The Chicago Cubs today placed right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera on the Family Medical Emergency List and reinstated right-handed pitcher Gavin Hollowell from the 15-day injured list.
Hollowell has a 2.51 ERA (4 ER/14.1 IP) with 13 strikeouts and eight walks in 14 games, all in relief with the Cubs this season. He was placed on the injured list on August 31 with right shoulder inflammation.
Cabrera is 5-5 with a 5.96 (53 ER/80.0) in 18 appearances/three starts this season with the Cubs.
Players can spend from three to seven days on the Family Medical Emergency Leave List, so that puts Cabrera out for the rest of the regular season. It would seem doubtful at this point that Cabrera would be on any postseason roster, so most likely the next time we see him would be next year.
As always, we await developments. Today’s game preview will post at 10:30 a.m. CT.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 24: Luis Arraez #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies bats during the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, September 24, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Another night. Another loss. Another lackluster performance from the offense.
It all could lead to another early-round postseason exit, IF the Phillies are even able to get there.
On Thursday night in front of a disgruntled Citizens Bank Park crowd, the lineup continued its September-long snooze in a 5-1 loss to the Brewers that featured four Phillies hits, only one of them for extra bases. It was their 12th loss in their last 20 games and, perhaps a bit coincidentally, the 12th time in 20 games this month they’ve scored 3 runs or fewer, including 7 of their last 9.
On Wednesday night they fell 4-1, piling up just six hits while going 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and are 1-for-16 in those situations over the last two nights. Oddly, hitting with runners in scoring position hasn’t really been a problem for the Phils this year. In fact, their .271 average with RISP is actually 3rd-best in baseball and their .798 OPS is 2nd.
But both losses had all the notes of recent October failures, and the fans in attendance recognized it.
And now, they may have also lost their star second baseman and primary trade deadline acquisition for the rest of the season.
Talk about Jesus Luzardo and his potential return all you want. This offense, as currently constituted, cannot win the World Series.
Arraez’ ankle injury trying to evade the tag of first baseman Jake Bauers last night just might be the death blow to an already underachieving lineup.
Luis Arráez went down in pain after running to 1st base on this play. He has left the game. pic.twitter.com/nbKPlGanAg
Even though Arraez was hitting only .278/.309/.369 with just 12 extra-base hits in 46 games with the Phillies, his arrival gave the offense a different dynamic as the No. 4 hitter. But in September, even with Arraez (who also wasn’t hitting great) an already struggling offense is having its toughest month yet.
September: .655 OPS, 79 wRC+
May: .667 OPS, 79 wRC+
April: .678 OPS, 85 wRC+
July: .686 OPS, 85 wRC+
August: .763 OPS, 108 wRC+
June: .778 OPS, 110 wRC+
Their 81 runs scored in September are tied for 5th-fewest in MLB, their .225 batting average is 4th-lowest, .302 OBP is 7th-worst and only the Angels have a worse slugging percentage than the Phils (.352) in September. They have hit just 15 home runs as a team this month, tied with Washington for the fewest in baseball, and their .655 OPS is also last.
The struggle bus has pulled up and welcomed all comers.
Kyle Schwarber leads the team with 5 HRs (one of only three players with more than one), but is hitting .171/.236/.395 with a .721 OPS. That’s second-best among the regulars. Bryce Harper’s .278 average and .348 OBP are fine, but his .367 slugging percentage, one homer and 7 RBIs aren’t getting it done in the No. 3 hole.
It’s pretty simple. If Schwarber and Harper don’t provide the power, no one will.
There is simply no way the Phillies can win a title with players hitting like this (in September):
Trea Turner: .226/.301/.269, wRC+ 83
Bryson Stott: .182/.286/.258, wRC+ 53
Justin Crawford: .239/.265/.391, wRC+ 72
J.T. Realmuto: .113/.214/.177, wRC+ 11
Brandon Marsh: .156/.174/.267, wRC+ 12
Only Alec Bohm is hitting well among the everyday starters, with a .319/.405/.464 slash line and 12 RBIs this month.
But much of these issues aren’t exclusive to September. It’s been a feature of the 2026 Phillies, not a bug. The Phils are 17th in runs scored this season, 22nd in average, 23rd in OBP, 21st in slugging, and 28th in wRC+.
If you judge this team’s position players by fWAR, they have the 5th-worst collection of non-pitchers in the sport. Only the A’s, Reds, Angels and Rockies have less WAR from their position players. As bad as his season has been, Turner actually has the 4th-highest fWAR (1.0) among Phils’ non-pitchers.
How exactly can anyone expect the Phillies to go on a deep playoff run with a roster like this, especially when going up against 100-win teams like the Brewers and Dodgers, and facing a brutal road wild card series against the Braves in Atlanta, provided they can even hold off the hard-charging D-Backs?
And now, the Phillies face some major decisions with Arraez out. Do they move Harper back to first base, second Stott to second and play Bohm at third? Do they insert Bryan de la Cruz and/or Derek Hill into right field? Or, do they simply play Stott at second and Sosa at third the rest of the way?
At this point, it hardly matters if Luzardo is going to be available for the wild card round. It would be nice if the high-priced offense could give their struggling relievers a little breathing room, but that doesn’t seem likely.
We’ve seen these Phillies lose playoff series when the pitching has been incredible. It doesn’t matter.
The lineup stinks. They can’t hit. It isn’t getting better.
Unless something drastic and unforeseen happens, there is no way they are winning a World Series like this.
Make sure to check out an all new Hittin’ Season podcast featuring a plethora of conversation about the Phillies’ offense and its chances in the MLB playoffs.
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ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 23: Walt Weiss #22 of the Atlanta Braves hugs Chris Sale #51 of the Atlanta Braves in the sixth inning during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Truist Park on September 23, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jack Casey/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the division having been locked up last weekend and the seeding essentially being locked in as well, this was pretty much a dead-rubber series for the Atlanta BRaves as they took on a struggling Cincinnati Reds squad that is also playing out the string.
As such, the main thing that everybody was looking for was simply quality of performance and health rather than actual results. The Braves have gotten the results that they needed for the 2026 regular season and all they need now is to gear up for the Postseason and the long road that awaits them. So, did the Braves escape from this series unscathed and looking fine? I’ll leave that up to you to decide. Let’s hop into it.
The only thing to take away from this is that Ronald Acuña Jr. avoided a serious injury scare after fouling one off of the one part of his lower leg that wasn’t covered in armor. Needless to say, the Braves could ill afford to lose Acuña (or anybody else in the core, for that matter) so it was certainly a relief to hear that both the X-ray and the CT scan were negative and that Acuña ended up just needing a night of rest to bounce back from the shin contusion.
Anyways, JR Ritchie got the ball to start this one and for what it’s worth, he pitched a mighty-fine five innings during this contest. If the only mistake is giving up a homer to Elly De La Cruz, you’re doing fine. Ritchie has certainly earned an opportunity to pitch his way onto the Postseason roster and if all goes well in Miami, he’ll be there.
Other than that, the offense had nothing to write home about in this one. This was the tenth time that Atlanta had been shut out this season and hopefully it’ll be the last time — both in the regular season and in the Postseason!
Chris Sale went into this one needing 10 strikeouts to reach 200 on the season for the ninth time in what is likely going to end up being a Hall-of-Fame career. Walt Weiss mentioned in the pregame press conference on Thursday that he definitely would’ve preferred to not have Sale out there for 97 pitches but ultimately, I think he was going to stay in as long as it took if he was close and sure enough, Sale was close near the end of his start. Also, shout-out to Sal Stewart for being a homie and not challenging the strikeout pitch for No. 200 because that, um, was a bit outside.
