian Seymour (9-6, 4.33 ERA). Tonight will be Lambert’s 4th career app. vs. TB and his 2nd career start/app. at Tropicana Field.
ASTROS-RAYS: The Astros are 2-2 vs. TB thus far this season. HOU took 2 out of 3 games from the Rays when they met at Daikin Park earlier this season, July 3-5.
Astros-Rays History: The Astros are 45-50 all-time vs. TB in the regular season.
Postseason: The two clubs have met twice in the postseason, with the Astros defeating TB in the 2019 ALDS, 3-2, and the Rays topping the Astros in the 2020 ALCS, 4-3.
THE LAMBO: RHP Peter Lambert is making his club-leading 26th start of the season tonight. In his last start on Sunday vs. ARI, Lambert pitched 7.0 strong innings (3 ER) but took the loss in a 3-2 defeat.
Vs. The Rays: In 3 career app. (2 GS) vs. TB, Lambert is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA (2ER/12.2IP). Lambert defeated the Rays on July 5 of this season at Daikin Park, hurling 5.2 scoreless innings in a 2-0 Astros victory.
At The Trop: Tonight will be Lambert’s 2nd career start/app. at Tropicana Field. His other was on Aug. 24, 2023 while with COL (5.0 IP, 2 ER, ND in 5-3 loss).
100 CLUB: Tonight will be Lambert’s 100th career ML appearance and 61st ML start.
CAM CAN: Cam Smith is 6×14 (.429) on the current road trip with 3 HR and 4 RBI. He homered in all 3 games at PHI on the 1st stop of the trip. Smith is hitting .290 (9×31) in Sept. with a .998 OPS.
ROAD WARRIORS: Tonight is the 5th game (2-2 thus far) of a 6-game road trip for the Astros. Since going 1-9 on the first road trip of the 2026 season, the Astros have gone 37-26 (.587) on the road since April 14, which ranks 3rd in the Majors in that span. More recently, they are 21-14 (.600) on their last 6 road trips combined (includes current trip).
TOUGH DRAWS: Including tonight, in the last 4 games, the opposing starters that the Astros have faced have a combined won-loss record of 52-21. They are: LHP Cristopher Sánchez (17-5), RHP Zack Wheeler (12-5), RHP Drew Rasmussen (14-5), LHP Ian Seymour (9-6).
MEASURING UP: The Astros are 29-21 (.580) vs. teams currently at .500 or above. They own a .500 or better record vs. several clubs that are in the AL postseason hunt: 5-1 vs. BOS, 5-2 vs. CWS, 4-2 vs. CLE, 2-2 vs. TB, 9-4 vs. TEX, 3-3 vs. NYY, 3-3 vs. TOR.
NOTHING FINER THAN YAINER: C Yainer Diaz is hitting .367 (11×30) in the month of September with a .920 OPS.
Multi-Tasking: Diaz has tallied multiple hits in each of his last 5 starts, going 10×19 (.526) in that span.
THE HIT MAN:Jose Altuve collected his 2,500th career hit on Wed. night at PHI, becoming the 103rd player in ML history to reach this milestone. Freddie Freeman was the last player to reach 2,500 hits, which happened on June 9 of this year at PNC Park vs. PIT. Freeman (2,587) and Altuve (2,503) are the 2 active hits leaders in the Majors.
ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Astros are 2nd in the AL in HR (193) and SLG (.409), T-3rd in OPS (.724) and 6th in runs scored (663).
SLOW AND STEADY RECOVERY: Since starting the season with a 20-31 record after 51 games, the Astros are 55-42 (.567) in their last 97 games (since May 22). That is the 2nd-best record in the AL in that span, behind only the Red Sox.
STARTING STRONG: In the last 11 games, Astros starters have combined for a 2.73 ERA (17ER/56IP) . The Astros are 6-5 in that span. Additionally, the Astros are 10-7 in their last 17 games, during which the starters have posted a combined 3.13 ERA (29ER/83.1IP).
