Category: Baseball

Both the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres continue to troll one another.

While the Brewers were practicing on the field at Petco Park on Monday, the stadium had the cool, calm sound of elevator music blasting from the speakers.

Back Milwaukee, when the Padres were taking batting practice on Saturday, American Family Field was blasting “monotonous” music off the speakers.

San Diego did their best to attempt to drown out the music, as they had a Bluetooth speaker playing music next to their batting cage.

But for the Padres, the attempt to drown out the sound didn’t work as they found themselves down 2-0 in the NLDS.

In both games, the Padres lost in heartbreaking fashion.

On Saturday, San Diego blew a 2-2 lead in the seventh inning from a solo Wilson Contreras home run.

In the ninth inning of that game, Ty France thought he had a go-ahead two-run homer, until the ball bounced off the roof of the stadium and landed in Dustin Harris’ glove.

On Sunday, superstar closing pitcher Mason Miller took the mound with a 3-2 lead in the eighth, in an attempt to make a two-inning save.

Miller would give up two walks in the ninth, and then gave up a go-ahead two-run single to Jackson Chourio, resulting in the Padres falling 4-3.

After the game was over, speculation arose that Miller was tipping his pitches. On Monday, his manager, Craig Stammen, denied any possibility of his closer being predictable.

Game 3 of the NLDS is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. PT when Nick Pivetta faces off against Dustin May.

I went to game two of the ALDS today by myself.

I am a Guardians Season Ticket Holder, but in my 10-12 games a year, I always take 1-2 of our kids (ages 7, 6, almost 4, and 2). So, today was different. I got a scorecard because keeping score controls my emotions and competitive anxiety. I sat down and started talking to the older gentleman on my left who tolerated my various insights into the game very kindly.

On my right, I allowed a White Sox fan to sit in my assigned seat so he could sit next to his friends. White Sox fan person (a “boss” of some sort) was not profane or abusive. But, he very clearly had only started paying attention the past two weeks, at most. Yet, there he was, standing and screaming in joy as the team I live and die with daily failed to secure a crucial victory. His joy did not appear to be any less than mine would have been despite my significantly superior emotional investment. So… why am I bothering?

At some level, it has to be that I get joy from this. Seeing Anthony Kay spike a throw and allow two runs was joyous. 11 strikeouts from Gavin Williams was a thrill of hope for a weary world to rejoice in. Jo Adell gave me an electric moment where I thought he had deposited one in the bleachers. I do truly revel in the feelings these events produce.

But, at another level, it’s a longing to be part of something bigger and to succeed. Is Cleveland going to be a good place for me and my family to live? That’s a group project. Are we going to survive the threats of A.I., climate change, resurgent fascism, persistent totalitarianism, biological warfare and the billionaire oligarchs that profit from it all as a society? That’s a group project. I’m rooting for us. Watching my baseball team win gives me just a little glimmer of hope that winning the actual important games is possible. It makes me a believe a collection of wildly diverse people with their own special talents and roles can do impossible things when the Guardians beat the Angels on a Wednesday night.

But, the Guardians did not win tonight. The baseball Sabrowski threw to a hitter with a 19 wRC+ vs LHP caught an inch too much of the plate and landed just 36 inches fair. The ball Kwan hit to left field was almost misplayed by Antonacci and landed just inches within his glove. The ball that seemingly hit Jose was just half an inch from being obviously a hit and resulting in two runs when Adell hit his smash… glorious victory just inches away… leaving me with crushing defeat.

When I got home, our three-year old, Zalee, asked me if the Guardians won. I said, “No, but Onion won the hot dog race!” And she squealed in delight. Her primary interest in the game is if Onion wins the hot dog race. When we go to games, she is as disappointed if Onion loses as I am if the Guardians Lose.

In the big scheme of things, is my joy really that much more significant than hers? Is my disappointment more crushing? If I had to guess, I’d assume the opposite is true. Seeing her felt-covered hero of condiment fame triumph is a more significant epochal milestone for her than a World Series title would be in my 43 years on this globe.

But, I suppose I will be successful in teaching her to love this wonderful, awful, joyous, soul-crushing sport like I do (if the aformentioned billionaires let us watch it again next season, of course). Someday, Zalee will cheer, cry, thrill, deflate, and scream like I do. And, the reason that’s ok is that it will be something that reminds her and me that we are in this thing together. That we don’t win without the other feeling joy and pride, and we don’t lose without the other feeling pain and humiliation. And, that’s life. And that’s humanity.

The Guardians didn’t win today. But, Onion did. She swung her purse at the last second and broke the finish line by inches before Ketchup. So, rejoice, Zalee. It’s a good night, after all.

I hate Tropicana Field. I know many of you do too. If you are not a Yankees fan and are doing what I am also guilty of doing—reading the reactions of salty fans after playoff losses—grab your popcorn. This is the good stuff you’re probably looking for.

