Category: Baseball

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Happy birthday to Vito Valentinetti, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1992 – The Cubs blow out the Phils, 14-9, to give Greg Maddux his 18th win. Led by Andre Dawson‘s four hits, the first four hitters collect 11 hits and 11 RBI for the Cubs. Dave Hollins homers for the Phils, while Dawson, Ryne Sandberg and Rick Wilkins go deep for Chicago. Mark Grace makes an error, ending his streak of 102 errorless games at 1B; his streak began after two errors on May 18th vs. the Dodgers, and 2014 – The Cubs’ Jake Arrieta* throws a one-hitter in shutting out the Reds, 7-0. Brandon Phillips‘ two-out double in the eighth is the only blemish as Arrieta strikes out 13, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1904 – The Giants sweep two from Brooklyn as Christy Mathewson wins the opener, 2-1, allowing just four hits. Two of the hits, a triple and homer, are by rookie Emil Batch. Joe McGinnity wins the nightcap, 5-3.
• 1922 – Pennant fever rages in St. Louis, as the Yankees come to town with a half-game lead. Bob Shawkey outpitches Urban Shocker, 2-1, as George Sisler ties Ty Cobb‘s 1911 record by hitting in his 40th straight game. 
• 1951 – At Yankee Stadium, Joe DiMaggio‘s long triple off Bob Feller scores two runs in the 5th and Allie Reynolds holds on for a 5-1 New York win.
• 1960 – At the age of 39, Warren Spahn pitches a no-hitter, beating the Phillies, 4-0. The crafty lefty sets an all-time Braves record with 15 strikeouts.
• 1966 – The Mets (5) and Giants (3) tie a major-league record by using eight pinch hitters in the ninth inning as the Mets win, 5-4. Willie McCovey hits a 500-foot home run, judged the longest ever at Candlestick Park.
• 1975 – Rennie Stennett ties a major league mark established in 1892 going 7 for 7 in a nine-inning game. The Pirates’ second baseman gets two hits in one inning twice (in the 1st and 5th innings), helping make the game the most one-sided shutout since 1900, as the Bucs crush the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 22-0.
• 1993 – At the age of 41, the Twins’ Dave Winfield becomes the 19th major leaguer to collect 3000 hits as he singles to left off A’s ace Dennis Eckersley in a 5-1 home victory over Oakland.
• 1996 – A 5th-inning triple off Royals pitcher Jose Rosado gives the Twins’ Paul Molitor 3000 hits. He will become the first major leaguer to accomplish this milestone in a season in which he collects 200 hits. It is the first time a three-bagger is a career 3000th hit.
• 1996 – Backed by two three-run homers from Tim Raines, celebrating his 37th birthday, Jimmy Key stops the Blue Jays, 10-0. Raines’ second home run, a 457-foot blast to center field, is the longest hit by a Yankee this year.
• 2007 – Jim Thome hits his 500th home run, a two-run walk-off shot off Dustin Moseley that gives the White Sox a 9-7 victory over the Angels. 
• 2025 – Cal Raleigh keeps on setting records. By hitting two more homers in a 12-5 win by Seattle over Kansas City, he has now hit 56 this season, setting a new all-time mark for a switch-hitter (Mickey Mantle was the previous record holder with 54) and ties the Mariners record for most in a season (Ken Griffey Jr. had hit 56 twice).

Today in Cubs history:

• 1909 – President Taft attends a Cubs–Giants game in Chicago and players are introduced to him before the game. Giants ace Christy Mathewson then outdeals Chicago ace Three Finger Brown, 2-1, with each allowing seven hits. Taft downs popcorn and lemonade during the match, according to the Chicago Tribune.
• 1912 – The Cubs riddle Christy Mathewson for ten hits to beat the Giants, 4-3. Jimmy Archer‘s solo homer is the game winner.
• 1923 – The Cubs lose, 10-6, to the Giants in Chicago, despite the hitting of Hack Miller who collects three doubles and a triple. A riot occurs in the eighth inning when umpire Charlie Moran makes an out call at second base on Sparky Adams, Moran is pelted by hundreds of pop bottles. Judge Landis, in attendance at the game, shakes his cane at the angry mob, and play is held up for 15 minutes. John McGraw and the umpires need a police escort at the conclusion.
• 1935 – In the opener of a critical four-game series in Chicago, the Giants lose, 8-3, to Lon Warneke. The Cubs have now won 12 straight.
• 1971 – At New York, lefty Juan Pizarro of the Cubs shuts out the Mets and Tom Seaver, 1-0. Pizarro does it all, clubbing a solo homer to win his own game. It’s Pizarro’s second shutout in a row and Seaver’s first loss after seven straight wins. Tom’s last loss was August 1st, also to Pizarro.
• 1972 – In an 18-5 victory over the Mets, Cub infielder Glenn Beckert goes 0 for 6 and sets a record by leaving 12 men on base.
• 1997 – At Wrigley Field, Kevin Tapani pitches a one-hitter for his first National League shutout and Sammy Sosa breaks a scoreless tie with a two-run, 6th-inning homer as Chicago beats Cincinnati, 5-0.
• 1998 – Sammy Sosa‘s grand slam in the 8th inning, his 63rd home run of the year, leads the Cubs to a 6-3 win over San Diego. He now has 154 RBIs for the season.
• 2000 – Cub outfielder Sammy Sosa joins Mark McGwire (1997-1999) as the only major leaguer to hit 50 home runs three consecutive seasons.

Cubs Birthdays:Mark Parent, Mel Hall, Mike Garman, Gary Ross, Héctor Torres, Vito Valentinetti*, George McConnell, Gus McGinnis. Also notable, Tim Raines HOF. Robin Yount HOF.

