Category: Baseball

And that’s a wrap on the season, everyone. The A’s end their year on a losing note by dropping the final game of the year to the Houston Astros. That punched Houston’s ticket to October baseball as they’ll finish the season 81-81, which is good enough for the AL West but also the first time there’s a .500 team going to the postseason in baseball history. They shouldn’t be exactly proud of themselves for that. That’s it for the Athletics baseball until February 19th next year, the first game of Spring Training. Start the clock!

The A’s went with a bullpen game this afternoon, beginning with midseason trade acquisition Seth Johnson. His first few appearances in an A’s uniform haven’t been all that encouraging but he ended his season on a high note with 1 2/3 shutout innings, holding the Astros to just one hit and a couple walks while punching out a pair. Those walks came back-to-back and ended his day but overall a solid outing. Johnson was acquired for Colby Thomas with the expectation he could be a piece of next year’s bullpen and that’s still the case. Hopefully he can put in work this offseason and be ready to claim a spot in next year’s ‘pen right out of the gate.

After Johnson it was lefty Brady Basso’s turn as the bulk pitcher. While Johnson ended his season on a good note, Basso got touched up for four runs and ends his year on a low note. Basso finished the second but then he allowed a single, double, triple, hit a batter, and threw in an intentional walk for good measure. That was the recipe (not in that order) for four runs in the third inning, putting Houston on course for the playoffs. That pushed his ERA to 6.07, not a fun number to look at all offseason.

On the other side of things the Athletics’ lineup was facing emergent right-hander Peter Lambert. The Astros’ come-out-of-nowhere workhorse this year came out shaky against the A’s this afternoon. The A’s put together a couple hits in the first inning but wasted that opportunity, which ended up being their only real scoring chance this afternoon. Lambert would surprisingly only pitch two innings in this one as the Astros then turned things over to righty Ethan Pecko for three innings. It wasn’t much better for the A’s bats against him as they only collected one one single against him.

Houston tacked on a couple more in each of the sixth and seventh off of Scott Blewitt and Chris Roycroft, respectively. Then another in the eighth off Geoff Hartlieb, unnecessary insurance. The A’s offense looked like it was ready to hit the golf course as they ended the day with just five hits and three walks. A lifeless way to end a lifeless season.

And now the offseason begins. The Athletics finish the year at 64-98. The team will break up and head their separate ways, not to reunite until next spring. There’ll be lots of new faces and others that depart this winter. And with where the team finished in the standings that’s probably for the best. The A’s have now completed two of their three seasons in Sacramento, with just one more to go until they move into their new long-term home in Las Vegas. Enjoy the offseason everyone, and stay tuned to Athletics Nation for all the news and updates regarding our A’s!

The Dodgers closed the 2026 regular season with a 5-1 win against the Giants on Sunday, bringing their record to 100-62.

“There’s a lot of things that we had to go through this year,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And we just continue to remain steadfast and play on.”

The Dodgers were already locked into a No. 2 seed, with a first-round bye. But the slate of games Sunday sorted out the rest of the postseason bracket.

In the National League Division Series, the Dodgers play the winner of the best-of-three wild-card series between the No. 6 Philadelphia Phillies (who claimed the final NL wild-card spot with a win Sunday) or the No. 3 Atlanta Braves.

Read more:Plaschke: The Dodgers cannot three-peat without 'That Guy'... but who is he?

During the bye, the Dodgers will balance practice and live pitching with rest. Then they’ll host Game 1 and 2 of the NL Division Series on Saturday and Sunday. The Dodgers will hit the road for Game 3 on Oct. 6 and an if-necessary Game 4 the next day. If the NLDS goes to five games, it will return to Dodger Stadium on Oct. 9.

It’s now the Dodgers’ job to capitalize on it, the but their regular season put them in a strong playoff position.

“Truly, 100 wins is hard to do,” veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “It’s six months. It’s a grind. A lot of ups and downs. A lot of people getting hurt. A lot of depth pieces stepping up. A lot of good things happening for a lot of good people on this team.”

Here are the numbers that sum up the Dodgers’ 2026 regular season:

100 wins

The Dodgers posted their best regular-season record since 2023, when they went 100-62. This is their fourth 100-win season in six years, and they’ve recorded 100-plus wins in six of the past nine full seasons.

Roberts has been at the helm for all six, tied with Hall of Famers managers Bobby Cox and Joe McCarthy for the most 100-win seasons.

Regular-season success isn’t directly correlated with postseason performance. The Dodgers won the last two World Series after 98- and 93-win seasons.

9 games ahead of the rest

The Dodgers ran away with the NL West. They spent 181 days in first place, according to Baseball Reference. The Padres finished second and claimed a wild-card spot.

14 straight postseason berths

The Dodgers tied the record for consecutive postseason berths, set by the Braves from 1991 to 2005.

