Category: Baseball

New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change.

The Mets’ final homestand of the 2026 season continues tonight against the Philadelphia Phillies.

At 7:15 p.m., the second game of the Mets-Phillies weekend series will air live tonight, Friday, Sept. 18, on Apple TV’s Friday Night Baseball.

Game 1 of the three-game set went to Don Mattingly’s playoff-bound club. Starting pitcher Aaron Nola twirled seven shutout innings, only giving up three hits over 81 pitches. Offensively, Bryce Harper led the way for the Phils. His 3-for-4 night at the plate and RBI was enough for the squad to prevail and win 3-0.

Over the course of the ’26 regular season, the Mets and Phillies have met nine times; Philadelphia has taken five of those contests. New York’s last win was on July 19 when Nolan McLean tossed six no-run innings and Francisco Lindor homered, doubled, singled, walked twice and drove in a trio of runs.

Tonight’s Friday Night Baseball is exclusively streaming on Apple TV, but it’s easy to subscribe and tune in — and completely free if you’ve never tried Apple TV before.

Mets vs. Phillies start time today (Sept. 18)

Tonight’s Mets vs. Phillies game is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. ET.

How to watch Mets vs. Phillies for free

Tonight’s Mets vs. Phillies game is airing exclusively on Apple TV‘s Friday Night Baseball, so you’ll need a subscription to watch the game.

Apple TV offers a seven-day free trial for users, so you’ll be able to watch two weeks of doubleheaders before the $14.99/month payments kick in.

Amazon Prime members can also subscribe to Apple TV directly through Prime Video. It costs the same monthly price and also includes a seven-day free trial, but allows you to stream Apple’s content inside the Prime Video app.

Mets vs. Phillies pitching matchup

José Urquidy (2-2, 5.28 ERA) starts for the Phillies. Zac Thornton (4-5, 3.44 ERA) will be on the mound for the Mets.

Why Trust Post Wanted by the New York Post

This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.

The NL West crown has been secured, but the regular season grind carries on, with the next checkmark being a playoff bye, and if the Brewers stumble, maybe even the NL’s top record: the Dodgers open a series against the Giants, with the former looking like a near formality, four up on Atlanta with nine to go and threatening a Brewers team that’s only two games ahead after losing to the Pirates yesterday.

One might argue that more than specific and still important team accomplishments that the Dodgers may have between now and the end of the regular season, the key is to see individual players nearing their best form. For the purposes of this Friday game against the Giants, we’ll focus on Kyle Tucker and Tyler Glasnow, who fit the bill to a T of what we’re trying to discuss here.

Through his last eight games, Tucker isn’t just showing signs of life; he has been this team’s best hitter, securing 12 hits in just 29 at-bats and leaving the yard four times: the most home runs he has hit in such a short sample in the entire season. Outstanding during the road trip, Tucker has a chance to carry some momentum into the playoffs. At the same time, it’d be quite flat to see him reverse back into the hitter we’ve seen from most of the year as the team returns to Dodger Stadium, a place in which he carries a .572 OPS in 2026.

On the mound, it’ll be Tyler Glasnow, who, after returning from the IL with pristine control, walking just one batter in the first two starts back, has now walked seven in the last two, allowing a combined eight runs. Glasnow will be matched up against the offense with the lowest walk rate in baseball, the Giants at 7.5% BB%.

Tucker and Glasnow would be treated as the star players on most teams, but playing for the Dodgers, they serve slightly different roles even if the expectation for outstanding production is one and the same. Can Glasnow overcome his recent struggles while Tucker carries on in improved form? Standing in their way is the San Francisco Giants, a last-place club in everything but name, sitting in fourth place in the West with the second-worst record in the National League.

Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Giants
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Start time: 7:15 p.m.
• TV: Apple TV
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Welcome to the California Post’s weekly Dodgers recap, where we review the week that was, hand out very official awards and take stock of the state of the season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Kyle Tucker (12-for-29 since Sept. 9; triple shy of the cycle on Thursday)

Off the bat, it appeared history was afoot.

Already on Thursday afternoon, Kyle Tucker had kicked his slow late-season turnaround into a suddenly more hopeful gear, hitting a two-run home run in the first, an RBI double in the second and a single that aided a three-run rally in the fourth.

Now, standing at the plate just a triple shy of the cycle in the eighth, he laced a line drive that made the feat feel possible.

With yet another squared-up swing, the $240 million slugger shot a ball into the left-center field gap. As two Reds outfielders converged on it, the entire Dodgers dugout rose in anticipation.

Alas, the 11th cycle in Dodgers history would have to wait.

The Reds turned a clean relay play. Tucker wisely — although, somewhat disappointingly, given the lopsided score — pulled up at second. And on the bench, all his teammates could do was razz him by mimicking send signs with their arms helplessly waving.

“I tried my best, but I don’t think I was gonna get there,” he told SportsNet LA afterward. “I probably would’ve been thrown out halfway.”

Oh, well.

For this year’s Dodgers, Tucker’s 4-for-5, three-RBI game was still hugely encouraging, continuing what is now a weeklong surge in which the four-time All-Star has finally looked like himself.

Even before this stretch, the Dodgers committed to keeping Tucker as a key part of their lineup.

They hoped a breakthrough he made with his mechanics could salvage something from an otherwise disastrous debut campaign with the team.

Well, in his last eight games, Tucker has batted .414 with seven extra-base knocks, 10 RBIs and more walks (five) than strikeouts (four).

He has hit five home runs in his last 13 games, after collecting just 11 in his first 132 games this year.

It is the version of Tucker that the Dodgers will need in the playoffs, especially with fellow left-handed bats like Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman battling ongoing injuries.

After a season that once seemed so lost, signs of revival have arrived just in time.

PITCHERS OF THE WEEK

Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (seven scoreless innings from each)

We are going with a tandem honor this week, from a pair of pitchers who will likely have the biggest influence on the Dodgers’ World Series chances.

With Blake Snell battling a groin injury, and Tyler Glasnow entering a Friday start having recently regressed in his return from the injured list, the Dodgers’ rotation doesn’t feel quite as formidable as it once did.

Then again, if Skubal and Yamamoto keep pitching like they did this week — when they spun consecutive scoreless seven-inning outings in Cincinnati — those other question marks might not feel so daunting.

Both pitchers have sterling postseason track records: Yamamoto with a 7-1 record and 2.25 ERA in 10 playoff outings (including last year’s World Series heroics) and Skubal with a 2-1 record and 2.04 ERA in six October appearances of his own (all with the Tigers the last two years).

Either could anchor a pitching staff on their own capable of making a run to the Fall Classic.

Together, they give the Dodgers arguably the best 1-2 punch in the majors. This week, they delivered the club’s first pair of back-to-back scoreless seven-inning outings since 2022 when Tyler Anderson and Clayton Kershaw did it.