On the other side of things, Andrew Abbott largely kept Atlanta in check for the most part as the Braves once again found runs very hard to come by against this Reds pitching staff. Fortunately, they actually did score on this particular night — Matt Olson hit his 41st dinger of the season in the sixth inning to tie the game up at one run apiece and then Austin Riley hit a homer of his own to knot things up at two in the seventh inning. There weren’t any fireworks after that in regulation, so it was time for the ghost runners to get involved in extra innings.
The tenth ended up being pretty straightforward — Brent Suter sat down the Reds in order in their half of the tenth and then Mauricio Dubón came through with a short dribbler that was as good as a line drive to center that brought home the speedy DaShawn Keirsey Jr. from third base and earned Dubón the Dubble Bubble helmet of honor for the night. Sweet.
Carlos Jorge, Héctor Rodríguez and Elly De La Cruz all homered in this game for the Cincinnati Reds as they continued to find their power stroke during this series at the expense of Atlanta’s pitching staff. Those three Reds players have a combined 37 home runs so far this season and 30 of those have come from Elly, so that tells you how much of a shock it was to see some of those balls get out for Cincinnati on this particular night.
Fortunately, the Braves were able to keep pace for the most part as their offense continued to ramp up a bit. Atlanta got this one started on the right foot with four runs in the first inning off of Brady Singer but instead of it turning into a walkover for the Braves, it turned into a serious baseball battle as Tyler Mahle had his first rough start for the Braves since arriving at the Trade Deadline. Austin Riley added on a home run in the fifth inning in order to bring the game to a 5-5 deadlock.
Mike Yastrzemski’s go-ahead single in the fifth inning ended up being the final run that the Braves put on the board in this one, as the aforementioned Rodríguez dinger off of AJ Smith-Shawver ended up being the one that turned the game around in favor for the Reds as it was a go-ahead, two-run shot of his own. The offense for Atlanta was certainly active and the fielding display on defense was very solid as well but sometimes it’s hard to still win a game when the pitching has a rough night. That was the case here as the Braves ended up dropping their final home series of the season.
So, the most important development to come from this series is that the Braves will have to go without Martín Pérez until the NLCS (if they get that far). Also, Mauricio Dubón finally got a walkoff hit, Chris Sale hit 200 strikeouts on the season and Ronald Acuña Jr. cane out of it healthy. Outside of that, it’s hard to really glean too much from this series since the Braves don’t really have a ton to play for and the Reds are certainly playing out the string, themselves.
With that in mind, it’ll certainly be interesting to see how JR Ritchie’s next start goes. That’s likely going to be his final audition for a Postseason roster spot and considering how Atlanta’s starting pitching depth has suddenly been tested, it’ll be crucial to see if he can perform. It is going to be very, very fascinating (and t o t a l l y not nerve-wracking at all) to see how everything works out for the rotation and the rest of the pitching staff going forward.
Anyways, the Braves are officially locked into the three-seed and set for the Wild Card Series beginning on September 29. While Atlanta was still able to do enough to win the division, it’s not lost upon me that Atlanta dropped 13 games against the Reds, Giants and Mets this season. Turning over even half of those games would’ve probably gotten the Braves the bye but also, I hate looking at “what-if’s” since it comes to that sort of thing since Walt Weiss has always been adamant that it’s not about who you’re playing but when you’re playing them. Either way, it’s still a tiny bit frustrating to think about so many winnable games against struggling teams that could’ve had a big impact on the Postseason seeding. Again, I’m not super upset about it since ultimately the goal is to get into the bracket no matter what and the Braves did that (and have a divisional flag to show for it) but boy oh boy, having that bye sure would’ve been nice!
So yeah, there’s the takeaways. It stinks to lose Martín Pérez, it’s good that they didn’t lose Ronald Acuña Jr. and let’s make sure that nobody else goes down as they wrap this season up in Miami.
BOSTON, MA - JUNE 5: Steven Wright #35 of the Boston Red Sox delivers as storm clouds roll in during the first inning of a game against the Detroit Tigers on June 5, 2018 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Another series, another run of silent bats. But Ceddanne Rafaela returned and played in two-of-three against the Cleveland Guardians.
The Cubs did clinch their playoff berth Thursday. So they are looking for seeding. Likewise, while the Red Sox are probably the second Wild Card, though there is a scenario where they fall to the third Wild Card due to losing some tiebreakers.
The action kicks off with a doubleheader: Sunday’s game was moved to Friday afternoon at 1:05 and Friday’s game was moved up to 6:05. Saturday remains scheduled as normal, but it is expected to be rained out. In that case (and maybe sometime Friday we’ll hear) the game will be moved to Sunday. And with the aforementioned rain, it’s believed the teams may fly to Tampa and play at Tropicana Field as a neutral site. As Joe Castiglione would say “can you believe it?”
Will Willson Contreras play this weekend? Don’t count on it, per the man himself. He may not feel ready by Tuesday. He does recognize how hard his teammates are playing every day and wants to help. Thanks again, Rangers!
The Red Sox have announced Alex Gamboa and Brayan Bello as the starters for Games 1 an2 2, respectively. Gamboa could be filling in as an opener for Jake Bennett to get some innings out of him before the postseason, but that hasn’t been announced. It would be weird to do a strict bullpen game in the first part of the doubleheader in case something goes wrong in the evening. Bello, of course, is coming off one of the best starts of his entire career. Hopefully the Sox can score enough runs to win this time for him.
Chad Tracy said in Thursday’s postgame interview that Patrick Sandoval was willing to volunteer for a bit of bullpen work and the one inning he tossed Thursday evening doesn’t remove him from consideration to pitch against the Cubs.
The Cubs will be sending two-fifths of the Mets 2026 Opening Day rotation the Sox. Clay Holmes has given up 17 runs over his last three starts and last 15.1 innings. He didn’t face the Red Sox when he was with the Mets in the first half.
David Peterson had and ERA over 6.00 with the Mets (3.85 FIP) and now has an ERA of 3.94 (4.20 FIP) with the Cubs. Unlike Holmes, Peterson has been on a roll allowing just a since run in each of his last three starts. One start before he did give up 6 in 3.2 innings. So it’s not that long a run of success.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is officially a 40-40 guy.
Alex Bregman suffered a foul ball to the face while in the on deck circle a few days ago. He’s questionable to play, but like Willson might try to get in a game to tune up for the playoffs if he’s not in pain.
Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki have 24 and 25 home runs, respectively.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday, September 25 (1) (Fenway): Clay Holmes (3.25 ERA / 3.62 FIP) vs. Alex Gamboa (1.16 ERA / 3.16 FIP)
Friday, September 25 (2) (Fenway) : David Peterson (4.96 / 4.03 FIP) vs. Brayan Bello (4.49 ERA / 4.00 FIP)
Saturday, September 26 / Sunday 27 in Tampa?: TBD (— ERA / — FIP) vs. TBD (— ERA / — FIP)
Los Angeles, California - September 24: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 and Ethan Salas #8 of the San Diego Padres celebrate with teammates in the clubhouse after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers to secure a playoff spot on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
With a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night, the Padres won the series and more importantly secured a postseason berth. It is the first time in franchise history the team has reached the postseason in three consecutive seasons. San Diego is in, but with three games remaining against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park, there is still plenty to play for.
The Padres hold a one-game lead over the Chicago Cubs for the top Wild Card spot and if they can maintain that position they would host the Wild Card Series. The Philadelphia Phillies dropped another game back with a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers which means the Diamondbacks still have a chance to reach the postseason if they can get some wins to end the regular season and the Phillies continue to struggle.