It blows my mind that baseball games in 2026 are played at places like this. It honestly blows my mind even more that this place was destroyed by an act of God two years ago, was rebuilt despite plans to replace it in the near future, and is being used for big playoff games. The roof is baseball-colored; there is statistical proof that teams other than the Rays struggle defensively here due to a lack of experience; the turf leads to weird hops that cause more errors to be committed against the Rays than any other team in baseball. It’s the strangest home-field advantage in baseball, and one that the Rays ran roughshod over to take advantage of a Yankees team that was just not focused from the jump tonight—and one that, to be clear, absolutely deserved this atrocious loss, even if it was played in the baseball version of Elysian Fields.

Alright, enough of my anger-filled soapbox. The Yankees set the tone for this one with three brutal first-inning errors, played shoddy defense the rest of the night, and just got Rays’d. Any opportunity they had to use their speed or slap hitting, they used it. The Yankees were not prepared. Aside from two home runs from Ben Rice and an oh-so-close deep flyout from Cody Bellinger with the bases juiced, the offense was dead again in a 5-2 loss that puts the season on the brink.

When you get no-hit for nearly eight innings the game before, you desperately want to get the monkey off your back early the next night. The quality of contact was good in that first inning against Freddy Peralta, with a Ben Rice warning-track flyout and a scorched lineout from Cody Bellinger, but the Yankees went quietly in the first before the utter chaos of the bottom half.

On just Cam Schlittler’s second pitch of the game, Yandy Diaz hit a soft Trop chopper to Ryan McMahon, which he promptly booted after misreading the hop. Jonathan Aranda then lined a single up the middle for the one real hit in the inning. Needing a double play, Schlittler got Junior Caminero to spike a ball into the turf that was snared by George Lombard Jr. for a brilliant flip for a forceout. Unfortunately, Jazz Chisholm Jr. decided to throw the ball into the dugout with no chance to turn two, giving the Rays the early lead.

The defensive inning from hell continued when a three-pitch strikeout from Liam Hicks was overturned into a catcher’s interference. Awarding a batter a base for a check-swing catcher’s interference is dumb, and I will forever believe that. The speedy Chandler Simpson ripped a ball to second for what looked like a tailor-made double play, but an awful throw from Chisholm pulled Lombard off the bag. The rookie shortstop somehow managed to tap the bag after to avoid a fourth error in the inning, and Cam survived the inning from hell with only one run allowed.

We got more Trop shenanigans when Spencer Jones hit a ball a mile high off the C-ring in center field, which was caught by Victor Mesa Jr. Objectively, almost every other team drops that ball because of their lack of experience reading fly balls here, but the Rays caught it, naturally. Two more quick outs had Peralta rolling through two.

Jonny DeLuca golfed an 0-2 curveball in the dirt for a leadoff double in the second, but was stranded on a trio of groundouts surrounding a two-out walk. The bottom of the order went down quietly as well, giving Peralta a perfect game through three innings just one night after Rasmussen’s brilliance. At this point, I’m not sure the vibes could get much worse.

Schlittler continued to grind through the third, allowing singles to Caminero and Simpson, but got out of a jam after a 108.5 mph scorched grounder from DeLuca was fielded cleanly by Lombard to end the threat. Just one batter later, with the Yankees entering their 13th inning of the series with just one hit, Rice allowed everyone on the team and in the fanbase to breathe for a second, smashing a leadoff home run in the fourth to tie the game at one.

Bellinger followed with a single, but was stranded by the next three hitters. Schlittler responded to the desperate gasp for a shutdown inning, retiring the Rays in order with help from a surprisingly solid play by Trent Grisham in center field. Peralta seemed to be cruising again after retiring the first two in the fifth, but things got interesting after a bullet double by Austin Wells and a gritty walk by Ryan McMahon. The ever-aggressive Kevin Cash pulled him for Cam Booser, betting on his lefty specialist to neutralize the best hitters on the team.

He walked Rice on five pitches to bring up Bellinger with the bases loaded. This was the moment. This was where the Yankees could show who they were. For a brief second, it seemed like they would. The All-Star left fielder absolutely pummeled a bad 0-2 fastball to deep center field. 102.9 mph, 405 feet. In 12 ballparks, it’s a grand slam. In some others, it’s off the wall. Unfortunately, as has happened all too many times in the postseason in the Judge era, the big hit fell just a few inches short, landing harmlessly in the glove of DeLuca.

It’s the type of gut punch that takes the air out of a fan, and maybe it took the air out of the team. It’s not how baseball works, but maybe it is. Schlittler allowed a bullet single (that Jones maybe should’ve caught?) and a bullet double from Caminero to set up second and third with nobody out. Usually, a team’s cleanup and five-hole hitters wouldn’t be conducive to 55 and 65 mph choppers that bounce two feet in front of home plate in RBI opportunities, but these are the Rays. Both runs scored on back-to-back Baltimore chops that the Yankees had no chance of getting an out at the plate on, even if Lombard had defended the latter cleanly. That gave the Rays a 3-1 lead.

