WASHINGTON — Their day began with one of their All-Star left-handers, Jesus Luzardo, arguably the game's best pitcher in the second half of the season, going on the injured list with a sore shoulder, complicating their playoff drive and imperiling their chances if they get there.
Their day ended with their other All-Star left-hander, Cristopher Sánchez, arguably the game's best pitcher the first half of the season, getting hit hard for the third time in his past five outings, casting doubt on whether he'll be the lockdown ace they'll need to advance past the NL Division Series for the first time since 2023.
And the final indignity for the Philadelphia Phillies on this Tuesday, Sept. 15 was delivered by set-up man Jonathan Bowlan, who relieved Sanchez in a tie game and needed just one pitch — a changeup that Daylen Lile went down and crushed over the center field wall — to deepen the Phillies' misery.
Lile's three-run homer in the seventh inning provided a 6-3 victory for the Washington Nationals in a game the Phillies desperately needed — partly because they continue slipping within the pantheon of NL playoff teams, and mostly because they've played terribly since the last time Luzardo threw a pitch.
That came on Sept. 7, Labor Day, when Luzardo tossed a 109-pitch, two-hit shutout against the first-place Atlanta Braves. Luzardo woke up with a bum shoulder a couple days later and the Phillies have lost five of seven since, their lineup returning to its inactive ways, their rotation withering and their leverage relievers crumbling.
Now, the logistics: The Phillies (83-68) are essentially in a three-way tie for the three NL wild-card spots, as the Chicago Cubs also have 68 losses and the San Diego Padres (82-69) are just a game behind. The NL East? Forget about it: Atlanta has a six-game lead with 10 to play.
Going home for the winter? That's suddenly a distinct possibility, with the Arizona Diamondbacks within 2 1/2 games of the wild card scrum.
For a team that went 21-7 in August, that was within three games of first place just six days ago, it is a stunning position, one that adds a dash of urgency to this final sprint.
"It’s going to be a grind. There’s no doubt about it. It’s not like (the playoffs are) guaranteed," says designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, who hit his 45th home run on Tuesday. "We gotta go out and win ballgames. We knew we had the group capable of being the team that can hold up a trophy at the end of the year. We know that.
"But we also have to go out and win games. I think the writing’s on the wall. We have to show up and be ready to go tomorrow. It’s only going to keep shortening up the season."
They will hand the ball to Zack Wheeler, who along with Luzardo and Sánchez figures to earn votes on NL Cy Young Award ballots. But Sánchez's arrow continues pointing down.
Tuesday, he gave up eight hits and five earned runs to the Nationals, the third time in five starts he's given up at least eight hits and four earned runs. His ERA, which was 2.61 on Aug. 1, is now up to 2.93.
The Nationals noshed on his sinker, going 4-for-14 against the pitch with seven hard-hit balls. When he's not commanding that pitch, it neuters the effectiveness of his slider and his putaway pitch, the changeup.
"I’m missing. And I’m failing in some sorts and I don’t want to do that but I just have to take it," says Sanchez. "It’s part of the game. When you’re rolling and doing good, you don’t notice it as much. One thing that’s certain is I’m going to work on getting better and I want to get better.
"When everythng’s right, everything’s much easier. It looks smoother and better on the field."
The Phillies' task got much harder when Luzardo came to Nationals Park for treatment Monday, came back Tuesday and the club decided to cancel his throwing session and put him on the IL. It's a significant blow: Luzardo is 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA, ranks second in the NL with 221 strikeouts and fourth with a 1.08 WHIP.
Since June 23, he's 8-1 with a 1.65 ERA and the Phillies have won 12 of his 14 starts.
"We just have to keep going. Keep going and keep working," says Sanchez. "He’ll be fine and he’ll be back for us. We just have to pick him up and try to win games."
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 15: Spencer Jones #78 of the New York Yankees celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Minnesota Twins during the sixth inning of the game at Target Field on September 15, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees own the Twins. This is not news; this is a basic fact of life and something most baseball fans are aware of. Since 2002, the Yankees have a ridiculous 130-48 record against the Twins since 2002, a .730 winning percentage. That’s a 118-win pace, which means that the Yankees against the Twins for the last quarter-century are the best team the sport has ever seen.
After losing two of three in the Bronx during the brief summer swoon in early July, the Yankees were in serious danger of dropping the season series to Minnesota for just the second time since 2001 (2023, of course), but have secured at least a split with two wins at Target Field this week, the first of which ensured that the Twins would not win three consecutive games in this series for the first time in 35 years. The Yankees are now 61-27 against the Twins on the road since 2002.
Ok, enough messing with the Twins. The Yankees did what they were supposed to do today, riding home runs by Cody Bellinger and Spencer Jones and a sensational start by Max Fried to a safe 8-1 victory in Minneapolis on Tuesday night. The three outfielders, Bellinger, Jones, and Heliot Ramos (Judge had the day off), combined to go 6-for-13 with two home runs, six RBI, and two walks.
This game started on the right note for the offense. After being flummoxed by Dean Kremer the night before, they immediately jumped on Bailey Ober. After nearly being hit by a pitch, Ben Rice led off with a single to set up Cody Bellinger for a long, two-run shot into right-center field for his 16th home run of the season to make it 2-0. His power had completely vanished for the last month prior to his hamstring injury, but he’s now gone deep five times since returning and four times in the last eight games.
Max Fried got to work in the bottom half, working around a leadoff infield single by Luke Keaschall to put up a zero. The Yankees threatened for more in the second off Ober after back-to-back singles by Anthony Volpe and Ali Sánchez, but they were stranded. Minnesota’s offense would make them pay for stranding those runners later that inning, as another infield single by Royce Lewis (on a lackadasical play by George Lombard Jr.), a stolen base, and a two-out single by Emmanuel Rodriguez put the Twins on the board. We’d get a good sign shortly after, though, as Fried notched a textbook pickoff to end the frame.