San Diego was held hitless against Los Angeles until the top of the sixth inning. Ethan Salas broke up the no-hitter by Tyler Glasgow with a one-out grounder to left field that seemed to wake the slumbering Padres offense. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with another single on a grounder ball to right field that allowed Salas to move to third base. With runners on the corners, contact man Dustin Harris hit a sacrifice fly to right-center field that was caught by Andy Pages. He did not even attempt to throw home and Salas tagged up and scored to give San Diego a 1-0 lead. Tatis later stole second base, but the inning ended when Manny Machado struck out.
The Padres kept the Dodgers off the scoreboard and returned to the plate in the top of the seventh looking to add on. Jackson Merrill hit a one-out double to right field and Xander Bogaerts drew a walk to put runners at first and second base. Glasgow was removed from the game and Austin Hays was called on to pinch-hit against Justin Wrobleski. Hays hit a sharp ground ball that kicked off the glove of Max Muncy and rolled into shallow left field, that allowed Merrill to score to give the Padres a 2-0 lead. Samad Taylor struck out for the second out of the inning, but Salas impacted the game once again with his second single which allowed Bogaerts to score from second to push the San Diego lead to 3-0. Tatis again followed Salas with a single to drive in the fourth run of the game and Harris grounded out to end the inning. The three-run inning allowed the Padres to take control of their playoff destiny.
The Dodgers were able to score a run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Adrian Morejon was called for a balk, which allowed Mookie Betts to score. Morejon ended the inning one batter later when he got Miguel Rojas to fly out to end that Los Angeles scoring threat.
The Dodgers were able to add a run in the bottom of the ninth, but they should have never had the opportunity. Mason Miller struck out Pages, got Hunter Feduccia to fly out and then struck out Tommy Edman, but the strikeout pitch bounced and got through Salas allowing Edman to reach first base. Shohei Ohtani who was limited throughout the game hit an RBI-double to left-center field to score Edman who advanced to second base on a defensive indifference and the Padres’ lead was cut to 4-2. Miller finally closed the game and earned the playoff-clinching save when he got Betts to ground out to Ty France at first base.
It is important to note that Nick Pivetta pitched very well in the game. He did not stay in long enough to earn the win, but that was not because he was ineffective. He needed 87 pitches to get through 4.2 scoreless innings, which was his most pitches thrown since his return from injury. Pivetta allowed just four hits and one walk to the Dodgers and he had seven strikeouts. He was in a little trouble when manager Craig Stammen removed him from the game, but Pivetta put together a solid night. Yuki Matsui and Jason Adam each completed scoreless inning. Morejon pitched 1.1 one innings with one run allowed on a balk and Miller allowed the one run in his inning of work.
Salas finished the night 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI and Tatis followed with a 2-for-3 night with a walk and RBI. Merrill and Hays had the only other hits in the game and despite San Diego being outhit 7-6, the Padres were able to end the night with a champagne celebration in the visitor’s clubhouse before returning to San Diego.
The Padres will look to maintain and perhaps improve their playoff position when they host the Diamondbacks tonight at 6:40 p.m.
Former Rangers captain and interim manager has spoken about the "true leader" he believes Dan Neil can be for the Ibrox club.
Ferguson spoke to the former Sunderland captain and his father as part of his role as Rangers ambassador when the Glasgow club were looked to bring in the 24-year-old.
Neil has been a recent standout for Rangers, particularly in the back-to-back wins over Celtic.
"I had a good chat with him and his old man when Rangers were interested in him," said Ferguson, who will manage Rangers in the upcoming Tennent's Sixes.
"I came away so impressed by him. He was so eager to come to Rangers. I know there were a number of clubs after him, and Rangers did brilliantly to get him.
"It's always difficult when you don't have a good start, but it shows you how strong a character he is. He's come through that period and over the last couple of weeks, I think he became a real leader for the Rangers team."
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 22: Pete Crow-Armstrong #4 of the Chicago Cubs and fans react to a run against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field on September 22, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Isaac Wasserman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Josh Hader’s recent collapse against the Mariners illustrates just how shaky the Astros bullpen is heading into the postseason, writes Chandler Rome at The Athletic.
Phillies left-hander Jesús Luzardo threw a bullpen session yesterday and was feeling good enough that the team thinks he could be back for the postseason.
This is not surprising but good confirmation to have.
Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs did yet another statistical analysis on whether participation in the World Baseball Classic impacts regular season performance.
In recent years, it’s been extremely rare for a player who qualifies for the batting average title to go homerless in a season. Yet, the Rays’ Chandler Simpson is on track to do just that, writes Davy Andrews at Fangraphs.
Yes, pitchers really are throwing harder than they ever have before.
We need more Joey Vottos on television.
"The guy that used to hit .300, I'm sorry to tell you, is going to hit .240, .250 today. It just is what it is."@JoeyVotto breaks down why the league does not have more players like Luis Arraez and explains how baseball's evolution has led to that trend. pic.twitter.com/3C5fEUsv1s
May 4, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) singles during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Yesterday afternoon, while the Orioles were enjoying their day off, they were eliminated from the postseason race. The Chicago White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 9-1 to clinch the third Wild Card spot. This was just a formality; the Orioles have been out of the race for a few weeks. I know this was a very frustrating year for the Orioles and a down year for the American League, but it’s still something that they were not eliminated until there were just four days left in the regular season.
Despite being eliminated, the Orioles have one final series to play. And they are playing another team with nothing to play for this weekend. Unfortunately, the New York Yankees have nothing to play for for the opposite reason as the Orioles. They have clinched the first Wild Card spot and have been eliminated from the AL East, so their spot in the playoffs is set in stone.
The Orioles have been terrible against the Yankees so far this year. Over the first three series of the season, they are 2-8 and have been swept twice. Even against a Yankees team will mostly be trying to stay healthy and set up for the Wild Card round, it would be nice to see the Orioles rise up and get a series win to finish off the year. Or heck, why not a sweep? After sweeping the Blue Jays to wrap up their home schedule, they could end the season on a six-game winning streak. A sweep would also get them back to .500. And while .500 is far from the goal for this team, it’s better than being a loser.
So what have the Yankees been up to since the Orioles last played them? After they beat the Orioles 6-1 to complete a sweep on August 20th, they have gone 19-12 to maintain their comfortable hold on that top WC spot. They were unable to make up any ground on the division-leading Rays.
The big news for the Yankees in September was the return of their star, Aaron Judge. Judge have been on the IL since May 31st with a broken rib. He was back in action on September 8th, but lasted just seven games before going back on the IL with an injured calf. There was a bit of a kerfuffle yesterday when Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Judge would not be ready for the Wild Card round. Judge didn’t like the declaration, but it does seem highly likely he won’t be playing in that series.
The Yankees have arguably the best starting rotation in the American League, led by Cam Schlittler (32 GS, 1.89 ERA) and Max Fried (20 GS, 2.80 ERA). Lefty Ryan Weathers has been quite good, but has been on the IL for about a month. And you know the rotation is deep when Gerrit Cole is the fourth guy I mention.
Despite spending most of the year without Judge, the Yankees offense is also up there near the top of the league. This is largely due to Ben Rice, whose power and on-base skills have flourished in his third big-league season. He is sitting on 41 home runs, which is tied with Pete Alonso and others for the top mark in the AL.
Games 1 & 2: Friday, Sept 25th, 4:05 PM
Where to watch: MASN/YES
With a major Nor’easter set to slam New York this weekend, MLB has elected to move Saturday’s game to Friday to avoid the inevitable rainout. It’s a smart move, and hopefully the storm won’t also affect Sunday’s game.
