Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...
Mets Notes
Juan Soto is hitting .301/.435/.669 with 15 home runs, 35 RBI, 37 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases in 168 plate appearances over his last 36 games dating back to Aug. 6
Sean Manaea is expected to enter in relief ofClay Holmes. Manaea has fared well his first time through the order this season -- holding the opposition to a .703 OPS. That OPS rises to .811 the second time through and 1.071 the third time through
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With 12 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. 16...
Mets: 77-73, 1.5 games up on Giants for third Wild Card
Next up: vs. Padres, Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY (Clay Holmes vs. Michael King) Latest result: 5-2 win over Rangers on Sunday Remaining schedule: 3 vs. SD, 3 vs. WSH, 3 @ CHC, 3 @ MIA Odds to make playoffs: 79.2 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: 76-75, 1.5 games back of Mets
Next up: vs. Giants, Tuesday at 9:40 p.m. (Eduardo Rodriguez vs. TBD) Latest result: 8-1 win over Giants on Monday Remaining schedule: 2 vs. SF, 3 vs. PHI, 3 vs. LAD, 3 @ SD Odds to make playoffs: 7.9 percent
Giants: 75-75, 2.0 games back of Mets
Next up: @ Diamondbacks, Tuesday at 9:40 p.m.(TBD vs. Eduardo Rodriguez) Latest result: 8-1 loss to Diamondbacks on Monday Remaining schedule: 2 @ ARI, 4 @ LAD, 3 vs. STL, 3 vs. COL Odds to make playoffs: 5.1 percent
Reds: 75-75, 2.0 games back of Mets
Next up: @ Cardinals, Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. (Andrew Abbott vs. Michael McGreevy) Latest result: 11-6 win over Cardinals on Monday Remaining schedule: 2 @ STL, 4 vs. CHC, 3 vs. PIT, 3 @ MIL Odds to make playoffs: 7.7 percent
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and members of his team watch from the dugout during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium on Monday. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Bye-bye bye.
Hello, Dodger bullpen.
It was all so familiar. It was all so infuriating. It was the 2025 season boiled down into three hours of roars, then screams, then sighs.
The gasping, grappling Dodgers needed a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies this week to have any chance at a first-round bye in the upcoming playoffs.
Dodgers pitcher Anthony Banda (43) reacts during the first inning of a loss to Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium on Monday. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
One game down, and their bullpen has already suffocated them.
They’re not going to get the bye. They couldn’t survive Philly’s first punch. It was the same old story. The Dodgers’ continually vexing relief pitchers gave back a two-run lead, ruined two ensuing comebacks and then were burned for a 10th inning double steal that led to the winning run in the Phillies’ 6-5 victory.
In a scene reminiscent of past October failures, a mournful Dodger Stadium crowd witnessed the Phillies dancing out of their dugout and squeezing into souvenir T-shirts and loudly celebrating on the field after clinching the National League East title.
In a scene also reminiscent of past October failures, just a few steps from the party, the Dodgers clubhouse was deathly quiet.
Max Muncy was asked about the bullpen, which allowed all six Phillies’ runs Monday, including three homers.
“That’s a tough question,” he said.
He attempted to answer it anyway, saying, “It’s frustrating from a team perspective, but they’ve done a great job for us all year and they’ll continue to do a great job.”
Sorry, but there is no spinning out of this mess. This is not a championship bullpen. This is not even a pennant-winning bullpen. This bullpen has been overworked and outmatched and simply outplayed all season, and when the Dodger front office had a chance to fix it at the trade deadline, they did virtually nothing.
It’s everyone’s fault. It’s an organizational failure. This bullpen is going to be the death of them. The slow expiration officially started Monday.
Fueled by fat pitches from Anthony Banda and Jack Dreyer and Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen, the Dodgers suffered a loss that may well have ended their hopes of defending their title.
Now trailing the Phillies by 5 ½ games with a dozen games to play, there’s virtually no way the Dodgers can pass them and finish with the National League’s second-best record, which means instead of getting a week off they are headed for a dangerous three-game wild card series.
If they win the West over the San Diego Padres — no guarantee — they will play those three games at home. If they finish second in the West, they will play those three games on the road.
Either way, a team with a cooked bullpen and a sore-handed star catcher and all kinds of uncertainty surrounding their rotation won’t get the advantage of a much-needed rest.
"We want the bye, obviously,” Freddie Freeman told reporters last weekend.
It’s strangely not so obvious to everyone. Throughout the next two weeks there will undoubtedly be experts who will make the argument that the Dodgers don’t really want or need a bye week because it robs the team of its routine and rhythm.
Don’t be a dummy.
Dodgers pitcher Anthony Banda throws from the mound during a loss to the Phillies at Dodger Stadium on Monday. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers were desperate for that bye. The Dodgers knew they needed that bye. They knew they needed to rest the relievers, set up a Shohei Ohtani-led rotation, and give Will Smith’s right hand time to heal.
Yes, the bye week bewitched them in 2022 and 2023, when the offense lost its swagger and the Dodgers were beaten in two stunning division series upsets by the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.
But, then again, they earned the bye last year and you know how that ended up.
