Category: Baseball

It wasn’t looking pretty for seven innings, but the Yankees finally erupted in the eighth to put away the Twins and secure the series opener. With the Blue Jays losing earlier in the night, the Yanks officially clinched a playoff spot and the celebration was on once their game was over. With the Rays and Red Sox inactive, it was also a day to gain a half-game in the standings, and they’ll need to keep moving up ahead of their matchup with the former if they want a shot at the division still.

Today on the site, I’ll start things off with a look at how Aaron Boone and company managed to squeeze out wins despite the valleys they went through. Michael’s up next with the weekly minor league recap, Andrew has the Rivalry Roundup featuring the loss that officially sent the Yankees into October, and Jonathan highlights Slow Joe Doyle’s days with the Highlanders on his birthday. Later in the day we’ve got our three remaining division check-ins, Andres scoping out the NL East, Matt scouting the NL Central, and Estevao combing through the NL West.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins

Time: 7:40 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, Twins.tv

Venue: Target Field, Minneapolis, MN

Questions/Prompts:

1. Will we get to see Max Fried get deep into his pitch count tonight, or will the team keep him in this 75-80 pitch range?

2. Now that Aaron Judge has his first home run since coming off the IL, how many more do you think he’ll run into to close out the year?

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: After tossing six scoreless frames on Sunday against the Mets, Cam Schlittler’s ERA went down to a stunning 1.95. He has now found some separation from Dylan Cease in the AL Cy Young Award race, but he’s been so good that there’s been chatter about him having a shot at the AL MVP Award — as our own Josh Diemert discussed just before his most recent start.

What does Cam think about that? Obviously, he wants to hear no such talk for the time being, instead choosing to focus on getting zeroes on the mound. “I don’t know anything about that,” Schlittler said of the MVP talk, per Hoch. “It’s a great compliment.” No starter has won the MVP Award since Clayton Kershaw in 2014. Yordan Álvarez and Junior Caminero appear to be Schlittler’s main competitors at this point.

Aaron Judge acknowledged Schlittler has been pitching like an MVP, but said “they’ve got a Cy Young Award for a reason – best pitcher in the game. So he’s got my vote, definitely, for the Cy Young.” Whether or not he has the full support of his captain, the young fireballer wants, at least, to give voters a reason to consider him.

MLB.com | Manny Randhawa: Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón was the organization’s nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, presented every year to the person who “best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”

The 30 nominees were announced on Monday on an MLB Network broadcast ahead of Roberto Clemente Day, which will take place on Tuesday. Rodón, who has a 2.94 ERA this year, and his wife Ashley own the Rodón Foundation, which aims to provide financial assistance to couples going through infertility and pregnancy loss.

CBS Sports (Rotowire): Judge is still trying to shake off the rust after being sidelined for months with a stress fracture on one of his ribs. According to what manager Aaron Boone told Greg Joyce of the New York Post, he’ll give the outfielder Wednesday off, and he should be mostly good to go after that. Before Monday’s opener against the Twins, Judge was 3-for-17 with a 1/9 BB/K ratio in five games since returning — though he of course homered last night for the first time since his post-IL activation as the Yankees nailed down their 61st playoff appearance in franchise history.

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks, watching their season flash before their eyes, made sure they stayed alive Monday night with one swing of the bat by their biggest star.

Corbin Carroll’s two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning rescued the D-backs from a potential lethal defeat, winning 8-7 over the Miami Marlins at Chase Field.

The victory keeps the Diamondbacks within 2 ½ games of the sizzling San Diego Padres for the National League's third and final wild-card spot with 11 games remaining in their bid to reach the postseason for the first time since their 2023 World Series run.

“I don’t even know where to start,’’ D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said, “other than I think really good players do really good things. They have an understanding of the situation and executing at a very high level at the most critical moments.’’

If the Diamondbacks were not in contention for a postseason berth, Carroll might not even be playing, dealing with a strained back that has limited him at the plate, hitting just .184 in September. He missed two games last week, underwent an MRI, and was dropped to fifth in the batting order.

This night, stepping up to the plate to face rookie right-hander Jack Ralston after an injury forced veteran closer Pete Fairbanks out of the game, he launched a 2-1 splitter 423 feet into the right-field seats, with the ball traveling 108.4 mph off his bat.

Just like that, the D-backs had their ninth walk-off win.

“Obviously, this is right down to crunch time ...’’ Carroll said. “These are the games that we dream about playing at the beginning of the season. Meaningful games in September.’’

CORBIN CARROLL WALK-OFF 2-RUN HOMER! pic.twitter.com/VnTASMNpXA

— MLB (@MLB) September 15, 2026

The Diamondbacks, who overcame deficits of 3-0, 5-3 and 7-4, realize they can’t afford a slump this time of year. They are three games back in the loss column to San Diego, and after the Marlins leave town, the powerful New York Yankees arrive for a three-game series.