TRIPLE THREAT: Yordan Alvarez, who is a solid candidate for the AL MVP Award, currently ranks 1st or 2nd in the AL in all three Triple Crown categories. He enters today leading the AL in batting avg. (.310), while ranking 2nd in HR (38) and RBI (96). Alvarez also leads the Majors in OPS (1.017), SLG (.590) and OBP (.427).
Rare Feat: Since Carl Yastrzemski won the AL Triple Crown in 1967, there has been just one Triple Crown winner in the Majors, Miguel Cabrera in 2012 (AL).
CHALLENGING STRETCH: The Astros are 6-5 thus far while in a stretch of playing 13 cons. games vs. opponents with winning records (CWS, ARI, PHI, TB). 2 of those opponents are leading their respective divisions (CWS, TB), one currently holds a WC spot (PHI) and another that is 0.5 game out of a WC spot (ARI).
BIG WES: Tomorrow’s starter, RHP Hayden Wesneski, is 3-0 in his last 4 starts with a 1.57 ERA (4ER/23IP). For the season, he is 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA in 8 starts (Astros are 7-1 in his starts).
DOWN ON THE FARM: The Fayetteville Woodpeckers have advanced to the Carolina League Championship Round after sweeping Fredericksburg, in their 1st round playoff matchup. Fayetteville will face the Charleston RiverDogs for the Carolina League championship in a best-of-three series, beginning on Sunday in Charleston. Games 2 and 3 are scheduled to be played at Fayetteville.
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY:2021 – Rookie OF Jose Siri gets his first Major League start and makes it one of the best ever, tallying 4 hits with 2 HR and 5 RBI in a 15-1 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field. Siri had 4 Major League at-bats but no starts prior to his big night.
2020 – At Dodger Stadium, the Astros erupt for 5 runs in the top of the 9th off Kenley Jansen for a dramatic, 7-5 win over the Dodgers. The Astros tally 6 hits in the 9th off Jansen, who does not record an out.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Saturday, September 12, 5:10 p.m. CT
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
TV: Space City Home Network
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - SEPTEMBER 11: Fans react after a double hit by Brice Turang #2 of the Milwaukee Brewers, scoring a run in the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field on September 11, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Saturday evening’s game between the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers will likely include an odd feature not usually observed in Major League Baseball.
Reds pitcher Jose Trevino will potentially be unavailable. That’s Reds catcher Jose Trevino, who has pitched in each of the last two games in which the Reds have played.
Cincinnati wrapped up their series in Los Angeles mid-week with a 14-1 drubbing by the Dodgers. Then, they flew to Milwaukee just to find a way to play worse. Friday saw them completely dismantled at the hands of the Brewers to the tune of a 20-0 final score.
Cincinnati had multiple pitchers allow at least 8 earned runs. Milwaukee was up 17-0 so early that it was an honest conversation whether they should use a position player on the mound to save innings on their relievers with the game already so out of reach. Trevino, who allowed 3 ER in 2.0 IP, actually performed better than both Andrew Abbott and Luis Mey, even if he did so while leaning hard on his 22 mph eephus.
It was a game so embarrassing it wasn’t worth covering. That’s on the back of a game that was so embarrassing (and late) it wasn’t worth covering, either. That’s where this Cincinnati Reds club finds itself 147 games into this disastrous 2026 season, with the only thing left to see being whether they choose to pick themselves up off the mat or simply let it bleed out.
Something is woefully amiss within this organization. And if nothing changes yet again this winter, well, we’ll know it’s all by design.
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 05: Carlos Correa #1 of the Houston Astros warms up prior to the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kairi Mano/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
With Carlos Correa getting closer to returning to the Astros, questions have arisen about how the team would formulate their lineup when he was ready to rejoin the team. While Correa has exclusively taken ground balls at 3B during his rehab and manager Joe Espada has stated that Correa would play 3B upon his return, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic had a report today that offered another idea:
The concept of Correa at 2B instantly leads to thoughts of “if he has a serious ankle injury he is returning from, wouldn’t playing 2B make him more vulnerable to another injury” immediately after the thought of “but Correa has never played 2B before”. While the first listed thought would seem to be true, the second one is definitely true.
