Baseball News
After leading for approximately 0 seconds in four games and winning three of those games, the Guardians go to Baltimore today looking to see if they can get and maintain a lead.
Here’s Zack Meisel’s write-up of the Guardians’ doubleheader sweep. Tim Stebbins wrote up the finale here.
Ralphy Velazquez smoked a huge homer yesterday.
Around MLB:
The Orioles, Astros, and Blue Jays lost and the Rangers and White Sox won.
Garrett Cleavinger had a 3.31 ERA and 3.40 FIP through July. Since the beginning of August, however, the results haven’t been there, with a 10.38 ERA and 6.79 FIP. He has even improved his first pitch strike rate from the high 50s to the low 70s between both samples, so it’s not like his command has completely disappeared. We’ll look at his key performance indicators to see what’s going wrong:
| March-July | August-September | |
| Zone% | 43.3% | 46.3% |
| Strike% | 63.4% | 63.5% |
| Chase% | 34.5% | 31.6% |
| Contact% | 74.5% | 73.9% |
| Hardhit% | 41.3% | 39.3% |
Cleavinger is really not doing anything fundamentally different compared to what he was doing most of the year before August. His underlying data is still solid and suggests the pitcher the Rays trusted earlier this season is still there. A .385 BABIP has played a major role in his recent rut while a subtle shift in his fastball location has made his stuff a little less deceptive. That BABIP is roughly 100 points higher than his .283 career mark. Some of that is almost certainly variance, but his recent fastball location issues may be contributing at the margins.
Cleavinger has allowed a .390 wOBA for his career on fastballs located on the arm-side third of the zone compared to a .212 wOBA on fastballs located on the glove-side third. He primarily throws both of his fastballs across the zone glove-side and down to that optimal spot as evident in his heat map from March through July:
But lately he’s been missing more to the arm-side as we can see in his August through September heat map:
The fastball still plays there to some extent, but more importantly it loses some of the cross-fire deception and awkward angle Cleavinger creates when spotting it glove-side. He throws his breaking ball to a similar spot across the zone, so landing the fastball there helps the two pitches play off each other. Failing to consistently hit his fastball locations diminishes the effectiveness of his arsenal. He loses some of the deception and tunneling that makes his entire pitch mix difficult to attack.
Because Cleavinger’s delivery doesn’t appear meaningfully different, I wonder if the problem could be addressed through his visual cue rather than a mechanical adjustment.
When Cleavinger throws his fastball, his catcher initially sets up high and near the middle of the zone before sliding toward the glove-side target. Here’s the setup, which is typically more in on lefties:
A similar cue is used against righties, although it’s typically closer to the middle of the zone:
Because Cleavinger still looks like himself mechanically, a potential solution to getting his fastball glove-side and down again could be to shift the catcher set-up. He’s missing arm-side with a high and middle cue, so shifting the cue to high and more glove-side could help him in regaining feel for locating his fastball. This wouldn’t necessarily need to be a permanent change. Cleavinger has a long track record of spotting his fastball at its intended location. The idea isn’t to change his target, but to change the visual cue he uses to find it.
With Cleavinger already on the IL, the timing could actually work in his favor. The break gives him an opportunity to work through the adjustment without having to solve it in a game, but there is some risk in making an adjustment this late in the season. Relievers live on routine, and changing a visual cue in September could create more uncertainty if it doesn’t immediately improve his command. With the postseason approaching, there’s little margin for experimentation.
Cleavinger doesn’t need to reinvent himself. His underlying performance suggests the pitcher the Rays trusted earlier this season is still there. He needs the BABIP pendulum to swing back toward him and, more importantly, needs to regain the fastball location that makes his unusual delivery and arsenal so difficult to hit. If he can consistently get back to glove-side and down, the rest of his arsenal should follow.
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers didn’t call up an outfielder when active roster limits expanded on September 1, and in fact subtracted an outfielder with Alek Thomas sent back down to the minors. That meant no platooning of either struggling corner outfielder.
“We didn’t bring up an outfielder. That’s part of the bet on Teo, that he can right the ship,” manager Dave Roberts said on Tuesday. “That’s kind of where we’re at.”
Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead home run in the Dodgers’ win on August 30 in Detroit, then followed that up with a solid first week of the homestand. In his last seven games, Hernández has 11 hits in 26 at-bats (.423) with a home run, three doubles, four walks, and eight RBI.
Fourteen of Hernández’s 21 batted balls since last Sunday were hard-hit, including 13 with an exit velocity of at least 100 mph. Hernández found success in an old swing, one he used to success in 2024 and the start of 2025 before injuries made it difficult to execute the specific swing mechanics. Now healthier, Hernández talked with Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register about what’s working:
“Last year, I used it before I had the injury. That’s the way I was hitting,” said Hernandez, who got off to an excellent start in 2025. “Then when I came back, I was doing the same thing but I was feeling it (in his injured leg) so that’s why I stopped. This year when I got my hamstring issue, I had to get rid of it because it was putting so much pressure on the hamstring.
At their Down on the Farm newsletter, Owen Riley and Maxfield Lane outlined some prospects who were and weren’t called up on September 1. They analyzed the Dodgers options of James Tibbs — who is not eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this December — and top prospect Josue De Paula, who is. They acknowledge De Paula’s defensive shortcomings, but nonetheless both advocated for the Dodgers calling up the 21-year-old straight from Tulsa. From Riley:
De Paula is too good for Double-A; he’s doing everything right with no red flags and very impressive contact metrics for a guy who is also blasting home runs at a 30+ per season pace. You won’t convince me that the Dodgers lineup looks better with Enrique Hernandez in it against LHP than it would with De Paula. This potential addition grades out top half, but not right at the top, for me, since it is only really relevant in the playoffs. Isolate to just October, though, and I do think De Paula has the potential to be a difference maker—a high-risk, high-reward play.
Kevin Baxter at the Los Angeles Times profiled Dodgers chairman and owner Mark Walter, currently under federal investigation for his insurance dealings. Among the tidbits in the article is this, which matches previous direct statements that the Dodgers are not for sale:
A source close to Walter not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Times he has an interest in selling Chelsea if the terms are right but insisted there is no desire to sell the Sparks, the PWHL, his investment in professional squash or, more prominently, his stake in the Dodgers.
On Friday, the Cardinals made a late-night comeback thanks to a 3-run homer by Ivan Herrera in the 9th inning that put the Cardinals up a run. That did not end up being the story of the game however. The story of the game happened a few innings earlier when some of the most egregiously bad umpiring I’ve personally ever witnessed nearly led to a Cardinals loss. I can’t claim that without the Herrera home run the Cardinals would have lost because of the umpiring. It definitely led to a run the Rockies wouldn’t have otherwise scored, but they did score another run after the bad call and there wasn’t two outs when the call was made. Thankfully, we don’t have to speculate, because Ivan Herrera made it irrelevant.
The win softened my anger towards the situation. I think I might still be angry about it if the Cardinals didn’t win that game. If I actually stop and think about what happened and that there will be no real consequences for what happened, then I get incredibly frustrated all over again. I think this might cost the crew a playoff appointment, but that’s not a punishment. Not getting a reward is not the same thing as a punishment.
