The Mets have made three changes to their coaching staff, the club announced Tuesday.
Director of major league hitting Jeff Albert, quality assurance coach Danny Barnes, and batting practice pitcher Kevin Mahoney will not return to the big league staff roster for the 2027 season. However, the team announced that all three coaches may return to the organization in different roles, but are free to speak with other clubs.
Albert joined the Mets organization in 2022 as director of hitting development. He was promoted to the majors in October 2025.
Barnes, a former Toronto Blue Jays reliever, has served in several roles with the team over the last five seasons, including running major league spring training.
Mahoney, who played and coached in the Yankees organization for 12 years, has been with the Mets' staff for two years.
According to SNY MLB Insider Chelsea Janes, the Mets are expected to retain the rest of the coaching staff, including hitting coach Troy Snitker, bench coach Kai Correa, and pitching coach Justin Willard, all of whom joined the staff ahead of the 2026 season.
Los Angeles, CA - October 3, 2026: MLB postseason signage before game one of NLDS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
We’re back in the National League today after spending yesterday watching the two AL matchups. The White Sox are one win away from the ALCS one year after losing 100 games. The Rays handled business themselves, beating their division-rivals and league-wide hated Yankees and now find themselves on the cusp of the next round as well. Both series take a beat today so we’ll have to wait and find out what happens next until tomorrow.
As for today, we got a one quality matchup on the mound with a couple aces going in Atlanta. Runs may be scarce in that contest. Meanwhile back in California it’s a couple mid-rotation pieces so all the runs are coming tonight.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves (6:00 PM EDT)
The Dodgers won the first game of the series before dropping the second game on Sunday night. The reigning champions feel more vulnerable than they have over the past couple of years and that happens to older teams. Still, their the reigning champions so there’s no way you can count them out. Especially when the series is tied. If I’m Atlanta though, you did what you needed to do by stealing a win in Los Angeles.
The Dodgers are turning to Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9, 2.53 ERA) for the first time this October. The right-hander was nearly untouchable in the postseason last year and LA is hoping for more of the same this go around. If he continues to be that dominant today then the Dodgers could be one win away from the NLCS by the end of the day.
Atlanta meanwhile has their ace up their sleeve as lefty Chris Sale (14-9, 2.16 ERA) gets the call for the must-win Game 3. In most other years Sale would be on his way to a Cy Young Award with those kind of stats, but unfortunately for him the Brewers have someone who is just a little better. Still, if you’re Atlanta you have to feel good about your chances with your ace on the hill. If they can score a couple runs off Yamamoto they could take tonight’s contest and set themselves up for a clinching scenario in front of the home crowd tomorrow.
Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres (9:30 PM EDT)
This series has been fantastic. The Brewers came away with the win in Game 1 thanks to some controversy involving a roof, and then followed that up with a walk-off win against arguably the best closer in the sport. That’s put the #1 seed just one win away from the NLCS and a rematch with the Dodgers for a trip to the World Series. And at this point it’s starting to feel as though they’re the only ones standing between the Dodgers and a third straight championhip.
They’ll have mid-season trade acquisition Dustin May (7-9, 4.70 ERA) on the bump for them tonight. May was solid during the first half with the Cardinals before his trade to Milwaukee to reinforce the middle of their rotation. While he took the ball every turn, his stats with Milwaukee have fallen off. He’s been used in shorter bursts with the Brewers so it wouldn’t be shocking to see a quick hook for the right-hander if he’s struggling early.
The Padres meanwhile will ask Nick Pivetta (3-2, 2.86 ERA) to help them stay alive in these playoffs. The 33-year-old missed the majority of the year with an elbow strain that many thought would require season-ending surgery. He’s successfully avoided that and provided the Friars with a boost in their rotation. Now they’ll be asking the world of him as they face the prospect of seeing their season end if they can’t pull out the win tonight in front of their home town crowd. No pressure.
Here’s Milwaukee’s starting nine with a chance to punch their ticket to the next round:
So how do you guys think today goes? Do the Brewers finish the sweep and punch their ticket to the NLCS? Can the Dodgers bounce back and take Game 3? Some exciting baseball tonight!