Carlos Correa has never played 2B. He’s never played on the right side of the infield.
On recent editions of AREA45 on 95.7 The Fan, I have hypothesized of Carlos Correa potentially playing 1B after this season, with the Astros moving on from Christian Walker. While Correa would make a great target at 1B standing 6’3”, Correa is notably superior defender at 3B than Isaac Paredes, who does have experience playing 1B. Paredes stands 5’11”, the same height as Walker.
The idea of Correa playing 2B would require Yordan Alvarez to be the everyday LF and Jose Altuve to become the team’s regular DH.
While it may not be tenable for a full season, it could certainly be a working plan for the final week of the season and the playoffs.
Jose Altuve is having a career-worst season both offensively and defensively. Altuve is a -11 OAA (Outs Above Average). For comparison, last season Altuve was a 0 OAA, making him league average. -11 OAA grades Altuve as the worst defensive 2B in MLB. It is a sharp fall defensively for the Astros aging icon.
Correa’s athleticism should allow him to play the position well, but an occasional misplay by being out of position should be expected for playing someplace he has never played before.
DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 12: Colt Keith #33 of the Detroit Tigers beats the tag from shortstop Ezequiel Tovar #14 of the Colorado Rockies to steal second base with umpire Manny Gonzalez covering the bag during the fourth inning at Comerica Park on September 12, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies appeared to have this one in hand.
Last night, the Rockies outhit the Tigers 10-5 but managed to lose 6-2 because those hits were all singles. Today, the Rockies found a little more firepower, logging 12 hits including two home runs and some extra-base hits.
Unfortunately, it was a classic Colorado loss where the bats are working but the pitching isn’t. The Rockies surrendered 11 runs on 18 hits to Detroit. The Rockies held the lead for the majority of the game, but a whirlwind eighth inning swung the game seven runs, from a three-run Rockies lead to a four-run deficit.
After a wasted opportunity to stop the losses from piling up, the soundtrack to today’s game in Motown was, ultimately, a sad one.
“Higher Ground”
Tanner Gordon came into the game looking like a road warrior yet again, piling up a couple of strong innings to start things off. Through the first two innings, he allowed some traffic but kept things scoreless. Gordon allowed a quick single to Kevin McGonigle to begin the game but fired off two strikeouts in the inning as well. After an Eduardo Valencia double and a Spencer Torkelson single put runners on the corners, Gordon gave up a walk, which is uncharacteristic for his 4% walk rate, to load the bases. A clutch double play kept zeroes on the board.
For their part, the Rockies offense kept on trying ‘til they reached their highest ground, taking a 3-0 lead to give Gordon some early run support.
After stranding runners on second and third in the first inning and a 1-2-3 inning in the second, the Rockies got to work in the third. Jake McCarthy was hit by a pitch and Connor Norby singled to put runners on the corners. No more small ball would be needed, however. A Hunter Goodman home run — his 38th of the season — brought everyone home.
The three-run cushion didn’t last long. McGonigle, the American League Rookie of the Year favorite, got a solo shot to left field off of Gordon to cut into the lead. Gordon responded with two outs, but couldn’t escape the inning. A trio of singles from Riley Greene, Valencia, and Max Clark were good enough to score a run and make it a 3-2 ballgame.
Things nearly got much, much worse. With Clark and Valencia on first and third, Torkelson nearly launched a three-run homer that would have given Detroit a 5-3 lead. McCarthy tracked it down, timed his leap, reached out, and committed a robbery.
The defensive play absolutely stopped the momentum from swinging too far in Detroit’s direction. Colorado parlayed that into growing the lead in the fourth. Jordan Beck took first with a bunt and was brought home by an Adael Amador double to make it 4-2 Rox.
“War”
As Edwin Starr sang: “War! Huh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.”
