After completing their comeback against the Chicago White Sox, 3-2, on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, New York has stamped its place into the 2025 MLB postseason. While the Yankees are guaranteed at least a wild card spot, they still have eyes on the division. Entering play Tuesday, the Yankees were 2.0 games behind the Blue Jays for the AL East crown before Toronto fell to the Red Sox, 4-1, moments after New York's win.
The Yankees will now enter play on Wednesday just 1.0 game behind Toronto.
Toronto holds the tiebreaker against the Yankees, so if both teams end the season with the same record, the Blue Jays will win the division.
The Yankees finish the regular season at home, with two more against the White Sox before hosting the Orioles for a three-game set this weekend. The Blue Jays play two more against the Red Sox in Toronto before welcoming the Rays for three this weekend.
Last season, the Yankees won the AL East en route to an American League crown before losing to the Dodgers in the World Series. With a new-look team, manager Aaron Boone and reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge hope to make it back to the Fall Classic and this time capture their first championship since 2009.
The Yankees clinched a playoff berth after Jose Caballero's walk-off single completed the ninth-inning comeback as New York defeated the White Sox, 3-2, on Tuesday night.
The Yankees lineup was held in check for the majority of the game, but the bats came alive in the ninth inning. Anthony Volpe led off with a single before Austin Wells followed with a single of his own. Trent Grisham hit a liner up the middle, but the White Sox were able to turn two. The White Sox intentionally walked Aaron Judge for the second time to give Cody Bellinger a chance to at least tie the game. Chicago left-hander Brandon Eistert walked Bellinger, but the final pitch was thrown to the backstop, allowing Volpe to score and tie the game.
Caballero battled to hit a bloop single on the ninth pitch of the at-bat to score Judge.
Here are the takeaways...
-The Yankees got the scoring started in the second after a Jazz Chisholm Jr. walk, stolen base, and an Anthony Volpe single put runners on the corners with one out for Austin Wells. The Yankees' backstop hit a double down the right field line to plate Jazz and put the Yankees in front. But that's all they would be able to get off of starter Shane Smith.
The White Sox's lone All-Star this season allowed one run on five hits and four walks but struck out eight batters across his five innings.
-The offense had trouble getting to the White Sox bullpen until the eighth, when Ben Rice hit a one-out single and was replaced byCaballero. Giancarlo Stanton nearly missed a two-run homer, but it was caught at the warning track. Chisholm followed with a screaming single in the corner that put runners on the corners with two outs for Amed Rosario. After a wild pitch allowed Jazz to get to second, Rosario stared at strike three to end the threat.
-Luis Gil got off to a tough start, tossing 27 pitches in a scoreless firs after he pitched to full counts to all four batters faced. But he would settle down, retiring seven straight batters at one point. But things changed in the sixth whenGrisham andJudge had some miscommunication in the outfield that allowed a one-out hit. Colson Montgomery followed by smashing a two-run shot over the right field wall to give Chicago the 2-1 lead. It was the one blemish on Gil's ledger that allowed just two runs in his six innings of work.
Gil allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out just three batters in his six innings (89 pitches/57 strikes) of work.
-The Yankees bullpen did its job, keeping the score close in hopes of a comeback that would eventually come. Here's how the 'pen did on Tuesday:
Fernando Cruz: 1 IP, 1 H
Tim Hill: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Luke Weaver: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 K
-After his big game in the series finale in Baltimore, Rice continued his hot hitting, going 3-for-4 with a double.
Matt Shaw is in his rookie season with the Cubs.Photograph: Matt Dirksen/Getty Images
Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw said he has no regrets after missing a game with playoff implications to attend a memorial for Charlie Kirk.
Shaw missed the Cubs’ game at the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday to go to the memorial for the rightwing activist, which took place in Arizona. The Cubs lost the game 1-0. They are aiming to secure the top wildcard slot in the National League, which would give them home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Shaw’s absence was also a boost for the Reds, who are in a battle with the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks for the final wildcard spot in the NL.
Shaw was asked about his decision on Tuesday, before the Cubs’ game with the Mets. Kirk’s widow, Erika, invited Shaw to the memorial and the infielder said he felt it was his duty to attend. Kirk was from the Chicago area and got to know Shaw when they lived in the same apartment complex in Arizona. Shaw said the pair bonded over their Christian faith.
“My connection with Charlie was through our faith,’’ Shaw said. “And that’s something that drives me every day, the reason why I’m able to do what I do every day, and that’s something I’m extremely thankful for. I know without my faith and without the many blessings I’ve been given in my life that I wouldn’t be here, be able to talk to you guys, able to help this team eventually go and win championships. That’s something I feel really, really blessed about, so whatever backlash comes is OK.”
The Cubs were not allowed to bring in a replacement to their roster for Shaw as he was ineligible for the bereavement list, which is reserved for players who have lost family members. The rookie said he had talked to his teammates and manager before making the decision to attend.
