Category: Baseball

Major League Baseball’s playoffs are coming soon and Alex Bregman will be a part of it.

Of course he is.

Bregman made baseball history Thursday, Sept. 24 when the Chicago Cubs clinched a National League wild-card berth with a victory over the Miami Marlins. And for the 10th consecutive year, injured eye willing, Bregman will take part in the postseason, this time with a twist.

Bregman, the Cubs’ 32-year-old third baseman, will become the first position player to play postseason baseball 10 consecutive seasons with multiple teams. In fact, he’s done it with three ballclubs – eight straight years with the Houston Astros and then the past two with the Boston Red Sox and Cubs, as he settled for good in Chicago by signing a five-year, $175 million contract in January.

And it seems like wherever Bregman goes, October baseball follows.

Texas loves him anyway

Bregman was a two-time All-Star and two-time champion in Houston, the brash young slugger in his first full season when they won the 2017 World Series, the MVP runner-up when they lost the 2019 Series in seven games.

After bearing much of the scorn for the club’s 2017 sign-stealing scandal, he was the chastened veteran on the 2022 squad that won a second World Series, this time without a cloud of controversy to follow.

Yet Bregman’s chops as a club cornerstone gained greater veracity a year ago, when he left the Astros and, combining his production with his baseball smarts and clubhouse gravitas, lifted the Red Sox to the postseason for the first time in three years as the Astros missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Those vibes were as attractive to the Cubs as Bregman’s career .846 OPS when they pursued him after he opted out of his contract with Boston. And it’s all come together in Wrigleyville: Thanks to a second-half surge, Bregman has hit 26 home runs, posted an .804 OPS and produced 5.4 WAR, second only to presumed MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong on the Cubs.

“Anytime Alex Bregman is playing an Alex Bregman brand of baseball, it’s just good for the program,” Crow-Armstrong told USA TODAY Sports last month.

And if he manages to play just days after suffering a gruesome eye injury, the legend will only grow.

Heroes of the fall

Bregman’s postseason constancy has put himself among some legendary and curious October stalwarts.

Unsurprisingly, the consecutive postseasons list is littered with alumni from the three dominant playoff groups of the wild-card era: The 1990s Atlanta Braves, the late-century New York Yankees and the current batch of Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tops the list, appearing in 13 consecutive postseasons from 1995-2007, followed by Derek Jeter, whose 12-year streak began a year after Rivera’s playoff debut.

Catcher Jorge Posada and Braves Hall of Famers Chipper Jones and Tom Glavine all played in 11 consecutive postseasons. As did lefty reliever Mike Stanton, who did it with four teams – the Braves, Red Sox, Yankees and Texas Rangers – between 1991-2002.

Who let him in?

Bregman, longtime Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and Hall of Famer Greg Maddux all reached 10 consecutive postseasons. Current Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman and longtime third baseman Justin Turner are at the nine-year mark, Freddie winning a World Series championship with Atlanta in 2021 and two more in L.A. the past two seasons.

Retired Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw leads the “but for” category: He pitched in eight consecutive postseasons from 2013-2020, and would have made it 13 in a row if not for injuries in 2021 and 2024. Same with Braves Hall of Famer John Smoltz – he was present for all of Atlanta’s 14 consecutive division titles yet underwent Tommy John surgery in 2000.

Box Score

Entering tonight’s ballgame, seven teams had never won 100 games in Major League Baseball history. Leaving tonight, six teams have never accomplished that feat.

Tonight, in typical late-inning Brewers fashion, they pulled away from the Phillies to take the series and notch their 100th victory of the season for the first time in franchise history.

Much like the previous couple of nights, the Brewers struggled coming out of the gate against the Phillies’ starting pitching; tonight was no different, as Andrew Painter struck out three batters in the first inning. However, his hot start only lasted an inning as Sal Frelick pounded a double to left field to drive in the Brewers’ first run of the game, 1-0.

Shane Drohan had struggled in his previous two starts, allowing a combined 11 runs on 10 hits, with four home runs allowed, forcing a move to the bullpen. After a couple of solid appearances, Drohan reappeared on the mound, though with a short leash. The first two innings were scoreless, but he allowed a pair of walks and a base hit. The damage appeared in the bottom of the third inning.

