Category: Baseball

What we learned as Clayton Kershaw gets last laugh in Giants' loss to Dodgers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

LOS ANGELES — In the fifth inning Friday night, about two hours after the first pitch, Dodger Stadium started shaking. But it had nothing to do with the game being Clayton Kershaw’s final regular season start in Los Angeles. 

Shortly after Kershaw departed, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts went back-to-back off Giants starter Robbie Ray. That flipped a close game and led to another NL West loss for the Giants, who are getting closer and closer to being officially eliminated from the MLB postseason race. 

The 6-3 loss was the fourth in five games on this road trip through Phoenix and Los Angeles and sixth in seven games since the Giants briefly climbed into a tie for a postseason spot. They got a leadoff homer from Heliot Ramos, but after that it was another quiet night for a group that has seen its stars slump with the season on the line. 

The night started with a standing ovation for Kershaw, who took the field alone and then signaled his teammates to join him as he warmed up. Before many of the 53,000 could sit down, Ramos blasted a 431-foot homer to left-center, but the Giants weren’t able to spoil Kershaw’s big night. 

Heliot Ramos isn't here for the Clayton Kershaw pageantry 😅pic.twitter.com/GrsuTLnOEx

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 20, 2025

A day after he announced that he is retiring after the season, Kershaw allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings. He was on the hook for a loss when he departed, but Ohtani quickly changed that with a three-run blast. 

Closing The Book

For years, a decade even, the Ramos homer alone would have qualified as a good day for the Giants against Kershaw. Nobody has ever been more of a Giants-killer than the future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, who made his 63rd career appearance against them on Friday night. 

With his second of six strikeouts, Kershaw passed Warren Spahn for the most career strikeouts against the Giants. He finished with 421 of them in 411 2/3 innings and posted a 2.10 ERA. That’s the lowest for any pitcher in history who threw at least 150 innings against the organization.

Kershaw finished his night — and possibly his career at Dodger Stadium — by striking out Rafael Devers for a second straight time. He froze Devers with an 89 mph fastball at the knees and then hugged teammates as Dodger Stadium roared and Dave Roberts came out to get the baseball.

The Night’s Other Lefty

Ray has gotten to know Kershaw over the years, a friendship that began when they played catch together at an All-Star Game. On Thursday, shortly after Kershaw’s announcement, Ray said he was excited about pitching in what would feel like a playoff atmosphere. 

For four innings, Ray looked ready to ruin the night. But he got heater-happy against Ohtani and paid for it. Ray has had good velo the last two times out and he pumped fastballs at Ohtani, who hit the fifth one into the seats in left for his 52nd homer of the year. 

Ray was charged with five earned runs. He has allowed 16 earned over four starts in September. 

Postseason Picture

If you are, uhh, still holding out hope … it’s not pretty.

The New York Mets used a six-run inning to blow out the Washington Nationals on Friday afternoon and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs in a homer-filled game at Great American Small Park. It shouldn’t be long now before the Giants are mathematically eliminated. 

Counting the tiebreaker, they are five games behind the Mets with eight to go. The Reds are two games ahead of the Giants, so even if New York collapsed and the Giants finished strong, they would still need plenty of help. With a rough weekend, they could be eliminated as soon as Sunday. 

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Alec Bohm returns from IL with time to regroup before postseason originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

PHOENIX – Since getting hit with a pitch just before the All-Star break that resulted in a fractured rib and then developing inflammation in his left shoulder, Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has played in just 20 of the team’s last 58 games.

Friday, before playing the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team announced that it had reinstated Bohm from the injured list. Manager Rob Thomson penciled him in to play third base and hit sixth as the Phillies opened their final road series of the regular season against a Diamondbacks team that is fighting for a playoff spot.

Bohm is hitting .293 with 22 extra base hits and 42 RBI over his last 81 games and did have an 11-game hitting streak from mid to late August during which time he hit .349. That is the Bohm the team hopes they are getting back.

“Just see what the swing looks like with a healthy shoulder,” said Rob Thomson of what he’s looking for from his third baseman. I think that had a lot to do with a lot of the stuff that was going on. I think we’re all encouraged. Watching his BP over in Dodger Stadium was pretty good, pretty impressive. He showed some raw power in BP, anyway. Hopefully it transfers into the game.