Oct 6, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; A general view of the MLB 2026 Postseason logo before game three of the NLDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs between Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Dodgers at Braves
Series tied, 1-1
First pitch: 6:00 PM EDT TV: FS1/FOX ONE Probable pitchers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP (LAD); Chris Sale, LHP (ATL)
Brewers at Padres
Brewers lead, 2-0
First pitch: 9:30 PM EDT TV: FS1/FOX ONE Probable pitchers: Dustin May, RHP (MIL); Nick Pivetta, RHP (SDP)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 04: Jackson Chourio #11 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates the game-winning two-run single against the San Diego Padres during the ninth inning in game two of the National League Division Series at American Family Field on October 04, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We have a pair of NLDS games on tap today.
In the early game, the Braves host the Dodgers with the series tied at 1 game apiece. 5:00 p.m. Central start time on FS1.
In the late game, the Padres, having lost two heartbreakers in Milwaukee, try to stave off elimination. 8:30 p.m. Central start time on FS1.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 05: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees looks on from the dugout out before game two of the American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on October 05, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees have found themselves in an all-too-familiar situation once again and will fight for survival as they return to the Bronx to face the Rays in an elimination game.
Who’s to blame? Well, let’s look at the facts. The Yankees’ pitching rotation isn’t first on the list, with both Gerrit Cole and Cam Schlittler allowing two or fewer earned runs, but the offense appears to be on life support. Ben Rice is one of the few saving graces for this team, but the infield’s inability to execute has put the whole squad in a distressing situation.
Starting Ryan McMahon at third backfired for the Yankees almost immediately in the first inning, when the third baseman fumbled a routine ground ball that allowed Yandy Díaz to reach safely instead of throwing him out at first. It would be astounding to see him start again on Wednesday night over José Caballero or Anthony Volpe.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. also made an egregious error worth noting in Game 2, completely misfiring his throw to Luis García Jr., which gave Tampa Bay their first run of the evening. His response to the error was even more shocking following the game, when the second baseman admitted that he’d still make the throw despite having his back turned to properly execute it. Chisholm Jr. remains hitless in this series and has yet to make an impact on either side of the ball.
Gerrit Cole battled through a solid five innings in the first game of the series, striking out five batters and giving up only one run. Jonathan Aranda’s long ball was the only scoring on either side, and I’d say that the Yankees’ offense was far more at fault for the 1-0 loss in Game 1.
Cam Schlittler got through 4.1 innings, striking out two and allowing two earned runs in 76 pitches during Game 2, and held back the Rays’ offense long enough for the Yankees’ infield to throw away any hopes of evening the series for their return to the Bronx.
The offense is lifeless in the ALDS
Despite coming off two electric wins scoring a combined 18 runs in the Wild Card Series, the Yankees’ offense was no match for Rays’ ace Drew Rasmussen, who completely dominated the Yankees with 10 strikeouts and a no-hitter through 7.2 innings in Game 1.
Spencer Jones, Trent Grisham, and Cody Bellinger all struck out twice in the first meeting of the ALDS, and the Yankees’ only hit of the night came from Austin Wells with a double in the eighth inning. He unfortunately made the poor decision to ignore coach Luis Rojas’ stop sign and go for the triple, and was tagged out at third by Rays’ third baseman Junior Caminero following an elite play from shortstop Taylor Walls.
Taking a deeper dive into the Pinstripes’ offense, Ben Rice has been one of the only players in the lineup who’s shown up in this series, with a game-tying home run in the fourth of Game 2 and another late home run that cut the deficit. Bellinger was one of two other Yankees who got a hit on Monday night with a single following Rice’s first homer, and gave fans a sliver of hope that this offense might come alive. He also crushed one deep into center, which would’ve been a grand slam in 12 of the 30 ballparks, but it flew into the glove of Jonny DeLuca to send the game into the bottom of the fifth.
Wells got the only other hit of the night, redemption from his erroneous decision-making that was one of the reasons preventing the Yankees from making any headway in Game 1.
It’s clear that the depleted Yankees’ offense and egregious errors cost them their shot at evening the series. This is not an unfamiliar situation, as they’ve started several series on the road down 2-0 in the last five years. The last team in franchise history to erase the 2-0 deficit in a Division Series was the 2017 Yankees, who defeated the Guardians in five and later fell short in the ALCS to the Astros in seven.