Kyle Schwarber led off the bottom of the third with a double to right-center. After Trea Turner grounded out, Bryce Harper singled to left field to tie the game at 1-1. Drohan only lasted one more batter before Pat Murphy pulled him, replacing him with Chad Patrick.

The game hit a bit of a scoreless stretch following the third, as neither team scored until the top of the eighth inning. In fact, Patrick and Aaron Ashby combined for 3 1/3 innings of hitless ball before JoJo Romero broke that stretch in the seventh inning.

Philadelphia would’ve gone 1-2-3 for three innings in a row, but a low throw from Cooper Pratt forced Jake Bauers to miss the catch at first base. Before the error, Luis Arraez grounded out to shortstop but fell to the ground, quickly grabbing at his ankle, and he was promptly taken out of the game. While walking back to the clubhouse, Arraez was ejected arguing the safe/out call at first base.

Painter was finally pulled from the game after six masterful innings in which he allowed just one run on five hits, striking out eight batters. He struggled with his command at times, walking three batters, but overall was able to be successful across his 93-pitch outing.

Pratt and Frelick set up the inning in the best possible way in the top of the seventh inning with back-to-back walks. Then, the ABS challenges bit them, as both Joey Ortiz and Garrett Mitchell struck out looking on pitches that were challenged and overturned. To follow up the unluckiness of the strike zone, Turang struck out swinging to strand two potential runners.

After a quiet bottom of the eighth inning, Brewers fans were put on high alert as Jackson Chourio replaced Contreras at the plate. After the game, Murphy said he wasn’t pleased with the way Contreras was running down the baseline on a ball that was muffed by Turner at short, who recovered to throw him out. Murphy has not been quiet with these moves this season, but we have seen a decent amount of success come out of these moves, so perhaps this will provide a spark as we approach the postseason.

Everything came together for the Brewers in the top of the eighth inning. After a Chourio walk, Jake Bauers picked up his first hit since Tuesday night by driving in Chourio to make it 2-1. After a base hit from Sánchez, Pratt made up for his error earlier in the game with a base hit to center field to make it 3-1. Finally, in typical Brewers fashion, they added another single to the tally, as Joey Ortiz drove in Sánchez to extend their lead to 4-1.

After a shutdown bottom of the eighth inning, Chourio hit his 25th home run of the season to cap the Brewers’ lead at 5-1, sealing the deal on the team’s 100th victory.

Adam McCalvy shared after the conclusion of the game that “[t]he Brewers are the first team in Major League history to win 100 games in a season without a winning streak longer than five games. They had three separate five-game winning streaks this season, but never won a sixth.” Pretty impressive feat.

With that, the Crew’s magic number for the No. 1 overall seed in baseball is down to one. They could clinch that as soon as tonight with a Dodgers loss. That would clinch home-field advantage through the entire postseason, including the World Series.

The Brewers’ final homestand of the season begins tomorrow night as they host three games against the St. Louis Cardinals. Robert Gasser will be on the mound, with first pitch set for 6:40 p.m.

EARLIER TODAY, I ASKED IF ANGEL MARTINEZ IS GOOD

THE ANSWER IS “YES!“

THAT WAS ALL THEY NEEDED BY WINNING 1-0 BECAUSE ONE SCORELESS WITH TWO K’S FROM DANIEL ESPINO WHOM I LOVE

FIVE SCORELESS FROM THE GREATEST BULK GUY IN BASEBALL JOEY CANTILLO

ONE SCORELESS FROM HUNTER GADDIS WHO DOESN’T NEED STRIKEOUTS

ONE SCORELESS FROM ERIK THE BIG SABROWSKI WHO IS A DEMON AGAIN

AND THEN CADE SMITH STRUCK OUT THE SIDE OF COURSE! MAKE THE WHOLE BULLPEN OUT OF CANADIANS

WE GOTTA GET CHASE DELAUTER A REST DAY AND PROBABLY BAZZANA TOO BUT FOR TONIGHT LET’S JUST CELEBRATE!

THERE WERE PLENTY OF TIMES THIS SEASON WE ALL THOUGHT THIS TEAM WAS DONE AND YET AGAIN THEY ARE PLAYING INCREDIBLE SEPTEMBER BASEBALL. ALL HAIL, STEPHEN VOGT! EXTEND HIM FOR LIFE!!