“It really doesn’t matter what they [the Padres] do,’’ D-backs starter Corbin Burnes said. “If we win every game, we’re in, no matter how many we get out, as long as we get within three.’’

Yes, indeed, the D-backs finish the season against the team they’re chasing, with a three-game series against the Padres at Petco Park. If they’re within three games, and sweep, they’re going to the playoffs, likely with a first-round matchup against Atlanta. But, of course, they’d feel a whole lot more comfortable if they didn’t have to rely on a sweep to get into the dance.

They have to just keep on winning and hope that at some point the Padres start to lose. The Padres have reeled off a season-long eight-game winning streak. It has been eight years since the Diamondbacks even had an seven-game winning streak.

Still, just the fact that the D-backs are in the race is what compelled Burnes — who won the Cy Young Award in 2021 and had five consecutive top-10 Cy Young finishes — to return and hopefully make an impact.

Burnes, making his second start since his return, and his first at home since June 1, 2025, still looked rusty at times and had trouble locating his cutter. He gave up five runs — including two homers — in 4 2/3 innings, but it was an improvement over his season debut last week in Kansas City.

“I mean, everything’s under a microscope, right?’’ Burnes said. “Usually, you get five, six [outings] in spring training to work through some stuff and build that intensity for opening day. But when you got to come back in the middle of it in September, everything’s got to be sharp and crisp.’’

Burnes, scheduled to make two more regular-season starts, including against the Yankees this weekend, showed signs of being one of the game’s elite pitchers. He struck out four batters, and generated 14 swings and misses in his 75 pitches. The Marlins couldn’t touch his changeup, but he had trouble commanding his cutter, with the Marlins swinging and missing just twice.

“He’s just not the same right now,’’ one veteran scout in attendance. “His arm strength isn’t there yet.’’

Still, the fact that Burnes is back, and doing everything in his power to make a difference in the stretch drive, reverberates throughout the clubhouse.

“To be in the middle of a pennant race and you have Corbin Burnes to pencil into the lineup,’’ Lovullo said, “that’s a manager’s dream.”

After Monday’s off day, the Astros and Rangers will begin a 12-game-in-13-day stretch that could decide the American League West champion, starting Tuesday night. Both teams will play four series against four different opponents, and they do not have any common opponents. However, both teams are only slated to play three games against a team that currently holds a playoff spot.

The Astros lead the Rangers by one game and own the tiebreaker, meaning the Rangers must be two games better than the Astros over the final 12 games to overtake their rivals. Here’s a closer look at both teams’ remaining schedules.

Astros

• Three games vs Royals
• Three games vs Braves
• Two games at Mariners
• Four games at Athletics

The Royals are a last place club, but they haven’t played like one for the better part of two months. Kansas City entered the All-Star break tied with the Angels for the American League’s worst record, but only five teams are better than their 28-25 record since. The Royals will arrive at Daikin Park having lost 9 of 13, but this series isn’t the layup it might appear to be.

Led by their pitching, the Braves have a comfortable lead in the National League East, and could clinch while in Houston. They are also chasing the Brewers and Dodgers for a bye into the Division Series. The Astros should miss their old nemesis, Martín Perez, but they will have to face Tyler Mahle, who has a 1.25 ERA since coming over before the trade deadline. 

Wednesday’s series finale in Chicago would be Chris Sale’s turn in the Braves rotation, but as of Tuesday morning they have not announced a starter. The Astros better hope Atlanta doesn’t decide to give Sale, who appears headed to a top-two Cy Young finish, extra rest. 

The Mariners are 11-16 since taking two of three from the Astros last month and appear to have called it quits on the season, but a chance to ruin the Astros season should perk that team up, and the Astros have struggled against Seattle the last couple of seasons.

Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom, and Brent Rooker are gone, and the A’s pitching is absolutely dreadful, so this series should be a layup. Of course, the A’s took two of three at Daikin Park last month, and frankly embarrassed the Astros in the process. Playing four games in Sacramento is a bit of a nightmare for a team that doesn’t have a deep pitching staff.

Rangers

• Three games vs Red Sox
• Three games vs Blue Jays
• Three games vs Mets
• Three games at Twins

The Red Sox are pretty much locked into the American League’s second Wild Card, so they won’t have much to play for this week in Arlington. The Rangers are scheduled to face Sonny Gray and his 2.76 ERA on Thursday, but they will avoid Ranger Suárez and Payton Tolle. The Rangers will see two other lefties, Jake Bennett and Patrick Sandoval, instead. Sandoval had a 3.29 ERA in nine games, including eight starts, against the Rangers while a member of the Los Angeles Angels.

Toronto blew a lead to the Tigers at home Monday night, costing it a chance to pull into a tie for the AL’s final Wild Card. The Blue Jays remain a game behind Cleveland and will be desperate this weekend.

