Category: Baseball

Earlier this month, Shohei Ohtani was ruled out from pitching again this season.

But on Sunday, a pitcher from his high school alma mater scaled the mound at Dodger Stadium.

Yuuri Teramoto, a first-year student at Hanamaki Higashi High School, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Dodgers’ series finale against the San Francisco Giants. Teramoto plays on Hanamaki Higashi’s girls baseball team.

Teramoto was one of 50 high school students chosen by Iwate prefecture to visit the United States as part of an exchange program. This is the 150th anniversary of Iwate’s founding, as well as the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

Teramoto’s first pitch was caught by Iwate native Roki Sasaki, who is from the coastal town of Rikuzentakata and lost his father in the tsunami.

Teramoto is from the southern island of Kumamoto but said she was in part inspired by Ohtani to attend high school in Iwate, which is on the northern part of Japan’s mainland.

“He’s someone I admire,” Teramoto said in Japanese. 

Like Ohtani, she added, “My dream in the future is to go to the United States.”

Hanamaki Higashi is also the high school alma mater of Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi and Miami Marlins prospect Rintaro Sasaki.

Teramoto said her team practices using a pitching machine donated by Ohtani.

“We used the machine every day and we’re very grateful,” she said.

Among the homegrown arms in the Mets rotation, Jonah Tong still has the most to prove.

Flashes of dominance have emerged from the 23-year-old rookie, but consistency is lacking. This was evident again Sunday, when the right-hander fell into an early hole, and his team never recovered in a 7-2 loss to the Phillies at Citi Field.

“I think I need to do a better job,” said Tong, who allowed two runs in the opening frame. “Especially, that first inning set the tone, but I feel like I competed well through it. But my job is to limit the damage and go out there and keep competing.”

Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton have all performed at a high enough level to begin next season in the rotation. The wild card is Tong, who has pitched to a 4.21 ERA in six appearances this season. In three starts since his recall this month from Triple-A Syracuse, he’s pitched to a 4.60 ERA.

On Sunday, he allowed four earned runs on five hits and four walks over 4 ²/₃ innings, departing after 95 pitches. It followed a start against the Orioles in which he did not surrender an earned run over six innings.

“I don’t think he was far off today,” interim manager Andy Green said. “The changeup has been really good for him since he’s been up. He’s got a lot of strikeouts with it. … Even if he doesn’t have the greatest feel for that, we have got to find a way to reintroduce that and keep that a part of the mix. That pitch is very important for him.”

Green was asked about Tong’s chances of cracking the rotation to begin next season.

“He definitely has a chance,” Green said. “I think we have kind of painted the landscape for a lot of young guys that [the front office] is likely to go sign some people. We’ll have a lot of guys who have established themselves at that point in time, so the chance is heightened if he pitches really well, if his stuff gets better, if the strikes are there. I think all those things are possible for Jonah.”

The Mets, who split the four-game series, completed their 2026 home schedule at 36-45. They will play at Texas and Washington this week, with six games to conclude the season.

Tong walked Kyle Schwarber in the first inning and watched the Phillies DH score the first run on Luis Arraez’s sacrifice fly. Alec Bohm’s RBI single widened the Mets deficit to 2-0. Bryce Harper also singled in the inning.

Trea Turner’s RBI double in the third inning extended the Phillies lead to 3-0 after Schwarber walked leading off. Arraez’s RBI single gave the Phillies their fourth run.

“Some credit to Schwarber’s two walks,” Green said. “They weren’t walks where the pitcher has lost it. They are battle walks where he fouled off a number of pitches. The first and third [innings] started that way, and that’s where the runs came.”

The Mets were overmatched by Cristopher Sánchez, a National League Cy Young Award candidate who allowed two earned runs on six hits over 6 ¹/₃ innings with six strikeouts. Sánchez began the day with a 7.5 bWAR this season — the highest among all pitchers.

Bo Bichette homered in the sixth for the first run against Sánchez. Brett Baty delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh that sliced the Phillies lead to 4-2.

Kodai Senga allowed three runs in the eighth and was removed after recording only one out. The right-hander’s appearance was his first since Tuesday, when he surrendered Pete Alonso’s 300th career homer — a game-tying blast in the ninth inning.