The frustration didn’t end there. After Brent Headrick entered and struck out Mesa, we got another Trop chop grounder to Lombard. Due to the bounce the ball took and the speed of DeLuca, he had to rush the throw, which forced a long stretch from Luis García Jr. If the play was made cleanly, DeLuca would’ve been out by an eyelash, which tells you how perfect they had to be, but García couldn’t squeeze the throw, and everyone was safe. Another error. One batter later, Richie Palacios hit a two-run single to effectively ice this one, making it 5-1 Rays.

We then hit a weird point in the game. Ian Seymour came in for the Rays as a lefty bulk reliever, but Aaron Boone elected to keep his righties in the dugout. As a fan who was resigned to the outcome after the Palacios single, it seems like nothing, but damn, that’s pretty rough of your manager to be so apathetic in this spot. The lineup had no pulse against him in some rough matchups.

Playing out the string, John Schreiber tossed a scoreless sixth, Ryan Weathers and Paul Blackburn combined for the seventh, and Blackburn and David Bednar combined for the ninth. For the offense, all they had left was another home run for Rice, who continues to have a postseason to remember while his teammates give him no help, like 2018 LeBron.

Bryan Baker got the save in the ninth, 1-2-3, to solidify Game 2 for the Rays. If the Yankees want to win this series and get to the ALCS, they must win three straight against a team they’ve struggled against all year and win a game at Tropicana Field on Saturday after going 2-7 there to start this season, Bleak, I know.

There will be baseball played on Wednesday. After that, it’s up to the Yankees to decide. Game 3 will be at Yankee Stadium at 8 pm EDT. It’s Max Fried (pending the birth of his child) against a pitcher to be determined, but it will likely be Nick Martinez.

Box Score

Heroes, zeros and the inside pitch from the Yankees’ 5-2 loss to the Rays in Game 2 of the ALDS in St. Petersburg, Fla:  

Hero

Old-school baseball. Baseball’s best team at putting the ball in play struck out just four times total in a game started by Cam Schlittler, putting constant pressure on a Yankees defense that wilted.

Zero

The entire Yankees defense. Misplays, four of which were scored as errors, from (in order) Ryan McMahon, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Austin Wells, Spencer Jones, George Lombard Jr., Lombard again and Luis García Jr. led to three unearned runs and one of the ugliest playoff performances you will see.

Unsung Hero

Brooklyn’s Richie Palacios knocked a two-run single in the fifth inning that created far too much distance for a Yankees lineup that has not solved Rays pitching (apart from Ben Rice).

Key Stat

4: Errors by the Yankees — and they probably should have been charged with five — which tied with the second most in franchise postseason history

Quote

“It’s going to be a rough ride back, but you’ve got to find out what you’re made of. It’s gut-check time.”

—Aaron Boone

For the second time in three years, the Yankees had a disastrous defensive game in the postseason and it cost them again, this time in a 5-2 loss to the Rays Monday night in Game 2 of the AL Division Series.

The Yanks made four errors in the loss, leading to three unearned runs, and they now teeter on the brink of elimination, down two games to none in the best-of-five series. Game 3 is set for Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.

Two years ago, the Yankee defense collapsed in Game 5 of the World Series against the Dodgers and they were eliminated. But even that game only featured three Yankee errors – in the box score, anyway. 

Monday’s debacle was only the fifth time the Yankees have made four errors in a single postseason game. The last time was in the 2019 ALCS against the Astros. 

The Yankees have scored only twice so far in the series, on two solo home runs by Ben Rice Monday night. No Aaron Judge, who is out with a calf injury, certainly doesn’t help.

Here are the main takeaways...

-- Yankee starter Cam Schlittler was not nearly as brilliant as he’s been in his previous postseason outings. He lasted just 4.1 innings and allowed seven hits and four runs (only two earned). He struck out just two and didn’t have a strikeout until the fourth inning and got only seven swings-and-misses. He also walked one. His career postseason ERA rose from 0.87 to 1.44. 

-- The Yankees defensive implosion started in the very first inning and set a dubious club record for errors in a single postseason frame – three. The Yankees had never had three errors in one October inning and this is the 61st postseason appearance in the Yankees’ existence. The Yanks last committed three errors in an inning in any game on Aug. 21, 2025 against the Red Sox. The last time it happened in any postseason game was Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS when the Rangers did it in a loss to the Blue Jays. 

-- Ryan McMahon, who has a fine defensive reputation, though he has not had his best season with the glove, made the first miscue when the leadoff hitter, Yandy Díaz, hit a topspin bouncer to him that McMahon muffed. Jonathan Aranda followed with a single and then Junior Caminero hit what could’ve been a double-play grounder to short. George Lombard Jr. made a not-that-graceful flip to the bag and Jazz Chisholm Jr. grabbed it and threw wildly to first. Díaz scored and Caminero went to second. 

