Category: Baseball

Go Rays!

The Nats handed the Phillies a damaging loss last night. They will look to repeat the trick tonight. The Phillies need this game for their playoff push, so they will come out with a point to prove tonight. However, these Nats have been playing good baseball at home lately.

Blake Butera is loading his lineup with lefties tonight. Dylan Crews is the only right handed hitter in the lineup. That means the likes of James Wood, CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile and Keibert Ruiz are back. We will also see Abi Ortiz and Jose Tena get starts. Jared Simpson will be the opener in a bullpen game.

The Phillies are making a couple changes at the bottom of their order. With a righty likely to get bulk work, lefties Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford will be in the 8 and 9 spot. Otherwise it is the same cast of characters as last night. The Phillies turn to another ace with Zack Wheeler on the bump.

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 6:45 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

There are only 10 games left in the season now. The Nats will look to get their most wins in a season since 2019 tonight. They also have a shot to win their 5th game in a row. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

Mets lineup

Francisco Lindor – SS
Juan Soto – LF
Bo Bichette – 3B
Carson Benge – RF
Jared Young – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
A.J. Ewing – CF
Brett Baty – DH
Luis Torrens – C

SP: Xzavion Curry – RHP

Orioles lineup

Dylan Beavers – LF
Pete Alonso – 1B
Gunnar Henderson – SS
Coby Mayo – DH
Christian Encarnacion-Strand – 3B
Samuel Basallo – C
Jeremiah Jackson – 2B
Rece Hinds – RF
Colton Cowser – CF

SP: Chris Bassitt – RHP

First pitch: 7:10 PM EDT
TV: ESPN
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

It’s been less than 24 hours since the Brewers clinched their fourth straight NL Central title, and their visiting locker room at PNC Park probably still smells like champagne. The Brewers are still playing for postseason positioning, though; they remain just two games up on the Dodgers for the top record (and homefield advantage) in the National League, and while they’ve built some cushion (5.5 games as of today) between themselves and the Braves, the Brewers still need to see things out to ensure that they can skip the Wild Card round.

While we might expect to see a little bit of a letup on the throttle (have you seen those gas prices?), tonight still offers a fun matchup between two excellent young pitchers. On the mound for the Brewers is Logan Henderson, the clear number two on the Brewers’ roster heading into the postseason. Henderson is making his 17th start, and looks to improve on what are some of the best rate stats in the league this season. Henderson’s remarkable run continues as he has not allowed more than three runs in any start all season, and has allowed even three just twice.

For the Pirates, it’ll be Jared Jones making his 18th start this year. It’s been a mixed bag for Jones in his age-24 season, but he’s on a roll in September: in 13 innings across two starts, he’s allowed just four hits and hasn’t allowed a run while striking out 17. Jones has an electric arm and he seems to be rounding back into form after missing all of 2025, so the Brewers will have their work cut out for them.

In the first version of Milwaukee’s lineup tonight, Garrett Mitchell was included, but he was a late scratch with “neck tightness.” Given the celebration last night, I’m not going to worry about it unless it lingers past tomorrow. Luis Lara will start in his place in center field, with Jackson Chourio and Jake Bauers flanking him. Andrew Vaughn is at first base, while Joey Ortiz is at third and Brice Turang at second. After missing last night’s game with illness, Cooper Pratt is back in the lineup. William Contreras is catching.

First pitch is at 5:40 pm on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.

When Shohei Ohtani hitting off a tee is positive news, you know you're in trouble.

The Los Angeles Dodgers can clinch their 13^th NL West crown in 14 years when they play the Reds in Cincinnati Wednesday, Sept. 16. But they have never looked so vulnerable with the playoffs set to begin in less than two weeks.

Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers' All-Star first baseman, missed two games recently for tendinitis in his right knee. His bat has been ailing, too. He’d gone 1-for-26 before finally breaking out Tuesday while going 3-for-5.

The optimist will point out the Dodgers have won 10 of their last 12 games. But during that stretch, they have piled up victories against subpar teams.