With a chance to secure the division title, the Braves had a challenging pitching matchup, with Martin Perez on the mound vs Hunter Brown and the Astros.

Baserunners were scattered early, with a Baldwin walk leading off the game and an additional error in the top of the first, followed by three soft singles in a scoreless home frame. The scattered baserunners continued with no runs until Jose Altuve drew first blood with a solo homer in the 4th inning.

Ronald Acuna created a chance for the Braves in the fifth that Olson was unable to convert and the Astros came right back with two singles and a walk against Perez to load the bases with one out. Unfortunately, that was the end of Martin’s outing, as Victor Mederos entered the game and escaped with a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning. A walk from Harris and a very fortunate double from Dubon gave the Braves a huge chance to make good on Mederos’ good work with men on second and third with no outs in the sixth. Ozzie made good on that threat with an RBI single, before Mike Yastrzemski broke things open with a three-run homer.

Next out of the bullpen for Atlanta was one AJ Smith-Shawver and he looked quite good. AJ touched 100 on the radar gun and struck out two Astros in a 1-2-3 frame. He got the seventh and once again recorded two strikeouts in a scoreless frame, this time working around a ground ball single. An effective Smith-Shawver out of the bullpen would be a nice addition to the Braves’ bullpen, especially as a multi-inning option, as they only have two real playoff starters.

Ray Kerr entered the game in the eighth and allowed a shallow homer but otherwise kept the Astros off the board with one strikeout and two groundouts. Dylan Dodd got the ninth with no further run support and a 4-2 lead.

If you’re a St. Louis Cardinals fan, you’re going to miss this no matter if you’re willing to admit it today or not. The final home game of the season wrapped up Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium and in a few weeks, many of us will long for the days when there was the potential for a Cardinals game to hang out at. Quinn Mathews gave the home fans a great start to the game and Herrera and Wetherholt provided some offensive support, too. However, baseball games are 9 innings and not 5 which has been a problem for St. Louis the second half of this season. This time, though, there would be offensive heroes later in the game to save the day.

While Quinn Mathews was flashing the pearls on the mound, the St. Louis Cardinals bats didn’t wait until the late innings to score for a change. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Iván Herrera did something he hasn’t done much of since the All-Star break. He turned on a 93 mph four-seam fastball from Nationals starter Irvin and sent it flying 375 feet barely above the left field wall for a 1-0 St. Louis Cardinals lead.

The Washington Nationals would play some small ball in the top of the 2nd inning as Lile and Ford hit back-to-back one out singles giving Washington runners at first and third with just one out. Lile scored when Young hit a sacrifice fly to center tying the game at 1-1.

The Cardinals were given a gift that resulted in getting the lead back in the bottom of the 3rd inning when José Fermín led off with a double. After Nathan Church popped out, Fermín would advance to third on a wild pitch from Irvin with JJ Wetherholt at the plate. JJ would follow that with a solid single to right-center scoring Fermín and giving the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.

If each of us had a nickel when a Cardinals game has gone south in the 5th or 6th inning this season, well we’d all have a lot of nickels and one would be added to that jar Sunday afternoon. After Quinn Mathews had a very efficient first 5 innings, the 6th would jump up and bite him. He gave up a leadoff single to House. JJ Abrams of the Nationals made that hurt when he turned on an 84 mph Mathews slider and blasted it 397 feet into the right field stands for a 3-2 Washington lead. It could have been worse if not for the rifle disguised as a throwing arm on Jordan Walker. Lile ripped a double into the right field corner that he tried to turn into a triple. Big mistake as Jordan Walker nailed him at third base for the second out of the inning.

The St. Louis Cardinals would not have another runner in scoring position after the 3rd inning until the bottom of the 7th inning when Leo Bernal drew a leadoff walk. Three batters later, he was advanced to second on a single from Fermín giving St. Louis runners at first and second with two outs. Unfortunately, Nathan Church flew out for the final out of the inning with no runs scored.

Manager Oli Marmol chose Luis Gastelum to handle the top of the 8th inning after Quinn Mathews completed 7 full innings for the Cardinals. Quinn gave up 7 hits, 3 earned runs while striking out 3 and walking 2. Gastelum had no problem taking care of the Nationals in the 8th shutting them down with a flyout and two strikeouts.