Good news for the Astros is that Max Scherzer and his 6.38 ERA will face the Tigers on Wednesday, so he won’t be available to face the Rangers. Better news is that Cy Young candidate Dylan Cease will start one of the games in Arlington. José Soriano, acquired at the deadline from the Angels, is also likely to pitch against the Rangers.

The Mets are the Mets, so who knows what they could look like on a given day, but Nolan McLean should pitch in that series. The Mets are always a threat as long as Juan Soto is in the lineup, and maybe Marcus Semien will be motivated against his old team.

The Twins are 9-16 since Aug. 17, which is just a half-game better than the Angels, who have the league’s worst record in that span. The Astros would be well-served to still have their lead when the season’s final weekend begins.

Tonight’s 6-4 loss to Anaheim was really more about the quality of the pitching than it was about the quality of the offense. But in 2026, that means the Angels were better.

Kade Anderson continued his struggles against MLB hitting, as you’d technically have to call the Anaheim lineup. After starting off well enough with a strikeout of Zach Neto, Anderson surrendered hard contact three times in a row to let the Angels take an early 2-0 lead. The top of the lineup got to him again in the third with a leadoff single scoring on a line drive down the left field line. Neto turned that line drive into a triple thanks to some lackadaisical play by Randy Arozarena. Since Neto was now on third, he scored on a sac fly to bring the lead to 4-0.

Yet again, Anderson was unable to induce chase on pitches outside the zone, even against one of the chase-happiest lineups. He exacerbated that problem tonight with some truly wild command. In turn, he overcompensated by throwing too many right down the chute. Basically, he was serving up two varieties of beef tonight: meatballs and sloppy joes.

Somehow, he didn’t walk anyone tonight and struck out five, but it was utterly unpersuasive. Here’s a good example, a nine-pitch sequence to Kyren Paris, he of the career wRC+ of 46. It was ultimately a strikeout, but this could easily have gone so wrong against even a moderately competent hitter.

I realize this is a pretty harsh review of the Aceman, but I’m not that worried long-term. The level of success he had in the minors has too few precedents for it not to translate at all. It’s going to take some adjustments, but I’m confident he’ll make them, especially with an offseason to reflect on what seems like the first time in his baseball life he’s ever been challenged. Better that he get the chance to sort this out amid this clusterjam of a season than in games that might matter.

At any rate, Anderson got the hook with one out in the fifth and a runner on base. Cooper Criswell came in and jammed up Jose Siri, but the weak contact dropped into no man’s land, setting up a two-RBI single before the fifth was over.

The Angels’ six runs were clearly going to be enough because Anaheim’s Reid Detmers was carving through the Seattle lineup. The Mariners had a chance early, with a J.P. single and an Arozarena double. But J.P. was sent home on the double and thrown out by about five feet. It was ugly, made worse by J.P.’s hobbling, but I understood the decision. You’re not going to get a lot of opportunities against Detmers, and it took Jose Siri playing the carom perfectly and a laser on the relay by Neto to nail Crawford by that much. As if to prove the point, Detmers easily struck out the next two batters as he continued his march to 200 strikeouts.

The Mariners’ one good inning was personally dedicated to Angie Mentink: Randy opened the fourth by going up the middle; Dom Canzone went the other way through a gaping hole on the left side in a left-on-left matchup; and Cal Raleigh took a slider cutting in on him and used his titanic strength to scoop it for a three-run oppo taco.

The Angels also paid tribute to one of the Mariners broadcasters that inning by bringing Rick Rizzs a cake in the booth. I am still cackling at the contrast between the penniless A’s donating $4,200 to Rick’s charity this weekend and the Disneyland Angels baking him a small cake tonight.

The M’s scraped together one more run after Detmers had finally left the game with his 8 strikeouts. Facing the southpaw Blake Weiman, J.P. Crawford laid off an inside slider and then watched a sweeper fall out of the zone. You could see his eyes light up. Two pitches later, he got another sweeper, and knew exactly what to do with it, bringing the score to 6-4.

There will be time for full tributes to J.P. Crawford, but as his time with the Mariners may be coming to a close, I want to call out that this has always been one of my favorite things he does. He’s renowned for his eye and his knowledge of the strikezone. But he never gets enough credit for swinging at the right pitches, the ones he sees coming a mile away and knows he can do damage on. That’s why his home runs always come with those swings so smooth that they remind you of Junior (though I confess this particular dinger doesn’t have that Griffey-esque look).

I’m getting emotional here, so I’m going to spill part of my tribute to him now. Kate’s the one who’s spent a lot of time in the clubhouse, so she may disagree, but to me, the idea of J.P. Crawford as the team captain was never a perfect fit for his role on the team. He was the vibes guy, and at times, he seemed to be a leader on the field. But that rarely came in the form of visually apparent substantive leadership. (The exceptions were his mound visits to Andres Munoz.) And it’s not really how players talked about J.P. It always struck me as more like a narrative that fans imposed upon him. Still, there was something in him that invited us to do that. And I think I know what it was. What J.P. Crawford has been is our captain. It’s what he’s meant to us. And for that, I still think a C on his jersey would’ve been justified for tonight’s Sun Hat Award winner.