“For him to go and be a part of a celebration of life and grieve, from a human level, I understand it,” Chicago’s veteran outfielder Ian Happ told the Chicago Sun-Times. “We’re baseball players, and that takes up a ton of our life, but there’s a huge human element to this game, and it’s really hard to lose a friend and really hard to lose someone you’re close to.”
The Mets’ popular play-by-play announcer, Gary Cohen, gave his thoughts on the SNY broadcast for Tuesday’s game.
“I don’t want to talk about any of the politics of it, but the thought of leaving your team in the middle of a [wildcard] race for any reason other than a family emergency, really strikes me as weird,” said Cohen.
The Cubs selected Shaw with the 13th overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft. He is batting .224 in his rookie season with 12 home runs. He was back in the Cubs lineup to face the Mets on Tuesday but his team gave up a 6-1 lead in a 9-7 defeat.
For seven innings, it looked like business as usual. Cristopher Sánchez dominated, the Phillies homered twice, and a home crowd braced for another routine win.
Instead, the bullpen unraveled, a rain delay muddied the finish, and Miami walked away with a 6-5 comeback victory in extras that left the remnants of the Philadelphia crowd deflated.
Sánchez continued his Cy Young-caliber season with seven scoreless frames of three-hit ball, carving through a Marlins lineup stacked with right-handed bats. He struck out six — notching his 200th strikeout this season — and looked every bit the stopper Rob Thomson has leaned on all year.
Meanwhile, the offense got its usual jolt from Kyle Schwarber, who opened the scoring in the first with a 112 mph moonshot into the right-field seats — his 54th of the year, now just four shy of Ryan Howard’s franchise record.
Otto Kemp added a two-run shot in the second, padding the lead to 3-0.
But that was all the Phillies managed with Sanchez on the mound and it wasn’t enough.
Rob Thomson went to David Robertson in the eighth and Miami pounced.
Griffin Conine launched a cutter for a solo homer, Otto Lopez and Liam Hicks singled, and a Harrison Bader throwing error gifted another run. Suddenly, the lead was down to one. Tanner Banks briefly steadied things with a big strikeout of Jakob Marsee, but the ninth brought disaster.
Jhoan Duran coughed up a game-tying homer to Heriberto Hernandez, silencing the crowd in an instant. Just before the blast, the game was delayed when J.T. Realmuto took a foul tip off his right hand and exited with what was later diagnosed as a contusion.
“That was quite a blow to his finger,” Thomson said. “But X-rays are negative. We’ll check him out tomorrow.”
Sánchez also made sure to underline Realmuto’s importance. “He’s super important to us. He’s one of the best catchers in the game. We’re basically not there without him.”
Then, came the rain. A sudden downpour forced a one hour, nine minute delay before the Phillies could finish batting in the bottom of the ninth, freezing any momentum.
After the Phillies were blanked when play resumed, the game went into extras. Miami scored twice in the 10th — one on a broken-bat single from Hicks, another on a Marsee fielder’s choice — to take a 5-3 lead.
The Phillies fought back. Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos delivered RBI singles to tie the game in the bottom of the 10th, with Castellanos grinding out an eight-pitch at-bat to keep the night alive.
“It’s difficult,” Thomson said of Castellanos adjusting to a part-time role. “He’s been playing every day his entire life, so you have to take your hat off to him for the job he’s doing.”
But in the 11th, Lou Trivino gave up a sacrifice fly that proved to be the difference. The Phillies went down in order to end the three-hour, 26-minute affair.
The Phillies dropped to 92-65 and missed a potential chance to officially clinch a first-round bye, needing either a Dodgers loss or a steadier bullpen to seal things themselves.
For a team that has thrived on power and pitching, Tuesday’s meltdown was a reminder that October will demand more than just strong starting pitching.
SAN FRANCISCO — The first vote of confidence came on Dec. 10.
As an organization, the Giants do not believe in rebuilding. But Buster Posey, a franchise legend who was hired to lead baseball operations after three consecutive disappointing years, could have talked ownership into a change of course if he felt it was right. Instead, Posey made an early strike in his first offseason, signing Willy Adames to the largest contract in franchise history.
The second vote of confidence came on June 15. Posey stunned the baseball world by trading for Rafael Devers, an all-in move for a team that was 11 games over .500 at the time.
The third came on July 1 when the Giants, losers of six of seven, picked up the 2026 option on manager Bob Melvin. It was a very clear signal to an embattled coaching staff, but also an underperforming roster.
The 2025 Giants, at every turn, thought they would make the postseason. On Tuesday, they were eliminated with four games to go in the regular season.
This is the eighth time in the last nine seasons that the Giants have missed the MLB playoffs, the lone exception being a magical 107-win campaign in Posey’s final year as a player. The front office, coaching staff and roster have undergone massive changes since that retirement ceremony, but there has been one constant. For four years, there has been a magnet constantly pulling the Giants back to .500.