Whether Los Angeles is equipped to beat the best teams in baseball remains to be seen. After all, in August the Dodgers suffered three-game sweeps to the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves. They also lost three of four games to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Those are the caliber of teams the Dodgers have to beat to become the first National League club to win three straight World Series titles.

“Nobody wants to win anymore.” That was the only slightly hyperbolic thought that entered my mind as the Yankees and Twins engaged in an utter slog, the first act of which took the form of a normal Yankee loss. The Bombers trailed Minnesota 2-0 entering the ninth inning, before a heroic two-run double from Anthony Volpe brought everything back to square one. Volpe’s hit was a rousing moment—but friends, the torment was only beginning.

The Yankees took a pair of flimsy one-run leads in the 10th and 11th innings, and quickly blew them both. They then loaded the bases with nobody out in the 12th, and failed to score. In the 13th, they went down quietly, and the Twins won 5-4 on a misplayed ground ball by George Lombard Jr.

It almost feels like an afterthought now, but Aaron Judge left this game in the sixth inning with what was described as “lower right leg tightness.” Stay tuned for more updates on the Captain’s status as the Yankees prepare to fly to the desert.

If Carlos Rodón wanted to complete six or more innings for the second straight start, he would need to regroup from a busy first inning, in which he threw 24 pitches and surrendered the opening run on a single by veteran Josh Bell. The rally was catalyzed by leadoff man Luke Keaschall, who worked back from 0-2 down to slap a single. He then scored from second on Bell’s hit, though Cody Bellinger’s throw from left field nearly nabbed him at the dish.

Meanwhile, the young righty Zebby Matthews had Yankees hitters in a blender with his fastball-slider combo. He worked five spotless innings against New York, whose best opportunity to that point came in the third. Aaron Judge, after striking out in the first, came back up with two on and two out, but swung through Matthews’ fastball to retire the side. On the opening pitch of the at-bat, Judge checked his swing and appeared to grimace afterward. He struck out, played the field for the next few innings, then exited the game before his next at-bat. More on that later.

The Twins tacked on in the fifth. Second baseman Ryan Kreidler ambushed Rodón on his first pitch of the inning and sent it hurtling out to the seats in left for a 2-0 Minnesota lead. A double from rookie Ben Ross gave them another opportunity to add to their lead, but the Yanks forced him out between third and home. Then García made another fine play, sprawling to the ground and picking a sharp ground ball to retire the side.

The sixth inning brought the bad omen of Heliot Ramos entering off the bench to hit for Judge. At this point, we’re well past the point where an early exit from the game is normal. As anxiety mounted about the status of the Captain, Zebby Matthews completed yet another scoreless inning.

Rodón rallied to complete those six innings; they certainly weren’t the cleanest he’s ever tossed. Aaron Boone paid him a visit with one out in the sixth, but Carlos lobbied to stay in, and the skipper listened. He induced a flyout from Royce Lewis, then struck out Rodriguez to finish his day. He threw a season-high 102 pitches, striking out five and working around four hits and three walks. His season ERA is 2.95.

Clarke Schmidt made his long awaited return to the Majors in the seventh. He struck out Kreidler to begin his relief outing, then surrendered a pair of singles to get in a jam. He fell behind Austin Martin 3-0, but rallied to punch him out even as a double steal put two runners in scoring position. Boone took him out to keep him from throwing too many high-stress pitches in his first game back, and Brent Headrick got the final out to keep any runs from landing on his tab. His slider wasn’t obeying, but there were plenty of positive signs too. I’m looking forward to seeing more from Clarke in the Arizona series.

The Yankees got a late rally going in the eighth inning, loading the bases for Luis García Jr. with two outs against A.J. Minter. The veteran lefty reliever prevailed, however, striking García out with a high fastball to waste what appeared to be New York’s best shot to come back.

Following that missed opportunity, we learned the reason for Judge’s exit: right lower leg tightness. To my ear, that sounds like an ailment that shouldn’t result in a return to the injured list—but the Yankees are being understandably cautious with their franchise player. We’ll have more as additional information emerges.

