The elder Montgomery has homered in two consecutive games. | Getty Images
The White Sox are set to conclude their season series against the Minnesota Twins under the bright lights of Sunday Night Baseball. Bryan Hudson will be the opener for the Sox, his eighth time appearing in the role this year. He’s been largely effective to this point, allowing three earned runs over eight innings leading off a game, with five of those seven stints being scoreless.
It’s a selection of opener that would seem to indicate a confidence in him beyond the simple platoon advantage, as the Twins 2-3-4 hitters will all be facing Hudson from the right side. Manager Derek Shelton is alternating his lefties and righties at the bottom of the lineup, so given that José Urquidy lines up as today’s logical bulk man despite being on somewhat short rest, it might not be surprising to see Will Venable try to stretch Hudson for two innings to start things out against this lineup:
Venable counters with the team’s A-lineup, so to speak, against soft-tossing righthander Bailey Ober. He’s found a solid level of success against the Sox in the past, holding them to two runs (one earned) over five innings just last week, and running an overall 3.56 ERA in 16 starts countering the Pale Hose, the most he’s ever seen of one team. Chase Meidroth and Colson Montgomery have both notched homers against him, so having already connected on homers in consecutive games, a hope for what has already seemingly become a patented homer binge from Montgomery may be alive and well.
This is a Sox lineup that has zero postseason experience beyond platooner Andrew Benintendi and, if you want to count it, Munetaka Murakami in his native Japan. Playing in prime time on national TV doesn’t exactly have the same caché in baseball as the prestige of being featured on Sunday or Monday Night Football, but NBC’s decision to flex the Sox to this game should be taken with some pride. Does anyone care to guess the date of the last time the South Siders played a) on Sunday night b) at home c) while in first place?
At least we’ll have a friendly face in the booth. While I certainly wouldn’t want Jason Benetti to push the boundaries of his professionalism, there is a real part of me that wants to judge, by his approach to tonight’s game, whether we have any long-term hope of what would probably be the most joyous Chicago sports reunion since the words “I’m back” hit the newswires.
First pitch will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock at 5:20 p.m. CT. though Len Kasper and Darrin Jackson will be there with their usual radio broadcast on WMVP AM 1000. See you in the comments!
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 08: The moon is seen during the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Milwaukee Brewers on August 8, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Brewers 11-4. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A few weeks ago, this contest was flexed into NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball—something that doesn’t often happen with matchups that aren’t LA/SF, BOS/NYY, or CHI/STL. Hey, at least someone somewhere said “we want to see the Twins in primetime” as late as the month of September—perhaps a win in and of itself!
This got me thinking about MN performance under the fluorescents versus in the glory of the planet Sol. A few stats on the subject (2010+ because in the Metrodome it was of course all Teflon all the time)…
Night Games
41-44 this season
Best: 66-37 (.641) in 2019
Worst: 36-62 (.367) in 2013
Since 2010: 779-836 (.482)
Day Games
27-30 this season
Best: 35-24 (.593) in 2019
Worst: 19-37 (.339) in 2012
Since 2010: 480-537 (.472)
Though nowhere near statistically significant, the Twins have fared slightly better under artificial lighting than the real deal. Hopefully that bodes well for the visitors this holiday weekend night (kinda—what a weird 5:20 PM start) within the AL Central as they try to take the series from the Sox.
Perdomo singled in the top of the third inning, and the next batter, Ketel Marte, hit an 93 mph line drive. Perdomo tried to get out of the way and covered up but was hit on the helmet. He dropped to the ground and was looked at by a trainer then eventually was helped up and left under his own power.
He was ruled out because he was hit by a batted ball. Nolan Arenado hit a two-run home run in the inning to give Arizona a 3-1 lead. The Diamondbackswon 3-2.
Perdomo was replaced at shortstop by Ildemaro Vargas, and Tim Tawa took Vargas' spot at first base.
Arizona's Geraldo Perdomo was struck in the head by a 93 mph line drive off the bat of teammate Ketel Marte and was down a few minutes before walking off the field without assistance. pic.twitter.com/3ig1cNyrug
In just a few weeks, Pete Crow-Armstrong is expected to join Ernie Banks in a select group: Chicago Cubs players who have won National League Most Valuable Player honors.
Yet PCA has already one-upped Mr. Cub in one category.
Crow-Armstrong became the youngest player in franchise history to hit 40 home runs, reaching the honor on Sunday, Sept. 6 with a low line drive just inside the right field foul pole at loanDepot Park, a game-tying fifth-inning shot off Miami Marlins right-hander Tyler Phillips.
While the Cubs would go on to lose the game 10-3, there's little to stop the Summer of PCA.
He's now second in the major leagues with 40 homers, trailing only Philadelphia DH Kyle Schwarber's 42, and his 8.6 WAR leads all position players. At 24 years, 165 days old, Crow-Armstrong is 49 days younger than Banks was when the Hall of Famer hit his 40th home run in 1955, the first of his eight consecutive All-Star seasons.
Banks would win NL MVP honors in 1958 - hitting a career-best and major league-high 47 homers - and 1959. He's one of 11 Cubs players to win the award.