This time, there is work to be done just to get to that mediocre mark. After a 9-8 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, the Giants fell to 77-81.
The face of the franchise unfortunately has had to get used to losing seasons. After watching his 15th win disappear because of a late bullpen collapse, Logan Webb said this year is “probably the most frustrating” one yet.
“No offense to the teams we’ve had before, but this is the most talented team I’ve been on,” Webb said. “I think there were a lot of expectations and it sucks.”
Logan Webb calls this Giants team the "most talented" he's been on after their frustrating elimination from playoff contention pic.twitter.com/n8EaCGhMiq
Webb noted that the Giants briefly slid into first place with a win at Dodger Stadium in June. Two days later, they acquired Devers. Somehow, they’re 36-50 since the blockbuster.
“We were excited,” Webb said of that trade. “It’s kind of hard to pinpoint [what has happened]. When things go wrong it just unfortunately seems like we’ve let it stay wrong for a long time, and that’s not a very good recipe for success. Unfortunately it seems like it’s four straight years where it’s been like the exact same thing. Yeah, it just sucks.”
This year’s group initially had the look of one that would change all of that.
It is a close-knit and loose clubhouse and has been even in the down times, and for most of the season, the Giants have benefited from tremendous health compared to the teams around them in the standings. But the 2025 Giants also proved to be flawed in important ways.
They entered Tuesday ranked 18th in starting pitcher ERA, and after talking of their depth all spring, they ran out of options. Kyle Harrison was traded for Devers, Hayden Birdsong lost the strike zone and Landen Roupp’s breakout year ended with a knee injury. Jordan Hicks pitched his way out of the rotation and into a trade, and the anticipated depth in Triple-A never materialized.
If you had told Melvin in March that he would get All-Star seasons out of Webb and Robbie Ray and 28 starts out of Justin Verlander, he probably would feel like a lock for October. But it wasn’t enough, and Webb and Ray had their worst weekend of the year at a bad time, losing back-to-back games against the Dodgers earlier this month after the Giants briefly moved into a tie for the final wild-card spot.
The bullpen was the best in baseball for much of the first half, but fell apart in some big games down the stretch, including Tuesday, when Ryan Walker blew the save in the ninth. That part was at least somewhat understandable given the personnel losses.
As they look back at all of the bitter losses, the Giants likely will zero in on an 0-6 homestand against the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates right before the MLB trade deadline. The front office hoped to add starting pitching; instead, Posey reacted by flipping Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval for prospects. A few weeks later, Randy Rodriguez found out he needed Tommy John surgery, joining Erik Miller on the IL.
The Giants will spend most of this offseason rebuilding the back of their rotation and the leverage spots in their bullpen. The lineup should return just about fully intact, but that group will need to be much more consistent in 2026.
The overall numbers will look fine for most of the team’s highest-paid hitters, but with the exception of a brief run in late August and early September — after the Giants practically were eliminated — there never seemed to be more than one or two players going at the same time.
The Giants are in the bottom half of the league in runs, homers and wRC+. When the season slipped away right before and after the deadline, the lineup scored fewer than three runs in 12 of 16 games at Oracle Park. Not surprisingly, the Giants lost 15 of those games, a historically bad stretch.
When the going got tough on the mound and at the plate, there was nowhere else to turn for an edge. They have not been a good defensive team, particularly in the outfield. They’re last in the NL in stolen bases, an ongoing theme for the organization.
Webb wasn’t just blowing smoke. This is a talented roster on paper, one that saw a fourth player reach 20 homers on Tuesday night, with the hope that newcomer Bryce Eldridge dwarfs that number for years to come.
But Posey still has plenty of work to do, and it will start right away. Melvin might be under contract, but this second-half collapse will have to fall on somebody, and it’s not out of the question that the Giants embark on a second managerial search in three years. At the very least, the expectation for many within the organization is that there will be a few notable internal changes.
It was about a year ago that Posey decided he was ready to lead the organization. He has spent the last 12 months observing and listening. Now it’s time to find a way out of this loop that the Giants seem to be stuck in.
“If there’s one thing about Buster Posey, it’s that I don’t think he’s okay with losing, I don’t think he’s okay with even being .500,” Webb said. “He wants to win. I’m not going to play his job because that’s not my job, but I don’t think he’s okay with this. I don’t think there’s a lot of people okay with this in this clubhouse.”
The Cleveland Guardians earned a 5-2 victory against the Detroit Tigers in their series opener at Progressive Field. Cleveland now sits atop the American League Central after having won 11 of its last 12 games.
Detroit, meanwhile, is a half game up on the Houston Astros for the third AL Wild Card spot.
Boston should benefit from Detroit’s slide of seven straight losses. The Red Sox host the Tigers in a three-game series this weekend and thus have the opportunity to gain further ground in the standings.
The Red Sox remain four games back of the New York Yankees, who earned a 3-2 victory against the Chicago White Sox and thus kept a stranglehold atop the AL Wild Card standings.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora managed Tuesday’s game like a postseason matchup.
