Category: Baseball

Today’s Reflections

The gripes are legitimate. But there has to be something positive out of these last two days of back-to-back 4-3 losses, and losing the year-long series to the Brewers.

That is — for these two games, the Cubs proved they can hang with the Brewers. The Team Up North was taken to the brink of defeat each time, with the same Achilles heel occurring against the Cubs.

In both games, the team had taken the lead TWICE against the mighty Brewers, only to come up short at the latest point in each game.

In the latest example of “THE DECISION” since LeBron’s, first, second, third (?) time, Craig Counsell Monday had to decide, without either a closer or a dependable eighth-inning reliever, which way to go: Let an exhausted Matthew Boyd, with his fastball having dropped around three miles per hour, go back out to mound in the eighth; let Boyd only face one batter max, or start the inning with Zeferjahn. Zeferjahn had been building confidence in his last few outings, and putting “Z” in at the top of the inning would have given him a fresh start instead of a tremendous increase in leverage. The latter occurred, “Z” crashed and that rolled into Webb also entering in a poor situation.

It was being stuck between a rock, a hard place, and being encased in amber. Probably the only spot we would be in agreement with is that Boyd went a batter too long. However, what were the better options? They aren’t there. Nevertheless, when he left the game, Boyd pitched an excellent game, leaving with the lead, 2-1, having scattered seven baserunners and struck out seven.

The levers were pulled correctly (as best possible) Tuesday. David Peterson did not have a great game (4.1 IP, nine baserunners with four strikeouts). But he somehow did leave the game with the game locked at 1-1 against Jason Misiorowski. After Peterson left after a single and a walk, Trent Thornton provided a strikeout, then was backed up by the defense with a strike from Seiya Suzuki to nail Jackson Chourio at the plate.

After two innings from Aaron Civale, Ryan Rolison had a rough go of it, but the Cubs went into the ninth with the score still tied. After the Cubs took a 3-1 lead, they gave it back. Jacob Webb was in to close the game and was one strike away from chalking up a Cubs win, but to give up a game-tying, two-run home run to Chourio. The Brewers won in the 10th.

The points are — I’ll be positive and say that there is no consistently effective bullpen work. Or I can be real and also just drop the work “consistently”; and there’s a big gap up-and-down the line between the two bullpens. However, this is what the Cubs have and they still kept pace with the Brewers in these two games. There can be some blame on Counsell for the execution of Monday’s game (and I hate going to this easy scapegoat), but the blame is on Jed Hoyer expecting all the bullpen cards would have fallen into place by this point. They still may, but time is almost out and there’s not much that can be done about it.

The offensive stars are PCA, who not only picked up his 41st homer, but added three more stolen bases to improve his chase numbers to 41/36. Pedro Ramirez was 2-for-6 with two runs scored and a solo home run. And Carson Kelly had a huge pinch-hit two-RBI double in the ninth Tuesday to put the Cubs up, 3-1.

Complimentary Starting Pitcher Solo Home Run*

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Tuesday’s Game Stories:

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): A strike from victory, bullpen issues cost Chicago Cubs in a 4-3 loss to Milwaukee Brewers in 10 innings. “Holding on for the win would have moved the Chicago Cubs above the Philadelphia Phillies for the first wild-card spot in the National League.”

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Webb takes ownership of latest blown save, is ‘tired of letting the team down’. “The sting of what just took place on the field remained in the few, blunt words (Jacob Webb) offered, but the Cubs’ reliever was not going to avoid accountability.”

• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Another Cubs bullpen meltdown has manager Craig Counsell searching for answers. “Cubs relievers have contributed to two straight back-breaking losses, bringing up uncomfortable questions for their manager.”

• Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times): Jacob Webb blows another save before Brewers walk-off Cubs in 10 innings. “No one is walking through the Cubs’ clubhouse door to save the bullpen. “These are our guys,” manager Craig Counsell said. “They’re the guys we’re going to rely on. We’ve got to figure it out.”

Monday’s Game Stories:

• Sean Holland (Cubs Insider): Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/7/26): Brewers 4, Cubs 3 – Late Lead Slips Away. “With the bullpen’s struggles, Craig Counsell tried to squeeze one more inning out of his starting pitcher.”

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): PCA slides closer to 40-40, but Cubs drop season set to Brewers. “With the loss, the Cubs dropped to 4-7 on the year against the Brewers, giving the season series to Milwaukee.”

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Enhanced Box Score: Brewers 4, Cubs 3 – September 7, 2026. “Terrible loss. Again.”

Assorted Pitching Stories:

• North Side Baseball: Panic Time For Cubs Bullpen? “With the postseason around the corner, where’s the concern level with the Cubs bullpen?”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): One ugly stat exposes why the Cubs can’t seem to solve their never-ending Brewers problem. “It seems the Cubs finally ran out of time to fix this issue.”
• Casey McAleer (DaWindyCity): Chicago Cubs waste another strong Matthew Boyd start in painful Brewers loss. “The veteran left-hander carried a one-run outing into the eighth, but Chicago’s late-game problems erased another dependable performance.”
• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Craig Counsell’s Mystifying Monday Screwup Continues a Troubling Trend. “Ryan Zeferjahn failed in the clutch on Monday afternoon, costing the Cubs a game they needed and had a chance to win. But the more worrisome mistake was made by his manager, before the righty could even take the mound.”

Assorted Hitting/Team Standings Stories:

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Dansby Swanson’s Oblique Recovery Continues on Schedule. “If Swanson is able to play in a couple rehab games early next week, it’s at least conceivable he could return at some point during next weekend’s Reds series in Cincinnati.”
• Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs have no animosity toward Brewers, even with another 2nd-place finish looming. “Hot take: The White Sox-Brewers rivalry in the early days of the American League Central was much hotter than the Cubs-Brewers rivalry of today.”
• Elias Schuster (Chicago Cubs): Cubs Hold Crucial Advantage as NL Wild Card Race Tightens. “The Chicago Cubs are hoping to outright secure the top Wild Card spot, but thy can find some comfort in knowing they have already clinched a few tiebreakers.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): NL Wild Card standings prove Cubs are getting sickeningly familiar Brewers reminder. “Not great.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: This Cubs-Brewers series could have been key for NL Central. Now it’s just another bump in the road. “In this MVP season for Pete Crow-Armstrong, very little of his “MVPing” has been at the expense of the Milwaukee Brewers.“

Assorted Stories:

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Who Was Jiggs Parrott, ‘Worst’ Player in Cubs History? “With Pete Crow-Armstrong chasing down Rogers Hornsby‘s 1929 11.0 fWAR in 1929 as the best single season in Cubs franchise history, I got an itch to see who has the worst season on record.”
• Sophie Sherry (Chicago Sun-Times): White Sox beat Cubs 56-48 — in Chicago ballpark arrests in recent years. “Fans have mostly been charged with battery and trespassing, the Sun-Times found. One man ran onto both Wrigley and Rate fields, in one case holding a sign that read “Jesus is Lord.” Another man started a brawl outside of a Sox game after he was caught urinating on a car.“
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): A Loss That Sticks to Your Ribs, Achievements and Entertainment, Vaughn, Ohtani, and Other Cubs Bullets. “Every loss this time of year for a Cubs team in a race is gonna stick with you a bit.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): PCA reconnects with young fan, trades him a signed bat. “The sign read: “Hey Pete! I’m your biggest fan from the Smokies! I have a Javi Báez auto 1/1, I want to give it to you. Want to trade ‘4’ a bat? GO CUBS GO.”“
• Ken Rosenthal (The Athletic {$}): Kevin Gausman’s trade-day drama, Muncy’s redemption and the Brewers’ historic run. ““I kind of knew at that point. I’ve never been called up to the front of the plane before,” said Gausman, a 14-year veteran.“

Food For Thought:

Williamson’s first recording session took place in 1951 for Lillian McMurry of Trumpet Records, based in Jackson, Mississippi. It was three years since the death of John Lee Williamson, which for the first time allowed some legitimacy to Miller’s carefully worded claim to being “the one and only Sonny Boy Williamson”. When Trumpet went bankrupt in 1955, Williamson’s recording contract was yielded to its creditors, who sold it to Chess Records in Chicago. He had begun developing a following in Chicago beginning in 1953, when he appeared there as a member of Elmore James’s band. During his Chess years he enjoyed his greatest success and acclaim, recording about 70 songs for the Chess subsidiary Checker Records from 1955 to 1964.

In the early 1960s he toured Europe several times during the height of the British blues craze, backed on a number of occasions by the Authentics, recording with the Yardbirds (for the album Sonny Boy Williamson and the Yardbirds) and the Animals, and appearing on several television broadcasts throughout Europe. Around this time he was quoted as saying of the backing bands who accompanied him, “those British boys want to play the blues real bad, and they do”. In 1963 while in London, on one or possibly more occasions he recorded 2 songs in front of a live television audience for the UK regional television folk and blues music series Hullabaloo, presented by the Scottish folksinger Rory McEwen. Sonny Boy took a liking to the European fans, and while there had a custom-made, two-tone suit tailored personally for him, along with a bowler hat, matching umbrella, and an attaché case for his harmonicas.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

Yesterday, the Red Sox made what I consider to be a rather significant announcement in setting up their rotation for the upcoming weekend series against Kansas City:

This matters because the Red Sox now have exactly 15 games left. That’s three perfect trips around the rotation when coupled with off days scheduled on the 14th, 21st and (if they make the playoffs) 28th. In other words, the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 starters this weekend align perfectly to be the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 starters for the Wild Card series with an off day each trip around the rotation also baked in.

So while nothing is official, the Red Sox going Gray, Suarez, and Tolle during the next three games kind of feels like them writing down their initial playoff starters in pencil. One one hand, I get it: Gray has been their most reliable starter all year, Suarez has a career 1.48 ERA in 42.2 career postseason innings, and Tolle feels like the logical remaining choice from there.

But what do you guys think? Do you worry about potentially handing the ball to such a young, inexperienced pitcher in Game 3 of the Wild Card series for the second year in a row? Does Ranger Suarez stumbling against both the Yankees in that game in New York on August 30th and against Japan in the World Baseball Classic in March make you question his ability to still automatically turn it on when the postseason starts?

Talk about this and whatever else you’d like on this well deserved Red Sox off day (they’ve played 54 times in the last 56 days), and, as always, be good to one another!

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W, 4-1 (7) at Rochester Red Wings — all tied up again atop the International League standings

LF Jarred Kelenic 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB
SS Max Schuemann 1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 K — Volpe was scheduled to play short before the Jazz injury news
C J.C. Escarra 2-3
2B Marco Luciano 0-2, 1 BB, 1 K
DH Yanquiel Fernández 0-3
3B Tyler Hardman 0-3, 2 K — inserted into the lineup after Schuemann shifted over to short
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. 0-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB
RF Kenedy Corona 0-3, 1 K, assist
CF Duke Ellis 2-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 K, 1 SB

Brendan Beck 5.1 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K (win) — 2.74 ERA in 24 starts, setting up for a larger role in the majors next year
Bradley Hanner 0.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB (hold)
Yerry De los Santos 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Double-A Somerset Patriots:L, 0-4 vs. Hartford Yard Goats

CF Jace Avina 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 CS
SS Core Jackson 0-4
2B Roderick Arias 0-4, 2 K, fielding error
C Omar Alfonzo 0-4, 3 K, throwing error
RF DJ Gladney 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K
3B Coby Morales 2-3, 1 BB, 1 K
DH Manuel Palencia 0-4, 2 K
1B Josh Moylan 1-3, 1 K
LF Cole Gabrielson 0-3

Dom Hamel 6 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K (loss)
Clarke Schmidt 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K — fourth appearance in rehab assignment, second straight scoreless outing
Yerry Rodriguez 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 BB
Trent Sellers 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades: Season over

Low-A Tampa Tarpons: Off-day, Florida State League Division Series resumes with Game 2 today

Florida Complex League Yankees: Season over

Dominican Summer League Yankees: Season over

Dominican Summer League Bombers: Season over

Hello, friends.

The Orioles yet linger, never quite doing enough to fully drop out of the picture and never quite doing enough to remain in the inner reaches of the race either. Wednesday’s 9-5 win over the Guardians meant the O’s got the series win against Cleveland, the team they’re chasing for the wild card. They probably needed a sweep to really, truly have much hope, but, as the cliche goes, it ain’t over til it’s over, and for now it ain’t over. Check out Tyler’s recap of the game for more of the lovely totals.

Both the Orioles and their next opponent, the Blue Jays, have the day off today. Each of these teams will resume their wild card quests in Toronto on Friday. The Orioles sit three back of the Guardians with 15 to play. The Jays are a mere one game back. There will be another series between these teams a week and a half from now. Those six games will go a long way towards determining whether one more AL East team can get into the picture.

At a minimum, the Orioles need to go 4-2 to keep their hopes alive. They might need to go 5-1. 4-2 gets them tied with the Blue Jays, and gives them the head-to-head tiebreaker against Toronto for the season. However, there’s still the Guardians to get past, and the Rangers too (1.5 games back). There’s nothing left that the Orioles can do except hope those teams lose. Texas concludes a series against the Mariners today, then heads to play the Diamondbacks. The Guardians will be playing the Twins this weekend.