And because this has made national news and because I do consider this a big deal, I wanted a history of what happened on this site. I think an article detailing what happened will hopefully be informative to people who didn’t get to see what happened for starters. And the sites I’ve seen cover this have either glossed over things or neglected part of the story. I wanted to take a crack at it.
Our story begins in the top of the 6th. Coming back from the injured list, Andre Pallante threw just 5 innings, although he was efficient. His pitch limit just happened to be 75 pitches. The Cardinals, with a tired bullpen, turned to rookie Hancel Rincon. He had been called up earlier in the week, but manager Oliver Marmol had been reluctant to use him in tight games against the Dodgers. And no disrespect to Rincon, but that reluctance was justified by how he pitched in his first two games, albeit Coors Field is a hard place to debut as a pitcher. Not sure the Dodgers lineup would have been much easier.
Hunter Goodman hit a weak lineout to secure his first out. Good start. TJ Rumfield then hit a ball off the wall that is a homer in 28 parks, but not Coors Field. Jordan Walker misplayed it into a triple, but nearly recovered well enough to throw out the runner at 3rd base. Contrary to what many people think, the runner was safe even if Nolan Gorman never dropped the ball. But Gorman dropped the ball upon hitting the runner. For some reason, Marmol challenged this. Maybe it was a desperate attempt to get a rookie a second out and also just the cool factor if Walker actually pulled off the play.
You can hear the start of the Rockies announcers being kind of surprised at Doug Eddings’ tone in announcing that the call was confirmed. This obviously isn’t a big deal, but I do think it is part of the story. I’ll share the rest of the Rockies’ announcers reaction to his call, because they almost react to Eddings’ call as if they were Cardinals’ announcers. But they’re homers on the other side. They noticed how he announced that the call was confirmed.
Also I have to share this because it is VERY relevant to what happens later, because the Cardinals no longer had a challenge. Doug Eddings knows the Cardinals no longer have a challenge.
Here’s where Doug Eddings loses quite a bit of his nonexistent credibility. His excuse in Derrick Goold’s piece was that Hunter Goodman asked him if Rincon was allowed to wear his hat like that. That just does not feel like something an MLB player would say. Obviously he is allowed if you’ve watched baseball in the last two decades. Goodman has faced Sonny Gray before and I think he’s watched baseball growing up, and it’s a thing you see all the time. That, however, is not why Eddings loses credibility.
It’s because he didn’t ask Rincon to fix his hat when Goodman was batting. He didn’t ask him when the next batter, TJ Rumfield, was up either. After the triple and the missed challenge, Rincon threw a wild pitch that allowed Rumfield to score. He then threw another ball to make it 2-0. It was at this point that Eddings requested Rincon straighten his hat, which he did without complaint. Can you explain to me, in Doug Eddings version, why he would wait two batters to ask him to straighten his cap? Wouldn’t you ask immediately?
Oh and this is to say nothing of the absurdity of just granting Goodman’s request because he asked. Yes, I’m sure power hungry Doug Eddings is going to do what a player asks, sure, makes sense. Rincon then gives up an inside-the-park homer to Cole Carrig thanks to a misplay by Nathan Church and Joshua Baez not backing up the play – it was a real team effort in awful outfield defense that inning. Connor Norby then hit a very weak bloop single and Marmol really wanted to win the game, so he took Rincon out.
And while Justin Bruhl was warming up, Marmol argued with Eddings about the hat situation. Marmol was not a fan of that exchange, we’ll say. Marmol walks back to the dugout, Edding is not even in position to call balls or strikes, and he gleefully called a pitch clock violation on Bruhl – who was not capable of pitching because Eddings wasn’t even behind the plate. Pretty sure he had no grounds to call a pitch clock violation. I would go point-by-point and share the video of each point I’ve made in this section, but Twitter user Umpire Auditor covers all of this in a one-minute video if you’re interested in watching.
I would share the MLB official video, but the Film Room contains an 8 second video just telling you that the Cardinals got a pitch clock violation with no context. After the pitch clock violation, Marmol got himself thrown out. There will presumably be a Jomboy video that I expect to be 5+ minutes long that should give us the back-and-forth, but needless to say, Marmol’s message to Eddings was clear: “Grow the f—k up.” If I could condense everything he said to Eddings to encapsulate his message, those four words would be it.
Hampered with a 1-0 count through no fault of his own, Bruhl managed to throw two strikes to make it a 1-2 count on Troy Johnston. Unfortunately, Bruhl allowed a very Coors double to Troy Johnston and then a line drive single to Adeal Amador. That tied the game at 4-4 and runners were still at 1st and 3rd with one out. Zac Veen attempted a bunt, but it was perfectly played by Bruhl who used his glove to toss the ball to a waiting Leonardo Bernal, who barely had to move his glove when Johnston’s hand went directly into Bernal’s glove, well before he ever touched home plate. I actually don’t know if he even touched home plate to be honest. You be the judge.
Johnston literally walked towards the dugout mouthing he was out. It was the easiest call an umpire will ever make. Doug Eddings was in perfect position to see it. I don’t think Doug Eddings is literally blind, but him being literally blind is the best case scenario for Doug Eddings. Because if he’s not blind, he probably could see perfectly well that he was out. But he had made up his mind that he was going to call him safe. That part is true no matter what. Even if his brain convinced him he was actually safe, he 100 percent had made up his mind that he was going to be safe before the play even happened. It was that bad of a call.
In fact, Doug Eddings has only himself to blame if he gets offended that we think he called him safe even though he knew he was out. He provided us with a preponderance of evidence. If this were a court room, I think just about any jury would convict him. The weird, emphatic “confirmed” call that began the entire inning, him telling a player he needed to straighten his hat and then lying about the reason why he did that, the bogus pitch clock violation and ejection of Marmol – it’s an embarrassment of riches. He made it nearly impossible to come to any other conclusion.
Like I said, I think the fact the Cardinals ended up winning the game soothed tensions. I think we may have gotten a very different reaction from Oliver Marmol and the players had the Cardinals lost. But since they won, they were more subdued. Even so, Marmol did not hold back in his postgame interview.
The team rallied around Rincon. The next time they took the field, every player had their cap tilted to the side during warmups. And according to the Cardinals broadcast, manager Warren Sheaffer and Rockies players were none too happy that Eddings threw Goodman under the bus. It’s not shown in the following clip, but apparently some Rockies participated in the protest too.
How bad of an umpire do you have to be to piss off both teams with your actions? And I’ll go one further. This was such unfathomably bad umpiring that I have seen Cubs fans comment in support of the Cardinals. In the heat of the moment, I tweeted that Doug Eddings purposefully made the wrong call and I got 2,600 likes. I do not have that many followers. The likes were from every conceivable fanbase you can imagine: at a glance, I saw Cubs, Phillies, Jays, Guardians, Padres, Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, and Twins and there’s probably more but not everyone lists their fanbase in their profile or name and I stopped halfway through.