Fighting for a playoff spot, the Phillies needed a win on Thursday night. Thanks to continued struggles from the offense and another poor night from the bullpen, they didn’t get it. Not only did they lose the game to the Brewers 5-1, but they likely lost Luis Arraez to injury as well.

If you want a positive from the game, it’s that starting pitcher Andrew Painter looked good. He worked around five hits and three walks to limit the Brewers to one run in six innings.

After stranding a battalion of runners on base on Wednesday night, the Phillies didn’t have many runners on board to strand on Thursday. The Brewers went with a bullpen game, which for some teams is a disadvantage, but the Phillies looked overmatched. They had just four hits on the night, with only one coming after the third inning.

The Brewers took an early lead thanks to a walk, infield single, and an RBI double by Sal Frelick in the second.

The Phillies’ lone burst of competent offense came in the third when Kyle Schwarber led off with a double, advanced to third on a dugout, and came home on a single by Bryce Harper.

Painter kept the Phillies in the game throughout his six innings, and Alex McFarlane was able to work around some wildness (with a big assist from some charitable strike calls) in the seventh to preserve the tie.

Jose Alvarado was not as effective in the eighth. With his fastball topping out in the mid-90s, he walked the leadoff hitter then gave up two straight singles to put the Brewers in front 2-1.

With one out, Chase Shugart was brought in for a rare higher leverage appearance. He gave up weak contact, but weak contact can be effective if well-placed. Thanks to a ground ball through a drawn-in infield and a bloop single to center, the Brewers extended the lead to 4-1.

The Phillies would not make a comeback.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Luis Arraez was injured trying to avoid a tag at first base. Early reports are that it is an ankle strain, and based on how he was limping, it seems unlikely that he’ll be appearing in any more games this season. I suppose someone else will have to put up a sub-.700 OPS in his stead.

The Phillies now have three games remaining in the season, with the AL-leading Rays coming to town this weekend. The Rays may or may not be trying their hardest, but the way the Phillies’ offense and bullpen have performed lately, it isn’t clear if that will even matter.

At long last, the math has said no.

With the Rangers’ 3-1 victory over the Mets this afternoon, the 2026 Mariners’ postseason hopes have been snuffed out. There will doubtlessly be thousands – if not hundred of thousands – words spilled this autumn and winter about where, how, and why it all went wrong, but for now, we have four more games of meaningless baseball to play. And hey, a 100-loss season for the Angels is still on the table!

Lineups:

Bryan Woo will make his final start of the year for Seattle, and while we’ll be treated to Lázaro Montes in right field, Michael Arroyo tragically remains on the bench, with newly-recalled Leo Rivas manning the hot corner and the standard duo of J.P. Crawford and Cole Young holding down the middle infield. As for the Halos, they’ll be rolling out a fairly standard lineup tonight, though Mike Trout is at DH while defensive wunderkind Bryce Teodosio will patrol center field. Former top prospect Grayson Rodriguez – acquired by the Angels this past winter for our very own Taylor Ward – will be on the hill, and while his 5.96/4.85 ERA/FIP over 19 starts this year suggests the change of scenery didn’t take, he will look to finish strong and put a tough season behind him. Aren’t we all, Grayson?

Game Info:

First Pitch: 6:40pm PDT

TV: Mariners TV

Radio: Old Reliable

The Red Sox and Guardians flipped 1-0 finals over the last two days with Cleveland taking the win Thursday night to clinch an American League playoff spot. 

Boston’s bats had next to nothing going offensively again, an ongoing issue this month that’s sparked varying levels of concern heading into postseason play next week. 

Here’s three takeaways from Thursday night’s loss.  

RANGER READY?

The southpaw put together a shortened-yet-solid outing in his last trip to the mound for the regular season. Suárez had just one blip on a Pesky Pole solo home run off the bat of Cleveland’s Angel Martínez. He allowed just three hits across five innings with five strikeouts before he gave way to Patrick Sandoval.

Suárez now turns to the postseason where he would likely take the ball in a winner-take-all Game 3 (if necessary) in the Wild Card Series. Suárez put together a 1.48 career ERA during his time with the Phillies – an accolade that surely fueled his five-year contract with the Red Sox last offseason. 

WHAT’S YOUR CONCERN LEVEL WITH THE OFFENSE? 

The Red Sox mustered just two hits in the loss and have scored the fewest runs (63) in baseball in September. 