These games are being played as a single-admission doubleheader, which might make you compare the Orioles and their rainout this week against the Blue Jays. The Orioles opted to turn their final two home games into a split-admission doubleheader, charging fans twice if they wanted to see both games. The Yankees did no such thing. And I gotta say, when I read that I was a little irked. If the Yankees are making you look greedy in comparison, that’s a bad look.
With their spot in the postseason secure, the Yankees are playing it loose and have not announced any pitchers for this weekend’s series. I imagine that any regular Yankees starter you see will have a short tune up in preparation for the playoffs.
The Orioles have announced their pitchers. For game one, it will be Trevor Rogers, making what could be his final start as an Oriole. I hope not! Rogers is coming off of an incredible start against the Brewers. He held the best team in baseball to just one run on three hits. He pitched eight innings and struck out 10.
Game two’s starter will be Brandon Young. Young also had a nice start against the Brewers, a two-run, six-inning game with nine strikeouts. I half expected them to skip Young’s final start. But maybe it’ll be a short one. Albert Suárez is back with the Orioles for the final series.
Game 3: Sunday, Sept 27th, 3:20 pm
Where to watch: MASN/YES
Shane Baz will take the mound to close out the season for the Orioles. Baz got the win against Toronto on Monday with a 6.2 IP, three-run effort. Baz’s 4.11 ERA puts him at an exact average ERA+ of 100. Baz has done a pretty good job of proving he’s better than his numbers last year with the Rays. Since May 15th, his ERA is 3.66.
Baz has faced the Yankees twice this year. In May, he allowed five earned runs in 5.2 innings. In August, it was three runs in 6.1 innings. Better! He also struck out 10 that night.
How many games do you think the Orioles will win to close out the season?
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 16: Brady House #12 of the Washington Nationals is tagged out by Francisco Lindor #12 of the New York Mets to end the second inning at Citi Field on August 16, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The New York Mets (73-86) will wrap up their 2026 season against the Washington Nationals (75-84) in a battle for last place in the National League East (and, depending on how you look at it, either the chance to avoid the misfortune of finishing in the cellar or the opportunity to cement better lottery odds in the MLB Draft). The Mets own a 6-4 lead in the season series against their division counterparts this year, with the two sides splitting a four-game set at Nationals Park in May. The Mets have won four straight after dropping four of the first six.
The Mets had the opportunity to play spoiler against the Rangers and ran with it over their three-game set at Globe Life Field, and they mostly succeeded in putting a dent in Texas’ playoff hopes. They took two out of three which, combined with the Astros taking two of their last three games, put both Texas-based teams in a first-place tie at 79-80 (no, that is not a typo). With Houston holding the tiebreaker, that effectively means the Rangers are now in second place with three games to go. The Mets took the first three against old friends Jacob deGrom and Brandon Nimmo, with a 6-3 victory on Monday and a 7-2 win on Tuesday, before falling 3-1 in the finale to be denied a sweep. Still the win did get the Mets to 73 victories on the season, meaning that, at the very least, they would not reach 90 losses on the season, which was no sure thing given the 12-game losing streak in April.
One of the big blasts in the series with a pinch hit, ninth inning grand slam off the bat of Brett Baty. The blow came after the Rangers intentionally walked Juan Soto for the third time in the game, setting a new Mets’ club record for a single game. It was Baty’s second grand slam of the year, the most on the club, and continued a torrid stretch for the young infielder. Since August 1, Baty leads all Mets’ hitters with a 159 wRC+ while slashing .301/.383/.559 in 38 games—that OBP is also tops on the club since the start of August. His 23 runs batted in since August 1 are also tied for a club lead alongside Bo Bichette and Francisco Lindor. Baty, like many of the young players on the club, are fighting to prove they belong on the club next year, and with his late-season surge, he’s likely established some sort of role on the 2027 Mets (if not as a starter, then at the very least a super utility player, perhaps like a Jeff McNeil type who can slot into essentially any position when needed and will accumulate 400+ at-bats despite not having a solid starting role).
The big news that broke right before the first game of the series win was the announcement that Andy Green had been signed to manage the team for three years after serving as interim skipper since late June. Since taking over, Green has put together a 39-39 record, which some would argue is not nearly definitive or inspiring enough to offer Green the role without going through a formal interview process. However, all that aside, the players, both new and established, have really taken to Green and enjoy playing for him. He got a resounding vote of confidence from both Soto and Lindor, and Steve Gelbs, in a pre-game discussion on the hire, said one veteran Mets player called Green the best manager he’s ever played with. For a team looking for stability and dreading the idea of another offseason of upheaval, being able to establish this sort of stability before heading into an uncertain offseason is a big win. Whether Green’s honeymoon is prolonged or ends rather abruptly remains to be seen.
The Nationals enter this series after taking two of three from the Tigers, which followed their series win against the Cardinals. In all, they’ve won eight of their last 11 games, which has helped hold off the Mets and keep them in fourth place in the NL East. For the Mets to overtake Washington—New York does hold the tiebreaker, though the two clubs cannot finished tied unless a game is rained out and not made up—they would have to sweep the series. Losing any game this weekend would guarantee the Mets their first last place finish since 2003—I will point out that these two clubs tied for last place in 2020, though I am all for pretending 2020 did not exist.
James Wood is looking to wrap up a solid third year in the majors, one that saw him pick up his second straight All-Star nod. Wood missed some time with an oblique injury and just returned on September 2, and has struggled since his return, posting a 78 wRC+ with no home runs and a .242/.333/.303 slash line in 18 games. Comparatively, he leads the club with a 141 wRC+ for the whole season, with 30 home runs and a .262/.385/.505 slash line in 132 games. CJ Abrams is also wrapping up a terrific year, one that saw him make the All-Star team for the second time in his career, as he enters play hitting .262/.338/.500 while leading the club in home runs (33) and runs batted in (103) and placing second in runs scored (92). One thing to watch out for: light-hitting Nasim Nuñez sits at 49 stolen bases, and will very likely be gunning for number 5o during the weekend. Nuñez’s accomplished the feat despite posting a miniscule 52 wRC+ and slugging just .242 on the year, the lowest by any major league player with over 475 plate appearances since the 1973 season.
Friday, September 25: TBD vs. Andrew Alvarez, 6:45 PM EDT on WPIX
TBD
The Mets have not officially announced who will take Christian Scott’s spot on Friday, though it’s likely they go with either Justin Hagenman or a traditional bullpen game. Scott’s season came to an end when he was placed on the IL with left knee inflammation.
Alvarez is enjoying a really solid rookie campaign after a brief cup of coffee in the majors with Washington last year. The former 12th round pick has become one of Washington’s most dependable pitchers this year, making 16 starts and eight relief outings across his 108 innings. He has the third-best ERA among Nats pitchers, and his 2.99 ERA as a starting pitcher is the best on Washington’s staff. He is coming off two really strong starts in a row—his last time out, he pitched six shutout innings of five-hit ball against the Cardinals, and before that, he hurled seven one-hit innings against the Angels. Despite the positive result, he did not factor in the decision in either game. He struck out eight batters in each of those outings.
Saturday, September 26: Jonah Tong vs. Jake Irvin, 4:05 PM EDT on SNY
After one of the best starts of his young major league career, in which he allowed just one unearned run over six innings, Tong reverted back to his troubling trends and took a step back against the Phillies. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings against Philadelphia, allowing four earned runs on five hits to pick up the loss. He also walked four batters, which is unfortunate after he walked just one in each of his previous two starts. He ended up throwing 95 pitches, which is his most in any of his major league starts in 2026, and tossed 61% of those for strikes. Tong will look to make a positive final impression as he hopes to position himself for a spot in the club’s 2027 rotation.