Aaron Boone, after sending out an unchanged lineup for most of the postseason so far, must take the heat for failing to lead this team down a different path this time. They’ve been down this grueling road before, but there is little change from each postseason run that ends in the same demoralizing fate year after year. The Yankees ended the 2025 season, notably including a healthy Aaron Judge on the roster, with a four-game ALDS loss and were outscored by the Blue Jays in a combined total of 37-16.
Right now, it’s obvious that this team is completely depleted of offensive momentum, and it’s about time to shuffle the order as the Yankees go into survival mode.
Down 2-0 in the series with a looming return to the Bronx, the Yankees have their work cut out for them to continue this postseason run.
The Angels finished the regular season with the second-worst record in baseball but also humbled Sale, the 10-time All-Star, at Anaheim Stadium April 6 in what remains Sale's worst outing of the 2026 season. It's what the Dodgers need as they prepare to face the 6-foot-6 left-hander in Game 3 of the best-of-five NLDS tied one game apiece with Atlanta Tuesday, Oct. 6.
The blueprint starts with aggression: April 6 at Anaheim Stadium, Angels shortstop Zach Neto hit the first pitch he saw, a 95-mph four-seam fastball, for a 400-foot home run.
The blueprint shifts to patience: Sale retired nine batters in a row heading into the bottom of the fourth when he hit Angels outfielder Jorge Soler. It was an opening, a piece of string from Sale’s ball of yarn beginning to unravel.
Then the Angels pulled that loose piece of yarn. With a base hit. Two consecutive walks. Another hit batter. When the inning ended, the Angels led 4-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Angels went back to aggression: Joe Adell jumped on a first-pitch fastball, blasting a 411-foot home run and giving the Angels a 6-1 lead. Suddenly Sale gave way to a reliever in a game the Angels won 6-2.
Beyond the Dodgers offense
The offense is only part of the blueprint, of course. That night at Anaheim Stadium, when the Angels roughed up the Sale, Angels ace Jose Soriano muffled the Braves' bats.
He pitched eight innings, allowed only one earned run and struck out 10 batters. Basically, he outsale-d Sale, who gave up six earned runs in four innings – statistically, his worst outing of the year.
Dodgers vs. Chris Sale: a tale of two teams
So how can the Dodgers use the blueprint?
Aggression at the outset would make perfect sense. Mookie Betts, likely to bat leadoff, has as much success against Sale as any current Dodger.
Betts is 7-for-16 (.389) with two doubles and a home run.
Freddie Freeman should have the confidence to swing with aggression, too. Against Sale, Freeman is 5-16 (.313.) with two doubles and two home runs.
Teoscar Hernandez should be afraid to take his thunderous swings. Though he’s struck out 10 times in 24 plate appearances against Sale, Hernandez also has homered and doubled twice against the Braves star pitcher.
It’s unlikely Shohei Ohtani will break out of his slump against Sale. He is 3-for-15 (.200) with a double and five strikeouts and is struggling at the plate.
And as Soriano did for the Angels, it’ll be up to Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto to help hold the Braves’ offense in check.
Dodgers make big adjustments to lineup
The Dodgers have made adjustments to their lineup for Game 3. The most notable is Ohtani's move to fifth in the batting order, the lowest he's hit since 2020. Ohtani batted leadoff for the Dodgers before injuries left him on the injured list in September. He is 2-for-8 with two strikeouts in the first two games of the NLDS.
Freeman will bat second, moving up from fourth, and Teoscar Hernandez will bat third, moving up from fifth.
Enrique Hernández will get the start at third base ahead of Max Muncy and bat ninth.
Joe Davis, the play-by-play voice of both the Los Angeles Dodgers' TV broadcasts and the lead voice on Fox Sports' Major League Baseball coverage, will miss Game 3 of the National League Division Series because of voice issues, The Athletic first reported.
Davis, 38, will be replaced by veteran broadcasting staple Kenny Albert for the Tuesday, Oct. 6 game.
The NLDS between the Dodgers and Braves is tied, 1-1, entering Game 3, with both teams' aces − Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale and Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto − scheduled to pitch. First pitch is at 6 p.m. ET. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday at Atlanta's Truist Park.