5 games the Dodgers’ A lineup has been available

Injuries rolled through the Dodgers’ position-player group throughout the season, including extended absences for Tommy Edman (ankle) and Will Smith (neck). Significant September injuries included Shohei Ohtani (knee, biceps) and Andy Pages (hand).

So, the Dodgers’ last five games of the season were their only ones with their projected postseason lineup available. Those nine only started one game together. The team hopes that means the best is yet to come.

22 combined starts for Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow

The rotation was also hit hard by injuries. Along with Ohtani, Blake Snell (shoulder, elbow) and Tyler Glasnow (back) were also limited. But they got healthy at the right time, joining stalwart Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9, 2.53 ERA) and trade-deadline acquisition Tarik Skubal (5-2, 2.61 with Dodgers) to form a fearsome four for the postseason.

10 two-way games from Shohei Ohtani

This was supposed to be Ohtani’s first full two-way season since 2023. But he only made 14 starts on the mound before injuries limited him to hitting. And in four of those pitching starts, he was not in the batting order, in an early effort to manage his workload.

His 1.79 ERA put him in the early Cy Young conversation. In the end, injuries not only ended that dream but tanked his case for a third consecutive MVP as well.

11 pitchers recorded saves

The Dodgers signed closer Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69-million contract in the offseason — securing a closer to a multi-year deal for the second straight year.

Between injuries and poor performance, Díaz lost the closer role. He made just 21 appearances and tallied seven saves. But in the final week of the season, he pitched his way back into the late-inning conversation.

Tanner Scott led the team in saves, with 25.

Read more:Shaikin: Dodgers don't have a designated playoff closer. That isn't as bad as it sounds

.715 OPS posted by Kyle Tucker

Tucker was the other big offseason signing. The right fielder set an average annual value record with his four-year, $240-million deal. Then he posted a sub-.800 OPS for the first time since his 2018 rookie season, when he logged just 72 plate appearances.

Tucker hit better on the road (.841 OPS entering Sunday) than at Dodger Stadium (.592). And he has swung a hot bat in September, entering Sunday with a .919 OPS this month.

1,000 career wins by Dave Roberts

Roberts became the fastest manager to 1,000 wins with a victory against the Athletics on June 30. He finished the season with 1,044.

2,500 career-hits by Freeman

Freeman reached the mark on June 9, the first player to do so since 2019. He finished with 2,598 career hits, leading all active players.

4,034,219 Dodger Stadium attendance record

For the second straight season, the Dodgers’ home attendance surpassed 4 million. They beat last year’s record by 21,749.

Read more:Blake Snell delivers 'best-case scenario' as Dodgers defeat Giants for win No. 99

11 wins for three-peat

The bye week will allow the Dodgers’ front office to finalize the NLDS roster. They have decisions to make regarding their bench and bullpen.

Rookie Josue De Paula, up for a pinch-hitting role, is set to join the team Tuesday, Roberts said. And the team is considering utility player Hyeseong Kim as a potential pinch-runner.

Right-handed reliever Edgardo Henriquez, who landed on the injured list two weeks ago with lower-back discomfort, is scheduled to throw to batters this week at Dodger Stadium, Roberts said. If that goes well, he’s expected to be on the NLDS roster.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Mariners 7, Angels 3, Rick Rizzs 1 in a million

The Astros going 81-81: Logan Gilbert, +.015 WPA
The Astros winning the division at 81-81: Julio Rodríguez, -0.09 WPA

Game Thread Comments of the Day

Both PDX bros coming through today.

For nine-plus innings, the Dodgers and Giants couldn’t buy a hit with a runner in scoring position, but in the tenth, the Dodgers broke through for a 5-1 win. Alex Call and Andy Pages recorded two-out hits, a double, and a three-run shot to give the Dodgers their first lead in this game and the only one they’d need.

ANDY FOR GAME 162! pic.twitter.com/IUT59vcK9b

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 27, 2026

Before getting to that point of being tied in extras, Jack Dreyer did a reasonable job of keeping the Giants at bay as an opener, but a stolen base allowed the opportunity for just a pair of singles to open the scoring in the second. Shay Whitcomb singled and stole second, later driven in by Scott Bandura—his first RBI of the season, playing in just his 13th big league game. Bandura also tried to steal a base, but this time Dreyer was alert to the danger and picked him off.

Facing a traditional bullpen game with Carson Seymour completing just one inning to open this one, the Dodgers first threatened to score in the third, the inning marked by Tony Vitello’s ejection. With two on and a 2-2 count to Mookie Betts, a check swing in which he probably went around was called a no-swing. Vitello came out to argue what had already been a topic of frustration earlier in the game and was thrown out for the seventh time in his 2026. The Giants, however, got out of the jam, as Betts struck out on the next pitch, and Sam Hentges also punched out Freddie Freeman.

What the Dodgers offense couldn’t do in the third, it did in the following frame. Kyle Tucker got on to leadoff the inning thanks to a defensive error by the second baseman and moved to third on a Max Muncy double—his 27th of the season, setting a new career high in a single season. With two on and one out, Andy Pages evened the score with a sacrifice fly.