Ober just didn’t seem to have anything to really fool the Yankees in this one, as evidenced by another rally in the third. Heliot Ramos worked a one-out walk, and Luis García Jr. singled to set the table for Lombard, who’d get that run back on a two-out RBI single through the right side to extend the lead to 3-1. A walk from Volpe almost set up Sanchez for a big moment, but his long drive to center with the bases loaded died on the warning track.
Fried was dialed in after that pickoff, retiring the next eight he faced before a Rodriguez double that was later stranded. The Yankees notched three more hits off Ober over the next few innings, but stranded them all. He wound up going 5.1 innings and allowed three runs, but this was one of those games that stat-pad your batting average, as he allowed nine hits.
Finally, Ober departed in the sixth for the lefty Taylor Rogers, as Derek Shelton looked to exploit the lefty-heavy top of the Yankees’ order. That would backfire. An E-6 on a bullet grounder from Rice and a four-pitch walk for Bellinger set up Ramos to rip an RBI double down the left-field line to make it 4-1. As it turns out, the guy who was brought here to specifically face lefties eventually starts hitting when he gets to see those lefties. Who knew?
In prime position for another run or two, García chopped one back to the mound, and Bellinger was tagged out on an unsuccessful contact play. Fortunately for him, his teammate would pick him up. Spencer Jones trotted to the plate and was given hanging sweeper after hanging sweeper, gradually picking them up better. For some reason, on 2-2, Rogers threw a fourth sweeper down the pipe to the hulking slugger, who eviscerated it 423 feet deep into the Minnesota night to break the game open.
Now pitching with a six-run lead, Fried gave up a leadoff triple to Kody Clemens, but bounced back to get a pop-out and two strikeouts to complete seven strong innings in his longest outing since April 22nd. He looks close to being fully built up, and it’s that the perfect time for the Yankees.
Former Yankee Yoendrys Gomez got the eighth for the Twinkies and worked around a leadoff single by Bellinger. Fried handed the ball to Ryan Yarbrough, who thought he gave up a long home run to Rodriguez, only for a review to overturn it to a foul ball before getting him to fly out to start a scoreless inning. Shelton found a way to get himself ejected on a fairly obvious overturn for some reason. My theory is that it’s more performative, as the Twins, who curiously bought at the deadline, fall to 70-81 with a tragic number of five.
Andrew Morris was tasked with getting three more outs for Minnesota, which he couldn’t do without coughing up a run. A bunch of long at-bats yielded a run, as a Lombard drew a walk, got to second on a slow groundout, and scored on an RBI single by José Caballero. Yarbrough would do the job in the bottom of the ninth to secure a series victory.
Tampa walked off the Athletics on a Junior Caminero walk-off home run, so they remain 3.5 games back. As of the end of the Yankees’ game, the Red Sox trail the Rangers, 4-2. A loss by Boston would put them six back (without the tiebreaker) with 11 to go, so it’s safe to assume that the Yankees have put them in the rearview mirror for the rest of the regular season.
It’s a mid-week matinee to close out the season series against the Twins, as Carlos Rodón will look to build off a brilliant start on 9/11 against Zebby Matthews tomorrow at 1:40 pm EST on YES.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 15: Spencer Jones #78 of the New York Yankees celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Minnesota Twins during the sixth inning of the game at Target Field on September 15, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the season basically over, the Twins welcomed the Yankees to Target Field tonight and they lost. End of recap.
Okay, I suppose I better write more. Bailey Ober was pretty good tonight. Two of the three runs he gave up came in the first inning on Cody Bellinger’s 16th homer. He ran into some trouble in the 3rd, giving up a run on George Lombard Jr.‘s RBI double. He would pitch one out into the 6th with no further damage done, with a final line of 5.1 IP, 9 H. 3 ER. 2 BB, 3 K, HR.
Meanwhile, the Twins couldn’t do much of anything tonight against any Yankee pitcher. Max Fried held them to 1 run and 6 hits over 7 innings. That one run came courtesy of Emmanuel Rodriguez’s RBI single in the 2nd inning. He would later hit a double and then almost a homer (just foul) for a 2-3 night. He and Luke Keaschall (3-4) accounted for 5 of the 7 hits the Twins had tonight. The rest of the lineup was 2-25 with no walks.
After Ober got the first out in the 6th, Taylor Rogers came in to face the lefty Ben Rice, who reached on Kaelen Culpepper’s error. Bellinger followed with a walk and then Ramos doubled, scoring Rice. Two batters later, Spencer Jones put the proverbial nail in the coffin with a 3-run homer to center to make it a 7-1 game. All four runs allowed by Rogers go down as unearned due to the error, but you’d expect your lefty whose job it is to get lefties out to get some lefties out.
Andrew Morris would allow a meaningless run in the 9th, giving us our 8-1 final score. It was nice to see Emma havea good game. Things don’t look so great now but I do think the future core of the team looks promising.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 15: Jeremy Peña #21 of the Houston Astros celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the third inning during a game against the Kansas City Royals at Daikin Park on September 15, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It was a Pena-Palooza. Astros 4 Royals 2.
Fans were barely in their seats when Jeremy Pena started the night with a lead off smash, clearing the train tracks and putting the Astros on the board 1-0. For Pena, it was his 5th leadoff home run of the season. Pena would double down and repeat the feat in the 3rd inning, making it 2-0 and with that, the final homestand was in full effect.
