Category: Baseball

The sound alone gave a jolt to the ballpark.

For too long, Dodger Stadium hadn’t heard anything like it.

In his return from the injured list on Wednesday night, Shohei Ohtani came up in the bottom of the seventh inning and put a charge into a ball that went soaring through the late-summer night sky. 

Ohtani had squared it up, connecting on a 99 mph fastball from San Diego Padres right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez. He sent it scorching off his barrel, recording an exit velocity of 103.4 mph.

For a brief moment, Chavez Ravine roared in anticipation.

But then, Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill settled under it. The 384-foot drive died at the warning track.

In the Dodgers’ eventual 5-1 loss to the Padres, the swing was a reflection of where Ohtani finds himself at the moment: By all accounts, much improved from the visibly diminished state he was in before going on the injured list with right arm and left knee injuries; but also, still not back to his completely normal self with the start of the playoffs less than two weeks away.

“He certainly feels way better,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said pregame. “I think just getting as many at-bats as he can and that rhythm and timing back before we head into October is going to be really helpful.”

In his comeback game, Ohtani got four trips to the plate. He singled in the first inning on a 99 mph line drive to right. He drew a six-pitch walk in the third, showing improved plate discipline than he had during a dismal couple weeks leading up to his IL stint. 

But he also struck out with the bases loaded in the fourth, squandering the Dodgers’ best chance to erase an early deficit by fanning on a full-count sinker from Padres reliever David Morgan (after having what initially appeared to be a run-scoring walk earlier in the at-bat overturned on an ABS challenge).

Then, after his flyout in the seventh, he went down swinging again against Padres closer Mason Miller in the ninth to wrap a 1-for-4 showing.

“He looked good,” manager Dave Roberts said. “It just felt like he wasn’t sped up at all, and I think he came out of it pretty well.”

The most encouraging thing, of course, was the way Ohtani looked.

He wasn’t shaking out his arm. He didn’t have any awkward one-handed finishes with his swing. And while his drive in the seventh didn’t clear the fence, it still marked the hardest contact he had made with a ball in almost six weeks (when measured by exit velo).

“I think if you look back at the last couple weeks when he was active, he wasn’t really getting to that pitch,” Roberts said. “I think tonight showed that he’s in a good spot physically.”

The question now is how much more Ohtani can improve before, and then throughout, October –– with the Dodgers remaining cautiously optimistic that the worst of his season-long health saga is finally behind him.

“There’s no question [his injuries] affected him,” Friedman said. “And I think the fact that he feels as good as he does right now is certainly encouraging. Now, it’s about making sure that holds.”

Indeed, before going on the IL, Ohtani was a shell of himself offensively.

He had gone 6-for-his-last-52 before finally being shut down. He was showing visible signs of pain and subtle deficiencies in his swing mechanics. Any flickering hopes of him returning to pitching this season were also finally blown out.

“A few weeks ago,” Roberts said, “you could see that he couldn’t hit a fastball, he was underneath everything, and that it was a slower swing.”

For one night, at least, the Dodgers saw progress.

But that doesn’t mean Ohtani is back to 100%.

Roberts was careful to temper expectations before the game, noting that “it’s been a while since he’s played.” 

Friedman also highlighted some of the lingering uncertainties surrounding the 32-year-old slugger, saying the Dodgers would closely monitor how Ohtani feels after taking “game-intensity at-bats” again.

“These aren’t things that there’s a clear answer to,” Friedman said when asked what version of Ohtani the Dodgers anticipate seeing in the playoffs. “I think everyone, this time of year, is dealing with some stuff.”

That might be true. But two weeks ago, Ohtani was clearly in a worse-than-normal spot.

That’s why he went on the IL. It’s why he missed six of seven games even before that. It’s why Wednesday felt like such an important test, with only five games remaining in the regular season for him to find “some rhythm and timing” with his swing entering the playoffs, as Friedman put it.