Whatever the Orioles try to pull off, they’re going to have to do it without Blaze Alexander, who hit the injured list yesterday with back soreness. Alexander is not only the only .300 hitter on the team, he’s also the sole .270 hitter around. It’s also not yet certain how many days the day-to-day status for Gunnar Henderson will last. Manager Craig Albernaz said of Henderson before yesterday’s game, “He’s pretty banged up.” Disappointing though Henderson may be this season, the lineup is not improved by having Jackson Holliday at shortstop and Jeremiah Jackson at second base.

We’re running a poll this week asking how far you think the Orioles will be from the postseason when all is said and done this year. Have you voted yet? I’ll make it easy for you and embed it right here:

It is still hard to know what to make of these guys. Maybe they’ll play well enough to get close enough that each and every one of the frustrating, stupid losses that they have racked up through this year will hurt. Maybe they’ll hang around about where they are now. Maybe they’ll fall farther out. Maybe they’ll pull off the miracle. Any of the above could happen! Some seem more likely than others.

We’ll find out how the story continues on Friday night. Chris Bassitt is the scheduled starter for the Orioles in the 7:07 game. As of this writing, the Jays have not listed a starter.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Part of Samuel Basallo’s learning curve? Dealing with failure. (The Baltimore Banner)
Another baseball cliche is that it’s a game of failure, and how a player handles that is going to say a lot about what kind of player they are.

Albernaz on Mayo: “Coby is the one I’m most proud of” (Steve on Baseball)
What Coby Mayo is doing against lefties this year is really something. If he wants to start doing better against righties too, that would be great. He homered off a righty last night, which is certainly a nice way to do better.

What happened to Merv Rettenmund? (Baltimore Baseball)
In the ongoing Orioles history series by longtime Baltimore sports scribe John Eisenberg, he considers an oft-overlooked player, Merv Rettenmund, who once seemed like he might be on a star trajectory and didn’t end up going that far.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2021-2024 pitcher Mike Baumann, 2011 outfielder Matt Angle, and 2007-09 reliever Danys Báez. Today is Báez’s 49th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: voodoo legend Marie Laveau (1801), baseball Hall of Famer George Kelly (1895), golfer Arnold Palmer (1929), actor Colin Firth (1960), baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson (1963), and ballerina Misty Copeland (1982).

On this day in history…

In 1547, English and Scottish forces numbering over 50,000 combined fought the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, a decisive English victory that proved to be the final full-scale battle between these powers before they eventually united.

In 1813, the British fleet on Lake Erie was defeated by the American navy in the Battle of Put-in Bay, which kept the lake in American control for the remainder of the War of 1812.

In 1943, Nazi forces occupied Rome after its allied Italian government entered into an armistice with the Allies days previously.

In 1977, convicted torturer and murderer Hamida Djandoubi was executed by guillotine, the final time that method of execution was employed in France.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on September 10. Have a safe Thursday.

Well, last night was certainly one of the weirdest Phillies wins of the season. It appeared at times as though both teams were actively trying to lose through the first six innings. But then as it so often happens, Kyle Schwarber put things on the right track with a monumental home run, this time a rally-capping grand slam.

It can’t possibly be weirder today. After all, the Phillies always play perfectly normal mid-week afternoon baseball games.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Recent baserunning mistakes have once again brought a weakness of the Phillies to the forefront: losing on the margins. ($)
• The Inquirer has created a handy one stop shop for all your Phillies postseason race needs, including updated magic numbers. ($)
• It’s time to end Orion Kerkering’s high leverage innings.

MLB news:

• Aaron Judge may have just returned from injury, but he’s already frustrated with the Yankees plan of easing him back into action.
• Speaking of the Yankees, they placed Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the injured list yesterday with a sprained thumb.
• Denzel Ward of the Cleveland Browns has joined Travis Kelce as a minority investor in the Cleveland Guardians. ($)
• Hope is slipping in for Angels fans after the news of Arte Moreno finally selling the team. But it likely won’t last. ($)

On Tuesday night, the Brewers pulled together another come-from-behind victory, this one in dramatic fashion, and they then completed a sweep of the Cubs on Wednesday evening. With the sweep, the magic number to clinch the NL Central is down to five. The magic number for a postseason berth is down to four, though it is effectively lower since the two teams currently fighting for the last spot (the Diamondbacks and Padres) still have games remaining against each other. It’s just a matter of time now before those spots are clinched. While there’s still work to do, the team can also start setting themselves up for the postseason. Let’s take a look at what they can do in these next couple of weeks.

Remaining Schedule

Unlike last season, when the Brewers were playing opponents who were fighting for a playoff spot in the last week of the season, the Brewers have it a bit easier this time around. With the season series against the Cubs done, here are their remaining five series (all three-game sets):

• vs. Reds (8.5 GB NL wild card three)
• @ Pirates (5.5 GB NL wild card three)
• @ Orioles (3 GB AL wild card three)
• @ Phillies (Currently NL wild card one, 3 GB in NL East)
• vs. Cardinals (6.5 GB NL wild card three)

The Reds, Pirates, and Cardinals are nearly out of the playoff race, barring a massive winning streak. The Orioles could still have a chance at an AL wild card spot, but their chances are also fading. The Phillies are the one team that will almost certainly be fighting for their postseason seed when the Brewers come to town. While there are not any easy wins, the schedule is very manageable.

This does not mean that the Brewers can take any of these series lightly. They only have a two-game lead for the top record in the NL and in all of MLB, but they do hold the tiebreaker over the second-place Dodgers. They also have a 5.5-game lead over the Braves, though that tiebreaker would come down to intradivision record since the two teams split the season series 3-3. There’s still business to take care of until that postseason seed is decided.

Prepping the Rotation

One important piece of preparation for the postseason is lining up the postseason starters so they are ready to go. The good part of this is their likely top two starters (Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson) are already in position to line up for the start of the postseason. With off days plentiful over the last couple of weeks, shifting them to a five-game schedule becomes easier, especially with some other questions developing in the rotation. Here is how they would line up if they pitched every fifth game:

Jacob Misioroski

• September 15 @ Pirates
• September 20 @ Orioles
• September 26 vs. Cardinals

Logan Henderson

• September 16 @ Pirates
• September 22 @ Phillies
• September 27 vs. Cardinals

This would allow both to pitch right until the start of the postseason. Both can make starts through the end of the regular season, and then be ready to pitch the opening games of a National League Division Series. It’s not set at all, though. They still need to secure a first-round bye, but for now, keeping them pitching on a regular schedule is the best way to secure that. The schedule also allows for a bit of flexibility. Misiorowski or Henderson could move up a day and still pitch on regular rest, or get extra rest and skip the last series if necessary. The Phillies series could also affect these plans if the Brewers don’t want the Phillies to get an extra look at these starters, but that is less likely because their playoff seed may not be locked in until the last series of the regular season.