Not that injuries ever come at a good time but these came when Bohm was really rounding into form before the rib injury sat him down.

“The power was coming, he was using the field and putting the ball in play hard,” said Thomson. “Sometimes time off helps. So, hopefully it helps him and get him back to where he was.”

The other player out with injury on the left side of the infield, Trea Turner, continues to rehab back in Philadelphia with the hope still being he returns for games before the playoffs begin.

“He couldn’t get on the field today because it was covered,” said Thomson. “So, he did a lot of stuff inside. But he went through his whole routine offensively inside, so we’ll get him back on the field tomorrow. He’s probably 60 percent (running), that’s from Trea. I want to see him run 100 percent.”

Painter is dry

Top prospect Andrew Painter threw four innings and gave up seven hits, three earned runs, two walks and struck out six on Wednesday for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and, according to Thomson, that’s all she wrote for the season for Painter.

“No. He’s done. He’s tired,” Thomson said. “To me he’s had a really good year, has come through healthy and it’s always the second year when you see the stuff really play up and a guy gets back to normal after Tommy John. So, I think, all in all, it was a very successful year for him.”

This was a work year for Painter, to just try and build up the innings and make sure that arm got through things well. He made 22 starts and threw just over 106 innings. While word was swirling earlier in the season about him coming up to the Phillies, the scenario still played out well.

What’s left?

The goal for the Phillies is still to try and win every game, get the top seed and a first-round bye. But there are still some things that Thomson wants to see his team work on while still trying to achieve those goals.

“Yeah, some reliever stuff. Get a one-plus out of certain guys,” he said. “But at the same time not put them in harm’s way. Just little things like that. Pickoff plays at second. Bunt plays. Doing some little things that we haven’t done a whole lot of.”

Might that include using closer Jhoan Duran for more than inning? Maybe face a fourth or fifth hitter in a save opportunity?

“He’s done that before, so I’m not really concerned about him,” said Thomson.

Kodai Senga hasn't yet taken the mound for the last time this season, but the Mets already know the right-hander's next appearance won't occur in a big league uniform.

Prior to their home series opener with the Nationals on Friday afternoon, manager Carlos Mendoza revealed the upcoming plan for Senga, which will include him pitching either live batting practice or a simulated game sometime next week.

"The plan is for him to face hitters again. The question now is, where's that going to be?" Mendoza explained. "The minor league season ends on Sunday. Now we're in the process of trying to figure things out, to where we're going to give him those live looks."

If the Mets still envision Senga contributing at the major league level again in 2025, time is obviously running out for him to prove he's ready and worthy of the task. He's not a lock to make the potential postseason roster, and his latest outing in the minors was underwhelming.

Senga struggled in his second and final start with Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday night, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts across 3.2 innings. Call it several steps backward, as he logged six frames of one-run ball with eight punchouts on Sept. 12.

"Stuff-wise was down. Whether it was the velo, execution, the secondary pitches weren't sharp," Mendoza said. "That's the report I got, and watching film, you could see it. That's probably one of the reasons why he's asking for one more time to face hitters, to continue to work through those issues."

It's been a confounding season for Senga, who undisputedly resembled the Mets' ace before injuring his hamstring in mid-June. But mechanical issues and a patent lack of consistency have plagued him since mid-July -- he owns a bloated 6.56 ERA across his last eight starts (35.2 innings).

When asked what the Mets would need to see from Senga moving forward in order to promote him, Mendoza didn't offer a concrete answer. He called the situation "a tough spot" for proper evaluation, and justifiably so. It's a role undefined. The clock is ticking for him to regain trust.

Earlier this week, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Senga needs to demonstrate he can "consistently get major league hitters out," while also emphasizing "results always matter."

The Mets (79-74) also don't have the luxury of casually testing Senga's stuff out during one of their nine remaining regular-season games. They enter the weekend with a narrow two-game lead over the Diamondbacks for the third and final NL wild card spot.

Dodgers fans pay up, in significant numbers and in significant amounts, to watch their team on SportsNet LA: Home team, home channel.

Not on Friday, though, when Clayton Kershaw takes the mound for what might well be the final time at Dodger Stadium.