Old friend Yoendrys Gómez entered in the ninth to close the Yankees out, and met more resistance. George Lombard Jr. poked a single with one out, then Paul Goldschmidt followed with a hit of his own. He exited for pinch runner José Caballero, putting plenty of speed on the bases and setting the table for Volpe. The Jersey boy played hero in Twinkie Town, blasting a ball off the high wall in right center field to score both runners and tie the game with New York down to their final out.

Volpe definitely thought he’d hit it out—and indeed it would have left Yankee Stadium comfortably—but it stood as a two-run double. Bellinger was unable to extend the rally which might have brought the Fox home, so it was up to Paul Blackburn to hold up his end and give the Bombers a chance to complete the sweep in extras. Blackburn obliged, and we went to the 10th. Little did we know Volpe’s big knock would condemn us to an interminable sequence of baseball, which Ramos began the inning with a swinging bunt to advance Bellinger, the Manfred man, to third. Then, of all people, Ali Sánchez came up in the cleanup spot and swatted a single past a drawn-in infield to bring Bellinger home and give the Yankees their first lead of the day. However, they failed to add on more runs—giving the Twins a chance to immediately respond.

And respond they did, as the pesky Keaschall singled off David Bednar to tie the game right back up. As another opening graf for this recap was unceremoniously mothballed, Bednar rebounded to strike out Ryan Jeffers and induce a twin killing from Bell.

The Bombers again only managed one tally in the 11th on a Caballero sacrifice fly, before Lewis decided two could play at that game and popped a sac fly of his own to even it back up at 4. Bednar refused to let this extremely-cool-and-good-extra-innings-ping-pong-match-that-everybody-loved-watching end, sentencing us to the 12th inning with a strikeout of Kreidler.

And suffering was indeed on the menu. The Yankees found a way to load the bases with nobody out—the kind of scenario where they might grab more than one run. A novel concept, I know. But Ramos, who I remind you was hitting in Judge’s spot, tapped into an elusive 1-2-3 double play. Some players just find a way. Sánchez was not about to play hero—he struck out to strand two runners in scoring position.

If you thought that was embarrassing, though, don’t worry. The Twins didn’t want to win either. Kreidler got himself picked off at second by John Schreiber, then Keaschall rolled into a 6-4-3 DP. I sure hope you wanted another inning of this!

There was only one more inning of whatever-this-was coming, mercifully. The Yankees failed to bring Sánchez home from second in the top of the 13th, then the game ended in one of the only way it could have ended: a bad misplay on defense. Veteran Victor Caratini came up in a pinch-hit spot and tapped a grounder off the mound toward second base. Lombard misjudged the hop and let the ball slip past him and into center field, scoring the winning run at long last. An ugly end to an ugly game, as the Yankees let the sweep slip away.

Thankfully, the Yankees have the day off tomorrow. That’ll be good news for this pitching staff, which had to run a marathon to keep them in it. Then on Friday night, the Yankees will open up a three-game weekend series against the Diamondbacks. Gerrit Cole will get the ball for a 9:40 p.m. first pitch on YES.

Box Score

MINNEAPOLIS — With a single pinch hitter, the outcome of Wednesday afternoon’s game suddenly felt a whole lot less relevant. 

Because Aaron Judge was the hitter being replaced in a two-run game, coming off an off-day, in his seventh game back from missing three-plus months with a stress fracture in his right rib. 

The Yankees lost 5-4 to the Twins in 13 innings at Target Field, but whether they lost more than that remains to be seen after Judge exited early with what the team said was right lower leg tightness. 

Neither Judge nor Aaron Boone would specify which part of the leg was the issue, or if he would be going for tests Thursday, though the back-to-back AL MVP later added, “probably not.” 

Judge said he felt the tightness while playing right field in the bottom of the first inning and initially tried to stick it out before deciding to say something about it after the fifth inning, at which point he was pinch hit for in the top of the sixth. 

“Tried to play it off and see how long we could go, because these games are important down the stretch,” Judge said. “But kind of talking it over, I thought it’d be the right move to come out so we don’t cost the team in the field or cost the team on the basepaths.” 

Judge has the benefit of an off-day Thursday, when he will continue to get treatment, but it was not immediately clear whether that would be enough to get him back in the Yankees lineup Friday against the Diamondbacks. 