Crow-Armstrong, with his .946 OPS, 33 stolen bases and defensive metrics that lap his rival center fielders, is expected to supplant the currently idled Shohei Ohtani, who won the past two NL MVPs.
For now, though, Crow-Armstrong has banked 40 homers for a club firmly entrenched in an NL playoff position.
"Forty homers, it's a hard number to get to," Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters in Miami. "And the season's not over."
Sep 6, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Josh Smith (9) celebrates while running the bases against the Kansas City Royals after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Jays 1 Royals 6
This one, well, it was a great game to watch. Right from the first inning. Brett Bateman was hit by a pitch to start the game, but Nathan Lukes hit into a double play, and Vladimir Guerrero grounded out.
And the bottom of the inning went single (roller down the first base line, and by the time Spencer Arrighetti got to the ball, it was a single (not that he didn’t throw to first, wide, but no harm; no foul). Next batter walked, and Vinnie Pasquantino homered. 3-0 before we got an out. After that, there were three quick outs, horses and barn doors and all.
The Royals got two more in the third, on a Salvador Perez home run. And one more in the fifth, on a walk, hit-by-pitch, and single.
Arrighetti went 4.2 innings with 6 hits, 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. The unfortunate thing is that we don’t have enough starting pitchers; Arrighetti will have to figure it out.
The bullpen threw 3.1 innings of 1-hit ball, with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts. Braydon Fisher (0.1 innings), Ricky Tiedemann (1.2 innings) and Joe Mantiply (1.1 innings) all pitched.
Offensively, we ended up with 8 hits, one more than the Royals, but the Royals had two homers to our one. Josh Smith put up our only run on a home run.
Bateman had 3 hits. Lukes, Straw, McAdoo, Smith and Springer each had one hit.
But several went hitless: Vlad, Sanchez, Okamoto, Keys, Gimenez and Valenzuela.
Jay of the Day? No one had the number, but let’s give one to Bateman (0.07).
Other Award: Arrighetti (-0.29) and Lukes (-0.09).
Two of three with the Royals is good. Three of three would be better, but we want it to be exciting.
The Jays are flying off to Las Vegas (no, no), Oakland (nope), Sacramento to play the A’s. Tomorrow, Dylan Cease and Jacob Lopez are the starters. It is a late start, 10:00 Eastern. Let’s win another series.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 06: Geraldo Perdomo #2 of the Arizona Diamondbacks leaves the game in the third inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on September 06, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Diamondbacks came into the game looking for a series win, and with a little bit of luck, putting some more space between their competition for the final NL Wild Card spot. Having Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound was a point in their favor, but the offense still RVSP’d maybe when invited to the game.
The Diamondbacks were quiet in the top of the first, with the only baserunner being a Geraldo Perdomo hit by pitch, and that allowed the Astros to strike first. E-Rod got Jeremy Pena to ground out, but Yordan Alvarez absolutely clobbered one for a solo home run. That was the first indication that Rodriguez didn’t have his best stuff today, but the next few batters hammered that home, even if there wasn’t much damage done. He walked both Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker, but alternated those walks with a line out from Jose Altuve and got out of the jam with a Nelson Velasquez strike out. 0-1 Astros
This, of course, did raise some concerns amongst the faithful about the early need to score more than one run. That’s been a challenge for the Diamondbacks, last night’s four run outbreak aside. The offense decided to do some to assuage those fears, but did not manage to score multiple runs right away. Corbin Carroll started off the second inning with a double, advanced on a sac bunt from Tommy Troy, and then scored on a sac fly from James McCann. Illdemaro Vargas tried to keep things going with a two out single, but Lawler was unable to step up and ended the inning with a line out to third. Tied 1-1
Rodriguez issues with command continued right away in the bottom of the second, walking Dalton Varsho. Never a good idea to walk someone like him, as he showed when he stole second to get into scoring position two outs later. Too late for it to matter, though, as Jeremy Pena only saw three pitches and flew out to end the inning.
The third inning was… something. Perdomo singled to lead off the inning, bringing Ketel Marte to the plate. Marte got an 86 MPH changeup down and away and turned it around for what looked like an easy single. The only with that is the ball also acted as a heat seeking missel straight to Perdomo’s helmet. He hit the ground immediately and quickly found himself surrounded by trainers from both teams. Eventually he left under his own power to a nice ovation from the Houston crowd, as one does.
The official scoring on the play was a single for Marte, and Perdomo was out on runners interferrence. So one out, Marte at first. Gabi, playing as the DH today, popped out for the second out, bringing Nolan Arenado to the plate. A 2-2 count set the table, and the player with the second most home runs became tied for first. Arenado put one in the seats and just like that the Diamondbacks had scored more than one run for the second game in a row. 3-1 Diamondbacks
Great pitchers can make it work without their best stuff. Rodriguez clearly did not have his best stuff today, but frankly got better as the game went on, even with that limitation. The third inning saw him take the mound with a lead, and he did not waste it. He gave up a single in the third, but nothing else. He sat down the side in order in the fourth and fifth, while facing 1-5 of the Astros line up in the process. After throwing 25 pitches in the first, one would be forgiven for wondering how far Rodriguez would go in the game, but he went out for the sixth anyway. He didn’t quite have a third 1-2-3 inning, but worked around a one out single to end his day. Final line 6 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, and 1 HR.