With starting pitcher Lucas Giolito sitting at 98 pitches and allowing a two-out walk to Alejandro Kirk, Cora pulled the right-hander with two outs in the fifth inning. He went to the bullpen, and the group stepped up.
Justin Wilson, Garrett Whitlock, Justin Slaten and Aroldis Chapman combined for the final 4.1 innings and did not allow a single hit in relief.
The Red Sox will face the Blue Jays in the middle game of the three-game set on Wednesday night.
SAN FRANCISCO — The end was all too familiar for the 2025 Giants.
Their bullpen, torn apart by trades and injuries, fell apart in the late innings at Oracle Park. The lineup, so inconsistent all year, failed to bring in a runner from scoring position in the bottom of the ninth.
With their 9-8 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, the Giants officially were eliminated from the MLB playoff race. They will miss the postseason for the eighth time in nine years, and this is one of their worst collapses yet. They were 11 games over .500 when they acquired Rafael Devers in June, but they’ll need to win out just to finish at 81-81.
The elimination number was two entering the day, and that got cut in half when the New York Mets staged a big comeback at Wrigley Field. The Giants needed a win to stay alive, and for a while it seemed they would get it.
Logan Webb got off to a nightmare start, allowing five hits and three runs in the top of the first. It would have been worse, but longtime Giants-killer Nolan Arenado bounced into a double play after the night started with three consecutive hits.
Webb settled in from there and the Giants gave him the lead with a five-run outburst in the third. With the bases loaded and no outs, Heliot Ramos hit a chopper to third. Arenado went home but his throw hit Patrick Bailey, who had veered pretty far onto the grass, and bounced toward the dugout. That brought the first two runs across.
The Cardinals scored four runs in the seventh to get within a run, but Joel Peguero survived two deep fly balls in the eighth. In the ninth, things quickly unraveled.
Ryan Walker gave up a leadoff single to the No. 9 hitter and then a game-tying double. After a groundout, Alec Burleson lined a go-ahead single to right, handing Walker his seventh blown save.
After a one-out double by Willy Adames in the bottom of the ninth, Matt Chapman and Wilmer Flores struck out.
Mr. 200
In the top of the fifth, Webb clinched his third consecutive 200-inning season. He already reached 200 strikeouts for the first time, and he has a pretty good chance to lead the National League in both categories.
Webb currently leads the majors at 201 2/3 innings, which is 4 1/3 ahead of Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet and 5 1/3 ahead of Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Christopher Sanchez. Crochet will pitch Wednesday and Sanchez is on track to pitch again Sunday, but both players could be lining themselves up for playoff series by the weekend. If Webb finishes ahead of them, it’ll be his second time leading the majors and third straight year leading the NL.
Webb struck out five on Tuesday, getting to 216 on the season. He currently is seven ahead of Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes, who will make his final start of the year on Wednesday. If Webb leads the league in both, he’ll become the first to do it in the NL since Zack Wheeler in 2021.
Webb already has become the first Giant to reach 200 innings and 200 strikeouts since Madison Bumgarner in 2019. Bumgarner also is the last Giant to throw 200 innings in at least three straight seasons; he went six straight from 2011 to 2016.
Bailey Bounceback
Aside from his slick baserunning, Bailey had a single, double, two runs and an RBI. The night continued what has been a strong finishing push for a player who seemed to run out of gas the past two seasons.
Bailey entered the night with a .295 average and four homers in September, and he’s among the NL leaders with 16 RBI this month. His OPS for the season is up to .609, which isn’t what he hoped for in his third big league season, but is much easier to swallow than the numbers he was putting up most of the summer.
20 Club
The eighth unanswered run left the yard in a hurry. Heliot Ramos hit one out to left at 110.5 mph, giving him 20 on the season. The Giants now have four 20-homer hitters in their lineup, with Ramos joining Devers, Adames and Chapman.
Ramos has reached 20 in back-to-back years, but because he has played exclusively left field this season, he ended a long drought. He became the first Giants left fielder to reach 20 homers since Barry Bonds in 2007.
The Giants have started a different player in left field every year since, although Ramos should end that next season. Another streak might keep going, though; Adames has been stuck on 28 homers since Sept. 9.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced that right-hander Tylor Megill underwent Tommy John surgery on Monday.
Mendoza was unsure if Megill underwent the standard version of the procedure, or the internal brace version, which often has a quicker recovery timeline.
The typical recovery timeline for the standard surgery is somewhere around 12-18 months, while the internal brace can cut that time down to around 6-8 months.
Megill hadn't pitched in the majors since June 14, landing on the IL soon after due to a right elbow sprain.
The 30-year-old, who is under team control and arbitration eligible through the 2027 season, pitched to a 3.95 ERA this season across 14 starts, striking out 89 hitters in 68.1 innings.