The main question for the rotation is what the Brewers will do after those two starters. There’s not an easy answer here right now. The other starters in the rotation all have question marks heading into the last weeks of the regular season. Kyle Harrison has struggled badly in his last three starts and may be heading to the bullpen. Shane Drohan is hitting his innings limit and also could be in the bullpen. Dustin May had two rough starts, and while he appeared to be pitching better in his last one against the Reds, rain cut it short, and we didn’t get a full look at him. Robert Gasser has stepped up in his recent starts, but he may be more suited for short starts in the postseason. Brandon Sproat is back on the roster for now, but has been pitching shorter starts in the minors and once again struggled with his command late in Wednesday night’s win out of the bullpen. Brandon Woodruff is the wild card, still not in a position to count on in the postseason, but could become a factor later on if his throwing goes well.

What this could mean is the Brewers will deploy these starters in shorter bursts in the postseason. They could use two starters in a game and have them pitch two to three innings, not pitching through the lineup more than once. To effectively do this, they could split up Misiorowski and Henderson in the rotation. Use Misiorowski in game one and Henderson in game three, then piggyback two starters in games two and four. They can also mix openers in as well when needed. It’s not the traditional postseason rotation, but the Brewers can make it work. It would be similar to what they did last postseason, where they used openers and deployed Misiorowski as a long reliever. What the Brewers need to see in these next few weeks is where each starter is at. Each one will get a couple more starts before the postseason, at best. They have plenty to prove in those starts, especially if it’s the difference between making the postseason roster and sitting on the bench.

Resting Injured Players

It’s deep in the season, and players are dealing with the aches and pains of a long schedule. The Brewers have been dealing with their share of injuries, and making sure the team is as healthy as possible will be a major focus.

On offense, the key injury right now is to Jake Bauers. He’s been the team’s main power threat for most of the season, and they will need him for a postseason run. However, he’s been more limited while he’s been recovering from shin splints. While he played in four straight games before getting the day off on Wednesday, he only started one of them. In the other three, he entered the game later as a pinch-hitter. This is going to be one of the primary injuries to watch in the next few weeks. An IL stint could be considered, though the Brewers appear to favor workload management for now.

Brice Turang is another player to watch over these next few weeks. He has been dealing with a knee injury, though it has not kept him out of the lineup. In the last four series (going back to the Rangers series), he has started every game except one. The good news for Turang is that he’s starting to look better again. In his last six games (five starts plus a late-game replacement), he has eight hits and six walks in 25 PA. He has bounced back from a rough August and is hopefully strong again.

There are also a few relievers on the IL. Grant Anderson (right biceps inflammation) and Bryse Wilson (low back strain) are currently on the IL. Wilson is expected back in mid to late September, but Anderson’s status is still up in the air. Rob Zastryzny is also back on a rehab assignment after multiple setbacks. Zastryzny has not pitched a game for the Brewers yet this season, though he was on the active roster for a couple of days. He is another wild card for the postseason. He is not eligible to come off the 60-day IL until next week, and at best might get a week on the major league roster before the postseason. Would the Brewers put him on a postseason roster despite not pitching in the majors at all so far this season?

Conclusion

The Brewers have made it clear that they will not take anything for granted when it comes to a postseason spot. While they have something to play for, they will give their full effort and take care of business. There’s still plenty to play for in these last few weeks. While they will continue to fight for their spot, they also have enough of a lead to start thinking about the postseason. They can start looking at some adjustments to make sure they are ready when the postseason begins.

BALTIMORE – This time, they don’t need a miracle. Just a semblance of consistency.

This time, the Cleveland Guardians aren’t 15 ½ games out of first place 90 games into the season, or 12 ½ back on Aug. 25, or 11 out on Sept. 4 before a stunning 19-4 finish claimed the American League Central title on the final day of the season.

Yet so much is similar.

These Guardians entered play Wednesday, Sept. 9 with a 74-72 – nearly identical to the 74-71 mark they sported one year ago. A youthful core somehow marching through its third September playoff run is showing an even younger group of newcomers the pennant-stretch ropes, a Guards Ball tradition, if you will.

And, thanks to the weird and chaotic and, some might say, feeble state of the American League this season, the Guardians are already in playoff position, holding a one-game lead for the No. 3 wild card with 14 to play; they’re also just two games behind the Chicago White Sox for the division lead.

But the Guardians need not apologize for anything.

The Yankees have had a decent start to September, winning five of the seven games they’ve played thus far as they secured series wins over the Angels and Rockies while losing a series on the road to the Padres. The standings haven’t shifted much over that span, however, as they’ve continued to inch back and forth around the four-game gap that they currently have in front of themselves and the Rays for first place as well as behind them and the Red Sox attempting to chase down the top Wild Card spot.

That’s been the status quo for a while now, give or take a game as one team will slip up one night just for another team to give it back a day or two later. The end of the regular season is fast approaching, as the Yankees have just 17 games left to play before they’ll know who and where their October journey will go through. With roughly the same distance between first and third place in the division holding firm for this long, is the Yankees’ fate all but set as the top Wild Card team already?

Obviously, anything can happen in baseball. Leads can appear and disappear in an instant, and a cold streak can hit out of nowhere for someone just as another team lights on fire — we saw it over the summer as the Sox revived their season and thrust themselves into this race after all. The Yankees had the advantage of the easiest schedule of the three teams entering September, but after going through the two weakest teams in the Angels and Rockies there hasn’t been any movement even as the Rays have had to take on one of the top teams in Atlanta at the same time. There’s the four-game penultimate series of the season-sized elephant in the room that could make or break the year, but outside of an outright sweep in New York’s favor the Rays should take the season series, and if the gap doesn’t look much different before that matchup arrives then that’s the only result that could truly shake things up.