“It’s go-time for all of us,” Roberts said beforehand. “I can’t really speak to if he’s going to hit a homer tonight, but I do think that there’s going to be a heightened focus. So I think he’s in a good spot.”

For now, the Dodgers will take him simply looking better.

Astros 5, Mariners 6

Mariners Win: Julio Rodríguez, +0.46 WPA
Rewrite: George Kirby, -0.18 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day

Shohei Ohtani’s swing was a little out in front of a slider delivered by Padres left-hander Robbie Ray. But Ohtani held back his hands long enough to extend them to the pitch and shoot it through the right side of the infield.

It wasn’t flashy. But considering it was his first at-bat in more than two weeks, in a tough matchup no less, it was a promising sign.

“It’s been a while since he’s played in a game, but it just felt like he wasn’t sped up at all,” manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 5-1 loss to the Padres. “And I think he came out of it pretty well.”

The good news quickly dried up for the Dodgers after that, as they missed a chance to clinch a first-round bye with a win. But Ohtani’s return was still significant, and the success of his end-of-season tune-up will have playoff implications.

Ohtani did not address reporters Wednesday and has only done so once in the last five weeks, despite multiple requests.

The Dodgers activated Ohtani, who went one-for-four Wednesday, from the 15-day IL before the game and optioned rookie Josue De Paula to Triple A. De Paula is still under consideration for the National League Division Series roster as a bat off the bench.

“This was the original thought, that once Shohei gets back, we’re going to send him out,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We had a runway to give him, which we gave him and he performed more than admirably. This also, as far as the timing, just gives us an opportunity to potentially have him back for the postseason. He’s a part of the conversation, and he’s earned that, and that’s what I told him last night.”

Read more:The Dodgers’ Josue De Paula can hit. Now he’s out to prove he can play defense, too

De Paula joined triple-A Oklahoma City for Game 2 of the PCL Championship on Wednesday. And Ohtani slid into the Dodgers lineup, hitting second in the batting order for the first time this season, with Mookie Betts leading off against the Padres southpaw.

“I know Shohei, Mookie, they’re always on board with whatever I decide to do,” Roberts said. “I think it just makes it tougher to navigate versus left. There’s a Mookie tax [to get to Ohtani]. If you want to get to Freddie [Freeman], there’s a Will Smith tax. I like that. And versus a right-hander, I like kind of flipping those two for the same reasons.”

Ohtani, welcomed back in his first at-bat by a partial standing ovation, walked in his second plate appearance. And with two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning, he appeared to have walked again.

Then Padres catcher Ethan Salas tapped the top of his head to challenge the ball call. And an ABS review showed the fastball had clipped the top of the strike zone. Ohtani fouled off the next two pitches before whiffing on a sinker to end the inning.

That missed opportunity rolled right into a sloppy fifth inning for the Dodgers defense.

Starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto had given up a two-run homer to Manny Machado the previous inning but had otherwise avoided damage.

To open the fifth, he induced Salas to hit the ball on the ground, but it got away from second baseman Tommy Edman as he dove up the middle, for a single.

Yamamoto then got a soft grounder out of Fernando Tatís Jr. But it was too soft, giving Tatís time to reach first before third baseman Max Muncy could get off a throw.

With runners on first and second, Yamamoto had a chance to contribute on defense, fielding Dustin Harris’ comebacker bunt. But Yamamoto’s throw to third sailed wide, allowing a run to score. Machado then made it a 4-1 game with a sacrifice fly.

Ohtani came up to the plate again in the seventh inning and put Dodgers fans on the edge of their seats by sending a long fly ball to straightaway center field. But the cheers died down as it fell shy of the fence.

“I think if you look back at the last couple weeks when he was active, he wasn’t really getting to that pitch,” Roberts said of the high fastball. “I think there might have been one pitch late that he squared up to left field that was at the top of the zone. But outside of that it was hard for him to catch up. I think tonight showed that he’s in a good spot physically.”

The top of the Dodgers order got one last chance to start a rally in the ninth inning, against star closer Mason Miller. Only Will Smith reached base, on a walk, and advanced to third on defensive indifference. Ohtani struck out on a slider.