The exclusive broadcast rights for the game belong to Apple TV+, as part of a package of Friday night games bought from Major League Baseball. Apple is guaranteed a minimum of four exclusive broadcasts for whatever teams it chooses to air, according to a league official. Friday’s game will be the Dodgers’ fourth on Apple TV+ this season, so it remains exclusive to Apple.

The alternate Apple game Friday involves the Toronto Blue Jays. As it became apparent the Blue Jays might clinch a playoff spot on Friday, Apple and MLB agreed that Sportsnet — the Blue Jays’ equivalent of SportsNet LA – could air a simulcast of that Apple TV+ broadcast. (That change was announced Thursday morning, before a Jays loss and Cleveland Guardians win made it impossible for Toronto to clinch on Friday.)

Read more:'I’m really at peace.' Why Clayton Kershaw decided to make resurgent 2025 season his last

However, the Jays will total five exclusive Apple TV+ broadcasts this season.

This will not be the first bit of Dodgers history limited to the Apple audience. In 2022, when Albert Pujols hit his 700th career home run, the game was on Apple.

The man who called the Pujols game for Apple also will call the Kershaw game for Apple: Wayne Randazzo, the voice of the Angels.

Kershaw, the 11-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young award winner, said Thursday he would retire at season’s end. After the weekend series against the San Francisco Giants, in which Kershaw is scheduled to start Friday’s game, the Dodgers finish the regular season on the road. The Dodgers have not said what role, if any, Kershaw might fill on their playoff roster.

Fans can sign up for a free seven-day trial of Apple TV+ here. (If you're signing up just to watch Kershaw, you'll need to cancel within the seven-day window, or you'll be billed $12.99 each month.)

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Mets open a three-game series against the Nationals at Citi Field on Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...

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Mets Notes

• Juan Soto is hitting .301/.425/.664 with 16 home runs, 37 RBI, 38 runs scored, and 16 stolen bases in 181 plate appearances over his last 39 games dating back to Aug. 6
• Pete Alonso has homered in four consecutive games
• Brandon Sproat was tremendous in his last start, firing 6.0 shutout innings against the Rangers while allowing six hits, walking none, and striking out three

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For more information on how to stream Mets games on SNY, please click here.

A look ahead at the Phillies' playoff picture  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

LOS ANGELES – Rob Thomson isn’t one to look to far into the future. Or if he does, he keeps very quiet within himself. His mindset is the game at hand, and when that is over, it’s on to the very next game and that’s it.

However, when his Phillies clinched the National League East on Monday with a thrilling 10-inning win at Dodger Stadium, the clouds of the future seemed to part a little and Thomson did allow himself to look to the future a bit when it comes to the playoffs.

So let’s do the same and forecast what I believe we will see come playoff time, and let’s start with the pitching. I am also going with the assumption that the Phillies will get a first-round bye.

This much is set in stone: Cristopher Sanchez will be the Game 1 starter, no matter the series, no matter the date. Thomson has said as much. After that, I think it’s a great bet to say Ranger Suarez will be on the mound to start Game 2 and Jesus Luzardo gets the call for Game 3.

After that is where it gets a little dicey. So the first game of the best-of-five division series would be Saturday, Oct. 4. We know that’s going to be Sanchez. Game 4, if necessary, will not be until Thursday, Oct. 9. That means Sanchez would be on four days’ rest, which is normal time for him to be back out on the mound. That’s one scenario.

Another has to do with the confidence and admiration that Thomson has for Aaron Nola. He has repeatedly talked glowingly about Nola’s ability to pitch well in big games, “when the lights are brightest.” He also stated the other day, without hesitation, that Nola has never come out of the bullpen. So that isn’t going to happen. I also don’t think that Thomson, should he decide not to go with Sanchez in Game 4, would pitch Walker Buehler or Taijuan Walker.

However, Nola will pitch Saturday against Arizona and will get another start before the season ends on Sept. 28. He very well could be auditioning for that No. 4 spot in the playoff rotation. Should he pitch well, I could see Thomson sticking to his loyalty and throwing Nola out there for an important Game 4, knowing that he will have Buehler ready to go should there be early-game struggles for Nola.