Tyrone Taylor could be activated on Wednesday
Elsewhere on the injury front, Mendoza said that outfielder Tyrone Taylor, who has been on the IL since early September with a hamstring injury, could be activated on Wednesday if all goes to plan.
"He’s going through a full workout again today. Running again at full intensity," Mendoza said. "If everything goes well, there’s a chance that he could be active tomorrow."
If and when Taylor is activated, the Mets will have to clear a roster spot for him, which could mean DFA-ing either Jose Siri or Cedric Mullins.
But as Mendoza said, the team is taking things one step at a time before making any decisions.
"Obviously, we’re going to have to make a decision, but we’re gonna have to get through today, we’ve got to make sure that TT is ready to go, and then we’ve got to make some decisions," said the skipper.
“I don’t think it’s bad,” San Francisco Giants veteran pitcher Justin Verlander said then. “I definitely think it’s going to take some time to get it right, just like everything that’s been implemented in the game. We don’t know the ripple effects of it. But in the end, in big spots everyone wants the call to be right.”
The challenge system is not an automated umpire and does not call every pitch—the home plate umpire still has that duty. But the pitcher, catcher or hitter has the right to challenge a call at least twice every game. They can indicate it by tapping their cap or helmet immediately after the challenged pitch. There can’t be any help from any other player on the field or in the dugout.
The challenge is then analyzed and the results displayed on the main video board in each MLB ballpark, revealing whether the call is sustained or reversed.
If a challenge is successful, the team retains it. If it’s not, that team loses the challenge. In extra innings, a team will get one more challenge if it has none remaining.
The system has also been tested successfully in the minor leagues and the Arizona Fall League, which use the calls by the automated umps for every pitch.
Rather than implement the entire system, MLB has decided to start with just challenges first.
“It’s cool. I like it,” said Alek Thomas, an Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder who became used to it in their minor league system. “I wish we had more challenges. In the minor leagues, I tapped my head a lot if I didn’t agree with a call.”
For the first time since last season, Brandon Nimmo will be the Mets' starting center fielder on Tuesday night when they begin a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs.
Starling Marte will be in left field and Juan Soto remains in right field.
With the final week of the regular season underway and New York fighting for a playoff spot, Mendoza is shaking things up and leaving no stone unturned.
The decision comes as the Mets' other options in center field -- Cedric Mullins and Jose Siri -- have failed to generate enough offense and also struggled defensively.
Nimmo has played 144 games in left field this season and four games in center field, although he hasn't started a game there since 2024, when he made 22 starts in center.
After racing out to an MLB-best 45-24 start, it seemed that the 2025 Mets were going to coast to the playoffs.
Whether they won the NL East title or made it in as a Wild Card appeared to be the only question.
But since climbing to the above record on June 12, New York has gone 35-52.
It's been a stunning turn of events for a team that is this loaded with talent, has a well-regarded manager in Carlos Mendoza, is led by a terrific executive in David Stearns, and is owned by Steve Cohen -- who has left no stone unturned when it comes to reshaping the franchise and putting it in position to contend year after year.
With six games to go in the regular season, the Mets no longer control their playoff destiny, having dropped into a tie with the Reds for the third and final Wild Card spot -- with Cincinnati owning the tiebreaker.
Injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas hurt early, leaving the Mets to rely on a rotation that had Clay Holmes (converting from relieving to starting), Kodai Senga (coming off an injury-riddled 2024), David Peterson (who had struggled with consistency), Griffin Canning (5.19 ERA/5.26 FIP in 2024), and Tylor Megill (career ERA of 4.56 and a lengthy injury history).
New York Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea (59) delivers a pitch during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
The rotation excelled early, but started to falter in May.
Megill had a 5.79 ERA from May 4 to June 14, and hasn't pitched since due to injury.
Canning began to regress to the mean during his start on June 10 and was lost for the season on June 26 when he tore his Achilles.
Holmes has pitched admirably as he's blown way past his prior high for innings pitched in a season, but hasn't been able to provide much length. Since June 7, he has completed more than 5.0 innings in just three of his 16 starts (counting only the non-piggyback ones).
Senga has not been himself since returning from a hamstring injury, and made his last two starts in the minors.
After a hot start that led to an All-Star selection, Peterson has faded, with a 7.59 ERA in 40.1 innings since Aug. 6.
Manaea, who is pitching with loose bodies in his elbow that he says are not impacting his performance, has a 5.59 ERA in 58.0 innings and is now part of the aforementioned piggyback with Holmes.
Then there's Montas, who had a 6.28 ERA in 38.2 innings after returning and was then lost for the year on Aug. 15 due to Tommy John surgery.
All of this has put tons of pressure (and an enormous workload) on the bullpen, led to the Mets playing from behind way too often, and resulted in them having three rookies anchoring their staff down the stretch (more on that in a bit).