The Royals scored their first run of the night on a Carter Jensen double, which brought home Isaac Collins who started the 5th with a walk. In the bottom of that frame, Yordan Alvarez would get that run back and then some. Yordan took it deep to right field, scoring Pena who reached for the third time on a two out single. It was Alvarez’s 39th long ball.
Kansas City cut the lead to 4-2 on Vinnie Pasquantino’s homer to center but that was as close as they’d get.
Hunter Brown earned his 6th win of the season, striking out 10. He’d go five innings before Espada went to the bullpen. Sousa, Blubaugh and Abreu would each pitch an inning before Hader closed things out in the 9th. Josh Hader is now 26 for 26 in save opportunities.
Michael Wacha’s unbeaten streak against Houston is now history. Wacha beat the Astros twice last season. On Tuesday night, Wacha went 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits with a walk and strikeout in the loss.
The off day served the Astros well. The three-game skid is over.
Odds & Ends:
Yordan’s walk in the 8th inning was his 103rd of the season.
Game two will feature Cristian Javier on the mound, searching for his 3rd win. First pitch once again slated for 7:10 pm CDT.
Wednesday will mark the 21st anniversary of Jeff Bagwell’s dramatic game winning single in the bottom of the 9th against the Brewers. It was Bagwell’s first hit upon returning from major surgery on his right shoulder. Bagwell missed 115 games in 2005.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 15: Bryce Eldridge #8 of the San Francisco Giants rounds third base after hitting a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Busch Stadium on September 15, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tuesday night’s game between the Cardinals and Giants started out with a bang from both teams. Bombs from both Bryce Eldridge and Alec Burleson were just the beginning of a lot of offense especially from the San Francisco Giants lineup.
It didn’t take long before Andre Pallante was greeted rudely by the bats of the Giants and the Cardinals defense didn’t help the issue. Drew Gilbert led off and reached on an error from Masyn Winn. That brought up Bryce Eldridge who hit the longest home run in Busch Stadium this season. With an exit velocity of 112 mph, he launched a Pallante slider 461 feet into the right field stands giving the Giants a 2-0 lead.
The 1st inning circus continued with Cox was granted first base when it was ruled that Leo Bernal touched his foot. Cox then stole second and eventually took third base when Lee grounded out. After Basabe flied out to left, Hill singled to right to give San Francisco another run making it 3-0.
St. Louis would get a run back in the bottom of the 1st inning when Alec Burleson ripped an 88 mph slider from Blade Tidwell 376 feet into the Cardinals bullpen in right briefly reducing the San Francisco lead to 3-1.
Any feel good tendencies that Burleson’s homer inspired would all but disappear in the top of the 3rd inning when the Giants would unload on Andre Pallante. Cox reached on a bunt single when he beat Pallante to first after Burleson fielded it. Lee then doubled giving San Francisco runners at second and third with no outs. Andre would get Basabe to ground out without allowing a run, but that would only delay the Giants onslaught. San Francisco would get a run when Hill grounded out to Winn at short making it 4-1 San Francisco. After Cavanaugh walked, Hill singled to make it 5-1 Giants. McCray stole second before Koss singled to right scoring two more upping the San Francisco lead to 7-1.
The Cardinals would mount a counterattack in the bottom of the 3rd inning. It started with a single from Masyn Winn followed by José Fermín getting plunked with a pitch. Bryan Torres then walked to load the bases for St. Louis with no outs. Ivan Herrera made hard contact as he ripped a line drive to left, but it was caught and ended up being a sacrifice fly giving the Cardinals their 2nd run making it slightly more interesting at 7-2. Unfortunately that’s all St. Louis would get as Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker struck out to end the Cardinals 3rd.
The Giants would restore their 6-run lead in the top of the 4th inning when Bryce Eldridge drew a leadoff walk. He would score three batters later when Basabe doubled down the right field line which made the score 8-2 Giants.
Andre Pallante managed to survive 5 full innings for the Cardinals, but his numbers for the night were not pretty. Over those 5 innings, Andre surrendered 8 hits, gave up 6 earned runs, struck out 2 and walked 2. He was relieved in the top of the 6th inning by Brycen Mautz. He enjoyed a drama-free 1-2-3 inning which was a small bright spot. He walked two in the top of the 7th, but was able to pitch out of the jam without allowing any additional Giants runs. His mission directive was obviously “eat innings” as Brycen was also assigned mound responsibilities in the top of the 8th inning when he was greeted by back-to-back one out doubles from Harris and Eldridge which increased the Giants advantage further to 9-2. Cade Winquest came in to pitch the rest of the game for the Cardinals.
If you’re wondering where the other Cardinals offensive highlights are, Thomas Saggese got the 3rd St. Louis hit in the bottom of the 7th inning if that gives you any idea. He was the last batter faced by Giants starter Blade Tidwell who the Cardinals bats made look like Don Drysdale. San Francisco brought in Jason Foley in relief to finish off the Cardinals 7th.
The Cardinals got a smidge of offense in the bottom of the 8th inning when José Fermín led off with a double. Three batters later, Nolan Gorman singled him in to give St. Louis 33% of the Giants runs leaving them with a 9-3 lead which would have been the final score if Hill had not decided to hit a 9th inning solo shot to make it 10-3 Giants.
The St. Louis Cardinals only have 10 games left in their season and the next one will be against the San Francisco Giants Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium. Matthew Liberatore will start for the Cardinals while the Giants will assign pitching duties to RHP Anthony Molina. First pitch is set for 12:15pm central time with the game broadcast available via Cardinals.tv.
Pete Alonso hit his 300th career home run, a solo shot off Kodai Senga that tied the game in the top of the ninth, and was cheered so loudly and for so long that he came out for a curtain call. And after the game went to extra innings, Alonso’s Orioles scored a run in the tenth and three runs in the eleventh for a 7-4 win over the Mets.