Apologies if it seems like I’m moving through the game without talking much about the offense, but after that Arenado home run they took an extended break from the game. From the final out of the third, Peter Lambert sat down 12 in a row, including just a six pitch sixth inning, into the seventh inning. It took another hit by pitch for that streak to be broken (Naturally Jordan Lawler, because of course it was). Would of been nice if they had made something of that, and for a moment it looked like they might when it was followed by a Tim Tawa single.
The bottom of the seventh was interesting, especially if you like gamesmanship in your baseball. Juan Morillo came in to relieve Rodriguez, and ended up putting two on with two outs. Yordan Alvarez was due up, and Brandyn Garcia was trying to warm up in the bullpen to face him, but wasn’t quite ready. The entire team went into hard core buy time mode. First Kaplan came out for a mound visit, then when that finished they waited as long as would be allowed before a pitch clock violation before McCann went out for a second visit. They milked that as long as they could, and the Astros fans were loudly getting restless. That broke up, they waited some more, then Morillo took a disengagement. The Astro fans got very upset at that one. That finally bought enough time and Lovullo made the expected move.
That wasn’t the end of the drama, however. Brandyn Garcia still needed to face the presumptive AL MVP in a big situation for the second game in a row. As Josh Collmenter mentioned several times on the broadcast, Garcia is really blossoming into a great reliever for this team, and he showed it once again today. Alvarez only saw three pitches, then popped up harmlessly to end the inning, and the lead remained.
The Astros weren’t finished putting pressure on the Diamondbacks bullpen. Next up was Johnathan Loaisiga. He gave up a one out double to Altuve, his 2,499th career hit. He moved to third on a bloop single from friend-turned-enemy Christian Walker, putting runners on the corners. Another softly hit single, this time from LaMonte Wade Jr. brought Altuve home on another bloop single. Another friend-turned-enemy came to the plate, this time Dalton Varsho. Loaisiga struck him out on four pitches to get the second out, and so very close to getting out of the inning with a lead. Taylor Trammell hit the Astros’ third bloop hit, but this time Marte was able to chase it down in the outfield grass for the final out. 3-2 Diamondbacks
The bottom of the lineup was due up for the Dbacks in the top of the ninth. McCann lead things off with a single, and Vargas hit a very loud, very deep out to right center field. Lawler struck out, and then Tim Tawa flew out to Varsho in center to end the inning.
Kevin Ginkel got the call to close out the game. He would face Yanier Diaz as a pinch hitter to start, lead off hitter Pena, and then, once again, Yordan Alveraz. It started well with a strikeout… and then another strike out. It was the ideal situation, facing Alvarez with the bases empty, but I think I speak for all Diamondbacks fans when I say the nerves were there for sure. Ginkel, however, was unphased. He went right after Alvarez and struck out his third straight batter to end the game. Final
During the game, the team did give an update on Perdomo. They’re currently calling it a head contusion, but specified that he would continue to be monitored for the rest of today as well as tomorrow. That seems to rule him out for the first game of the Royals series, at the very least, and quite possibly more depending on what those evaluations show. Of course, we’re all sending good vibes his way, following a scary moment such as that.
I don’t think anyone will find it surprising that Eduardo Rodriguez lead the way with 25% WPA, nor that Nolan Arenado’s home run gave him the highest offensive WPA% at 15%. Marte was the other end of the spectrum at -12%, but no one else swung the needle too far in either direction.
COTD to gzimmern for accurately describing today’s game. They did, in fact, have to score more than one run
Great day looking up in the standings, with both the Cubs and Phillies losing. Below us, we aren’t getting much relief. The Marlins were the team that beat the Cubs. St. Louis is winning in Coors, and the Padres started their game off with three straight home runs off Gerrit Cole, not a sentence you hear often. Just need to keep winning.
Day game tomorrow, with the holiday. No word as of yet who will be the starter, and there is a good chance it ends up being a bullpen game. They’ll have high standards to live up to after their last outing. Until tomorrow!
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 06: Vinnie Pasquantino #9 of the Kansas City Royals rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Kauffman Stadium on September 06, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
An early 3-run home run from Vinnie Pasquantino and a 2-run home run from Salvador Perez put the Royals up 5-0, and they never looked back as they knocked off the Blue Jays 6-1 on Sunday.
After a couple nice plays in the top of the first inning, allowing Randy Dobnak to face the minimum, the Royals jumped out in front of the Blue Jays in the bottom of the frame.
John Rave, batting leadoff reached on an infield single, moved to second on a walk to Bobby Witt Jr., which cleared the way for Pasquantino, crushing a 3-run dinger, his 11th on the season, a 406-foot shot to right.
Fast forward to the bottom of the third inning, Jr. led off with a rocket of a double to left field, 112.5 mph off the bat, his 30th of the season. The Captain, Salvador Perez launched his 19th homer on the season, just over the wall in left center. 5-0 Royals on Salvy’s 322nd career homer.
Nick Loftin had an infield RBI single in the 5th to make it 6-0, but the story the rest of the way was the good pitching and defense the Royals played. Countless good plays along the infield helped Dobnak and the bullpen hold the Jays down.