Granted, dominating the Reds in mid-September is not the same as producing gems in the playoffs.

But with so many other concerns mounting at the moment, Skubal and Yamamoto at least represent a pillar of potential pitching excellence to lean on, one that could compensate for other shortcomings in the Dodgers’ three-peat bid.

PROSPECT OF THE WEEK

The entire Dodgers’ minor-league system

The Dodgers’ big-league club hasn’t been the only one popping bottles in beer-soaked clubhouse celebrations recently.

This year, all four of the organization’s minor-league affiliates also clinched places in their respective playoffs, with Triple-A Oklahoma City completing the quad-fecta by winning the second-half title in the Pacific Coast League on Wednesday.

It marks the first time the Dodgers have had four affiliates make the playoffs since 2019 (and that year included their now-defunct rookie-ball outpost in Ogden, Utah).

It’s also the latest reminder about the strength of depth they boast in their highly touted farm system.

“I know people don’t care about minor-league win percentages, but we kind of do,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told the California Post earlier this season. “I think it’s a good proxy of how well your farm system is performing and how to understand what it takes to win.”

Three of the club’s affiliates have already been eliminated, with Double-A Tulsa, High-A Great Lakes and Single-A Ontario all losing in their division championship series. 

OKC, meanwhile, will begin its postseason push next week in the best-of-three PCL Championship Series against the Athletics’ Las Vegas affiliate. If they win that, they will remain in Vegas for the Triple-A National Championship Game against the winner of the International League.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Who should Dodgers hope to see in the first round of the playoffs?

With the NL West crown secured, the Dodgers still have work to do over the season’s final nine games.

Given their injury problems, they’ve never needed a first-round bye so badly. 

The good news: They remain four games up on the Braves for the NL’s No. 2 seed, with their magic number down to six for securing passage straight to the NL Division Series.

And though they remain two games back of the Brewers for the best record in the majors — and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs — conventional wisdom in recent weeks has suggested that the playoff through the postseason might be better from the 2-seed anyway.

Now, however, the NL playoff field is getting muddied, with the red-hot Padres sitting just one game back of the Cubs and Phillies.

So, who should Dodgers fans root to see in a potential first-round matchup? Well, it depends on what kind of matchup you think suits the Dodgers best.

The Cubs and Phillies had seemed like tougher draws than the Braves or Padres, thanks to Chicago’s deep and homer-happy lineup and the Phillies’ powerhouse starting rotation trio.

But this week, Philadelphia lost one of its star pitchers, Jesús Luzardo, to a shoulder injury that has put his playoff availability in doubt. The Cubs, meanwhile, have seen their offense cool off and still face questions with an unimposing starting rotation.

The Braves have their own flaws (they’ve been a middle-of-the-pack offense since the All-Star break) but still boast Chris Sale at the top of their rotation.

The Padres, on the other hand, are making a familiar late-season surge and have a habit of playing the Dodgers tough in the playoffs.

It will all make for a fascinating final few days of scoreboard watching, with a slew of new postseason permutations now on the table.

The Dodgers, of course, won’t be overly worried about who they might square off against. Their focus is on continuing to play a better brand of all-around baseball — and making sure they avoid the best-of-three wild-card round.

PHOENIX – Oswaldo Cabrera’s Yankees tenure is officially over.

The beloved utilityman was claimed off waivers by the Reds on Friday, two days after the Yankees designated him for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Clarke Schmidt.

Aaron Boone was among those holding out some hope that the Yankees could keep Cabrera, if he went unclaimed, but it was not a surprise that another team scooped up the 27-year-old who has another minor league option remaining for next year and was batting .288 with a .790 OPS in 122 games at Triple-A this season.

Cabrera, who had been the second-longest tenured player in the organization behind only Aaron Judge, played 305 games for the Yankees since his debut in 2002, batting .232 with a .635 OPS.

He started games at third base, second base, first base, shortstop, right field and left field, while also appearing in center field and at pitcher.

Known for his bubbly personality and uplifting energy, Cabrera’s Yankees career was derailed in part by a broken ankle and ligament damage that he suffered on a gruesome slide home in a game in Seattle last season.

The scene left his teammates gutted, and while he was putting smiles on their faces later that night when they went to visit him at the hospital, the serious injury sidelined Cabrera for the rest of 2025 before he made his comeback this season.

Jared Young’s season is over. His head hurts. His short-term memory is an issue and at last check, according to interim manager Andy Green, he was heading to another doctor’s appointment after spending most of Thursday night in the hospital. 

It does not sound pleasant. It also is “as good as could be expected or hoped for given what we saw last night,” Green said Friday, when the Mets and their first baseman could breathe a bit easier. 

After a frightening collision Thursday on which he lost consciousness and lay unmoving, Young has full motion of his limbs and is walking, Green said, and is dealing with the effects of a concussion. 

The CT scan and all the non-neurological results “were what we wanted,” Green added, a real relief after Young had to be stretchered off the field following a play on which he tried to stretch for a ball at first base and Nolan McLean, attempting to jump over him, incidentally kneed him in the head. 

“There is some short-term memory loss from how hard he got hit [Thursday], kind of remembering what happened on the field,” Green said before the Mets hosted the Phillies at Citi Field. “And he’s got a pretty bad headache, which would be anticipated as well. 

“More tests over the next few days to really understand all that he is dealing with. But everything we have heard has been really optimistic from a recovery standpoint and getting-back-on-the-field-eventually standpoint. 

“Relieved, I think everyone is.” 

Young is a popular figure in the Mets’ clubhouse, sticking in the major leagues for the first time in his career at age 31. Young was drafted back in 2017, only got a 22-game taste of MLB in 2022-23 with the Cubs and then spent 2024 playing in South Korea. 

He returned stateside last year with a split contract with the Mets, did not receive much of a chance in 2025 and ran with opportunity this year, when he could not fill Pete Alonso’s shoes but easily did the best among the first basemen the club tried. 

“You definitely see the joy and appreciation he has for being here,” Bo Bichette said of Young, who finishes his season with a .759 OPS, nine home runs and 39 RBIs in 103 games, with the bulk of his damage caused against right-handed pitching. “He’s ready for any situation that he’s ever put in with a smile on his face. He is happy for everybody’s success always.” 

Green’s time with Young stretches back to Chicago, when Young was a prospect trying to establish himself and Green was the major league bench coach. 

In 2022, the Cubs called up Young for his debut in mid-September and then optioned him again on Sept. 27. The Triple-A season ended Sept. 28. Young was told he could go home. 

“This guy likes to play so much,” Green recounted. “He said, ‘Can I drive to Iowa and play?’ ” 

And so he drove to the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate for one game that he made memorable, drilling a walk-off home run to beat the Toledo Mud Hens. 