But alas, his home run only brought the Mariners to within two, and despite a bout of terminal lucidity in the ninth (a pair of pinch-hit walks from Lazaro Montes and Taylor Ward), the game was over by the time J.P. went yaya. In our predictions poll before the season, the median of the LL readership pegged the Mariners for 93 wins. Tonight, the team lost its 81st game, ensuring that for the first time since 2020, the M’s will not have a winning season. Maybe Anthony Rendon had a point.

MINNEAPOLIS — There is a difference between Aaron Boone saying he liked how Aaron Judge looked in his first week back from a three-month stay on the injured list, and Judge actually going out and crushing a majestic shot. 

But the captain delivered on Boone’s optimism Monday night, looking like his old self by clobbering a three-run shot to the third deck in left field as the Yankees beat the Twins 8-3 at Target Field while clinching their playoff berth. 

“It feels like Judge is back,” José Caballero said. 

Somehow, the tape-measure shot was only estimated at 397 feet, but it felt as if it alleviated some of the concerns about Judge’s timing after he entered the at-bat 3-for-20 with one walk and 11 strikeouts in his first five-plus games back. 

“It felt good — just like the other swings, at least I made contact that time, so it’s a little better than the other ones,” said Judge, who had grounded into a double play and struck out twice in his first three at-bats Monday. “But just trying to get better every single day. I know the ultimate goal is to be ready for the postseason, but there’s some important games the next couple weeks that I got to be ready to go. So I’m just happy I could help the team tonight.” 

His teammates were more effusive about the promise that the swing offered. 

“Oh my goodness, that was quite a shot,” Ben Rice said. “What a swing. You could really get used to seeing that, especially this time of year.” 

Rice appeared to help Judge know what was coming from Twins lefty A.J. Minter, waving his hands the pitch before on a changeup but not on the inside cutter that Judge ultimately clobbered for his first home run since May 24. 

As much help as the Yankees hope to have around Judge as they head toward the postseason, their hopes and dreams center on the back-to-back AL MVP and what he can do in the batter’s box even after missing a large chunk of the regular season and coming back without going on a rehab assignment. 

“I’ve been pleased,” Boone said. “I haven’t been the least bit concerned about anything. … He’s not all the way where he’s going to get to, but he’s got 20-plus at-bats now, which I think is valuable. We still got a couple weeks now to go and he’s only going to get hopefully more sharp as we head to the finish line.” 

As of Monday afternoon, Boone’s thinking was that he would give Judge Wednesday’s series finale off into Thursday’s team off-day, and then have him “pretty much” a full go for the final three series of the regular season.

MINNEAPOLIS — George Lombard Jr. got his first taste of champagne celebrations as a big leaguer Monday night. 

The rookie shortstop was a key figure in making sure the Yankees got to do so in style on the back of an 8-3 win over the Twins, a comeback that Lombard helped spearhead with a six-run eighth inning. 

Lombard led off the rally with a rocket double off the wall in left-center field and eventually came home to score on José Caballero’s single up the middle that tied the game 2-2 before the Yankees went ahead. 

“It was really cool,” Lombard said. “Obviously, a big part of the game and doing whatever I can to get on base there.” 

The 21-year-old has fit right in after making his MLB debut in early August, even with some occasional defensive hiccups — the part of the game that was his calling card throughout his minor league career.

He had another in the ninth inning Monday, when he stepped off second base too early while trying to catch a throw from second baseman Anthony Volpe. 

Throughout all of the ups and downs, Lombard has impressed the Yankees with his maturity, which has a chance to serve him well in his first bite at the postseason when the stakes are elevated. 

“Obviously, it’s intense and every single pitch counts and everything matters, but we’re prepared for it,” Lombard said. “It’s going to be the same preparation, same routine. We just got to go out there and do our thing.” 

Clarke Schmidt is likely to be activated off the injured list Wednesday after finishing his comeback from Tommy John surgery, though Boone said Tuesday could also be in play. Monday was not because he would not have been available to pitch on only one day of rest, which he did not do on his rehab assignment. 

Ryan Weathers (left forearm flexor strain), meanwhile, was scheduled to throw his first bullpen session Tuesday at Target Field as he tries to get back from the IL before the end of the regular season. 

Carlos Rodón is the Yankees nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, given annually to the player “who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.” Rodón and his wife, Ashley, are active through their foundation in providing resources and financial assistance to couples facing infertility and pregnancy loss. 