Yes, the lineup has been without Ceddanne Rafaela and Willson Contreras for significant stretches of the month. Nonetheless, the Red Sox need to find an answer with the bats. Do you have belief in the lineup to spark and start scoring runs next week (likely) in New York? 

THREE TO GO

The Red Sox have one final series left before the postseason when they face the Chicago Cubs, who clinched a playoff spot Thursday, and potentially Alex Bregman, who continues to work back from a scary eye injury next week. 

Both teams are in the dance, though the games still hold value to decide seeding for the respective wild-card teams. 

As to where all three of these final pre-playoff games will be played, at this point? Who knows?

What had existed only behind the scenes was brought to the forefront Thursday. Here was real evidence one of the great X factors not just for the club but for the entire postseason field was developing into a legitimate option. 

For the first time, in this round of injury rehab at least, Giancarlo Stanton stood in the batter’s box at Yankee Stadium and looked like himself while facing velocity from a machine. 

Three calf strains later, the most recent just over a month ago, the prodigious Yankees slugger is trying to become a rosterable bat — even if he would only be used in pinch-hit scenarios, which Aaron Boone has hinted at — and is hoping to become a weapon for a wild-card playoff round that begins Tuesday. 

“[Stanton] looks great,” said Trent Grisham, who also hit off the machine as he completes his own rehab from a hamstring strain. 

The hurdle Stanton could not get over all summer was making turns. Twice he graduated to the last step of the buildup process — running the bases — and twice he suffered subsequent calf strains, the first setback coming in a different spot in his left leg and the second in his right leg. 

But with the stay-ready group at an otherwise empty ballpark at the Yankees’ Double-A Somerset affiliate Wednesday, Stanton, who had been running for weeks, ran the bases for what Boone believed to be the first time in this rehab cycle. 

The Yankees know better than to look too far ahead with Stanton, considering his legs have not cooperated each time he approached an activation this season, but he betrayed no issues a day later and has been able to swing for much of the downtime. 

“He’s been hitting all summer, whether it’s Trajekt, live arms and things like that,” Boone said before the Yankees’ 6-4 win over the Rays in The Bronx. “So he’s been doing a lot along the way. He’s had to deal with a couple of setbacks from the injury front along the way, too. 

“So we’ll see here as the next few days unfold.” 

One more “we’ll see” for a team that is testing exactly how many balls in the air it can juggle, but no ball — like Aaron Judge returning from his own calf strain or Carlos Lagrange getting his call-up for a major league debut in October — may have been more unlikely than Stanton finding health on time. 

There is still doubt whether the Yankees would feel comfortable 1) giving him the green light without Stanton having seen a major league pitch since April 24 or 2) using one of their 26 roster spots on a slugger who cannot play the field and would only be used off the bench. 

But in a three-game, first-round series, almost certainly against the Red Sox, the Yankees will carry more hitters than pitchers — maybe 15 and 11, respectively — and they may have no greater need than righty hitters. Judge’s status is unclear, which means Paul Goldschmidt and Heliot Ramos are right now the club’s best lefty killers. 

Boston’s staff, from Payton Tolle, Ranger Suarez and Jake Bennett in the rotation to Aroldis Chapman, Jovani Morán and Erik Miller in the bullpen, is heavily lefty. 

There are few hitters more feared in the postseason than Stanton, who has a lifetime .926 OPS with 18 home runs in 48 playoff games. 

“We’ll see,” Boone reiterated about the status of both Stanton and Grisham. “It’s still days away, so I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. Let’s just get through these next few days.”

As for Grisham, who has been sidelined since Sept. 4, the outfielder says he is healthy and ready to be activated. The Yankees have hesitated, though, in part because doing so would force them to option (or DFA) another player, and demoting a player now means that player would need to wait a minimum of 15 days before being brought back to the major league roster. If the Yankees delay bringing Grisham back until Game 1 of the postseason, this problem would not exist. 

Especially if Judge is not ready to return to the outfield in time, Grisham would loom as a particularly important ball in the air. 

“I think I’ve done everything I needed to do,” said Grisham, who added he believed he would be OK not having seen live major league pitching before the postseason arrives. “I’m confident in my abilities.”

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros will continue their final road trip of the regular season with the first game of a four -game series against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, CA…RHP Peter Lambert (8-10) will be on the mound for the Astros, opposite RHP Mason Barnett (1-4) and the Athletics.