“It’s just indicative of the type of person he is, how much he loves being on the baseball field,” Green said. “He’s loved in that clubhouse. And he was loved in the Triple-A clubhouse — any place he is, he’s thought really highly of.” 

In officially moving Young to the seven-day concussion list and calling up Ronny Mauricio, the Mets lost a player and person who has a reputation as gamer who is always happy to be where he is. 

But they believe they have only lost him for the season. 

“I’ve never seen the guy upset about anything,” said A.J. Ewing, a locker-mate of Young. “He’s always coming in, he has a smile on his face, and I feel like it spreads on other people, for sure.”

BRONX, N.Y. — From the time he was traded from the Philadelphia Phillies to the New York Yankees in November 2021, T.J. Rumfield dreamed of playing in Yankee Stadium. That dream became a reality last week.

However, it didn’t come in Yankees pinstripes. Rather, it was in Colorado Rockies purple and black.

“It’s a dream come true, to be honest with you,” Rumfield said prior to the Rockies’ three-game series against the Yankees on Sept. 8. “Any time you’re in Yankee Stadium, it’s just hallowed ground. Just kind of walking around, it’s kind of surreal, taking it all in. This is the big leagues to me, this is the show. It would just be nice to come up here and play some good games.”

The 26-year-old lefthanded first baseman was dealt in January by the Yankees to the Rockies for pitcher Angel Chivilli. The trade has been a win for Colorado. While Chivilli has spent a good portion of the season on the injured list, Rumfield is a candidate for National League Rookie of the Year. He ranks seventh in Major League Baseball (fifth in the NL) in batting with a .300 average. He has 155 hits in 146 games, including 29 doubles, three triples, 15 home runs and 69 RBIs. He is second in the NL (third in MLB) in on-base percentage at .392. Defensively, he leads the team and is tied for second among all first basemen with 10 defensive runs saved.

“He’s the man. He’s so good,” said Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy, who himself is having a career season. “It’s insane that this is his first year in the big leagues. I feel like he’s so calm and collected, he’s obviously got a great eye. It just seems like the game is in slow motion for him. It’s been super fun to watch.”

Twice, in May and June, Rumfield was named NL Rookie of the Month. Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer believes Rumfield should be NL Rookie of the Year.

“Just look at the numbers,” Schaeffer said. “He’s been so great this year offensively, defensively as well. This is a both sides of the ball game and he’s done a great job from both sides.

“He’s handled the pressure in his first year exceptionally well. Every game, he plays with so much confidence. T.J.‘s a kid who can handle anything.”

Rumfield has been having fun this season and is honored to just be mentioned and considered for an award like NL Rookie of the Year. “It just makes me grateful for all the people I had coming up that helped me, especially in the Yankees organization,” he said. “They developed me into the player I am today. I’ve been able to run with this opportunity now because of the preparation and the things I’ve done before this.”

His father Toby was drafted in 1991 by the Cincinnati Reds and played 1,204 games in the minors over 12 seasons, including four at Triple-A.

Originally selected by the Phillies in the 12th round of the 2021 Draft, Rumfield was dealt with left-handed pitcher Joel Valdez to the Yankees for right-handed pitcher Nick Nelson and catcher Donny Sands. He worked his way up through the Yankees organization: High-A Hudson Valley in 2022; Double-A Somerset in 2023, where he earned a Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove; and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2024 and 2025.

In two seasons with the RailRiders, he batted .288 in 252 games (265-for-920) with 57 doubles, one triple, 31 home runs, 158 RBIs, 157 runs and 113 walks.

“Scranton was so much fun. Playing for (manager) Shelley (Duncan) and playing for that city, I feel like it was just a blessing,” Rumfield said. “To be able to even have the opportunity to play with the Yankees in Triple-A and to play every single day, not every young guy gets that opportunity. To be able to do that and then eventually catch the eye of somebody from another organization is kind of what you dream about. And then to be able to be in the big leagues now is awesome.”

McCarthy is a Scranton native, so he and Rumfield have been able to bond over that.

“He’ll be like, ‘I used to live by this grocery store,’ and I’m like, yeah, I know that (place),” McCarthy said. “It’s funny. I just feel like Scranton kind of takes on a new meaning when you tell someone you’re from there in professional baseball. I feel like at some point, someone’s probably made a pit stop there whether they played or came as a visitor.”

Unfortunately, with the Yankees already having a lefthanded-hitting first baseman with power in Ben Rice, Rumfield was expendable and traded for Chivilli. He was a nonroster invitee to Rockies spring training and wound up earning a spot on the team.

“I think everybody within the Yankees organization was happy for me,” Rumfield said. “I don’t know if they were sad to see me go or anything. But they were definitely excited for me and the opportunity and I’ve just ran with it from spring training on, just trying to make the team out of camo and I did. I just didn’t look back from there.”

Colorado has one of the worst records in the major leagues. But with Rumfield and other young players like Cole Carrigg and Zac Veen complementing veterans like McCarthy and Hunter Goodman, the future looks promising for the Rockies.

The Dodgers are the National League West champions.

Again.

They have won their division 13 times in the last 14 seasons, and the one time in that period in which they didn’t, they won a then-club-record 106 games.

Somewhere along the way, the Dodgers did the impossible: They met the requirements to become the sports franchise Los Angeles demanded.

Appreciating what this means requires an understanding of how Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant transformed this city in the early 2000s, 

With O’Neal and Bryant as their stars, the Lakers didn’t just win championships.

They were unbeatable.

This image was reinforced by the play of O’Neal, a 7-foot-1, 325-pound freak of nature who literally couldn’t be stopped.

By the time the Lakers completed their three-peat in 2002, championships were no longer something Los Angeles hoped for.

They became something the city expected.

This is the standard used to measure teams with aspirations of becoming a cultural touchstone in this congested market. With plenty of other entertainment options, casual fans won’t invest too much of their time and money in a team unless they believe it will create the kind of citywide pride O’Neal’s Lakers once did.

The Lakers haven’t been that team for some time. The Rams are producing a worthy on-field product, but they remain in the process of winning back fans they lost over the two decades they spent in St. Louis.

The Dodgers are the one team in town that is clearing the bar.

“What’s funny is Los Angeles has always been looked at, as far as sports, (as) a Laker town,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think we might have the market share right now in Los Angeles. It’s great. I think we draw more fans than anyone in the world, obviously, with the home dates we have. But it’s 40,000, 50,000 every night. We travel well. I do think the guys see it. They feed off it.”

The Dodgers managed to do this despite playing a sport that is particularly hard to dominate. The Lakers could dump the ball into O’Neal 30 times a game. The Dodgers have employed a number of Hall of Famers over the years, but as great as Shohei Ohtani is, he can only hit four times a game, maybe five. 