Then it seemed like Schlittler had Hicks struck out, but, upon replay review, Austin Wells was called for catcher’s interference – his mitt was clearly in the path of Hicks’ bat. That was the third error of the inning. They nearly had a fourth – Chisholm fielded Simpson’s grounder but threw high to second base, pulling Lombard off the bag. But Lombard got back in time for a force out. Schlittler got a grounder from Victor Mesa to mercifully end the inning. The Yankees only allowed one run, but all the gaffes forced Schlittler to endure some tense moments and extra pitches.

-- The Rays scored four runs in the fifth inning and knocked out Schlittler. They got some weak contact and used their speed to exploit it. Poor Yankee defense helped, too. Aranda started the inning with a single and Caminero followed with a ringing double. With the infield mostly in – Chisholm was further back than the rest of the infielders – Liam Hicks hit a grounder that was slow enough to allow Aranda to score. 

Chandler Simpson later hit a soft grounder to short that Lombard couldn’t backhand and another run scored. The scoring on that play was changed several times, but it was ultimately scored a fielder's choice. But Lombard then made a throwing error to further prolong the inning and Richie Palacios added a single after an eight-pitch bout with reliever Brent Headrick that scored two more runs. 

-- The Yanks went nine up, nine down the first time through their batting order as Rays starter Freddy Peralta looked sharp. But Rice tied the score at 1 with a 372-foot drive over the right-field fence. Rice connected on the fourth of four consecutive changeups from Peralta. Rice also homered in the eighth inning, giving him four home runs in four games this postseason.

-- In the fifth, the Yanks had a big chance with two outs, but could not cash in. Wells lashed a double into the right-field corner that looked a lot like the ball he hit in Game 1 and got thrown out trying to stretch into a triple. He wisely stopped at second this time. McMahon then worked a walk in a tough, seven-pitch at-bat. He was the last batter that Peralta faced. He came out with Rice coming up to the plate. 

Rice worked another walk against southpaw Cam Booser, which brought up Cody Bellinger, who was 11th in MLB this season with a .340 average with runners in scoring position. Bellinger hit a deep fly ball to the warning track in center that held some hope, but it was caught. 

-- Peralta, the former Met who got his pitching together in Tampa Bay, lasted 4.2 innings and allowed one run and three hits. He struck out three and walked one. The outing lowered his career postseason ERA from 4.32 to 4.03. 

Highlights

BEN RICE! The Yankees finally have their first run of the ALDS! https://t.co/b7uVHF7PeQ

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 6, 2026

Trent Grisham makes the catch on the run! https://t.co/vrbDPqfkGp

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 6, 2026

Ben Rice’s second homer of ALDS Game 2 cuts it to 5-2 https://t.co/uH1lw1LAes

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 6, 2026

What's next

The Yankees return home to New York with Game 3 of the ALDS against the Rays on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.

How important is the second game in a five-game series? Sarah Langs from MLB.com reminds us that winning the first two games of a five-game series is a significant leg up:

New York apparently did not get the memo the way they booted and threw the ball around for several innings in this contest. The bottom of the first inning saw three errors made on the infield with Ryan McMahon booting a routine hopper from Yandy Diaz to lead off the game followed shortly by a throwning error by Jazz Chisholm Jr and one more still when Austin Wells interfered with a swing by Liam Hicks. Despite the extra outs and the traffic on the bases, the sole run came on the errant throw allowing Diaz to score:

The second and third inning for the Rays was more traffic on the bases, but Cam Schlittler once again buckled down and stranded everyone. Through those first three innings, the Rays were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position in this game and 0 for 13 in the series. Ben Rice made the Rays regret the lack of production with a homer to lead off 4th inning on a poorly located changeup:

That home was quickly followed up by a line drive single by Cody Bellinger just past a diving Taylor Walls, but Peralta buckled down to strand him getting Spencer Jones (more on him shortly) and inducing an infield flyout to George Lombard Jr. The Rays went down somewhat quietly in the 4th with both Palacios and Walls striking out before Yandy Diaz scalded a baseball to the right center gap that Trent Grisham gracefully ran down. That batted ball was 103 off the bat with a .540 expected batting average, but more importantly, it was the loud contact that had mostly been absent in this contest the first two times through the batting order.