Long before Alonso’s home run, Jared Young got the Mets on the board first with a sac fly in the bottom of the first. The Orioles quickly tied things up when Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a solo home run off Sean Manaea in the top of the second, and one out later, Jeremiah Jackson—who spent the end of the 2023 season and all of 2024 with the Mets’ Double-A affiliate in Binghamton—hit a solo home run to give Baltimore the lead.
It didn’t take the Mets long to tie things up, either, as Juan Soto singled in a run in the bottom of the second. And Carson Benge hit a solo home run in the top of the third to put the Mets back in front. From that point onward, nobody scored until Alonso hit his aforementioned home run.
In the top of the tenth, Encarnacion-Strand scored on a wild pitch by Daniel Duarte to give the Orioles the lead. But Marcus Semien doubled in a run in the bottom of the tenth to tie things up again and send the game to the eleventh.
Unfortunately, with two runners on and one out in that frame, Coby Mayo hit a long fly ball that twisted A.J. Ewing into a pretzel as he collided with the center field wall. And that resulted in a three-run, inside-the-park home run for Mayo.
The Mets were only able to respond with one run in the bottom of the inning on a Bo Bichette single. They’ll try to avoid getting swept in the series finale tomorrow night.
Coby Mayo's three-run inside-the-park home run in the top of the 11th inning did in the Mets after Pete Alonso hit a game-tying home run off Kodai Senga in the ninth as New York fell 7-5 to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night at Citi Field.
Jonathan Pintaro got a pop-out to left, but walked a man to put runners on first and second for Alonso, but the Mets’ righty got the slugger swinging on a 96 mph heater off the outside corner for the second out. And after getting ahead of Mayo 0-2, he left a cutter over the plate and the O's DH clocked a ball deep to center that A.J. Ewing had a beat on it, but couldn't come up with the ball just off the heel of his glove. It would have been a sensational grab, and instead it went for a 410-foot homer that never left the ballpark.
New York, which managed just one run in response in the home half of the 11th, had many chances, but went 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base. Baltimore managed it with four home runs to overcome 17 strikeouts and went 2-for-9 with RISP.
Here are the takeaways...
- Senga, after throwing 24 pitches on Monday night, was called upon to get the save in the ninth, protecting a one-run lead. And after getting pinch-hitter Dylan Beavers to pop up in foul ground fell behind Alonso 2-0. And the ex-Met slugger, who was 0-for-3 to that point with a strikeout, got a hanging Senga forkball and smashed it 414 feet off the face of the second deck in left (109.6 mph off the bat) for the game-tying solo homer, his 300th of his career.
Alonso knew it was gone as soon as he hit it and tossed his bat emphatically toward the home dugout. And after loud chants of his name, which had been the case all night from the home crowd, Alonso came out of the visitors’ dugout for a curtain call. Alonso finished the night 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
Senga would get the next two batters swinging, but the damage was done.
- Daniel Duarte got the 10th and had some tough luck. A Gunnar Henderson bloop to center put runners on the corners. And on a ball in the dirt off Francisco Alvarez’s chest, Christian Encarnacion-Strand darted home. It could have been worse as Alvarez's throw went awry, but Jared Young smartly backed up the play to keep Henderson at second. And that might not have mattered as Duarte got back-to-back strikeouts and a comebacker to keep the deficit at one run after the wild pitch.
- With one out in the bottom of the 10th, Marcus Semien yanked the first pitch he saw over the third-base bag and scored the tying run with a double. After an intentional walk, Christopher Morel, who was 0-for-2 after entering as a pinch-hitter, bounced into a force to put the go-ahead run at third, but Alvarez struck out looking at a sinker over the plate. Alvarez finished 0-for-5 with two strikeouts and left four men on base.
- The Mets jumped on Orioles starter Shane Baz right away as Juan Soto ripped a single up the middle, Bo Bichette followed with one served through the right side, and Benge worked a walk to load the bases with one down in the first.
But they managed just one run, as Young smashed the first pitch he saw to deep center for a sac fly and Marcus Semien flew out to right to strand runners on the corners.
- Ewing just missed an extra-base hit foul down the left field corner to start the second, but then laid down a beautiful bunt single. (His first hit on a bunt in the big leagues.) Brett Baty followed with a single to center, and the Mets had something cooking again.
But they only managed a single run to level the score, as Soto got a spinning cutter up in the zone and drove it into center for a two-strike, two-out single. The Mets opened the game 1-for-5 with RISP, with four left on base. That came back to haunt them.
- Benge wasted no time in the third, socking the first pitch for a solo homer to right (368 feet, 101.8 mph off the bat). He now has 18 homers and 58 RBI during his debut campaign. Benge had a chance to win it in the ninth with two in scoring position and two down, but a broken-bat liner to short sent the game to extra innings. He came up representing the tying run with two down in the 11th, but flied out to the deep part of center to end it, finishing 1-for-5 with the homer, one walk, and two strikeouts.
- Bichette knocked Baz out of the game with a 105.1 mph liner off his pitching elbow to leadoff the home half of the fifth. The ball hit the elbow and landed in the left-field grass for his second hit of the night. But lefty Grant Wolfram picked Bichette off first before he threw a pitch, as he broke for second on first movement.
Bichette had the chance to be the hero with two runners on first and second and one out in the ninth, but bounced into a would-be 5-4-3 double play. However, Encarnacion-Strand inexplicably went for a tag, didn't throw to second, and got only the out at first.
Bichette dropped a two-strike, two-out RBI single in the 11th to finish 3-for-6 on the night.