Today in history:

• 1620 – The Mayflower departs Plymouth, England, with 102 Pilgrims and about 30 crew for the New World.
• 1830 – Oliver Wendell Holmes writes poem “Old Ironsides” as tribute to the 18th-century USS Constitution.
• 1893 – Cherokee Strip, Oklahoma, opens white settlement homesteaders.
• 1908 – Carriage maker William C. Durant founds General Motors in Flint, Michigan.
• 1920 – The “Wall Street bombing” occurs at 12:01 when a horse-drawn wagon explodes on Wall Street, New York, killing 38 and injuring 143.
• 1960 – Amos Alonzo Stagg retires as a football coach at 98 years old after a 70-year career that included his final coaching role as the kicking coach at Stockton Junior College.
• 1965 – British singer Davie Jones changes his stage name to “David Bowie” to avoid confusion with the Monkee of similar name.
• 1977 – Sire Records releases “Talking Heads: 77,” the debut studio album by the American rock band Talking Heads, featuring the single “Psycho Killer”.
• 1978 – American rockers the Grateful Dead perform last of three-night stand at the Giza Sound and Light Theater beside the Sphinx at the foot of the Great Pyramid in Egypt.
• 2023 – A massive rockslide in Greenland creates a tsunami wave in the Dickson Fjord that shakes the earth for nine days

*pictured.

The Detroit Tigers have been on a roll of late, notching their sixth straight win on Tuesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays with a 10-1 triumph at the Rogers Center. If this keeps up, perhaps AJ Hinch and Co. might just sneak into the playoffs — but do not get your hopes too high just yet.

In the final game of the series for the Motor City Kitties, right-hander Keider Montero will make his 25th start of the season looking to keep the streak alive. However, the 26-year-old has failed to get past the four-frame mark in his last two starts and got shelled in one, surrendering six runs over four innings to the Guardians in Cleveland, resulting in a 7-6 loss on Sept. 4 in the first game of a doubleheader.

Montero bounced back the next game against the Minnesota Twins in Detroit, allowing just a pair of runs — both on solo homers — over four innings in what turned out to be a 7-2 victory for the Olde English D.

Sound the old friend alert! Fellow righty Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays in what should be the final season of his illustrious Hall of Fame career. The heterochromatic former Tiger had his best game of the season three starts ago against the Seattle Mariners at home, tossing seven frames of one-hit, shutout ball along with 10 strikeouts for his second win of the season.

The 42-year-old’s brown eye took back over in his last two appearances, resulting in a 7.59 ERA and 5.45 FIP across 10 2/3 innings on 12 hits (two home runs) and a pair of walks while striking out five, hitting a batter and getting called for a balk.

Take a look at how the two pitchers match up as Detroit goes for its second-straight sweep and seventh-straight win.

Detroit Tigers (72-79) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (75-77)

Time (ET): 3:07 p.m.
Place: Rogers Center, Toronto, Ontario
SB Nation Site:Bluebird Banter
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 152: RHP Keider Montero (9-8, 3.55 ERA) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (2-8, 6.38 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Montero	30	147.0	16.5	5.7	40.5	4.09	2.2
Scherzer	15	67.2	17.3	9.5	32.5	5.62	-0.1

MONTERO

SCHERZER

Good morning Birdland,

Despite their playoff odds fading by the day, these Orioles are still putting up a fight and (occasionally) doing some pretty neat things on the field. Last night’s extra-inning win over the Mets could end up being the most memorable of the entire season.

Pete Alonso, the long-time Met that had a much-publicized departure from the club last winter, has been having a dream homecoming this week. The Citi Field faithful have thrown all of their support behind Alonso, sometimes even booing their own team while giving the first baseman regular standing ovations. Those cheers got particularly loud in the top of the ninth inning, when Alonso hit his 300th career home run to tie the game.

Alonso was pumped, throwing his bat in triumph back towards the Orioles bench. And the Queens crowd was appreciative too. They kept on cheering until Alonso stepped back up from the away team dugout for a curtain call.

That reaction is rare. Usually, a crowd wouldn’t be too happy to see their team blow a ninth-inning lead, and they certainly wouldn’t be praising the guy that hit it. Of course, Alonso in New York is a unique case. That didn’t stop some Mets players from noting the oddity. The reality is that as disappointing as the Orioles have been, the Mets have been even worse. They don’t even have a mathematical chance of making the playoffs, and Alonso has had himself a great season in Baltimore. The Mets fan base has acted exactly as you should expect given the situation.

The winning home run came later on, when Coby Mayo smacked an inside-the-park, three-run homer that was made possible when Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing made a valiant effort, but fumbled the catch away on the warning track. Neither of his outfield mates was there to help him, giving Mayo plenty of time to circle the bases despite not hustling right out of the box. Mayo now has 24 home runs and a 112 OPS+ on the season. Pretty good!

The O’s did not gain any ground in the AL wild card standings. Both the Guardians and Rangers won, so they remain three games back with 10 games to play. They will wrap up this series in New York at 7:10 p.m. Chris Bassitt (7-5, 4.88 ERA) is facing Robert Stock (1-3, 5.93 ERA).

Links

Baz exits after taking comebacker off elbow, but hopes to avoid IL | Orioles.com
Shane Baz got hit on the right elbow with a 105-mph line drive off in the fifth inning. It clearly did not feel great, and Baz’s one warm-up pitch he took to test out the elbow flew over his catcher’s head. So, we were fearing bad news here. But it sounds like things are relatively OK. X-rays were negative, and Baz himself thinks he should be able to make his next scheduled start, which could be his last of the season.