“[Ohtani] certainly feels way better with the rest,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said before the game. “The biggest thing with five games to go is get him as many at-bats as we can, some rhythm and timing.”

Ohtani could get a day off in that span, Friedman said, but the Dodgers will make those decisions based on how he’s feeling.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani to return from IL Wednesday, but Dodgers still have unanswered questions in final week

“Just getting as many at-bats as he can and that rhythm and timing back before we head into October is going to be really helpful,” Friedman said.

Ohtani was not in rhythm before he landed on the IL. In the last three weeks before the Dodgers finally shelved him, he had a .130 batting average. And he only had two hits in his last seven games (26 at-bats) before the move.

“You end up making subconscious adjustments where you’re protecting yourself,” Friedman said, “and there’s just slight degradation as that’s happening that compounds over time.”

Though the Dodgers downplayed the correlation before Ohtani landed on the IL, they now hope that Ohtani’s improved health will go hand-in-hand with better performance.

“Shohei says he feels back to where he was earlier in the year, which is great, which is a good start,” Friedman said. “As they are coming back, it’s important for them to feel that way … now the question is, as you start to load on real games and that intensity and that workload, it’s making sure that what we’ve done keeps guys in position to be at their best.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Incredibly, the Diamondback’s season truly is coming down to the wire. In one sense, it’s an immense privilege that their postseason hopes are still alive at this point in the season. But it’s also incredibly frustrating to know their fate isn’t entirely their own and it’s tempting to look back at all of the wasted opportunities that could have made the difference. Ultimately, they can only control the outcomes of their own games and will have to hope the rest works itself out.

The D-Backs’ offense has not been particularly potent in the first inning – they prefer to do their damage later in the game as befits their comeback moniker. They own a modest .239/.304/.423 slash line in opening frames and have scored just 71 runs on the season, but you could have been fooled differently on Wednesday night. After Lars Nootbaar struck out to open the game, Ketel Marte lined the ball into left field, but instead of an easy second out, Zac Veen just completely whiffed on the ball and Marte ended up at second on the error. From there, the D-Backs took full advantage of the mental error with an RBI single from Gabriel Moreno and a pair of two-out singles from Pavin Smith and Nolan Arenado, the latter of which plated Moreno. But the coup de grace was a picture-perfect liner along the foul line from Corbin Carroll that resulted in his majors-leading 17th triple that scored both Smith and Arenado to give the D-Backs and Merrill Kelly an immediate four-run lead. Maddeningly, after the first inning, the D-Backs were mostly shut down offensively. They went down in order in four straight innings (six times overall) and even when they did get baserunners, they found ways to get themselves out of it with two separate double plays. Their final run came on a solo home run from Tim Tawa that just barely escaped the ballpark.

Kelly, who’s had anything but an easy year, did what the team needed him to do – especially when playing with a lead. He wasn’t dominant by any means, but he minimized the amount of traffic around him and pitched to contact wherever he could. His changeup was particularly devastating, generating four of the eight whiffs he had on the night. There were a couple trouble spots, particularly in the second and third innings. In the former, a one-out walk to Kyle Karros quickly turned into a run when Adael Adamor drove Carroll right up to the right field wall where he tried to make an incredible leaping catch but couldn’t quite complete the play that allowed the Rockies to get on the board and Adamor to reach second. Then in the fourth, consecutive singles from Ezequiel Tovar and our old friend Jake McCarthy opened the frame to put Rockies on the corners. Kelly did manage to strike out Cole Carrigg, but Hunter Goodman was able to elevate an inside slider deep enough into left field to score Tovar on the sacrifice fly. As has been talked about increasingly frequently, the Arizona bullpen is a real strength of the team and Torey Lovullo has stated he wants to dip into it as soon as he realistically can. It delivered once again tonight with 3.2 innings of one-run ball (a solo shot from Tovar that just cleared the fence) to provide a (mostly) stress-free win.