New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) is greeted in the dugout after hitting a two run home run in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. / Wendell Cruz - Imagn Images
An offense that has been too inconsistent
The Mets' offense has shown the ability to bludgeon its opponents, but it has also had long stretches where it has been among the most anemic in the league.
That includes the eight-game losing streak from Sept. 6 to 13, when New York scored just 24 runs -- an average of three per game.
Over the weekend as the Mets were losing two of three games to the last-place Nationals, they mustered only three runs during an 11-inning loss on Saturday and scratched across only two as they lost by a run on Sunday. On Saturday specifically, it came down to a failure to execute with runners on base in the ninth and 10th innings.
Given that Juan Soto will likely finish in the top three in MVP voting, that Pete Alonso has an .876 OPS and 38 home runs (and has been red hot for a month), and that Francisco Lindor is having another phenomenal season, the level of inconsistency and depth of the struggles at times has been odd.
In addition to the big three of Soto, Alonso, and Lindor, the Mets are also getting strong seasons from Jeff McNeil (115 OPS+), Francisco Alvarez (118 OPS+), Brandon Nimmo (114 OPS+), Starling Marte (118 OPS+), and Brett Baty (109 OPS+).
Mark Vientos' up-and-down year has hurt a bit -- as has the absence of Jesse Winker and lack of production from center field. But those relatively minor things don't explain how alarming the struggles have sometimes been.
Not enough proactivity in July
When the rotation was in need of arms in July, the Mets opted to rely on bullpen games -- and to keep a struggling Paul Blackburn in the rotation (they lost his last four starts).
Specifically, they were swept by the Orioles in a doubleheader where they used Brandon Waddell, Justin Hagenman, and Richard Lovelady in Game 2. And they lost a game to the Yankees where Waddell put them in an early 5-0 hole before they fought back. But Zach Pop was used in relief, and struggled as they game slipped away.
During that time, the club also relied on Blade Tidwell for starts and bulk innings as he pitched to a 9.00 ERA over four appearances.
While this was going on, Nolan McLean was excelling for Triple-A Syracuse and Brandon Sproat was starting to find his form. It is totally understandable that the team didn't turn to Sproat in July, given how his season started. But had New York called up McLean at that point, it can be argued that they would've won a few of the games they in effect punted.
Sep 2, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Nolan McLean (26) delivers in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. / David Reginek - Imagn Images
It's impossible to know how ready McLean would've been on July 4 or July 10 as opposed to Aug. 16 (when he made his big league debut). But it made sense to find out, given the alternatives.
Now, as the Mets try to salvage a once-promising season, all eyes are on McLean -- who has become their stopper. He has been joined recently in the rotation by Sproat and Jonah Tong, who will all make starts this week.
***
Even though it was possible to see the Mets' rotation issues coming, and even though the offense has been perplexing at times, the team should not have fallen this far -- even with the rotation and offensive problems.
That they find themselves fighting for a playoff spot falls primarily on the players for too often failing to execute.
Meanwhile, I've seen lots of consternation regarding the trade deadline Stearns had. But it's mostly revisionist history.
The trades for Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers, and Gregory Soto were lauded at the time, and Cedric Mullins was viewed as a needed offensive upgrade.
Sometimes, players don't perform up to their standards, as has been the case with Helsley (whose pitch-tipping played a hand in it) and Mullins (whose power has mostly vanished as a Met). Rogers (2.25 ERA) and Soto (3.86 ERA) have been good since being acquired.
Could Stearns have traded for starting pitching help at the deadline? Sure. But the prices were sky-high and the impact pitchers rumored to be available were not moved.
In any event, the Mets still have a week left to write their story.
If it's one that ends in the playoffs, what has happened since the middle of June will be a footnote. If it ends with New York on the outside looking in, it might become a book.
The Phillies have to be excited to get back in front of their home crowd to close out the regular season.
Despite a huge series victory, where they clinched the NL East, against the Dodgers, some glaring offensive numbers stood out.
Including Emmett Sheehan, who followed lefty opener Anthony Banda, Los Angeles’ starting pitching shut down the Phillies’ offense all series.
Between Sheehan, Shohei Ohtani and Blake Snell, the trio combined for 17 ⅔ innings, allowing just three hits and one run (0.51 ERA) while racking up 24 strikeouts.
Luckily, timely hitting proved to be the difference, as Philadelphia took two of three at Dodger Stadium.
But with LA likely looming as an NLDS opponent, it’ll be worth watching whether Rob Thomson’s group can adjust to their starters.
When the Phillies went into Chase Field to face the Diamondbacks, the offense didn’t fare much better. With runners in scoring position, the bats went cold, going just 4-for-30 in those situations.
Whether Arizona still has their number from two seasons ago or not, the Phillies will look to right the ship with their RISP struggles during this final homestand.
Trea working back
The Phillies’ star shortstop was on the field this afternoon taking live at-bats against minor leaguers Danny Harper and Andrew Walling.
When asked if Trea Turner would return before the end of the regular season, Thomson kept it short with reporters.