Orioles announce 2026 Arizona Fall League prospects | Camden Chat
In case you missed it, some pretty big names will be taking part in Arizona Fall League games next month. That makes them worth keeping tabs on.

David Rubenstein says he is making moves to redevelop the area around Oriole Park at Camden Yards | The Baltimore Banner
Nothing surprising here. There have been discussions about redeveloping that area for a long time now. Rubenstein seems to have selected a company to support him in this effort, and there will certainly be more news to come. Anything final is likely years away.

This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko
The rotation is getting thin as the end of the season nears. We know Kyle Bradish is done for the year. Baz is dealing with the elbow. The team has not announced starters for the Brewers series yet. It seems likely that at least one of Cade Povich or Trey Gibson comes to Baltimore for those games.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Paul Shuey turns 56 today. The righty returned to the big leagues in 2007 to pitch for the Orioles after spending the two prior years out of affiliated ball. He had previously spent a decade in the majors from 1994 through ‘03.
• Mark Parent is 65 years old. He had two stints in Baltimore that spanned three seasons in total. From 1992 to ‘93, the catcher appeared in 57 games for the O’s, and then he played in 18 more games during the ‘96 season.
• Mickey Tettleton turns 66. He was the Orioles primary catcher and occasional DH from 1988 through ‘90. His 1989 season was his best, when he posted a 150 wRC+, made the all-star team, and won a Silver Slugger award.
• Tim Raines Sr. is 67 today. The Hall of Famer spent 23 seasons in the majors, most of that with the Expos and White Sox. But his four-game stint with the Orioles in 2001 was noteworthy because it allowed him to play in the same lineup as his son, Tim Jr..

This day in O’s history

1985 – The Orioles hit six home run runs to trounce the Tigers, 14-7. Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray, and Fred Lynn hit three straight long balls in the eighth inning alone.

1997 – Jimmy Key finally gets back in the win column at Camden Yards. He had been on an 0-7 run across his previous nine starts. Baltimore beats Cleveland 7-2 to split the double-header.

2012 – The Orioles clinch a winning record for the first time since 1997, beating the Athletics 9-5. Matt Wieters homers twice off of future Orioles pitcher Dan Straily.

2014 – The O’s beat the Blue Jays 8-2 to become champions of the AL East for the first time since 1997.

Ok, so you clinched a postseason berth. Now what?

The Yankees will be in October for the ninth time in the last 10 years, punching their ticket on Monday night in Minnesota. There’s still a very outside shot the team wins the AL East — FanGraphs gives them a 12 percent chance at time of writing — but the smart money is on hosting the Wild Card series in the Bronx, likely against the Red Sox. The defining story of the Yankees in 2026 has been how the team has managed so many players, especially key ones, on the IL while staying competitive, and with several of those players possibly returning, the postseason roster begins to fill up quickly.

We start with the pitching side, where despite what some on the internet may say, Gerrit Cole will be on the postseason roster. The Yankees are not leaving their $36 million man out in the cold despite his last two starts. Indeed, I’m sure priority #1 in Matt Blake’s workshop right now is figuring out how to stop Cole from allowing so many home runs. Depending on the actual seeding and whether the Yankees can run down the Rays atop the division, the team will shuffle its rotation ahead of the season’s final series with Baltimore, and I imagine they’ll set Cam Schlittler up to start Game 1, Max Fried Game 2, and Cole for a potential final contest.

We then think of the bullpen, where I think the Yankees have an understated advantage. Sometimes, you need a guy to wear one, like Bradley Hanner last Saturday facing the Mets. In the postseason, that doesn’t really happen; you can deploy your high-leverage guys early and often, and yank ‘em at the first sign of trouble. The Yankees also have three MLB-caliber starters potentially available to pitch in relief, with Clarke Schmidt expected to be activated this week, Will Warren not necessarily needed in the rotation, and Ryan Weathers likely to be added to the team off the IL before the season ends.

Weathers is the biggest wild card, no pun intended, here as Schmidt has 11 games to get himself used to a relief role, something he’s done in the past. Weathers has come out of the bullpen too, but with less tuneup time, he may end up being the odd man out. I imagine Hanner and John Schreiber will be the current active players dropped for the postseason, opening up those two slots, but it’s just two slots.

The position player side sees a similar challenge, with it left up to debate whether either Trent Grisham or Giancarlo Stanton returns this year. If I were to bet I’d say Trent does and Big G does not, which stings given Stanton’s history of strong postseason play. We know the Yankees like Grish, and like having him in center, but even if he’s back to 100 percent, I think he has to occupy a fourth outfielder role in the playoffs. Since August 1, Spencer Jones has a 122 wRC+ to Grisham’s 102, and while Jones’ defense hasn’t been great, Grisham has looked like he’s lost a step himself in center this year, and the power upside of Jones in a short series has to get priority.

Then the last question is Jazz Chisholm Jr., currently on the IL with a thumb sprain. Anthony Volpe and George Lombard Jr. have provided a very good vibe in the middle of the infield over the last week or so, but both have been weaker hitters than Jazz in that same Aug 1-present period — albeit Volpe has had just 18 plate appearances in that span. I think Jazz gets the nod over Volpe if the Yankees believe he’s game-ready, and the club has stayed devoted to Amed Rosario, leaving Volpe out in the cold.

We still have a week and a half before the season ends, which is just enough time for someone else to get hurt and an injury timeline to be updated. The key is the Yankees are in the dance, and they get to drop some of the weaker elements of the team while they’re in it.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (38-37/39-30)

SYRACUSE 9, LEHIGH VALLEY 1 (BOX)

The newly promoted Jefferson Rojas immediately introduced himself to the International League, singling in his first at-bat and going yard in his second. He was one of four Mets players to have multi-hit games, along with Ronny Mauricio, Ryan Clifford, and Vidal Brujan, the latter of whom had a three-hit evening. It was a group effort on the pitching side of things, but everyone who got into this game put up zeroes except for Dylan Ross, who allowed a run in his inning of work.