THE LAMBO: RHP Peter Lambert has been the most consistent starter for the Astros this season,
as he leads the club in wins (8), starts (27), innings pitched (151.0) and strikeouts (147)…he’s allowed
two-or-fewer earned runs in 19 of his 27 starts on the year and has done so in 11 of his last 14 starts.

THE POSTSEASON CHASE: The Astros and Rangers are locked in a tight race down the stretch for the AL West with the two teams having the same record with four games left to play… the Astros own the tiebreaker over the Rangers with a season series victory (9-4 record).

AL WEST NEXT GAME

1. Houston: 78-80 – at ATH (63-95)
2. Texas: 78-80 – vs. NYM (73-85)
3. Seattle: 74-84 4.0 vs. LAA (60-98)

VS. THE ATHLETICS: This is the final series between the Astros and Athletics this season, with the two clubs last seeing each other from Aug. 21-23 at Daikin Park..the Astros have gone 4-5 vs. the Athletics this season…the Astros also own an overall regular season record of 124-111 against the Athletics, including a 59-60 record on the road.

THE CASE FOR THE MVP: DH Yordan Alvarez is a solid candidate for the AL MVP Award…Alvarez leads the American League in OPS (1.035), slugging percentage (.603), OBP (.432), batting average (.316), total bases (332), walks (107), IBB (33), wRC+ (181), OPS+ (.191) and extra-base hits (75)…he also ranks tied for first in home runs (41), second in RBI (102), tid for second in hits (174), fourth in runs (101), and tied for third
in doubles (33).

TRIPLE THREAT: DH Yordan Alvarez currently ranks first or second in the AL in all three Triple Crown categories…he enters tonight leading the AL in batting avg. (.316), while ranking tied for first in HR (41) and second in RBI (102)…since Carl Yastrzemski won the AL Triple Crown in 1967, there has been just one Triple Crown winner in the Majors, Miguel Cabrera in 2012 (AL):

Batting Avg. (AL) HR (AL) RBI (AL)

1. Alvarez: .314 1. Alvarez: 41 1. Alonso: 110
2. Simpson: .309 1. Caminero: 41 2. Alvarez: 102
3. Yan Díaz: .291 1. Alonso: 41 3. Caminero: 97

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, September 24, 8:40 p.m. CT

Location: Sutter Heath Park, Sacramento, CA

TV: Spacecity sports netowrk

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; KTRH 740 AM; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

San Diego Padres (88-70) at Los Angeles Dodgers (97-61), September 24, 2026, 7:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
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Earlier this week, the Athletics opened the final week and homestand of the season by sweeping the Los Angeles Angels in a brief two-game series. Now that the A’s are no longer at risk of losing 100 games, they can turn their attention to keeping the Houston Astros out of the playoffs by winning this season-ending, four-game series.

A’s right-hander Mason Barnett will make his final start of the season this evening. The 25-year-old enters his 20th game and sixth start with a 1-4 record, a 7.16 ERA, a 1.75 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 44 innings.

After scuffling in a brief five-start cameo last season, Barnett has failed to take a step forward during an extended big-league opportunity. Over his last seven appearances, the right-hander has significantly struggled, going 0-4 with a 10.27 ERA and a 2.20 WHIP while handing out nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Barnett received a no-decision in his last start against the Cleveland Guardians after allowing three runs on seven hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings.

The Athletics would greatly appreciate a quality start from Barnett tonight against a playoff-hungry Astros lineup. He will look to match his performance from June 5, when he shut out Houston over four innings. However, if Barnett falters, the Green and Gold will likely have to turn to their bullpen earlier than expected for a third consecutive game.

Here’s the A’s lineup for the series opener:

The Athletics are rocking with the same lineup that scored 16 runs against the Angels over the past two days. Center fielder Henry Bolte, who recorded four hits yesterday, could receive some down-ballot Rookie of the Year votes after showcasing his electric five-tool skill set throughout his first season.

Second baseman Donovan Walton and shortstop Alika Williams have taken advantage of increased playing time over the past few weeks. If the 2027 season is not cancelled by a lockout, these two will surely be at the forefront of the competition for the backup infielder/utility roles on next season’s A’s roster.