The Dodgers have become a different kind of juggernaut. 

With substantial investment from their owners, they have built some of the deepest rosters in baseball history. In its first season operating the team, Guggenheim Baseball Management signed All-Star outfielder Andre Ethier to an $85 million extension, picked up a then-unknown Yasiel Puig for $42 million, traded for All-Star infielder Hanley Ramirez and assumed more than $260 million in contract obligations in a blockbuster trade for Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett.

Season after season, the Dodgers fielded one of the most expensive teams in the major leagues — if not the most expensive team.

Which is why at some point in each of the last 14 seasons, the Dodgers were considered favorites to win the World Series.

They are well into their second decade as baseball’s model franchise — or, depending on the perspective, Evil Empire. The last time they didn’t reach the playoffs, the world was a completely different place. LeBron James had just won his first NBA championship. “Gangnam Style” was a global phenomenon. The recreational use of marijuana was still outlawed in every jurisdiction of the United States.

There’s an entire generation of fans who don’t know what it’s like for the Dodgers to not be legitimate contenders.

Consistency by itself didn’t turn the Dodgers into the Dodgers of today. Actually winning championships was important, of course, and doing that required them to adjust how they built their rosters.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman used to operate as if the playoffs were a crapshoot. The organization’s focus was on the regular season, on just reaching the postseason. Because depth is required to survive a 162-game schedule, quantity was emphasized over quality. 

The approach didn’t produce any championships. The Dodgers reached the World Series twice in their first eight seasons under Guggenheim ownership but lost both times.

The failures prompted them to pursue real difference-makers.

Mookie Betts, who was the catalyst of the championship team in 2020. Freddie Freeman, the home run hero of the 2024 World Series. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Most Valuable Player of the 2025 World Series. And, of course, Ohtani, the franchise’s most transformative player since Fernando Valenzuela, or maybe even Jackie Robinson.

The Dodgers have won three of the last six World Series. 

Even with Ohtani dealing with right arm and left knee injuries, they will open the postseason as the odds-on favorites to win their third consecutive championship.

As fragmented as Los Angeles can be, most of the city can get behind that.

New York Mets first baseman Jared Young was carted off the field Thursday night after he took a knee to the head during a collision with pitcher Nolan McLean while both players were trying to make a play on a ground ball hit by Philadelphia’s Justin Crawford.

Young, who landed face-first in the dirt, reportedly was briefly knocked unconscious during the sixth-inning incident at Citi Field.

“It was scary to sit there and just know that he wasn’t with us in that moment,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said after the game. “He was just somewhere else.”

Read more:Plaschke: No more bubbly. NL West champion Dodgers appear headed for early fall

Young was able to give a thumbs-up to the crowd, however, as he was driven off. Mets interim manager Andy Green told reporters after the game that it “feels at this point in time like we’ve avoided the scariest outcomes.”

A CT scan at a hospital was negative, said Green, who added that Young had concussion symptoms but also had full use of his extremities.

Still, Green said after his team’s 3-0 loss, “it was a terrifying moment on a baseball field. Took him a while to come to. It was a really scary collision.”

On Friday, the Mets placed Young on the seven-day concussion injured list and provided an update from Green that the player is doing “as good as could be expected, or hoped for, given what we saw last night.”

“All the tests that were ran, we got the right kind of results,” Green said. “Everything we have heard has been really optimistic from the recovery standpoint.”

McLean remained in the game and struck out Philadelphia’s Garrett Stubbs to end the inning. He was replaced by reliever Tobias Myers in the seventh.

Young, 31, has been a bright spot for the Mets (69-84) during his first full season, hitting .266 with nine homers and 39 RBIs in 103 games. A left knee injury caused him to miss six weeks early in the season.

“He’s somebody we all respect and appreciate and have love for,” Lindor said. “He’s been a big part of our team this whole year.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

It’s hard to believe, but there are just nine baseball games remaining in the regular season for the Atlanta Braves. The first of those nine will come on Friday night in Houston as the Braves battle with the Astros for first time in 2026.

The Astros, despite a paltry 77-76 record and a -50 run differential, find themselves atop the abysmal American League West by a game over the Rangers. For comparison, a 77-76 mark would place Houston just ahead of the Marlins in the NL East, a rousing 12 games back of the Braves. 

Houston’s lost six of their last 10 heading into the series, although they did take their most recent series against the Royals.

Friday night’s tilt will feature Tyler Mahle, who has been nothing short of superb with the Braves. Mahle ranks among the top 20 starters in baseball since the trade deadline, posting a stellar 1.25 ERA / 3.03 FIP / 3.22 xFIP across seven starts and 43.1 innings. Mahle’s coming off seven strong innings against the Phillies last weekend, allowing just one run on six hits and no walks. Mahle’s game plan on Friday will be issuing an intentional walk to Yordan Alvarez every time and working to get his peers out.

The Astros will counter with 29-year-old righty Peter Lambert, who has been the club’s best starter in 2026. Lambert owns a 3.71 ERA (3.81 FIP, 4.44 xFIP) across 26 starts. Outside of a complete blowup against the Angels on August 20, Lambert has allowed 2 earned runs or fewer in every start since the calendar flipped to July. An impressive run for a team that has fallen well short of expectations.

Atlanta holds a four-game lead over the Phillies in the division. The magic number sits at 5 to clinch. It would be nice to trim that number quite a bit this weekend to make the final week of the regular season mostly academic. The Phillies have a four-game series against the Mets this weekend, which they won the first game of on Thursday night

First pitch in Houston is set for 8:10pm ET. You can watch and listen to the game in all the usual places.

The Reds have lost nine of their last 13 — all of those games against the Brewers and Dodgers, pretty tough competition.

Then again, the Cubs are a pretty good team as well, and the Cubs have won seven of the first 10 games between these two teams this year.

For more on the Reds, here’s Wick Terrell, manager of our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter.

Once again the Cincinnati Reds get to limp home at the end of a disappointing season, both literally and figuratively. Winners of just 2 of their last 10 games, the meat of their schedule has hit them at the precise time they were most ill-equipped to deal with it, and both the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers have slammed shut even the tiniest windows of ‘success’ this club could have held open down the stretch. 

The Reds have been eliminated from postseason contention, officially. They’ve secured a ‘losing’ season with their 82nd loss. Brady Singer, who Chicago will unfortunately (for them) miss this series, has pitched so poorly he has mercifully made it impossible, surely, for the Reds to consider giving him a Qualifying Offer at season’s end. All that remains to be seen now for Cincinnati is if the Cubs can help them build on their -154 run differential on the season and make a run at the league-leading Colorado Rockies mark of -177.

At least Elly De La Cruz has gone nuclear of late. He’s staking his claim for NL Player of the Month and – in a non-PCA world – as the best player on the senior circuit altogether. Hopefully that shows up again for one last series in Great American Ball Park for the 2026 year with the Cubs in town.