Of course, the D-Backs’ game was only half of the equation. The other half went down in Chavez Ravine where the Padres took down the Dodgers to move into the top Wild Card spot and bring Arizona’s elimination number (the combination of Arizona losses and San Diego wins) down to two. Their path to the postseason is not quite closed, but it’s so narrow that it’s difficult to even be able to see it. For now, they’ll need to win tomorrow for the sweep against the hapless Rockies before going into San Diego on Friday with their season on the line. It should be a fun, exciting few days of baseball as the season comes to a close.

After shutting out the Padres on Tuesday, the Dodgers could only muster one run in a 5-1 defeat on Wednesday, snapping their home winning streak at 11 games.

Both Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Robbie Ray kept the hitters in check over their first three innings, as Yamamoto secured three shutout innings on just 36 pitches while Ray needed 70 pitches in that same time.

Yamamoto began the top of the fourth inning by brushing the jersey of Dustin Harris on an inside pitch to give San Diego a leadoff baserunner, and Manny Machado ensured the Padres wouldn’t be shut out again as he launched a two-run home run to center field to give San Diego the first lead.

The Dodgers responded with two consecutive singles from Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker to begin the bottom of the fourth inning, and Andy Pages had his first hit back from the injured list with a bloop single to center field. Ray managed to get Max Muncy to fly out to shallow center, but his night was done after tossing 84 pitches over 3 1/3 innings. He was charged with a run as Tommy Edman lifted a sacrifice fly to put the Dodgers on the board. Mookie Betts walked on four pitches to make it bases loaded with two outs for Shohei Ohtani, but David Morgan got him whiffing on a fastball at 99 miles per hour on a 3-2 count to leave them loaded.

San Diego picked up where they left off against Yamamoto in the top of the fifth inning, as Ethan Salas and Fernando Tatis Jr. both singled to open the frame. A bunt attempt from Harris was hit right back to Yamamoto, but an errant throw to third allowed Salas to score. Manny Machado brought home Tatis with a sacrifice fly to center field, giving him three RBI on the night and making it a three-run San Diego lead.

Yamamoto would finish his night going six innings, marking the first time he didn’t log at least seven innings in the month of September. Wednesday’s outing was the first time since September 2 where Yamamoto allowed at least two earned runs, with his four strikeouts on the night being the fewest since he struck out three against the Boston Red Sox on August 1. Yamamoto ends the regular season with a 2.53 ERA, striking out 182 hitters across 185 innings.

The Dodger bullpen would hold San Diego in check until the top of the ninth inning as Blake Treinen allowed an RBI single to Freddy Fermin, allowing Samad Taylor to score to make it a 5-1 Padres lead.

Teoscar Hernández recorded another three-hit game, his third of the month, finishing 3-4 with three singles while raising his season average to .270 for the first time since June 30.

Andy Pages also finished with a three-hit night in his second game off the injured list, giving him his first multi-hit game since August 17 against the Colorado Rockies. Shohei Ohtani finished 1-4 with a single, a walk and two strikeouts in his first game off the injured list.

With the Dodgers losing on Wednesday, they once again sit two games back of the Milwaukee Brewers for the top seed in the National League playoff picture. The Dodgers are still four games above the Atlanta Braves for a first-round bye, and their magic number to secure a bye remains at 1.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Manny Machado (29)
• WP— Yuki Matsui (4-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts
• LP— Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9): 6 IP, 5 hits, 4 runs (2 earned runs), 1 walk, 4 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers play their final home game of the regular season against San Diego on Thursday (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA) before heading up to San Francisco for their final regular season series. Tyler Glasnow faces Nick Pivetta.

Before Wednesday’s game between the Mets and Texas Rangers, manager Andy Green was asked what is the biggest area in Nolan McLean’s game that he can take a step forward in to reach that next level that the skipper always talks about.

Green mentioned the right-hander throwing strikes consistently and limiting his walks, but was quick to say, “and that’s not by diminishing stuff, it’s by using the stuff you have and understanding how to get ahead and to finish.”