They needed to pass the Phillies. And they needed to start that process this week, as the Phillies’ remaining schedule includes a closing six-game stretch against the Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is understandably steering clear of the bye-no bye debate, telling the media, “We’re gonna try to win as many games as we can. ... Where it falls out is where is falls out. ... I don’t think it matters for me to say how important it is. … I kind of just want to win games and see where it all plays out.”
Here’s how it — ugh — played out Monday:
Banda starts the game as an opener and allows a shot into the right-center field stands by Kyle Schwarber.
Dreyer enters the game with a two-run lead in the seventh and allows a two-run homer to somebody named Weston Wilson.
Vesia allows a go-ahead homer by Bryce Harper in the eighth.
Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia tosses a rosin bag in frustration after Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper homered at the top of the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on Monday. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Treinen doesn’t hold the runners on base in the 10th, allows a double steal, and JT Realmuto hits the eventual game-winning fly ball.
“I had the guys that I wanted, and that doesn’t always work out,” said Roberts.
It feels like it’s too late to work out.
“Trying to see which guys step up,” said Roberts. “Just gonna try to figure out who’s going to seize the opportunity.”
On Monday night, the opportunity seized them, dragging them into a three-game series that could cost them everything.
Tough to beat a wild card opponent with a bullpen that folds.
Chris Sutton believes Rangers' players are operating in a "toxic" environment amid the club's current struggles, calling head coach Russell Martin position "horrific".
Martin, appointed in the summer, has won three of his 12 games and Rangers have not won in their past five fixtures.
"I've got sympathy for him," said former Celtic forward Sutton. "I feel sorry for some of the players. I really, really do.
"You just don't get time in Glasgow. It's all about winning. It's turning ugly. It's a really difficult place to play. The environment to play in, it is toxic.
"The problem that the Rangers hierarchy have... These were the guys who hung their hat on Russell Martin. They keep backing him.
"I don't think he's helped himself, he told everybody the players are scared. That's the Rangers manager telling every other club in Scotland that his players are playing with fear. That's on him. Why would you do that?"
Sutton, like Martin, is a former Norwich City player and suspects supporters will stop attending Rangers matches.
"Unless he goes on an incredible run, Rangers fans, from what I'm hearing, they're just not going to rock up and watch the team," Sutton added on the BBC's Football Daily podcast. "They won't fill the stadium. They are so disillusioned.
"This has turned so ugly, so quickly. The start was so important for Russell Martin. He doesn't have any real allies other than the people who employed him.
"Nobody else at the club wants him to stay. In a short space of time, that's a horrific position for him to be in."
Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia delivers the ball from the mound during the top of the eighth inning during the team's loss to the Phillies at Dodger Stadium on Monday. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Philadelphia came to Los Angeles having already clinched a playoff berth. With Monday’s 6-5 extra-inning win over the Dodgers they added a division title to that collection, one they celebrated in the center of the Dodger Stadium infield, then with champagne in the tiny visitors’ clubhouse.
The Dodgers are zeroing in on a playoff berth and division title of their own. So the chances are high the teams will meet again in the postseason, which makes this week’s series a great opportunity to do a little scouting.
“We try to gather as much information as we can,” infielder Miguel Rojas said. “They're doing the same thing.”
That’s not the main objective though. Because if the Dodgers are closing in the postseason, they aren’t there yet. And they have even more work to do after Monday’s game, which ended with Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto’s 10th-inning sacrifice fly scoring ghost runner Harrison Bader from third with the winning run.
Dodgers third base Max Muncy reacts to grounding out in the 10th inning, sealing the Philles' win Monday at Dodger Stadium. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
“With where we're at, I'm trying to win every game,” said manager Dave Roberts, whose team fought back from deficits three times before losing. “And where it falls out is where it falls out.”
One of the things that both sides surely learned Monday is that the Dodger bullpen is still far from being playoff ready. Because after Emmet Sheehan held the Phillies to one hit over 5⅔ innings, striking out seven, he watched a quartet of relievers combine to give up four runs — three on homer runs — over the next four.
“It's frustrating, just from a team perspective,” third baseman Max Muncy said of a bullpen that has blown 24 saves and ranks fourth in the National League with 30 losses.
It’s unlikely to cost the Dodgers another trip to the postseason. Even with Monday’s loss, they are two games in front of idle San Diego in the National League West with 12 games to play and their magic number for clinching an 11th division title in 12 seasons is 10.
The magic number to clinch a wild-card berth is six.
The Dodgers have also been eyeing the No. 2 seed in the postseason tournament, however, a spot Philadelphia holds and one that brings with it a bye in the first round. It’s a break Roberts’ battered roster could use, but it’s one that may now be impossible to grasp: Monday’s win pushed the Phillies’ lead to 5½ games in the race for No. 2, a deficit the Dodgers have less than two weeks to make up.
“It’s really hard to not face these games down the stretch like a playoff game,” Rojas said. “We've been doing this for almost two weeks now. That's the way that we have to look at it if we want to be prepared for October.”
Those preparations were uneven at best Monday. At the plate, the Dodgers fought back from deficits three times to send the game to extra innings on Andy Pages’ solo homer with one out in the ninth. But they also went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and, after Muncy grounded out with the bases loaded in the 10th, they left nine men on base. That erased a big game from Mookie Betts, who drove in three runs on two sacrifice flies and a game-tying homer in the seventh.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts hits a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Phillies at Dodger Stadium Monday. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
That gave him 19 RBIs in September and his 78 for the season, three better than his total from all of last year. But that wasn’t enough to overcome another bullpen meltdown.