“Obviously he’s a key figure to what we do,” Boone said. “Hopefully we get it treated and knock it out and [he can] be a factor at some point.” 

With 10 games left in the regular season, the Yankees (88-64) can ill afford to lose Judge again. They trail the Rays by four games for the division, ahead of Tampa’s game Wednesday night, but getting Judge back healthy in time for the playoffs outweighs whether or not they have to settle for the top AL wild card. 

The Yankees had been fairly cautious in easing Judge back into action after his extended absence and not going on a rehab assignment before returning. He had two days fully out of the lineup across his first six games, the most recent one coming Tuesday after he had played four straight games. That came on the back of hitting his first home run Monday night, when the Yankees clinched a playoff berth. 

Still, Judge having to exit Wednesday’s game early — after being unhappy about only playing six innings in his first game off the IL last week — was telling. 

“We’re still trying to ramp up, so there’s going to be little things like this that come up,” said Judge, who appeared to be hobbling in the field in the bottom of the fifth inning. “Just thought it’d be best, instead of pushing through it like I normally do and it might become a little worse, to get somebody who’s ready to go in there. Just trying to do what’s best for the team.” 

Judge likened it to dealing with nagging things every spring training while ramping up, which he had avoided during his comeback from the rib injury until Wednesday. 

“Hopefully it’s just one little thing and we’re back out there soon,” Judge said. 

Long after Judge was gone, the Yankees added insult to injury. Anthony Volpe tied the game in the ninth inning with a two-out, two-run double before the Yankees scored the automatic runner in the 10th and 11th innings. But they could not make it stand up either time, and then after not scoring with the bases loaded and no outs in the 12th, ultimately lost in the bottom of the 13th when Victor Caratini hit a ground ball up the middle that bounced under George Lombard Jr.’s glove, allowing the winning run to score for the Twins (71-81). 

And while it may have put another dent in the Yankees’ chances of chasing down the Rays for the division, that paled in comparison to the nightmare thought of Judge having to miss time again with the postseason less than two weeks away. 

“It’s never good when the best player on your team comes out of the lineup,” said Carlos Rodón, who allowed two runs in six innings. “Obviously I’m hoping he’s going to be OK.”

Prior to Wednesday night's rubber match game against the Orioles, Mets interim manager Andy Green provided a few injury updates and discussed Francisco Alvarez's recent struggles...

Confidence in Alvy

Alvarez is scuffling. 

The Mets backstop is riding the bench Wednesday in favor of Luis Torrens. 

Without an off day this week, Green thought it best to sit Alvarez for the series finale with Baltimore, and although the catcher is 1-for-9 in this series and batting .148 (4-27) over his last seven games, the Mets still believe in him.

"He has so much talent. We are going to continue to believe in him. For the rest of this season, he will continue to have at-bats, opportunity to play," Green said of Alvarez. "We have faith and confidence the performance will reflect what it has for the majority of his career: someone who has a ton of pop, has had a ton of big swings.

"Just like A.J. Ewing did, went through a tough stretch, we expect him to rebound from that tough stretch. We have confidence in Alvy and will continue to cheer him on, have great at-bats and finish the season strong. He’s put in real work with the hitting coaches and no one wants it more than he does."

Alvarez's struggles go beyond the last week. Over his last 15 games, Alvarez is batting .176 (9-for-51) with two home runs and 22 strikeouts. The 24-year-old is slashing .228/.310/.392 with an OPS of .702 to go along with 15 home runs and 37 RBI across 106 games. 

His 121 strikeouts are a career high, and if the season ended today, his SLG and OPS would be career lows. 

Duarte's season over

The Mets placed Daniel Duarte on the 15-day IL with a left hamstring strain Wednesday. The right-hander suffered the injury trying to cover home plate in extra innings in Tuesday night's loss. 

With the 15-day designation and not many games left, Duarte's season is officially over but Green praised the reliever's season.

"He’s had such a good season. He’s done so many good things," Green said. "It’s a tough loss; we don’t think it’s anything serious long term and he’ll ultimately be back. It’s a tough way for your season to come to a close. Just really impressed with the way he competed this year and a tough way to end the season."