Dobnak finished the day going 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, 1 run, striking out 3. Anthony Gose, Jose Cuas, Connor Thomas and Nolan Hoffman had scoreless outings to preserve the win.
The Royals drop the series but split the season series with Toronto. They are 64-80 on the season now. They open a 3-game series tomorrow afternoon against the Diamondbacks to close out the homestand. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. CT.
Trailing 2-0 in the eighth, Brett Baty hit a pinch-hit solo home run to cut the lead in half. Later in the frame, after the Giants elected to not pitch to Juan Soto, it was Bo Bichette playing hero, blasting a three-run homer to give the Mets the lead for good.
"Bo's a star,” interim manager Andy Green said after the game. “Stars should play like stars when they're on the baseball field. That's how we see him, that's what we think about him. I think when you look at who he's been since maybe the middle of May... it's been really, really good.
“That’s a huge swing, and like I said, we’ve got all the confidence in the world in him no matter what’s happened in a game up to that point in time that Bo was going to be equal to the task.”
Bichette even admitted there was “probably a little bit” of extra juice after Soto was walked by Giants reliever Carson Seymour in front of him.
“He deserves that respect, so I just go up there with the same plan,” said Bichette, who now has 16 home runs and 71 RBI on the season.
While the late-inning heroics will be what’s remembered most from Sunday’s win, Christian Scott’s effort on the mound shouldn’t go unnoticed.
Scott went just 4.2 innings, but he only allowed a pair of runs on four hits. He struck out seven Giants, and perhaps more importantly, he didn’t walk a single hitter.
“I didn’t get in many deep counts, besides the first inning,” Scott said. “I felt like I was able to establish the fastball really well today. I threw a lot of fastballs today, so was able to really establish the strike zone with that pitch, keep them honest with it, and then able to expand late. That was big for me, but … no walks, that’s gonna help us win games more times than not, so being able to be in the strike zone more effectively was huge today.”
The Mets took two out of three games from the Giants, and will head to Miami next for a series against the Marlins, starting on Monday afternoon at 1:10 p.m. on SNY.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 06: Bo Bichette #19 of the New York Mets celebrates his eighth inning three run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the dugout with his teammates at Citi Field on September 06, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Just when you thought the Mets were going to go quietly, an eighth-inning power surge changed the narrative Sunday in New York.
Brett Baty and Bo Bichette both homered in an epic eighth-inning rally to secure a 4-2 victory over the Giants, as the Mets stole a win and the series.
Stymied by Giants rookie pitcher Cesar Perdomo, the Mets finally broke through against the Giants bullpen thanks to Baty’s and Bichette’s heroics. Trailing 2-0, Baty pinch-hit for Nick Morabito and injected life into a sleepy game with a solo shot to get the Mets on the board. AJ Ewing singled before the Giants intentionally walked Juan Soto to get to Bichette. Perhaps the former All-Star took that personally, because Bichette crushed a three-run homer to take the lead and eventually the game.
Kodai Senga quickly retired the Giants in order in the ninth inning to earn the save and close out a good day for the Mets pitching staff, including a solid start from Christian Scott.
Up until the explosive eighth inning, the story was Perdomo, who made it look easy in his first career start. The Mets scored 15 runs in the first two games of the series with the Giants, but couldn’t get traction against the young pitcher.
The Mets had baserunners in each of the first three innings against Perdomo before he settled in to retire 10 straight batters. He gave up a walk to Francisco Lindor in the sixth, but Soto grounded into a double play to end the inning as Perdomo finished with six scoreless frames.
With Perdomo finally out of the game, Carson Benge laced a double down the right-field line in the seventh inning off of Giants reliever Joel Kuhnel. Jared Young and Marcus Semien couldn’t bring Benge home, setting the stage for Baty and Bichette in the eighth.
Scott, Nate Lavender, Jonathan Pintaro, and Tobias Myers all did their part to keep the Mets within striking distance and give the Mets a realistic chance for a late rally.
Scott was sharp early, throwing three perfect innings to start the game. He struck out the red-hot Rafael Devers with a devastating cutter in the first inning and kept it rolling from there, with a little help from the Mets’ fielders. To start the third, Morabito made a crashing catch into the wall to retire Grant McCray.
It seemed like Scott would cruise through the order for a second time after he struck out Drew Gilbert, then struck out Devers with another cutter. But the Giants finally got to Scott with two outs in the fourth, poking three straight hits, including a two-run single from Jung Hoo Lee.
The Giants had more base traffic in the fifth with the help of an error by Mark Vientos at first base. Drew Cavanaugh singled before Christian Koss sent a grounder down the line that Vientos couldn’t handle. The ball bounced away from Vientos, allowing Cavanaugh and Koss to advance to second and third. With Devers due up, interim manager Andy Green pulled Scott in favor of Lavender. Electing not to put Devers on the open first base, Lavender struck out Devers in a crucial at-bat.
Scott finished with seven strikeouts and zero walks across 4.2 innings. Pintaro pitched two scoreless innings with the help of a beautiful diving catch from Benge to end the sixth. Myers added a scoreless appearance of his own in his first Major-League action since July.