By the middle innings, the game had turned into a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, which was no good for the Rockies who were trying to hold onto their lead. The Tigers would not go quietly, fighting back to tie the game and threatening to jump ahead.
Brett Callahan doubled to kick off the fourth inning, but Gordon held his own for the moment, striking out the next two batters. Gordon worked in his off-speed pitches effectively, getting John Peck to strike out swinging on a changeup low and inside, and catching McGonigle looking at a curveball right at the bottom of the zone.
Unfortunately, two-out runs were Gordon’s kryptonite today. Hao-Yu Lee doubled to score Callahan and was brought home himself on a Colt Keith single to tie the game at 4-4. Gordon was replaced by Juan Mejia in the bottom of the fifth, ending his day with 4.0 innings pitched, a whopping 10 hits, four earned runs, and five strikeouts to a lone walk.
Gordon has been susceptible to hits in many of his starts as he was today, but he did his part to work out of jams and keep the game competitive. While not in line for a decision, he held his own in key situations and kept the Rockies in it.
“You Keep Me Hanging On”
After the scoring flareups from Detroit in the third and fourth innings, the bullpen kept Colorado hanging on to the lead, albeit with some scattered drama.
When Mejia took over in the fifth, he immediately allowed the basepaths to become crowded. He got behind the count against Valencia after throwing three straight balls. After strikes on the next two pitches, Mejia walked Valencia. Clark doubled as the next batter up, forcing a mound visit to calm Mejia down. It did the trick as Mejia locked in for three straight outs.
Mejia attempted to start the sixth but was replaced by Brennan Bernardino after issuing two straight walks on 14 pitches. Bernardino worked out of the inherited jam masterfully, continuing to be such an important piece of the Rockies’ bullpen. He logged three straight outs, including a strikeout to prevent any damage done in the sixth, maintaining the Rockies two-run lead. Bernardino allowed a couple of hits in the seventh but prevented any runs.
An Ezequiel Tovar solo shot in the top of the eighth helped the Rockies grow their lead to three. The home run was right near the foul pole and close to being called for fan interference, but a review called it good, putting Colorado up 7-4.
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”
Unfortunately, no mountain or lead was high enough for the Tigers to overcome. Despite the three-run lead and several scoreless innings from the bullpen, a disastrous eighth inning would be all it would take for the Rockies’ fortune to crumble. This one couldn’t have been any worse.
Jaden Hill came in to relieve Bernardino. Unfortunately, it was Hill’s worst outing since a five-run catastrophe against the Milwaukee Brewers back in June.
Hill immediately surrendered back-to-back doubles to Lee and Gleyber Torres, making it a 7-5 game rather quickly. Greene singled to bring it to 7-6. The Rockies began warming up Jordan Romano, but they couldn’t get Hill out of the game fast enough. Hill gave up a single to Valencia and walked Clark, setting the stage for Roman with the bases loaded and no outs. Hill’s day ended at 0.0 innings pitched as he faced five batters but couldn’t record an out. He gave up five runs on four hits.
Manager Warren Schaeffer talked about Hill’s performance, noting that Detroit jumped on him with a good game plan: “Four hits and a walk with very little pitches. They had a good plan. They went out there and put the bat on the ball early in the count. And (we) just couldn’t get any outs.”
Romano didn’t fare much better after inheriting a terrible situation. After a pitch clock violation awarded an automatic ball, he walked Torkelson to walk in a run and tie the game. He next walked Ben Malgeri on seven pitches to push another run home and give Detroit their first lead of the game at 8-7.
A Peck sacrifice fly extended it by one, but the real damage was done on a Lee triple that scored two more. Romano managed two strikeouts but gave up two runs on a hit and two walks. The Tigers went into the final frame with an 11-7 lead and closed the game out there.
“Tracks of My Tears”
Cue some Smokey Robinson, because this was a sad, jarring loss for this Rockies team.