“What him and Ashley do, we talk about using your platform for good, and they certainly have done that,” Boone said. “They’ve taken some of their personal experiences and hardships and turned them into positives, in and around the country and the world. You love when you see your guys give back whether it’s financially, whether it’s their time, whether it’s their talent, whatever it may be. But certainly the Rodóns have done a remarkable job in the philanthropic job. Proud of them.” 

Fernando Cruz (partially torn UCL) started playing catch over the weekend, keeping in play the long shot of him pitching again this season.

Monday night was a rough one for the Atlanta Braves as not only did they lose the game to the Cubs, they’ve also apparently lost one of their pitchers. It’s been a rough season injury-wise for Reynaldo López and it appears to have gotten even worse. According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, López will be heading to the IL.

Yeah, that’s very concerning! The shoulder issue that cost Reynaldo López just about the entire 2025 season appears to have popped up on him again and now I’d say that it might be a longshot to see López going forward if that’s the case. López gave up five runs in three innings against the Cubs on Monday night and his velocity peaked at 94.6 mph. That’s a nearly a full tick lower than where it was at during his last healthy season in 2024.

When it comes to the replacement, it certainly looks like the Braves are just going to roll with what they’ve currently got in terms of starting pitching options. JR Ritchie will be starting on Wednesday and Bowman indicated that Ritchie will be staying around. This also means that AJ Smith-Shawver (who pitched in relief during tonight’s game) will also be sticking around to make starts, so that’ll likely be how the Braves get to the end of the regular season.

The Braves have already been handling the rotation on a series-by-series basis and now they have one less option to utilize going forward. We’ll see how the Braves figure this out and hopefully the prognosis for Reynaldo López isn’t as dour as it seems to be.

On Sunday, in their broomstick loss to the San Diego Padres, the San Francisco Giants rolled out a lineup almost entirely devoid of players who had been on the roster when the year began. In the recap, I took note of the almost unfathomable turnover: two players from the Opening Day roster, one player from another team’s Opening Day roster, two players who began the year in AAA Sacramento, two players who began the year on other AAA teams, and two players who began the year in AA Richmond.

As if to one-up themselves on Monday against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Giants turned it up a notch, removing Jung Hoo Lee from the lineup for a veteran off-day. The final tally:

One player from the Opening Day roster (Christian Koss)
One player from another Opening Day roster (Brett Harris)
Two players from AAA Sacramento (Bryce Eldridge and Grant McCray)
Two players from other AAA rosters (Shay Whitcomb and Andrew Knizner)
Three players from AA Richmond (Jonah Cox, Turner Hill, and Scott Bandura)

And for half the game, you, I, and everyone watching the game, were convinced that the Giants were going to get no-hit by Quinn Mathews.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Play Minor League games, win Minor League prizes. Play 95-loss games, flirt with 100 losses, which is still in play if the Giants turn their current four-game losing streak into a 15-game skid. Just tack on 11 more losses, how much can it hurt?

Yes, the Giants didn’t have a baserunner in the first inning, and they didn’t have a baserunner in the second inning, and they didn’t have a baserunner in the third inning, and Eldridge broke up the perfect game with a walk in the fourth inning, and they didn’t have a baserunner in the fifth inning, and then, mercifully, McCray bopped a double to lead off the sixth, and New Rock Bottom watch was called off.

The small victories we uncover this time of year. They really are something, aren’t they?

Stunningly, given the way that Mathews had carved through the Giants lineup, they even converted that first hit into a run, when Koss moved McCray to third on a productive groundout, and Cox brought him home with a single. With that, the deficit was cut in half, from 2-0 to 2-1, and the offense was off and running.

Off and running and stalling, unfortunately. McCray’s hit opened the floodgates for the knocks, but Cox’s RBI did not open the floodgates for the runs. Whitcomb and Hill hit back-to-back singles to open the seventh, but they would never score: Harris bunted them over, but a Lee pinch-hit fly ball fell short of being deep enough to score Whitcomb. After Knizner drew a walk to load the bases, Mathews was replaced by Justin Bruihl, and while McCray fought to the seventh pitch in a tough lefty-on-lefty matchup, he ultimately lost.

It wasn’t their only rally that fell short. Eldridge smacked a two-out single in the eighth, and a pinch-hitting Drew Gilbert made like his first name and drew a walk, but Hill lined one sharply into an infielder’s mitt. Lee smacked a one-out single in the ninth, and a pinch-hitting Drew Cavanaugh (another player who began the year in AA) followed it up with a walk, but McCray struck out and Koss grounded out and the game was over, as meek as it possibly could have been.

The Giants remained in it, however, thanks to the rarest of things (for them, that is): some good run suppression from the pitchers. It began with A Very Landen Roupp Start.

Ever since Roupp’s brilliant first month of the season, you can fit nearly all of his starts into two very similar but very different categories:

• Get into a lot of trouble, but somehow get out of it
• Get into a lot of trouble, and very much don’t get out of it

That’s kind of it. He has bad games, and he has good games where he looks like he might have a bad game but then somehow doesn’t. It’s basically like watching Camilo Doval, except for five innings instead of one, and with a little side sprinkle of bigotry to make you less upset when it doesn’t work.