Sheehan followed opener Anthony Banda to the mound, taking the ball three batters in the game with the Phillies already leading 1-0 on Kyle Schwarber’s league-leading 53rd home run. Sheehan left with a 3-1 lead after giving up his only hit, a leadoff double to Otto Kemp in the seventh. But three batters later the Phillies had a 4-3 lead after Weston Wilson, the Phillies No. 9 hitter, homered off Jack Dreyer.
The Dodgers rallied to tie the game twice after that but each time the bullpen gave the lead back, the final run coming in the 10th on Realmuto’s game-winning fly ball to right off right-hander Blake Treinen (1-5).
Asked if the series will show the Dodgers anything that can use if they face the Phillies again next month, Muncy shook his head.
“Personally, I don't necessarily think so,” said Muncy, who third-inning homer, his first since returning from the injured list as week ago, opened the Dodgers’ scoring. “We've done that in the past. We've played teams right before we've seen them in the postseason and usually they do everything complete[ly] opposite.
“Right now, you're just trying to win a game. You're not really worried about what's ahead.”
Notes
Reliever Brock Stewart, the Dodgers’ most-celebrated acquisition at the trade deadline, left Monday to join Oklahoma City for a two-game rehab assignment. Stewart, on the injured list since Aug. 12 with right shoulder inflammation, is expected to pitch Tuesday and Thursday in Triple A before returning to Dodger Stadium.
“If all goes well, then we have a conversation over the weekend,” Roberts said of Stewart’s availability. “We’ve just got to make sure he's healthy. If he's right, then it could be very additive.”
For the second straight year Betts has been chosen as the Dodgers’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, baseball’s most prestigious off-the-field prize, in recognition for his wide-ranging charity work.
In January, Betts’ 5050 Foundation donated more than $30,000 of Nike clothing to victims of the Southern California wildfires. A few weeks later, in partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF), he donated more than $160,000 to the Brotherhood Crusade to help fight hunger and homelessness in Los Angeles.
Also this season the 5050 Foundation partnered with the Obama Foundation at Hyde Park Academy to donate youth sports equipment and other supplies while also funding the Mookie Betts Metro Baseball Tournament in Nashville.
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani delivers against the Angels at Angel Stadium on Aug. 13. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers are planning to use Shohei Ohtani as a starting pitcher in the playoffs, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman confirmed Monday.
That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t certain scenarios in which he could also come out of the bullpen, as well.
“Things play out in October that you can’t foresee,” Friedman said before Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies — shortly after, coincidentally, catching up with new Phillies signing and ex-Dodgers favorite Walker Buehler, who made three starts in the Dodgers’ rotation last postseason before emerging for a title-clinching save in Game 5 of the Fall Classic.
“Walker Buehler was a starting pitcher for us last year, and finished out Game 5 of the World Series,” Friedman noted. “So you never know how things are going to play out.”
The possibility of Ohtani pitching in relief has been percolating for the last several weeks. Pitching coach Mark Prior said he could “absolutely” envision it during an appearance on the "Dan Patrick Show" last month. Manager Dave Roberts has more recently reiterated that the conversation regarding Ohtani’s postseason pitching role remains open as the regular season winds down.
“Could it change down the road in the postseason? Possibly,” Roberts said Sunday when pressed on the topic again. “But right now we see him as a starter.”
Friedman largely echoed that sentiment Monday, a day before Ohtani was set for his next scheduled start in a pivotal series against the Phillies (who entered this week’s visit to Dodger Stadium 4 ½ games ahead of the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the National League standings, and the first-round bye that comes with it).
Friedman praised Ohtani, who has returned from a second-career Tommy John surgery this year with a 3.75 ERA and 49 strikeouts over 36 innings, as “one of the best starters in the National League.”
Shohei Ohtani delivers against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Sept. 5. (Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
He said the team’s expectation is that the right-hander “will impact us as a starting pitcher” in the playoffs — even though Ohtani might not pitch much past the fifth inning of games (the limit he has been held to in his recent regular season starts) and won’t be asked to make consecutive starts on normal four days of rest (he has gotten at least five days off between each of his outings this year).
“No one is taking on more than [he is with the] pitching and also hitting and running the bases,” Friedman said. “So just trying to be cognizant of that.”
However, pitching out of the bullpen in some specific, late-game situations could remain on the table.
Like Buehler last year, and Clayton Kershaw in many Octobers before that, a long postseason run would likely offer opportunities for the Dodgers to use Ohtani as a reliever in the days between his starts — perhaps in potential close-out games or on nights when the back end of the team’s struggling bullpen is low on other trustworthy options.
Ohtani does have memorable personal experience in such a role, having recorded the final outs of Team Japan’s victory in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
When looking ahead to this postseason, Friedman did not close the door on that possibility either; even though he said his focus has remained on navigating the final two weeks of the regular season first.
“We’re expecting him to be a starter for us,” Friedman said, “and depending on everything else, we’ll figure out where to go from there.”
Of course, Ohtani’s two-way status would add extra complications to any potential bullpen plans.
There are logistical questions — like how he would warm up if his spot in the batting order comes up the inning before he’s supposed to take the mound.