The fifth inning was the key moment of this contest, for both teams. In the top of the fifth, the Yankees mounted a two-out rally when Austin Wells hit nearly the same type of ball he did in Game 1, but did not have the same delusions of grandeur. That double was followed by walks to Ryan McMahon and Ben Rice before Cody Bellinger came very close to a grand slam. His 405-foot flyball would have been a home run in 12 parks, but Tropicana Field was just big enough to hold it in:

The Yankees would need about five minutes to regret how the top of that inning played out. The inning would begin with Aranda singling on a ball hit 109.1 MPH with a .650 expected batting average, but also looked very catchable in the moment by Spencer Jones. As it turns out, the data agreed as Jones had a terrible jump on the ball and let it play him rather than making the aggressive play like we saw Chandler Simpson do in his moment of game 1:

That hard hit was followed by a harder 112.4 MPH double to the right-center gap by Junior Caminero giving the Rays three consecutive 100+ batted ball events off Schlittler, but it would be the softest hit of the night that would drive in the first run of the inning. Liam Hicks would get absolutely tied up by a cutter, but the 55.1 MPH ground ball to second was perfect for the contact play with Aranda running because Chisholm Jr was the only infielder not up on the infield seam:

That event was followed by a fielder’s choice contact play by Simpson driving in Caminero. That would chase a frustrated Schlittler for the evening birnging in Brent Hendrick to strike out Victor Mesa Jr before the fourth error of the game by the Yankees extended the inning allowing the Rays to plate two more runners after both Simpson and DeLuca stole second base around the Mesa Jr strikeout on a Richie Palacios single that came after him swinging at ball 4 in a 3-0 count:

That would be the last hit with a runner in scoring position on the evening as the only other run in the contest would come on Ben Rice’s second solo home run of the evening.

Kevin Cash employed four pitchers on the evening: Freddy Peralta, Cam Booser, Ian Seymour, and Bryan Baker and it could be said Seymour was the best one of the evening. Peralta fought through 4.2 innings of work despite not having his best changeup. Peralta had 12 whiffs on the evening, but just three of those came off his changeup. Cash made the decision to pull Peralta at 66 pitches rather than allow him to face Rice a third time. Booser ended up walking Rice before getting the close-call from Bellinger before giving way to Seymour. The starter turne reliever worked three innings striking out 4, walking none, and the second Rice solo shot was the only blemish and baserunner of the appearance. Baker then came in for the 9th to secure the save with a 1-2-3 appearance.

Cam Schlitter came into this game talking about how games at Tropicana Field feeling like a home game because theRays don’t have a strong home atmosphere. For one inning, Schlitter’s statements were validated as that top of the 5th was quite loud on the broadcast but the air fell out of the visiting fans just as Bellinger’s flyball fell short of the wall. Aaron Boone needed to use five relievers behind Schlitter, whose defense did him no favors asking the young pitcher to throw more stressful pitches earlier than he or the pundits expected before the contest. Yankee fans have the thousand yard stare wondering how their road field advantage slipped through their fingers heading back to The Bronx with as many runs as they have losses to show for their efforts in Tropicana Field in this series.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, you now have company. 

The stakes were not quite as high Monday, but the Yankees turned in an even bigger defensive abomination to put themselves in a 2-0 hole in the ALDS. 

Three errors in the first inning somehow did not kill them, but it did set the tone for the night before another error in the fifth helped provide the dagger, sinking the Yankees in an embarrassing 5-2 loss to the Rays in Game 2 of the ALDS witnessed by a raucous sellout crowd of 40,226 at Tropicana Field. 

“Obviously, tonight was just not good enough for us and certainly not good enough to beat that club,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve got to get over it, and playing for our lives [Wednesday] night.” 

The Yankees flew home licking their wounds with their season on life support, needing to clean up their act behind Max Fried in Game 3 and Carlos Rodón if they can get to Game 4 to have any chance of returning to Tropicana Field. Of course, they will also have to find a way to score runs, which they have only done twice in 18 innings of this best-of-five series — on a pair of solo shots from Ben Rice on Monday after suffering a one-hit shutout in Game 1. 

In a recurring theme of too many postseasons past, the Yankees melted from the Rays’ ability to put the ball in play and wreak havoc, even with Cam Schlittler on the mound, resulting in four errors — one shy of their franchise record for a single postseason game. 

“It didn’t seem like we really showed up today,” Schlittler said. “That’s what happens.” 

After Schlittler had been dominant against the Red Sox in Game 1 of the wild-card series, racking up a career-high 24 whiffs and 10 strikeouts across 6 ¹/₃ shutout innings, he generated just seven whiffs and tied a career low with two strikeouts across 4 ¹/₃ innings. He gave up four runs, only two of which were earned, but the damage was done nonetheless. 

Of course, Schlittler was the reason the Yankees survived a three-error bottom of the first — a new franchise record for the most in one inning of a playoff game — before Rice homered off Freddy Peralta in the fourth inning to give the Yankees their first signs of offensive life in the series. But after they left the bases loaded in the top of the fifth — Cody Bellinger’s fly ball to center landed a few feet short of a grand slam — they lost the game in the bottom of the frame. 

The Rays put runners on second and third for Liam Hicks, with the Yankees playing in on the turf except for Jazz Chisholm Jr., who said he was told to be a few steps onto the dirt at second base because Hicks typically pulls the ball hard that way. Instead, the catcher hit a weak tapper to Chisholm, who looked at home before taking the out at first as the Rays went up 2-1. 

The infield was in again when the speedy Chandler Simpson hit a chopper to shortstop, where George Lombard Jr. tried to backhand it and come home, except the ball got past him, allowing another run to score. 