A protractor, compass and ruler are placed on a desk at the Lucien Colon school, in Lapalisse, central France on December 2, 2019. (Photo by Thierry Zoccolan / AFP) (Photo by THIERRY ZOCCOLAN/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
The struggles of the Cincinnati Reds offense as a whole during the 2026 regular season has been documented well – here, there, and everywhere. The top-heavy nature of the lineup featured a back-beat that was mostly non-existent for months at a time, and overall the latter outweighed the former by season’s end.
Along the way, though, they did manage to jump to the top of the team leaderboards in a rather unique way, whether by distinct coaching towards a particular test or by sheer luck. And given which other teams (and their potent bats) rank right next to them, it might be the one thing on which they can offensively hang their hat when looking back at this otherwise dismal year.
No team – not a single one – posted a higher collective launch angle than the Cincinnati Reds. Their 16.2 degree figure was the best in the sport, with the high-octane Chicago Cubs up in 3rd at 15.9 degrees and the mighty New York Yankees tied for 4th at 15.4 degrees. Innocence by association isn’t everything, obviously, but it’s hard not to notice when some of the best put-together lineups also excel at something the Reds did (and it’s worth pointing out the Los Angeles Dodgers ranked just past that tie for 4th in 7th at 15.1 degrees). Those team don’t operate on hunches, they actively seek to rank well where they end up ranking well, and in this particular category it was somehow the Reds ranking on top.
Launch angle is not an end-all, be-all metric, however. Sometimes it could reflect that you pop the ball up too much, and if you strike out so much that you don’t feature enough batted ball events it doesn’t matter that you do smack line drives when you actually make your one contact for the game. Batted Ball Events (BBE) is notable here particularly since no team in the sport had fewer than the Reds did, their 3,893 mark nearly 500 fewer than the league-leading Tampa Bay Rays. The Cubs, for reference, again ranked well here at 4th.
Launch Angle Sweet-Spot % tends to to help narrow the focus of all of this. It tracks how often players (or teams, in this instance) hit a ball between 8 degrees and 32 degrees, effectively reducing how often a pop-fly would help skew an overall launch angle. The Reds, to their credit, ranked 4th in the game here, trailing only the likes of the Detroit Tigers, Dodgers, and Coors-leaning Colorado Rockies. Pair that with ranking 4th in average exit velocity, and it’s clear the Reds did a better-than-expected job of hitting line drives and hitting them hard relative to their peers.
Again, though, these two stats come with their quirks. Strikeouts don’t factor into the denominator when calculating LA SwSp%, and the Reds struck out a lot. Average exit velocity doesn’t factor in the zero mph velocity of striking out, either, and if it did the Reds number would sink by a large margin.
The lone concern here – aside from the striking out profusely part – is that two of the Reds who ranked best in terms of launch angle and LA SwSp% were Tyler Stephenson and Eugenio Suarez, the latter of whom got hot just as the Reds were falling out of the race for good and actually finished is overall disappointing 2026 rather well. Both of them, of course, will almost certainly reach free agency within days of the end of this year’s World Series, taking their launch angle talents to another team that seeks them. JJ Bleday found the sweet spot pretty often while Matt McLain’s 20.7 degree launch angle ranked 14th among qualified batters, but a large chunk of the one decent stat where the Reds ranked well in 2026 is still about to walk to another team, with no clear launch angle darlings in the upper minors ready to step in and replace them.
And before you flush this topic down the toilet, it’s worth pointing out some of the names that rank among the Top 20 on these particular lists. Cal Raleigh, Isaac Paredes, Zach Neto, PCA, and Mickey Moniak all rank among the Top 10 in launch angle, with Byron Buxton (20th), Kyle Schwarber (21st), and Kevin McGonigle (23rd) and featuring prominently, too. Yordan Alvarez, and Riley Green sandwich Stephenson in the Top 10 in LA SwSp%, with Mookie Betts and Steven Kwan both in the Top 10, too. Two of the Brewers best hitters (Brice Turang and Jake Bauers) just missed the Top 20, as did Freddie Freeman (22nd) – Nick Kurtz of the A’s ranked 19th.