Duarte made 24 appearances for the Mets this season, pitching to a 2.12 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP, and converting two saves in three opportunities.

Stock down

The other injury designation on Wednesday was Robert Stock landing on the IL with finger numbness, which Green says is a residual from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and has been feeling it for a little while. The team was optimistic Stock could make this last start, but after last night's extra-inning loss and the strain on the bullpen, the Mets felt it best to IL him now.

"Maybe the most unique individual I’ve been around in baseball," Green said of Stock. "He’s hungry to learn, hungry to grow, challenge norms and he has good stuff....Enjoy him very much."

The 36-year-old has had his ups and downs, but he helped stabilize the rotation following some trade deadline departures. 

In eight appearances (seven starts), he's pitched to a 5.93 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. 

With Stock out of the rotation, Green says the rotation will stay intact with the off day coming Monday before the Rangers series. The Mets will roll out the young four (Nolan McLean, Zac Thornton, Christian Scott and Jonah Tong) in the Phillies series and that will be the rotation, with Sean Manaea in the mix as well to wrap up the 2026 season.

Big Wheel keeps on turnin' as Phillies get back on winning track originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

WASHINGTON – This was a game the Phillies had to win. They had lost eight of 12 coming in. The losing prompted Kyle Schwarber to deliver a postgame pep talk through the media the night before. The Phils had one of their aces on the mound. They were facing a cast of relievers from the Washington Nationals, a team 10 games under .500 with the second-worst bullpen in the majors.

Repeat: This was a game the Phillies had to win.

And that’s just what they did. It wasn’t the prettiest win, at least from an offensive standpoint, but the Phillies did manage to beat the Nationals, 3-0, on Wednesday night to earn a split of a quick, two-game series before heading off to New York for four games with the Mets.

In need of something to feel good about in the starting rotation after Jesus Luzardo was placed on the injured list Tuesday and Cristopher Sanchez struggled in a 6-3 loss hours later, the Phils got it from Zack Wheeler. The 36-year-old right-hander was efficient and effective in firing seven shutout innings.

Wheeler has fully recovered from the second-half slump that saw him pitch to a 8.51 ERA in a six-start span from July 27 to August 24. In four starts since then, he has allowed just three runs in 26 innings. The Phillies have won all four games.

The victory left the Phillies at 84-68 with 10 games to play. They will open their series in New York on Thursday night no worse than second in the NL wild-card race.

Wheeler, who is 13-5 with a 2.99 ERA, is scheduled to make two more starts before the regular season ends. His final start would come on the last day of the regular season. The Phils would love to sew up a playoff spot before then so he could skip that start and take the mound for the playoff opener two days later.

Wheeler scattered four hits and a walk. He struck out five. He finished his night with a strikeout of Dylan Crews on a 96.6 mph fastball. He threw an economical 91 pitches. Jose Alvarado and Jhoan Duran completed the shutout.

The Nationals started rookie Jared Simpson in a bullpen game. He walked four batters and gave up a hit in the first inning as the Phillies ran out to a 2-0 lead. Alec Bohm had an RBI single and Bryson Stott drew a bases-loaded walk in the inning. Luis Arraez followed a Bryce Harper single with an RBI double in the seventh to complete the scoring. In all, Washington pitchers walked an obscene total of 13 batters. The Phillies could have done more — they should have done more — but they had only five hits. They were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base.

(More coming…)

The Tigers’ winning streak ended at six as they lost to the Jays 5-1.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Tigers were hoping to continue their winning streak by sweeping the Blue Jays. To get the job done, they had new dad Keider Montero on the mound, up against old friend Max Scherzer for the Jays.

Colt Keith got things going for the Tigers with a two-out double in the top of the first. A Riley Greene single then brought Keith home and put the Tigers on the board nice and early.

In the home half Brett Bateman singled to start the inning. With one out, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled. Two outs then followed, ending the threat and leaving two men stranded.

Heading into the second, Brett Callahan took a two-out walk, but the Tigers weren’t able to convert the run. In the bottom of the inning, Brandon Valenzuela singled, followed by a Myles Straw single. A third out ended the inning with no runs scored.