The Cardinals would pull even in the bottom of the 8th inning. It was Iván Herrera again who would catch up to a 97 mph four-seam fastball jolting it 439 feet over the left field fence tying the game 3-3.

After the Nationals walked Jordan Walker, Leo Bernal made them pay with as he took the 7th pitch he saw from Washington reliever Tolman and launched it 424 feet into the right field seats for a 5-3 Cardinals lead! Welcome to the emerging new St. Louis Cardinals core, Leo Bernal!

Riley O’Brien came in to try and lock down the home finale in the top of the 9th inning and he was assisted by defensive replacement Victor Scott II in left field who made a diving grab on a line drive off the bat of Crews for the first out. Riley then got Lile to pop out to short for the second out. Ruiz grounded out for the last out of the game in a no-drama (for once) 9th inning for St. Louis.

Just 6 games to go for the St. Louis Cardinals this season. Tuesday night, it’s the beginning of a 3-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Andre Pallante will get the start for the Cardinals while the Pirates will give the ball RHP Jared Jones. First pitch at PNC Park in Pittsburgh is scheduled for 5:40pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

Another day at the office, another pitiful performance by the Kansas City Royals. For the third straight game, the bullpen coughed up a late lead and they were defeated, this time 4-3 by the Pirates.

Michael Wacha did everything he could, going 5.2 innings, allowing 4 hits, 2 runs, walking 4 and striking out 5, he also threw 113 pitches.

The Royals jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone hit back-to-back one out singles, to make it 1st and 3rd for Salvador Perez. The Captain came through, singling to center, making it 1-0 in the top of the first.

Oneil Cruz led off the bottom of the 4th, with a solo homer to tie the game at 1. Wacha got two quick outs in the bottom of the 6th, but a pair of back-to-back walks doomed him, as Spencer Horwitz blooped a go-ahead single making it 2-1.

In the top of the 7th, John Rave bunt singled to 3rd, and scored on Vinnie Pasquantino’s pinch hit go-ahead two run homer. 3-2 KC.

Nate Pearson got the bottom of the 8th for the Royals, allowing a leadoff single to Ryan O’Hearn, then Rafael Flores Jr. hit a long go-ahead two-run homer for the Pirates making it 4-3.

With two outs in the top of the 9th, Luke Maile hit a double off the wall in right, going to third on a fielding error by Jake Mangum. Isaac Collins pinch hit for Kyle Isbel and of course weakly flew out to right field and the Royals lost again.

The Royals finish their final road trip of the season, 2-7 and 28-53 on the road this season and are 67-89 on the season overall. They are off tomorrow before playing the White Sox and Guardians next week at home to end their season.

The Mets lost to the Phillies 7-2 Sunday in their final home game of the season.

On a rainy day in New York, the Mets lineup never got going against Philly starter Cristopher Sanchez. Mets starter Jonah Tong had a rough day, giving up four runs and four walks with five strikeouts.

The Phillies took a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a sacrifice fly from Luis Arraez and an RBI single from Alec Bohm. Tong gave up a walk and two hits in the first, then was knocked to the ground on a collision with Bryson Stott in the process of getting the final out at first base. Tong limped to the dugout but shook it off and returned to the game.

Tong bounced back with a 1-2-3 inning in the second, but gave up a pair of runs in the third with a steady rain falling at Citi Field.

The Mets had multiple baserunners in both the second and third innings but couldn’t capitalize against Sanchez, who finished with six strikeouts and two runs allowed. Sanchez settled in after giving up a pair of hits in the third, retiring nine straight Mets batters. Finally, Bo Bichette crushed a solo home run off Sanchez in the sixth inning to get the Mets on the board. Sanchez retired Mark Vientos and Carson Benge to get through the sixth inning for the 24th time this season.

Phillies manager Don Mattingly brought Sanchez out for the seventh inning, but pulled him with one out after giving up a single to Francisco Alvarez. The Mets briefly took advantage, getting back-to-back pinch-hit singles from AJ Ewing and Brett Baty against Phillies reliever Alex McFarlane. Baty’s single scored Alvarez to cut the deficit to 4-2. Unfortunately for the Mets, a popout from Francisco Lindor and a strikeout from Juan Soto ended the inning.

Jack Weisenburger and Jefry Yan combined for 2.1 shutout innings in relief of Tong, but Kodai Senga couldn’t keep it going. Senga gave up a three-run triple to Justin Crawford in the eighth inning to blow the game wide open and renew questions about Senga’s place on the team.