Except in this game he introduced a third category of start:

• Get into a lot of trouble, somehow get out of it, then get into more trouble and the bullpen can’t get out of it

Roupp gave up a single to the very first batter he faced, but then immediately induced a double play. He walked the next batter, then got out of the inning.

He gave up a leadoff double in the second, followed by a two-out walk, but again got out of the inning.

In the third, it was back-to-back two-out singles that started an ultimately futile Cardinals rally.

After a clean fourth, Roupp got back into trouble in the fifth, ceding a one-out single, a stolen base, and a walk. With 88 pitches to his name, and the Giants being very careful with him these days, Roupp’s night was over. He had bent without breaking time and time again, but his own fate was now out of his hands, and instead in Reiver Sanmartin’s.

Sanmartin gave up on RBI single on the very first pitch he threw, which was followed by a walk, another RBI single, and the slow march to the mound from Tony Vitello.

From there, the Giants bullpen was, shockingly, nearly perfect. Joel Kuhnel escaped the bases-loaded, one-out jam, and tossed in a perfect sixth for good measure. Trent Harris, who I think is no longer auditioning for a role in next year’s bullpen and is instead auditioning for a high-leverage role in next year’s bullpen, was a dominant force in a perfect seventh. Carson Seymour easily worked around a leadoff single in the eighth.

But the damage was done by the bottom of the fifth, and by a Minor League offense. You get what you pay for and, well … I’m guessing none of you are paying much for this.

In a lost season, Devin Williams is trying to establish health, if nothing else, and is nearing a return.

The Mets closer, who has been out since Aug. 7 with a shoulder strain, threw his third session off a mound at Citi Field on Monday and is expected to face hitters for the first time Thursday. If that goes well, he likely would be fast-tracked to the major league pen without a rehab assignment for a season that has less than two weeks remaining.

“He looked good on the mound today,” said interim manager Andy Green, who watched most of the session and cautioned there will be more boxes to check before an official activation. “Stuff was coming out really well.”

Williams said that finishing the season healthy and “having a normal offseason is ideal.” If and when he does return, he would rejoin a very different group than the bullpen with which he spent most of the season’s first four months.

Without Williams, Kodai Senga has flashed intriguing stuff as fill-in closer. Nate Lavender has been untouchable in replacing Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter. Daniel Duarte has made a case that he belongs on the 2027 Mets.

“For the most part, they’ve been lights-out,” said Williams, who would be the rare veteran reliever among the group. “I think moving forward it’s going to be really beneficial for a lot of these guys. … The only way to get good in those situations is by being put in them. So I think they’re all getting a lot of really valuable experience.”

Senga has embraced his late-game role but often has noted he feels best as a starter, a job he could not hold on to this year.

A healthy Williams would bump Senga to a slightly lesser role, but Williams sounds intrigued by the possibility of them both pitching in late-game situations.

“He’s 6-for-6 [in save chances]. He’s punching tickets. Throwing 100 [mph] and with a nasty forkball. What else do you want?” Williams said of Senga. “… I’d love to have him in the back end. I can’t really speak to what he wants.”

With the 2-1 loss to the Orioles, which was decided by Gunnar Henderson’s eighth-inning home run against Dedniel Núñez, the Mets (69-81) were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

A.J. Ewing homered in the fourth inning and has reached base in 12 of his past 13 games, a span in which he has slashed .370/.434/.640.

Senga pitched around two singles in a scoreless, three-strikeout ninth inning and has pitched to a 1.88 ERA since his role was elevated after the trade deadline.

Lefty Cionel Pérez, who has been out with a left forearm strain since July 29, has pitched two scoreless innings in Double-A Binghamton to begin a rehab assignment.

Pérez, who owned a 4.21 ERA in 20 games with the Mets, is expected to pitch with Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, after which the Mets will “evaluate where he’s at,” Green said.

The Rockies battled, but couldn’t score the run they needed or prevent San Diego’s late insurance runs as they fell 8-7 in a heartbreaker on Monday night at Coors Field.

Colorado trailed 6-1 after four innings, but made a game of it before San Diego’s shutdown, slider-throwing closer Mason Miller posted two strikeouts to earn his 37th save of the season — the Rockies’ only two strikeouts of the game.

“We have lost a lot of tight games this year,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “…The next step is to start winning the one-run games and that happens throughout the game. There’s moments in the first inning, there’s moments in the ninth inning, and every inning in between where we can improve. But we are right there. It’s just a matter of time before we start winning those one-run games.”

The loss was the eighth in a row for the Rockies, while the Padres won their eighth straight. The Rockies are now 1-9 against San Diego this season.