And then there is a technical dilemma — with MLB’s two-way rules having been written in a way that, if Ohtani were to enter the game as a reliever, the Dodgers would lose him as a designated hitter once he exits the mound.
“Once you fire him … and you decide to come out of it, you have to take that cost of losing the DH and losing him as a hitter,” Roberts said. “You got to be willing to take the chance.”
That reality might restrict Ohtani to pitching only out of the bullpen in the ninth inning of games, and could make the Dodgers more hesitant to use Ohtani in relief at all for fear of what would happen if a game extended past the end of his outing.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani remains a key bat for the team, adding weight to any decision to use him as a reliever. (Eric Thayer/Eric Thayer For The Los Angeles Times)
"I think they missed the mark with it,” Friedman said when asked if he was frustrated by the language of the two-way rule; which was enacted by MLB several years ago in response to Ohtani’s emergence as a two-way star, but only allows him to remain in the game as a hitter after he exits pitching starts, specifically.
“I think the rule was put in place to try to encourage people to do it, to incentivize people," Friedman said. "So yeah, I think they missed.”
Friedman noted he’d liked to see the rule eventually changed to also include relief appearances, but acknowledged “that's more of an offseason, future thing.”
“Obviously,” he added, “it's not reasonable for us to ask for that in-season.”
Thus, for now, the Dodgers will continue to weigh the complex pros and cons of how to use Ohtani’s arm once they reach October.
His current weekly pitching schedule has Ohtani lined up to throw in Game 1 of a potential wild card series, which will begin exactly two weeks from his Tuesday night start against the Phillies (though Friedman insisted that wasn’t intentional).
Whether his services are needed, even in narrowly conceivable circumstances, out of the bullpen beyond that remains to be seen — with the Dodgers continuing to leave that possibility open for now.
“I think so much of it is, when does he start? What’s that time off in-between? How lined up are our other starters?” Friedman said.
“Until we know that, it's hard to get too much into it."
The Yankees couldn't take advantage of inferior competition on Monday night, as their offense went astonishingly cold in an ill-timed 7-0 loss to the Twins at Target Field.
Here are the takeaways...
-- While the Yankees insisted pregame that Anthony Volpe was healthy enough to serve as a full-time player, they once again turned to the hot hand in utilityman Jose Caballero, who ironically made a pair of defensive miscues in the third inning. After a leadoff double, he struggled to handle a sharp short-hop grounder that produced an infield single. Then, with runners on the corners and one out, Caballero took too much time to flip a ball to Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base on what appeared to be a routine double play. The fielder's choice groundout allowed the Twins to take an early 1-0 lead.
-- Simeon Woods Richardson entered Tuesday with a bloated 4.58 ERA, but it didn't seem as if the Yankees even knew that the Twins' starter was vulnerable. They were simply caught off-balance by the right-hander's slider-splitter pitch mix, as he delivered a career-high nine strikeouts through five innings while allowing a pair of hits and walks. Caballero logged one of those knocks -- a one-out double in the fifth -- but he was regrettably picked off trying to steal third, moments later. Woods Richardson added two more punchouts in the sixth, finishing with a stunning 11 on 92 total pitches.
-- The lack of run support forced Carlos Rodón to work from behind, but the veteran left-hander still managed to grind through a quality outing. He struck out four across six solid innings (95 pitches), limiting the Twins to two runs on five hits and one walk. His biggest mistake came in the fifth, when he gave up a leadoff homer to Brooks Lee that bumped the Twins' lead to 2-0. Rodón has now allowed two or fewer runs in eight straight starts. His season ERA now sits at a solid 3.11 (182.1 total innings).
-- Luke Weaver took over for Rodón in the seventh, and for the fourth time in September, the right-hander grappled with command. He served up a leadoff pinch-hit double to Trevor Larnach, who proceeded to score two pitches later on a double to right from Lee. Weaver then loaded the bases via walks, and just when another pitching change seemed warranted, he allowed a bases-clearing double to Austin Martin that pushed the Twins' lead to 6-0. Camilo Doval took over from there, giving up a stolen base and an RBI single to Luke Keaschall. It was a huge five-run seventh for the Twins.
-- The Yankees' luck at the plate didn't change after Woods Richardson left, as three Twins relievers combined to record another three strikeouts over three scoreless frames. Cody Bellinger (2), Giancarlo Stanton (4), Ryan McMahon (2), and Chisholm (2) were responsible for more than two-thirds of the punchouts, and it was the Yankees' ninth shutout loss this season.
-- Ben Rice entered as a pinch hitter for Caballero in the top of the eighth -- he struck out on six pitches. In the bottom half, Rice moved to catcher as the replacement for Austin Wells,and Volpe took over at shortstop. The swap wasn't blemish-free, as Rice failed to corral a popup along the netting behind home plate.
Game MVP: Brooks Lee
Minnesota's shortstop raised his season RBI total from 58 to 60 with the solo shot and double. Those hits alone provided them enough cushion.
What's next
The Yankees (83-67) will continue their three-game series in Minnesota on Tuesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:40 p.m.
RHP Cam Schlittler (3-3, 3.05 ERA) is slated to take the mound, opposite RHP Zebby Matthews (4-5, 5.06 ERA).