Through the following innings, the Dodgers kept threatening but never coming through, first with a Freddie Freeman hit with a man on being taken away by a great defensive play from Jonah Cox—somewhat redeeming himself for the error that contributed to the Dodgers’ first run. That, by the way, would be Freeman’s last action in the game, replaced after five by Kiké Hernández as Dave Roberts rotated key pieces.

In the sixth, Muncy nearly wrote another chapter in his book as a giant killer. But the deepest part of the park was just deep enough to keep him from a solo shot in a ball that would’ve gone out in 23 of 30 stadiums. Perhaps the biggest squandered chance, though, came in the seventh and eighth when the Dodgers first stranded a leadoff double by Tommy Edman with three straight groundouts—an inning later, after Muncy secured his third hit of the day, Andy Pages hit into an inning-ending double play with two on and one out.

The Dodgers’ pitching was the reason the offense kept getting these opportunities to take the lead. Justin Wrobleski was the first pitcher out of the bullpen for the Dodgers, but looking for an even distribution of workload, he only completed two scoreless innings in under 30 pitches. Roki Sasaki and Edwin Díaz combined to strike out three, each with a scoreless frame.

Although Wrobleski had a couple of scares, the Giants truly came back to threaten again in the seventh when Bobby Miller took the mound, but also without actually breaking through. With runners at the corners and no outs, Miller secured a strikeout, then lucked into Marcelo Mayer staying at third on a wild pitch quickly recovered by Hunter Feduccia, recorded another punchout, and finished off the inning with a groundout.

With both teams exhausting new ways of threatening without actually scoring, the Giants looked like they’d take the lead with a leadoff bomb in the eighth by Christian Koss. However, the call on the field of a home run was overturned when replay made it clear it was a foul ball, and the score remained 1-1 through nine innings.

Even in the tenth, it looked like the Dodgers were going to strand the ghost runner after their first two hitters were retired without him advancing to third, but Call came through, and an intentional walk later, Pages had the big hit of the game. With the four RBI he recorded in this game, Pages left Ohtani behind and isolated himself as the Dodgers’ RBI leader this season, with 85.

Sunday particulars

Home run: Andy Pages (23)

WP —Alex Vesia (3-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 strikeout

LP —Duncan Davitt (0-1):1 IP, 2 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned runs, 1 walk

Up next

The Dodgers get a little under a week off before they get back on the field on Saturday at home. They’ll be playing host to the winner of the Wild Card round between the Braves and Phillies in game 1 of the NLDS. No starters have been announced for that series.

Reds 1 Blue Jays 5

If I were Max Scherzer, that’s how I’d want to end my career. He threw seven innings, allowed six hits, one earned run, one walk, and seven strikeouts (which would finish him with 3,557 strikeouts, three fewer than Justin Verlander). Max threw 114 pitches. That’s just amazing, especially on short rest.

If Max doesn’t sign with someone for next year, he will finish with 225 wins, 126 losses and a 3.29 ERA in 3047.2 innings in 501 games—a sure first-ballot Hall of Famer.

And George Springer doubled to lead off the third inning and was taken out of the game. That is also a great way to end a career, if he decides that’s it.

Springer has a .365/.351/.472 batting line, 272 doubles, 25 triples, and 308 home runs, with 850 RBI and 1041 runs scored. Not a Hall of Fame career, but a Hall of Very Good career.

He’s 37 and really can only DH. I don’t know if a team would sign him to do that. If he wants to play, I hope he gets to.

Beyond that, we scored 5 runs, which, if we’d done that more often this year, the season wouldn’t be over.

We scored:

• Two in the second: Davis Schneider led off with a walk, and Brandon Valenzuela homered (his 9th of the season).
• Two in the third: Springer started it with a double (should have been a single, but left fielder JJ Bleday had it bounce over his head). Sean Keys replaced Springer as a pinch runner so fans in the ballpark could give Springer the ovation he deserves. Brett Bateman singled. Kazuma Okamoto walked. Charles McAdoo hit a sac fly. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third. And a Schneider groundout scored Bateman.
• In the eighth, McAdoo homered (his third MLB homer of the season).

We only had five hits. Bateman had two, finishing with a .329 BA. Springer, McAdoo, and Valenzuela had the extra-base hits.

The defence was better than yesterday, but there was still a moment when three fielders watched a foul ball land between them. One thing that has to happen next year is they have to play better defence.

Jays of the Day: Scherzer (0.20 WPA), Valenzuela (0.16) and Bateman (0.10). And let’s get an honorary mention to Springer.

No one had the Other Number.

Thanks to everyone who joined us in the Game Threads and other threads. You all make the games so much more enjoyable.

We will have Game Threads for the playoff games (starting on Tuesday) and the usual off-season stuff, along with some, hopefully, free agent signings. I’m hoping we get baseball again next year and that it isn’t delayed.