It was one of the many times this season that Green spoke about his young players in a way that seemed to challenge them – even when they’ve played great – because he knows they’re capable of more.

Shortly thereafter, McLean took the mound and, heeding his manager’s advice, looked amazing through four perfect innings. Things went awry for the rookie in the fifth inning, however, when the Rangers tagged him for two runs after McLean allowed three hits and a walk in the inning.

Just a few hours before that, Green practically predicted it.

“I actually think he does that really well for a pretty good portion of each game and then there’s usually one inning where it’s like here for a little, kinda lost it, now I found it again, now I compete, now I get out of it,” the skipper said. “The less and less he does that, and look he’s not gonna be perfect, but the more he drives that down and the less and less he does that he’s gonna get himself out of more jams by not getting into them.”

The foreshadowing by Green was uncanny, though it shouldn’t come as a surprise considering he’s known most of these young players since they joined the organization as the Senior Vice President for Player Development.

After that difficult fifth inning, McLean went right back to being dominant and retired the next six batters in order on just 13 pitches to complete his final outing of the season. Even in the fifth inning, the right-hander had the bases loaded with one out and managed to exit with just one run scoring.

“Those guys were aggressive so any time a team’s aggressive like that and you’re filling up the strike zone, you’re relying a lot on your defense and sometimes they just don’t hit it at guys and in the fifth inning they hit a few balls away from people and that’s part of it,” McLean said. “So I was just kind of trusting my stuff that they were eventually gonna hit it at people to try to minimize and if I get to two strikes I’ll execute a pitch and punch him out. 

“And then going back out in the sixth, making sure to keep that same game plan and not necessarily getting tentative just because they put a few balls in play [earlier].”

McLean ended his rookie campaign by going 12-10 with a 3.16 ERA, eighth-lowest in the NL, in 31 starts. He’s also the only Mets starter this season who didn’t miss a single start, impressive for a 25-year-old rookie whose season started at the World Baseball Classic pitching for Team USA.

“I try to take pride in going out there and competing every single time, whether I have my stuff or not and that’s what matters most to me, just going out there and making each start,” McLean said.

Meanwhile, Green, for all his challenges that he gives his players, was impressed with McLean’s body of work and knows the right-hander will get back to work soon enough after he enjoys this one just a little while longer.

“I don’t think that was like his vintage stuff and it still found a way to be really, really good,” Green said about McLean’s outing on Wednesday. “Velocity was a little bit down today. Last outing of a long season that started at the WBC and felt that he competed incredibly well today.

“He’s just kind of the person he’s been, just figure out a way to get it done even if it doesn’t feel your best. So [I’m] proud of him, proud of the season he’s had. He’s got a lot to hang his hat on right now and I know it won’t take long for him to get back to work and get going.”

As for whether or not McLean did enough to take home the NL Rookie of the Year honors in what has become a solid class that includes teammate Carson Benge, Green isn’t so sure his right-hander will be in the conversation.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t take hardware to know what kind of pitcher McLean is.

“He’s the best rookie pitcher in the National League and I think that’s pretty obvious to everybody,” Green said.

In a season where the Yankees have missed their two most established power hitters for months at a time, Ben Rice has provided a powerful presence in their stead. 

The lefty slugger crushed his 40th and 41st home runs of the season Wednesday in a 9-2 win over the Rays, joining Aaron Judge and Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees in franchise history to hit at least 40 homers within their first three major league seasons. 

“It’s a cool milestone,” Rice said. “It’s not something you go into the season aiming for. You don’t really know how it’s going to go, but as I was approaching that number, it was definitely something I was hoping to achieve.” 

Rice’s production has helped the Yankees weather the extended absences of Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and with neither guaranteed to be on the roster for the AL wild-card series because of their respective injuries, the Yankees will need Rice to stay hot after breaking out of a quieter summer. 

“Just a complete hitter,” Judge said. “Each year he’s gotten better, each month he’s gotten better. Even through bad slumps, he’s making the reads and making the changes he needs to [make] to get back to his normal self. So it’s been fun to watch.” 