“Against a good team like that, you can’t afford to make as many mistakes as we did,” Lombard said. 

That led Boone to pull Schlittler, who looked stunned, for Brent Headrick, who got a strikeout before generating a ground ball to shortstop that Lombard fielded and fired slightly off-target to first, where Luis García Jr. dropped it, putting runners on the corners. 

Brooklyn’s Richie Palacios came up next and delivered the big swing, a two-run single to center field that put the Rays ahead 5-1. 

“I feel like we beat ourselves today, in a lot of ways,” Chisholm said. 

The Yankees played a bottom of the first that was just about disastrous as it could possibly be, except by some miracle, Schlittler made sure it only resulted in a 1-0 deficit. 

It began with third baseman Ryan McMahon — in the lineup because Boone said he wanted to “prioritize the defense” — whiffing on Yandy Díaz’s chopper to lead off the frame. Then with runners on first and second, Junior Caminero hit a grounder up the middle that Lombard ranged to and flipped to second base for the out. But Chisholm tried an off-balance, ill-advised throw to first for the double play, which instead bounced past the bag, allowing Díaz to score for the 1-0 lead. 

“Honestly, I’d probably still throw it [if I could do it again], in the play that was trying to be made,” Chisholm said. “I feel like I could have tried to make an even better throw. I’d try to throw it a little closer to the base. My back was turned, so.” 

The third error was a catcher’s interference by Austin Wells, wiping out a strikeout, and Chisholm also had a high throw to second base that Lombard saved him on but wiped out a potential inning-ending double play. 

“These guys worked their asses off all year to get to a position like today.” Schlittler said. “We expect a lot out of each other. It’s been great all year, but we just didn’t play our brand of baseball.”

After it was all said and done, following the San Diego Padres’ questionable decision to have Mason Miller come out and pitch in the eighth and ninth innings, speculation arose that he was tipping his pitches.

For the Padres, who find themselves in a 2-0 hole against the Milwaukee Brewers, manager Craig Stammen begs to differ over his two-time All-Star closing pitcher being predictable.

Before the Padres were set to begin a team workout at Petco Park, a day before Game 3 of the NLDS, ESPN baseball reporter Alden Gonzalez wrote that Stammen said, “I think we’ve seen some of that from Mason, and it mostly happens in the appearances where he goes more than one inning.

“I think that’s definitely something strategy-wise that we were very comfortable with going into the game, but something going forward that we may have to adjust as the playoffs go.”

For Miller, he’s built a reputation as being one of the best closers in baseball, holding a 1.67 ERA and leading the National League in 38 saves last season.

In 66 games during the regular season, Miller threw 70 innings. In nine of them, he pitched above a single inning. In seven of those games, he didn’t give up a run.

Perhaps Stammen could be right that Miller wasn’t tipping his pitches. But Sunday night was the worst time for him to not be able to close out the game, as the Padres are on the verge of elimination.

While Miller was six of seven in save opportunities in September, his production trended downward, as he’s given up six runs, five earned, and has been hit nine times while giving up six walks.

Gonzalez reported that Stammen said Miller is still learning how to “keep the same adrenaline in one inning and bringing it to the second inning.”

During his ninth-inning meltdown on Sunday, Miller was in charge of preserving a 3-2 lead but wouldn’t be able to hold up his end of the bargain as he would give up two walks and would throw his 40th pitch of the outing by giving up a two-RBI single to Jackson Chourio to make it a 4-3 loss to the Brewers.

Aside from Stammen not believing Miller is tipping his pitches, Gonzalez reported that 12-year veteran catcher Gary Sanchez wasn’t aware if he was tipping pitches.

“I think even if he was and we were aware of it, hitting 104 is not easy by any means,” Sanchez told Gonzalez.

The Padres and Braves are set to play at 6:30 p.m. in Game 3 on Tuesday as Nick Pivetta will get the start for San Diego.

I have been a St. Louis Cardinals fan for more than five decades and I have lived through many different eras of losing seasons, championships and everything in between. I can’t recall any of them being more unclear about what the expectations should be for an upcoming season than the one that will hopefully begin in the Spring of 2027.

I think it’s safe to say that most of us were pleasantly surprised by the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals. The results of a poll that I shared after the final game of the season seems to back that up as a vast majority gave the team a B grade or better for the 2026 season.

Only 7% of those who voted gave the Cardinals a grade less than C for the 2026 season. Why? I think most of us had a realistic understanding that the roster would be full of young players being given the opportunity to either prove they belong or proving they don’t. Along the way, we saw a remarkable comeback season from Jordan Walker including an iconic and unexpected Home Run Derby victory. We also saw JJ Wetherholt establish himself as one of the game’s best defensive second basemen with a big potential offensive upside. Alec Burleson muscled up and led the league in RBI’s and Joshua Baez had one of the greatest Major League debuts with his 3 home run introduction against the Cubs. The late season appearance of Leo Bernal had many of us believing we were witnessing the new St. Louis Cardinals catcher for years to come.