- Sean Manaea needed 10 pitches to get the Birds 1-2-3 in the first with a strikeout. The lefty gave the lead he got in the first right back as he left two fastballs right down the plate first to Encarnacion-Strand for a solo shot to left, and then Jeremiah Jackson clobbered one 416 feet deep to left-center.
Manaea settled in after that, getting the O’s in order in the third, with Alonso making a bid for an opposite-field homer but managing just the warning track in right. And despite allowing leadoff hits in the fourth and fifth, he sustained no damage and suffered no bother grabbing his fifth and sixth strikeouts of the night in the process.
Manaea got the first out of the fifth, and interim manager Andy Green made the call to the bullpen. His final line: 5.1 innings, two runs, four hits, no walks, and six strikeouts on 67 pitches (48 strikes), dropping his ERA to 4.74 on the year.
- Ewing added a single into center in the eighth to finish 2-for-4 with an intentional walk and a strikeout looking to strand a pair in the fifth.
- Francisco Lindor popped up to third in foul territory and on the infield with two men on in his first two at-bats. He was hitless in four trips to the plate with a walk before he cracked a one-out double to the gap in right-center in the ninth. He finished 1-for-5 with a walk and is still looking for his 300th homer.
- Soto finished 2-for-5 with a strikeout and an intentional walk in the ninth.
- Young smacked a double off the wall in right with two down in the fifth. He finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and was robbed of a hit in the 10th by a great diving play by Alonso at first.
- Semien finished 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. He reached on an error in the eighth and was thrown out at third on Ewing's single after the Orioles challenged the safe call. It was a bang-bang play, and the Mets were unlucky that the call didn't stand.
- Baty went 1-for-2 before being pinch-hit for Morel.
- Austin Warren was the first man out of the ‘pen got three outs, including getting Alonso looking at three straight pitches. (The third was several inches below the zone, but the ex-Met didn’t challenge.)
Nate Lavender entered and got the final two outs of the seventh with a strikeout looking and one swinging. He added another two strikeouts in a clean eighth, needing just 23 pitches (15 strikes) for five outs.
- Several of the players were wearing No. 21 as part of Roberto Clemente Day celebrations around baseball, including Lindor, Bichette, Soto, Semien, and Alonso.
The two foes conclude their rematch of the 1969 World Series on Wednesday night, with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m.
Robert Stock (5.93 ERA, 1.747 WHIP in 30.1 innings) will get the start from the home side against ex-Met Chris Bassitt (4.88 ERA, 1.594 WHIP in 90.1 innings) going for the visitors.
He went 0-for-5 at the plate in the Dodgers' 4-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
The 21-year-old designated hitter jumped up into the leadoff spot in place of Tommy Edman, who was originally in the role after Shohei Ohtani's injury woes.
De Paula added to the Dodgers' offense in a game against the Miami Marlins, hitting a three-run home run for his first career homer on Sept. 13.
The 21-year-old De Paula made his major-league debut for the team at LoanDepot Park on Friday, Sept. 11, becoming the youngest Dodgers player since Alex Verdugo on Sept. 2, 2017.
De Paula has been viewed as the organization's top prospect and recently became the first Dodgers position player called up from AA, while skipping AAA, since Steve Sax in 1981.
Sep 15, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Atlanta Braves designated hitter Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) gestures after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Wednesday’s Braves game at Wrigley Field was following a similar script to Tuesday’s 7-3 loss to the Cubs.
Until Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin changed the ending.
The trio of Braves each delivered a two-run homer in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings, respectively, to overcome a stagnant start and lift Atlanta to a 6-3 win over Chicago, leveling the three-game series at a game apiece.
The win, paired with the Phillies’ loss at Washington, dropped the Braves’ NL East magic number to five. Atlanta’s magic number to clinch a postseason berth is down to three, and can go down to two should Miami beat the Diamondbacks late Tuesday night.
The Braves could not touch Cubs starter Kevin Gausman in the early innings. After Matt Olson’s two-out, first-inning single, the next 10 Atlanta batters were retired in order.
The Braves then couldn’t do anything with Mauricio Dubón’s leadoff single in the fifth. But they finally broke through in the sixth against Gausman when Acuña followed Baldwin’s single with a two-run shot to left.
It was Acuña’s 18th homer of the season, 10 of which have come since Aug. 1.
Gausman then allowed a double to Brewer Hicklen and couldn’t finish the sixth inning.
Atlanta then took the lead against another old friend in Cubs right-hander Jacob Webb (6-5). Austin Riley worked a leadoff walk and, one out later, Albies cranked a homer well into the right-center bleachers to put the Braves ahead 4-3.
It was Albies’ 22nd homer of the year but just his second since Aug. 11.
Baldwin came through with some insurance for good measure, lasering his 24th homer of the season off Edward Cabrera with two outs in the ninth to make it 6-3.
The bullpen did its job exceptionally well after the comeback, as Didier Fuentes delivered two perfect innings of relief to record his 17th hold and Raisel Iglesias followed with a 1-2-3 ninth for his 33rd save, including nine straight without a blown save.
The comeback was perfectly timed to deliver Martín Pérez (9-9) his 100th career major league win in his sixth attempt to reach the milestone.
It wasn’t Pérez’s sharpest outing of the season. But as he so often does, he grinded it out to keep the Braves in the game and give the bats a chance to awaken.
Pérez worked around a pair of two-out walks in a scoreless first but couldn’t get through the second unscathed when he allowed the first three batters to reach on a pair of singles sandwiched around a walk. But the left-hander did well to limit the damage to one run, with a defensive assist from Albies and Baldwin who combined on an out at the plate.
He didn’t have the same luck in the fourth, hindered by an error from Dubón at shortstop which allowed two runs (one earned) to score.