Let me reiterate my point one more time: that was a call so bad that rivals of the Cardinals agreed that an umpire purposefully made the wrong call to spite the Cardinals. I didn’t get called biased once. One person asked how I knew that. That is literally the extent of the pushback I got for claiming that an umpire made the wrong call on purpose. There aren’t enough words in the world to properly express how insane that is.
Doug Eddings apologized to Hancel Rincon because he had to basically. Eddings was told by MLB that he went too far according to Ken Rosenthal. Prior to the apology of course. And again aside from not being invited to the playoffs, which is the literal bare minimum of “consequences,” he will otherwise face zero repercussions for this. In the meantime, this is the kind of thing that rallies a team together and while it’s probably too late, let’s hope it fuels them to a playoff appearance.
Oh dear, a humbling day at the plate for the Tides. Their only run came when José Barrero walked, stole a pitch, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on a groundout. Talk about scratching out runs.
Tides hitters combined for just six hits on Sunday. Enrique Bradfield Jr. had one. So did Jeremiah Jackson. Brandon Butterworth hit two, and so did catcher Sam Huff.
Starting pitcher Trey Gibson pitched OK. He threw five innings, allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out four. The loss gives him a 3-6 record with a 4.04 ERA at this level. Dietrich Enns pitched a fairly bad 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on a homer and two-run single. Yaramil Hiraldo served up a homer of his own, but Gerald Ogando pitched a spotless ninth.
Despite the result, lots of top Baysox prospects had good days at the plate on Sunday. Vance Honeycutt went 3-for-5 with a home run. Anderson de los Santos hit a two-run single and walked. Catcher Ethan Anderson had an RBI single. First baseman Victor Figueroa homered. And Tavian Josenberger had three hits on the day.
Sebastian Gongora tossed a short outing (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K), going just three innings and allowing a single run on a home run. His replacements, Alex Pham and Richard Guasch, were not up to the task, proving even more homer-prone, Pham giving up a three-run blast and Guasch a pair of homers, along with a run-scoring balk. Jeisson Cabrera kept the Sea Dogs from scoring, but Ryan Long allowed a run himself in the ninth.
The playoff-bound Keys won again! It wasn’t a good debut for the 27-year-old Jack Dykhoff, who allowed five runs on nine hits. But his team scooped him up by holding the line: Kiefer Lord, Zac Hampton, and Jack Crowder all threw scoreless outings after him.
The offense posted eight hits, walked nine times, and six runs in a mighty six-run second inning. It was enough to win! First, Elis Cuevas walked in a run. Then so did Andrés Nolaya. Then, DJ Layton hit a two-run double, and Enddy Azocar hit a two-run single. Layton is OPS’ing .849 these days.
The starting pitching just wasn’t any good for Delmarva. Esteban Mejía and Isaac Silva got blown up, allowing 11 runs in just the first four innings. The 19-year-old Mejía is still young, but he’s struggled at this level so far. The only scoreless outing was pitched by Dalton Neuschwander. After him, Adrian Heredia threw one inning and gave up three.
On offense, there were ten hits, though just three runs. Eric Booth Jr. had two, including a double. So did Stiven Martinez, a difference maker last night with a grand slam. From the eight and nine spots came two more hits apiece, from Adriander Mejía and Félix Amparo.
Today’s Schedule
There are no scheduled games for today.
Welcome to week 24 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
For the first time in a long time, the rest of the NL Central gained ground on the Brewers this week, as Milwaukee was the only sub-.500 team in the division. It wasn’t a terrible week for the Crew, though, as they split four games with the Cubs in Chicago before dropping two of three to the Reds in Cincinnati.
Seven players had a homer each this week, with Jackson Chourio leading the squad with nine hits, including two doubles and a homer. William Contreras added seven hits, including four doubles and a homer, while Cooper Pratt led the team with nine RBIs as part of a seven-hit week, including a homer and a bases-clearing triple.
Logan Henderson had the team’s only quality start, though he took the loss, allowing two runs over seven innings and striking out seven. For the bullpen, Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe continue to impress, as the duo combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. Chad Patrick added 3 1/3 scoreless innings across a pair of appearances, striking out one.
Milwaukee will face the same opponents this week, though this time they’ll do so at home, hosting the Cubs and Reds for back-to-back three-game sets with an off day on Thursday in between.
The Cubs, as mentioned above, split a four-game set with the Brewers before winning two of three against the Marlins in Miami over the weekend.
Alex Bregman continues to crush after a slow start to the season, as he led Chicago with nine hits, including four homers and a double, driving in eight. Nico Hoerner added nine hits, including a homer, and Michael Conforto and Pete Crow-Armstrong each slugged a pair of homers, giving PCA 40 for the season as he’s well on his way to winning NL MVP.
Kevin Gausman and Shota Imanaga led the rotation, as Gausman went seven innings and allowed one run, striking out nine, while Imanaga went six innings, allowing one run and striking out four. Aaron Civale was a bright spot for the bullpen, working a three-inning save with no runs allowed and three strikeouts.
Chicago now heads to Milwaukee to face the Brewers for three games before returning home to host the Pirates for three games over the weekend.
St. Louis took two of three from both the Dodgers and Rockies to begin their West Coast trip this week.
Thomas Saggese had a huge week offensively for the Redbirds, picking up 10 hits, including three homers and three doubles, driving in eight. Joshua Báez and Iván Herrera both slugged a pair of homers, with Báez picking up nine hits and Herrera adding 11 hits.
Quinn Mathews and Andre Pallante both turned in solid starts for St. Louis, as each went five innings with one run allowed. Mathews struck out four and Pallante struck out one. Ryan Fernandez, Gordon Graceffo, and Cooper Hjerpe led the bullpen, totaling 9 2/3 scoreless innings with 15 strikeouts.
The Cards will wrap up the road trip with three games against the Giants in San Francisco. After an off day on Thursday, they’ll host the White Sox for three games over the weekend.
Pittsburgh hosted a pair of West Coast teams in the Giants and Angels this week, taking two of three from both.
Henry Davis, Brandon Lowe, and Bryan Reynolds all homered to lead the offense, as Reynolds and Lowe also tied for the team lead with eight hits. Nick Gonzales and Oneil Cruz added six hits each, as Cruz also led the squad with six RBIs and three steals.
Jared Jones led the rotation with six scoreless frames, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out nine for the victory. Mason Montgomery led what was a strong bullpen this week, as he totaled four scoreless frames over four appearances, picking up three saves. Carmen Mlodzinski, Brandon Eisert, Wilber Dotel, Lake Bachar, and Gregory Soto also had scoreless weeks, totaling 11 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts.
Pittsburgh now heads to Chicago for the next week, as they’ll take on the White Sox and Cubs for three games apiece through the weekend.
The Reds continued what has become a nice stretch, as they’ve now won each of their last three series against a trio of playoff teams in the Cubs, Padres, and Brewers.
Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain each slugged two homers this week, and De La Cruz led the offense with 10 hits, driving in six. Five other players added a homer apiece, including Héctor Rodríguez, who had a nine-hit week. Dane Myers and Sal Stewart didn’t homer, but they both put together solid weeks with eight hits and seven hits, respectively.