The A’s offense has benefited from Shea Langeliers’ return. With Langeliers limited to designated hitter duties, Jonah Heim may have to catch the final four games if backup catcher Brian Serven is unable to recover from the injury he suffered last night.

As for Houston, right-hander Peter Lambert will make his final start of the season. The 29-year-old is finishing a career-best campaign in his return to MLB following a season spent in Japan with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. Lambert enters his 28th start with an 8-10 record, a 3.70 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP and 147 strikeouts in 151 innings.

Lambert is riding a seven-start winless streak, yet his latest outings have been solid. The right-hander took the loss in his last start against the Atlanta Braves despite allowing just two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. On June 5, Lambert earned the win after holding the Athletics to one run over 5 1/3 innings. He will look to repeat that performance today against an A’s squad hoping to play spoiler.

And the Astros’ starting nine shapes up like this:

Nothing surprising in the Astros’ lineup, other than rookie Lucas Spence starting in center field. While American League MVP front-runner Yordan Alvarez is the main threat, Jeremy Pena, Isaac Paredes and Jose Altuve are also primed to capitalize on any mistake pitches Barnett leaves over the middle of the plate.

Time to play spoiler and make it three straight wins. Let’s go, A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics -Talk 650 KSTE, KVMX 92.1/105.5, A’s Cast

ARLINGTON, Texas — Zac Thornton accomplished his biggest goal for this season just by walking to the mound during Thursday’s first inning. 

Between the minor leagues and majors, it was start No. 28 for the rookie left-hander. 

“I met all my goals this year of debuting and making every start,” Thornton said after the Mets lost 3-1 to the Rangers. “I wanted to finish the year and, obviously, make it up here.” 

In his final whirl, he allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk over five innings. Josh Jung’s two-run homer in the first accounted for the scoring against him. 

Thornton finished the season with a 3.42 ERA in his 15 starts for the Mets, firmly placing him in the mix for a rotation spot next year. 

“I don’t think anybody could have had higher expectations than what he went out there and did,” manager Andy Green said. “That’s a tribute to him and how hard he works and getting more strikeouts here recently too, which is encouraging as well.” 

The Mets fell short of a Texas sweep but departed for Washington with a 26-20 record since the trade deadline. 

Thornton belongs to a young pitching nucleus that includes Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Jonah Tong, as the Mets look for rotation answers heading to next season. 

“I always thought I would be up [in the majors] this year,” said Thornton, who began the season at Double-A Binghamton. “I didn’t know to what extent it would be — maybe, like, September to help us make a push to the postseason.

“It just so happened that we had a few injuries, and then obviously the trade deadline we had open spots, but I wouldn’t say I surprised myself.” 

Derek Falvey was named senior adviser, baseball operations, adding a seasoned voice to David Stearns’ front office. Falvey, 41, was previously the president of baseball operations for the Twins. 

The Mets also named Kris Gross assistant general manager, scouting. Gross oversaw amateur and international scouting for the Mets over the past three seasons. 

Green was leaning toward a bullpen game, perhaps with an opener, for Friday’s game against the Nationals. The Mets are short-handed in the rotation following the injuries that landed Scott and Robert Stock on the injured list over the past week.

Tong and Sean Manaea are scheduled to start the final two games of the season. 

The Mets finished 23-25 in interleague play this season. 

The White Sox made baseball history with their unbelievable playoff berth. 

After clinching an American League postseason spot on Thursday, the Southsiders became the first team ever to reach the playoffs after back-to-back 100-loss seasons. 

Chicago had, in fact, been even worse than that in recent years, losing at least 100 games in each of the last three seasons, including a modern MLB record of 121 losses in 2024. 

They’re also just the third MLB team to lose 100 games and make the postseason a year later. 

It’s the first time the White Sox will play postseason baseball since 2021, when they won the AL Central after going 93-69 during the regular season.

After Thursday’s playoff-clinching 9-1 win over the Royals, Chicago sits at 82-77, which is 22 more victories than they had in 2025, with three games to go. 

The White Sox are still fighting for a division title and first-round bye. 

The Guardians, who play the Red Sox on Thursday night, sit a half-game up on the White Sox in the AL Central at 82-76. 

Chicago holds the tiebreaker over Cleveland, meaning the White Sox would come out on top in the division if they finish with the same record.