Digging a hole

In the end, it turns out a team that consistently beats up on the Rockies facing a pitcher who gives up his fair share of homers is a bad combo. Manny Machado and Fernando Tatís Jr. each homered early off Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) to put the Rockies at a disadvantage from the jump.

Sugano gave up two homers for the fourth time in his last seven games as the Rockies once again found themselves down early and without enough offense to come back.

Machado hit a two-out solo homer in the first inning to put the Padres up immediately. In the second inning, Jackson Merrill led off with a single, Xander Bogaerts drew a one-out walk and Rockies killer Jake Cronenworth hit an RBI single to put the Padres up 2-1. Freddy Fermin followed with a sac fly, which set the table for Tatis’ two-run bomb to increase San Diego’s lead to 5-1. Just like that, it was four hits, one walk and five runs.

“Tomo was behind in counts and, therefore, got hit hard like hanging a two-strike breaking ball to Machado in the first,” Schaeffer said. “I just thought he was behind in counts and didn’t get to really see his good stuff with two strikes.

Sugano was hit hard again in the third when he gave up a double to Ty France and Merrill hit his second RBI double as San Diego went up 6-1. Sugano got a double play to get out of the inning and gave up lone singles in the fourth and fifth innings, but didn’t allow further damage. He was pulled after five innings, giving up six runs on eight hits with two stikeouts and one walk.

Stuck in the Mize maze

Casey Mize gave up a two-out double to Hunter Goodman and an RBI single to TJ Rumfield in the first inning when the Rockies briefly tied the game, but then regained control. Rumfield extended his on-base streak to 19 games, which is second-best in Rockies history.

Despite allowing a runner in each of the five innings he pitched, Mize didn’t allow any more runs for the next three innings. In the fifth, Connor Norby singled and Goodman drew a walk, once again providing runners for the hitting machine that is TJ Rumfield. Collecting his second run-scoring hit, the first baseman cut San Diego’s lead to 6-2.

After five innings, Mize gave up eight hits and two walks, but only allowed two runs.

“I thought we played a very good game. I thought we battled all day. We had Mize on the ropes from the get-go, traffic every inning, solid at-bats up and down the lineup. We let ‘em off the hook a few times like with a double play ball [Tovar hit into one in the second inning],” Schaeffer said. “It’s easy when you get down 6-1 and you’re on a seven-game losing streak to mail it in. But the guys in that room didn’t do that and that’s why we’re going to be good here eventually.”

Sticks come alive in late

When Kyle Hart entered the game for San Diego in the sixth and issued back-to-back one-out walks to Adael Amador and Ezequiel Tovar, the Rockies finally took advantage. Jake McCarthy came up clutch with his 10th triple of the season to plate in his 79th and 80th RBIs and cut San Diego’s lead in half.

Norby followed with a sacrifice grounder to score McCarthy and the Rockies were back in the game only down 6-4. Goodman then hit a triple of his own, reaching base for the third consecutive time, but the Rockies rally was done. Unfortunately, when Goodman came back out to catch in the bottom of the frame, he was struggling with left thumb soreness and had to leave the game. The injury came from a head-first slide on his triple.

“He jammed his thumb going into third base. We’ll re-evaluate tomorrow,” Schaeffer said.

In the seventh, Cole Carrigg smashed a 96-mph Bradgley Rodriguez fastball 424 feet to right field to cut the Padres lead to 7-6. The blast was Carrigg’s eighth of the year.

In the eighth, Tovar singled and Norby came up with a huge double that once again cut the Padres’ lead to one at 8-7. But Brett Sullivan, who entered the game after Goodman left injured, and Rumfield each grounded out to strand Norby at second.

In the ninth, Kyle Karros posted an infield single that hit off Miller’s leg, but Amador hit a high-bouncing chopper to end the game.

Bullpen blemishes

Blas Castaño relieved Sugano in the sixth and put up a scoreless 1.1 innings. Mark Manfredi’s outing didn’t go as well. With one out in the seventh, he walked Dustin Harris. Harris then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before coming home to score on a France RBI single.

Juan Mejia was able to end the seventh without surrendering any more runs, but he did give up one in the eighth when he gave up two singles and then an RBI double to Harris. Jordan Romano threw a scoreless ninth to give the Rockies a chance.

The Rockies actually struck out the Padres eight times, while only striking out twice themselves (both off Miller in the ninth). Sugano, Castaño, Mejia and Romano all posted two strikeouts apiece.

Up next

The Rockies and Padres will be back at it on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. Kyle Freeland (4-10, 6.37 ERA) is back from the IL and will start for Colorado, while Walker Buehler (8-6, 4.61 ERA)will start for San Diego.

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The 2026 regular season is into its final two weeks, with half of Major League Baseball's divisions still up for grabs.

In the AL East, the New York Yankees have closed the gap on the first-place Tampa Bay Rays and begin a climactic series beginning Tuesday, September 22. The Chicago White Sox are trying to hold off the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central and the Houston Astros barely lead the Texas Rangers with both teams hovering around .500.