Personally, I think I’ve been resigned to the Wild Card Round for a while now with the slightest of hopes that the Yankees could pull off some late season magic. The decisive three out of four series win the Yankees earned at the end of August over Boston gave them the tiebreaker they needed to feel comfortable with the lead they hold for that race, and likewise I expect the Rays are sitting pretty with what they’ve got going on with two-plus weeks left. The chaos of the other divisions and the final Wild Card slot are going to make for entertaining drama, and perhaps inspire some discussion over whether the modern baseball postseason arrangement requires some re-seeding after the opening round with how stacked certain divisions have become, but I don’t think there’s going to be many eyes on the AL East standings unless all hell breaks loose over the next week. Do you feel differently, does every passing game still feel like it could be the start of a run to change the course of the season? Or has the Yankees’ place in second settled in and convinced your eyes to drift towards October?

The finale of this series against the Rockies awaits, but before that we’ve got a decently-full schedule on the site. Jonathan starts us off with a look at what Michael Fulmer and John Schreiber are offering the Yankees down the stretch as they fill in the trenches of the bullpen. Matt covers the Rivalry Roundup as the aforementioned Rays managed to cut down the Braves again, and then Andrés goes into Roger Maris’ historic career and the impact that 61 in ‘61 left on him as his birthday is celebrated. Scott gives us the latest pulse down on the farm as Scranton stares down a crucial series in their chase for first place up in Rochester and then Peter has the Sequence of the Week featuring Will Warren’s latest foray into the bullpen.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees vs. Colorado Rockies

Time: 7:05 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, Rockies.TV

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Toledo Mud Hens 7, Iowa Cubs 3 (box)

River Ryan’s debut in the Tigers organization went well, and the Hens won pretty comfortably on Wednesday.

Ryan is working back from a right hamstring injury that he aggravated in trying to return with the Dodgers too soon. So the Tigers have understandably taken their sweet time getting him back on the mound. He only went two innings this one, but he proved the stuff is as electric as ever. He allowed two soft hits, at least one of which should have been an out, and struck out two without a walk. The fastball topped out at 98.2 mph and averaged 97.1, and Ryan mixed in all six of his pitches during the outing.

The Hens started to build a lead in the top of the second. Corey Julks led off with a walk but was caught stealing. Seby Zavala singled, and after James Outman struck out, Justice Bigbie singled as well. Veteran catcher Carlos Pérez stepped in and cracked a three-run shot to left for a 3-0 lead.

In the fourth, Outman led off with a walk and Pérez came through again with an RBI double to make it 4-0.

Carl Edwards Jr. took over from Ryan in the bottom of the third. He cruised through his first three innings, striking out the side swining in the fifth.

In the sixth, Outman doubled and Bigbie singled him to third. A Pérez double play ball got the run home for a 5-0 lead.

Finally in the bottom half, Edwards faltered a bit, allowing two run, but he pitched into the seventh with no more issues. Ty Madden got the final out in the seventh.

Outman singled in Julks in the top of the eighth, stole second base, and scored on a Bigbie single to make it 7-2.

Madden handled the eighth, and Nic Sandlin tossed a scoreless ninth to wrap it up.

Perez: 2-3, R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR

Outman: 2-3, 3 R, RBI, 2B, BB, K, SB

Cruz: 2-4, 2B, BB

Ryan: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Edwards Jr. (W, 6-10): 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:38 p.m. ET start on Thursday.

Reading Fightin Phils 11, Erie SeaWolves 3 (box)

Lucas Ellisalt was knocked around in this one, and the SeaWolves bullpen struggled even more as the Phils crushed them on Wednesday.

Things got off to a promising start in the top of the second as E.J. Exposito singled and then rode home on a Chris Meyers blast to left center field. 2-0 Erie.

Elissalt was cruising early on, but started to struggle to get ahead of hitters and paid for it. He gave up a run in the third, and walked two batters after that before managing to escape an further damge. He wouldn’t be so lucky in the fourth. He fell behind Aroon Escobar and came back with a 3-1 fastball that got launched for a solo shot. Another solo shot off a hanging slider in the inning made it a 3-2 Reading lead and they wouldn’t look back.

Elissalt gave up two singles and a walk to start the fifth, and that was it as Colin Fields took over. He allowed two of those runners to score, and it was 5-2 Reading.

Fields got into trouble of his own in the sixth, and Yoniel Curet took over only to surrender a three-run shot and then a solo homer.

A solo shot from Thayron Liranzo was the only bright spot the rest of the way as the Fightin Phils contined to add on.

Meyers: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, K

Hadeen: 2-4, 2B, K

Elissalt (L, 0-2): 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6: 45 p.m. ET start on Thursday night.

Korean-Japanese baseball legend Isao Harimoto, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, has died in Tokyo at the age of 86.

Harimoto, known as the Hit Machine, recorded the most hits in Japanese baseball history - with 3,085 hits during his 23-season caree. He is the only player in Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB) history to reach 3,000 hits.

He also hit 504 home runs and stole 319 bases, making him the only player in NPB history with at least 500 homers and 300 stolen bases.

Only three players in Major League Baseball history have achieved the same feat: Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez.

The 18-time all-star player helped the Toei Flyers win their first Japan Series in 1962, and was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.

"All members of the Meikyukai express our deep respect and gratitude for Mr Isao Harimoto's many years of great achievements, and we sincerely pray for [following] his passing," the Golden Players Club - one of Japanese baseball's two halls of fame - said in a statement.

Harimoto - whose birth name was Jang Hun - overcame significant obstacles to achieve greatness.

He was born in Hiroshima in 1940 to Korean parents who migrated to Japan during the country's rule of Korea. Though he lived in Japan his entire life and adopted a Japanese name, he did not receive citizenship until later in life.

As a young child, he was involved in an accident that left him with severe burns on his right hand.

With limited mobility in his thumb and forefinger and his middle three fingers frozen into a curled position, he was forced to become a left-handed thrower and hitter.

On his curled right hand, he wore a custom glove that allowed him to catch the ball.

Yet he could have easily never had the opportunity to play baseball.

A year after his accident, Harimoto was in Hiroshima on 6 August, 1945, when the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the city during the final days of World War Two.

The five-year-old survived unharmed - in 2011 he explained that his mother used her body to shield him and his sister after the flash of the bomb exploding. Another sister did not survive.

Harimoto went on to enjoy an outstanding career, joining the Toei Flyers in 1959 with whom he spent 16 years before later representing the Yomiuri Giants and the Lotte Orions.

He won seven batting titles, including four in a row from 1967 to 1970, a feat equalled several decades later by Ichiro Suzuki. He retired in 1981 after playing 2,752 games.

Harimoto helped launch South Korea's KBO baseball league in 1982 before embarking on a career in baseball commentary and punditry.

In 2025, The Pittsburgh Pirates had the third-worst record in the National League at 71-91. They were only behind the Washington nationals and the Colorado Rockies who had the worst record in baseball. 