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, though. Nolan Gorman regressed and may very well be on his way out of the organization. Matthew Liberatore struggled. The bullpen was a train wreck during the second half of the season. While Jordan Walker’s season was a positive, there are legitimate concerns about his swing decisions late in the season starting to resemble 2025. However, all things considered I think that most of us felt like the Cardinals season went at least slightly better than we expected. When all was said and done, a 77-85 record wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.

What are your expectations for the 2027 St. Louis Cardinals season?

I have so many questions about what the Cardinals should do this offseason. Based on what Chaim Bloom said during his end-of-season press conference, I think he’s anticipating that many fans are not going to understand what phase this rebuild is in.

“This is a dangerous time…especially during the summer, when we were playing well, I heard plenty of comments about how we were back on track, or maybe ahead of schedule. We may have exceeded some other people’s expectations, but in my view, there’s nothing that happened this year that should tempt us to lose focus on our goals.”

Will Chaim Bloom continue to acquire more prospects or will he start adding to the Major League roster? I expect it will be a combination of both. A majority of our community said that the bullpen should be the priority in 2027 and I don’t necessarily disagree. I’d expect at the very least that the Cardinals will add some arms to eat the middle innings. What about third base or centerfield solutions? Will St. Louis trade from their catching depth to fill one of those voids?

There are many current roster questions, too. Will the St. Louis Cardinals continue to give Ivan Herrera opportunities behind the plate or is he a trade candidate? What about Alec Burleson? The Cardinals have 2 more years of control with two seasons of salary arbitration remaining. He said he’s “all ears” if the team wants to talk extension. Should they lock him up and make him a part of the emerging Cardinals core or consider trading high on his performance this year? What about the Cardinals starting rotation? My expectation based on the post-season press conference is they plan for Matthew Liberatore to be a starter again in 2027. Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy and Kyle Leahy should be locks for the starting rotation and hopefully Leahy will not be limited to a smaller number of innings like he was in 2026. I’d prefer that the Cardinals find a reliable starter or two and have Liberatore return to a middle innings solution, but I highly doubt the team is considering that as an option.

I have watched Chaim Bloom’s post-season presser multiple times and I feel like he’s struggling with messaging about what the 2027 St. Louis Cardinals season will look like. I understand that he’s likely not done rebuilding the farm system with prospects, but will the larger part of the fanbase support another season of rebuilding without additions to the Major League roster from outside of the organization from trades or free agent signings? I’m hopeful that there will be some combination of both. I think that many believe the St. Louis Cardinals to be at least a .500 team in 2027, but does that include the front office? It will be interesting what else is said by Chaim Bloom during the offseason to manage those expectations. More importantly, what he DOES before Spring Training 2027 will tell us even more.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When the division series makes its way to The Bronx, Max Fried will get the ball first for the Yankees. 

The club plans to start Fried for Wednesday’s Game 3 followed by Carlos Rodón for Thursday’s Game 4, if the Yankees can get it there, manager Aaron Boone said Monday before a slop-filled 5-2 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field.

Fried would pitch on six days of rest. Rodón would be on six days of rest from the four-inning simulated game he threw last Thursday at Yankee Stadium, though he hasn’t pitched in a real game since Sept. 22 (eight shutout innings against the Rays). 

“Just like how it lines up for Max 3 and Carlos 4, how we’ve been building them out,” Boone said. “It keeps certain guys available in certain situations. Obviously, it’s always subject to change based on how the series unfolds. But that’s how we’re planning on going right now.” 

Rodón had been available out of the bullpen for the wild-card series, though the Yankees did not need him, before being in consideration to start Game 1 of the ALDS before Boone landed on Gerrit Cole. Theoretically, the Yankees could use Rodón out of the bullpen in Game 3 if they absolutely need to and start Cole in Game 4, since he would be on normal rest. 

If not, Cole could be a bullpen option later in the series. 

“I hope I never have to [use him in relief],” Boone said.

As Miguel Rojas is entering the final chapter of a 13-year career, he has a lot to be proud of.

One thing that he is certainly proud of happened over the Dodgers’ bye week last week, when he revealed he flew out to Miami to take his citizenship test and passed.

“As soon as I made the decision that I wanted to do this, I wanted to do it for my family, for my kids and for the future of them,” Rojas said. “So I’m really proud of being an American.”

Rojas, 37, first came to America after he arrived as a 16-year-old prospect out of Venezuela with the Cincinnati Reds.

Since then, he’s developed a whole life in the United States, and he and his wife, Marianna Rojas Gamboa have two children that were born here when he was playing with the Miami Marlins.

“I’m proud of being working here for over 20 years now,” Rojas said. “I’ve been playing professional baseball now for a long time, and that gave me the opportunity to learn the culture, the country, and I don’t take that for granted.”