Irvin has had another mediocre year for Washington, though he has pitched better as of late. His last start was one of his better ones this year, as he allowed two earned runs on three hits over 5 1/3 innings. The most encouraging sign was that he didn’t walk a batter while striking out eight. It’s his first time now allowing a walk since his start on April 25, which comes after he walked 13 across his previous four starts. The eight punch outs are also the second-most in a start this season. The Mets have faced Irvin twice this year and have put up seven runs (six earned) in ten innings against him, with the Mets winning both of those games.
Sunday, September 27: Sean Manaea vs. DJ Herz, 3:05 PM EDT on SNY
There was a point in Manaea’s outing against the Rangers when it seemed he might be heading for an early exit. He allowed three runs across the first four innings and struggled in the fourth, hitting two batters and loading the bases twice before allowing two runs. However, he buckled down and shut the door in the fifth and sixth innings, which positioned him for a win after New York re-took the lead in the sixth. In all, he allowed three earned runs on three hits, with nine strikeouts and two walks in six innings. The nine strikeouts were his second-most in a start. With Manaea under contract for one more year, his recent turnaround will give the team a lot to think about as they ponder the best way to use Manaea in 2027.
Herz made his season debut on September 21 after missing the entire 2025 season following Tommy John Surgery. The left-hander was slated to return earlier, but a flexor muscle train shut him down in June, and he finally recovered enough to make it back to the big league level after tossing 88 2/3 innings for Washington in 2024. In his first major league outing in almost two full years, Herz allowed four earned runs on five hits over four innings against the Tigers, which resulted in a loss. He struck out four, walked two, and threw 63 pitches in his return.
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 05: Los Angeles Dodgers cap and gloves rest on the dugout steps during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, September 5, 2023 at LoanDepot Park, Miami, Fla. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
How about your already championship-caliber team receiving the boost of one of baseball’s top prospects with their backs against the wall, fighting for the title in the highest level of minor-league ball? There was more behind the Comets’ turnaround to beat the Aviators in the Pacific Coast League Championship Series than the addition of Josue De Paula ahead of Game 2, but it certainly didn’t hurt their goals, joining an already stacked outfield.
Player of the Day
Although it took one of the better examples of a collective effort that you’ll see, particularly in a game of this magnitude, a special shout-out in this section to Zach Ehrhard is a must. The standout young outfielder finished this title-clinching win in a two-for-five performance; with it, the Comets’ leadoff bat managed to hit .500 in 12 at-bats in this Championship Series.
Wrapping up a marvelous campaign in Triple-A, Ehrhard was involved in three of his team’s five runs, scoring a pair and driving in one with a double—the only Comets hitter with multiple extra-base hits in a game in which they didn’t even need to hit a home run.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
Although Cole Irvin was the starter, by all intents and purposes, the Comets treated this one like a bullpen game—removing the veteran southpaw after 2.1 scoreless innings and a little over 30 pitches—relying on a talented group that kept the zeroes on the board until the eighth. This standout performance included scoreless frames from Kyle Hurt and Bobby Miller.
By the time the Aviators got on the board with a pair of runs off Seth Halvorsen in the bottom of the eighth, the Comets were already up 5-0, carrying a commanding lead in this one from start to finish. On top of Ehrhard, whom we already mentioned, Mike Sirota once again showcased his incredible plate discipline this season with three walks in five plate appearances.
That first run of the game came from the veteran Ryan Fitzgerald, one of four Comets with multiple hits on the night. Since catcher Eliezer Alfonso—who was hitting right behind Fitzgerald in the lineup—reached base on a catcher’s interference in the ninth, every single Comets hitter would get on base at least once in this game.
De Paula, who had already contributed with a pair of walks in Game 2, got his first hit since his temporary return to the minors, including driving in the Comets’ fifth and final run.
May this be a little preview of the impact he can provide for the big league team, eventually back for a playoff role based on the immediate impact he brought to the squad.
Transactions
The Comets placed right-handed pitcher Ryder Ryan on the Development List.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 22: Adley Rutschman #31 of the Boston Red Sox tags out Chase DeLauter #24 Cleveland Guardians at home during the second inning of a game on September 22, 2026 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Despite getting eliminated from the AL East title race on Tuesday, the Yankees have to feel good about taking three out of four from the Rays. Concluding with the comeback victory to cap off the series win on Thursday, the Yankees now have a tangible piece of positive reinforcement that they can beat Tampa Bay with the playoffs less than a week away. While their game may have carried no weight in the standings or postseason seeding, there is still meaningful baseball being played around the AL that has consequences for both divisional and Wild Card races, with two teams getting eliminated from the Wild Card picture (though still with a chance to win their division).
Cleveland Guardians (83-76) 1, Boston Red Sox (85-74) 0
Those tuning in hoping for some excitement on offense were sorely disappointed, the Guardians and Red Sox combining for just six hits. It was an unorthodox pitchers’ duel, Ranger Suarez limiting Cleveland to a run on three hits and a walk in five innings while the Guardians rolled out a bullpen game, opener Daniel Espino and bulk reliever Joey Cantillo combining for six scoreless innings allowing just a hit and two walks. Boston’s only base knocks were two-out singles by Nick Sogard and Jarren Duran in the third and seventh, respectively.
The Guardians were hardly more effective at the plate with the bulk of the action coming in the second and third innings. The lone run of the game came courtesy of a one-out solo shot by Angel Martínez in the second on a 2-2 changeup from Suarez off the plate away.
As it turns out, that was the blast that clinched a postseason berth for the Guardians. With the win, Cleveland at worst has clinched the third and final Wild Card spot, their third straight postseason berth. They still lead the AL Central by a game over the White Sox, though Chicago does own the season series tiebreaker in the event of identical records.
As for Boston, a postseason berth is already sewn up, but not quite the five-seed in the AL. Should Boston lose out, Cleveland win two of their final three, and Chicago win out, all three teams would end with an 85-77 record. In that unlikely event, the AL Central tiebreaker would supersede interdivisional head-to-head record, meaning that the Red Sox would then drop to the six-seed in the AL despite winning the season series over the White Sox and splitting with the Guardians. That would result in a Yankees-Guardians showdown in one AL Wild Card Series while the Red Sox would face off against the winner of the AL West.
AL Wild Card Rock Fight
Chicago White Sox (82-77) 9, Kansas City Royals (68-91) 1
The White Sox joined the Guardians in clinching their postseason berth, though in far more thrilling fashion than their AL Central counterparts. David Sandlin gave them six innings of one run ball with seven strikeouts, while his offense ambushed Randy Dobnak for six runs on six hits in the first two innings, the Royals starter recording just four outs. The Royals managed just one run on a Salvador Perez solo shot in the fourth, but they were already losing 8-0 by the time that ball flew over the wall.
Sam Antonacci, Kyle Teel, Miguel Vargas, Chase Meidroth, and Braden Montgomery all logged multi-hit efforts for Chicago, Teel going yard to lead off the fourth. Vargas, Andrew Benintendi, and Tristan Peters all drove in a pair on the night. Chicago remains a game behind the Guardians in the AL Central. Despite the possibility that they and the Astros finish the season with identical records and the Astros hold the tiebreaker in the season series, the White Sox winning the season series over the Guardians takes precedence in postseason seeding, guaranteeing the White Sox at worst the six-seed in the AL at the moment. It will be Chicago’s first trip to the postseason since 2021.
Texas Rangers (79-80) 3, New York Mets (73-86) 1
Every game is a must win for the Rangers at this point, and they kept their playoff hopes alive with a narrow win over the Mets in Arlington. Kumar Rocker gave them five innings of one run ball, the lone damage a Carson Benge RBI single in the first after Francisco Lindor led off the game with a double. Josh Jung responded in the bottom half of the frame with a two-run blast following Justin Foscue’s leadoff single. Corey Seager provided a crucial insurance run with a solo shot in the sixth, the Rangers bullpen combining to close the game with four shutout innings of one-hit ball.