When Rice hit his 39th home run over the weekend in Arizona, Aaron Boone revealed that was his preseason prediction for the DH/first baseman.

But Rice said he knew his manager was short-changing him one from a nice round number, so when he got back to the dugout after his two long balls Wednesday, “he let me know it,” Boone said with a grin. 

“I think I said, ‘Hey, there’s 40 for you,’” Rice said. “I was joking with him after the 41st one, saying, ‘Hey, thanks for inspiring me this year.’ But it’s all in good fun.” 

Rice’s 41 home runs are now tied with Yordan Alvarez, Pete Alonso and Junior Caminero for the most in the American League and the third most in the majors. 

Fernando Cruz is still holding out hope of pitching again this season despite being diagnosed with a partially torn UCL, a diagnosis he said Wednesday he was “not going to accept.” 

The reliever threw his first bullpen session — using all four of his pitches, he said — Sunday and is slated to throw another Thursday. 

“I think I’m in a really good position to be back, I will say, in the next couple weeks,” Cruz said. “But that’s not my call. I’m just getting in position to be there for my guys and perform the way I perform.” 

The 36-year-old said he is “100 percent” ruling out surgery at this point and later added, “I’m going to beat this.” 

Carlos Rodón was named the Most Valuable Philanthropist for September by the Players Trust, the charitable arm of the MLB Players Association. 

The left-hander, who is also the Yankees nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, and his wife, Ashley, are active in supporting families facing infertility and pregnancy loss through the Carlos Rodón Foundation.

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA — Athletics catcher Brian Serven left Wednesday's game early after taking a ball to the face.

Serven was at bat in the bottom of the sixth inning when Angels pitcher José Fermin threw a 94 mph changeup that resulted in a foul ball.

The pitch just skimmed Serven's bat, which he had in a bunt position, and ricocheted directly into his left cheek bone, just under his eye. He took the impact and fell to the dirt.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay and the team trainer ran immediately onto the field to check on Serven as Angels' infielders took a sportsmanship knee. Serven was down for several moments but slowly got up, signaling he was OK.

Well the Braves’ position in the playoffs may be clear (the third seed in the NL), but their opponent is far from clear, with the Padres, Phillies, and Cubs all very close to clinching wild-card spots, but within 0.5 games of each other, pending the Padres’ result against the Dodgers. With the return of Robert Suarez and the seemingly missed bullet of Ronald Acuna’s injury scare Tuesday, the Braves seem about as healthy as they could hope going into the playoffs. That said, the offense and pitching are both serious concerns. The pitching is fairly obvious, as the Braves have Chris Sale and a strong bullpen, but Tyler Mahle is a questionable second starter for a playoff team even with his phenomenal performance for Atlanta and behind him is a mess in the rotation. The offense has been a struggle for months now really and has a 98 wRC+ on the season. Ronald Acuna has looked like his prime self of late, but one man can only do so much. The talent is there but the consistency has not. Perhaps this will be the year for the offense to show up in the postseason after a number of years of high quality regular season offense, followed by disappointing playoff production.

Braves News

Ronald Acuna is walking without a limp and is expected back in the lineup Thursday, after fouling a ball off his shin on Tuesday.

Robert Suarez returned from the IL after a lengthy absence, with Owen Murphy optioned to make space.

The Braves snagged a low-scoring walk-off win over the Reds in a meaningless game for both teams, featuring dominance from Chris Sale.

MLB News

The Rays have ruled out star pitcher Shane McClanahan from their divisional round series.

Aaron Judge still hopes to play in the wild-card series for the Yankees, as he remains on the IL one week out.

The Dodgers activated stars Shohei Ohtani off the IL and Tarik Skubal off the bereavement list.

The 2026 Colorado Rockies have combined flashes of brilliance with a struggle to complete a full game on all sides of the ball. Tonight’s game fell in that camp.