If Nola doesn’t look quite right in these final two starts, then Sanchez would be the obvious choice. But the big question is, what is “quite right” in the manager’s mind?

Thomson is loyal to his players, as we all know, and in the past it hasn’t always worked out for the team. This season, however, Thomson has shown that he is more willing to change on the fly, to put loyalties aside a little bit for the betterment of the team (see: rotating outfield. More on that later).

If there is an area where this year’s playoff Phillies team looks a lot stronger than in years past, it’s the bullpen. The acquisition of Jhoan Duran at the trade deadline presented a whole new feeling for the relievers and defined roles even more under Thomson.

Situationally, if Thomson needs a left-hander for outs, his first choice is going to be Matt Strahm, with Tanner Banks slightly behind him. Both have been very good this season and should one falter a bit come playoff time, Thomson has the utmost belief in the other to come through.

As for the right-handers, this is quite interesting. David Robertson has seemed to jumped ahead of Orion Kerkering as the first right-hander out of the bullpen in a close game, so I think he would get the first nod. Kerkering has struggled at times this year with control and giving up long balls, but when he is on his sweeper and fastball are downright nasty. Also, it can’t be forgotten how good Buehler was out of the bullpen for the Dodgers in their World Series-winning run last season. He’s another that not only isn’t afraid of the big lights but thrives under them.

And then when it comes to closing things out, Duran may be the best in the game at it right now. Thomson said the other day that the big right-hander may even be called on to get four or five outs to finish off a game.

As for the lineup, injuries and the outfield are really the only slight questions, and even they seem to be mostly answered.

Shortstop Trea Turner has progressed impressively since suffering his Grade 1 hamstring strain and may be back in the lineup for a few games to end the regular season. If not, barring a setback, there seems to be little doubt that he’ll be ready for the playoffs. Third baseman Alec Bohm could be back from his shoulder injury as early as Friday against the Diamondbacks.

As for the outfield, we now know that Nick Castellanos is the odd man out and that Thomson would like to stick with Brandon Marsh in left, Harrison Bader in center and Max Kepler in right. But, should there be a left-handed starter that Castellanos has had success against in the past, I think the manager would give him the start. Marsh has been hitting so well after the first month of the season that I think he deserves to be in the left whether the team is facing a lefty or righty starter.

Edmundo Sosa will come off the injured list when the team returns home for their final two series of the regular season. Should his groin strain be healed, he may rotate with Bryson Stott at second against left-handers. Both are outstanding fielders and are nice bats to have at the end of the order.

Still, plenty must shake out before the playoffs begin. But there’s an early look at how things may play out.

With nine games remaining in the regular season, the Mets are looking to hold off a handful of teams for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of play on Sept. 19...

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Mets: 79-74, 2.0 games up on Diamondbacks and Reds for third Wild Card

Next up: vs. Nationals, Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY (Brandon Sproat vs. Andrew Alvarez)
Latest result: 6-1 win over Padres on Thursday
Remaining schedule: 3 vs. WSH, 3 @ CHC, 3 @ MIA
Odds to make playoffs: 86.6 percent
*Mets hold tiebreaker over Giants by virtue of winning the season series, while Reds hold tiebreaker over Mets. The tiebreaker between the Mets and Diamondbacks is TBD, and will likely be based on intradivision record since the two clubs split the season series

Diamondbacks: 77-76, 2.0 games back of Mets

Next up: vs. Phillies, Friday at 9:40 p.m. (Ryne Nelson vs. Taijuan Walker)
Latest result: 5-1 loss to Giants on Wednesday
Remaining schedule: 3 vs. PHI, 3 vs. LAD, 3 @ SD
Odds to make playoffs: 4.7 percent

Reds: 77-76, 2.0 games back of Mets

Next up: vs. Cubs, Friday at 6:40 p.m. (Nick Lodolo vs. Shota Imanaga)
Latest result: 1-0 win over Cubs on Thursday
Remaining schedule: 3 vs. CHC, 3 vs. PIT, 3 @ MIL
Odds to make playoffs: 7.6 percent

Giants: 76-77, 3.0 games back of Mets 

Next up: @ Dodgers, Friday at 10:10 p.m.(Robbie Ray vs. Clayton Kershaw)
Latest result: 2-1 loss to Dodgers on Thursday
Remaining schedule: 3 @ LAD, 3 vs. STL, 3 vs. COL
Odds to make playoffs: 1.2 percent

Here's what happened in Mets Land on Thursday, in case you missed it...