Beloved radio voice Howie Rose got his final broadcast in despite the rain. The Mets dugout walked out onto the field after the final out to raise their caps to Rose. He will get his official farewell next season.

The Mets have Monday off before starting a three-game road series with the Texas Rangers on Tuesday. With the Rangers in the thick of the Wild Card race, New York has a chance to keep playing spoiler.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Brett Baty +11% WPA
Big Mets loser: Jonah Tong -23% WPA
Mets pitchers: -29% WPA
Mets hitters: -21% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Brett Baty’s RBI single, 11% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Trea Turner’s RBI double, -9.3% WPA

The San Francisco Giants have received devastating news regarding their legendary play-by-play announcer, Duane Kuiper, on Sunday.

The Giants released a statement on behalf of Kuiper on Sunday morning. that ready, “I was recently diagnosed with throat cancer and began treatment last week with my doctors at Stanford Medicine. This cancer is unrelated to the one I experienced five years ago, and I’m optimistic that it will be successfully treated,” per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

“I’ll miss the broadcasts tomorrow and Wednesday as I continue treatment, but I’m looking forward to returning Tuesday and this weekend to celebrate my partner, Mike Krukow, and his remarkable career as he calls his final game before retirement. I’m incredibly grateful for the care I’m receiving and for the tremendous support from my family, the Giants organization, my broadcast partners and so many others,” the statement added.

This comes a few months after Kuiper’s longtime partner in the booth, Mike Kurkow, announced that he would be retiring after the 2026 season.

As Kuiper alluded to, he underwent chemotherapy for a cancer diagnosis back in 2021, which caused him to miss much of that season for San Francisco.

This has already been a brutal season for Giants fans because of the team’s mediocre results on the field. And this news regarding Kuiper has made matters even worse.

The Mets went down early and couldn't muster enough of a comeback, dropping their final home game of the regular season to the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-2.

New York finishes the year with a 36-45 record at Citi Field.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Jonah Tong couldn't replicate his scoreless outing from last time on the mound, allowing four earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and four walks over 4.2 IP (95 pitches).

Tong let up two runs in the first inning, surrendering a sacrifice fly to Luis Arraez and an RBI-single to Alec Bohm. Fans held their breath at the end of the first as Tong stumbled over first base while beating Bryson Stott to the bag for the third out. He limped to the dugout immediately but appeared to be fine and returned to the mound in the second inning.

After a 1-2-3 second, he walked Kyle Schwarber in the the third for a second time and gave up an RBI-double to Trea Turner. Tong got Harper to flyout, but Turner tagged up and later scored on Arraez's single up the middle, making it a 4-0 game. The right-hander hung around into the fifth inning, but exited with two on base and two outs. Jack Weisenburger was tasked with escaping the jam, getting Stott to hit a fly ball for the third out.

-- Carson Benge recorded New York's first hit of the day against lefty Cristopher Sanchez in the second inning, but he and Francisco Alvarez (single) were left stranded as Nick Morabito struck out to end the scoring chance.

Luis Torrens and Juan Soto gave the Mets another opportunity in the third, although Sanchez struck out Bo Bichette and Mark Vientos to keep them off the scoreboard. 

-- After fouling off six straight pitches against Sanchez, Bichette lifted a slider to the second deck in left field for a solo home run, cutting the Philadelphia lead to 4-1. It's Bichette's 17th home run of the season and first since Sept. 6.

--New York attempted to rally in the seventh inning as A.J. Ewing and Brett Baty delivered pinch-hit singles, with Baty driving in a run to make it a 4-2 game. Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto couldn't follow suit, popping out and striking out to end the frame.

-- Kodai Senga struggled in the eighth inning, allowing a three-run triple to Justin Crawford that extended the Phillies' lead to 7-2. Senga recorded just one out, as he walked three and let up two hits. Austin Warren walked another to load the bases but prevented further damage by forcing a 6-3 double play.

Game MVP: Cristopher Sánchez

The left-hander kept the Mets offense relatively quiet, allowing two runs on six hits over 6.1 IP with six K's and no walks. His 18 wins are the most for a Phillies pitcher since Roy Halladay (19) in 2011.