There have been a few games this year where if you removed just one stretch of mistakes from one aspect of the game, the Rockies would have been in the mix, if not fully in a position to win. Tonight, the Rockies found themselves in a hole early on, one that they were unable to climb out of. Their defense allowed for a flurry of unearned runs and their bats didn’t consistenly step up to support the starting pitching.

That said, the Rockies found themselves right in the mix with a playoff contending team right until the end, with a few key performances to point to.

The Rockies first inning woes continue

Over the last 10 games, the Rockies had allowed 16 runs in the first inning. Last night, the Diamondbacks got after Kyle Freeland early and nearly hit around the order on their way to an early 3-0 lead. That trend continued tonight, unfortunately.

Mason Adams got the first laugh, but not the last. He started strong, striking out Lars Nootbar quickly on four pitches. He finished Nootbar off with his curveball, a pitch that Adams has dominated hitters with this year.

Ketel Marte, who tends to hit well at Coors more often than not, hit a double to left on a ball that Zac Veen lost in the lights for an error. That would prove costly as Gabriel Moreno brought him home just two pitches later.

Hunter Goodman flashed his always strong ABS challenge skills for the second strikeout of the inning, coming on a four-seam fastball that kissed the corner of the zone. But with two outs and two on, Nolan Arenado — who was just a triple short of the cycle last night — singled to left to score another. Veen’s rough start continued, as he scooped the ball but bobbled it.

With a sharp triple down the first base line, Corbin Carroll scored two more to make it an early 4-0 deficit for the Rockies. The Rockies went down in order in the bottom of the inning to leave things there.

No trouble with the curve for Adams

Sadly, Adams’ first career win proves to be elusive. Even still, all of his starts have shown stretches of extreme promise. Tonight was no different.

After surrendering four runs in the first, Adams locked in and bounced back, sitting down 13 straight batters from that point on until his next allowed hit in the top of the sixth. He got ahead in counts often (with 65% first pitch strikes) and worked his pitches well. In particular, Adams continues to be a master of the curveball. Entering tonight, he maintained a .083 batting average against for the pitch, allowing only one hit on curveballs all season.

He relied on the strength of that pitch today, alongside a mix of other effective pitches. He used his four-seamer most today (28%), but mixed in the sinker (24%) and curveball (21%). He kept hitters guessing with the curve (70% whiff rate) and sweeper (13% usage, 43% whiff).

During his stretch of four 1-2-3 innings, he continued to add to his strikeout total. Among those strikeouts, several rattlers were the victim of the curve tonight. Of his eight strikeouts, four of those came on a swinging curveball, as he rang up Nootbar (twice), Tim Tawa, and Pavin Smith with the pitch.

In another 100-loss season, you want to be able to point to bright spots, and Adams has been just that. He tallied an astounding 41% whiff rate on called strikes and set a new career high with those eight strikeouts. He ended his day after 6.0 innings pitched with zero earned runs and four runs allowed on five hits and no walks.

It’s impossible to know how the first inning and the game would have shaken out if the fly ball was reeled in for the second out. Without the outlier inning, Adams could have been in position for a competitive game throughout. Nevertheless, he put up one of, if not the best performance of his career, showed a lot of resilience, and put together a strong starting spot to build momentum heading into next year.

Diamondbacks holding steady

For their part, the D-backs held steady tonight, both in the game and in the Wild Card race.

While Adams held off the Arizona offense after the first, the Diamondbacks were able to add a small cushion in the bullpen innings. With Mark Manfredi in the game in relief, Tawa launched a home run to left field to give Arizona a 5-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning. That would be Arizona’s lone run outside of the first inning. Arizona managed eight hits on the night, but were shut down for a long stretch.

The Rockies offense did better than they did last night but couldn’t quite get enough going. Their seven hits came in spurts and they ended the night with four batters left on base as a team.

Arizona gave up some ground on the other end of a solo shot in the bottom of the inning, as Ezequiel Tovar homered to right field to bring the Rockies back within two runs at 5-3.