In 2026, the Pirates surpassed those 71 wins with still 17 games left in the season. The Buccos had a 72-73 record after a 9-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox Tuesday night and have since won another, giving them their third straight win and a .500 record. They also have a chance to surpass the amount of wins they had in 2024 which was 76. 

The last time the Bucs finished a season with a record of .500 or more was in 2018 when they went 82-79. Even if the Pirates can’t make it to the playoffs this season getting to a above .500 season would give them great momentum heading into next year. 

Their last playoff appearance was in 2015 where they lost to the Chicago Cubs in the Wild card round. Pittsburgh right now is 5 games out of a wild card spot in the National League.  

The reason for getting more wins this year has to be because of the offense. This season, the Pirates are fourth in the Majors in batting average at .253 and are fifth in RBIs with 670. They are also racking up hits as they are third in the league with 1,263 hits. 

2025 was a completely different story as the Buccos were dead last in home runs with only 117 and last in RBIS with 561. They also ranked 28th in the majors in hits with 1,244.

The additions of Ryan O’hearn and Brandon Lowe has made this more of a power hitting team this year. The young rookies like Esmerlyn Valdez and konnor Griffin have also made this a lethal offense that is explosive and fun to watch. 

Although the pitching might not be as dominant as they were last year, the hitting being this dominant is a great sign for the future of the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

The Athletic | Ken Rosenthal ($): Even though his October reputation isn’t the best, the Yankees need a healthy Aaron Judge if they’re going to make any noise in the playoffs. In order to do that, the Yankees have to be careful with Judge, who skipped a rehab assignment after missing more than three months with a rib injury. The last thing they want to do is overexert him and have him reaggravate the injury. So they must be careful with him to keep him in the lineup and then unleash him in October, even if he gets upset when they take him out.

FanGraphs | Dan Szymborski: In case it wasn’t obvious, Aaron Judge brings a lot to the table. He’s arguably the best right-handed hitter ever and if the Yankees are going to try and make a run at the AL East crown, Judge gives them the best chance to do that. While the Rays refuse to fully go down or even regress to the mean, the projection systems still like the Yankees’ chances now that Judge is back in the mix. In case you wanted to know more about just how good Judge is, he’s literally better than everyone else.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Shockingly but also maybe unshockingly, the Yankees finally hit their first grand slam of the 2026 season last night off the bat of George Lombard Jr. It’s a little shocking that it took this long but grand slam opportunities don’t happen every day and to say the offense had been sputtering the last few months, especially with Judge out of the lineup, would be an understatement. With the grand slam, though, Lombard becomes the second-youngest Yankee to hit a grand slam, only older than Mickey Mantle who accomplished the feat twice in his age-20 season (and a mere three days apart at that).

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Jazz Chisholm Jr. is expected to officially be placed on the 10-day injured list today with Anthony Volpe getting the callup as the corresponding move. While just a few weeks ago this wouldn’t have been a very inspiring choice, Volpe “became Barry Bonds all of a sudden” once he got to the minors, at least according to his teammate Jasson Domínguez but also according to his numbers.

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Today's MLB moneyline predictions feature several intriguing individual and team matchups, with plenty of value available across today's five-game slate.

Read on for my MLB moneyline predictions and MLB picks for Thursday, Sept. 10.

MLB moneyline picks for September 10

For help understanding Polymarket probabilities, see our odds calculator.

Matchup	Pick
Rays vs Braves	53%
Astros vs Phillies	38%
Rangers vs Mariners	46%
Rockies vs Yankees	26%
Pirates vs White Sox	50%

Prices courtesy of Polymarket as of September 10.

Expert MLB moneyline picks for September 10

Rays vs Braves:  Braves

Braves win probability: 53.9%

Atlanta has the edge, mainly because of what happens after the starters leave.

Nick Martinez and Martín Perez are both serviceable enough, so this game could easily swing in the later innings.

That is where Atlanta separates. Over the last two weeks, Tampa Bay’s bullpen owns a 4.45 SIERA with just an 8.5% K-BB rate, while Atlanta has been much sharper at 3.88 with a 1.15 WHIP and a 14.0% K-BB rate.

If this is close late, the Braves are in the better spot.

Astros vs Phillies: Astros

Astros win probability: 38%

This one comes down to whether Philadelphia’s current price matches the way its offense is playing, and right now it does not.

The Phillies have posted a 79 wRC+ with a .297 OBP over the last two weeks, which is well below what you would expect from a team carrying this kind of number.

Zack Wheeler is the clear headliner, but Houston still has some swing-and-miss upside with Cristian Javier, and the Astros bullpen has been solid with a 3.11 FIP over that same stretch.

The gap between these teams is not as wide as the number suggests.

Rangers vs Mariners: Rangers

Rangers win probability: 46%

Texas looks live here for two reasons: Jacob deGrom and the lineup's recent form.

Seattle has struck out 26.4% of the time over the last two weeks and has managed just a 93 wRC+ in that span.

Texas, meanwhile, has been one of baseball's better offenses lately, ranking third with a 122 wRC+ and backing it up with a strong .204 ISO.

Logan Gilbert is good enough to keep Seattle competitive, but Texas has the hotter bats and the more dangerous starter.

Rockies vs Yankees: Rockies

Rockies win probability: 26%

The Yankees are the obvious favorite, but recent offensive form doesn't fully support such a steep number.

Over the last two weeks, New York has produced a 107 wRC+, but the .128 ISO stands out because the power has not really been there.

Colorado has actually been more competitive at the plate than people might expect, putting up a 101 wRC+ with a .349 OBP in that same stretch.

Max Fried is the biggest difference-maker in this matchup, but if the question is whether New York has earned this big of a gap, the recent numbers say not really.

Pirates vs White Sox: White Sox

White Sox win probability: 52%

Chicago has quietly been better offensively than Pittsburgh lately, and that is the biggest reason this matchup leans their way.

Over the last two weeks, the White Sox own a 111 wRC+ and have paired it with an excellent 12.9% walk rate.

Pittsburgh has remained one of the weaker offenses in this group, posting an 85 wRC+ with a .101 ISO.

Chicago’s bullpen has also been excellent, recording a 2.10 ERA and a 15.9% K-BB rate over that stretch.

Jared Jones can change the shape of any game, but the recent team form points toward the White Sox.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Who made the cut for our 2026 Phillies All-Prospect team? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s minor league system did not exactly follow the expected script in 2026.

Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford did. Both graduated to the majors and showed flashes of why they entered the year as two of the organization’s best prospects.

Beyond them, the picture changed quickly.