That’s a wrap on the regular season. The Red Sox lost the series finale, a boring and pointless affair, to the Chicago Cubs, 6-2. So, what did we learn?

Tanner Houck isn’t ready for the postseason roster

Tanner Houck started the game today for his first appearance since May 2025. The line was okay; he allowed three runs over three innings on four hits and one strikeout, but the stuff isn’t where it needs to be. His fastballs were about two miles per hour below where they were last year, and his sweeper didn’t have as much bite. He commanded his fastballs and his splitter well, but the whiffs weren’t there as hitters could handle his stuff. Aside from two Alex Bregman home runs, there wasn’t much loud contact, but I still wouldn’t want to trust Houck out of the pen. I’m happy that Houck was able to get an appearance in, but there are better options for the postseason.

Patrick Sandoval isn’t an option for the Wild Card Round

Patrick Sandoval took over for Wyatt Olds in the fourth inning with two outs and pitched until the ninth inning. The Red Sox let him go all the way up to 98 pitches, signaling that he won’t be an option for the Wild Card round. I never thought he would be, other than in a mop-up role, but it’s nice to know the team’s opinion of him is in line with mine.

The Trop is the worst

Trevor Story caught a fly ball that Jarren Duran was tracking because it hit a catwalk, and apparently that’s still in play? How is that place a real stadium that can affect the outcome of playoff games?

Another example of Tropicana Field blowing.

Good work from Trevor Story to catch the ricochet. pic.twitter.com/cFHWbdmngE

— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) September 27, 2026

Drake Maye has brain worms

What the heck is up with that guy?

Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela are playing hurt

I think we already knew this one, but the fact that they both only played four innings and got two at-bats was illuminating. It’s clear that they’ve been battling through injuries, but this game had a real rehab-assignment vibe to it for those two. They’ll get another day off before they’re both probably in the lineup for game one against the Yankees.

The Astros and Phillies will be in the playoffs

The Phillies knocked off the Rays, and the Astros took care of business against the Athletics to secure the final playoff spots. If we’re lucky enough to face the Astros in the American League Championship, I pray they learn not to pitch to Yordan Alvarez. Just walk him.

The Yankees Still Suck

They only played 161 games because they’re witches who melt in the rain.

---

That’s all I got. Next stop, postseason.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have established a dynasty in the National League West and the Milwaukee Brewers are pretty much unbeatable in the Central. 

That leaves the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs to battle on the undercard - and that was a pretty compelling match one year ago. 

This time, it's San Diego's Petco Park, not Wrigley Field, that will host the two teams that battled through three games before the Cubs prevailed in the decisive finale a year ago. 

And now, the Cubs have Alex Bregman on their side. 

The two-time World Series champ and postseason constant bounced back from facial fractures suffered Sept. 20 when he was struck in the left eye by a foul ball. Five days later, he was back in the Cubs lineup and Sunday, he hit two home runs and had three hits in the Cubs' season-finale against Boston, moved to Tropicana Field for weather purposes.

Yet in a series matching a pair of rotations that fall shy of dominant, the Padres bullpen may provide the difference. Closer Mason Miller is the final boss of a unit that can match up lefties and righties with equal ease.

San Diego is looking to advance past the wild card round for the first time since 2022, when it reached the NLCS. The Cubs fell in a five-game NL Division Series at Milwaukee after vanquishing the Padres. 

Game 1 will be Tuesday, Sept. 29, with Michael King expected to get the start for the Padres.

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Padres vs. Cubs predictions

• Bob Nightengale: Padres in 2
• Gabe Lacques: Padres in 3
• Kristie Ackert: Cubs in 3
• Jesse Yomtov: Padres in 3

Padres vs Cubs schedule

Wild card series at Petco Park in San Diego. Game 3 time subject to change

• Game 1, Tuesday: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET
• Game 2, Wednesday: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET
• Game 3*, Thursday: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cubs vs Padres expert predictions, MLB playoff schedule for NL wild card series

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Sunday was a day of farewells for the Mariners on and off the field. Making official what many have suspected, sources inside the Mariners organization say that the Mariners and manager Dan Wilson have parted ways. According to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com and Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, Wilson informed players he would not be returning in a meeting prior to Sunday’s season finale against the Angels. Wilson went on to manage the rest of the game, including two mid-inning defensive changes to allow fan appreciation moments for both J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena, both of whom are set to become free agents this season.

Wilson’s firing was essentially a fait accompli after the team underachieved to an almost unimaginable degree in 2026 following a deep playoff run in 2025. It was a baffling turn of events for a team that was projected as the favorites to win a weak AL West while returning essentially the same group of players and of staffers in 2026. Instead, the Astros once again captured the AL West, winning out over the Rangers. Neither club was particularly good this season; both were better than the Mariners.

While Wilson didn’t have direct experience managing, he did have a longstanding relationship with many of the team’s young players, having worked for years as a minor league coach/coordinator in the organization. Wilson had a particularly close relationship with fellow catcher Cal Raleigh, who always eagerly sought Wilson out for advice even before he was installed as the manager. Wilson’s first full season of managing was Raleigh’s historic 60-home run season, but Raleigh’s 2026 was a shocking disappointment that saw him go from one of the league’s best hitters to the league’s worst.