But Pérez again did well to limit the damage, getting out of the inning with just a 3-0 deficit. That was a notable difference from Tuesday night’s 7-0 deficit that Atlanta was unable to pull out of.
Pérez finished his six-inning outing by retiring seven of the final eight batters he faced, surrendering three runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks, striking out two.
He notably ended his outing by retiring NL MVP frontrunner Pete Crow-Armstrong for the fourth time in as many times against him. Iglesias got Crow-Armstrong to fly out to right to finish off his 0-for-5 night and close out the victory.
The rubber match is set for Wednesday night in Chicago, before the Braves head to Houston for a weekend series.
They didn't even have to be on the field for the last out of the clincher. Milwaukee finished off a 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park hours before the Chicago Cubs lost to Atlanta and the division was over.
How the Brewers clinched
Jacob Misiorowski improved to 15-5 with a 1.89 ERA. Milwaukee got the scoring started when Luis Lara's sacrifice fly brought home Jake Bauers in the second, then added on in the sixth when Lara doubled home William Contreras, who'd doubled the at-bat before. Brandon Lowe's solo homer in the eighth was the only run Pittsburgh got all night.
Chicago handled the rest on its own. The Cubs led 3-0 through four at Wrigley before Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin went deep for Atlanta's 6-3 win.
How the Brewers got here
This team's identity hasn't changed all year. Misiorowski is leading baseball in strikeouts, the lineup runs through Jackson Chourio and Contreras, and Milwaukee is on pace to blow past its own single-season record of 97 wins, set just last year. Pat Murphy is chasing something no manager ever has, a third straight NL Manager of the Year award.
Max Fried had his longest outing since April, and the Yankees offense did the rest as they defeated the Twins, 8-1, on Tuesday night.
With the Rays' win earlier in the evening, the Yankees remain 3.5 games behind Tampa in the AL East standings.
Here are the takeaways...
-Cody Bellinger continued his recent hot streak, smashing a two-run shot two batters into the game after Ben Rice singled to lead off. The left-handed outfielder has now hit three home runs in his last five games.
-Fried had a strong bounceback start after going just 3.1 innings against the Rockies a week ago. The Yankees southpaw went seven innings, allowing one run on six hits and striking out six. It's his longest outing since April 22. The only run against Fried came in the second after Royce Lewis beat out a throw by George Lombard Jr. The Yankees rookie took his time in the hole to try and throw out Lewis, but the Twins infielder was called safe and eventually scored on a single with two outs.
-Lombard would get that run back in the third with a single that scored Heliot Ramos. Lombard finished 2-for-4, his first multi-hit game since Aug. 23 (16 games). But the Yankees would break the game open in the sixth. Ramos doubled home Rice and, two batters later, Spencer Jones smashed a three-run shot to give New York a 7-1 lead.
-Anthony Volpe, starting at second, went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and a stolen base. Jose Caballero started at third and went 1-for-5 with an RBI single and a strikeout.
Aaron Judge had the night off, with Bellinger (3-4, HR, 2 RBI), Jones (1-5, HR, 3 RBI) and Ramos (2-4, RBI) contributing in his absence.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - SEPTEMBER 11: A general view of the scoreboard after the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 20-0 and clinched a playoff spot at American Family Field on September 11, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Brewers are the champions of the NL Central again. Earlier tonight, the Brewers defeated the Pirates 5-1. That left them to watch the Cubs game and wait and see.
The Cubs had an early 3-0 lead, but two-run home runs by Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies put the Braves ahead 4-3. Another two-run home run, this one from Drake Baldwin, put the Braves ahead by three. Closer Raisel Iglesias finished off the game with a lineout from Pete Crow-Armstrong, caught by Brewer Hicklen, and the Braves defeated the Cubs 6-3, and the Brewers clinched the division title. It is their fourth straight division title, as well as their fifth title in the last six seasons.
Year after year, the Brewers have defied the odds and won the division. Many predictions had them around the .500 mark this season and had the Cubs winning the division. However, the Brewers keep outplaying those expectations and winning more titles.
With this year’s title, manager Pat Murphy has now led the Brewers to an NL Central title three times, which is also the number of times they won the division under Craig Counsell. Murphy is also a candidate for a third straight Manager of the Year title, though it may be a tough challenge to win the voters over three straight years.
There’s still work for the Brewers to finish. Their magic number for a first-round bye is down to six, and it is at nine to clinch the top seed in the NL and the best record in baseball.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 15: Brayan Rocchio #4 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk-off two-run double to defeat the Chicago White Sox 7-6 at Progressive Field on September 15, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Chicago White Sox came to town coming off of back-to-back series losses and have been hunting for the divisional title. The Cleveland Guardians put up a feckless fight last night, but looked to still be in the fight to start tonight’s game.
Foster Griffin, sandwiched between Gavin and Parker starts, was pulled after 4.0 innings of work. Griffin gave up two runs on five hits and two walks, striking out five. Stephen Vogt was super aggressive with the bullpen today with an off day coming on Thursday, something that played into his favor. Erik Sabrowski pitched a clean fifth inning, walking one and striking out two. Craig Yoho struggled hard in the sixth, only pitch 0.1 innings. He allowed three runs on one hit and two walks.
Hunter Gaddis recorded his fourth blown save of the season, throwing 1.0 full inning. He allowed one run on two hits. Tim Herrin locked back in after last night’s outing and threw a scoreless 1.0 before Vogt turned to Cade Smith early in the eighth. Cade pitched 1.2 innings and was solid. He struck out one.
This game ended up giving me whiplash from the roller coaster of emotions; the epitome of the “its so over, we’re so back” meme. In the bottom of the first things looked like they were going to be smooth sailing for Cleveland. Steven Kwan drew a lead off walk and quickly scored when Jo Adell hit a towering home run to the bleachers, scoring two.