With the win, Syracuse gained a game on the Rochester Red Wings, who lost 9-8 to the Buffalo Bisons, and are 1.5 games back. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders won their game against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6-5 and are a single game behind first place.

·  CF D’Andre Smith: 1-3, 3 R, HR (5), 2 RBI, BB, HBP

·  SS Jefferson Rojas: 2-5, 2 R, HR (1), 2 RBI, 3 K

·  3B Ronny Mauricio: 2-5, R, 2B, RBI

·  RF MJ Melendez: 0-2, 3 BB, K

·  DH Vidal Bruján: 3-4, 2B, 4 RBI, BB, SB (16)

·  2B Émilien Pitre: 0-5, K

·  1B Billy Amick: 0-3, BB, K

·  LF Ryan Clifford: 2-4, 2 R, 2B

·  C Hayden Senger: 1-4, R, K

·  RHP Saul Garcia: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HBP

·  REHAB ALERT LHP Cionel Pérez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

·  RHP Ben Simon: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, W (4-4)

·  RHP Garrett Stratton: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

·  RHP Dylan Ross: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Dan Hammer: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, HBP

ROSTER ALERT: SS Jefferson Rojas assigned to Syracuse Mets from Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets optioned SS Christian Cairo to Syracuse Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: Syracuse Mets transferred RHP Chris Devenski to the Development List.

ROSTER ALERT: Syracuse Mets transferred 3B Nick Lorusso to the Development List.

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets sent LHP Cionel Pérez on a rehab assignment to Syracuse Mets.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (27-42/34-34)

NO GAME (SEASON OVER)

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (25-40/32-34)

NO GAME (SEASON OVER)

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (33-33/25-39)

NO GAME (SEASON OVER)

Rookie: FCL Mets (24-33)

NO GAME (SEASON OVER)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Jefferson Rojas

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Dylan Ross

That’s a bad loss. You can pick any of the multitude of reasons why it’s a bad loss, but it remains.

That’s a bad loss.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• The big news from the day prior was Jesus Luzardo heading to the injured list. That’s a big monkeywrench in their plans.
• Aidan Miller will be playing alongside other Phillies prospects in the Arizona Fall League. Good, he needs it.
• How should you be rooting for other teams in these final two weeks of the season? The way the Phillies have played, maybe it won’t matter.

MLB news:

• Joc Pederson has a broken hand, yet he’s trying to stay on the roster and help the Rangers pull off a miracle.
• The Mets have been baseball’s biggest disappointment this year, but they can turn things around this offseason.
• Carlos Correa will not be joining the Astros on their march to October baseball, missing everything with a nagging ankle injury.

Five years into the expanded, three-wild card Major League Baseball format, it’s a bit of a fallacy that any team can simply get hot and steal off with a championship.

After all, three of the four World Series titles in this era were won by division champions, and the lone wild card – the 2023 Texas Rangers – tied for the American League West title. The cream typically rises in October – and the advantages available to a division champion are real.

In this year of rampant mediocrity, though, there are some live dogs lurking below the topline across the divisions. Here’s a look at six non-division winners with the best shot to cause havoc in October – and perhaps make off with the flag-covered trophy:

6. Chicago Cubs

Good luck finding a piece of promo art for the upcoming playoffs that doesn’t have Pete Crow-Armstrong’s face plastered prominently across it. For good reason: The presumed NL MVP is an absolute wonder, closing in on a 10-WAR season and a 40-40 campaign, albeit under the looser, modern stolen base guidelines.

Yet unlike another Chicago icon and MVP, PCA won’t be able to take over these playoffs like Michael Jordan once did.

That’s not to say the man has to go it alone. Chicago’s lineup is plenty potent, and Alex Bregman’s second half resurgence (15 homers, a 1.063 OPS in 46 games since July 27) is just the latest proof he’s a truly clutch player and a legitimate difference maker.

Yet it’s the pitching that will give cause for concern. Cubs pitchers rank 26TH in the majors in strikeouts per nine innings (7.81), which means many more balls in play, inviting the postseason randomness goblins to the party. Their front four of Kevin Gausman, Shota Imanaga, Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd are all serviceable, yet in a postseason setting, it’s hard to imagine any of them getting more than 15 outs. That will be the red zone for a club that has a potentially potent back end of the bullpen thanks to Ryans Rolison and Zeferjahn and the return of Daniel Palencia.

Still, they’ll make for great theater – particularly watching PCA aim to stay disciplined as opposing pitchers are loathe to give him anything to hit.

5. Cleveland Guardians

We’ll start at the front and the back end – this club has a bona fide ace in Gavin Williams and one of the game’s greatest closers in Cade Smith. Not a bad foundation.

Naturally, filling in the rest of it is the trick and the Guardians will lean heavily on their bullpen to do so. Not a bad thing: The club’s 1.88 ERA in September led all of baseball entering this week and the big three of Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski are very playoff-seasoned.

So, too, is manager Stephen Vogt, who shines pushing buttons in October, even if he may not have all the horses his opponents enjoy. But there’s some nifty X-factors, most notably rookie lefty Parker Messick, who’s posted a 1.03 WHIP, 2.51 ERA and 5.8 WAR in 29 starts. He’s a bat-misser, unlike fellow lefty Foster Griffin, who relies on a beguiling seven-pitch mix. Can Griffin miss enough of them in October?

The Guardians are volatile, relying on rookies Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana and Angel Genao to juice a lineup that has missed Jose Ramirez’s usual production as he reocvers from a hamate injury. But they’ll be a tough out – and one of these Octobers, it will all click for them.