Moving on from Wilson is the first step in what promises to be an off-season of change for the Mariners, whose abysmal sub-.500 record ensure they cannot “run it back”. Given the young core and recent playoff run, Seattle should be an attractive destination for a manager. But how much control will that manager want to exert over bringing in their own choices for staffing? Pitching coaches Pete Woodworth and Trent Blank still have time left on their contracts, as does infield coach Perry Hill. There are questions to be solved on the roster, as well, as the. Mariners will have to replace the assumed departures of Randy Arozarena and J.P. Crawford, in addition to shoring up a bullpen that was both injured and ineffective. But those are questions for the front office, specifically Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander, who are scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday. The looming lockout also poses a wrinkle in the upcoming down time, making it an off-season of uncertainty all around.

One thing is clear: the Mariners will have a new manager in 2026, for the third time in four years.

The situation was clear for the Phillies: Win on Sunday afternoon and qualify for the playoffs. We can lament they didn’t take care of business earlier in the week, but on Sunday, Zack Wheeler and company took care of business, defeating the Rays 7-3, and earning the final spot in the National League’s playoff field.

It would have been preferable to have saved Wheeler for the playoffs, but if you needed one guy to start a must win game, there are few pitchers you’d rather have on the mound. And Wheeler delivered. He struck out the side in the first, setting the tone, and while he didn’t continue that level of dominance the rest of the way, he kept the Rays in check. His final line: One run on five hits over six innings to earn his 14th win of the season.

After a few games of offensive ineptitude, it was nice to see the Phillies get on the board early on Sunday. Kyle Schwarber singled and was doubled home by Bryson Stott to give them an early 1-0.

Stott puts one on the board! pic.twitter.com/4w9QgpWGjA

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 27, 2026

They extended that lead in the second when J.T. Realmuto finally broke out of his hitless streak to drive in the team’s second run.

Atta way, JT! pic.twitter.com/lHB7j0T4Qp

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 27, 2026

After a Trea Turner single, Schwarber blasted a double off the fence to put the Phillies up 4-0.

Come for the knock, stay for the slide pic.twitter.com/Q562Dl8Eyf

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 27, 2026

The bats quieted down for a few innings, and the Rays finally got on the board thanks to a Jonny DeLuca home run to start the fifth. Maybe the Phillies’ hitters needed that to snap them out of any sense of complacency, because they came back to life in the bottom of the innings.

Bryce Harper led off the frame with a home run.

BRYCE BRYCE BABY! pic.twitter.com/KkyeWiao8L

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 27, 2026

After a Stott double, a ground out, and a Brandon Marsh sacrifice fly, Edmundo Sosa added another solo shot to make it 7-1.

Alex McFarlane relieved Wheeler and was a little shaky in the seventh, giving up two runs, including DeLuca’s second home run of the game. Get that out of your system, Alex!

I didn’t agree with the decision to use Jesus Luzardo in the eighth. My hope was he could be the game one playoff starter, and I didn’t like putting a guy fresh off the Injured List onto a mound that was clearly deteriorating due to the rainy conditions. Fortunately, the Rays, with nothing to play for, seemed content to just swing at anything, and Luzardo got through the inning in four pitches.

Jhoan Duran got the ninth, and despite it not being a save situation, it was perhaps his most important appearance of the year. Three easy outs later, and the Phillies’ ticket to the playoffs was punched.

CLINCHED. pic.twitter.com/oZ5k3vwx1c

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 27, 2026

I understand if you’re frustrated with the Phillies. But this is a franchise that recently missed the playoffs ten straight years. I can’t turn up my nose at playoff spots, no matter how narrowly they made it.

Besides, everything that happened in the regular season doesn’t really matter. When they take the field in Atlanta on Tuesday, it doesn’t matter that they barely made the playoffs. Maybe the Phillies don’t inspire anyone with much confidence that they’ll make much noise in the postseason, but who knows? You can’t win the World Series without making the playoffs, and the Phillies at least have a chance now.

See you on Tuesday!

Last Sunday, Alex Bregman was hit in the face by a foul ball off the bat of Michael Busch in Cincinnati. He suffered facial fractures and missed three games.

Bregman came back Friday as the DH and Sunday, just a bit over exactly one week since that accident, he hit two home runs and also singled, doubled and walked. His 4-for-4 afternoon led the Cubs to a 4-2 Game 162 win over the Red Sox, a game played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Bregman didn’t waste any time Sunday, either. Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the game with a single and then departed for pinch-runner Tyrone Taylor.

On the very next pitch, Bregman left the yard [VIDEO].

That was great to see. Bregman seemed totally locked in from the moment he stepped into the batter’s box. And that ball was crushed! [VIDEO].