Aidan Miller, the Phillies’ top position player prospect, missed most of the season with a back injury before returning for the final stretch. Ramón Márquez emerged as one of the organization’s best pitching prospects, then was traded to San Francisco in the Luis Arraez deal.

Another group moved into focus along the way.

And that brings us to the Phillies’ 2026 All-Prospect Team.

To qualify, a player had to retain prospect eligibility, remain part of the organization’s long-term development picture and appear at the listed position in 2026. Production, workload, level and age were all considered.

Single-A Clearwater and High-A Jersey Shore have completed their regular seasons. Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley are still playing, so statistics for players at those levels are through Sept. 9.

Position players

C: Alirio Ferrebus

The Phillies signed Ferrebus out of Venezuela as a 17-year-old international free agent in January 2023. Three years later, he established himself as the system’s top catching prospect.

Ferrebus batted .310/.363/.493 with 11 homers and 58 RBI over 328 plate appearances between Clearwater and Jersey Shore. Two Florida State League Player of the Week awards preceded a late-July promotion to High-A.

An injury ended his season after only five games with Jersey Shore. Although Ferrebus spent more time at designated hitter, he made 31 appearances behind the plate. It will be intriguing to see whether he can stick there as he moves through the organization.

1B: Félix Reyes

Anyone familiar with the Phillies’ farm system knew Reyes could hit. He hit his way into the majors in 2026.

His Triple-A production created the opportunity. Reyes finished the season batting .287/.318/.511 with 21 homers and 70 RBI over 380 plate appearances for Lehigh Valley. He made 30 appearances at first base and 33 in left field.

The Phillies gave Reyes 38 major league at-bats before sending him back to Triple-A in May. A fractured right wrist ended his season in August and placed him on the 60-day injured list.

Reyes is 25 but remains rookie-eligible. His power at the highest minor league level made him the strongest prospect candidate at first base.

2B: Carson DeMartini

A wrist injury cost DeMartini more than two months, leaving him with only 51 games through Sept. 9.

He made them count.

The Phillies’ 2024 fourth-round pick has reached base at a .412 clip for Reading while adding eight homers and 19 stolen bases. His .887 OPS is second among the organization’s full-season prospects with at least 200 plate appearances.

DeMartini has played 35 games at third base and 12 at second. His time at second allows the Phillies’ two most productive prospect infielders besides Rincon to share this lineup.

SS: Bryan Rincon

Rincon entered the season with 18 home runs across his first three years of professional baseball.

He has 24 in 2026.

The 22-year-old has paired that power with 29 stolen bases, 88 runs and a .406 on-base percentage over 524 plate appearances at Reading. His .910 OPS leads every Phillies prospect playing above the rookie levels.

He’s also the only hitter in the minors with ten or more leadoff homers.

The Phillies selected Rincon in the 14th round of the 2022 draft, in part because of his defense at shortstop. The offensive questions that followed him into Double-A are much less pressing now.

Rincon has remained at shortstop while developing into one of the system’s most productive power-speed threats.

3B: Juan Villavicencio

Villavicencio entered 2026 with eight home runs across his first four professional seasons. He nearly doubled that total this year.

The 21-year-old completed the year with 14 homers, 30 stolen bases and an .836 OPS over 448 plate appearances between Clearwater and Jersey Shore. He received his High-A promotion on July 27.

Signed out of Venezuela in January 2022, Villavicencio has developed primarily as a shortstop and features a plus arm. He also made 33 appearances at third base this season.

That flexibility gives the Phillies another option on the left side of the infield and gives the lefty-swinging Villavicencio a place on this team alongside Rincon.

OF: Francisco Renteria

Six days after his 17th birthday, Renteria signed with the Phillies for $4 million on Jan. 15.

Four months later, he began tearing through the Dominican Summer League.

Renteria batted .379/.470/.682 with 11 homers, 55 RBI and 24 stolen bases in 236 plate appearances. He scored 65 times in 56 games and finished with a 1.152 OPS.

The performance earned Renteria the league’s Most Valuable Player and Top MLB Prospect awards. MLB Pipeline now ranks him third in the Phillies’ system and No. 81 overall.

No player in the organization improved his prospect stock more in 2026. Renteria could move quickly through the system.

OF: Raylin Heredia

Heredia was also 17 when the Phillies signed him out of the Dominican Republic in February 2021. Injuries limited him during each of the previous two seasons.

Availability has been part of his breakthrough in 2026.

Through Sept. 9, Heredia has appeared in 133 games for Reading and accumulated 565 plate appearances. He has hit .280 with 23 homers, 74 RBI and 25 stolen bases.

Heredia and Rincon are the only Phillies minor leaguers with at least 20 homers and 20 steals. He has handled most of his defensive work in right field while also making 22 appearances in left.

His .319 on-base percentage leaves room for improvement. The power and speed he has shown against Double-A competition are harder to overlook.

OF: Nathan Humphreys

Humphreys went undrafted out of Dallas Baptist in 2025. The Phillies signed him on July 22 and sent him to the Florida Complex League.

One year later, the 24-year-old had reached High-A.

Humphreys produced 14 homers, 23 stolen bases and a .364 on-base percentage over 415 plate appearances between Clearwater and Jersey Shore. He played all three outfield positions, making most of his appearances in center.

The majority of his production came at Clearwater, where he posted an .860 OPS before his July promotion. He did not maintain that pace at Jersey Shore, but his full season and rise through two levels gave him the final outfield spot.

Starting pitchers

RHP: Gage Wood

Wood’s 4.36 ERA does not tell the full story.

The Phillies’ 2025 first-round pick has struck out 139 and walked 30 over 95 innings. That works out to 13.2 strikeouts per nine innings across 25 starts.

After opening the year with eight starts for Clearwater, Wood jumped directly to Double-A in May. He has made his last 17 starts for Reading and represented the Phillies in the Futures Game.

The 22-year-old, who greatly improved his command in his first full professional season, is now the top-ranked prospect in the organization.

LHP: Mavis Graves

Standing 6-foot-6, Graves opened the season in the Jersey Shore rotation. His role changed after the Phillies promoted him to Reading on July 27.

The 22-year-old has made each of his Double-A appearances out of the bullpen. The move has produced a 1.02 ERA and 29 strikeouts over 17⅔ innings.

Across both levels, the Phillies’ 2022 sixth-round selection has struck out 115 in 76 innings. He has allowed 62 hits while posting a 3.91 ERA over 29 appearances, including 16 starts.

Graves’ 13.6 strikeouts per nine innings stand out more than his overall ERA. His work with Reading has also given the organization another possible role to consider.

Relief pitchers

RHP: Alex McFarlane

McFarlane’s minor league line made his selection simple.