It didn’t all pan out in the end, of course. Too many holes in swings, too many streaks, too little overall contact. But at least there may be a methodology underlying all of this if the Reds could just find a few more bats competent enough to make it happen.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts after a strike is called during his at-bat during the third inning of Game 2. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani took the news that he was hitting fifth in Game 3 of the National League Division Series so well that he responded with a joke.
As manager Dave Roberts tells it, when he laid out his thoughts on the lineup against Braves ace Chris Sale, Ohtani said, “In all honesty, I was going to come to you in September and say, why don’t you hit me seventh?”
Regardless of how poorly Ohtani has hit lately, the news came as a shock on Tuesday. And it reflected the aggressive read-and-react approach Roberts is going to take with the best-of-five series tied through two games.
Fifth is the lowest Ohtani has ever hit in the Dodgers’ starting lineup. He hasn’t hit fifth or lower in a starting lineup since 2020 with the Angels.
For most of the season, through ups, downs and injuries, Ohtani has led off. When he returned from the injured list with five games left in the season, Roberts started batting him second against left-handed pitchers, with right-handed hitting Mookie Betts batting ahead of him.
But in eight postseason at-bats so far, Ohtani has recorded just two hits, both singles.
“This is just a Sale thing, and also who I feel is going to come out of the bullpen tonight,” Roberts said, making clear that he doesn’t plan to bat Ohtani fifth against all left-handed pitchers in the postseason. “So [Wednesday] versus [right-hander Tyler] Mahle, it will look different.”
Against Mahle, however, Roberts said Ohtani won’t necessarily lead off, citing Mahle’s neutral-to-reverse platoon splits. But Ohtani won’t hit fifth, Roberts said. Sale is a special case.
The last time the Dodgers faced Sale, he shut them out for nine innings. All time, Ohtani has a .517 OPS against Sale in the regular season, and he went one for seven against him this year.
“It might give him a different look, let the game come to him a little bit later,” Roberts said. “I don’t think it’s a pressure thing. I do think it’s something where he wants to do more. But in that same breath, I do think that there’s going to be a couple big spots today where he’s going to be at bat.”
In the Dodgers’ first two postseason games, Ohtani’s plate discipline has wavered, making it difficult to pinpoint the root of his struggles. Does it all come down to approach? Could his nagging left knee and right biceps problems be contributing to his poor performance?
The Dodgers aren’t looking for him to be the hero every game, and trying to do so could even exacerbate his problems at the plate. For the lineup to click, however, he does need to be more productive.
“He’s a very good self-evaluator, a very extremely high competitor and expects a lot from himself,” Roberts said. “I still think he’s very confident. But Sale’s a different monster. He’s tough, certainly against lefties.
“But I still think [Ohtani’s] confident. So now with that, just getting him back in the zone — and that’s easier said than done, I understand that.”
On Tuesday, Roberts also inserted right-handed hitting Kiké Hernández into the lineup, batting ninth and playing third base. And he kept right-handed hitter Miguel Rojas in the lineup, moving him from third to second and starting utility player Tommy Edman on the bench. Left-handed hitting third baseman Max Muncy will also be available off the bench.
“Tommy, he’s been going through it in the last couple of months, and it’s been a grind for him on both sides of the plate,” Roberts said. “Hasn’t had a whole lot of success against Sale — the heater up, the ball down below, with a flat swing. … Getting Kiké involved right now, I think it’s added intensity, urgency. I just think he’s going to put forth some good at-bats, and you’re not giving up anything on the defensive side.”
ATLANTA — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wasn’t bluffing.
As he had hinted during the team’s off day on Monday, the Dodgers made significant lineup changes for Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday, reconfiguring their batting order and inserting a couple extra right-handed bats into their lineup ahead of a daunting matchup with Braves left-handed ace Chris Sale at Truist Park.
Shohei Ohtani is batting fifth for the Dodgers today
“I had a good conversation with him last night, told him my thoughts,” Roberts said. “And he completely understood.”
Indeed, the move wasn’t unexpected, after the physically diminished slugger opened this series with just two singles in a two-game split back in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) leaves the dugout after losing game two of the NLDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs to the Atlanta Braves at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
By moving Ohtani down, the Dodgers were trying to limit the number of times he potentially faces Sale (who has held him to a 3-for-15 mark in their previous head-to-head matchups). The club is also hoping to see a better approach from the four-time MVP, after he struck out twice on Sunday while repeatedly chasing pitches outside the strike zone.