Fun facts

The Cubs and Reds have played 2,439 games against one another since 1890, when the Reds jumped to the National League from the American Association, where it had been a founding member in 1882.

Over 137 seasons, the difference in wins and losses between the Cubs and Reds is . . . 23, with the Cubs leading, 1,220-1,197. There have been 32 ties.

The Cubs won two of three games in their previous trip to Cincinnati this season, on July 10-12, bouncing back from a 4-0 loss to win, 5-3 and 8-4.

They dropped four straight games in their second, late-season appearance at Great American Ball Park last year.
The Cubs last swept a series there June 27-29, 2016. This is their 26th visit to Cincinnati since then. Five times, they won the first two games and lost the third, most recently Aug. 11 and 13-14, 2022.

(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

Probable pitching matchups

Friday: Clay Holmes, RHP (2-3, 3.46 ERA, 1.205 WHIP, 4.07 FIP in seven starts with Cubs; 6-7, 2.85 ERA, 1.145 WHIP, 3.58 FIP in 16 starts overall) vs. Chase Burns, RHP (15-3, 2.80 ERA, 1.150 WHIP, 3.17 FIP)

Saturday: Matthew Boyd, LHP (8-5, 4.16 ERA, 1.238 WHIP, 4.34 FIP) vs. Nick Lodolo, LHP (3-5, 5.12 ERA, 1.490 WHIP, 5.76 FIP)

Sunday: David Peterson, LHP (5-2, 4.15 ERA, 1.457 WHIP, 4.27 FIP in 14 games with Cubs; 8-8, 5.11 ERA, 1.551 WHIP, 4.06 FIP in 30 games overall) vs. Rhett Lowder, RHP (6-11, 5.79 ERA, 1.520 WHIP, 4.78 FIP)

Times & TV channels

Friday: 5:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Reds market territories)

Saturday: 5:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Sunday: 12:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, also streaming on Peacock (outside the Cubs and Reds market territories)

Prediction

Given these pitching matchups, the Cubs ought to score a lot of runs in this series. They’ll take two of three.

Up next

The Cubs return to Wrigley Field for the final regular season home series of 2026. They’ll face the Miami Marlins in a three-game series beginning Tuesday evening, after an off day Monday.

The Pirates have hovered around .500 all season, which was enough to keep them in contention through the trade deadline. But the Phillies and Padres have pulled away since then, leaving the Pirates without a postseason appearance for the eleventh consecutive season.

Kansas City Royals (67-86) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (76-77) at PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Royals: 4.20 runs scored/game (24th in MLB), 4.84 runs allowed/game (25th)

Pirates: 4.77 runs scored/game (5th), 4.61 runs allowed/game (20th)

Last year the Pirates scored the fewest runs in baseball, this year they are fifth. The spike in offense has come from the additions of veterans Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn, improvements by Bryan Reynolds and Nick Gonzales, and solid rookie debuts by Esmerlyn Valdez (who is out this series) and Konnor Griffin.

Who’s hot:

• Rafael Flores Jr. is hitting .390/.405/.561 over his last 11 games.
• John Rave is htiting .255/.369/.509 with four home runs and five steals in his last 18 games.

Who’s not:

• Konnor Griffin is hitting .200/.245/.300 in 12 games since coming off the Injured List.
• Nick Loftin has hit .158/.200/.211 in his last 12 games.

Interesting splits:

• Oneil Cruz is hitting .311/.364/.462 against lefties.
• Maikel Garcia is hitting .333/.405/.413 with runners in scoring position

Since July 1, Randy Dobnak has the 9th-highest groundball rate among starting pitchers at 49.8 percent. Paul Skenes has the tenth-best strikeout rate in baseball at 27.8 percent.

Noah Cameron has a 3.18 ERA on the road in 14 games this year. Right-handers are hitting .216/.313/.290 against Bubba Chandler.

Opponents are hitting just .191 against Michael Wacha, and FanGraphs grades his changeup as the fourth-best in baseball. The Pirates have not yet announced a starter for Sunday, but it could be lefty Antoine Kelly, who was just called up.

Pittsburgh has a 4.13 ERA out of their bullpen, with the third-highest walk rate. They are tied with the Royals with 24 blown saves. Mason Montgomery and Gregory Soto are tied for the team-high in saves with 14 each. Montgomery has the second-highest strikeout rate among qualified relievers.

The Pirates swept the White Sox in Chicago last week, but dropped back-to-back series to the Cubs and Brewers. They are 39-36 at home this year, with the fourth-best home wRC+, hitting .269/.347/.431 at PNC Park.

For the final time this season, our San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball roundup features multiple teams. First we lost the Arizona Complex League squad, then the pair of teams in the Dominican Summer League. Next up was High-A Eugene, followed by Low-A San Jose. And now? AA Richmond has joined the group. Six teams who won’t get to write about until next year, and just one remaining.

So here’s what happened on Thursday, the final multi-game day of the Minor League season for the GIants.

Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.

AAA Sacramento (79-65)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Reno Aces (Diamondbacks) 3-0
Box score

A very rare thing indeed: a Pacific Coast League shutout! And yet, despite that, the most notable performance came on offense. Specifically, on one swing of the bat from right fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL).

Davidson, playing in his 2nd game since returning from a recent minor injury, only hit 1-4 with 2 strikeouts, but he certainly made the hit count: he accounted for all 3 of Sacramento’s runs with a stunning 433-foot, 106.3-mph home run.

Yeesh!

With that, Davidson is on the doorstep of becoming the first Giants prospect to hit 30 home runs in a season since Adam Duvall back in 2012. He’s got 3 more games to crank 1 more dinger out of the park … can he do it?

Also having a nice hitting day was designated hitter Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL). Bericoto is officially on a rehab assignment, though it’s unclear if he’ll return to San Francisco again this season or not, since the Giants seem to be enjoying getting frequent playing time for Drew Gilbert, Jonah Cox, Turner Hill, and Scott Bandura (and, to a lesser extent, Grant McCray). Bericoto has been fairly rusty during his rehab stint, but not in this game, as he went 3-4 with a strikeout, with one of his singles leaving the bat at a stunning 110.8 mph.

The rest of the offense was lifeless. Apart from that pair, which sat at the top of the lineup, the River Cats hit just 3-22 with 0 extra-base hits and 1 walk. Third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL), who has been doing a good job recovering from a late August/early September slump, had an off day, going 0-4 with a strikeout, though he had some hard contact.