LOS ANGELES — After getting plastered by the Royals Sunday in a game where the Phillies could have clinched the NL East with a win, the team had to sit for hours on a broken down plane until another arrived, fly cross country and then wait until the seventh inning to get their second hit of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But it was all worth it as the Phillies recorded a thrilling come-from-behind extra-inning win to secure the division. A sacrifice fly from J.T. Realmuto scored Harrison Bader after the later innings of the game saw a go-ahead home run by Bryce Harper in the eighth and an uncharacteristic blown save by Jhoan Duran in the ninth.
“Being down early like we were, we had one hit until the seventh inning, they’re just tough, they’re resilient,” said manager Rob Thomson. “I’m proud of them, I really am. This is a really special group.”
“We don’t have Wheels (Zack Wheeler) but we have a deep rotation,” said Thomson. “Deeper than we’ve had in the past, I think. The additions of Duran, he’s a guy that’s going to shut down a game. You can pretty much book it. The addition of David Robertson. Those guys have really helped this club. I think we’re a little bit different than we were in the past and I think we can do some things. We’re going to slug but we can also play some small ball to win games, too. It’s a good balance.”
The Phillies found out they clinched a playoff spot Sunday while sitting on the busted plane, but there was no celebrating that. Rob Thomson and his team wanted to wait until a real celebration could be done. The wait was well worth it, it seemed, as Harper pumped his fists and clapped his way around the bases after his go-ahead homer.
“We’re a really good team and I think we’re playing really good baseball right now,” said Harper. “We’ve got a bigger picture and things on our mind that we want to win in playing in October and into November. Every team we’ve had the last couple of years have been really good. Just hasn’t happened, hasn’t finished with a win. We have to understand that we’re a really good team and ebbs and flows of a season, obviously, but we’ve got a really good team.”
But Andy Pages prolonged the game with his home run to left off Duran that sent the game to extra innings. With Harrison Bader on second with one out in the 10th, the Dodgers intentionally walked Harper. He and Bader then pulled off a double steal and Bader scored on Realmuto’s fly ball to right.
David Robertson worked out of a bases loaded jam in the 10th with one out to close out the game and trigger the on-field celebration.
“That’s a tough situation,” said Robertson. “They have a really good lineup and trying to finagle your way around that. I just tried to be smart. Me and J.T. took a few minutes to try and talk some things over. Every call was his and every call was right. I tried to give it to him as best I could on every pitch and fortunately we were able to sneak out of that inning without giving up a run.”
Kyle Schwarber, who turned his No. 12 around to 21 in honor of Roberto Clemente Day, reached out and poked a first-inning home run, his 53rd of the season, to right-center off Dodgers opener Anthony Banda to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. It seemed to be a good start for the Phillies, but it turned out it was the only hit they would get in the first six innings as Emmet Sheehan was spectacular.
The Phillies were able to tag relievers Jack Dreyer and Alex Vesia for three runs in two innings to complete another memorable game for them at Dodgers Stadium.
The Phillies’ second hit of the night led off the seventh inning — a double by Otto Kemp to left. He scored on a Bryson Stott single before Weston Wilson then hit a no-doubter to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. But that was short-lived.
Mookie Betts homered off Orion Kerkering in the seventh to tie the game. Harper answered big time with his 27th homer of the season to center, setting off his mini celebration.
A bigger one awaited in the Phillies clubhouse after the game.
Matt Strahm pitched a perfect eighth inning before closer Jhoan Duran gave up a home run to Andy Pages in the ninth as the Dodgers tied the game at 5-5.
Phillies starter Ranger Suarez entered the game having allowed just three earned runs over 30 2/3 innings in his last five starts. He was good against the Dodgers but it’s hard to maintain the level of excellence he’s held over the past month.
Suarez finished his start after six innings and allowed seven hits, three runs and struck out five.
The Phillies now trail the Milwaukee Brewers, who were idle on Monday, by 1.5 games for the best record in the National League for the top seed in the playoffs.
“It’s always different, it’s a different road each time,” said Stott. “Different team and different guys. It’s always a blessing. The group of guys we have is great and every day to come to the field is a blessing. I don’t take myself too seriously and I just want to go out and win.”
They have done that 90 times this season against 61 losses. If they have played better baseball during this long season than they have over the past 15 games or so, it’s hard to find.
“The last four years have been the most fun I’ve had in baseball in my forty years in baseball,” said Thomson. “And I tell you that truthfully. It’s because of the guys. Being in charge isn’t that much fun sometimes, but being with these guys, it’s been a lot of fun because you see them fight and see them work. They have a lot of fun. I don’t feel 62. This has been fabulous.”
“I feel like this never gets old,” said Brandon Marsh. “To be on top of this division, one of the best in all of baseball if not the best, it’s a blessing to be where we’re at. We’ve got more work to do.
“We preserver, we fight to the last out. Kyle got us going early and then we went dead a little bit and we got back up. Ranger pitched phenomenal. I loved the Orion attacked them. Drob closing it out. You can’t really ask for anything else. It’s a really fun group of guys, we love each other, we’re all united. It’s a special group.”
The momentum from Bryce Eldridge’s highly anticipated MLB debut wasn’t enough to lift the Giants past the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night at Chase Field.
Instead, the Giants took another stumble in the NL wild-card race, succumbing to a series-opening 8-1 loss in Arizona.