With the White Sox winning their game over the Royals, the Rangers’ only path to making the postseason is by winning the division. They lost the season series to both the Astros and the White Sox, meaning if all three finish with identical records, Texas would be eliminated.
Houston Astros (79-80) 7, Athletics (63-96) 5
Astros rookie center fielder Lucas Spence had himself the game of a lifetime to keep the Astros tied by record with the Rangers atop the AL West. Despite entering the game with a .150 average and 26 wRC+, he almost singlehandedly won the game for Houston with a three-run blast in the second to open the scoring, the go-ahead solo shot in the seventh after the Athletics came roaring back, and his third homer of the night in the ninth to seal it — the first three home runs of his major league career.
It looked like the A’s would strike a dagger blow to the Astros’ postseason chances, Jeff McNeil and Zack Gelof going back-to-back in the third with a three-run homer and a solo shot, respectively, to take a 4-3 lead. However, Houston tied the game on an Isaac Paredes leadoff homer in the sixth followed by Spence’s second of the game an inning later. Christian Walker hit what turned out to be a necessary insurance solo shot in the seventh as Gelof hit his second solo bomb of the night in the eighth to keep it a one-run game.
Just like the Rangers, Houston can only make the postseason by winning the AL West. The Astros dominated the season series over Texas, winning nine games to the Rangers’ four, so they own the tiebreaker in the division if the teams end with identical records. With three games to go, the only race to determine playoff participants is the AL West battle between both Texas teams for first, though the AL’s fifth and sixth seeds could shift depending on results.
KANSAS CITY, MO - SEPTEMBER 23: Sam Antonacci #17 of the Chicago White Sox bats during the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Sydney Schneider/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
We are entering the final week of the regular season. The playoff field is mostly set, with, realistically, just the Rangers battling the Astros for the AL West – the loser stays home – and the White Sox battling the Guardians for the AL Central – the loser gets the final Wild Card spot. The Royals, obviously, are not included in this year’s field.
And yet, I discovered last year that having your local team miss the playoffs doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The Royals also missed the playoffs that year, and yet I became invested in the Seattle Mariners. Cal Raleigh was such a fun story last year, and they had all that amazing pitching. Plus, they’d had one of the most exciting trade deadlines, acquiring Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor. So when it came time for the playoffs to start, unlike most seasons, I kept watching.
And what I found was an absolutely liberating experience. When the Mariners managed to scrape past the Tigers and Tarik Skubal, it was nearly as much fun as watching the Royals win. But when the Phillies lost on the terrible defensive play, I didn’t feel the crush of defeat the way I normally do. When the Mariners blew the late lead in game seven of the ALCS, I felt a small twinge, but rebounded very quickly. I was even able to transfer my temporary allegiance to the Blue Jays and the exciting story of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. smashing every single ball thrown near him. When they also blew a late lead in game seven of the World Series, again, a small twinge, but then I was able to simply enjoy how cool Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s postseason performance had been.
Every season, 18 teams stop playing after the regular season ends. From that point on, it’s constant attrition until there can be only one winner. It seems silly that only 1/30 of the fans get to enjoy the season based on their team winning the whole thing. So I highly recommend giving temporary fandom a shot. It can be rewarding without being nearly as punishing as the usual thing.
That said, I think even temporary fandom has to be a bit organic. If you try to force it, it simply doesn’t work. That’s what I found out last year when I tried to transfer my Phillies fandom to the Brewers. Milwaukee just wasn’t able to appeal to me for whatever reason, and so I became an AL-only fan. But to give you all the best chance I can to find that organic excitement, let’s go over some of the storylines for each of the playoff contenders, and hopefully you’ll find at least one team you can vibe with!
The Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in the American League, and they’ve done it on the backs of two young position players who could hardly be any different. Junior Caminero has battled with Yordan Alvarez for the AL lead in home runs for most of the season; he leads all of MLB in swing length and bat speed. He leads the American League in EV90 – a stat that averages the top 10% hardest-hit balls by a player. On the other end of the spectrum is Chandler Simpson. Simpson doesn’t have a single barrel to his name in the entire season, though he squares the ball up better than anyone; he just doesn’t hit it very hard. He almost never walks or strikes out. But he has the fourth-best batting average in MLB and leads the AL in stolen bases. He’s basically what you would get if you took Luis Arraez and traded away what little power he has for elite defense and speed.
Drew Rasmussen leads the rotation, but Griffin Jax and Shane McClanahan (who will miss at least the ALDS) have been good too. Freddy Peralta has been rejuvenated after being acquired at the deadline. Nick Martinez has been solid. Ian Seymour has been significantly better than his ERA, but might end up in the bullpen for the playoffs, where he could really dominate. If he does, he’ll join Bryan Baker – battling for MLB saves leader – and Kevin Kelly – 24th in MLB for reliever fWAR.
The New York Yankees are probably a tough sell for most Royals fans, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about them a little. Aaron Judge is a generational talent. Ben Rice is having the kind of breakout season we all hope to see from Jac Caglianone next year. Cody Bellinger is still very good; Paul Goldschmidt is having a heck of a last hurrah. Giancarlo Stanton is trying to come back to attempt more playoff heroics.
On the pitching side, Cam Schlittler is probably going to win the AL Cy Young Award. He somehow overshadows Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, and the breakout of Ryan Weathers. They have two relievers who have topped 2.0 fWAR in setup man Brent Headrick and closer David Bednar.
The Boston Red Sox might be the poster children for the idea that good things can happen when an underachieving team fires its manager, even if the manager is widely regarded as quite good at his job. Roman Anthony was one of the best prospects in baseball last year and is starting to come back into his own again after battling injuries all season. Mickey Gasper was a waiver wire pickup who has nearly carried the offense. Willson Contreras is having the best season of his good career at age 34. Cedanne Rafaela has been electric in center field, though he injured his hamstring and his availability for the playoffs is in question.
Rookie Payton Tolle might have stolen the show with his tremendous pitching, but Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez are no slouches. Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman have always been very good, but Brayan Bello has been a revelation since being bumped from the rotation, and Erik Miller has turned out to be a very good deadline pickup. Collectively, the Red Sox have had the most valuable bullpen in the AL, and it isn’t particularly close.
The Chicago White Sox are this year’s version of the 2024 Royals. They lost 102 games last year and this year they’re battling with the Guardians for the division and will settle for a Wild Card. And that’s just the very beginning of why they’re going to be my favorite team to start the 2026 playoffs! They also have Team Italy contributors Sam Antonacci and Kyle Teel. They have Munetaka Murakami being way better than people expected. They have two young sluggers named Montgomery who are not related to each other. They have a huge surprise in Tristan Peters and a young veteran taking yet another step forward in Miguel Vargas, and somehow Chase Meidroth has exploded.
They don’t have much of interest in their rotation, but Grant Taylor has been pretty good in the bullpen. They recently promoted top pitching prospect Hagen Smith to the bullpen and demoted top pitching prospect Noah Schultz from the rotation to the bullpen, and both have been utterly dominant.
I don’t want to spend the time to go over the Texas Rangers or the Houston Astros. We’re still not sure which of them will even make it; the Astros are still stained by the cheating scandal of nearly a decade ago in many minds, and the Rangers do everything they can to be political and on the wrong side for my taste. The Rangers have Nicky Lopez, and the Astros have Yordan Alvarez. Either team could be the first-ever MLB team to make the playoffs with a sub-.500 record, and maybe you want to root for the chaos and gnashing of teeth that such a team winning the World Series would lead to. And who would I be to stop you?