Even though they’re a young, developing team, it’s hard to see them squander games that should have been in the bag. This game often turned on a dime, partially because the Rockies’ pitchers weren’t able to close out innings — a problem that haunted them throughout the game. Colorado has still struggled to get their bats and pitching to work at the same time.
Schaeffer pointed to “positives all through this game” for a growing team, highlighting Amador’s big at bats, Tovar’s home run, Rumfield’s three-hit game, and Bernardino’s strong six outs.
The end of season woes continue to grow for the Rockies. They’ve now lost six games in a row, nine straight on the road, and 19 of their last 23.
Up Next
The Rockies take on the Motor City Kitties for game three of the series. Detroit swept Colorado at Coors Field in 2025. The Tigers will try to treat the home fans at Comerica Park to the same result with a sweep on the line in Sunday’s matchup.
Colorado will start Gabriel Hughes, currently winless on the season. Hughes is 0-7 in 11 starts with a 5.81 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and 48 strikeouts.
While there has been some rotation shuffling in recent days for Detroit, they are expected to start Jackson Jobe as of now. Jobe has a 1-2 record across six starts with a 4.45 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and 26 strikeouts.
We’ve got morning baseball on deck with a 10:10 a.m. MT first pitch.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 14: Nathan Eovaldi #17 of the Texas Rangers looks on between innings of a baseball game against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on August 14, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Scott Marshall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung and pitcher Nathan Eovaldi have been activated from the injured list, the team announced today. To make room for them on the active roster, the Rangers have optioned pitcher Adam Macko and DH/catcher Logan O’Hoppe to AAA Round Rock.
Jung had been in the midst of his best season prior to going on the injured list in mid-July, slashing .294/.361/.441. Jung originally was thought to potentially miss just a day or two with a calf issue that ended up sidelining him almost two months. He has been on a rehab assignment with AAA Round Rock, and played third base each of the last two games.
Eovaldi last pitched on August 7, throwing 5.1 innings of one pitch ball against the Orioles. He went on the injured list after that with an elbow issue. He has not gone on a rehab assignment, and it remains to be seen what his role will be now that he is activated, although it would seem likely he will be used out of the bullpen initially.
Sep 11, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) runs off the field after a walk-off double by Atlanta Braves designated hitter Drake Baldwin (30) in the eleventh inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
MIAMI, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 12: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his home run with teammate Max Muncy #13 in the first inning of the game against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on September 12, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960, coming from Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, which led to the team’s name. The Dodgers, who arrived in town two years earlier, have made Los Angeles the land of 10,000 home runs.
That’s how many homers the Dodgers have hit since moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958. No. 10,000 was courtesy of Mookie Betts, who hit a solo home run with two outs in the first inning on Saturday against Miami Marlins right-hander Tyler Phillips.
Max Muncy followed Betts with another solo shot for back-to-back home runs and now 10,001 home runs in Los Angeles Dodgers history.
It’s a fitting duo surrounding the milestone, with Muncy’s 237 home runs the fifth-most for in franchise, and Betts at 172 homer runs broke a tie with Pedro Guerrero for 11th place. Since moving to Los Angeles, Muncy is second in home runs and Betts is seventh.
Dodgers team historian Mark Langill wrote about the approaching home run milestone for the Dodgers, with a focus on infielder Dick Gray, whose two-run shot against the San Francisco Giants at Seals Stadium in San Francisco on April 16, 1958, in the teams’ second game on the west coast, was the first home run hit by a Los Angeles Dodger.
Gray hit 11 of his 12 career home runs with the Dodgers, and as Langill points out also homered on April 18, 1958 at the Los Angeles Coliseum, making Gray the first player to hit both the first home and first road home runs in LA Dodgers history.
Betts has four home runs in September, and 20 on the season, his ninth career season with at least 20 home runs. When he crossed the plate in the first inning on Saturday scored a run in his 11th consecutive game. That’s just one game shy of an LA Dodgers record, shared by Betts himself (May 13-24, 2022) and Rafael Furcal (June 24-July, 2010).