On the baseball field, Rojas has had a lot to celebrate as he is a two-time World Series champion with the Dodgers.

For Rojas, Dodgers fans will always remember him as a World Series hero last year, when he had a game-tying home run in the ninth inning against Toronto Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman to even the score at four apiece.

The Dodgers would get the win after Will Smith made World Series history by hitting the first Game 7 extra-innings go-ahead home run.

While the Dodgers are preparing to play Game 3 of the NLDS on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves, Rojas’ time on the baseball field will soon be coming to an end, as he announced at the beginning of the season that he plans to retire after the season.

In his 13-year career in the MLB, Rojas has played five seasons with the Dodgers and has a career 19.6 WAR, a .260 batting average, 61 home runs and 386 RBIs.

As the Dodgers mull potential lineup changes for Game 3 of the National League Division Series, manager Dave Roberts said he is “open” to moving Shohei Ohtani lower in the batting order.

In his three seasons with the Dodgers, Ohtani has batted first or second in every game he has started. However, as he has admitted he is trying to “manage” in the aftermath of knee and arm injuries, and as Roberts has acknowledged Ohtani is “not 100%,” the lack of success could compel the manager to replace him at the top of the lineup with a more productive hitter at some point.

“I would,” Roberts said Monday. “I would. I think it’s something that, you know, I think moving him from 1 to 2 — but going further than that? I’m open to it.

“And it’s something that if I do, I would obviously have the conversation with Shohei to explain why. And at the end of the day every conversation I’ve had with him is whatever’s best for the team, he’s all-in on. So I know that undoubtedly.”

Read more:Swanson: Ailing Shohei Ohtani providing only a wasted at-bat for Dodgers in NLDS

The Dodgers are batting .215 through the first two games of the NLDS, with the Atlanta Braves scheduled to pitch left-handed ace Chris Sale in Game 3 on Tuesday. If the Dodgers lose, they would need to win back-to-back elimination games to advance beyond this series.

Roberts said the lineup changes he would consider include starting Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas, both of whom hit well against left-handers. That could mean infielders Max Muncy (0 for 7 against Sale, with five strikeouts) and Tommy Edman (0 for 11 against Sale) might not start.

Center fielder Andy Pages, who batted so poorly last October he was benched for the final three games of the World Series, is hitless in seven at-bats in this series, with four strikeouts.

“I’m gonna continue to give Andy leash,” Roberts said. “I believe in him. I feel that for us to win the World Series this year, we’re gonna need him to be an active part of our team.

Roberts said he did not envision benching catcher Will Smith, who is 0 for 8 in the series. The Dodgers’ backup catcher, Hunter Feduccia, is a career .205 hitter with no postseason experience.

But, even with the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup, the spotlight shines brightest on Ohtani.

Ohtani has not homered since Aug. 18. He hit .157 between then and the end of the regular season, striking out in 41% of his at-bats. In this series, he has two hits and two strikeouts in eight at-bats, and his inability to refrain from swinging at pitches outside the strike zone has become a glaring weakness.

“He’s not 100%,” Roberts said. “But, at the end of the day, he can still do a better job of staying in the strike zone.”

Ohtani hasn’t given the Braves a reason to challenge him within the strike zone.

“Everything orbits around Shohei, in the sense of his talent,” Roberts said. “And the Braves are going to enter with caution. And, so, knowing that, they’re going to continue to expand as long as we keep giving that to them. So until we show some discipline, they’re going to continue to kind of use that playbook.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The New York Yankees' Spencer Jones hit the ball into the roof at Tropicana Field in the second inning of Game 2 of the AL Division Series on Monday night. It came down in a glove. 

That's an out at the Trop, even after it hits the ceiling. 

Four catwalks ring the inside of the dome, labeled A through D from highest to lowest. They hold up the roof, along with the lights and speakers, and the hang over the field. 

The ground rules split them in two. A fair ball that hits either of the lower rings, C or D, is a home run. A fair ball that hits either of the upper rings A or B is in play. If it drops, it's a live ball. If a fielder catches it, the batter is out. 

That's what happened to Jones. It hit the B ring and Victor Mesa Jr. caught it. 

Spencer Jones' flyout hits the catwalk pic.twitter.com/a6eDNHob10

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 6, 2026

This time, there was little hubbub, a stark difference from Game 1 of the NL Division Series, when the San Diego Padres' Ty France hit the roof of Milwaukee's American Family Field with one out in the bottom of the ninth, a runner on and the Padres trailing the Brewers 3-2. The ball ricocheted off a beam and was caught by left fielder Jackson Chourio for the second out.

The Padres moderately protested, but the ruling was in line with ground rules in Milwaukee, leaving it a mystery whether France's 105.3 mph fly, hit at a 49-degree launch angle, would have been a home run had it completed its flight unimpeded.

In this ALDS, there was no controversy. At least not for now.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yankees hit the roof at Tropicana Field - and it's just another out