“They have belief in themselves, belief in each other,” White Sox manager Will Venable said according to MLB.com. “That can carry you a long way … These guys continue to believe and whatever the ending is to this one, we all can agree that from the beginning, this group has as much self-belief as any group I’ve seen.”

The White Sox will finish up the regular season with three games at home against the Rockies. 

CC Sabathia has a warning for Aaron Judge if the Yankees captain tries to rush back from his right calf strain for the beginning of the playoffs. 

“I absolutely understand his mindset,’’ Sabathia said. “He wants to get back for the guys. You feel like you owe that to the guys. But I would want him to be careful.” 

Sabathia pitched through knee and shoulder injuries, especially in the latter part of his career, and is now living with the consequences. 

“Even with as much praise as I get for pitching till my arm fell off, I still needed my knee replaced at 46 and my shoulder reconstructed,’’ said Sabathia, who will have his No. 52 retired and a plaque unveiled in Monument Park before Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader. 

Asked if he would change any of his decisions to stay on the mound in spite of the injuries, Sabathia paused and said, “No.” 

“But I had to think about it right now,’’ Sabathia said. “There was no question at the time. You just do it. But now, I think about everything I’m going through physically, and I’m not even 50.” 

Sabathia also saw Derek Jeter play with an injured foot throughout the final month and into the playoffs in 2012. 

Jeter finally went down with a fractured left ankle in Game 1 of the ALCS against Detroit, so he knows what it’s like to see a leader go down and not be available in the playoffs, as Judge could be when the wild-card series starts Tuesday. 

“[Judge] has been hurt all year, so you just keep going,’’ Sabathia said. “I remember when [Jeter] broke his ankle, we were sad, but what were we gonna do, quit? You’ve got to keep going. You’ve got to play.” 

But, as Sabathia quickly noted with a laugh, “We got swept [in the series], but you’ve got to show up and play. It’s hard not to have your best player, especially when he’s the best player in the game.” 

As for his own honor, Sabathia said in some ways, it tops last year’s enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

“Not being a homegrown Yankee and to finish my career in Monument Park is incredible,’’ Sabathia said. “I don’t want to downplay the Hall of Fame, because that’s the biggest accomplishment of my life, but I think this is bigger. Being able to come here as the highest-paid pitcher ever at the time and have them feel I lived up to that makes me feel good.”

I have a terrible track record when it comes to singling out players. Recently, I’ve glorified Tyler Fitzgerald, Logan Webb, and Willy Adames, and turned into pumpkins soon after my exaltations. Alternatively, my naysaying spotlight pointed at Rafael Devers received a double middle finger from him by his explosive season with the bat. So, I did briefly considered making this a real miserable post, but I have to believe that at some point, there will be alignment.

Jonah Cox is the most exciting San Francisco Giant playing today.

I know, I know. There’s Bryce Eldridge. There was Rafael Devers. There’s, uh… um… other dudes maybe somewhere. But just like a movie star entering a room, there’s a light that shines whenever Jonah Cox is on the TV screen. Sure, a little bit of that is the stadium lighting reflecting off his fair features, but the rest of it is the undeniable talent. Somehow, the Giants have found a contact-speed threat the likes of which we haven’t seen in a very long time and one who seems setup to make a huge positive impact for next year’s team (which probably won’t be good, but should be interesting at the very least).

Justice delos Santos wrote a heckuva profile about Cox last week and the section on his swing adjustment really got me excited.

Before the team traveled to Boston, Cox and Mense talked about implementing a wider base with no stride. When Cox tried it out in the cage, Mense recalled him three straight line drives up the middle.

Cox introduced his refurbished mechanics on Aug. 23 and saw immediate results.

From August 23rd to September 16th, Cox slashed .329/.386/.461 in 23 games (86 PA) with 3 homers, a double, and 9 stolen bases. Three weeks of me going gaga here in my mom’s basement. Earlier in the piece, hitting coach Hunter Mense put my it plainly: “Anybody that has the kind of toolset that he does is incredibly exciting to watch because you don’t know what the ceiling is going to be.”

Sometimes, there’s added hype from the context. But that’s just not the case here. I don’t care that the Giants got him from the A’s. For Ross Stripling. During Farhan Zaidi’s tenure. But that he also flourished under the new player development program run by Randy Winn. It only matters that he’s here and he’s got me excited about a team I have been invited (and taken the opportunity) to hate a little bit.