Travis Bazzana got in on the home run action immediately, following Adell with a homer to right center.
In the bottom of the fifth, back-to-back singles and an forceout had Rocchio on third and Ramírez on first. A flubbed pickoff attempt gave Rocchio the lane to score, giving an insurance run.
When Cleveland took the early lead, it made me feel confident, but the White Sox quickly reminded me that they have some fantastic hitters on the team. The White Sox answered immediately in the sixth inning, taking a two run lead over the Guardians.
In the bottom of the sixth Travis Bazzana brought Cleveland within one with his second home run of the night.
In the bottom of the ninth, down one, Cleveland had one last shot to save their AL Central pennant goal. Nathaniel Lowe hit a hard single, 106.9 mph off the bat, to right field to start the inning. He was lifted for Daniel Schneemann to pinch-run. Patrick Bailey drew a crucial one-out walk and Petey Halpin grounded out to first to move both runners into scoring position. David Fry was brought in to pinch-run for Bailey.
With two outs, two on, none other than high leverage Mr. Late Season himself was up to bat. Brayan Rocchio took a called strike, fouled off the next pitch, then hit a sinker out of the zone 100.9 mph to left field for the walk off double.
And because I can, here are the Hammy and Los Guardians calls:
Knoxville Smokies pitcher Brooks Caple (19) opens against Columbus Clingstones during a Minor League Baseball game on July 1, 2026, in Knoxville, Tennessee. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs were rained out in Omaha tonight, which ruined the scheduled rehab games for Dansby Swanson and Gavin Hollowell. It hasn’t been decided yet when or even if the game will be made up.
The Smokies fell behind early when Knoxville starter Brooks Caple gave up a leadoff home run in the second inning by Caleb Bartolero. The Trash Pandas got another run in the second after Caple allowed a walk and a single to the next two batters, followed by two ground outs.
The Smokies tied the game back up 2-2 with a run in the top of the third and another one in the fourth. Third baseman Angel Cepeda hit a solo home run in the third for the first run. The second one was a double by left fielder Carter Trice that scored catcher Ariel Armas in the fourth.
But Caple gave up a one-out infield single in the sixth inning and was taken out for Tyler Schlaffer. Schlaffer hit a batter and then gave up a three-run home run to Eddie Micheletti Jr. The game was never close again after that.
Caple pitched fairly well but took the loss. He was charged with three runs on four hits over 5.1 innings. He walked two, hit one and struck out four.
Schlaffer gave up five runs on four hits over two innings. Schlaffer struck out two, walked two and hit one batter.
Cepeda went 1 for 3 with the home run. Trice was 1 for 3 with the double. Armas was 0 for 2 with a walk.
The Smokies managed just three hits.
The Smokies now return home to Knoxville for Game 2 on Thursday. They will have to win both on Thursday and on Friday to keep their season alive and advance to the Southern League Championship Series.
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 15: Drew Anderson #38 of the Detroit Tigers wears a '21' patch for Roberto Clemente Day during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on September 15, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2026 Detroit Tigers are not going quietly into that good night. The youth movement, with some assistance from Spencer Torkelson, victimized a pretty shoddy looking Toronto Blue Jays’ staff with 10 hits and eight walks to crush them 10-1 on Roberto Clemente Day. That makes six straight for the Kitties.
Drew Anderson got the start for the Tigers on Tuesday, while the Blue Jays went with a bullpen game. Right-hander Braydon Fisher started for the Jays, and he started the game by walking Gleyber Torres and Kevin McGonigle. Unfortunately, Hao-Yu Lee grounded into a double play, and Riley Greene struck out.
Anderson meanwhile started his night well with a quick 1-2-3 bottom of the first.
Eduardo Valencia opened the second inning with a hot grounder off of Fisher, but Ernie Clement made a diving stop and got the slow moving catcher at first. Lefty Brendon Cellucci succeeded Fisher at that point, and he punched out Max Clark and Spencer Torkelson with high heat.
Anderson retired Alejandro Kirk on a ground out and struck out Nathan Lukes to start the bottom of the second. Kazuma Okamoto singled to right field, but a fly ball to center from Andres Giménez was hauled in by Max Clark to send us to the third inning.
The Tigers went in order again in the third, as Zach McKinstry flew out, John Peck struck out, and McGonigle hit a deep drive to center that was caught by Brett Bateman.
Anderson was cruising thus far, but he got into a spot of the old bother in the bottom of the third. He struck out Josh Smith looking at a curveball, walked Clement, and locked up Bateman with a changeup. However, Clement stole second and Anderson walked George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to load the bases. A pair of well located fastballs away to Kirk got him behind 0-2, and a good curveball drew a ground out to third to end the inning.
Escaping that potential disaster seemed to inspire the lineup in the fourth. Old friend Michael Lorenzen took the mound, and while he got Torres and Lee, he then walked Greene and Valencia with two outs. Max Clark was up next, and the kid stayed hot, slashing a double the opposite way into the left field corner to score Greene and get Valencia to third.
Torkelson was up next and got a tasty 1-1 sweeper right in the heart of the plate. The first baseman lifted a towering blast high and deep to left and into the bullpen for a three-run homer. McKinstry grounded out, but it was now 4-0 Tigers.
Anderson took inspiration from that lead and locked in his command again. He got Lukes on a grounder to first, and then whiffed Okamoto with a high fastball after an eight-pitch battle. Giménez flew out, and we were on to the fifth.