“We’re hopeful,” he said.
Sep 7, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) celebrates after hitting a home run against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Thomson added that Turner is running at about “70 to 75 percent.” He emphasized it isn’t essential for Turner to play before the postseason begins, though getting him some reps would certainly help.
In Turner’s absence, Harrison Bader has done a phenomenal job atop the lineup. He’s slashing .339/.383/.518 with six extra-base hits in 60 plate appearances and credits hitting in front of Kyle Schwarber.
“Hitting in front of that caliber of bat is awesome,” Bader said. “I think when you have a really good bat behind you, it changes the mentality of the pitching staff.”
“Honestly, hitting leadoff has been awesome,” Bader added. “I’m just trying to keep the spot warm until Trea comes back, and I’ve enjoyed it.”
Reyes receives MVP honors
Earlier today, Minor League Baseball announced its Double-A All-Stars and awards — and Phillies prospect Felix Reyes took home hardware.
The 24-year-old, who spent almost the entire season with Reading, was named Eastern League Most Valuable Player.
In his fifth professional season, Reyes broke out in a big way. He hit .335 with 15 homers and 67 RBIs, posting a .937 OPS over 95 games.
“He can really hit … and he’s a really good player,” Thomson said.
Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2020, Reyes finished just shy of the Minor League batting title, trailing only Rangers prospect Cody Freeman.
My take on Casty
Obviously, it was a hectic road trip — and Nick Castellanos’ comments to reporters only stirred the pot further.
After a few days to cool down, one key takeaway remains: Castellanos is clearly playing with a chip on his shoulder. And that hasn’t been a negative in the batter’s box.
Since the start of September — when he fully assumed the platoon role, he’s slashing .306/.333/.500 in 36 at-bats. He’s also excelled against right-handed pitching in that span, hitting .333.
With free agency ahead this offseason and his constant emphasis on staying focused on bringing a World Series championship back to Philadelphia, I see the storyline as a positive heading into October.
Wouldn’t it be something if, after all the controversy, Castellanos played a key role in a championship run?
As Philly fans have heard often: trust the process.
Tuesday preview
The Phillies open a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park against a red-hot Marlins club. Miami has won 10 of its last 11 under first-year manager Clayton McCullough.
The Marlins, who sit four games out of the last Wild Card spot, are 2-4 against Philadelphia this season.
They’ll send out right-hander Edward Cabrera (7-7, 3.57 ERA). The 27-year-old is making his first start since Aug. 30 after an elbow sprain landed him on the IL.
In his lone start against the Phillies, back on June 19, Cabrera went 6 ⅓ innings, allowing just two hits and one run in a 2-1 Phillies win.
His numbers at Citizens Bank Park, though, haven’t been as sharp. In three starts, he’s posted a 4.91 ERA, allowing 16 hits in 14 ⅔ innings.
His last outing at The Bank? Six earned runs in just four innings.
For the Phillies, it’ll be the ever-reliable Cristopher Sánchez (13-5, 2.66 ERA). The southpaw gutted through his last outing in Los Angeles, rough early but finishing strong with seven innings of four-run ball.
Sep 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
In what’s likely his final start of a Cy Young-caliber season, the Phillies should feel good about their chances of securing the coveted first-round bye.
With a win and a Dodgers loss (to Arizona), they’ll clinch an automatic bid to the National League Division Series.
The MLB competition committee voted on Tuesday to approve implementing the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System for the entire 2026 season.
Here’s how it will work:
-- Each team will get two challenges and can keep them if they're successful
-- Challenges can only be initiated by a pitcher, catcher, or batter, and the challenge must be requested immediately after the call is made
-- To signal a challenge, the pitcher, catcher, or batter will tap his hat or helmet to let the umpire know, and no help from the dugout or other players on the field is allowed
-- In each extra inning, a team will be awarded a challenge if it has none remaining entering the inning
The ABS system was used on a trial basis during MLB spring training games this season as well as during the 2025 All-Star Game in Atlanta.
The system has also been used, to some degree, on a more regular basis throughout the minor leagues (starting in independent ball in 2019) and the Arizona Fall League, though the process and technology have been updated over time.
According to a release from Major League Baseball, 12 Hawk-Eye cameras will be set up around the perimeter of the field to track the location of each pitch. The pitch location is compared to the batter's strike zone, and if any part of the ball touches any part of the strike zone, the pitch will be considered a strike. The home plate umpire will announce the challenge to the fans in the ballpark and a graphic showing the outcome of the challenge will be displayed on the scoreboard and broadcast. The entire process should take approximately 15 seconds.
NEW YORK (AP) — Robot umpires are getting called up to the big leagues next season.
Major League Baseball’s 11-man competition committee on Tuesday approved use of the Automated Ball/Strike System in the major leagues in 2026.