Highlights

Jonah Tong limps off the field after colliding with Bryson Stott at first base for the third out pic.twitter.com/hv3xOx6aSX

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2026

A two-strikeout second inning for Jonah Tong 🙌 pic.twitter.com/fw0yuYmHJy

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2026

Juan Soto makes the diving catch! pic.twitter.com/prCIohhCeZ

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2026

Bo Bichette launches one to the second deck to get the Mets on the board! pic.twitter.com/HOsejA6h0D

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2026

Brett Baty sends Francisco Alvarez home! pic.twitter.com/VzchL4d4nu

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2026

What's next

The Mets are off on Monday and then begin their second-to-last series of the year against the Rangers in Texas on Tuesday night.

Sean Manaea (5-7, 4.74 ERA) gets the ball with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 p.m. on SNY. Texas is yet to announce a starting pitcher.

After going 0-for-10 with four strikeouts in the first two games of this series, Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong had himself another big day in the third contest. PCA singled, doubled, homered and stole a base and helped lead the Cubs to a 9-1 blowout of the Reds, a victory tempered by a freak injury to Alex Bregman. More on the latter anon, first let’s wrap this win.

The Cubs got on the board in the first inning. PCA led off the game with a single and stole second, his 38th [VIDEO].

The next two Cubs hitters were retired, but Bregman singled PCA home to make it 1-0 [VIDEO].

The Cubs extended their lead in the third. PCA led off with a double. A note on that double from BCB’s JohnW53:

With his third-inning double, Pete Crow-Armstrong has at least 30 homers, doubles and steals.

Only one Cub had done that before: PCA, last year.

Forty players on other teams have done it, 12 of them also multiple times. PCA is among 10 with two. Alfonso Soriano did it four times; Barry Bonds and Jose Ramirez, three.

It was noted on the Marquee broadcast that PCA’s 40-HR, 30-double, 30-steal year is the first ever by a MLB center fielder — nope, not Willie Mays, not Ken Griffey Jr., no one, until now. I’ve said it before, but don’t ever forget what you are seeing from Pete this year — it is truly historic.

Anyway, PCA then went to third on a ground out by Seiya Suzuki. The Cubs then loaded the bases on walks drawn by Michael Busch and Bregman.

Ian Happ singled in PCA [VIDEO].

Then Nico Hoerner came to the plate and drew a bases-loaded walk after an ABS challenge [VIDEO].

Per the Marquee broadcast, that’s 22 bases-loaded walks for the Cubs this year, the most in MLB.

With the bases still loaded, Michael Conforto struck out, but Pedro Ramirez followed with a two-run single to make it 5-0 [VIDEO].

Now to the Bregman incident in the fourth inning. With two out, Busch hit a foul ball that struck Bregman, who was in the on-deck circle, in the face. Bregman immediately left the game and was replaced by Matt Shaw. Here’s what that looked like [VIDEO].

Per Craig Counsell’s postgame remarks, the ball hit Bregman in the cheekbone, which is swollen. There was also a facial cut, but we don’t know anything beyond that. Hopefully it’s not too serious and Bregman doesn’t have a concussion.

While all this was going on, David Peterson was sailing along, striking out seven over the first four innings. The Reds made it 5-1 on a solo homer by JJ Bleday in the fourth.

The Cubs got that run right back in the fifth on a solo homer by Michael Conforto, his 15th [VIDEO].

If you’re keeping track:

Kyle Tucker, 16 HR, 515 AB
Michael Conforto, 15 HR, 294 AB

Ramirez then singled and one out later, PCA launched his 45th long ball of the year [VIDEO].

That blast tied PCA with Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead. The Cubs also lead MLB in home runs with 217; as noted on the Marquee broadcast, the last time the Cubs led all of baseball in home runs was 1958, led by Ernie Banks with 47 in his first MVP season.

Peterson completed six innings, allowing three hits and just the one run on Bleday’s homer. Here are his seven strikeouts [VIDEO].

More on Peterson’s afternoon from BCB’s JohnW53:

David Peterson’s quality start was his fifth as a Cub, fourth most on the team. Shota Imanaga has 14, as many as the next two combined: Matthew Boyd, eight, and Colin Rea, six. Edward Cabrera and Jameson Taillon both have four. Five others have one to three.