Lorenzen was still in there in the fifth. He popped up Peck, but walked McGonigle. Torres flew out, and so it was up to Hao-Yu Lee and the third baseman singled to right to get McGonigle to third. Lorenzen got a first pitch strike to Greene, but the Tigers slugger spat on the next two and in a 2-1 count Lorenzen left a slider up in the zone and Greene hammered it off the wall in right just short of a home run. McGonigle scored and Lee took third, while the ball was hit so hard that Greene stayed at first base with a single. Valenica fought Lorenzen to a 3-2 count, but ultimately popped out to end the inning. 5-0 Tigers.
Anderson continued to roll in the fifth. He got Josh Smith to ground out and then popped up Clement. Bateman lashed a single past a diving Torres into right field, but Anderson dropped in a curveball to Springer that was fouled off and came back with a changeup that was grounded to third. The long third inning wasn’t good for Anderson’s pitch count, which stood at 88 pitches through five frames, but he threw a really good game otherwise. 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K was his line, and right-hander Jacob Waguespack was warming up to take over in the sixth.
Lefty Brendon Little succeeded Lorenzen in the top of the sixth. He coaxed a grounder to first from Clark to start the inning. Little was wary of Torkelson though, and put him on with a five-pitch walk. With McKinstry at the dish, and Little’s leg kick making him slow to the plate, Torkelson then shocked the world by stealing second for his first of the season. McKinstry bounced one to Clement at second and couldn’t quite beat out the throw, but Torkelson got to third and Peck had an opportunity to add to the lead. He did so, slashing a 1-0 sinker the opposite way down the right field line. Really nice piece of hitting to make it 6-0, though he was cut down trying to take second on a good throw from Lukes in right field, ending the inning. It was worth a try. Lukes just made a pretty perfect play on that one.
Waguespack did take over in the bottom of the sixth. He got a comebacker from Guerrero to start the inning, and then a soft tapper from Kirk than Valencia handled. Lukes reached on a grounder to Torres, but Okamoto flew out to McKinstry to snuff any threat from developing. The right-hander doesn’t strike anyone out, walks too many, and gives up too many homers, and yet he still holds a 2.70 ERA. How long can it last? Place your bets, but the funk, overhand delivery, and changeup have generally kept the contact light most of the time.
Former Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti was on the mound for the Jays in the seventh. He walked McGonigle to start the inning, but Torres flew out and Lee struck out. Greene battled through a seven pitch AB but eventually popped out.
Waguespace whiffed Giménez with a good changeup to start the bottom half. Smith lined out to McKinstry, and Waguespack got a routine grounder to Peck from Clement to send us to the eighth. Still 6-0 Tigers.
The eighth started quite strangely. Valencia battled Arrighetti for six pitches. The seventh was fouled off but Valencia took the ball right out of Kirk’s glove. The foul nearly caught Max Clark in the batter’s box, and it was also catcher interference, putting Valencia at first. Clark grounded into a force of Valencia, but Torkelson hammered a 2-1 pitch hard off the left field wall. It was hit so hard and played so well by Smith that the ricochet came straight to him, and Clark was held at third as Torkelson took second.
Clark then made some things happen with his baserunning. His lead from third wasn’t even egregious, but he caught Kirk’s attention and drew a throw after a pitch to McKinstry. Kirk fired to Okamoto, but the throw skipped past him down the left field line. Clark jogged home, and Torkelson read it well and scored from second before Smith could corral the ball. 8-0 Tigers. A Malek, as it’s known colloquially.
McKinstry struck out, but John Peck drew a walk and Brett Callahan entered to hit for McGonigle as it was a good time to rest the rookie infielder. He flew out to center to end the inning.
Kyle Finnegan took over in the bottom of the eighth, while Ben Malgeri entered the game for Riley Greene in left. The way Finnegan is going this year this was optimal usage. Bateman greeted him with a leadoff single, and Finnegan quickly started falling apart. With his splitter ineffective, he had to turn to his fastball and it just isn’t a good one. Springer singled to right, and Guerrero smoked a ball to center that Clark hauled in. Kirk singled in Bateman, and Hinch was done. Brant Hurter was warm and he entered to face Myles Straw, hitting for Lukes. A 1-2 changeup got a grounder to Torres for a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
Old friend Joe Mantiply took over in the top of the ninth. Torres lined out, but Hao-Yu Lee is a big believer in eight-run leads. A 1-0 curveball up from Mantiply got absolutely crushed to left field and into the second deck for his ninth homer of the year. 9-1 Tigers.
Ben Malgeri followed with a single that Clement, now at shortstop, had to dive for and couldn’t make a throw. Valencia smoked a double to left, getting Malgeri to third. Clark got jammed a bit by the lefty, but grounder one right between Davis Schneider at second and Clement at short. It wasn’t hit hard, but the two infielders sort of stared at each other as it rolled into right field, scoring Malgeri. 10-1 Tigers.
Mantiply struck out Torkelson, and McKinstry lined out to Clement to end the inning, but man this team is hot right now.
Hurter stayed in there to finish this game, and he quickly got Okamoto to ground out on a nice play by Peck at shortstop. Schneider was up next, and he battled through a lengthy at-bat but Hurter whiffed him with a sweeper, and so it was up to Charles McAdoo, hitting for Smith. He grounded the first pitch to Torkelson ranging off of first base, but his throw was behind Hurter and had to be collected by Valencia as McAdoo was safe. A fly ball to Callahan in right field from Clement ended things.
That is six straight for the suddenly streaking Tigers, but streaks one way or the other seem to be par for the course for them. The Tigers are now five games back in the AL Central, but the Guardians won on Tuesday, and so the Tigers remain 4.5 games out of the Wild Card with 11 games left in the season. Hey, nothing to do but keep winning.
Tomorrow’s 2:30 p.m. ET matchup will see RHP Keider Montero taking on a badly struggling RHP Max Scherzer as the Tigers hunt for the sweep.