Kevin McGonigle got a leadoff single to start the third. However, with one out, McGonigle tried to steal second and was tagged out for the second out of the inning. Colt Keith then walked, but a Riley Greene out ended the inning. In the home half, Guerrero Jr. got a one-out walk, but George Springer hit into a double play to end the inning.

In the top of the fourth, Spencer Torkelson took a two-out walk, but the Tigers weren’t able to extend their lead. In the bottom of the inning, Kazuma Okamoto got a leadoff single, then Josh Smith doubled, sending Okamoto to third. An Ernie Clement sac fly scored Okamoto and tied up the game 1-1. With two outs, Smith had advanced to third, then Straw singled, bringing in another run and putting the Jays in the lead. Straw was then caught stealing to end the inning.

The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the top of the fifth. The day was done for Montero after the rough showing in the fourth. His final line was 4.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K on 89 pitches. He was replaced by Tyler Holton. Bateman singled, then advanced to second thanks to a sac bunt by Nathan Lukes. The Jays got runners on the corners after Guerrero Jr. hit into a force out that got Lukes out at second but advanced Bateman to third. Springer then singled to bring in another run. Okamoto grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Jays were leading 3-1 at the end of five.

Mason Fluharty replaced Scherzer after five innings of solid work from the veteran. Fluharty got the Tigers out in order. Drew Sommers came out to pitch in the home half. Clement reached on a fielding error by John Peck. Valenzuela then reached on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error by Peck allowed Clement to score and Valenzuela to end up safely at second. Myles Straw then reached on a fielding error by McGonigle, and three errors in a row is some pretty inexcusable fielding for a team hoping to make a last-ditch bid for the postseason, just saying. Bateman hit into a force out that eliminated Straw. Lukes then hit a soft single right back at Sommers, allowing Valenzuela to score. A third out finally ended the inning, but it was a rough one for the Tigers.

Spencer Miles was the next reliever out of the Jays’ pen. Torkelson got a one-out single, but the Tigers were not able to bring him home, as two outs followed. Tyler Kinley came in for the Tigers in the home half, and for the first time in the game, got the Jays out in order.

McGonigle singled to start the eighth. Then Gleyber Torres got a one-out single to bump McGonigle over to third. But despite being in a good position to score, the Tigers weren’t able to capitalize. Valenzuela got a one-out walk, but a double play then ended the inning.

Max Clark singled to start the ninth, followed by a walk from Torkelson. Louis Varland replaced Miles. He got three outs in a row to end the inning and the game, unfortunately shutting down the Tigers’ opportunity for a rally. Thus endeth the winning streak.

Final: Jays 5, Tigers 1

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, September 16, 2026, 6:40 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are hosting the NL Central rival Milwaukee Brewers for the second contest of a three-game set at PNC Park.

The Brewers are going with Logan Henderson, who is making his 17th start of the season. In his first full season in the major leagues, he is making quite an impact for the Brewers.

Henderson went five innings, giving up two hits in his last start on August 9 against the Chicago Cubs. The Brewers came out on top in an 8-6 victory. He also pitched against the Pirates earlier this season on August 4, going six innings, giving up four hits and two runs in a 4-2 victory at American Family Field.

Meanwhile, the Pirates are going with Jared Jones, who is making his 19th start of the season. Jones has been electric in September, pitching 13 innings without giving up a run. He picked up the victory on August 4 at home against the Los Angeles Angels and was the winning pitcher against the Chicago White Sox on August 10 in his last start, when he gave up just one hit in seven scoreless innings. Jones also pitched in the aforementioned August 4 game at PNC Park, giving up eight hits and three runs in four innings of work as the Pirates lost 4-2.

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Logan Henderson (10-3, 2.34 ERA) vs. Jared Jones (4-6, 4.10 ERA)

BD community, this is your game thread against the Milwaukee Brewers. Chime off in the comments section below.

Yesterday, the Athletics opened their final road-trip of the season with a 2-1 walk-off loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite the tough defeat, right-hander Jack Perkins’ quality start gave the team a positive take away heading into today’s middle game of the series.