The AL wild card's final spot has four teams within three games, the Guardians ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, Rangers and Baltimore Orioles entering play Tuesday. The red-hot San Diego Padres have opened up some distance for the third NL wild card spot over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the two teams end the season facing each other at Petco Park.

The regular season ends on Sunday, Sept. 27, with the postseason beginning on Sept. 29.

Here's the latest postseason bracket and standings:

Now accustomed to being featured in fine print for a game in which a beloved former Met earns top billing, Jonah Tong fared better than the last time.

Last time, when Tong took the mound to face off with Jacob deGrom in his return to Citi Field, he did not make it out of the first inning in the worst outing of his career.

A season later — when the 35,800 on hand were cheering for his opponent and booed Tong at one point for walking Pete Alonso — he authored the best outing of his career.

On a night on which fans pined for the past and cursed the present Mets front office, Tong made his best argument yet that he should be a part of the club’s future.

The young right-hander recorded his first quality start in his 11th career major league appearance, completing six innings without allowing an earned run in what became a 2-1 loss to the Orioles on Monday.

“Very, very effective in every way,” interim manager Andy Green said of Tong, who struck out six and allowed one unearned run on four hits and, notably, just one walk. “Demeanor outstanding. … [He] was a bulldog on the attack today, and I think we love seeing that from him.”

The game, though, took a backseat to the singular opponent, virtually everyone on the field who was not Alonso viewed by the crowd as at best an afterthought and at worst an obstruction to the history they desired.

The crowd wanted an Alonso moment — preferably the 300th homer of his career, regardless of the fact he was playing for the opposing team — and thus Tong, a popular top prospect, was briefly the enemy.

During Alonso’s third-inning plate appearance, he smoked a long, would-be homer that went foul to left field and would have brought the crowd to its feet — if the crowd were not already on its feet cheering for the Baltimore first baseman. Alonso returned to the plate and walked, which elicited boos and a Tong smile.

“I think next time [the fans] got to give the pitcher a little more love, too,” said Francisco Lindor with a smile after praising the love the fans showed Alonso.

“We’re proud of the young kid on the mound that stepped off the mound,” Green added. “Didn’t let anything derail him, attacked every hitter, pitched as well as he possibly could.

“… He’s taken some real major strides, and it’s fun to see.”

The real strides have come after Tong took real steps back, struggling after being arguably rushed to the majors last season and working on both arsenal and arm-angle tweaks with Triple-A Syracuse this season that made it a year of lessons rather than major league breakthroughs.

But he pitched well enough in August to earn another major league chance in September. And he might be coming out on the other side of what he acknowledged has been a “long year” stronger.

“I think [the 2026 struggles are] something I’m going to have to live with, and I’m happy for it,” Tong said. “I mean, there’s a lot of times in life that you’re going to struggle, and the best learning happens through that. I welcome it.”

Monday's 8-3 comeback at the Minnesota Twins gave the Yankees the series-opening win, their sixth victory in their past seven games and a playoff spot entering the 2026 regular season's final two weeks.

"You start back in February and the goal is to go play in October and go win a championship," New York manager Aaron Boone told YES Network near the dugout at Target Field after the game, which brought the Yankees to 87-63. "And we've checked that first box and have that opportunity now, and obviously there's a lot of important games still in front of us here the rest of the way, but we're excited that we'll be able to take our shot. Feel like the group's coming together at the right time, but today's a good day."

The Tampa Bay Rays lead the American League East by 3.5 games, but the Yankees have a chance to take the division with next week's four-game series at Yankee Stadium.

They do so with Aaron Judge, who homered in his sixth game back from a three-month absence on the injured list, among those entering the mix as the Yankees ramp up against the Twins (70-80).

"It's one thing as a team we try to talk about every series ... as we get down the stretch -- just clean up the little mistakes, trying to fin-tune the situational hitting," Judge said. "So, I was just trying to do a job there. You've got guys on base, guys in scoring position. Either move 'em over or drive 'em in. So, I'm just happy to drive in add more runs there and let our pitchers do the thing."

What makes the 2026 Yankees different from New York's World Series contenders of the past decade?

"Got a lot of grit," Judge said. "Even going into tonight's game -- Twins put some good at-bats against us. They go up 2-1. The offense wasn't really going. But we found a way to fight back there."

Entering Tuesday's 7:40 p.m. start in Minnesota, continuing the three-game series with the Twins, the Yankees possess the AL Wild Card's first spot by a sizable margin over the Boston Red Sox (82-68) and Cleveland Guardians (76-75).

"It's what you've got to deal with as a major league club," Boone said. "We've certainly had our fair share (of adversity) this year, and I feel like the guys have persevered through that to this point. "There's a lot of grit in there with these guys, which I love. And we're used to playing in tight, difficult situations, and hopefully that's something that serves us well in the month of October."