Giants reliever Carson Seymour took the loss after giving up four runs in the eighth inning. He had given up four runs total in his previous 13 appearances entering Sunday’s game. Baty’s pinch-hit homer was his first long ball since Aug. 10 in Atlanta. Bichette was 0-for-3 with a strikeout before his go-ahead home run.
The Mets travel to Miami for a series with the Marlins. Jonah Tong is scheduled to start the first game of the Marlins series Monday at 1:10 PM EDT. It’ll be Tong’s first Major League appearance since June 2.
Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, +54% WPA Big Mets loser: Luis Torrens, -11% WPA Mets pitchers: +16 WPA Mets hitters: +34 WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: Bo Bichette three-run home run in the eighth +63.2% WPA Teh sux0rest play: Jung Hoo Lee two-run single in the fourth, -20.5% WPA
SAN DIEGO – Trent Grisham has the same level hamstring strain as he had in June, when he missed three weeks.
With three weeks left in the regular season, that means the Yankees center fielder “could be” out for the rest of it, Aaron Boone acknowledged Sunday.
“We’ll see,” Boone said before the series finale at Petco Park. “We’re not putting a timetable on it right now. Keep him moving and see how long it takes.”
New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham reacts after striking out to end the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
After suffering the injury Friday night, Grisham underwent tests on Saturday that revealed a moderate, Grade 2 strain in his right hamstring — the same one he hurt in June, but in a different spot.
For the second straight day, Grisham was out on the field before Sunday’s game doing some light jogging and agility drills. But whether that leads to a shorter absence than the last time remains to be seen.
“He is doing well enough to be able to move right away, which is a good sign,” Boone said. “So he’s already doing things right now. Ultimately we’ll see how long it takes.’
New York Yankees center fielder Spencer Jones hits an RBI double during the second inning against the San Diego Padres on Saturday, September 5, 2026, at Petco Park in San Diego, California. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Even if Grisham can return before the regular season ends, there is no guarantee he will get his job back in center field, as Spencer Jones had already threatened to overtake him there when Aaron Judge returns as soon as this week.
Now, Jones will get most of the playing time in center field down the stretch, trying to build on his recent surge that had him hitting .303 with an .881 OPS over his last 23 games entering Sunday.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 6: Payton Tolle #70 of the Boston Red Sox warms up before the game against the Baltimore Orioles on September 6, 2026 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Sunday’s series finale between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles wasn’t a playoff game. It didn’t even carry playoff stakes; the Red Sox are all but locked into their spot. It did, however, play out like a game you might see in the postseason.
Payton Tolle started the game for the Red Sox and was brilliant. I’ve probably made this analogy before, but he pitched like the kid who was bigger than everyone else in Little League, pounding his four-seam fastball in the zone. The prepubescent lineup, the Orioles in this case, could do little with the pitch. He threw a first-pitch strike to a remarkable 17 of 21 hitters, lived in the zone, and dared them to put the ball in play. The Orioles failed to do so, whiffing 17 times and punching out 12 times in the first six innings. The only blemish came in the first inning, when Tolle allowed back-to-back two-strike, two-out doubles for the Orioles’ only run. On the day, he threw 77% strikes — a season high.
The only offense of the day for the Red Sox came in the second inning. Caleb Durbin drew a walk on five pitches against Orioles starter Kyle Bradish. He later advanced to second on a groundout by Jarren Duran. With two outs, Andruw Monasterio hit a ground ball to deep shortstop that Gunnar Henderson couldn’t handle, putting runners on the corners with two outs. And of course, when you give a team four outs, they often make you pay. In this case, Eli White hit a ball into the seats to put the Red Sox up 3-1. That would go on to be the final score.
After Tolle exited the game, Erik Miller retired three hitters in a row in the seventh inning. Jovani Moran handled the eighth, seeing the bottom of the Orioles order and making quick work of them. Aroldis Chapman took the ball in the ninth and allowed Pete Alonso to reach base with one out via a ground-ball single, but struck out the final two hitters to secure the victory and record his 400th career save. Notably, his final pitch of the at-bat was 101.0 mph. It was his first time reaching that number since July, and just his third time hitting 101 (without rounding) this season. The milestone was likely on his mind, but it’s nice to know he can still reach back and bring the heat in a high-leverage situation.
So, why did this feel like a postseason game? It had (almost) all of the ingredients of winning in the postseason. Starting pitching? Payton Tolle was lights out. Home runs? It’s hard to string together hits against elite pitching in the postseason to put together big innings. Home runs are often the deciding factor. Today, Eli White stepped up with two runners on base to put up a crooked number. Bullpen? The bullpen allowed just one hit over the final three frames today.
It will look different for the Red Sox in October this season, given the number of players returning from the injured list. Willson Contreras will play a part. Ceddanne Rafaela will be back as well. Tyron Guerrero, and maybe even Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, or Johan Oviedo could be throwing innings out of the bullpen. A notable omission from today’s game was Garrett Whitlock. The eighth inning would typically be his in a two-run game, but Chad Tracy opted for Jovani Moran, who has struggled, instead. With Whitlock working on both Thursday and Friday, he was likely unavailable. The team has been careful to manage their arms down the stretch to be prepared for the postseason, but that might be a hint as to where he is healthwise.