Peterson could be a valuable weapon in the postseason, either as a starter or out of the bullpen.

The Cubs weren’t done homering, either. After Caleb Thielbar threw a scoreless seventh, Suzuki lofted his 25th into the batter’s eye to make it 9-1 [VIDEO].

More on recent Cubs home runs from John:

With their three home runs, the Cubs have hit nine in their last four games (three, one, two, three). They had hit 12 in their previous 14 games, since smacking a team-record nine at home vs. the Brewers on Aug. 31.

Edward Cabrera was given the eighth inning, a good low-leverage situation. He allowed a leadoff single and after retiring the next hitter, another Reds batter reached on an error by Ramirez. But Cabrera got Elly De La Cruz to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Colin Rea finished up with a 1-2-3 ninth, his first game action in 11 days, on just eight pitches. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

The Cubs will clinch a postseason berth if the Yankees defeat the Diamondbacks Sunday, a game that’s just begun at the time of this recap. The Padres, tied with the Cubs for the top wild card spot with the Cubs holding the tiebreaker, are playing the Marlins in a contest in San Diego that’s also just underway. The Phillies defeated the Mets Sunday, so the Cubs still lead Philadelphia by a game. Thanks to the Mets for taking two of the four games from the Phillies over the weekend.

The Cubs have Monday off, then open the final regular season home series Tuesday evening against the Marlins at Wrigley Field. Kevin Gausman will start for the Cubs and Janson Junk will go for Miami. Game time Tuesday is 6:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

The Boston Red Sox played today like a team that knew the region’s attention would be turned to the New England Patriots. Patrick Sandoval started the game and almost immediately ended it, surrendering four runs before even recording an out. The offense, for most of the day, was non-existent. They loaded the bases in the fifth inning, but Roman Anthony ultimately struck out to end the inning with no runs scored.

Immediately after the Patriots took a knee to end the game, the offense started to wake up. Trevor Story hit a solo home run to cut the Rays’ lead to four, and Caleb Durbin singled to force the Rays to Kevin Kelly to finish the game. He did so, and the Red Sox will need to wait for at least another hour or so to find out if they’ve clinched the division. Go Braves.

Seriously, like nothing happened. The whole game took only 2 hours and 20 minutes, and the only runs scored came via home runs outside of the first inning. If you didn’t watch, you didn’t miss much.

Three Studs

Patrick Sandoval

Today’s game, in the grand scheme of things, probably doesn’t matter. Entering the game, the Red Sox needed to win one of their final seven games to clinch a postseason spot (if Houston wins out). Sandoval had a brutal first inning, but settled in and ultimately got through seven innings. At this point, it’s about lining up the pitching staff, resting the bullpen, and getting to the postseason as healthy as possible. Sandoval lost the game for the Red Sox early, but at least he ate some innings in a fairly meaningless game.

Trevor Story

He hit a home run. That’s all.

Mike Yastrzemski

A three-run home run gave the Braves a 4-1 lead over the Astros in the sixth inning. If the Braves can hold on, the Red Sox will be going to the postseason.

Two Duds

Patrick Sandoval

Sandoval isn’t very good. He has one good pitch, and it’s only a useful pitch if he can throw strikes with his other pitches, which he often can’t. Because of that, it’s often a tightrope act for Sandoval, who has to navigate his way through traffic in seemingly every inning. On Sunday, he fell off the tightrope and allowed four runs in the first inning. The offense couldn’t pick him up, and that was that.

The Offense

They only scored one run and barely made any noise all afternoon. Again, it doesn’t really matter, but they’ve gotta swing the bats to go anywhere in the playoffs.

With Mookie Betts in the leadoff role for only the sixth time this season—having gone deep three times in his first five games there—the Dodgers host the Giants, aiming for a sweep. Left-hander Jack Dreyer will be the opener for Los Angeles in a bullpen game.

Sunday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Giants
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Start time: 1:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The final road game of the 2026 regular season is upon us, as the Yankees will conclude it with a seven-game homestand before likely hosting the Red Sox for the Wild Card Series. If the season ends there, this is the end of the line for the gray uniforms for 2026, but obviously, we all hope we’ll see them next in Tampa (and more) in early October.