On the pitching front, it was a bullpen game that handled the shutout and, for the first 5 innings, it was even a no-hitter. It wasn’t the cleanest partial no-hitter, as RHP Will Bednar (No. 24 CPL) was first to take the mound and walked 3 batters in his 2.2 no-hit innings, though he also struck out 3. Bednar, who threw 26 of 41 pitches for strikes, has been a lot better lately, following a fairly rough re-introduction to AAA. His overall numbers at the level are still quite poor — he has a 6.33 ERA and a 4.75 FIP — but he’s showing something, that’s for sure. He’s definitely someone who could end up factoring into the MLB bullpen at some point next season.

Then it was RHP Wilkin Ramos, who took down the next 2.1 no-hit innings, with just 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. Like Bednar, Ramos — who made his MLB debut earlier in the year, but has since been outrighted — doesn’t have the best numbers in AAA, as he has just a 4.07 ERA and a 4.91 FIP, with 8.0 strikeouts per 9 innings. But he’s got a lot of funk, and if he stays in the system next year he could work his way back to the Majors.

RHP Christian Alvarado finally broke the no-hitter when he gave up 3 hits in 2 innings, but he kept runs (and free runners) away, and struck out 2. What a great story Alvarado has been this year: he signed during the season after having not pitched in the Minors since 2019. The 31-year old was thoroughly dominant for AA Richmond, and is now trying to find his footing with AAA, where he’ll hopefully be a big asset next year.

Rounding out the shutout were RHPs R.J. Dabovich and Eric Cerantola, who each pitched a scoreless inning, Dabovich with a hit allowed, and Cerantola with 1 walk but 3 strikeouts. It’s so great seeing Dabovich healthy, after the 2020 4th-rounder lost so much time to injury. Let’s hope he can carry that health into next season.

AA Richmond (eliminated)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 5-3
Box score

2026 was an absolutely brilliant season for the Flying Squirrels, but it didn’t end well. They were skidding and sliding all over the place as the regular season neared an end, and it resulted in being swept out of the playoffs.

But Richmond went out with a bang, thanks to one of the more exciting performances of the year on the farm: the AA debut of RHP Jackson Flora. The record books will show that Flora only had 1 appearance in his debut season, after being drafted 4th overall in July’s draft. But after that debut — a strong, if slightly shaky 1-inning start for Low-A San Jose — Flora had a dominant playoff appearance in Low-A. In that game, he tossed 2 no-hit innings with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts, and certainly opened some eyes.

The Giants moved him all the way up to AA which was both a recognition of his talent/readiness, and also a logistical matter given San Jose’s schedule and the fact that High-A Eugene’s season was over. And on Thursday, Flora made his AA debut in the playoffs, and one-upped his Low-A performance.

The UC Santa Barbara product needed just 28 pitches to take down the first 2 innings of the game, and here’s how they went:

Strikeout swinging
Strikeout swinging
Strikeout swinging
Pop up
Ground out
Strikeout looking

Hell of an introduction, champ.

After that dominance, we’ll spend the entire offseason trying to figure out where the Giants will place Flora when next season begins. I do think the way he made quality AA hitters — including Zyhir Hope — look silly should rule out returning all the way down to Low-A, but I do think there’s a good chance he starts next season in High-A, rather than in AA. Even if he is in Eugene when the schedule kicks off, it almost certainly won’t be for long. This guy is the real deal, folks!

Next up was someone who we do know will be in Richmond when 2027 begins: LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL). Fresh off of winning Pitcher of the Year honors in the High-A Northwest League, Bresnahan made his fourth appearance for Richmond, after a trio of regular season starts to end the year. As with his prior starts, Bresnahan showed off some incredible strikeout stuff, while also serving as a reminder that the jump from High-A to AA is not the easiest one. The recently-turned 21-year old, who had a 2.92 ERA, a 4.32 FIP, and 10.8 strikeouts per 9 innings with Eugene this year, struggled with command in this game. He only threw 52 of 89 pitches for strikes, which led to 4 walks and a hit batter in just 3.2 innings. That, combined with 4 hits, knocked him for 4 runs (3 earned), but he struck out 6 batters along the way!

It’s all part of the learning curve. In his 4 AA games, Bresnahan finished with 23 strikeouts in 19.2 innings, and that’s worth being very, very excited about.

RHP Tyler Vogel had a very nice game, as he gave up just 1 walk in 2 shutout innings, with 2 strikeouts. Vogel, a 12th-round pick in 2022 out of Jacksonville University, spent the entire season with Richmond, primarily pitching 9th innings. He finished the year with a 3.25 ERA, a 4.63 FIP, and 9.4 strikeouts per 9 innings, albeit with 5.5 walks per 9.

As with Sacramento, Richmond’s 3 runs all came from a single swing of the bat, as designated hitter Kaeden Kent gave the team a 4th-inning lead with a towering 3-run home run.

Kent, who finished the day 1-3 with a walk, was getting his feet wet after a full season in High-A (split between the Yankees and Giants affiliates, and interrupted by injuries). The record books will show that Kent has yet to make his AA debut, as he was called up just for the playoffs, but that majestic home run he hit begs to differ!

It will be very exciting seeing Kent (who, if you’re new here, is Jeff’s son, was a 3rd-round pick last year, and came to the Giants in the Heliot Ramos trade) have a full year in the system next season, where he’ll presumably be playing middle infield across from Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL). Won’t that be fun! Kent finished the regular season with a .790 OPS and a 107 wRC+, but impressed with his well-rounded game, which featured just a 16.0% strikeout rate, strong defense, and 24 stolen bases. He’s also headed to Arizona in a few weeks for the Arizona Fall League, so that will be fun.

Otherwise, it was a very quiet day in the batter’s box, as Richmond had just 4 hits and 3 walks. Quiet ends to the season for the Squirrels top position player prospects, as shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) hit 1-4, while center fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL) went 0-3 with a walk. Outfielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) didn’t play.

Bon voyage, Richmond!

Home run tracker

29 — Bo Davidson — [10 in AAA; 19 in AA]
9 — Kaeden Kent — [1 in AA; 8 in High-A]

Friday schedule

Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Reno (SP: Darien Smith)

The Mariners have entered that phase of the season where they’re just playing out the remaining games without much purpose beyond fulfilling the MLB schedule. The last time the M’s were playing irrelevant games this early in September was during the pandemic-shortened season in 2020. It’s been so long, I almost forgot what it was like to be in this limbo state.

The Rockies are well acquainted with playing irrelevant games, however. The last time they were truly competitive was back in 2018 when they won 91 games. Since then, the team has been in the midst of a long and arduous rebuilding cycle that doesn’t seem like it’s anywhere close to ending. After reaching a nadir seven years into this cycle with 119 losses last year, the team finally made a change atop the organization, hiring Paul DePodesta to lead the baseball operations department. The team is on track to make a 16 win improvement over last year — a small but meaningful step forward — but the work of building another contender in Colorado will continue for the foreseeable future.