The Red Sox return home on Monday for a six-game homestand against the Angels and Royals.
Three Studs
Payton Tolle (6 IP, 1 ER, 12 K, 0 BB, 1 Pushup)
Payton Tolle just slipped on the mound and did a push up right after. This man is a national treasure. 😂 pic.twitter.com/2DKiFojsDR
The Phillies went into the trade deadline with a few targets in mind.
A bat who could consistently get on base, a pair of relievers and, arguably most importantly, some starting pitching depth.
Philadelphia acquired the first two but was unable to land the latter, forcing the club to trust what it already had.
That answer wasn’t expected to be Alan Rangel or Brian Keller, a pair of minor-leaguers who had given the Phillies innings earlier in the year. It meant trusting Andrew Painter following a rough first stint in the majors.
And leaning on the right arm of their longest-tenured player.
Aaron Nola had looked much more like himself since the beginning of July, but there were reservations. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski even admitted he was “a little” concerned about the rotation’s depth.
Whether by choice or necessity, the decision to trust what the Phillies already had looks much better a little more than a month later.
Nola offered the latest evidence Sunday at Citizens Bank Park, delivering seven innings of one-run baseball in a 5-4 loss to the Braves.
He allowed four hits, walked one and struck out five. It was his seventh consecutive start of at least five innings with three or fewer runs allowed.
“The stuff felt better right now than it did back in April, and I made a little bit better pitches today than I did that game,” Nola said. “I just tried to dial it in, take it pitch by pitch, and Stubbs caught a really good game.”
Nola’s reference to April was an important one.
The last time he faced Atlanta, the Braves tagged him for six runs on seven hits. That outing was part of a difficult opening three months in which Nola posted a 6.04 ERA, the highest among qualified starters in baseball.
Since the beginning of July, Nola has recorded a 3.26 ERA across 12 starts, the 17th-best mark in baseball over that span.
The difference goes deeper than the surface-level results.
Teams, especially earlier in the year, tried to ambush Nola on the first pitch because he does not rely on overpowering velocity. Over his first 17 starts, Nola used his knuckle curve more than 30 percent of the time on the first pitch.
Opponents hit .452 in plate appearances that ended on the first pitch, with Nola posting a 9.00 ERA in those situations.
Over his last 12 starts, he has reduced his first-pitch knuckle-curve usage by eight percentage points while increasing his changeup usage by seven percentage points.
Opponents have hit .310 in plate appearances ending on the first pitch during that stretch, with Nola recording a 3.86 ERA in those situations.
Those numbers still do not jump off the page, but they represent a massive improvement. Very few pitchers are going to produce strong results when a hitter puts the first pitch in play.
Nola also kept his pitch count under control Sunday by attacking throughout the afternoon. He generated three first-pitch outs and reached two strikes against 14 hitters.
That has been another key to his turnaround: making the final pitch.
Over his first 17 starts, opponents hit .220 against Nola with two strikes, the third-highest average allowed among qualified starters.
Over his last 12, they are hitting .177. His put-away rate, the percentage of two-strike pitches that result in a strikeout, has increased by nearly three percentage points. His chase rate has climbed by three percentage points, too.
That’s the key.
The Braves employed an aggressive approach Sunday, but when Nola got hitters where he wanted them, he finished the at-bat, whether the ball landed in Garrett Stubbs’ mitt or was put in play.
Nola’s explanation was considerably less numerical.
“Just trying to have good work weeks and trying to stay sharp with all my stuff, my delivery, and just to win counts,” Nola said. “Take it pitch by pitch, try not to get too ahead of myself and just slow the game down. But like today, early outs, they helped.”
Painter has also rewarded the Phillies’ trust since returning to the majors on July 31, posting a 3.12 ERA across seven starts.
Together, Painter and Nola have helped settle what appeared to be the greatest concern surrounding Philadelphia’s rotation at the deadline.
“It’s a long season, and obviously it’s been an up-and-down season,” Nola said. “I just needed to stick with my routine and stay consistent with it, and the belief that things can turn around. That’s just kind of what I believe throughout the year.
“You can’t focus on all the results at times because there are some things that are out of my control. But the things I can control, I try to keep sharp and focus on those.”
The Phillies’ decision looks even better when compared to the alternatives.
The eight significant starting pitchers moved at the deadline have combined for a 3.90 ERA since being traded. Nola and Painter have combined for a 2.75 ERA over that same span.
Philadelphia wanted another starter. Instead, the club has watched two pitchers already in the organization outperform the group that was available.
There’s an old saying: Sometimes the best moves you make are the ones you don’t make.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 06: Starting pitcher Gavin Williams #32 of the Cleveland Guardians pitches during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field on September 06, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On Sunday the Detroit Tigers tried to salvage a split of their four-game weekend series against the Guardians in Cleveland on a breezy Sunday afternoon. Alas, for the third time in three days, the Guardians came away with a walk-off victory, a 3-2 win in ten innings. In all three, Cleveland never threw a pitch with a lead.
Jackson Jobe made his seventh start of the year for the Tigers. It’s been pretty up-and-down for him since returning from his Tommy John Surgery-induced layoff: either he gives you about five innings and gives up one run, or he gets bashed-around and leaves the game early after a half-dozen runs against him. His losses have featured multiple home runs surrendered; therefore, if he keeps the ball in the yard, he’ll do alright.