Eldridge, despite going hitless in his first game in The Show, was one of the few standouts on Monday.
The 20-year-old, who joined San Francisco greats Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain in the organization’s history book for youngest debuts, backed the hype, especially when going up against Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen in his first major league at-bat.
“It was fun. I think that was a good start, facing a guy like him,” Eldridge told reporters after his debut. “I had fun.
“He had a good plan against me. It was fun to face him. I felt like I belonged. I felt like I competed and did my best.”
Less than 48 hours ago, Eldridge, selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, had zero clue he would be getting an major league call-up.
Fast forward to Monday night, and Eldridge revealed that he had more than 25 loved ones rooting him on at Chase Field as he put together an 0-for-3 performance, including an eye-catching flyout.
When asked about Eldridge’s awaited debut, manager Bob Melvin didn’t hesitate to validate why the slugger is one of San Francisco’s most promising power-hitting prospects in recent memory.
“He looks good up there. [He] had some good swings,” Melvin told reporters. “It’s too bad he didn’t get the one hit there, but he certainly didn’t look like he was overmatched, didn’t look like he was nervous.
“I’m sure there were some nerves there, but he looks pretty hitter-ish at the plate.”
Now two games back of the New York Mets, and with persistent bullpen struggles at play, the Giants certainly will need Eldridge to be everything he has been promised to be.
In the meantime, the organization’s No. 1 prospect at least got the debut nerves out of the way.
“I feel like just today, for the debut, there’s kind of like not pressure but some nerves,” Eldridge concluded.
“[I was] working through that. Like I said, the first at-bat. After that, it felt like a normal game. I don’t focus on that. I focus on trying to hit the ball hard and do my job.”
LOS ANGELES – Surreal. It’s the best one-word description that Phillies third baseman Otto Kemp can give to describe his first time playing in the big leagues.
And Monday night’s series opener will add to all of it, as he has close to 30 family members in the stands of Dodger Stadium to watch him try to help the Phillies clinch their second consecutive National League East title. Kemp was penciled to hit sixth and play third base for the Phillies.
Kemp was called up from Lehigh Valley on June 7 and played 46 games with the Phillies until being sent back down to the IronPigs on August 15. He came back to the big club on September 8 and has gone 9-for-24 (.375) with three home runs and seven RBIs.
“It’s been really cool,” said Kemp, who is batting .249 on the year. “Been nice to kind of have that first little stint to get comfortable and see what everything’s about and just kind of accept it as the learning curve and now that we’re back I feel like my feet are under me and feel a lot more comfortable. I feel like I’m a part of this team with all these guys in this clubhouse.
Getting to know Philly, the stadium, the game, the area, all of it. It was all kind of new at the beginning. I’m just the kind of guy that kind of takes a lot in and it takes me a second to get my feet under me and get comfortable. That was kind of the story at every level. Just getting a little more comfortable. To go back, reset for a second and come back and try and contribute was the right formula for me. “
Monday, the Fullerton, California native was showing off his formula in front of all those family members in a stadium that he had been to as a kid, but never played in. Another new experience to add to the list.
“It’s cool to be back in the home state. I grew up closer to Anaheim, so I was more of an Angels fan than a Dodgers fan. It’s still unbelievable to be here. It’s a historic place. Family has a lot of history of being Dodgers fans and growing up in this area and around this ballpark and seeing a lot of the Dodgers legends pass through here. Cool to be here and experience this place.”
Still, there is a job to do and when so much is on the line, it certainly adds some pressure, no matter how hard you try to block that out of your mind.
“You have to get used to it,” Kemp said. “In order to have success you have to push that to the side a little bit. For me, when I first came up, I think I let a lot of those little things play in my head a little bit more. My first time I didn’t know what the right mentality was to have success up here was. We got a job to do and I think the setting just changes a little bit. It’s the same game between those lines so I’m trying to treat it like any other day, which is hard to do. For me, that’s just the adjustment I’ve made. I belong here and sticking to my guns and doing what I do.”
His hope, obviously that he does stick for the playoff roster. That’s a decision manager Rob Thomson and the front office will have to make in a couple of weeks. For now, Kemp is still just soaking it all in.
“If you let your mind wander that’s when it starts to be harder and harder to get to that one point to where you want to go,” he said. “Not giving it more energy that it needs and it’s just another game. We’re going to get there. But the more we try and force it the worse it’s going to be. Just playing the game for what it is.
“You have ideas of where you think you can go but when pencil comes to paper it’s pretty unbelievable to think last year I was in double-A at this time and transitioning to triple-A not knowing what was next after that. Kind of hoping I had a shot at the big leagues, but little did I know it was right around the corner. You can make a lot of stuff up in your mind and you can create a lot of situations – create the worst case, create the best case – but it’s pretty surreal to be sitting here and having a chance to go and win a title.”
Injury updates:
There is never a good time of the year for injury, obviously, but the small dings that have hit the Phillies recently seem to be improving well.
Trea Turner, Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa all have missed time recently with various injuries but are progressing well, according to Thomson.
“Hope so,” said Thomson when asked if Bohm should be ready by Friday. “He’ll work out today, so we’ll know more after today. Same thing with Sosa and then we’ll reevaluate tomorrow.” Thomson said there’s a possibility Sosa could be back from his groin strain as early as tomorrow. Bohm is working out soreness in his shoulder.