And that ball went a long way! [VIDEO]

Shōta Imanaga started for the Cubs and threw just the first inning, allowing a home run to Adley Rutschman. That was the 35th homer off Imanaga this year, second-most in MLB this year to Aaron Nola’s 37. Imanaga threw only 12 pitches in this game, which theoretically leaves him available to pitch in the Wild Card Series, maybe Thursday or perhaps even Wednesday. Apart from the homer, Imanaga struck out the other three hitters he faced.

Braxton Garrett, who the Cubs acquired from the Marlins at the trade deadline for minor leaguers Jonathon Long and Jace Beck and who’d been at Triple-A Iowa since, was recalled for this game and went into the game as the “bulk guy” and threw very well. Garrett threw five innings and allowed four hits and a run, though he did issue three walks. He threw 70 pitches and will be in the mix for a starting rotation spot next year.

While all this was going on, Bregman went deep again in the third [VIDEO].

Bregman drove in all four Cubs runs in this game and finishes with 93 RBI on the season. It’s so good to see him productive after that freak injury. Even if he is limited to DH duty for the Wild Card Series, as noted on the Marquee broadcast, he’s been the Cubs’ second-best hitter (behind PCA) all year and they are going to need that hitting. I noticed that Bregman was wearing a double-flap helmet on the basepaths, though as you can see, not when he hit the home runs.

BCB’s JohnW53 has this fact about Bregman’s two-homer afternoon:

Today’s game was Alex Bregman’s fifth of the season with multiple home runs. Pete Crow-Armstrong has seven such games; Dansby Swanson, three; and Michael Conforto, one, for a total of 16.

The Cubs had a team-record 20 such games last year. They had 19 in 2019, 18 in 1998 and 2004, and 17 in 1930 and 1958. They also had 16 in 2021.

Going into today, the Astros had 16 this year, second to the Rockies’ 18. The Padres had 15.

The Cubs flashed some glove while Garrett was in the game. Here’s a nice stop by Matt Shaw in the fifth [VIDEO].

Jacob Webb succeeded Garrett in the seventh inning and retired all three hitters he faced on just 10 pitches. I don’t think I have to tell you how important it would be if Webb could recover the form that got him 24 straight scoreless appearances before the big meltdown he had at the end of August in Seattle and Arizona.

Colin Rea entered to throw the eighth inning and also retired the Red Sox in order, on just six pitches.

The Cubs then put the game away with a three-run ninth. Miguel Amaya led off with a single and went to third on a single by Taylor. That brought up Bregman, and he came through yet again with this RBI double [VIDEO].

Fact about Bregman’s game from John:

Bregman is just the sixth Cub to hit multiple homers and also have at least one double, one single and one walk. He is the first to do so on the road.

Pete Crow-Armstrong did it in on Aug. 17 in the Cubs’ 10-inning, 7-5 win at home over the White Sox, with his second homer walking it off.

The four others:

Hank Sauer: May 2, 1954, in an 18-10, eight-inning loss to the Pirates
Ryne Sandberg: Aug. 10, 1989, in a 16-13 loss to the Phillies
Corey Patterson: Sept. 7, 2004, in a 7-6, 12-inning loss to the Expos
Chris Coghlan: Sept. 20, 2014, in an 8-7 win over the Dodgers

All had two homers, one double, one single and one walk.

Taylor stopped at third on Bregman’s double, but he then scored on this sac fly by Gabriel Arias [VIDEO].

As mentioned on the Marquee broadcast, Arias is a very good bench player. He can play all infield positions and his bat plays well enough, a really useful guy to have around. That made it 5-2. Ian Happ then struck out, but Michael Conforto doubled, scoring Bregman to give the Cubs a four-run lead [VIDEO].

Rea remained in the game in the ninth to finish up, and he recorded his second save. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

In other postseason-related news, the Phillies won Sunday and so they take the final wild card spot and will face the Braves in Atlanta in another Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday. The Rangers lost to the Twins, which clinched the A.L. West title for the Astros (who are leading the A’s late and likely will finish 81-81). Houston will host the White Sox in a Wild Card Series starting Tuesday.

One more game note from John:

The Cubs’ six runs made their final total 850, their fourth most in the Modern Era, which began in 1901. They scored 998 in 1930, 982 in 1929 and 855 in 2008. They played 156 games in the first two seasons and 161 in the last.

And for whatever it’s worth, the win gave the Cubs an 89-73 record to the Red Sox’ 87-75. That means that if, somehow, those two clubs meet in the World Series, the Cubs would have home field. The Cubs have the better record over four of the six American League postseason teams; only the Rays and Yankees are better.

So the Cubs will now head to San Diego to begin their own Wild Card Series against the Padres Tuesday evening. I’ll have lots to say about that over the next couple of days here, of course. Michael King has been announced as the Padres starter, but no Cubs starter has yet been named. It could be Matthew Boyd, who’d be going on normal rest, as he last pitched on Thursday against the Marlins at Wrigley Field.