Facing the Tigers was Gavin Williams, who’s having a roller-coaster year of his own. In some months he’s been sensational: in five July starts his WHIP was under 0.8 and he only walked four batters in total. In five August starts he walked a bunch more and had an era of 5.56. His previous September start saw him strike out a baker’s-dozen Blue Jays, though, and he’d strike out eleven today.
Riley Greene wasted no time continuing his hard-hitting ways: after Hao-Yu Lee walked and Colt Keith’s bloop single with one out in the first inning, Greene smashed a double to score both runners and put the Tigers up 2-0 early. As it turned out, those were the only runs the Tigers would score all day.
That lead was cut in half in the bottom half of the inning with consecutive doubles from Steven Kwan (of course) and Travis Bazzana. After a groundout, Jobe lost the strike zone and walked the next two batters on eight pitches to load the bases; he went 3-1 on Angel Genao before eventually striking him out. Jobe coaxed a grounder to second out of Patrick Bailey for the third out, wiggling out of a heck of a jam.
Both starting pitchers really settled down after the first, with plenty of strikeouts for both Jobe and Williams. Greene then hit his twenty-ninth double with two out in the third, a laser beam one-hopping the centrefield wall, but was stranded there when Dillon Dingler just got underneath a high four-seamer a bit, not quite clearing the centrefield wall and stranding Greene at second.
Jobe, though, really got tough: after the pair of first-inning walks to load the bases, he set down twelve Guardians in a row until Brayan Rocchio hit a solo home run in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2. (Rocchio had a .915 OPS against the Tigers coming into today’s game, the highest against any team he’s faced more than a few times this year.) Kwan followed with a double (of course), who advanced to third on a groundout, but Jobe struck Jo Adell out to end the inning, and his day. His final line: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K.
Tyler Holton came on for the sixth as the Cleveland Air Show roared on, and he plunked the leadoff batter. But after a popup, Holton got a grounder to second base to start an inning-ending double play, and that’s the pitcher we grew to love a couple of years ago, isn’t it? I’ll even forgive him for his, uh, questionable hairstyle choices.
Drew Sommers, who coughed up the game-winning home run to Rocchio on Friday afternoon, pitched the seventh, and faced him with two out. He got a harmless grounder to third for the final out, and I imagine Sommers is going to sleep a little better tonight than he did on Friday.
Kevin McGonigle led off the top of the eighth with a walk, and after Lee fouled-out to first, Keith hit a screaming line drive to second and McGonigle couldn’t get back to first before a throw doubled him off and ended the inning.
Sommers carried on into the bottom of the eighth and got Kwan to fly out, but allowed an infield single to Bazzana before giving way to Tyler Kinley. Bazzana was then thrown out trying to steal second for the second out, and Adell hit a 108-mph bouncer to shortstop on which John Peck made a great short-hop play, throwing Adell out at first for the third out, sending the game to the ninth tied.
Cade Smith, the tough Guardians’ closer, came on for the ninth and he got the Tigers 1-2-3. That meant…
Kenley Jansen was brought into the game, tied 2-2, to start the ninth against a Cleveland team that has a penchant for walking-off opponents. How would Jansen do? An up-the-elevator-shaft foulout to the catcher, a popout to shortstop, and a comebacker for the third out. No problem here, folks!
Smith carried on into the tenth, with Brett Callahan on second base, and struck out the side.
Kyle Finnegan came into the game for the bottom of the tenth with Angel Genao on second; Patrick Bailey led off with a single to centre to push the winning run up to third base. Daniel Schneeman then singled to right, scoring Genao for the 3-2 win.
It was nice to see Riley Greene smack a couple of home runs on Saturday. Those were his first homers since a solo dinger in Seattle on August 4.
Someone on a radio broadcast recently mentioned that Kevin McGonigle has played in more games this season than he ever has a professional (139 played through today). Perhaps that’s one reason he’s been slumping lately; from mid-August through the doubleheader loss on Friday he was 15-for-77 (.195 batting average) with a sub-.600 OPS.
I don’t like air shows, for a variety of reasons.
Cade Smith was the second Canadian pitcher for the Guardians of the day. Edmontonian Erik Sabrowski, who pitched the seventh, was the first.
On this day in 1870, Louisa Swain cast a vote in a primary election in Wyoming. That wouldn’t make the news these days, but she was the first woman to vote in a general election in the United States since 1807, when New Jersey repealed the right of women to vote. Thus, that’s why she’s remembered today. You go, girl!
This one, I am sure, you had fairly high confidence in the Cubs’ chances, what with Clay Holmes on the mound. Holmes had an ERA of 0.36 over his last four starts and had been solid all year between the Mets and Cubs rotations.
Welp. Holmes not only had his worst start as a Cub, it was the worst of his entire career, allowing eight runs in 4.1 innings. Despite Pete Crow-Armstrong smashing his 40th home run of the season, the game wound up a blowout, 10-3 in favor of the Marlins.