Human plate umpires will still call balls and strikes, but teams can challenge two calls per game and get additional appeals in extra innings. Challenges must be made by a pitcher, catcher or batter — signaled by tapping their helmet or cap — and a team retains its challenge if successful. Reviews will be shown as digital graphics on outfield videoboards.
Adding the robot umps is likely to cut down on ejections. MLB said 61.5% of ejections among players, managers and coaches last year were related to balls and strikes, as were 60.3% this season through Sunday. The figures include ejections for derogatory comments, throwing equipment while protesting calls and inappropriate conduct.
Big league umpires call roughly 94% of pitches correctly, according to UmpScorecards.
At Triple-A at the start of the 2023 season, half the games used the robots for ball/strike calls and half had a human making decisions subject to appeals by teams to the ABS.
MLB switched Triple-A to an all-challenge system on June 26, 2024, then used the challenge system this year at 13 spring training ballparks hosting 19 teams for a total of 288 exhibition games. Teams won 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges (617 of 1,182) challenges.
At Triple-A this season, the average challenges per game increased to 4.2 from 3.9 through Sunday and the success rate dropped to 49.5% from 50.6%. Defenses were successful in 53.7% of challenges this year and offenses in 45%.
In the first test at the big League All-Star Game, four of five challenges of plate umpire Dan Iassogna’s calls were successful in July.
Teams in Triple-A do not get additional challenges in extra innings. The proposal approved Tuesday included a provision granting teams one additional challenge each inning if they don’t have challenges remaining.
MLB has experimented with different shapes and interpretations of the strike zone with ABS, including versions that were three-dimensional. Currently, it calls strikes solely based on where the ball crosses the midpoint of the plate, 8.5 inches from the front and the back. The top of the strike zone is 53.5% of batter height and the bottom 27%.
This will be MLB’s first major rule change since sweeping adjustments in 2024. Those included a pitch clock, restrictions on defensive shifts, pitcher disengagements such as pickoff attempts and larger bases.
The challenge system introduces ABS without eliminating pitch framing, a subtle art where catchers use their body and glove to try making borderline pitches look like strikes. Framing has become a critical skill for big league catchers, and there was concern that full-blown ABS would make some strong defensive catchers obsolete. Not that everyone loves it.
“The idea that people get paid for cheating, for stealing strikes, for moving a pitch that’s not a strike into the zone to fool the official and make it a strike is beyond my comprehension,” former manager Bobby Valentine said.
Texas manager Bruce Bochy, a big league catcher from 1978-87, maintained old-school umpires such as Bruce Froemming and Billy Williams never would have accepted pitch framing. He said they would have told him: “‘If you do that again, you’ll never get a strike.’ I’m cutting out some words.”
Management officials on the competition committee include Seattle chairman John Stanton, St. Louis CEO Bill DeWitt Jr., San Francisco chairman Greg Johnson, Colorado CEO Dick Monfort, Toronto CEO Mark Shapiro and Boston chairman Tom Werner.
Players include Arizona’s Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen, Detroit’s Casey Mize, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and the New York Yankees’ Austin Slater, with the Chicago Cubs’ Ian Happ at Detroit’s Casey Mize as alternates. The union representatives make their decisions based on input from players on the 30 teams.
Alex Faust, left, is taking over MLB playoffs announcing from Bob Costas. (Getty Images; Associated Press)
The successor to Bob Costas as play-by-play voice on TNT's Major League Baseball postseason games will be the same broadcaster who replaced the legendary Bob Miller in 2017 after Miller retired following a 44-year Hall of Fame career with the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL.
Yes, Alex Faust has experience replacing a titan of the airwaves.
Costas, of course, is another Hall of Famer, and he also retired after 44 years. His final MLB call was the 2024 American League Division Series in which the New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals in four games.
Faust, 36, currently calls Friday Night MLB games streamed on Apple TV+. He also is the radio voice of the New York Rangers and has been part of hockey and tennis coverage at TNT Sports. Faust left the Kings in 2023 when their television deal with Bally Sports expired.
Costas will continue to appear on MLB Network but won't do play-by-play. His most recent appearance on the airwaves was as a guest on the NPR news quiz "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" on Sept. 13.
After telling stories about not making his high school baseball team and recounting an embarrassing, mildly profane gaffe he made on air early in his career, Costas answered all three game show questions about the Emmy Awards correctly.
Costas joked that he had accomplished "the trifecta, the hat trick, the triple crown." Host Peter Segal asked what the show should call it when someone goes 3 for 3. Costas laughed and replied, "The Costi."
He probably should have an award named after him. Costas, 73, has received 29 Emmys and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 1988 through 2016. He called three World Series and 10 MLB league championships.
Costas stepped down from MLB play-by-play in November, telling Tom Verducci of MLB Network that he had planned to retire for more than a year, saying, "I couldn't consistently reach my past standard."
Bob Costas sits down with Tom Verducci to talk through his decision to retire from play-by-play announcing and reflect on his career. pic.twitter.com/8LkxIalgsv