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• Jonah Tongwas largely dominant and Brandon Nimmo smacked a three-run homer as the Mets beat the Padres, 6-1
• Tong's eye-opening start gives the Mets lots to think about as they decide on a potential postseason pitching staff
• After the game, Carlos Mendoza and Pete Alonso discussed Tong's outing
• Alonso , who homered in his fourth consecutive game, is locked in
• Here are five things to watch as the Mets and Nationals play a three-game series this weekend at Citi Field
• Sunday's starting pitching plan is TBD with Sean Manaea on the paternity list
• Kodai Senga struggled in his second start for Triple-A Syracuse
• Senga is not a lock to make New York's potential playoff roster
• Reed Garrettcould be out for the season after being placed on the IL due to an elbow sprain
• WATCH: Tong discussed his performance
  

Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw closes chapter on one-sided rivalry vs. Giants originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

LOS ANGELES — Bruce Bochy called it the “Bomb Squad.”

Years before the Giants embraced platoon life, Bochy would walk into the visiting manager’s office at Dodger Stadium, see Clayton Kershaw on the other side of his lineup card, and lean as far to the right as he could. He would load up with the likes of Brett Pill, Kelby Tomlinson and Joaquin Arias, hoping that one of his bench players could find a way to pop one over the wall against one of the greatest ever to do it. Occasionally, it worked, and occasional success has really been all the Giants could hope for against Kershaw for the past 18 years. 

The left-hander announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of this season, which officially starts the clock on his entrance to Cooperstown. He would have landed in the Hall of Fame no matter which jersey he pitched in, but his performance in rivalry games certainly helped clear the path.

Entering Friday’s game, which will be his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium, Kershaw has 62 career appearances against the Giants. Over 407 1/3 innings, he has a 2.08 ERA and 0.93 WHIP, with 415 strikeouts and a 27-16 record.

Kershaw has started more games against the Giants than anyone else, which makes sense. There were years when it seemed the Dodgers went out of their way to inflict pain on their rival. Kershaw has six different seasons in which he faced the Giants at least five times; in four of those seasons, he posted an ERA under 1.70. 

Kershaw arrived in the big leagues shortly after Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum and once shared an ESPN The Magazine cover with the latter, but it was two other stars from the championship years who played a bigger part in his career.

There’s only one player Kershaw faced more than 100 times: Buster Posey. While Posey finished with a .221 average, .594 OPS and three homers over 120 plate appearances, Kershaw never felt it was one-sided. A couple of seasons ago, as he stood in the dugout at Dodger Stadium and talked about years of rivalry games, he marveled at how Posey nearly took Walker Buehler into McCovey Cove during their only postseason meeting. 

“Buster was always a really hard at-bat,” Kershaw said. “You don’t see many of those guys anymore with the ability to hit homers that still don’t strike out and put good at-bats together and can hit a lot of different types of pitches. You feel like you make good pitches and Buster finds a way to shoot one through the hole or do something. Over the years, I had a game plan and then I had to switch it. It was just that cat-and-mouse game when you face someone so many times.

“Back in the day, my strengths matched up with his weaknesses a little bit. Fastballs in and sliders down and in were good places to go with him, and then over time, he made the adjustment that he was going to look in and not miss. He got me a few times when I was doing that, so I had to start throwing more pitches away, more arm-side.”

While Kershaw took bragging rights overall in those matchups, another Giant found a way to get an edge when they went head-to-head. 

Madison Bumgarner twice homered off Kershaw, but over the years, the two became good friends. They would have long conversations on the outfield grass hours before Giants-Dodgers games, and when Bumgarner made his final appearance for the Giants in 2019, it happened to be Kershaw on the mound. Kershaw showed his respect by firing seven straight fastballs, including one down the middle that Bumgarner lined to third. 

“I tried to throw it as hard as I could,” he said a few years later. “I was like, ‘You know what, screw it. If he hits a homer, good for him.’ It was a cool moment.”

Bumgarner always enjoyed their matchups. Most Giants from that era, though, came away empty-handed. 