This game was close, for a while, at least. No one scored in the first, and then the Marlins pushed across a pair in the bottom of the second. Holmes had trouble with command the entire afternoon, throwing only 46 strikes in 80 pitches, and there was a walk involved in that two-run Marlins rally.
The Cubs got one of those runs back in the top of the third. Carson Kelly led off with a single and Tyrone Taylor’s double moved him to third.
As you surely know, that’s the first 40-homer season by any Cub since Derrek Lee hit 46 in 2005 — and it was done on D-Lee’s 51st birthday!
PCA also becomes just the second Cubs left-handed hitter to hit 40 home runs in a season, joining Hall of Famer Billy Williams, who hit 42 in 1970. More on Billy from BCB’s JohnW53:
Billy Williams, the only left-handed Cub to hit 40 homers until PCA achieved the feat today, smacked No. 40 on Sept. 18, 1970, as the third batter of Game 1 of a doubleheader at Montreal, off Bill Stoneman. Today’s game was the Cubs’ 8,831st since then.
So it’s 3-3 heading to the bottom of the fifth, still a competitive game, until Holmes put it out of reach. A leadoff walk — hate those! — single and walk loaded the bases, and Holmes hit Griffin Conine to make it 4-3. That was followed by a two-run single and fly out, then another single making it 7-3. Colin Rea then entered the game and allowed another RBI single, with the run charged to Holmes.
It was clear that Holmes just didn’t have it in this game — command was poor, with the three walks being the most in any of his Cubs starts. It happens. I’m sure he’ll be fine going forward.
Rea pitched through the seventh, allowing two more runs on a home run by Javier Sanoja, helping to save the bullpen. Daniel Palencia was given the bottom of the eighth and he allowed a one-out walk followed by an inning-ending double play. That’s good, a scoreless inning in a low-leverage situation, but Palencia’s velocity is still down a tick or two. None of his 16 pitches hit 100 miles per hour and he threw only six strikes among the 16. So I’d say Palencia is still a work in progress.
As the saying goes: “Flush this one and move on.” The Cubs did take two of three from a team that entered this series at 42-27 in its home park, so that’s something, anyway.
The Cubs lost no ground in the wild card race, as the Phillies also lost Sunday, 5-4 to the Braves after having a 4-1 lead heading to the eighth. So the Cubs still lead Philadelphia by half a game for the top wild card spot. The Cubs have 18 games remaining, the Phillies 19. For whatever it’s worth, the Brewers also lost Sunday. The Cubs trail them by seven games, so the NL Central is probably out of reach, but it’s important to note that the Brewers lost twice to the Reds over the weekend, and Kyle Harrison got hit hard again Sunday, the second straight start he’s been hit. So perhaps there are some cracks in the Brewers facade.
The Cubs will find that out first-hand starting Monday, when they begin a three-game series against the Brewers in Milwaukee. Interestingly, all three pitching matchups in the upcoming series will be rematches of the last three games of the four-game series at Wrigley Field last week. That begins with Matthew Boyd against Robert Gasser Monday afternoon. Game time Monday is 1:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
Held down for seven innings after which they trailed 2-0, the Mets lineup went to work in the eighth.
Brett Baty, who has not distinguished himself this season, pinch hit and clubbed an opposite-field solo shot. A.J. Ewing, a rare bright spot of a dark year, followed by stroking a single and advancing to second on a Luis Torrens sacrifice bunt. A sinking liner to right from Francisco Lindor was caught, but the out moved Ewing 90 feet away from tying the game.
New York Mets third baseman Bo Bichette (19) reacts after hitting a three-run home run to give the Mets the lead during the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, at Citi Field in Queens, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post
And after Juan Soto was intentionally walked to add a “little bit” more fuel for Bo Bichette, he would later say, Bichette did one better than tying it: A player the Mets signed partly because of his work in the clutch smoked a two-out, go-ahead, three-run homer to left off Carson Seymour, which the Mets rode to a 4-2 victory over the Giants in front of 29,410 at Citi Field.
If Bichette opts back in to a contract that would pay him $42 million next season, afternoons like Sunday’s would make 2027 a bit brighter for the Mets.
“Bo’s a star,” interim manager Andy Green said after a team that is clearly still trying seized a second straight series. “Stars should play like stars when they’re on the baseball field, and that’s how we see him.”
That is not how Bichette played for the first roughly eight weeks of the season, during which the Mets sank and an established, expensive bat could not get going.
But since the middle of May, Bichette has played like, well, Bo Bichette. Since May 18, Bichette raised his OPS from .531 to .713, a steady flow of hits for almost four months in which he is batting .292 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs.
“I think when you look at who he’s been since maybe the middle of May,” Green said, “… He’s been really, really good. And that’s a huge swing.”
Bichette swung, admired his work of art’s trajectory and glanced into a raucous Mets dugout before beginning to circle the bases.
There are reasons for the Mets — who would have their first-round draft selection docked 10 picks if it falls outside of the top six — to disregard the results of games during a September in which the playoffs are out of reach.
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But the Mets, who managed just four hits and only tallied two at-bats with a runner in scoring position through seven innings against Cesar Perdomo and Joel Kuhnel, did not stop trying in a season in which effort has not been the problem.
“Doesn’t really matter how’s the game gone,” Bichette said, “as long as you get it done at some point.”