Here’s a crazy stat: the Rockies’ .325 wOBA as a team is the highest it’s been since 2019. Over the past six years, despite playing in a stadium that boosts offense to ridiculous levels, the team has put up a .308 wOBA, 21st in baseball during that period. Last year’s breakout from Hunter Goodman and this year’s breakout from TJ Rumfield have gone a long way toward improving the lineup. Those two batters are dramatically different in approach; Goodman is a traditional power hitter with huge home run totals to go along with a huge strikeout rate. Rumfield is more measured in his approach, content to take a walk and put the ball in play to take advantage of the huge outfield in Coors Field. Cole Carrigg and Kyle Karros are another pair of youngsters who have shown a lot of promise this year. There are glimpses of a competent lineup here.

Probable Pitchers 

Updated Stuff+ Explainer 

• Stuff+ scores for Mariners starters

The Rockies don’t have a starter listed for Friday’s game at the time of publication but I expect Ryan Feltner to take some portion of the bulk innings. He had been a member of the Rockies’ rotation for most of the year but has been shifted to the bullpen in a long relief role recently. He pitched on Tuesday in relief of Kyle Freeland and spun five shutout innings against the Padres. At one point back in 2024, he looked like he had figured out how to find some success pitching at altitude — he posted a 4.49 ERA and a 4.16 FIP in 30 starts that season — but a series of injuries last year derailed that progress. He’s been mostly healthy this season, but his effectiveness has waned and now the team is reevaluating where he fits on the roster.

It must be totally demoralizing to be a pitching prospect in the Rockies organization. You put in all the work to make your way through the minors up to the big leagues and then face the toughest pitching environment in baseball. Gabriel Hughes made his debut in July and has actually pitched pretty well all things considered — his park-adjusted FIP is better than league average at 92. Unfortunately, his ERA is more than two runs higher at 6.37. His fastball has a really interesting movement profile; it doesn’t fade arm-side like most four-seams tend to do. Instead, it has a bit of cut to it so that it’s almost arrow-straight from a three-quarters arm slot. Opposing batters find it extremely hard to square up even if they have no problem making contact with it.

Every rebuilding team needs a veteran innings eater or two to soak up as many innings as possible during the season. That’s Tomoyuki Sugano’s job this year. After coming over from NBP last year, he’s posted nearly identical 5.36 and 5.49 FIPs over the last two seasons while making 57 starts for the Orioles and Rockies. He’s got a deep repertoire that features a solid splitter, three variations on a breaking ball, and three very hittable fastballs. It’s a problem when all three of your fastballs feature expected wOBAs that start with a four.

The Big Picture:

On Wednesday, the Astros and Rangers were tied atop the AL West standings, but separated by a game after Houston won and Texas lost on Thursday. The Astros host the Braves and the Rangers host the Blue Jays this weekend.

There’s a decent chance that your life insurance premiums have helped pay for Shohei Ohtani’s contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It’s possible that we don’t hate them enough.

The federal investigation into Mark Walters, the Dodgers’ owner and chairman, and the lawsuit just filed by policyholders with various insurance companies he owns both point to the same thing: that the Dodgers are the powerful, infinite money cheat that they are because Walters basically loaned his Guggenheim Partners money from these insurance money pools to enhance their investments. Like buying the Dodgers. Or the Lakers. Or everything else.

Pablo Torre, fresh off of exposing the Los Angeles Clippers’ pathetic efforts to circumvent the NBA salary cap to satisfy Kwahi Leonard, has moved on to the Walter story and even in the first episode of his report, there’s enough to make you want to chew asphalt to stop from screaming.

So, yes, your suspicion that this golden era of Dodgers baseball is fraudulent in some way has proved to be correct. I can’t remember when I said this — it was either 2023 or 2024 — but I figured that the only thing that could take down the Dodgers is some unforeseeable calamity or a massive scandal, and I think they’ve got a scandal.

From The Athletic:

At the core of the suit are allegations that the insurance companies misled policyholders about the structure of their annuity packages by secretly sending their money into a fund fueling Walter’s larger business network. That fund allegedly helped Walter buy the Dodgers in 2012 and a majority share of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2025, along with a raft of other investments.

In typical annuity plans, policyholders make payments to insurers, which then invest that money into stocks, bonds or index funds that pay the customer interest over time. Insurers normally invest their customers’ money into relatively safe assets and, by law, must notify regulators about any investments made in entities affiliated with the insurer.

Walter’s firms Delaware Life and Clear Spring allegedly reported having 3 percent of their assets in affiliated companies, but were actually investing 42 percent of those payments in companies affiliated with the billionaire’s other business interests, accounting for nearly $17 billion. The companies described the discrepancy as an internal labeling error.

The implications of the Walter investigation is sort of more than people probably want to fathom, because to think that Mark Walter is the only billionaire engaging in this sort of impropriety to enrich himself and his investing partners is a degree of naivete that should automatically ban you from using the internet. This entire century has seen digital robber barons loot the public in every conceivable manner.

The Torre video points to some of the extreme cronyism that setup Walter as he came to Los Angeles to purchase the Dodgers, including how rigged their incredibly rich cable TV deal actually was. It just underscores how naturally suspicious we all should be of so-called billionaires. They don’t come by those billions honestly, and they have your hand in your pocket whether you like it or not. They see a pot of money — risk pools, state and federal taxes, etc. — and they see opportunity and begin planning for a heist. They’ll dress themselves up however they have to get people to let them inside.

Mark Walter has no blood relationship to the Guggenheim family. Guggenheim Partners, founded in 1999, came by their name through a licensing deal with the Guggenheim family, because “The Guggenheim name has long been synonymous with philanthropy and has a reputation for its contributions to the advance of humanity.” ::wanking motion:: The real reason? Mark Walter, a charlatan, needed to buy credibility, which the Guggenheim name instantly conferred. “The firm was created to bring the Guggenheim name back to Wall Street after decades away from finance.”

A side note: this is actually standard practice in high finance. Giants principal owner Charles Johnson was the CEO of Franklin Templeton investments from 1957 to 2004 (taking over from his dad who began the firm in 1947). Franklin Templeton gets its name from Benjamin Franklin, “because Franklin epitomized the ideas of frugality and prudence when it came to saving and investing.” ::wanking motion:: Also, as a reminder, Johnson helped get Donald Trump into the White House and has bankrolled this century’s conservative reformation of the United States. Billionaires are, effectively, roaming nuclear warheads.

But these nukes don’t have autonomous guidance systems. They need to be brought in like the Trojan Horse. Mark Walter softened the ground in Southern California by charming the LA Times and getting LA’s mascot, Magic Johnson, firmly on board (see Torre video for more on Magic’s involvement). Granted, the McCourt family were rotten and hollowing out the Dodgers, but the LA Times puff piece on him was silly in the moment and gross to read now.