Injury Update

Before the game, the A’s received promising news concerning minor league outfielder Ryan Lasko, who suffered a serious spinal cord injury earlier this season. He fractured the C6-C7 vertebrae in his neck after colliding with teammate Devin Taylor while chasing a fly ball in a game a few months ago.

Game Preview

Shifting back to the contest, left-hander Brady Basso will start this evening for the A’s. The 28-year-old left-hander enters his 24th appearance and sixth start of the season with a 1-2 record, a 3.86 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 37 1/3 innings.

Basso has been stretched out over his last three appearances, serving as the opener in two of them. In his most recent outing against the Toronto Blue Jays, the southpaw effectively functioned as the Athletics’ starter, tossing a season-high four scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Basso pitched in one game when the A’s faced the Rays in Sacramento, allowing one run on three hits over two innings of relief. The Athletics would welcome another strong outing from Basso in his second appearance and first start against Tampa Bay.

However, if Basso struggles and winds up only pitching an inning or two, the A’s have a relatively well-rested bullpen ready to pick him up and pitch the rest of the game. Hard-throwing right-handers Luis Medina and Elvis Alvarado only threw three pitches last night, with Alvarado allowing Junior Caminero’s walk-off home run.

Here’s the Athletics’ lineup for tonight’s matchup:

Having lost their 90th game of the season in the series opener, this lineup offers little hope for a bounce-back win. The quality of the lineup falls off dramatically after the top five, but that is unsurprising for this injury-plagued club playing out the remainder of its fifth straight losing season.

Shortstop Donovan Walton has been a nice find. Is the journeyman infielder’s level of success sustainable, or will he find himself on the fifth different team of his career next season? Also haven’t the A’s seen enough of left fielder Carlos Cortes and first baseman Tommy White lately to know that they do not bring enough to the table on either side of the ball?

White’s prospect pedigree has failed to show up through his first 45 MLB games, as he has gone from a defensively challenged slugger in college to an improving, but still defensively limited singles hitter in professional baseball. At least center fielder Denzel Clarke, who is sitting on the bench once again, has a standout glove in his toolbox.

Given the players starting and the Rays’ pitcher tonight, it would not be surprising if the A’s struggle offensively for a second consecutive night. If the A’s want a series-evening victory, the team will need its regulars at the top of the lineup to lead the way.

The Rays, meanwhile, have right-hander Nick Martinez taking the ball. The 36-year-old has been a revelation in his first season with Tampa Bay, playing a major role in the team’s league-best performance. Martinez enters his 29th start of the season with a 14-4 record, a 2.92 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP and 98 strikeouts over 166 1/3 innings. While the veteran does not rack up the strikeouts, he does an excellent job of inducing soft contact and limiting baserunners.

The right-hander pitched a complete game, helping the Rays sweep the Athletics when these teams met in Sacramento last month. Martinez has had plenty of success against the Green and Gold throughout his career, going 5-5 with a 2.90 ERA and 52 strikeouts in his first 17 appearances against the A’s.

Will Martinez continue to dominate A’s batters, or will the Athletics’ offense find a way to score runs against the crafty veteran?

Tampa Bay’s starting nine:

The Rays are rolling with a lineup loaded with right-handed hitters to counter Basso. That means first baseman Ryan Vilade, center fielder Jonny DeLuca, second baseman Nick Madrigal and catcher Nick Fortes all get their first starts of the series.

Should the A’s replace Basso with a right-hander, it is highly likely that left-handed hitters Liam Hicks and Jonathan Aranda will come off the bench to pinch-hit, especially in late-game or run-scoring situations. Until then, Basso and the rest of the Athletics’ pitching staff must be particularly careful with Yandy Díaz and Caminero, who has hit two walk-off home runs in a span of five days.

Time to beat the Rays for the first time this season. Let’s go A’s!

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The Yankees were walked off by the Twins, 5-4, in the 13th inning of Wednesday's series finale at Target Field.

Here are some takeaways...

-- The Yanks continue to be plagued by the injury bug. In just his seventh game back from his long IL stint, Aaron Judge was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth due to right lower leg tightness. The captain went 0-for-2 in his two at-bats before leaving, striking out both times.  