Andrew Abbott worked four innings in a rain-delay shortened outing, allowing two runs (one earned) and striking out five, while Nick Lodolo worked six quality frames, allowing two runs and striking out five. Emilio Pagán went 3-for-3 in save opportunities, and Tejay Antone, Brock Burke, and Julian Garcia combined for 10 2/3 scoreless bullpen innings, striking out 19, including 10 by Antone over just four frames.
Cincinnati will look to keep it up with a tough schedule ahead. This week, they’ll visit the Dodgers in Los Angeles before a visit to Milwaukee for three games after an off day on Thursday.
Good morning. From our top story, it appears silly season came early this year.
Most fans don’t recognize his name, but Fred Ocasio has been a mainstay with the Colorado Rockies since 1998, working entirely in the lower minors. His résumé is extensive.
He began as a hitting coach with the AZL Rockies in Tucson before moving to the High-A Salem Avalanche for a year. He then moved back to the west coast as a hitting coach for the Short-Season Tri-City Dust Devils before taking over as manager in 2006. Ocasio managed the Dust Devils through the 2012 season, and then went back to the East Coast ahead of the 2013 season, where he then managed the Low-A Asheville Tourists for two years before Warren Schaeffer took over in 2015.
In 2015, Ocasio moved up to manage the Modesto Nuts and then the Lancaster JetHawks. However, from 2019-2021, he took a step back from coaching and served as a supervisor for the Spokane Indians, where he basically oversaw the coaching staff to make sure everything was running smoothly.
But the in 2022 season, the manager spot opened up for the Arizona Complex League. Ocasio threw his hat in the ring and got the job, where he has been since.
Ocasio didn’t always have dreams of being a coach, but he knew it was something he could pivot to if his own professional career didn’t pan out. He played just 41 games in the minors before moving into coaching.
“I played a couple of years in the minor leagues, and then what made me pivot was that I was not good enough to continue playing,” he said.
“So the Rockies gave me a chance to be a coach in 1998. When I left college and signed as a free agent, I always had the dream that I was going to be a big leaguer, but I was realistic. I’d seen other guys play, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m not as good as those guys.’ I wanted to play Minor League Baseball just to get the experience and hopefully down the road, it would help me get a coaching job. And eventually that’s what happened.”
He started his coaching career as a hitting coach before moving into a managerial role, but he enjoyed aspects of both roles.
“As a hitting coach, my favorite part is obviously getting to work with the position players – the work that you do in the cages, the day in and day out work with them, watching them in the game and seeing how they improve throughout the year. That’s always been my favorite,” he said.
“The most important thing – and one of the things that I love watching – is when you get a kid, and he gets here, and he’s at one point in his career, and then you see him by the end of the season, you see all of the improvements he’s made. That’s always good to see. But then as a manager, it’s a little bit more because now you work with the pitchers, the hitters and the catchers. Obviously, creating relationships with all the players and getting to know them is the main thing with these guys.”
Building relationships is Ocasio’s MO, something he truly enjoys, and he makes sure to find commonalities with his players as quickly as possible.
“I always try to pick something that I think they like, or I ask questions,” he said. “It could be what college they come from, and then I could go, ‘Well, I played at Oklahoma State,’ and we go from there. It could be fantasy football. It could be golf. I always try to get something. I try to find out what kind of stuff they like and then if it’s something that I like too, we’ll go from there.”
But he also knows the importance of learning about their families, especially because for many of his players, this is their first time playing professional baseball or even being in the United States. For players to feel comfortable and play hard, they need to know how much their coaches care.
“I like to create relationships with the players because they want to know that you care for them,” he said.
“And then once you do that, once they see that, they’ll play for you. They’ll play hard, and obviously that’s something that I like to do. I like to make sure that the players feel comfortable around me, and I joke around with them. If I need to be hard on them, I’m hard on them. But I like to joke around with them, and I like to create those relationships so that they know, ‘Hey, this guy cares about me.’”
Ocasio returned to rookie ball in 2022, where he has stayed. Since then, the ACL Rockies have finished in the Top 4 three separate times, including their win in 2026, and made the playoffs in four of his five seasons. Additionally, Ocasio has won Manager of the Year twice in his five seasons. (More on that later.)
But he loves working with rookies because “the players are eager to learn.”
“They want to work, and when you get these young kids and they start the season (in one place) and by the end of the season – or maybe by the end of spring training when you see them again – you see an improvement,” he continued. “You say, ‘Wow, remember that kid when he came here? He was just 17 or 18 years old and he couldn’t do this or he did that, but look at how much better he’s doing it now.’ And just their growth and how you can see them grow as a professional baseball player and as a human being — just knowing that they’re getting better and seeing how they’re growing.”
And the ACL specifically is unique because he is not only helping players adjust to playing professional baseball, but also helping many of them adjust to living in the United States.
“That’s one of the main things, with me being bilingual and these kids coming from Puerto Rico, the Dominican (Republic), Venezuela, Mexico – all of these Spanish-speaking countries,” he said. “And then I go down to the Dominican – we have the academy down there – twice a year. Sometimes I just go once a year, but I go down there, get to know them, and talk to them – especially the ones I know who are coming over here.”
Once they get stateside, he makes sure to know that he’s got their backs.
“I stay in the hotel where they stay so I always tell them, ‘Look, this is my phone number. Call me at any time with whatever. If you need to go to the grocery store, I’ll take you to the grocery store. If you need to go to the bank, if something happens in the room and you need my help in the lobby, just give me a call,” he said. “Obviously you do stuff at the fields – you manage and you help them on the field – but off the field, I always want to make sure that they know I’m here for whatever they need.”
Additionally, similar to Triple-A, the ACL sees a lot of players making appearances in addition to their regular roster. This year in particular, Jared Thomas and Griffin Herring made rehab assignments in the ACL, while Jordan Romano made a few starts after he was signed to a minor league deal just to get him acclimated to the new organization.
So that’s something that Ocasio and his staff balance throughout the season.
“We work around everybody,” he said. “We have our schedule that we do with the ACL team and a lot of these rehab (assignments), when they come in town – depending where they are in their rehab – they join the team.
“So they practice with the team,” Ocasio continued. “Some of the kids that are not ready to practice are doing more training room stuff, or maybe they’re not ready to practice with the team, but they need flips in the cages or extra ground balls. We’ve got a few coaches down here, so we always have somebody to either throw extra BP or hit extra ground balls, or just be there for those rehabs that come. But most of the time, once they’re ready to start playing the game, they just incorporate with the team.”
This year was special for Ocasio and his team because they won the ACL and took home hardware for their coaching efforts.
“It was very nice,” Ocasio said of the win.
“Winning a championship is not easy, no matter what league it is, and for this team to be able to play the way they played this year and were able to finish and actually win the championship was awesome. I was telling them from day one, ‘Hey, this is the group that is going to do it.’ And they believed, and they worked hard, and they got it done.”
He also gave credit to his staff for their help along the way.