4. San Diego Padres

Do stout bullpens win championships? The Padres would love to find out.

It’s not a stretch to say that the game is over if the Padres are leading after five innings and can line up closer Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, Bradgley Rodriguez and Yuki Matsui. And thank goodness for that, as it may be charitable to call some of the Padres’ starters five-inning pitchers.

Clearly, the club will have to lean heavily on a “pitching chaos” type of scenario, with starters working out of the ‘pen and relievers coming in at unpredictive times. It is helpful that Nick Pivetta has returned from injury and can slot in behind Michael King. But trade acquisitions Robbie Ray and Casey Mize – who struck out zero in his last start – aren’t going to shut anyone down, nor is the 2026 version of Walker Buehler.

On a more positive note, the lineup has been unstoppable since the All-Star break, as Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill have all been on heaters, Merrill posting a .915 OPS and 21 extra-base hits since Aug. 1. Are they the proverbial “got hot at the right time” dark horse, or will the shortened rotations and bullpens of the postseason send them back to mediocrity?

It will likely be very entertaining to find out.

3. Philadelphia Phillies

In just four short years, these guys have gone from the wonder of a surprise World Series trip to Sisyphus, trying to push the boulder up Broad Street.

Yet you’re never out of it with good starting pitching, and that’s why Jesus Luzardo’s shoulder inflammation might be the most watched injury among all contenders. He hasn’t pitched since a 109-throw shutout against Atlanta that affirmed his status as the Phillies’ best pitcher at the moment.

Yes, even better than Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler. Unless we count Aaron Nola’s recent run of nine consecutive excellent starts has bailed them out.

Get the picture? They can pitch. Yeah, their fate will once again rely on a bullpen that can make hearts palpitate faster than anything Wawa might serve over the counter and the boom-or-bust lineup that simply needs to find it for a couple weeks.

Dangerous club – for opponents and for their tortured fans.

2. Boston Red Sox

Did someone mention pitching?

On paper, the Red Sox’s arms don’t run as deep as the Phillies’ nor the club ranked one spot above them. Yet start with the building blocks of a postseason team – Nos. 1-2 starters and eighth- and ninth-inning guys – and the Red Sox look very much alive.

At 36, Sonny Gray is having one of the finest seasons of his career, his 148 adjusted ERA third-best in his 14 years that includes three All-Star appearances. The Red Sox have been judicious in his usage, as he’s pitched just 156 2/3 innings (he spent two weeks on the IL with a hamstring strain). Perhaps he doesn’t miss enough bats for a No. 1 playoff starter, but another guy does.

That’d be Payton Tolle, the gruntin’ southpaw who has struck out 166 in 143 innings; the Red Sox are 15-10 in his starts.

Meanwhile, closer Aroldis Chapman and set-up man Garrett Whitlock shorten the game considerably, with Chapman holding lefties to a .278 slugging percentage with zero home runs. Lefty Erik Miller, acquired from San Francisco at the deadline, is a beast.

So start there. Will the Red Sox hit enough, particularly a bottom of the order that looks much thinner with Caleb Durbin and Jarren Duran scuffling? It’ll look livelier when Ceddanne Rafaela returns from a quad injury, but there are potential holes.

1. New York Yankees

Is this the most low-key playoff run the Yankees have ever had?

They missed Aaron Judge for 75 games and shrugged through it, didn’t panic when the Tampa Bay Rays kept them at arms’ length in the East and seem wholly confident they’ll repeat their conquest of the Red Sox in the wild-card series and enter the main draw of the AL playoff field as if nothing’s happened.

Perhaps there’s something to that.

That 2025 wild-card series was Cam Schlittler’s coming-out party, and you wonder how he’ll handle the onus of definitive No. 1 starter from the jump this postseason. Gerrit Cole hasn’t been great lately. But Carlos Rodón is back and Max Fried is aiming to build back up and Will Warren looks very good as a back-end starter/long guy.

Oh, and did we mention Judge is back? Hit a home run, even.

No, this is a very good team, one that will win around 95 games and an opponent the Rays can’t be thrilled to face in their AL Division Series. Perhaps the Red Sox will do the dirty work and get them out a round earlier.

If not, there’s significant risk for the rest of the field to let these guys get hot.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranking MLB's most dangerous wild card teams for 2026 playoffs

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W, 6-5 vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp — Scranton got just four hits, but made the most of ‘em

LF Jarred Kelenic 0-5, K
RF Jasson Dominguez 0-2, 2 BB, K, SB, throwing error
C J.C. Escarra 1-3, 2B, BB
2B Marco Luciano 0-2, 2 BB, SB, throwing and fielding errors
DH Yanquiel Fernández 0-3, BB, K
SS Oswaldo Cabrera 0-3, BB, K, SB
3B Max Schuemann 1-3, 2B, SB, HBP
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K
CF Duke Ellis 1-4, 2 RBI, 3 SB

Elmer Rodriguez 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 5 BB, 3 K — he’s had a few starts this year where he just couldn’t corral the walks
Zach Messinger 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (win)
Yerry De los Santos 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K (hold)
Chris Kean 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR (save) — things got hairy in the ninth bet held on for the save

Duke gets us on the board early to start the week! 💪 pic.twitter.com/5y3PdKLsZB

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) September 16, 2026

Double-A Somerset Patriots: Season over

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades: Season over

Low-A Tampa Tarpons: W, 4-1 vs. Jupiter Hammerheads; we’re all tied at two apiece in the best-of-three FSL Championship Series