Game time Tuesday is late, so get rested up! 9 p.m. CT, with the game on NBC Sports Network (cable) and streaming on Peacock.

Go Cubs!

And just like that, the regular season has come to a close. It feels like we were just starting to write up Spring Training games and Pre-Season predictions and here we are now; a full season complete, a winning record, another divisional title, and another October to remember.

Parker Messick needed some work, with Cleveland securing the bye, and had the most “we won the division last night and celebrated a lot” lineup that we’ve seen in some time. Messick got his work in, throwing 3.0 innings of one run ball. He struck out two and gave up six hits and a walk. Austin Peterson was called up for this game, with Craig Yoho being sent down, and gave Cleveland 5.0 innings of two run ball. Both runs were solo homers, but he otherwise kept the bases relatively empty. Peterson allowed three hits and two walks, striking out five.

Both of Cleveland’s runs also came on solo home runs with Daniel Schneemann and Jo Adell keeping this “meaningless” game lively.

This team finished with a loss, but gets a much needed rest until next Saturday when they take the field at Progressive to start the ALDS. This team has been a struggle to watch and write for at times, but also gave us enough to keep the hope alive. Of the five starting pitchers, three are still in the starting rotation going into the playoffs and haven’t missed a start. The bullpen has been as reliable and lights out as many fans have come to expect, especially in the later part of the season. After the trade deadline, the line up stopped becoming the slap hitting, “death by a thousand bloops” batters that we’ve known and starting to introduce more power. Chase DeLauter and Steven Kwan seem to always find ways on base. José Ramírez and his gaggle of students (Brayan Rocchio, Angel Martínez, Angel Genao, and Travis Bazzana) seem to always come up clutch when needed the most. Gavin Williams and Parker Messick have become a terrifying duo to reckon with. There are players that debuted with this club who we all expected to be pillars but are no longer even with the organization. There have been unlikely heroes, likely heroes, but never a dull moment.

This team, the staff, and this organization has made another successful season of Cleveland baseball. The regular season is over. There’s only one thing left to do.

Win the whole effing thing.

On a gray afternoon in April, his club in last place and mired in an 11-20 hole, Christian Walker looked around the Houston Astros clubhouse, paused and told USA TODAY Sports, "There's a hundred wins in this room." 

He was wrong. The Astros only won 81 games this season - yet they're going to the playoffs, anyway. 

The Astros did just enough to capture the feeble American League West title, clinching the division on the season's final day with a resounding 9-0 victory over the Athletics in West Sacramento.

Houston became the first team in major league history to reach the playoffs with a non-winning record in a full season. The Astros captured the division by one game over the Texas Rangers, who finished 80-82 and lost their must-win season finale at Minnesota, that game going final just minutes before Houston finished off the Athletics. 

Houston will open the AL playoffs at home, taking on the upstart Chicago White Sox at Daikin Park in the best-of-three wild-card series beginning Tuesday. 

The Astros, owning the tiebreaker between the teams, needed just a win to get in. And they left no doubt. 

They jumped on Athletics starter Seth Johnson and reliever Brady Basso for four runs in the third inning. Walker homered in the sixth. Starter Peter Lambert and reliever Ethan Pecko provided five shutout innings before the Astros ran and hid. 

It looked easy. The season was anything but. 

They entered the final week after getting swept at home by Atlanta, erasing a one-game West lead and putting them a game behind the Rangers with six to play. But the Astros also had a nice voucher in their back pocket: Four games in Yolo County to finish the season. 

They took three of four from the woebegone Athletics (64-98), capping a 4-2 final week to overcome the Rangers. MVP favorite Yordan Alvarez finished the season as the AL batting champ, his .316 average 10 points greater than the Rays' Chandler Simpson. Alvarez finished second in home runs, his 42 one shy of Baltimore's Pete Alonso. 

It's the Astros' eighth AL West title in the past 10 years. And probably the strangest. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Astros become MLB's worst-ever playoff team with AL West title

After an incredible Saturday game which featured all kinds of feelings, the season finale took place on another picture-perfect day in Detroit against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Tigers tried to go for the sweep of the Pirates, but ultimately lost 4-2.

It was going to be a game featuring the comeback of Jack Flaherty from the Injured List, but the starter was River Ryan, who is making a return from Tommy John surgery in late 2024. Ryan came to the Tigers in the Tarik Skubal trade and looked good in his one previous start for Detroit: three two-hit, run-free innings against Washington in which he walked one and whiffed three. Flaherty, meanwhile, has had an up-and-down season, and has been on the shelf with right flexor inflammation since July. But in his time on the mound in Detroit this season, walks have been a huge issue, which occasionally led to innings spiralling out of control.

Jared Jones, who also missed the 2025 season due to ulnar colateral ligament surgery — with a brace rather than ligament replacement (i.e., TJ) — took the mound for Pittsburgh. This was his twenty-first start for the Buccos this year, and his twentieth was sensational: he gave up one hit, walked none and struck out nine Cardinals on September 22. His eighteenth start also featured seven innings, one hit, and no runs, in a game in Chicago against the White Sox. Don’t get me wrong, he’s had some clunkers along the way (e.g. coughing up eight runs against the Mets in early August), but when he’s on he can be nearly unhittable.