The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to be a hard sell for many, but they have a certain appeal. They’re going for the first threepeat since the Yankees did it from 1998-2000. Shohei Ohtani won’t be pitching, but he should still be hitting, and that’s still worth the price of admission. Josue De Paula earned a promotion to the bigs when Shohei was hurt a couple of weeks ago, and he did well enough that I absolutely would not count him out of postseason appearances even after he was demoted upon Shohei’s return. Max Muncy is still Max Muncy. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Teoscar Hernández are no longer as good as they once were, but they’re still good. Enrique Hernández is somehow still around and has always been a monster for LA in the postseason.
Their pitching, as usual, is just silly. Tarik Skubal is taking up all the oxygen, but Blake Snell has won a pair of Cy Young Awards; Yoshinobu Yamamoto almost single-handedly won the World Series for them last season; Tyler Glasnow would have won a Cy Young if he could have ever pitched a full season; Justin Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan, and Roki Sasaki have all been very good. In their bullpen, Edwin Díaz has been a disappointment, but Tanner Scott has rebounded in a big way, and they have old friends Will Klein and Kris Bubic to help carry the load, too.
The Atlanta Braves have Ronald Acuña Jr. – he’s always fun. Drake Baldwin is an exciting young catcher. Ozzie Albies has bounced back. Matt Olson has hit 40 home runs for two straight seasons. And old friends Lane Thomas and Mike Yastrzemski are role players who could be key pinch-hitters on the nights they don’t start.
On the pitching side, it’s Chris Sale and then everyone else. Chris is 37, a future Hall of Famer, and somehow he’s still dealing so well that if it wasn’t for the next starting pitcher we’re going to talk about, he’d be a strong candidate for the Cy Young Award this year.
When you talk about the Milwaukee Brewers, you don’t start with the hitting; you start with Jacob Misiorowski. He is, as hinted above, a near lock for this year’s NL Cy Young at only 24. He has a 1.86 ERA, and he has a 31.7% K-BB%, which is higher than the K% of all but two other starting pitchers in all of baseball. They also have three flamethrowing relievers at the back end of their bullpen: Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, and Aaron Ashby.
But actually, their offense is pretty fun, too. Brice Turang has taken even a step above last year’s breakout. Jackson Chourio bounced back after taking a dip in his sophomore year. Jake Bauers has come out of nowhere at age 30. Garrett Mitchell has done the same, though he’s still just 27. And William Contreras is still a truly excellent catcher. Andrew Vaughn continues his career resurgence after arriving from Chicago last season. Christian Yelich is no longer the player he once was, but he used to be so good, and for some, it might be fun to watch him try to finally capture a championship.
The Brewers are also a small-market team and will finish the season with more wins than any other team.
The Philadelphia Phillies have the same exciting guys they’ve had for a few years. Bryce Harper might have some weird opinions, but he can hit a baseball. So can Kyle Schwarber, though I don’t know if he has any weird opinions.
Pitching has been their real calling card this year, though. Cristopher Sánchez was on a Cy Young track until the Royals roughed him up and he finished looking far more mortal. They also have Zack Wheeler, though he’s had a similar arc to his season. Jesús Luzardo was fantastic before he got hurt, though he promised to return for the playoffs and successfully threw a bullpen session recently. Jhoan Duran is still one of the best closers in the sport, and his sidekick is former Royal Jonathan Bowlan.
The Chicago Cubs start and mostly end with Pete Crow-Armstrong, the 40-40 center fielder who seems destined not just for this year’s Gold Glove, but also a platinum glove and an MVP Award. Seiya Suzuki and Alex Bregman have been adequate sidekicks for the guy who has basically been the best player in MLB with little to no competition. Bregman, unfortunately, suffered multiple facial fractures from an errant foul ball, and his availability for the playoffs is in question.
On the pitching side, I have to be honest: no one really stands out. Their best pitcher by fWAR has been Ben Brown, and he was ruled out for the remainder of the season at the beginning of the month. The next most valuable has been Shota Imanaga, and he’s been plenty good but simply cannot compare to the other studs around the sport.
The San Diego Padres have Fernando Tatis Jr., and you don’t need much more to be interested in them. But they also have Manny Machado still chugging along. Jackson Merrill has been enjoying a bounce-back campaign. Xander Bogaerts has been playing his best ball in years. Old friends Samad Taylor and Freddy Fermin have valiantly held down bench roles. But it’s old nemesis Ty France who seems to have boosted the Padres from “playoff contender” to “championship threat”, at least on the hitting side. He’s enjoying the best campaign of his career and treating all of MLB as he always has the Royals. At least now everyone else feels our pain.
Now, if you actually want to know what’s powering the Padres’ success…remember how I mentioned the Red Sox had the most valuable bullpen in the AL and it wasn’t particularly close? They lead the second-place AL team by 1.6 fWAR. The Padres lead the Red Sox by 1.4 fWAR. Mason Miller has had a nearly 4-WAR season as a reliever. Adrian Morejon has the third-best reliever fWAR in baseball at 2.8. Yuki Matsui has a sub-1.00 ERA over the past month. Michael King leads their rotation, and he’s been more “quite good” than “fantastic,” but if you want to see a team try to pull off the HDH victories of 2014 and 2015, these Padres might be the team to do it.
I won’t tell you which team to pick, though I’ve told you my favorite in the AL. After doing this exercise, I think I’m probably leaning toward the Padres in the NL, but maybe The Miz can attract me back to the Midwest. But really, it doesn’t matter which team you pick. Just that you pick one and give yourself an additional opportunity to feel some relatively risk-free joy in a world where it can be so hard to find.
The Cubs last played the Red Sox July 20, 2025 at Wrigley Field, 432 days ago. They lost 6-1 after winning the first two games of that series.
In hindsight, that’s when the wheels started falling off the 2025 season. The Cubs entered that game leading the NL Central by one game and were 20 games over .500 at 59-39. They went 33-30 after the July 20 loss, which isn’t terrible, but the Brewers went 38-25 and won the division by five games.
These games are more meaningful for the Cubs, as they could still finish as the fourth, fifth or sixth NL postseason seed. Meanwhile, the Red Sox are most likely headed to New York Tuesday to begin a Wild Card series.
For more on the Red Sox, here’s Mike Carlucci, a writer for our SB Nation Red Sox site Over The Monster.
As the Cubs arrive in Fenway Park they face perhaps the most mercurial Red Sox team in a generation. Boston famously got off to a disastrous start. Alex Cora and the entire (well, mostly, Andrew Bailey survived) coaching staff departed unceremoniously, or perhaps slightly ceremoniously, in a van that said “Coaches for Hire.”
But then a 15-game winning streak. And a streak of 9. They couldn’t lose.
After about 40 gamers though, things slowed down. With a playoff berth clinched, Boston welcomes the Cubs to Fenway Park on a weekend the city braces for a nor-easter. Sunday became Friday afternoon. Friday evening became…slightly earlier on Friday. Saturday is… possibly being moved to Tropicana Field on Sunday. On the NESN post-game show the plan was for the players to be packed and ready to go to Tampa for a game Sunday and then from there to New York for the Wild Card.
Former Cub Willson Contreras hopes to play in the series after getting hit in the hand by the Texas Rangers. He’s still in a lot of pain trying to swing and isn’t sure he will be ready for the Wild Card. Garrett Crochet will probably not appear in any games. However they did move him to the Spring Training park to keep building up. Maybe if Sunday is played in Tampa he’ll make a surprise entrance?