But maybe the streak is over. Maybe it’s time to take off the rose colored glasses. Maybe it’s logical to tone down my excitement. This past week, he’s struck out 12 times in 25 plate appearances (48 K%) and is 2-for-20 (.100). That speed and defense has certainly helped prop up his profile overall (he’s about a 1 WAR player right now no matter the WAR system), but he’s got a lot of swing and miss. Too much. On the season, it’s 60 strikeouts to 10 walks in 157 plate appearances. Putting aside the 6:1 ratio, that’s still 38.3% overall.

In the minors, it’s a far more palatable 23.4% for his career and 17% here in 2026. He hit .400 in the minors this season, you know. It’s so easy to root for him and dream big right now. But check out this list of 2B/OF types who had 200 PA or fewer, 15 or fewer walks and 60 or more strikeouts (which I’ve gone ahead and sorted by rWAR):

I didn’t expect to get just 33 results; but, as I suspected, it’s not promising. On the other hand — wow, Jonah Cox is the best of this bunch. What I’m looking to see is whether or not this could be a part of a players’ track record long-term. To do that, I needed to sort by age. The younger the player, the better chance of this being a sort of rough start to a career.

Players for whom this was their final season

Rick Ankiel, Brant Brown

Players who’d play in just 1 more season

Bill Hall (14 MLB PAs for Baltimore), Gregory Polanco (382 PA for PIT; 72 OPS+), Jhonkensy Noel (153 PA for CLE; 31 OPS+), Trayvon Robinson (164 PA for SEA; 76 OPS)

Players who had a couple of years left

Drew Stubbs (last game: 5/5/2017 w/Giants), Jake Marisnick (last game: 7/18/2023), Reggie Taylor (2005), Travis Demeritte (2022)

Players who lasted a few more years

Andrew Knapp (last game: 8/28/2024 w/Giants), Jake Cave (2024), Cory Snider (1994), Chris Owings (2023), Deven Marrero (2022), Mikie Mahtook (2019), Garrett Hampson (2025), JaCoby Jones (2021), Keston Hiura (2025), Brett Phillips (2023)

Long career

Egyptian Healy (1885-1892)*, Gorman Thomas (1973-1986)

Result in current season/still active

Gabriel Arias, Jonah Cox, Tristan Gray, James Outman, Denzel Clarke, Alex Jackson, Connor Norby, Josh Lowe, Jordan Beck, Leody Taveras

So, after reviewing MLB history, the most accurate thing we could say is that nothing is set in stone. Cox could go either way. Makes sense. This is his age-24 season. He’s got a heckuva MiLB track record. Egyptian Healy (1886) and Gorman Thomas (1973) are the two outliers in this comparison group — Healy was a pitcher who amassed that hitting line — who are from such wildly different eras that a comparison doesn’t seem relevant. Just eyeballing the list, if Cox is to have longevity at all, it’ll be because of his speed and defense. But will his bat push him into being a regular or is he bound for the bench?

Strikeout rates are as instructive as walk rates — at least, to me they are. There’s some research to suggest that Double-A numbers are also strong predictors of MLB success/failure, and so when I mash those two ideas together in my brain I get the idea that Jonah Cox is still making the adjustment to major league pitching. But that 17% MiLB strikeout rate sis a swing and a drive away from the 38.2% he has in his first 157 plate appearances. The scant Statcast data isn’t exciting either. 5.8% barrel rate. Just a .213 expected batting average. A 32.7% chase rate.

Still, he’s kind of unique. If you filter the age to 24 or younger and set a minimum threshold for stolen bases of 10, then the only comp is that Leody Taveras season, who was graded as one of the best prospects and athletes when he signed as an international amateur in 2015 and as he got older was graded for playing plus defense at a premium position. Now, some speedsters can thrive if they can square up the ball, but Cox isn’t at that point — not yet, anyway.

The position comparison doesn’t necessarily suggest that regular starter I’d so hoped for either, but he has certainly demonstrated an intensity and physical talent to keep an eye on; the team isn’t necessarily set at the position, but at the very least with Gilbert there, too, they’ve got options in center that they didn’t have a year ago.

But, I guess, pump the brakes. Take a breath. Cox is not quite the surprise breakout of this rebuild season, but he has certainly made us all anxious to see if he can take the next step.