Turner, diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, appears to be progressing ahead of schedule.
“Stayed in Philly. Did a full workout today,” said Thomson of Turner. “Did a little bit of jogging. Hit in the cages, tee and toss, ground balls. Really good. He feels good. We’re hoping (Turner will return before playoffs). Said he feels really good.”
Travel troubles
For the umpteenth time this season, the Phillies had travel issues in getting out to the West Coast.
“It was mechanical, and we had to wait for another plane. That’s the way it goes,” said Thomson, adding the team got in around 2 a.m. “I slept most of the time. All the way out pretty much, then I got to bed and slept some more. We kind of pulled back on (the players) because of how late we got in last night. Some later busses (to Dodger Stadium) and going to keep the workload to just make sure they’re ready to play.”
Pitching change
The Dodgers announced Monday that they would be starting left-handed reliever Anthony Bande instead of previously listed starter Emmet Sheehan. Thomson said he didn’t make a change to the starting lineup that he told his team on Sunday.
While he put together an 0-for-3 performance with one groundout, one strikeout and one flyout, there still was plenty to like from the young slugger’s first game in The Show which proved he is more than capable of handling big-league pitching.
As he walked up to the Chase Field plate for his first major league at-bat in the top of the second inning, Eldridge received a loud ovation from his family and friends in attendance.
With no one on and one out, the 20-year-old worked his way to a full count against Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen before grounding out sharply to first baseman Ildemaro Vargas.
Eldridge tried to check his swing but couldn’t hold back on the first pitch of the at-bat, a 93.6 mph four-seam fastball, before Gallen threw him four straight changeups low and away — one of which was a swing-and-miss.
He hit the sixth pitch of the at-bat, a 94 mph four-seamer, 99 mph off the bat to conclude a quality showing for his first big-league hacks.
The next at-bat against Gallen didn’t go as well. With the count 2-2, Eldridge struck out on a knuckle curve for the third out in the top of the fourth inning.
For a moment, it looked like Eldridge had his first big-league homer during his third at-bat in the top of the seventh inning, which came against Diamondbacks right-hander Taylor Rashi. With Matt Chapman on first base, the slugger hit a ball 407 feet to the deepest part of the outfield in center, but Jorge Barrosa made a leaping catch on the warning track.
Even Eldridge’s cheering section thought the ball was out — and it actually would have been a home run in 23 other ballparks.
The flyout was made all the more impressive by the power Eldridge showcased on an inside pitch, casually flipping the four-seamer over 400 feet the other way.
All in all, Eldridge wasn’t the only Giant who didn’t record a hit in San Francisco’s 8-1 loss. In fact, Casey Schmitt had the Giants’ only two hits of the game.
But there certainly were some promising at-bats from San Francisco’s top prospect, who hopes to make an impact as the Giants continue their quest for an MLB playoff spot.
Aaron Judge, likely in the midst of another MVP season, took home a different award on Monday, as he was named the American League Player of the Week.
In six games from Sept. 8-14, Judge slashed .450/.560/1.200 with five home runs and nine runs scored. His 1.760 OPS during that span also led all American League hitters.
The Yankees went 3-3 last week and are currently 4.0 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East and are 1.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox for the top Wild Card spot.
Judge, the AL MVP in 2022 and 2024, is the overwhelming favorite to win the award again this season, with Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh the other player in contention.
Judge has once again put up absurd numbers hitting .326, which would be a single-season best for him, to go along with a .447 OBP, a .678 slugging percentage, 48 home runs, and 102 RBI.
It won’t exactly make up for the 1990 World Series — won by Cincinnati in a sweep over Oakland — but the Athletics played the role of spoiler to perfection after they won three straight over the Reds.
The A’s have shown this potential for a while.
The Athletics were above .500 in mid-May before a horrendous stretch of 20 losses in 21 games. But since the All-Star break, the A’s are 29-23, and they have the third-best run differential in baseball. Nick Kurtz is having a sensational rookie season, and Jacob Wilson has an outside shot to win the franchise’s first batting title since 1952, when it was playing in Philadelphia.
With the Reds inching closer to a wild card in the National League, the A’s outscored Cincinnati 21-9 in the series. Perhaps fittingly, the Athletics have a better record on the road (37-38) than at their minor league home ballpark in West Sacramento, California (33-42). They’ve already reached 70 wins for the first time since 2021.
It’s hard to say whether the A’s should be considered a possible contender next year, given how unstable the franchise feels as it eyes a permanent move to Las Vegas. But right now, contending teams should be wary. The Athletics have series with the Red Sox and Astros still to come.
Batting races
While Wilson (.318) tries to chase down Aaron Judge (.326) in the American League, Trea Turner of Philadelphia is leading the NL batting race with a .305 average. He’s the only qualifying hitter in the league above .300, with Chicago’s Nico Hoerner (.299) the nearest competitor.
The lowest average by a batting champion is Carl Yastrzemski’s .301 in the AL in 1968. The lowest in NL history is Tony Gwynn’s .313 in 1988, but that record seems likely to fall.
Avoiding history
After losing 50 of their first 59 games, the Colorado Rockies looked like a threat to break the modern record of 121 losses, set just last year by the Chicago White Sox. But the Rockies have improved enough to earn their 41st victory at San Diego. That means the worst they can do is tie the White Sox, and that would require losing every remaining game.