SS Dax Kilby 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, K
CF Yostin Pena 0-5, 2 K
RF Wilberson De Pena 1-3, RBI, 2 BB, CS — gave the Tarpons a lead in the sixth, scoring on a passed ball
3B Anthony Potestio 0-4, BB, 2 K, throwing error
1B Tyce Armstrong 0-3, 2 BB, K
C Luis Puello 3-5, 2B, 2 K
LF Diego Castellanos 2-5, RBI, 2 SB
DH Luke Pettitte 0-2, 3 BB, 2 K
2B Luis Escudero 1-4, 3 K

Wyatt Parliament 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K (win)
Tyler Boudreau 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K (hold)
Matthew Tippie 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (hold)
Pedro Rodriguez 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K (hold)
Greysen Carter 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (save) — struck out the final batter of the game with the tying run at the plate

Wyatt Parliament powered through 5 innings with a 1.80 ERA 🔥

5.0 IP | 4 H | 1 R | 1 ER | 0 BB | 2 K | 0 HR#tampatarpons#MakingWavespic.twitter.com/pGVs6y085X

— Tampa Tarpons (@TampaTarpons) September 16, 2026

Florida Complex League Yankees: Season over

Dominican Summer League Yankees: Season over

Dominican Summer League Bombers: Season over

As the Yankee offense wilted throughout the summer, Aaron Boone was asked repeatedly about what he would do to juice the lineup, and about when the club’s bats would turn things around. The team was pretty insistent that the offense would pull through, in spite of night after night of woeful performance, and that the recoveries of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton on the horizon promised a return to form for the lineup.

Stanton, of course, failed to even make it back to the team, but Judge and Bellinger are both back in the fold. The playoffs are in sight, with the team in possession of a clinched spot and still gunning for the AL East crown. It’s time to ask: is the Yankee offense back?

The early returns have been promising in light of Bellinger and Judge’s respective re-entries to the lineup. Judge has only been back a week or so, but the Yankees have averaged nearly six runs a game in that span with a 123 wRC+ (and that’s before they hung another eight runs on Minnesota last night). If we zoom out to Bellinger’s return, the numbers aren’t quite as robust, but still strong, with the Yankees posting a 116 wRC+ since then, sixth in baseball.

That all jives very conveniently with the team’s performance before injuries ravaged the lineup. On May 31st, the day Judge finally went down, the Yankees had a 116 wRC+, best in the American League. In 2025, they posted a 117 wRC+, tops in MLB, and in 2024, you guessed it, a 117 wRC+, once again tops in MLB. In recent years, a reasonably healthy Yankee lineup has been drawn to a wRC+ in the 115-120 range like a moth drawn to a flame, and that’s exactly what they’ve been when anywhere near healthy this year.

So, now that the offense is rolling along basically just as well as it always does, can we confidently say that we’re out of the woods? The depth of this summer’s offensive swoon casts at least a little doubt. Up and down the card, whether it was Ben Rice, Paul Goldschmidt, Austin Wells, Trent Grisham, or Jazz Chisholm Jr., nearly every Yankee bat floundered with Judge, Bellinger, and Stanton gone. You’d be forgiven for worrying that the bounceback over the last few weeks could prove to be a mirage.

But to me, the track record of this offense when not brutally injured is compelling, and the consistency is hard to ignore. That they seemingly need Judge to maintain a respectable level of offense is frustrating, but he’s here now, and the offense is humming again. Have you seen enough to declare the offense back? Is the team going to peak at the right time with October right around the corner?

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This morning, with a playoff spot in hand, Josh takes the first swing at analyzing the Yankees’ potential playoff roster. Also, Madison goes through Tuesday’s AL action in today’s Rivalry Roundup, Jeremy’s entry in the Yankee Birthday series features the great Tim Raines, and later, a longtime contributor bids farewell.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins

Time: 1:40 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, Twins.TV

Venue: Target Field, Minneapolis, MN

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had issues in recent history of finding consistent play at the catcher position. However, there could be a possible catcher of the future for the Buccos playing in Altoona.

Easton Carmichael has impressed in his short stint as a professional baseball player, and his upside as a future major league contributor is what’s getting fans talking.

Carmichael was drafted in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft after a solid college career at the University of Oklahoma. Ahead of the draft he was listed in the top 100 of the top 250 draft prospects in 2025 and certainly looked like one of the best college catchers in the class. During his time as a Sooner, Carmichael was named to the Cape Cod League All-Star Game and was awarded MVP honors from the game.

In his pro debut, Carmichael was out of action because of a wrist injury, and thus only saw action in 14 games with High-A Greensboro in 2025. Carmichael would start his 2026 back with the Grasshoppers, and was a consistent performer at the plate. In 74 games with the club Carmichael would finish with a slash line of .305/.350/.518 with an .868 OPS. He also had 16 homers as a Grasshopper.

On July 24, Carmichael was promoted to Double-A Altoona where he’s still been solid, but still seems to be finding his footing in the new league. Through 37 games he’s slashed .244/.313/.412 and just four homers. He’s certainly cooled off, but in just his second season of professional baseball there’s a lot to build on.

BOOM

Easton Carmichael gets us started with his 20th homer of the season (4th with us)! pic.twitter.com/QpEuDs0up9

— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) September 5, 2026

Carmichael will get another platform to showcase his talents as he was just assigned as one of the three catchers to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. Plenty of Pirates’ prospects over the past couple of seasons have had breakout success through the AFL, and Carmichael could very well be the next player to benefit from some playing time in the fall.

Carmichael has the attributes to become a very solid all-around catcher. He has above average athleticism for the position and has great arm strength from behind the plate. He has a disciplined approach at the plate, and with further development could be a capable power hitter as well. He has some mechanics to fine tune as far as receiving goes along with timing and glove positioning, but overall Carmichael has the makings of a very well-rounded player.