“He wants to do whatever will help the team,” Roberts said, noting that Ohtani joked he almost came to Roberts during his injury-hampered slump in September to say, “Why don’t you hit me seventh?”
That, of course, was tongue-in-cheek.
But Ohtani’s acceptance of Tuesday’s lineup move –– which Roberts emphasized was just a one-day adjustment to the matchup with Sale –– felt genuine to the veteran manager.
“I just feel this gives us the best chance to beat the Braves today,” Roberts said. “To combat Sale, to combat what they’re going to throw after Sale. And I feel good about it.”
The Dodgers took other measures for their showdown with Sale — who topped even his 2024 Cy Young Award-winning performance this season by going 14-9 with a 2.16 ERA, including a five-hit shutout of the Dodgers when he last faced them in August at Truist Park.
Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Kike Hernandez takes part in a team workout at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. The workout is ahead of Game 1 of the National League Division Series. CHRIS TORRES/EPA/ShutterstockLos Angeles Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas watches his hit for a double during the second inning of Game 2 of a National League Division Series baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
At third base, the left-handed-hitting Max Muncy was replaced for a second straight game by veteran Miguel Rojas, who was batting sixth.
At second base, slumping switch-hitter Tommy Edman was swapped out for veteran playoff performer Kiké Hernández, who will get his first start of this year’s postseason as the No. 9 hitter.
“Today, we know we’re in for a battle,” Rojas said. “We know what he’s going to feature. We know his stuff. It comes down to execution on the day … We are going to have to fight every pitch, every out. And that’s what we’re in for.”
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 7: Anthony Rizzo particpates in a pregame segment on NBC Sports prior to a game between the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field on June 7, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The former Yankee joined NBC Sports broadcast team as an “Inside the Pitch” analyst this season and shared his perspective from the booth as the Yankees swept the Red Sox in two games. He’s been back at Yankee Stadium for a few games during the season, but Rizzo explained that returning to the Bronx this time in late September felt a lot different.
“The drive to the stadium for the first game was a different feeling,” Rizzo told Pinstripe Alley. “I was like ‘Oh wow, I’m driving into a playoff game but I’m not playing.‘ I had a little bit of adrenaline going, but had to relax because I’m on the broadcast team now.”
However, after watching Payton Tolle ply his craft and Cam Schlittler throw consistently over 100 mph throughout the battle in Game 1, Rizzo admitted he was ultimately glad he wasn’t facing either. He also shared that the atmosphere in the Bronx during the playoffs is so uniquely intense that it makes a huge impact in every at bat.
“When the momentum is going it’s all sunshine and rainbows,” Rizzo said. “On the other end, when it’s not going well, that Yankee Stadium crowd can suffocate the home team. It’s really important as a player to get the crowd behind you in a good way, because we all know that Yankees fans are very passionate and will let you know how they’re feeling immediately. When the Bronx Zoo is Bronx Zooing, there’s no better place.”
Following the series sweep that sent the Yankees to face the Rays in the ALDS, Rizzo shared his key to get ahead of Tampa Bay as they look to advance to their first ALCS since Rizzo’s own playing days in pinstripes, back in 2024.
“If they can keep the Rays’ big three, Díaz, Aranda, and Caminero Jr. at bay, I think they have a great chance. At the end of the day, it’s all about timely hitting.”
Down 0-2 in the series following the 5-2 loss, the Yankees will look to stay alive as they return to the electric Bronx atmosphere for Game 3 on Wednesday night.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale throws during a spring training workout Thursday, Feb. 27th at CoolToday Park in North Port. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
Both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Chicago White Sox took big steps toward wrapping up their ALDS series early as they won on Monday to take 2-0 leads over the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians. The Yankees just fell apart defensively behind their ace, probably AL Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler. The Rays don’t strike out much, and their mix of contact and speed, a mix the Tigers are finally working towards themselves, just had the Yankees flummoxed all game long while Freddy Peralta threw a good game for them.