“Decent” is one word often used to describe Walter, 51, the chief executive of Guggenheim Partners, a financial services company that manages more than $125 billion in assets. He’s also private, unassuming and almost studiously unflashy.

Born in Iowa and schooled at Creighton University and Northwestern University Law School, Walter has a net worth of $1.3 billion, according to Wealth-X, a Singapore business-intelligence firm that assesses the fortunes of the ultra rich and ranks Walter seventh among Major League Baseball owners. Walter is not on the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires.

[…]

“I’m a fairly quiet and private person,” he said at the time. “So I haven’t sought publicity.”

[…]

The insider who spoke on condition of anonymity said the firm’s success owes largely to Walter’s fiscal discipline and his skill as a “very focused, very careful” investor.

“I can tell you he is a guy with one of the great financial minds of our time, and he will help that team,” the person said.

Walter has said he is making a significant personal investment in the team, but neither he nor the Dodgers’ new ownership group — Guggenheim Baseball Management — has revealed the sources of purchase money in its all-cash bid of $2.15 billion, which topped others by about $500 million and was well above most estimates of the franchise’s worth.

So, yes, everything is true. Families were denied life insurance claims while they paid for Blake Snell’s bogus rehab stints. Shohei Ohtani will be collecting your parents and grandparents’ premium dollars and down the ripping off taxpayers. The Dodgers are the devil and if this century has proved anything, it’s that evil always wins.

But make no mistake, the Dodgers will probably win this series because the Giants stink by comparison. Sure, there has been some excitement with some flashes of upside from younger players and Los Angeles is looking very old these days — but, come on. The Dodgers have been better than the Giants for a while now. Even if this scandal takes them down, the only thing that does is give Giants fans a momentary thrill. Like the old couple in What About Bob? who help Bob because they hate that Dr. Leo Marvin swooped in and took the house they dreamed of buying right out from under them and then cheer when Bob blows up that house.

It doesn’t change the fact that the Giants have been losers for most of the last decade (and 13-13 in this Oracle Park era). And, as shaky as LA has looked — they had a losing record in August (13-14)! and were 26-25 in July & August — they’re 11-5 in September, 47-28 on the season in Dodger Stadium (and have won 10 of their last 12 home games). Sure, Shohei Ohtani is out, Freddie Freeman’s power has disappeared, and Blake Snell actually seems to be hurt again. But, Tyler Glasnow’s off the IL. They have Tarik Skubal. Mookie Betts has been hot the past month (.951 OPS). Jorge De Paula, their top hitting prospect, is up and having Juan Soto-esque at bats. The Giants might shut down Logan Webb for the rest of the season, but if they don’t he’ll probably get buzzsawed. Rafael Devers is out, but Bryce Eldridge is heating up. Jonah Cox is a dude. Jung Hoo Lee is not.

The rivalry has never been more dead and over, but it’s never been a better time to hate the Los Angeles Dodgers, because you cannot hate them enough. They lied, cheated, and stole their way to championships, which on the one hand is great, but on the other hand might put a lot of insurance purchases in a bad situation. It’ll also be bad for baseball fans because it’ll be used as cover to lockout the sport and (attempt to) break the MLBPA. Of course the Dodgers won’t lose their championships over this. The Astros didn’t. In fact, the Astros were hardly punished. The rest of the sport was: the qualifying offer came in, the minor leaguers were shrunk, a bunch of rule changes meant to “improve” the game were foisted on the players… and that’s what’s on offer with the Dodgers situation infecting these CBA negotiations. Like the NBA’s ridiculous salary cap system, owners use their own management decisions to both damage their investments and inflect pain on their labor force.

Rich people and baseball owners, especially, steal money from regular people all the time — that’s what all those publicly financed stadiums amount to — but this time, it’s the Dodgers doing it and in a very damaging way. The Dodgers, the “crimes.xls” organization, might have ruined baseball, but in so doing, they might have given the public a crucial glimpse behind the curtain to see just what our American oligarchs are up to — it’s not just seeing the sausage being made, it’s seeing that we’re the sausage.

Series Overview

Who: San Francisco Giants (64-89) at Los Angeles Dodgers (93-60)
Where: Dodger Stadium | Los Angeles, California
When: Friday at 7:15pm, Saturday at 6:10pm PT, Sunday at 1:10pm PT
National broadcasts: Apple TV (Friday)

Projected starters
Friday: Cesar Perdomo (LHP 0-1, 3.68 ERA) vs. Tyler Glasnow (RHP 4-1, 3.50 ERA)
Saturday: TBD vs. Tarik Skubal (LHP 10-7, 2.70 ERA)
Sunday: TBD vs. TBD

Prediction time

Jonah Cox will steal a base. Freddie Freeman will homer. He has hit 1 home run in his last 244 plate appearances (58 games).

The Pittsburgh Pirates is a team that is filled with a bunch of young talent. Even though they most likely won’t make the playoffs this year the future looks incredibly bright. Here are three young players that will be the stars for Pittsburgh next season.

Konnor Griffin  

The obvious pick here is Griffin, the Pirates drafted him 9th overall in the 2024 draft. In his first season in the majors Griffin has a .262 batting average with five homers and 27 RBIs. The 20 year old has missed a lot of the season due to injuries.  

His offensive numbers aren’t mind blowing but he does a little bit of everything on the field. His baserunning and defense are both excellent which makes a truly dangerous and versatile player. Griffin is only 20 years old so he will grow and mature as a player as well, so the future at short stop is bright. 

Esmerlyn Valdez

Esmerlyn Valdez has been a great source of power for the Bucco offense. He has 17 home runs and 47 RBIs on the season with 72 games played. The right fielder is just 22 years old, marking another big time player that is under the age of 25 for this team.

Valdez is already one of the better hitters on the team and the fact that he is just 22 years old and this was just his first season in the majors should be really exciting for all the fans. 

I expect both Valdez and Griffin to be big time contributors to the offense lineup next season. They have both dealt with injuries throughout the year but if they are able to stay healthy for next season we could be looking at two players that will be considered stars on the team. 

Rafael Flores Jr.

It has been a while since the Bucs have had true offensive power from behind the plate but Flores jr has brought that in only 40 game plates this year. The 25 year old has nine homers with 40 RBIs. He has split time from  behind the plate with Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez. 

I know that Rodriguez was playing pretty well before he suffered his season ending injury but I see a lot of potential in Flores jr.  He brings power to the lineup and is a good defender behind the plate. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Pirates come into next

season with Rodrigues and Flores jr as their main two catchers, leaving Henry Davis behind. 

If these three players continue to develop and grow we could be looking at the next big three Pittsburgh and could possibly see those young stars help the Pirates finally get into the playoffs for the first time since 2015.