Hunter Pence had the second-most at-bats against Kershaw and went 18-for-91 with just one homer. Pablo Sandoval hit .234 with no homers in 64 at-bats. Nobody had a worse time than Brandon Belt, though; he was 4-for-62 with 30 strikeouts. 

Belt, true to form, always found a way to have a sense of humor about it. 

“What are you going to do when a guy gets lucky 55 times?” he cracked in 2019.

In one of their final matchups, Belt got a small measure of revenge, drawing a walk that helped hand Kershaw his first loss in San Francisco in three seasons. That wasn’t the only time he felt he got bragging rights, though. 

For years, Belt insisted he was a better high school pitching prospect than his fellow Texan. It turns out that was one outlandish claim from Belt that actually held a lot of truth. 

“He’s claiming it for himself, huh?” Kershaw said in The Franchise. “He really was, though. We played on a couple of Team USA teams, and he really was. I think he was the best left-handed pitcher in our state.”

Injuries kept Belt from following that path, but he turned into a pretty good big league first baseman. Kershaw, years later, became the game’s best pitcher.

A three-time Cy Young Award winner and the 2014 NL MVP, Kershaw takes 222 wins and a 2.54 ERA into Friday’s start. He’s a much different pitcher these days, relying heavily on his slider as his fastball has dropped to 89 mph, but he is still effective. In 20 starts as a 37-year-old, Kershaw has a 3.53 ERA. He is in the second percentile in fastball velocity, but 96th percentile in missing barrels. 

“It feels like he’s had three careers,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “After taking some time off, having some stuff going on earlier this year, and then to pitch like he has this year, it really is remarkable that he’s pitching at his age and the quality that he’s giving them every game out. It’s a testament to hard work and obviously he’s quite the competitor. A lot of similarities to (Justin) Verlander, really.”

Kershaw held a press conference on Thursday and said the decision is something he has discussed with his wife, Ellen, all year. There has been plenty of speculation, and in recent weeks, there were signs that this was coming. At Oracle Park last weekend, Kershaw spent a bit more time than usual shagging fly balls with one of his sons, seemingly soaking it all in one last time. 

“I think it’s the right time,” he said Thursday.

Kershaw is unlikely to be in the Dodgers’ playoff rotation, and it’s unclear if he’ll get a chance to pitch at Dodger Stadium out of the bullpen in October. This could be his last time taking the mound in Los Angeles, and he shed some tears Thursday as he talked about his decision. 

He also noted, however, that it’s a big game for both teams. The Dodgers are trying to wrap up the NL West, while the Giants are clinging to life in the Wild Card race. Kershaw said he will try to treat them as he always has. 

“I’ve got a job to do,” he said.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Rangers' tie with Hibs in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final on Saturday evening has been described as "a horrific fixture" for the struggling Ibrox club.

Russell Martin is under huge pressure with Rangers languishing 10th after no wins in his first five Premiership games, while Hibs sit third and are seeking to edge closer to a first major trophy since 2016.

"For Rangers, it's a horrific fixture for them to be going into," football journalist Moira Gordon told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"Hibs are a decent side. They have proven they're not intimidated by either of the Old Firm when they play them.

"It doesn't always mean they win it, but they're not intimidated. They'll go and give it a go.

"When Rangers are teetering the way they are at the moment, it's not a game they would fancy and Hibs are one of the last teams they would want to be coming to Ibrox for this game.

"Hibs have a huge chance of silverware this season."

Former goalkeeper Cammy Bell believes Hibs are well capable of beating Rangers as the hosts have been "so poor defensively".

"When you look at last weekend's defeat to Hearts, the high press, making the players uncomfortable, when Russell Martin has his players playing up from the back, you can clearly see Rangers are not comfortable doing that," he said.

"So I think that's the way Hibs will approach it. They've got the players to do it as well and the players have a lot of energy and quality about them.

"With everything that's been going on, Hibs is probably one of the teams you wouldn't want to face because they're an improving side and have added quality to their squad.

"They're young and hungry, with a manager who's nailed it for me on and off the pitch.

"It's a real difficult fixture for Rangers and there's not been enough showing me this season that Rangers can beat Hibs."