Easton Carmichael is currently ranked as the eighth-best prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Put down the torches and pitchforks, people. The fan reaction was overwhelmingly negative to the Yankees’ champagne celebrations of clinching a postseason berth with a win over the Twins on Monday (they had technically already clinched with Toronto losing earlier). However, Aaron Judge provided a new and valuable perspective on the importance of celebrating even the small victories.

“There’s a lot of guys in this room that are going to wear this pinstripe jersey one time, and they might not have [another] opportunity to ever make it to a postseason. So you gotta celebrate that because, at the end of the day, you work your butt off in spring training and all season long to get an opportunity to go out there and win a World Series.”

To that point, eight Yankees have never made it to the postseason, including rookies George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones, trade deadline acquisitions Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos, and journeyman-turned-relief-ace Brent Headrick. However, the most poignant example is Michael Fulmer, who missed all of 2019 and 2024 to injury and contemplated retirement following his second Tommy John surgery in 2023. Fulmer soaked in the celebrations he once thought he’d never get to be a part of, but made sure to share a final point. With every hug he received, the message remained the same: “Job’s not finished.”

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty ($): Being the starting shortstop for the Yankees is one of the heaviest, most scrutinized burdens to bear in MLB, much less for a 21-year-old rookie called up midseason and handed the job. Anthony Volpe knows this better than anyone, and that’s principally because of the astronomically high bar set by a certain Derek Jeter. Now, George Lombard Jr. gets to experience the full weight of the job, but he’s not going into it unprepared.

In January, Lombard sat down for a private breakfast with Jeter and used the opportunity to pick the brain of the player perhaps more qualified than anyone to speak on what it takes to play for the Yankees. At that point, Lombard was coming off a successful half-season at High-A followed by some minor growing pains at Double-A, and was preparing to participate in major league spring training. Lombard focused his questions around the parts that the cameras don’t capture:

“I think the better questions — and the ones that are more valuable — are all the non-baseball (questions). How he approached dealing with New York. Dealing with everything that comes with it. The media. The off-the-field stuff. How, in his case, being the captain, dealing with all of those responsibilities.”

More than preparation, routine, media, and many other team-related responsibilities, the piece of advice that struck Lombard the most sounds simple: to be an authentic, stand-up human being. That impacts all facets of the game, from interactions with teammates to remaining grounded, humble, and hungry to always improve.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: Ryan Weathers is progressing in his rehab from a left forearm flexor strain suffered on August 22nd. Weathers threw his first bullpen session on Tuesday, throwing 15 pitches with the velocity sitting at 87-90, which he assured was harder than he normally throws in his bullpen sides between starts. The next step is to throw another bullpen on Friday followed by live batting practice. It’s a race against time to get fully built back up before the regular season ends Sunday after next, but Weathers has the added advantage of potentially not having to build up to a full starter’s workload if the plan is to deploy him out of the bullpen in the postseason. At the time of his injury, Weathers was 5-8 in 25 starts, with a 3.60 ERA, 3.62 FIP, and 143 strikeouts in 137.1 innings.

For the second straight day (they might be on #3 by the time you read this) the White Sox went with a tried-and-true Guardian-dominating strategy: They started a left-handed relief pitcher.

But Chris Murphy was terrible. Adell & Bazzana hit b2b jacks off him and things were looking good. But as usual, the Guards did nothing against the “bulk” pitcher—one run was because he threw errantly to first base and drilled the helmeted umpire with his bouncy projectile.

The sleepy offense might have been enough, but Craig Yoho’s attempts to find the strike zone Only Lived Once and Hunter Gaddis couldn’t miss any bats.

Steve Vogt managed this game like he should have—like winning it would possibly earn him a 1st round playoff bye eventually—and got Sabrowski, Gaddis and Cade Smith in way earlier than usual. Cade was awesome and kept things close for our September and October hero Brayan Rocchio.

Other good news

• the Blue Jays wet themselves against Detroit

• the Twins remained hilarious.

Less great news

• Orioles won. We call this naquinmaxxng.

• Rangers won.

The Dbacks had a real opportunity tonight to ride the momentum of the late heroics from last night as well as pick up a game on the Padres and the Cubs, yet the offense sputtered again in fantastic fashion.

Michael Soroka pitched well giving the team 5 IP allowing only 1 ER while striking out 6. The bullpen also continued to be terrific tossing 5 scoreless innings. All in all Dbacks pitching allowed only 1 run to the Marlins offense tonight for 10 innings which should have been plenty to get past a team like the Marlins.

Unfortunately it would not be as this Dbacks offense perhaps slumped to its lowest low of the season not being able to score against a very mediocre Marlins pitching staff for 9 innings after a first inning solo home run from Gabi Moreno.

There were a few questionable plays in this one including a blocking of home plate which is apparently completely legal if the infield is playing in according to Torey Lovullo in the post game presser. However the reality is this game shouldn’t have had to be that close. Especially when your pitching comes out and does what they did tonight. Its really not even worth diving that deep into the game when its pretty much the same thing day in and day out, this offense cant score. They went 1-13 tonight with RISP.

Of note, Pavin Smith continues to start almost every night since he has been called back up and he went 0-3 again tonight. Lars Nootbaar, who to his credit has been pretty hot, went 0-5 with 4k’s. Same can be said for Jordan Lawlar who also has been swinging a good stick lately, went 1-5 with 4 ks including an extra miserable 11th inning at bat where the Marlins reliever threw him nothing but fastballs middle middle and Lawlar struck out.