In 36 appearances, he recorded a 1.83 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 12 saves. He struck out 55 over 39⅓ innings before pitching his way to Philadelphia.

The Phillies drafted McFarlane in the fourth round in 2022 and initially developed him as a starter. Injuries interrupted that progression, but his fastball and slider have played with greater consistency since he moved to the bullpen.

No Phillies relief prospect did more to turn minor league production into an immediate opportunity.

RHP: Estibenzon Jiménez

The Phillies signed Jiménez out of Venezuela in November 2019, when he was 17.

He made 60 starts over his first five minor league seasons. He has not made one in 2026.

And he has arguably been the organization’s biggest pitching breakout.

Working exclusively in relief, Jiménez has gone 7-0 with a 1.87 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and seven saves over 43⅓ innings. He has struck out 49 and surrendered only one home run across 33 appearances, most of them with Reading.

Other prospect standouts

OF Edwin Ramirez: Signed out of Venezuela in February, Ramirez hit .413 and reached base at a .486 clip during his first professional season. The 18-year-old collected 52 hits in 35 DSL games.

C Nelson Prieto: The 18-year-old recorded a .970 OPS with six homers and 39 RBI in the DSL. Prieto, who signed with the Phillies in January 2025, made 14 appearances at catcher and 20 at first base.

SS Juan Parra: Another member of the Phillies’ 2026 international class, Parra reached base at a .451 clip and scored 63 runs in 56 DSL games. The 17-year-old added four homers and nine stolen bases.

OF Jonathan Hogart: A 2025 undrafted signing out of Murray State, Hogart supplied 17 homers, 64 RBI and a .381 on-base percentage for Clearwater. The 24-year-old finished with an .839 OPS.

RHP Brad Pacheco: Pacheco completed 101⅓ innings in his first season with a full-season affiliate. The 21-year-old struck out 111, walked 22 and recorded a 4.00 ERA for Clearwater.

RHP Keegan Batka: Another member of the Phillies’ 2025 undrafted class, Batka posted a 2.72 ERA and 1.07 WHIP over 49⅔ innings. He struck out 65 and saved seven games between Clearwater and Jersey Shore.

RHP Wen-Hui Pan: Pan reached Double-A, represented the Phillies in the Futures Game and struck out 47 over 39⅔ innings. The 23-year-old has a 3.18 ERA and five saves through Sept. 9.

Two veteran standouts

These sluggers deserve recognition even though neither fit the prospect criteria used for this team.

INF Alex Binelas

The Phillies signed Binelas to a minor league deal in May 2025, three days after Boston released him.

The former third-round pick has led the organization with 26 home runs in 2026. He has also driven in 78 while producing a .266/.379/.502 slash line over 488 plate appearances.

Binelas, 26, spent most of the season with Reading before receiving an Aug. 31 promotion to Lehigh Valley. He landed on the injured list four days later.

OF Pedro León

The Phillies claimed León off waivers from Baltimore in November.

León has played at four minor league levels in 2026, with some of those appearances coming during his recovery from a right hamstring strain. Most of his work has come with Reading.

The 28-year-old has a .281 average, 17 homers and 26 stolen bases over 415 plate appearances. He has reached base at a .357 clip while slugging .473.

León made his major league debut with Houston in 2024. His age and professional experience kept him off the prospect team, but not out of the organization’s list of notable performers.

During an entertaining 2026, the Phillies graduated two of their best prospects and traded another. The seasons above gave the system a new group to evaluate entering the offseason.

A few weeks ago, Will Warren seemed like a fine No. 5 starter for a Yankees team to which he could provide real value from the end of March through September.

But with just about every outing these days, he is looking more and more like a playoff pitcher for a club that could use another.

At a time of the season when arms typically tire, Warren is finding another gear that he displayed again in Wednesday’s 6-1 victory over the Rockies in The Bronx.

For six strong, one-run innings, Warren was in control during a fifth straight outing in which he did not let up more than two earned runs.

Over his past three appearances — two starts and 2 ¹/₃ hitless, scoreless innings in relief of a building-up Max Fried on Friday in San Diego — he has surrendered two earned runs in 15 ¹/₃ innings, shrinking his ERA from 4.39 to 4.05.

Barring injury, Warren probably cannot pitch himself into a postseason start, but he seems to be establishing that he will play a role in some way for a club that is auditioning many for bullpen spots.

“He can serve a lot of roles potentially [in October],” manager Aaron Boone said of a righty who might have been previously seen as an innings-eater and now may be showing something more. “He’s been incredibly durable. But he’s got weapons.”

For the Yankees, the stuff is as encouraging as the results.

Warren does not have the velocity of Cam Schlittler or the overwhelming nastiness of Gerrit Cole or the arsenal of Fried or the slider of Carlos Rodón. But he does have a healthy mix of pitches with command and velocity increasing and a changeup that is correspondingly playing up.

Yet again his velocity escalated, his four-seamer nearly a full tick up from his season average and buzzing in at 94.6 mph. He has thrown 35 pitches all season of at least 96 mph; eight of those came Wednesday, when he struck out eight, walked two and let up four hits.

“It’s a little posture, just staying taller. I think it keeps me more in line,” Warren said in explaining how he has reached back for more recently. “Therefore, can fill the zone up and a little tick in velo.”

With some extra heat, he is showing a bit more fire, too.

Warren’s only bit of trouble arrived in the fifth, when he allowed three of his four hits and only run, a Connor Norby home run to left.

The Rockies followed that blast with knocks from Zac Veen and Jake McCarthy to put runners on the corners with one out, a moment in which each pitch from Warren could change the game and be his last.

But a 27-year-old who has had issues escaping jams found the exact pitch he needed: a sinker that Cole Carrigg smacked into the ground directly to first base.

Luis García Jr. fielded and threw strong to George Lombard Jr., who fired back at Warren who both beat Carrigg to the base and showed off some nifty footwork in tagging the base for the double play and in the ensuing celebration.

Normally mild-mannered, Warren pumped his fist and strutted his way around the infield dirt before returning to the dugout.

“I was joking with the guys,” Warren said. “I was like, ‘Sometimes you got to grind for those double plays.’”

Clarke Schmidt made his fourth rehab appearance with Double-A Somerset, this one coming on two days’ rest as he tries to come back from Tommy John as a reliever for the rest of the year.

The right-hander struck out a pair in a scoreless, 12-pitch inning.

Before Wednesday’s game, the Yankees held a moment of silence for Rollie Sheldon, the right-hander and Connecticut native who died last week after winning a pair of World Series with them in 1961 and 1962.