Alex Gamboa will be the starter/opener in Game 1. He’s gone as deep as 4.0 innings before so it might be a short start rather than a strict open. It’s possible Jake Bennett provides some bulk innings as well. Bennett, in his rookie year, had a fantastic first half but tired in the second half.
Brayan Bello gets the start for Game 2. He’s been starting with an opener most of the summer but last time out against the Rays he went 8.0 brilliant innings in a return to starting the game in the first inning himself.
Who pitches on Saturday? It could be anyone! Possibly Jedixson Páez as he made one appearance for Boston already and could save the bullpen from carrying those innings. He’s tossed 6.2 innings in his career, all in 2026, with both colors of Sox while allowing 14 earned runs. You hate to think of a player as expendable but, in a potentially rain-shortened (or canceled) game 162 that is meaningless to at least one team involved, that just might be the bar.
Fun facts
This is only the second time that the Cubs have finished the regular season playing an American League team, and the first outside Chicago. They wrapped up 2020 on the South Side vs. the White Sox.
Since interleague play began in 1997, the Cubs have played only 27 games against the Red Sox, tying for their fewest against an American League team. They also have played 27 vs. the Athletics. They have played 28 vs. the Orioles and Rays, 29 vs. the Angels and 30, their total against Boston after this weekend, vs. the Blue Jays and Rangers.
The Cubs are 14-13 against the Red Sox, despite having been outscored by 11 runs, 142-131. The Cubs are +6 in all games except the second one in their last visit to Boston: a 17-0 shellacking on April 27, 2024.
The Cubs lost that series finale, too, 5-4, leaving each team with six wins when they have met in Boston. Half of the Cubs’ wins came in 2014, when they swept the Sox by scores of 2-0, 2-1 and 16-9. They went 1-2 in each of their three other series at Fenway Park. They split the first two games of all three.
(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
Probable pitching matchups
Friday, Game 1: Clay Holmes, RHP (2-4, 4.26 ERA, 1.241 WHIP, 4.11 FIP in eight starts with Cubs; 6-8, 3.25 ERA, 1.165 WHIP, 3.62 FIP in 17 starts overall) vs. Alec Gamboa, LHP (1-0, 1.16 ERA, 1.065 WHIP, 3.16 FIP)
Friday, Game 2: David Peterson, LHP (6-2, 3.94 ERA, 1.394 WHIP, 4.20 FIP in 15 games with Cubs; 9-8, 4.96 ERA, 1.514 WHIP, 4.03 FIP in 31 games overall) vs. Brayan Bello, RHP (6-7, 4.62 ERA, 1.371 WHIP, 4.00 FIP)
Saturday: TBD vs. TBD
Times & TV channels
Friday, Game 1: 12:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Friday, Game 2: 5:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Saturday: 6:15 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
As you have likely heard, there is a chance that the Saturday game might be moved to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, and played on Sunday instead of Saturday. If that happens, the game would likely be played at 2:05 p.m. CT so as to match up with all the other last day of the regular season starting times.
Prediction
I throw up my hands here. I have no idea. I like picking two of three so why the heck not. The Cubs need to win one more game than the Padres do this weekend against the Diamondbacks to finish ahead of them for a wild card spot, and one more game than the Phillies do against the Rays to finish ahead of them. (Those numbers include the fact that the Cubs own the tiebreaker against both the Padres and Phillies.)
Up next
The postseason! The Cubs will be playing Tuesday. Against … the Phillies, or the Padres, or the Braves, or even possibly the Diamondbacks, and at this time we have no idea where. As always, we await developments.
Sep 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Athletics left fielder Zack Gelof (20) watches as center fielder Henry Bolte (33) makes a catch in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Welcome to Friday A’s fans!
With just three games remaining in the regular season, this seems like an appropriate time to reflect on an Athletics season that began with promise before a rash of injuries and a league-worst pitching staff contributed to another summer collapse.
Making matters worse is the fact that the 2026 American League West was the worst division in MLB history. Either the Houston Astros or Texas Rangers will win the division and play in the playoffs despite finishing the season with at best a .500 record. As a result, this year will go down as a missed opportunity for the A’s to be involved in a postseason race, something the franchise has yet to experience under manager Mark Kotsay.
However, given the pitching staff Kotsay had at his disposal, it was not surprising that the A’s finished the season with the league’s second-worst ERA and allowed the second-most runs, behind only the Colorado Rockies. Additionally, the Green and Gold allowed the most home runs and posted the league’s second-worst WHIP.
Right-hander Luis Severino earned $22 million to make 12 starts before missing the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, while fellow veteran Jeffrey Springs allowed more home runs than any other pitcher. J.T. Ginn and Gage Jump at least showed flashes of promise, giving the team two rotation building blocks. Whoever the A’s new pitching coach is will need to help right-hander Luis Morales get back on track after his significant regression this season.
The A’s league-worst bullpen comprising many waiver-wire arms also failed to consistently retire opposing batters, resulting in outfielder Carlos Cortes pitching in nine blowout losses. Outside of Hogan Harris and Luis Medina, the team needs relievers it can trust. That is why the new general manager should prioritize acquiring bullpen reinforcements, along with at least one starting pitcher, this winter.
The A’s offense should be fine, provided the injury bug does not bite again. In fact, the unit provided some of the best moments of the 2026 season, from dramatic comebacks to breakout performances and unexpected contributors.
Rookie Henry Bolte looks like the answer to the A’s center field and leadoff hitter questions, while versatile Zack Gelof shrugged off injuries to enjoy a resurgent career-best season. Now if only right fielder Lawrence Butler could stay consistent for a whole season instead of waiting until the team is out of contention to start performing better.
What was your favorite moment from 2026? Which players lived up to expectations and who underperformed? Will the Athletics get one final season in Sacramento, or will the lockout derail the 2027 campaign?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 24: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 of the San Diego Padres after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers to clinch a wildcard spot at Dodger Stadium on September 24, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Padres took out the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2, and clinched a playoff spot, leaving one playoff position open for either the Phillies or Diamondbacks.
Arizona begins play on Friday two games behind the Phillies.
So how much of a chance do they have of making the Major League Baseball playoffs? Here’s a rundown of baseball’s playoff races and what teams already have clinched.
Lovullo is on a one-year contract, and has yet to be extended beyond 2026. Earlier in the year, reporting suggested it was a simple cause-and-effect: if Lovullo wants to be retained, he needed to get Arizona back to the postseason.
Even the manager himself noted as much. The Diamondbacks are still, somehow, alive in this playoff race, though they will need an improbable sweep of the San Diego Padres this weekend to make it in.
But according to the latest comments from Diamondbacks team president and CEO Derrick Hall, the Lovullo decision is not that simple.
“I highly doubt that Torey Lovullo would accept a one-year deal. This guy has been here for 10 years; he took a team to the World Series, he’s 11 games over .500 this year … There seems to be an ownership group that is not totally convinced that he’s the right guy for the job,” Gambadoro said.
“If that’s the case, then maybe he does decide to say ‘let me see what’s out there.’”
The Friars beat the Dodgers 4-2 on Thursday night in Los Angeles, formally punching their postseason ticket with three games left in the season and as exciting as that is, there is still plenty to play for. San Diego is still in position to host the National League Wild Card series at Petco Park.
That interview took place months before the 2025 season — yes, 2025 — when Quero predicted the White Sox to be improved because of their collective youthful energy, even coming off 121 losses.
“I mentioned it again in Spring Training,” Quero told MLB.com during a recent interview. “Maybe some people think I was crazy, but I’m not. The guys are proving it right now.
“I’ve played with a lot of players here in the Minor Leagues, we played in the playoffs, too. It’s the base of a really good team we play with right now. You can see the guys are hungry and we play really good baseball.”