The Dbacks will look to salvage a series win tomorrow night against the Marlins and hope that they can get another opportunity like this with another Padres loss. They will send Merrill Kelly to the mound with almost no room for error with how this team has been swinging it. Snakes Alive (barely)…

Two weeks from tonight, the Red Sox will likely face the Yankees for Game 1 of the Wild Card series in New York. Not only that, but assuming the Yankees are unable to chase down the Rays and then choose to stack their rotation with Cam Schlittler at the top, the Sox will be facing a power right hander on the road in a game the opponent has to win and also has a solid bullpen to lock things down.

In other words, they’ll be facing a situation rather similar to what confronted them in Texas on Tuesday night:

• Jacob deGrom is a power right hander worthy of a Game 1 start, and still has a fastball that sits in the upper 90s.
• The Rangers are just one game behind Houston for the AL West lead, so they need to win to keep pace.
• The Texas bullpen has been strong all season, and they’ve only lost one game when leading after six innings.

So for all the red herrings that run rampant in September baseball, tonight’s pedestrian performance by the offense isn’t one of them. This is as close as you’re going to get to a practice run for the setup on September 29th, and I’m sorry to say, the Sox failed miserably!

• They struck out 15 times.
• They went hitless with runners in scoring position.
• Not a single Sox player batting one through eight managed an extra base hit.

If you rank all 71 plate appearances in this game by leverage index, the Sox were actually at the dish for 11 of the 13 highest moments. However, they didn’t manage a single hit during any of them. Meanwhile, Texas cashed in with a Corey Seager single and an Elias Diaz double during their only two high leverage at bats of the night.

In the end, this game perfectly illustrated what I consider to be the biggest problem with this Red Sox team: As good as they are at working together as a group, and as good as they are at pounding the pulp out of subpar pitching, and as good as they are at taking advantage of cracks in an opposing bullpen, they don’t seem to have the artillery necessary to match up when the war turns nuclear.

Tonight, they faced a great starter who despite only lasting five innings managed to strike out eight. That was enough to link directly to a deep and reliable Texas bullpen, who shut things down the rest of the way from there. This tenacity without thump routine scares the hell out of me because this is exactly how I fear a trip to Yankee Stadium might go at the end of September.

The Sox spend the whole night needing just one or two big hits, but the one that truly matters never comes, and we wait forever for a ship that doesn’t come in. The opponent bridges a power starter to a potent bullpen, and the Sox just don’t have an answer. They certainly didn’t when the Rangers used that formula tonight.

Studs

Nick Sogard: For all the lousy results at the plate in this game, Sogard was the exception. His third inning homer knocked in both Boston runs, and he then later added both a sac bunt and this tremendous double play on defense to end the Texas fifth:

The bullpen: Brayan Bello, Alec Gamboa, Wyatt Olds and Jovani Moran combined to go 5.1 scoreless innings and give the Sox a chance to come back. Unfortunately, the bats stayed silent.

Duds

Wilyer Abreu: Looked totally overmatched in this game. 0-4 with three strikeouts.

Andruw Monasterio: Pinch hit with the platoon advantage and the bases loaded in the eighth inning. He struck out on 97mph heat, ending the last best chance for the Sox on the night.

Patrick Sandoval: This one is obvious, and in a game earlier in the season he’d be the No. 1 dud for this dreadful performance in which he gave up four runs in just 2.2 innings. But let’s face it, this guy isn’t going to sniff a meaningful inning in October unless he somehow sneaks into the absolute last spot on the pitching staff and a game goes about 17 innings. So while he stunk again, and he’s a frustrating watch, and that 44 pitch second inning was a complete debacle, nothing he did here is a threat to carry over into the playoffs.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the offense.

Play of the game:

This play is worth noting because not only did it result in what turned out to be the winning runs, but it also underscored why many fans find themselves holding their breath every time a ball is hit towards Trevor Story nowadays.

Tigers 10 Blue Jays 1

That was less than fun.

We’ve done well on bullpen days, but the problem with bullpen days is if it doesn’t go to plan, you can’t really change on the fly. If a pitcher is having a bad day, you really have to use him anyway. Especially if it is the ‘bulk guy’. You can’t have nine guys pitch an inning each, someone has to give you at least a couple of innings, but preferably more.

Today, Michael Lorenzen was to be the bulk guy but he was hit hard. But the team couldn’t take him out after just two outs. Lorenzen got two quick outs, getting a strikeout and a ground out. All looked good. Then he lost the zone. Two walks. And then a double. Then a home run. Four runs came up very quickly. He gave up one more run in the fifth.

Other than that Mrs Lincoln, how was the show?

Well, Braydon Fisher got the first four outs, Brendan Cellucci got the next five (he looked terrific). All the Braydons, Brendans, Brendons remind me of when my kids played hockey, I could swear there were 20 kids and four names total.

Spencer Arrighetti gave up 2 unearned runs helped along by catcher’s interference and a throwing error, both by Kirk in his two innings. Since Lorenzen couldn’t give us more than two innings, Arrighetti was needed to pitch too (and he is supposed to start or be bulk guy on Friday. Joe Mantiply gave up two more runs in the ninth.

I’d imagine there will be a pitcher move or two tomorrow.

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Offensively, we didn’t do much, just 6 singles total. Amazingly we got a run out of that. As much as Lorenzen was terrible, we weren’t going to win with just one run scored.

An=bout the only good moment was an amazing play by Ernie Clement at second base, a diving stop, popup and throw.

Jay of the Day: Let’s give one to Cellucci (0.08 WPA) and Fisher (0.07).

Other Award: Lorenzen (-0.39) and Kirk (-0.10)

Tomorrow is a 3:00 Eastern start. Max Scherzer (2-8, 6.38) vs Keider Montero (9-8, 3.55). A win would be nice. Or at least a good effort.