Meanwhile, the Guardians just aren’t hitting much at all, and with Jose Ramirez a non-factor, it’s hard to see that changing too much under the pressure of needing to win three straight games now to advance. The White Sox just seem to have the vibes, and after dismissing them for about 15 years everytime they put together a solid roster, and being correct, I am no longer feeling that way. That’s a hungry young team playing loose and getting it done right now. We’ll see if they can put the series away on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, it will be the National League back in action, while the American League teams take a travel day to the lower seeds’ parks for Game 3 and 4, if necessary. The Brewers can knock out the Padres in Petco Park, while the Dodgers head to Truist Park in Atlanta tied 1-1 with the Braves.
Here are today’s matchups.
Dodgers at Braves: Truist Park, 6:00 p.m. ET on FS1
RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9, 2.53 ERA) takes on LHP Chris Sale (14-9, 2.16 ERA).
Brewers at Padres: Petco Park, 9:30 p.m. ET on FS1
RHP Dustin May (7-9, 4.70 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (3-2, 2.86 ERA)
Los Angeles, CA - August 16, 2026: Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) and Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas (72) talk in the dugout before an MLB game against the Milwaukee Brewers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Dodgers have a tall task against a rested Chris Sale in Game 3 of the National League Division Series, after scoring three runs in 16 innings against the ace left-hander during the regular season. They also will have Shohei Ohtani batting fifth, his lowest spot in a starting lineup since 2020 with the Angels.
“I think moving him from 1 to 2 — but going further than that? I’m open to it,” Roberts said Monday. “And it’s something that if I do, I would obviously have the conversation with Shohei to explain why.”
The Dodgers are also looking for their first hit with a runner in scoring position in the series, with a related problem that they only have 10 plate appearances in those situations through two games. For what it’s worth, the Braves only have 14 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and have just one single in 10 at-bats.
Scoring has been very hard to come by in this series, other than when hitting a ball over the wall — none of which have come with more than a runner on first base.
With the left-hander Sale on the mound, the Dodgers once again have Miguel Rojas starting, after the veteran batted .293/.340/.469 with a 121 wRC+ against lefties this season.
Rojas got one at-bat in Game 2 against southpaw opener Ray Kerr, and doubled, before Max Muncy pinch-hit for him in the fourth inning. He has two singles in 13 career at-bats against Sale, including one of the Dodgers’ five hits in Sale’s shutout win on August 27.
Rojas plays second for Tommy Edman and bats sixth, and Kiké Hernández is starting at third base in place of Muncy and batting ninth.
“You’ve got Kiké, you’ve got Miggy Ro, you’ve got Muncy. We’ve got good options. I don’t see Josue De Paula being an option. I don’t see myself sitting Will Smith,” Roberts said Monday. “At the end of the day, our guys are our guys. And, yeah, I can tweak a lineup. I can kind of insert, take out a player or two. But at the end of the day we still have got to go out there and play and execute and take good at-bats.”
The switch-hitting Edman usually hits lefties well — 113 wRC+ this year, 118 wRC+ career — but hasn’t done much of anything for the last two months or so, hitting .201/.294/.329 over his last 46 games, including five hitless at-bats plus a walk in the NLDS. Edman started against Sale in Atlanta on August 27, but struck out in all three at-bats against him.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made some major changes to his lineup for Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday, Oct. 6 against the Atlanta Braves.
Postseason specialist Enrique Hernandez will step in for Tommy Edman at second base and Roberts dramatically shook up the batting order.
Battling injuries late in the season, Shohei Ohtani is facing questions about his effectiveness at the plate and was moved down to hit fifth in Game 3. Ohtani went 2-for-8 (two singles) in the first two games of the series and struck out twice in the Game 2 loss on Sunday.
With the Dodgers facing a left-handed starter for the third game in a row. $240 million man Kyle Tucker, who homered in Game 1, was dropped down to eighth in the order.
Los Angeles sends last year's World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the mound for Game 3 at Truist Park. Yamamoto had a 2.53 ERA in 28 starts during the regular season and has posted a 2.25 ERA in 56 career postseason innings.