Pittsburgh wasted no time getting on the board: on the second pitch of the game, Konnor Griffin clubbed his sixth home run of the year for a 1-0 lead.

The visitors added to the lead in the second, as Spencer Horwitz drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a single, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and came home on another single. Another walk loaded the bases with none out, with Ryan labouring and the bullpen warming. After Ryan struck out Billy Cook, he was shown the door and Beau Brieske took over. Four pitches later Griffin hit a crisp grounder to shortstop to start an inning-ending double play, closing the book on Ryan: 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K. Not great, but it could’ve been a lot worse.

Early on, it certainly looked like we got Unhittable Jones: through two innings the Tigers had nary a baserunner, he threw 20 of his 30 pitches for strikes, and he struck out four.

Pittsburgh’s lead extended to 3-0 in the fourth with a Billy Cook double to score Nick Gonzales, and Griffin’s single scored Cook for a 4-0 lead.

With two out in the bottom of the fourth the Tigers got their first hit of the day, as Kevin McGonigle hit a solid single to centrefield. The only baserunner Jones had allowed to that point was Spencer Torkelson, who he’d plunked.

Brieske gave way to Jack Flaherty to start the fifth inning, his first relief appearance since 2023; he had a six-pitch 1-2-3 fifth, which must’ve felt mighty nice. He gave up a harmless single in the sixth and that was it for Flaherty’s outing. Ty Madden pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, too, which was nice.

The Tigers got on the board in the bottom of the seventh with a McGonigle solo home run, narrowing the gap to 4-1.

After Riley Greene grounded out, Eduardo Valencia hit a sizzling 109.8 mph (177.9 km/h) home run, which went 441 ft (1323 hands) for a 4-2 score.

With two out in the inning, Jace Jung (pinch-hitting for Torkelson) struck out, but reached first base on a wild pitch, bringing the tying run to the plate in Zach McKinstry. Alas, McKinstry looked at a strike-three curveball and the side was retired.

Nice moment in the eighth: McGonigle took the field to start the inning, then AJ Hinch took him off the field to a nice ovation from the Comerica Park crowd, in recognition of the fantastic rookie season he had. Coming into today’s game he led the American League in both plate appearances with 704 and a 6.9 bWAR, and if he doesn’t win Rookie of the Year, I’ll eat my hat.

(I’m being told that I’m not currently wearing a hat.)

Madden ended up finishing the game with three hitless innings of relief, ending on a mile-high popup to Ben Malgeri in right field. It’ll be interesting to see what the Tigers do with him next year; is his stuff better suited for the rotation, or could he possibly be converted into a lockdown relief arm? Time will tell.

Mason Montgomery, one of a pair of triple-digit lefty closers for the Pirates (along with Gregory Soto), came out for the ninth to lock the game down. Valencia looked at strike three for the final out of the season, and that was that.

Final score: Pirates 4, Tigers 2

Three Cheers for Max

Max Scherzer started the day ten strikeouts behind Justin Verlander for his career, and my goodness, did he try to catch him. He had seven through seven innings — after 109 pitches no less — and, in what’s a somewhat unthinkable turn of events these days, he came back out for the eighth. Here he is getting talked-to by Jays manager John Schneider, but staying in the game in the seventh.

If this ends up being Max Scherzer's final game, you KNOW it had to have a moment of him refusing to come out of the game 😤pic.twitter.com/WfBsLnjeQM

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 27, 2026

Alas, after a leadoff walk in the eighth, he left the game to a huge ovation in Toronto; after coming out of the game he hopped a short fence near the dugout to hug his family in the stands. If that’s it for Max (you never know, especially with him), what a career it’s been. Love that guy.

First Annual Recap Report

^{Data source: BYB Command Centre; data accurate to the best of our knowledge}

Too Many Numbers and Notes

• The Tigers finished the season with a 76-86 record. This was their fewest number of wins in a season since 2022, when that extremely-forgettable team went 66-96.
• Since 1901, the Tigers’ overall record (not including ties) is now 9839-9728, for an overall winning percentage of .503.
• Today was umpire Laz Diaz’s final game of his career. He was behind the plate on Saturday, and was at third base today. His first career game in the Major Leagues was at Tiger Stadium.
• That’s a mighty fine name for a baseball facility which is the home of a team called the Tigers, come to think of it. Mr. Ilitch, give me a call and we can talk.
• Based on their run differential, the Tigers should have gone 89-73. Funny how that works sometimes, though.
• Did you know there’s also a River Ryan, Nova Scotia? It’s on Cape Breton Island. It’s tiny.
• On this day in 1066, William the Conquerer set sail from France to go, uh, conquer something. I mean, it’s right there in the name.