-- To make matters worse, the Yanks offense wasn't able to solve Twins starter Zebby Matthews. The right-hander came into the day with nine runs allowed over his past two starts, but he limited New York to four baserunners (two BB, two hits) while striking out eight across six scoreless innings.  

-- Carlos Rodon did a good job of keeping New York in it. The left-hander had to battle through traffic in a couple of innings, but held the Twins to two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out five across six frames. He's now down to a 2.95 ERA through 15 starts this season. 

-- Clarke Schmidt had an up-and-down first outing back at the big-league level. The right-hander struck out two batters but allowed a pair of singles in between, leaving with two in scoring position and two outs. Brent Headrick entered and struck Ryan Jeffers out to strand the pair. 

-- The Yankees wasted a big opportunity in the eighth, but finally broke through in the ninth. Anthony Volpe continued swinging a hot bat, lifting a two-run double off the right-center fence, evening things up and handing Twins closer Yoendrys Gomez his first blown save of the season. 

-- Both teams converted the free runner in the 10th and the 11th. David Bednar did a tremendous job of keeping this game alive for the Yanks, escaping a first-and-second nobody-out jam in the 10th, then stranding the winning run in scoring position in the bottom of the 11th. 

-- New York wasted a bases-loaded threat in the 12th, but kept Minnesota off the board. The Yanks were held scoreless again in the 13th, and then the Twins made them pay. A Victor Caratini single snuck under George Lombard Jr's glove leading off the frame, bringing home a run and ending the marathon series-finale.

-- The two teams went a combined 7-for-30 with runners in scoring position on the afternoon. 

Highlights

Brand new ballgame 👏@Volpe_Anthony 🦊 pic.twitter.com/kDBrm6d8wm

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 16, 2026

What's next

The Yanks are off on Thursday, but continue their road trip Friday against the Diamondbacks. 

Arizona hasn't announced a starter, but Gerrit Cole will take the ball for New York with a 9:40 first pitch.  

The Dodgers on Wednesday activated Kris Bubic off the 60-day injured list, adding the left-hander they acquired from the Kansas City Royals on the August 3 trade deadline.

Bubic is a starting pitcher by trade and made the All-Star team in 2025, but has been sidelined since mid-May with elbow soreness, and during his rehab also experienced shoulder soreness. In six rehab appearances for Triple-A Oklahoma City, Bubic did not allow a run in 5 2/3 innings, allowing only two singles and two walks, and struck out nine of his 21 batters faced, a 42.9-percent strikeout rate.

Last week he checked off the usual reliever boxes of pitching on back-to-back days (last Wednesday and Thursday) and pitched in parts of two innings (1 1/3 innings on Sunday).

Paul Gervase was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room on the active roster for Bubic. Gervase was just called up on Monday, but did not pitch in either of the last two games, especially with Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto each throwing seven scoreless innings in their starts.

Ryan Ward was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Bubic, who was on the 60-day injured list. Ward was added to the 40-man roster last November and played in 20 games in his two stints with the Dodgers this season, including the 28-year-old making his major league debut in April.

Ward hit .218/.283/.455 with three home runs, four doubles, and 12 RBI in his 60 major league plate appearances with the Dodgers. For Triple-A Oklahoma City this year — his fourth season with the Comets, which included winning Pacific Coast League MVP in 2025 — Ward hit .249/.349/.429 with 18 home runs in 105 games. He started at designated hitter in Wednesday’s day game for Oklahoma City in El Paso, but was pinch-hit for in the sixth inning, facilitating this roster move.

Texas Rangers lineup for September 16, 2026 against the Boston Red Sox: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers and Jake Bennett for the BoSox.

Texas looks to extend their winning streak to four games this evening. They are facing Jake Bennett, whose name reminds me of Josh Beckett, and who I thus feel should be a righthanded pitcher, but who is instead a lefthanded pitcher. The righthanded-heavy lineup is being utilized.

The lineup:

Foscue — 2B

Seager — SS

Jung — 3B

Burger — 1B

Nimmo — RF

Langford — LF

Duran — CF

Diaz — DH

Jansen — C

7:05 p.m. Central start time. The game is a pick ‘em.