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was not at his most efficient Thursday night.

Which meant, even though he pitched 5⅓ scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants, he left the fate of the game to the Dodgers’ shaky bullpen.

So often on nights like these recently, such a scenario would be a recipe for disaster. Given the way things have been going for the Dodgers’ unreliable relief corps — which entered the night with a 5.65 ERA in September — anything more than a few innings has felt like a big ask.

This time, however, the Dodgers’ relievers found a way to grind things out.

No, Michael Kopech still didn’t have his command. And no, Blake Treinen still didn’t look like himself.

Read more:'I’m really at peace': Why Clayton Kershaw decided to make resurgent 2025 season his last

But when they needed to most, the Dodgers' relievers executed pitches. In a 2-1 win at Dodger Stadium, they did enough to stretch the team’s National League West division lead to three games.

Yamamoto did not make their life easy.

Though he yielded only one hit, the recently streaking right-hander fell back into a bad habit with his command. He set a career-high with six walks. He found the zone on only 60 of 108 pitches. And though manager Dave Roberts tried to push him through the sixth inning, his pitch count got too high.

On a night the Dodgers managed only two runs off Giants ace Logan Webb — both of which came in a sixth-inning rally keyed by a Shohei Ohtani double and Freddie Freddie RBI single — the bullpen was forced to pick up the slack.

Things started well with Jack Dreyer, who inherited a runner from Yamamoto with one out in the sixth and stranded it in the span of 11 pitches.

The seventh inning, however, quickly became an adventure, with two of the Dodgers most veteran relief arms putting themselves in a world of danger.

It started with Kopech, and his continued struggles to locate the ball since returning from a midseason knee injury. The hard-throwing right-hander walked his first two batters, with a (very, very) wild pitch in between. He bounced back to strike out Drew Gilbert for the inning’s first out. But by that point, he had issued eight total walks over his last four outings, recording only eight outs in that span while throwing 50 balls to 45 strikes.

Thus, Roberts went back to the mound, bringing Treinen in to try and put out the fire.

Like Kopech, Treinen has battled uncharacteristic inconsistencies lately. He was the culprit when the Dodgers squandered Yamamoto’s near no-hitter in Baltimore earlier this month. He gave up a game-ending, three-run homer to the Philadelphia Phillies’ backup catcher two nights prior.

At first, the right-hander seemed poised to blow another lead.

He also walked his first two batters, loading the bases on the first and forcing home a run with the next (when home plate umpire Ryan Wills squeezed him on a full-count cutter at the top of the zone). The count went full against Willy Adames in the following at-bat, leaving Treinen one ball away from another disaster.

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That, however, is when the script flipped.

Treinen dotted a sinker on the outside corner to Adames to strike him out looking. He snapped off his trademark sweeper to fan Matt Chapman and retire the side.

In recent days, Roberts has emphasized the need for his bullpen to cling to whatever moments of confidence they can find. Given that the team’s 2-1 lead was preserved in the seventh, the otherwise ugly inning still qualified.

After that, the Dodgers recorded the final six outs with ease.

Anthony Banda went 1-2-3 in the eighth inning. Alex Vesia picked up the save with a clean frame in the ninth.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 miles up the Pacific Coast, the team saw positive signs from another potential bullpen option, with Roki Sasaki pitching a scoreless inning of relief in triple-A Oklahoma City’s game in Tacoma, Wash., retiring three of the four batters he faced with two strikeouts, one walk and a fastball that topped out at 100.1 mph.

That was a reminder that, between now and the end of the regular season, the Dodgers could have relief reinforcements on the way. Sasaki, the rookie phenom who struggled in a starting role before going down with a shoulder injury at the start of the year, could be primed for a big league call-up. Trade deadline acquisition Brock Stewart is also on his way back from a shoulder injury; although he followed Sasaki in OKC’s game on Thursday by giving up four unearned runs on a single, walk and hit-by-pitch in ⅔ of an inning.

At this stage, the relief unit remains the Dodgers’ biggest unanswered question. Their lineup is finally manufacturing runs. Their rotation has continued its late-season surge since getting healthy. And for one night at Chavez Ravine, the bullpen overcame some shaky moments to preserve a win that strengthened the team’s place in the standings.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.