“It felt good. It’s obviously always good and it feels good to be named Manager of the Year,” he said, “but one thing I told the group here with the Rockies and the ACL is that for me, I feel it shouldn’t be Manager of the Year. It should be Staff of the Year because I was the manager here, but we had some hitting coaches, we had some pitching coaches and catching coaches. It was a group thing, we all did it together. We all worked hard every day to get these players better and work with them. So I was named Manager of the Year, but for me, it’s Staff of the Year.”
Ocasio has had a long tenure with the Rockies and has coached many players including Juan Uribe and Matt Holliday. But he also coached another notable Rockie: current manager Warren Schaeffer.
“I was the manager in Tri-City and Schaeffer was drafted that year,” Ocasio recalled. “He came first actually to Tri-City, back when we had those two teams – Tri-City and Casper in the short season. So when he got drafted, they sent him to Tri-City. He was going to be with that team, and I don’t remember if it was one or two practices that he was there. We were doing a mini camp, and then something happened in Casper where I got a call saying, ‘We need a shortstop. We need somebody that can play defense.’ And I said, ‘Well, Schaeffer’s your guy.’ So the he ended up going to Casper and starting his career in Casper as a baseball player.”
Schaeffer remembered it a little bit differently.
“When I first got drafted in ‘07, I went to Tri-City not knowing what to expect. He was the manager there. I was there for, like, four days, and Freddie shipped me out to Casper,” Schaeffer recalled. “We still joke about that today — he needed some guys that could hit, so he shipped me out. But Freddie’s the best. I mean, he’s literally the best. He wins everywhere he’s at. He finds a great atmosphere. He’s so much fun to be around. Everybody jokes with him. He’s a really, really good baseball man. Freddie’s just a Rockies staple.”
And Schaeffer remembers his time with Ocasio fondly.
“He’s just the same guy every day,” he said. “He’s never in a bad mood. He’s always for the player. He likes to have a good time. Everybody’s unique in how they coach and how they manage, and Freddie’s definitely unique.”
Ocasio is also proud of how Schaeffer worked his way up the Rockies’ system.
“It’s awesome to watch him (manage the Rockies). He’s a very, very good baseball person and an awesome human being,” he said.
But Schaeffer made sure to emphasize one thing: The importance of having your best teachers in the lower levels to set a foundation for the rest of an organization.
“Well, it’s been an age-old debate,” he said. “Since I’ve been coaching – especially in a development-centered organization like ours – a lot of people always say that you want to have your best teachers in the lower levels and pay them more than anybody else because when you’re coming in and the guys are freshly getting drafted or getting onboarded with what we’re trying to do, it’s a daily grind. It’s a process everywhere you’re at – High-A, Low-A, Double-A, Triple-A. It’s a daily grind, but it’s all different. And to have guys like that, like Freddie, who are great teachers at that level and they are persistent and keep doing every day.
“It’s ultra important.”
Triple-A:Albuquerque Isotopes 10, Tacoma Rainiers 6
Charlie Condon (No. 2 PuRP) was a one-man wrecking crew for the Isotopes today, scoring nine of their 10 runs. Oh, and he also hit two grand slams — one in the third inning and another in the eighth. His other RBI came off a double in the fourth inning, and the 10th RBI came from Sterlin Thompson (No. 16 PuRP) when he walked with the bases loaded to set up Condon’s first slam.
The slams were set up as such. In the third inning, Bryant Betancourt singled and Conner Capel popped out. Then Drew Avans singled, Nic Kent was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Thompson walked to load them again and then Condon happened. In the eighth, Cappel doubled, Avans hit a sac bunt, Kent walked, Thompson was hit by a pitch, and then Condon happened again.
Kent and Braxton Fulford were the only Isotopes without a hit.
The Rainiers (Mariners) put up a fight, though. They struck first, scoring three runs in the second inning. They also battled back in the fifth with two more runs, and their final was scored in the eighth to tie the game at six (and then Condon said ‘hold my beverage’ in the next inning).
On the pitching side, Case Williams pitched just 1.1 innings and allowed three runs on one hit with four walks and one strikeout. Blake Adams came in after him, pitching 3.1 innings and allowing two runs on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout. Evan Shawver got the hold with his 1.1 innings of work (3 hits, 1 BB); Andrew Baker blew the save in his 1.2 innings (2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K); and TJ Shook earned the win in his final 1.1 perfect innings.
Double-A:Reading Fightin Phils 6, Hartford Yard Goats 2
The Yard Goats were less fortunate in their matchup against the Fightin Phils (Phillies). They mustered eight hits, but only two came around to score. Kyle Karros continued his rehab assignment, going 2-for-4 with a walk, and Dyan Jorge went 3-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and a strikeout. The two RBI came from Zach Kokoska, who went 1-for-4 with a home run, a run scored, two RBI and a strikeout.
Reading jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning when Bryan Rincon led off the game with a walk and then Pedro León homered two batters later. Raylin Heredia then walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a balk. Then Raider Tello homered to put the Phils up 4-0. The Goats fought back in the fourth when Jorge singled with two outs and stole second, and then was driven home when Kokoska homered. But the Phils piled on more runs in the eighth when four-straight players reached to score two more runs and make the score 6-2.
On the pitching side, Sam Weatherly opened and pitched just 1.2 innings. He allowed four runs on three hits with three walks, a strikeout and two homers. Cade Denton came in to relieve him, pitching 5.1 scoreless innings and allowing three hits, one walk and three strikeouts. Nathan Blasick pitched the final two innings, allowing the two runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout.
High-A:Spokane Indians 10, Everett AquaSox 4
The Indians made a statement in their final game, beating the AquaSox (Mariners) by a score of 10-4. Every Indian who had a hit had at least two, except for Jacob Hinderleider who went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Max Belyeu (No. 23 PuRP) didn’t record a hit, but he drew a walk, while Juan Castillo just went 0-for-2 before being pinch hit for.
Ethan Hedges and Robert Calaz each had three RBI. Hedges went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, three RBI, two runs scored and a strikeout. Calaz went 2-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI and two runs scored. Dalis went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored.
Everett scored first when Luke Stevenson singled to kick off the game and Luke Suisbel walked. Two batters later, Brandon Eike doubled to score Stevenson. But in the bottom of the first, Belyeu walked and Derek Bernard grounded into a force out to get Belyeu. But then Hedges doubled to score Bernard from first. Dalis then homered to tack on two more runs, and Calaz grounded out. But then Tanner Thach doubled and Hidalgo singled to make the score 4-0. Everett struck again in the third with another run, but then two batters into their half, Calaz homered to make the score 6-2. Back-to-back singles and a sac bunt then set up Hinderleider to sacrifice in Thach, and a single and a homer into the fourth made the score 9-2.
The Indians scored again in the seventh when Calaz hit a leadoff homer, and that was it for them. But the AquaSox were able to knock in two more runs in the ninth to make the final score 10-4.
On the pitching side, Yujanyer Herrera threw five innings and allowed two runs on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Luke Hansel relieved him for the final four, allowing two runs on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts to earn the save.
Low-A:San Jose Giants 5, Fresno Grizzlies 3
The Grizzlies were not as lucky in their final game, as they fell to the Giants (Giants) 5-3.
San Jose kicked things off right out of the gate when Lorenzo Meola hit a leadoff homer. Luke Nixon then doubled and Dario Reynoso struck out. But then Jeremiah Jenkins was hit by a pitch and Drew Smith singled to score Nixon. They scored again in the third when Nixon walked to lead things off and Reynoso struck out again, but then Jenkins singled and Drew Smith grounded out to score Nixon. In the fifth, Reynoso led off with a double and was scored two batters later by a Smith single to make things 4-0.
The Grizzlies finally got on the board in the fifth when Jesus Freitez tripled, Cort MacDonald doubled to score him, and Kyle Fossum singled to score MacDonald. Sebastian Blanco then doubled to score Fossum and put the Grizzlies within on, but they were unable to capitalize on the pitching change after that. The final run of the game was scored in the ninth when Yanzel Correa got two quick outs, but then hit Meola, who stole second, and allowed a hit to Nixon to make the final score 5-3. The Grizzlies went 1-2-3 in the ninth, when Carlos Renzullo was called out on strikes to end it.
Ronny Ugarte went 2-for 4 with a strikeout. MacDonald went 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. And Freitez, Fossum and Blanco each had one hit apiece.
On the pitching side, Tanner Sagouspe was the only pitcher to not allow a run, pitching a scoreless seventh and eighth in which he didn’t allow a hit nor a run, and only walked one while striking out three.
Sac-bunt extraordinaire Veen embracing new role with Rockies | MLB.com
Zac Veen has had a few clutch hits this week, including two late safety squeezes against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday and Saturday. He also had a clutch hit late in yesterday’s contest, as well as one on Wednesday that set up the walk-off win against the Baltimore Orioles. Thomas Harding spoke with Veen about his new role and how he’s fitting in with this team since he was called up just a few short weeks ago, and asked Warren Schaeffer a little bit about how he constructs his lineups throughout the game.
With Orioles in Denver, Holliday family creating more memories at Coors Field | Denver Gazette ($)
It was a special series for both the Rockies (who won two of three games against the Orioles) and Jackson Holliday, as he recorded his first home run at the ballpark he grew up going to with his dad, Matt, and brother, Ethan, who is now in the Rockies organization. Kevin Henry caught up with the elder brother about his memories, as well as gets an update on the younger brother as he recovers from a stress fracture in his foot that ended his 2026 campaign.
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Happy Labor Day, San Francisco Giants fans. On account of the holiday, the usual weekend Minor League Baseball roundup will have to wait until Tuesday, instead of going up today. But, since there’s not much to talk about with the big league team, it seemed like I should give you a sneak peak today.
Jackson Flora, the NorCal born and raised Giants fan that the team took with the fourth overall pick in July, made his professional debut on Friday for Low-A San Jose. It went fairly swimmingly, as Flora struck out two batters in a scoreless first inning, albeit with a hit and a walk.
That will go down as Flora’s only official appearance this year, as the Low-A and High-A seasons ended on Sunday. But we’ll likely see him pitch again sometime this week in the postseason.
The future is bright. Which is great, because the present sure as heck isn’t.
Speaking of the present, here’s what’s on tap for the week: the Giants kick off a six-game home stand tonight with a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, followed by three against the San Diego Padres, with a Thursday off-day thrown in there.
The Giants are Cardinals play holiday baseball at 5:10 p.m. PT tonight.
Gage Ziehl put Buffalo (Blue Jays AAA) on the board with a home run, but that was the only run he allowed in his five innings. The bullpen (Angel Bastardo and Tyler Samaniego) were not as lucky, as they got taken for a seven-run ride in the seventh. This was enough to erase the lead Worcester had amassed throughout the game through some three-hit games from Franklin Arias, Kristian Campbell and Romy Gonzalez, the last of whom is tearing the cover off the ball in Triple-A following a demotion. Even with the team stranding ten, those hits kept them in good position to win Sunday until the lead slipped away.
Henry Godbout’s latest home run is just the newest indication that you can’t judge performance after a promotion too soon. He continued to swing a hot bat against the BaySox (Orioles AA) as he hit his fifteenth home run of the season but his eighth in just a month. The homer was part of a 3-for-5 afternoon for the 2025 Competitive Balance round pick as he adjusts to his third playing level of 2026. Sunday as a whole was something of a home run derby for the Sea Dogs, as Tyler McDonough, Will Turner, and Max Ferguson all chipped balls over the wall before the fifth inning was even over. Meanwhile, the pitching staff, which allowed two home runs of their own up, came together to strike out thirteen BaySox batters as they cruised to a win in the penultimate Sunday game of their season.
The Drive didn’t get yet another walk off in Bowling Green (Rays High-A). The Hot Rods put up all 4 runs of offense very late, the Drive were actually having kept them off the board through 7. Leighton Finley, who was rewarded for an effective first full season in professional baseball with a start in High-A to finish off the season, pitched brilliantly though his afternoon was a little short. But he put the team in a great position to win, striking out 7 out and allowing just 1 hit. Jake Schaffner and Owen Hull reached the final game of their first season in the pros and there’s a lot to look forward to as they continue to move through the farm.
Salem’s final game of 2026 was a loss that was closer than it appeared it might be at the beginning, as Lynchburg (Guardians A) took them for fourteen hits and eight walks. But Andrews Opata, who had 58 stolen bases on the season, kept it interesting early with his 11th home run. Some 2026 draft picks also got some hits in this game; Willis McGinnis and Colton Coates, to name a couple. Catcher Kleyvar Salazar also added in three hits of his own, but this game was an uphill battle even with the multitude of offense because the Howlers put seven on the RidgeYaks within the first four innings. It wasn’t always pretty for the lowest level of the system in 2026. I think the most comforting thing I can say is that at least draft picks from the most recent draft were productive within days of suiting up for the first time.
When it matters most, its is always best when your stars show up. And in this huge series against the Phillies, that is exactly what Ronald Acuna Jr. has done. He delivered the game tying home run as the Braves came from behind late to get a big 5-4 victory. Tyler Mahle once again showed he can be trusted in a playoff-type setting, as he kept the Braves close early. And it was awesome to see Austin Riley get the game winning hit. Overall, despite their ups and downs, the Braves once again proved they can get the job done against the best teams.
While he does not come across as one most of the time, Acuna Jr. certainly seems to enjoy playing the villain against the Phillies.
Connor Essenburg impressed once again over the weekend.
J.R. Ritchie was highly impressive with 15 ks in his start on Sunday, a first in the minors since 2024.
The Padres used some early power in historic fashion to get a Sunday win. \
As Shohei Ohtani continues to manage some injury concerns, there is a good chance he will not pitch again in 2026.
SYRACUSE 4, ROCHESTER 3 (BOX)
Rochester scored a pair of runs in the first and another run in the eighth to give them three runs. Syracuse scored a run in the fourth and then a pair in the eighth to give them three runs as well. In the top of the ninth, with the score tied at 3-3, Chase McDermott had a gritty outing, getting his first two batters out before finally recording the inning’s third out after working around a catcher’s interference runner and a walk. In the bottom of the inning, MJ Melendez got on base representing the winning run and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Jose Ramos walked, Big Billy Amick came up to the plate, and what would you expect your team’s big bopper to do? Lay down a sacrifice bunt? Exactly. The move caused so much confusion that pitcher Eddy Yean threw wide to first, missing first baseman Liover Peguero’s glove and allowing Melendez to scamper home for the win. With the victory, Syracuse finds themselves 2.5 games behind the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and the Red Wings, who are now tied for first place in the International League. The Indianapolis Indians are 1.5 games back, while the Worcester Red Sox and St. Paul Twins are 2.0 back. The Mets will be playing those same Twins this upcoming week.
· CF D’Andre Smith: 2-4, R, 2B, HR (4), 2 RBI, K
· 2B Émilien Pitre: 0-3, K, HBP
· SS Ronny Mauricio: 0-3, HBP
· DH MJ Melendez: 2-4, R, K, CS (6)
· RF Jose Ramos: 0-3, BB, 2 K
· 1B Billy Amick: 0-2, R, BB, K
· LF Ryan Clifford: 0-2, BB
· 3B Nick Lorusso: 0-3
· C Kevin Parada: 1-3, 2B, RBI
· PR Vidal Bruján: 0-0, R
· C Hayden Senger: 0-0, E (3)
· RHP Gary Gill Hill: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, E (1)
· RHP Cameron Weston: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
· RHP Dylan Ross: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
· RHP Chayce McDermott: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, W (2-0)
ROSTER ALERT: RHP Gary Gill Hill assigned to Syracuse Mets from Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
ROSTER ALERT: Syracuse Mets activated 3B Billy Amick from the temporarily inactive list.
ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets optioned LHP Jefry Yan to Syracuse Mets.
ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets recalled RHP Tobias Myers from Syracuse Mets.
NEW HAMPSHIRE 7, BINGHAMTON 6 (BOX)
New Hampshire took the initial lead in this one, but Binghamton tied things up and then took the lead themselves in the bottom of the fourth on a two-RBI single off the bat of Jacob Reimer. Both teams settled down for a bit, but in the seventh, Binghamton exploded for four runs, powered by a Marco Vargas RBI single and a three-run Jefferson Rojas shot. Up 6-1 going into the ninth, Carlos Guzman had an epic meltdown, allowing six consecutive batters to reach base and three runs to score. His replacement, Gabriel Rodriguez, got the next two outs with the bases juiced before allowing a bases-clearing double that gave the Fisher Cats a 7-6 lead. The Rumble Ponies did not go down meekly, getting the tying run to third and putting the winning run on with only one out, but Jacob Reimer grounded into an extremely inopportune double play and that was that. With the loss, combined with Reading’s win over Hartford, Binghamton fell to 3.5 games back. The Fightin’ Phils will be taking on the Erie SeaWolves this upcoming week, while Binghamton will have an easier time, taking on the Portland Sea Dogs.
· 2B Mitch Voit: 1-5, K, SB (7)
· SS Marco Vargas: 1-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2 K
· DH Jefferson Rojas: 4-5, 2 R, 2B, HR (9), 3 RBI, K
· 3B Jacob Reimer: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K, CS (4)
· C Chris Suero: 0-3, BB, K
· RF Eli Serrano III: 0-3, BB, 2 K
· LF Corey Collins: 1-4, R, K
· CF JT Benson: 1-4, R, 2 K
· 1B Jamari Baylor: 1-4, 3B, 2 K
· RHP Gabe Davis: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, WP
· RHP Bryce Conley: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
· RHP Brendan Girton: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
· RHP Carlos Guzman: 0.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, L (6-2)
· LHP Gabriel Rodriguez: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, BS (2)
FREDERICK 6, BROOKLYN 5 (BOX)
Calvin Ziegler opened the game, and while the right-hander has been better of late, he has had multiple games this season where he allowed multiple runs in an inning or less of work. In the 2026 Brooklyn Cyclones season finale, Ziegler was money, throwing a perfect inning of work, striking out one. That was the high-water mark of this contest, as the Cyclones completely imploded in the second. Luis Rodriguez, recorded only a single out- a sac bunt, none the less- and his replacement, Rafi Vazquez, gave up four hits, allowing four more runs to score, three of which were charged to Rodriquez and one himself. Improbably, the Cyclones offense fought back and made this a competitive ballgame, scoring two runs in the third and two in the fourth and one in the fifth to make it a 6-5 contest, but they were unable to get over that hump. With the loss, Brooklyn ends their second half below .500 and ended up with a losing record in both halves for the first time since the South Atlantic League moved to a split-season format in 2022.
· SS Elian Peña: 1-5, R, 2B, K
· CF Aidan Smith: 3-5, R, 2 RBI, K, SB (25)
· 1B-3B Cole Mathis: 0-3, BB, SB (1)
· LF Trey Snyder: 1-4, RBI, K
· RF Yonatan Henriquez: 2-4, K, CS (10)
· DH Ronald Hernandez: 0-2, R, 2 BB
· 2B Colin Houck: 2-2, 2 R, 2B, BB, HBP
· 3B Antonio Jimenez: 0-3, K
· 1B Chase Meggers: 0-1, K
· C Alejandro Urias: 1-3, 2 RBI, BB, K. PB (1)
· RHP Calvin Ziegler: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
· LHP Luis R. Rodriguez: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 0 K, HBP, L (0-3)
· RHP Rafi Vazquez: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
· RHP Ernesto Mercedes: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
· RHP Juan Arnaud: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, WP
· RHP Elwis Mijares: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
· RHP Parker Carlson: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
ST. LUCIE 11, JUPITER 10 / 12 (BOX)
This game technically began on Saturday, as Saturday’s game between the St. Lucie Mets and Jupiter Hammerheads was suspended in the first inning due to inclement weather with the score tied 1-1 thanks to a Jake Ogden homer for the Mets and a Luis Arana steal of home plate for the Hammerheads. Rather than play a doubleheader between two sub-.500 teams, a full nine-inning game was played and the second contest completely cancelled. As soon as the game resumed, Ryan Tayman hit a homer to give the Mets the lead, but it wouldn’t last long as Irving Cota gave the run right back in the top of the second. St. Lucie scratched out a run to take the lead back, and then scored another, and then another. Going into the top of the ninth, St. Lucie had a comfortable 6-2 lead, but the bullpen had other ideas. The Hammerheads plated five in the inning to take the lead. Down to their last out, the Mets fought back, with Tayman and Yovanny Rodriguez drawing back-to-back walks. Pinch runner Vladi Gomez stole third, and then was driven home by a Kuhio Aloy single to tie things up at seven apiece and into extra innings things went. Both teams scored in the tenth, neither scored in the eleventh, and in the twelfth, things looked grim when the Hammerheads scored two, but Dylan Carey ended the game in storybook fashion, blasting a two-run homer to win it for the Mets and end the 2026 season, one that was largely a bad one for St. Lucie, on a positive note.
· SS Bruin Agbayani: 0-4, 2 RBI, BB
· SS Jeremy Rodriguez: 0-1, K
· CF Jake Ogden: 1-5, R, HR (1), 2 RBI, BB, K, SB (4)
· REHAB ALERT 2B Boston Baro: 0-0
· PH-2B Yunior Amparo: 0-6, 5 K
· C Ryan Tayman: 1-3, R, HR (5), RBI, 2 BB, K, E (5)
· PR Vladi Gomez: 0-0, R, SB (12)
· C Julio Zayas: 0-0, BB
· DH Yovanny Rodriguez: 0-5, BB, 2 K
· LF Kuhio Aloy: 2-5, 3 R, RBI, BB, 3 K
· 1B Reed Stallman: 1-5, 2 R, 2 K, HBP
· RF Branny De Oleo: 0-0
· RF Jack Toomey: 1-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K
· 3B Dylan Carey: 1-4, R, HR (2), 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, SB (3)
· RHP Alex Petrovic: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
· RHP Irving Cota: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
· PRH Luke McNeillie: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, H (1)
· RHP Landon Koenig: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, H (1)
· RHP Gavin Guidry: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
· LHP Zach Crotchfelt: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
· RHP Candido Cuevas: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
· RHP Jonathan Jimenez: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, WP
· RHP Christian Rodriguez: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, HBP
· RHP Miguel Mejias: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
· RHP Brett Banks: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (1-1)
ROSTER ALERT: St. Lucie Mets transferred RHP Peyton Prescott to the Development List.
ROSTER ALERT: RHP Landon Koenig assigned to St. Lucie Mets from FCL Mets.
ROSTER ALERT: RHP Gavin Guidry assigned to St. Lucie Mets from FCL Mets.
NO GAME (SEASON OVER)
Billy Amick/Dylan Carey
Luis Rodriguez/Carlos Guzman
Free of charge for the discerning reader.
Happy birthday to Mark Prior, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1998 – Mariners’ OF Ken Griffey, Jr. has four hits, including two homers, and reaches the 50-home run level. He’s the third player to do so in successive seasons. Seattle defeats the Orioles, 11 – 1, as Griffey knocks in six runs, and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
Today in Cubs history:
Cubs Birthdays:Wade Davis, Mark Prior*, Wade Rowdon, Reggie Otero, Bill McAfee, Curt Davis.
Today in history:
*pictured.
Happy Monday, Camden Chatters. If you’re off work for the long weekend, remember those in the Labor Movement who fought for your right to work reasonable hours, among other things.
As for the Orioles, I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say they played themselves into irrelevance over the weekend. Having been mopped by the Red Sox in the four-game series, the Orioles find themselves four games out of the final Wild Card spot with just 18 games remaining. It’s over.
They were simply wretched over the weekend. After blowing a winnable game on Thursday, the team went into hibernation for the rest of the series. They were shut out Friday and Saturday, then eked out a single run yesterday in a 3-1 loss. You can get the full details of yesterday’s loss in John Beers’s recap.
One thing that stood out to me over the weekend was the bizarre decision-making process by Craig Albernaz and/or Mike Elias. Firstly, Samuel Basallo. The Orioles signed Basallo to a big contract extension, essentially naming him the catcher of the future. They traded away Adley Rutschman, presumably in part because they already had Basallo. And yet, Basallo started just one game this series because the Red Sox used three lefty starting pitchers.
Is Basallo a platoon bat? The Orioles seem to be telling us he is. Why would they give a platoon bat the contract they gave him? And even if you prefer to use Basallo as a platoon bat, it really only works if you have another bat who can fill in nearly as well. But they do not have that. They have Carlos Narváez, who as an Oriole his batting .083/.191/.100. Are you saying Basallo can’t do that?
Back in June, there was some hubbub around Basallo’s inability or unwillingness to play while injured. Albernaz did not look good when that happened. I’m not saying Albernaz doesn’t like Basallo; I know nothing about their relationship. But I know what it looks like to an outsider, and it looks like Albernaz doesn’t think Basallo is good enough to be an everyday catcher. And it looks like Albernaz makes decisions that harm the team.
I am not a doom-and-gloom guy when it comes to baseball managers. In fact, I tend to think they matter less than some people think. Historically, if a manager makes a move I don’t understand, especially with the lineup, I assume they have more information than me. But I have a hard time feeling that way about Albernaz. It seems obvious that he is in over his head not only with his managing choices, but also with his interactions with the press. It’s a bad scene.
The Orioles begin a three-game home series tonight with the Guardians. Last week, this series seemed huge. This week, not so much. The Orioles could sweep the series and would still be a game out of the final Wild Card spot. And I’m sure the Blue Jays and the Rangers would be happy to see the Orioles take down Cleveland. Those two teams are at the front of the pack to nab that final playoff spot.
Now that the season is basically over, I want to see some changes. Well, I wanted to see some changes earlier, but it’s clear the Orioles have no regard for what I want. No offense to Reece Hinds, but get Enrique Bradfield Jr. up here. And for heaven’s sake, get Basallo in the lineup almost every day.
Links
Luis Robert Jr., new Orioles outfielder, hits injured list with hamstring discomfort – The Baltimore Banner
Not that this matters anymore, but Robert could be out for the rest of the season. What was your favorite part of the Luis Robert Jr. era?
Who was at the Orioles’ game last night? The answer is Jeopardy’s Ken Jennings – Baltimore Baseball
This is a few days old, but I think we could use a little lightheartedness. I also think Milwaukee’s stadium is a dark horse, Ken Jennings. Did you know that Camden Chat was once a clue on Jeopardy! If you’ve never seen it before, here’s the clip.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have five Orioles birthday buddies, although I’ll be honest and say that I have only heard of one of them. David Nehwan is 53 years old today. Newhan had an eight-season Major League career that included three years with the Orioles. From 2004-06, the utility player appeared in 230 games for Baltimore. The best year of his career came in 2004, when he hit .311/.361/.453 in 95 games.
Also born on this day in history are former Orioles Willie Morales (54), Wade Rowdon (66), Orlando Sánchez (70), and Tommy Matchick (b. 1943, d. 2022).
On this day in 1996, the Orioles shut out the Tigers 6-0. Mike Mussina pitched a complete game with six hit, one walk, and 11 strikeouts. Bobby Bonilla hit his 25th home run. It was the team’s first shutout of the season in game 141.
In 2012, the Cubs claimed pitcher Jason Berken off waivers from the Orioles, ending his three-plus seasons run with the team. Without meaning any disrespect, Berken remains the worst Oriole to ever get a t-shirt day.
In 2018, the Orioles lost their 100th game of the year, giving them an unbelievable record of 41-100. They lost 14-2 to the Rays as Dylan Bundy gave up six runs in four innings before being pulled in favor of some of the worst relief pitchers you’ve ever seen.
And one year ago today, the Orioles lost to the Dodgers 5-2. Starter Tomoyuki Sugano allowed four runs in three innings. The Orioles’ runs scored on back-to-back doubles from Emmanuel Rivera and Alex Jackson.
What was with those pitch calls by Garrett Stubbs to Ronald Acuna in the eighth inning? Seven straight fastballs in that situation? Really? That was the scouting report they chose to use? Seems a little sketchy to be doing that one.
On to the links.
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