Here's the Dodgers' starting lineup for Game 3 in Georgia:
Dodgers lineup today
Mookie Betts (R) SS
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Teoscar Hernández (R) LF
Will Smith (R) C
Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
Miguel Rojas (R) 2B
Andy Pages (R) CF
Kyle Tucker (L) RF
Enrique Hernández (R) 3B
Where to watch Dodgers vs Braves today: TV channel, streaming
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OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 20, 1988: General Manager Fred Claire, second from left, of the Los Angeles Dodgers being interviewed by CBS sports broadcaster Bob Costas, second from right, while Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley, far left, and manager Tommy Lasorda (C) holds the world series trophy after the Dodger beat the Oakland Athletics in game 5 to win the 1988 World Series, October 20, 1988 at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. The Dodgers won the series 4-1. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Fred Claire, the general manager of the World Series-winning Dodgers in 1988 and a longtime public relations executive with the team, died at his home in Pasadena on Monday night, his 91st birthday.
Claire’s time as Dodgers general manager was bookended by sudden upheaval. First in 1987, after Al Campanis was fired for his racist remarks about Black players and managers in baseball on the ABC show Nightline, Claire was plucked by owner Peter O’Malley to take over as GM after 18 seasons in the PR department. Then in 1998, Claire was ousted along with manager Bill Russell once the team’s sale to Fox was finalized.
In between, the Dodgers made the playoffs three times in Claire’s 10 full seasons as general manager, including winning the World Series in 1988.
The Dodgers after winning the National League West in 1985 lost 89 games in consecutive years, and Claire was a busy man in his first offseason as general manager after the 1987 season. The Dodgers were in talks to trade Pedro Guerrero to the Detroit Tigers for Kirk Gibson, but there was also the pending decision in MLB’s collusion case that would eventually make Gibson a free agent later that winter. The Dodgers in December signed Gibson, who won National League MVP and authored one of the most famous home runs in baseball history, hitting a walk-off home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
The Dodgers in December also signed outfielder Mike Davis, who averaged 22 home runs in each of the previous three seasons in Oakland. Davis was very bad in his time with the Dodgers, but did draw a pinch-hit walk ahead of Gibson’s home run in the World Series, and also homered in the Game 5 clincher in Oakland.
At the winter meetings, Claire was in simultaneous talks with the Toronto Blue Jays (for shortstop Manuel Lee), New York Mets, and Oakland A’s. After an all-night session of talks, the Dodgers on December 11 made a three-team deal that sent pitchers Bob Welch and Matt Young to Oakland, and Jack Savage to New York, with shortstop Alfredo Griffin plus relievers Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco going to the Dodgers.
“I knew that we had to do several things to improve,” Fred Claire told True Blue LA in 2017. “We went into those meetings with three things that had to be accomplished. We had to have a shortstop to stabilize our infield. We needed a closer and we needed a left-handed relief pitcher. It’s one thing to target one player or one position, but we had three needs.”
As luck would have it, the Dodgers would play the 100-win Mets in the National League Championship Series and the 104-win A’s in the World Series that year. They beat them both.
“Fred brought many victories and Dodger legends to our franchise, as well as the 1988 World Series title, and we are forever grateful for his leadership during such a memorable era,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said Tuesday. “Our hearts go out to his wife Sheryl and his family.”
The Dodgers under Claire also made the playoffs in 1995 as NL West champions and in 1996 as a wild card team. In 1994, after contract talks to retain Jody Reed stalled, so Claire traded for another infielder, getting Delino DeShields from the Montreal Expos. Going the other way was undersized 22-year-old right-hander Pedro Martínez, who would later win three Cy Young Awards, make eight All-Star teams, and sail into the Hall of Fame.
Claire was born in Ohio but moved with his family to California as a teenager and graduated from Torrance High School before earning a journalism degree from San Jose State in 1957.
He worked at the Whittier Daily News before moving to the Pomona Progress-Bulletin, where he was sports editor for seven of his nine and a half years at the newspaper. In 1968, Claire moved to the Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram to cover the Angels, and moved to the Dodgers beat in 1969, before getting hired by the team in July 1969 in public relations, becoming a vice president in that department in 1975.
When he was hired from the PR department as general manager in April 1987, Claire was aware of the criticisms coming his way for lack of experience, and speculation that his GM tenure might be a short-term affair.