Trivia time
Kurtz is a near-lock to become the first Athletics player to win Rookie of the Year honors since Andrew Bailey in 2009. Also during their Oakland tenure, the A’s were the only AL team to date to produce three Rookie of the Year winners in a row. Who were they?
Line of the week
Kody Clemens hit three home runs and a double, including a solo shot in the top of the ninth inning that helped the Minnesota Twins to a 9-8 win over Arizona. Clemens’ father, former pitcher Roger Clemens, allowed at least three homers 17 times in 707 career starts.
Comeback of the week
Milwaukee trailed St. Louis 6-1 in the sixth and 7-4 in the ninth before rallying to win 9-8 in 10 innings. After two hit batters to start the bottom of the ninth, Sal Frelick hit an RBI double. Two more infield singles tied it at 7, and after the Cardinals turned a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation into just one run in the 10th, Caleb Durbin hit an RBI double and Andruw Monasterio followed with the game-winning single.
Milwaukee’s win probability was just 1.9% in the ninth, according to Baseball Savant. The Brewers have 11 walk-off victories this year, tied with San Francisco for the most in baseball.
Trivia answer
From 1986-88, Oakland had Rookie of the Year winners Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and Walt Weiss.
The Mets announced the their 2025 Player Development Awards on Monday afternoon, and outfielder Carson Benge and right-hander Jonah Tong were among those who earned honors.
Benge, the Mets’ first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, earned Player of the Year honors, while Tong took home the Pitcher of the Year Award.
Benge, 22, has been on a meteoric rise through the farm system, beginning the season with High-A Brooklyn and now playing with Triple-A Syracuse. While Benge is slashing .279/.380/.460 across all three levels this season, he was particularly great with Double-A Binghamton, where he slashed .317/.407/.571 with eight home runs and 23 RBI in 32 games, earning a quick promotion to the Triple-A level.
Benge, who ranks as Joe DeMayo’s No. 3 prospect in the Mets system, is likely to make his big league debut at some point in 2026.
As for Tong, he knows all about a quick ascension through the minors. A seventh-round pick of the Mets in 2022, Tong quickly went from a relatively unknown prospect to a major leaguer. He started the 2024 season with Low-A St. Lucie and was with Binghamton by the end of the year.
Tong’s 2025 minor league numbers are staggering. In 20 starts with Binghamton, Tong posted a 1.59 ERA with 162 strikeouts in 102.0 innings. After two scoreless appearances with Syracuse, Tong was called up to the bigs. While his numbers are skewed by a very rough outing against Texas in his latest start, Tong allowed just one earned run on six hits over 5.0 innings in his major league debut against the Marlins.
Additionally, infielder Elian Peña was named DR Academy Player of the Year and LHP Osiris Calvo was tabbed as the DR Academy Pitcher of the Year. Peña, just 17, hit.292/.421/.528 with nine home runs over 55 games in his first pro season. Calvo, who missed all of 2024 due to injury, pitched to a 2.51 ERA in 11 outings.
Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters that top prospect Bryce Eldridge will be the designated hitter in lineups against right-handed pitchers.
“We just lost a lefty in Dom [Smith], and I think this was always kind of in the back of their minds, the front office minds, if there was a need for him, potentially this would happen,” Melvin explained, “He’s got some power … can hit some homers here [at Chase Field] too.”
Eldridge, who was selected from Triple-A Monday, made his MLB debut as the Giants’ designated hitter in the lineup’s fifth spot Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“I’ll be DH-ing against the righty starters for the foreseeable future, and I’m going to go in and make the most of it,” Eldridge told reporters before Monday’s game. “I’m feeling good, I’m feeling confident. Everything’s in a good spot right now, and I’m ready to go.”
The left-handed hitting prospect was riding a seven-game hitting streak when he got the call to join the team in Phoenix against the Diamondbacks. In 66 games played with Triple-A Sacramento this season, Eldridge hit .249 with 18 home runs and 63 RBI.
“All the reports are that he’s swinging the bat really well right now, and we’re looking to increase in production,” Melvin said.
Eldridge’s slugging success has earned himself a spot in the lineup against right-handed pitching. Across all minor league levels this season, he has hit 21 home runs with a .848 OPS against right-handed pitchers.
Although the 20-year-old prospect mainly will be used as a designated hitter for the foreseeable future, Eldridge is very confident in his fielding ability at first base as well.
“I think I could go out and play above-average first base in the big leagues, that’s just how I feel,” Eldridge asserted. “I’ve just been working my tail off to get better every day and I think any of the coaches who I’ve been with this year would tell you that, is that I’ve played a good first [base] over there.”
Melvin maintains that Eldridge will be used as a designated hitter but also wants to evaluate the prospect at the corner infield position.
“My message to him is go up there and hit. Right now, it’s going to be DH, we’ll see where it goes.” Melvin detailed. “I want him to continue to play first base, take ground balls at first base, we’ll see where that goes.”
Rafael Devers started at first base Monday in the first game of the series against the Diamondbacks, his 22nd game started at the position this season.
Eldridge will be the youngest player to make his Giants debut since Madison Bumgarner in 2010. He is the Giants’ youngest position player since Jeff Ransom in 1981.