Keeping an eye on the Wild Card race around the league, the Diamondbacks got some much-needed help. The Chicago Cubs fell to the Miami Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies dropped a game to the Milwaukee Brewers, opening things up for the D-backs to threaten for one of the three open playoff spots.

Final Thoughts

On offense, Tovar had a night, logging two hits and two runs, including a solo homer. For a player that struggled to find contact through much of the season, settling in for most of the team’s runs was a win.

But the star of the show was Mason Adams, acquired in the Brenton Doyle trade, who delivered in his last start of the season. In that last start, he made it into the sixth inning for the first time all year. That feat was especially impressive given that it took over 30 pitches for him to escape the first.

In a game at Coors Field, Adams deserves all the kudos for holding strong and making it deep into the game. Manager Warren Schaeffer noted that Adams “kept his head about him in the first inning and was basically unhittable after that.” He added that “he’s extremely even-keeled. The game can speed up, but I don’t ever see that with Mason.”

It’s hard to be happy about 101 losses, but at this point in the season, it’s promising to see some good in the lineup. For a team with glaring holes in its rotation, having a pitcher like Adams stepping up throughout the year and late into the season provides a glimmer of hope for the 2027 campaign.

Up Next

It’s time for one last hurrah at Coors Field.

With tonight’s loss, the Rockies sit at 32-48 at home on the season but will try to end things on a good note. They’ll finish off the three-game series against Arizona before heading out to Chicago for a weekend series against the White Sox.

Tanner Gordon gets the start for Colorado. This year, he’s 1-5 in 11 starts and 23 total games, with a 6.01 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, and 84/18 K/BB.

Eduardo Rodriquez takes the mound for Arizona, entering with a 15-7 record over 31 starts, with a 2.89 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and a 140/62 K/BB.

The first pitch for the Thursday afternoon game is set for 1:10 p.m. MT.

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NEW YORK — Maybe nothing has changed with Aaron Judge’s status, but the Yankees captain prefers to conduct the narrative regarding his calf injury.

Judge's message is, essentially: Don't rule me out of next week's opening playoff round.

A day after manager Aaron Boone said that “we’re planning on him not being a part of that’’ Wild Card series roster next week, Judge said he's aiming to be in that lineup.

"My goal is to come back as soon as I can. If (Boone) says I’m not going to be ready…I’ve got no control over that,'' said Judge. "I’ve got control over what I can do to get back as soon as I can.

"So, if you ask me if I’m going to be back, I’m going to tell you, yeah, I’m doing everything I can every single day I show up here to get back and be ready to go.''

Locked in as the AL’s top wild card, the Yankees will host a best-of-three series against Boston, beginning Tuesday night.

More: Yankees watch Rays party but NY is still AL's team to beat without Judge

LOS ANGELES — Josue De Paula's first trial run in the big leagues has come to an end. For now, at least.

With Shohei Ohtani back in the lineup for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, Sept. 23 against the San Diego Padres and manager Dave Roberts wanting to get a look at other players competing for a spot on the postseason roster, Roberts said the choice to option De Paula to Triple-A Oklahoma City was easier than it might've appeared on the surface.

"This was the original thought," Roberts said. "That once Shohei gets back, we were going to send (De Paula) out. We had a runway to give him, which we gave him, and he performed more than admirably."

Even that might be an understatement to how well De Paula played.

In a small sample size of 11 games, the 21-year-old showed a confidence and poise beyond his years in the batter's box, controlling the strike zone like a seasoned vet and drawing 11 walks. And once the hits started falling, De Paula showed how dangerous he can really be, mashing three doubles and a home run (his first MLB hit in Miami) while driving in seven RBIs and posting a 1.081 OPS across 31 at-bats. His last regular season game in LA on Tuesday may have been his best yet as De Paula went 2-for-3 with a walk and his first career triple in a 7-0, series-opening win over the Padres.

He's played so well, in fact, that Roberts is seriously considering him for the postseason roster.

"He's a part of that conversation," Roberts said. "He's earned that."