Looking to end a road slate that has been very generous to the Yankees on a high note is Will Warren, who’s finishing his sophomore season strong after his great start to the campaign unraveled into a bit of a mess over the summer. Rotation reinforcements that threatened to throw him in the bullpen never came with the recurring injuries, so he’ll finish 2026 with 30 starts for the second straight season. This is No. 29, as he enters with a 3.89 ERA (108 ERA+) and 4.07 FIP in 148 innings. No matter what happens from here, Warren has had a successful year in solidifying himself as a true MLB-caliber rotation arm.

Opposing him will be a former Cy Young winner trying to round into form off Tommy John surgery in Corbin Burnes, whom Yankees fans remember well from his lone season in Baltimore in 2024. Returning from a 16-month absence on September 8 to help with the playoff push, Burnes has allowed five runs across 7.2 innings with six strikeouts to two walks against the Royals and Marlins. He isn’t totally built up, having thrown 75 pitches in his last start, so expect him to settle around 80-85 today. He’s always befuddled the Yankees, pitching to a 1.93 ERA across 23.1 innings in his career, but he doesn’t have a win in any of those four starts.

Ben Rice will once again lead off, followed by Cody Bellinger, Heliot Ramos, and Luis García Jr. We’ve seen better ABs and swings from George Lombard Jr. lately, who’ll bat fifth. Spencer Jones is back after a one-day absence due to a sore foot and will bat in front of Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, and José Caballero.

Lars Nootbaar will also be a repeat leadoff hitter for the D-backs, followed by Ketel Marte, Gabriel Moreno, and Geraldo Perdomo. Corbin Carroll is batting fifth, Nolan Arenado will bat sixth, and former Blue Jay Jesús Sánchez bats seventh ahead of last night’s hero Pavin Smith and Tim Tawa.

How to watch

Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ

First pitch: 4:10 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, DBACKS.TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), ESPN 620 AM, La Campesina 101.9 FM & 860 AM (AZ)

Online stream: MLB.tv (out-of-market only), Gotham Sports App

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The final game at Chase Field in the 2026 regular season. Though hopes of any post-season are likely dampened by the early lead the Phillies have taken over the Mets in New York. Still, the team are set to remain at least theoretically in contention for playoff spot until at least Tuesday night. And, of course, the more they win, the more the meaningful part of the season can be extended. The majority of the National League has already been mathematically eliminated, but despite injuries, under-performance in some quarters, and too much off-field drama, Arizona are still here. Somehow, this is Torey’s fault. 🙂

It’s effectively another “rehab” start for Corbin Burnes, though having thrown 75 pitches last time, there shouldn’t be much of a limit on him there this afternoon. His last outing, against the Marlins, was a bit rough, allowing five runs over 4.2 innings, though giving up home-runs on consecutive pitches was a factor there. He’s going to be a key part of the rotation in 2027. But it’s an area which has struggled of late, with Arizona’s starters getting just one win (Eduardo Rodriguez against Houston two Sundays ago) since the opener of the double-header in San Francisco on August 29. That’s an eighteen-game span.

Conversely, the bullpen is 7-2 with a 2.54 ERA this month. It has been a bit of a wild ride, undeniably. But it’s the fourth month they have won seven games this year. I know relief wins is far from a perfect start, but with seven games to go, their 35 wins is already tied for the second-most relief W’s in franchise history. It trails only 2023’s thirty-eight victories, and that bullpen had a higher ERA (4.22 vs. 3.91). Whenever the story of the 2026 D-backs gets written – and we’ll probably be starting with that in the next week! – the relievers are going to be a very interesting chapter.

Stick around for the guest recap, which will hopefully appear this week. But it’s TheRealRamona, so I have faith!

Miami Marlins (76-79) at San Diego Padres (86-69), September 20, 2026, 1:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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The season could end today.

Well, the Mariners season has been effectively over for weeks now, but a loss and a Rangers win would be the dagger to finish off whatever long-shot odds remain in 2026. I hate to say I’m rooting for it, but a win today would extend the misery and hand the knife to the Astros next week. On the other hand, dropping a series to the worst team in the majors would be a hard way to go out on its own. You know, I’m starting to think there aren’t a lot of fun ways to lose a baseball season.

Lineups

SEA Starter: Kade Anderson
COL Starter: Tomoyuki Sugano

Game Information:

Game time: 12:10 PT
TV: Mariners TV
Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports