Category: Baseball

The Cleveland Guardians made up some ground in the AL Central race with today’s victory over the Minnesota Twins. Steven Kwan started things off with a second pitch bang.

This immediate lead gave the team some great momentum through the game. Tanner Bibee had one of the best starts of his 2026 campaign. Bibee only gave up two runs on four hits and two walks and struck out seven in 6.2 innings of work. He never really had a huge threat on the base path, with one of the runs coming from a solo home run. Hunter Gaddis went 0.2 of scoreless ball, allowing one hit. Erik Sabrowski pitched 0.2 scoreless innings too, leaving things to Matt Festa to close things out. Festa gave them a clean ninth, only allowing one baserunner and striking out two.

Cleveland put up a couple of runs via the home run, and Jo Adell absolutely demolished one. 451 feet, 116.8 mph off the bat, an absolute beauty.

Not to forget their roots, the Guardians threw in some small ball in the top of the fourth to tack on two runs. Brayan Rocchio reached on a one-out hit by pitch then stole second to put himself in scoring position. Steven Kwan doubled on a liner to right to score Rocchio. Chase DeLauter grounded out for the second out, but it moved Kwan to third in the process. Travis Bazzana hit a single on a liner to right to score Kwan and give Cleveland a 4-1 lead.

In the top of the sixth, Brayan Rocchio lead things off with a single to right. With two outs, Travis Bazzana hit a home run of his own, scoring Rocchio and giving the Guards a five run lead.

Cleveland pretty much sealed the deal in the top of the ninth. Chase DeLauter singled on a grounder to right and was lifted for pinch runner Petey Halpin. Travis Bazzana drew a walk and forced a pitching change. Jo Adell hit a ground-rule double scoring Petey and moving Travis to third. Nathaniel Lowe hit a sac fly to left, scoring Travis easily and giving the space for Adell to move to third. Angel Martínez doubled to center, scoring Adell for the final Cleveland run of the game.

Steven Kwan had a fantastic game, going 3-for-4 with only a triple shy of a cycle and a walk. He had two runs and two RBI. Travis Bazzana went 2-for-4 with two runs, three RBI, and walk. Jo Adell went 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI.

The Chicago White Sox come to town tomorrow after dropping back-to-back series against the Pirates and Cardinals. That means they will be desperate for a win in a series that practically determines who raises the AL Central pennant next year. It will make for some gritty baseball that hopefully ends in Cleveland’s favor.

Dodgers rookie Josue De Paula’s first major-league hit was a no-doubter off the bat.

He’d already fouled off three sinkers in the at-bat and was rewarded with a four-seam fastball on the inner third of the plate. He extended through it and admired the ball’s flight to loanDepot Park’s right-field upper deck, his bat at his side.

The Dodgers dugout turned raucous.

In the Dodgers’ 6-4 walk-off loss against the Marlins on Sunday, De Paula’s three-run home run in the fourth inning gave the team a spark on offense. He also drew a walk and hit a double to reach base in every plate appearance.

As Dodgers starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan turned in a two-hit gem over the course of six scoreless innings, De Paula carried the offense. The Dodgers logged just two other extra-base hits, a double from Will Smith to lead off the fourth, and an RBI double from Mookie Betts in the ninth.

Read more:Josue De Paula shows poise in his much-anticipated debut as Dodgers beat Marlins

Then to start a bullpen meltdown, reliever Edgardo Henriquez gave up two runs in the eighth to make it a nail-biter. Closer Tanner Scott finished the inning, but after allowing an infield single and a bunt for a base hit in the ninth, he surrendered a game-tying double to Javier Sanoja. Right-hander Brock Stewart replaced him and gave up a walk-off two-run homer to Agustín Ramírez.

De Paula’s day started with a first: a major-league start in the outfield. He’d served as the designated hitter in his first two big-league games, racking up three walks in eight plate appearances. But the Dodgers’ lineup Sunday was missing left fielder Teoscar Hernández and utility man Tommy Edman.

Manager Dave Roberts explained that, for them, he wanted to avoid the toll of playing three straight days in a turf outfield. So, De Paula went out to left field, and Alex Call started in center field.

De Paula’s defense is behind his offensive game, but the Dodgers have been pleased with his progress lately. And he’s bought into a pregame routine with third base coach Dino Ebel in his short time with the team.

“Being candid, I don’t think that he’s valued it as much as he will,” Roberts said earlier this week. “And it just has to be important. Certainly, when you get to the big leagues, outs are important, converting outs are important. And so, he’s a young player, he’s 21 years old. His bat has certainly got him here, but it’s our job to make him value defense and get him to be a better defender.”

De Paula immediately impressed with the quality of his at-bats — “I don’t think he swung at a ball out of the hitting zone,” Roberts said Saturday — and he again showed off his plate discipline in his first at-bat Sunday, drawing a five-pitch walk in the second inning.

Then, in the fourth, he stepped into the biggest situation of his young major-league career: a 0-0 ballgame, with runners on first and second. And his patience paid off.

The crack of the bat echoed the thunder that had been rumbling outside of the roofed ballpark for much of the afternoon.

Read more:'He didn't feel great.' Tyler Glasnow struggles as Marlins end Dodgers' win streak

He lifted Marlins starter Eury Pérez’s fastball at a 39-degree launch angle, according to Statcast, 108.2 mph off the bat.

De Paula tossed his bat aside, looked into the Dodgers dugout and slapped his chest across the letters.

He logged his second major-league hit in the next at-bat. With two outs in the sixth inning, he lined a splitter from Marlins right-handed reliever Jack Ralston off the wall in right-center field for a double.

Rojas returns

Roberts also made sure to get Miguel Rojas in the lineup Sunday, in what may be the former Marlin’s last game at loanDepot Park. Rojas has shied away from a full farewell tour but is contemplating returning after the season and transitioning into a player development role.

“I had a conversation with him about a week ago about potentially getting a start here,” Roberts said. “That’s something that meant a lot to him. I don’t know how emotional you’re going to see him. Maybe at the end of the game or to start the game I think you’ll probably see some kinds of emotions if you’re looking closely. This has been an important place for him, an important organization. So for him to get a potential final start here, it’s important for him.”

The Marlins played a tribute video for Rojas after the first inning. At the top of the dugout stairs, he put his hand over his heart and acknowledged the cheering crowd.

In the eighth inning, he dove after a ground ball up the middle, as shortstop Mookie Betts hurdled over him, and was slow to get up, holding his right shoulder. But after a conversation with an athletic trainer and a couple practice throws, he remained in the game for the rest of the inning. Edman pinch hit for him against a right-handed reliever in the top of the ninth.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The final game of the 2026 Subway Series was a well pitched game by both teams, starting with both Christian Scott and Cam Schlittler throwing quality starts.

Schlittler, who is one of the very best pitchers in the league, was as dominant as he has been all season. The 25 year old righty surrendered just one hit, a fifth inning Brett Baty double, en route to his 14th win of the season. He walked just two, and struck out eight, lowering his ERA to 1.95 on the season. He is truly excellent, and today was no different. He was only lifted from the game after getting hit with a comebacker on the leg in his sixth and final inning, though Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he will be okay.

Christian Scott, to his credit, was nearly as good as Schlittler on the day. He gave up three hits, also walked two, and struck out seven. Unfortunately for Scott and the Mets, two of those three hits were solo home runs; one by Ben Rice in the first inning, and the second by Austin Wells in the third inning. Scott, who also went six innings, sits with a very solid 3.76 ERA on the season after the tough luck loss.

As you can imagine by the shutout, the Mets were at their wits end offensively even after Schlittler was lifted from the game. They went down in order against Brent Headrick in the seventh, got a runner on by way of a Francisco Alvarez single in the eighth against Old Friend Paul Blackburn, and got a runner on in the ninth against closer David Bednar (a Bo Bichette single), but did not really come close to tying the game.

The Mets bullpen did their best efforts to keep them in the game after Scott left. Nate Lavander and Austin Warren both worked around walks in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. It was a very well-pitched game, with the two solo home runs for the Yankees putting them on top.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Francisco Alvarez and Christian Scott, +2% WPA
Big Mets loser: Carson Benge, -12% WPA
Mets pitchers: +6% WPA
Mets hitters: -5.6% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Francisco Alvarez’s eighth inning single, 6.7+% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Ben Rice’s solo home run, -9.9% WPA

MIAMI –– The Dodgers’ bullpen melted down once again on Sunday in Miami.

Only this time, they got an unhelpful hand from some shaky late-game defense.

In a 6-4 loss to the Miami Marlins, the Dodgers allowed all of the scoring in the final two innings of what became a walk-off defeat; watching three high-leverage relievers –– Edgardo Henriquez, Tanner Scott and Brock Stewart –– falter after their infield gave away extra outs behind them.

In Henriquez’s two-run eighth inning, one would-be groundout instead snuck between shortstop Mookie Betts and second baseman Miguel Rojas, leaving Rojas injured after he made a late sliding attempt. Another got stuck in Betts’ hand while he tried to make a charging throw on the run, gifting the Marlins a free scoring opportunity that would lead to a two-run single from Otto Lopez.

The four-run ninth inning, which was capped off by Agustín Ramírez’s walk-off homer against Stewart, was just as frustrating, as Scott’s bid for a four-out save imploded after a pair of infield singles; one on a bunt, and another on a bad underhand flipped from a hobbled Freddie Freeman at first base.

“When you give a team extra outs,” manager Dave Roberts said, “that’s what happens.”

Initially, it appeared as though the Dodgers might still escape.

After Lopez’s single in the eighth, Scott replaced Henriquez to face Griffin Conine and struck him out on three pitches to end the inning and keep a 3-2 lead intact.

In the top of the ninth, the Dodgers added to the advantage on Betts’ RBI double, giving them “enough to win” offensively, as Roberts put it, even though they left the bases loaded later in the frame.

Alas, the bottom of the ninth immediately went sideways on an Xavier Edwards ground ball to lead off the inning.

Freeman, who has been playing through a knee injury and is mired in a 1-for-26 slump, fielded the ball but made a bad underhand flip back to first. Scott had to adjust to it as he went to cover the base, and was too late to recover as Edwards beat the play out.

Jakob Marsee came up next and executed a perfect bunt inside the third-base line.

Then, Javier Sanoja got jammed by a slider but still muscled a two-run double into the left-field corner.

Just like that, the Dodgers’ lead was gone. It was only Scott’s fourth blown save in 26 opportunities this season, but also the sixth time in his last 11 outings he has given up a run.

“Actually, I think the last week has been really good as far as the stuff,” Roberts said when asked of that trend, which has pushed Scott’s ERA to 2.91. “Today I think was just an odd day.”

Four pitches later, the game was over. Stewart came in to face the pinch-hitting Ramírez, but grooved him a fastball that was launched to left for the walk-off blast.

“It was supposed to be up above the zone. That’s where my fastball plays best,” Stewart said. “Just missed my spot, threw it right down the middle.”

Thus, the Dodgers suffered a loss that wasted big days from Emmet Sheehan (who threw six scoreless innings in his start) and Josue De Paula (who mashed a monstrous three-run home run in the fourth inning for his first career hit), while also delaying any possibility of clinching a playoff spot for a second-straight day.

“It’s baseball,” Roberts said. “It sucks. It feels bad. But that’s part of the thing.”

With a sigh, he later added: “But yeah, today was a crappy one.”

Orioles 1 Jays 8

Well, Vlad finally homered at Rogers. He would have had two, except the wind pushed one back to make it just a double.

And Springer and Okamoto homered on either side of Vlad’s so the Jays could go back-to-back-to-back in the fifth inning.

We also got one in the second: Charles McAdoo started the inning with a single and Andrés Giménez doubled him home.

And four more in the eighth: Nathan Lukes walked. Two outs later, Brandon Valenzuela singled (and stole second). Myles Straw walked. Brett Bateman walked in a run. Springer doubled in three more (the Orioles left fielder let it bounce past him).

We had 10 hits, with the three home runs, and 5 walks today. Vlad had four, with the homer and double, just needed a triple. Springer had two. Bateman (with 2 walks), Clement and Straw (1 walk) had 0 fors.

Vlad had hits of 115.5 mph (single), 105.3 (double), 94.0 home run, and 82.3 (single). The home run wasn’t ‘crushed’, 350 feet. The double went further (but to center).

Dylan Cease wasn’t at the top of his game, but he threw 5 innings of 1 run ball. He gave up 5 walks and 4 hits, with 9 strikeouts, coming out of the game at 94 pitchers.

We used most of the pen too:

• Ricky Tiedemann gave up a hit and a walk, with a strikeout, while getting two outs.
• Braydon Fisher got the last out of the sixth.
• Mason Fluharty gave up a single and had a strikeout in the seventh.
• Tyler Rogers did the same in the eighth.
• And, since we scored four in the eighth, Michael Lorenzen pitched the ninth, giving up a pair of singles with a strikeout.

Jays of the Day: Vlad (0.15 WPA), Springer (0.13) and Cease (0.14). The relievers deserve an honourable mention.

No on gets the Other Award. Clement had the low mark at -0.08.

We play three against the Tigers in Toronto starting tomorrow.

While the Bucs’ season got off to a disappointing start with a loss in Cincinnati, the American League-best Rays completed a sweep of the Astros. The Rays plated two touchdowns worth of runs to keep them in great position to win the division title,

Freddy Peralta got the start and while he wasn’t quite as sharp as his last few starts, still pitched five no-hit innings and struck out four, while walking three batters. With an 11-0 lead and Peralta at 86 pitches, it created a good opportunity to give Brody Hopkins his MLB debut.

Hopkins showed off his electric fastball/curveball combo, but did get touched by a two-run homer from old friend Isaac Paredes. He got Yainer Diaz swinging to record his first big league strikeout.

Jonathan Aranda crossed the 20-home run mark for the first time in his career. He ranks seventh among all first basemen in wRC+ (132) since the start of the 2025 season.

Richie Palacios, who has been one of the team’s hottest hitters as of late, went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer. If Palacios can continue his production into October, it would go a long way towards lengthening this lineup.

Victor Mesa Jr. went 3-for-5, and was just a homer short of hitting for the cycle. I still find myself in disbelief that Mesa Jr. has been this good for the Rays, but he’s been arguably the best hitter in baseball in the month of September.

Nick Fortes even got in on the action with his fifth long ball of the year.

Sunday’s win mean the Rays hold on to their four-game lead atop the AL East, heading into an off day on Monday. They’ll continue their homestand on Tuesday against the Athletics, with Griffin Jax likely to take the mound in the series opener.

Cam Schlittler furthered his Cy Young case with another terrific outing and the Yankees got home runs from Ben Rice and Austin Wells to take the finale of this year's Subway Series with a 2-0 victory over the Mets in front of 45,508 at Yankee Stadium.

But the Yanks got a scare when Schlittler got nailed by a comebacker while getting the last out of the sixth inning. He did not return to the mound afterward, but there was no immediate word on any potential injury.

The Yankees' win meant the two city rivals split the annual series, three games apiece. Each team won the three-game series they hosted. The Mets are 21-27 all-time at the new Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees completed a 5-1 homestand.

Here are the main takeaways

-- In the sixth, Bo Bichette drilled a comebacker that hit Schlittler on what appeared to be the back of his right knee. The ball bounced right to Wells, who threw to first for the final out of the inning, but the main concern was the Yankees' ace. Schlittler took one hop after getting hit and then went right down the dugout steps and toward the Yankees' clubhouse. The Yanks' bullpen immediately saw some activity, and Schlittler was relieved by Brent Headrick at the start of the seventh.

-- Schlittler (14-6) was, as he's been all season, brilliant against the Yankees before he got hit by the comebacker. He threw six shutout innings and allowed just one hit while striking out eight and walking two. His fastball touched 100 several times, and the heat was difficult for the Mets to handle. Schlittler induced 15 swings and misses by the Mets and threw 60 of his 94 pitches for strikes. He also lowered his ERA to 1.95 on the season; it was 2.01 when his outing started.

-- Schlittler did not allow a hit through the first 4.2 innings, getting uncomfortable-looking swings and six strikeouts over that span. Brett Baty finally got the Mets’ first hit of the day when he lashed a liner into the right-field corner, his 21st double of the season, that came on Schlittler’s 73rd pitch.

-- The Yankees built an early 2-0 lead on solo home runs by Rice and Wells. Rice led off the bottom of the first by slugging a 1-1 pitch from Christian Scott over the right-field wall. It was Rice's third career leadoff home run and first of the season. It was also Rice's 38th blast of the year. In the third, Wells snapped an 0-for-20 slide by hitting the first pitch of the inning into the second deck in right field, a 392-foot blast. It was Wells' 11th home run of the season.

-- Entering the game, Scott had been good recently at suppressing home runs. He had only allowed three of them over 50.1 innings over his previous 10 starts. Still, Scott pitched pretty well overall in his first career Subway Series start, allowing just those two runs and three hits in six innings of work. It was probably his best start since late July. Scott (4-5) struck out seven and walked two. He got 13 swings-and-misses, according to Statcast.

-- Wondering how Anthony Volpe is handling second base when he plays there? Here's a taste -- he made a fine play in the third inning, taking away what could've been a hit by Baty. Baty swatted the ball toward the middle, and Volpe darted over, backhanded it and made a jump-throw to first for the out. He also made a neat reaction play on a hard liner by Carson Benge in the seventh, reaching up to snare it.

-- Aaron Judge, who started in right field Sunday and played every game of the series, was 0-for-3 and struck out three times against Scott. Since he returned from the injured list, Judge is 3-for-17 (.177) with nine strikeouts.

-- The Yankee bullpen got scoreless work from Headrick, Paul Blackburn and closer David Bednar, who each threw a shutout inning. Bednar earned his 34th save of the season.

Game MVP: Cam Schlittler

Schlittler threw six shutout innings in his 31st start of the season. He's now allowed one run or fewer in 21 of those starts, continuing his club record. It's also the most such starts in MLB this season.

Highlights

Cam Schlittler pumps in a 100 MPH fastball to start his day with a strikeout of Francisco Lindor pic.twitter.com/eEeg6VxSi0

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 13, 2026

Ben Rice's 38th home run of the year is a leadoff shot! pic.twitter.com/kDpQitAFcj

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 13, 2026

A BEAUTIFUL jump throw from second base by Anthony Volpe! pic.twitter.com/yH2azKX2tv

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 13, 2026

Austin Wells LONG gone! pic.twitter.com/xNfwy6gnB5

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 13, 2026

Brett Baty has the Mets' first hit of the day pic.twitter.com/7DRpqjnb6w

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 13, 2026

Cam Schlittler wins the battle against Juan Soto pic.twitter.com/BIsEw7kUAc

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees)

Cam Schlittler went directly to the clubhouse after being hit with an 111 MPH line drive off the bat of Bo Bichette pic.twitter.com/RtftsmwxUX

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 13, 2026

What's next

The Yankees (86-63) start a three-game series at the Minnesota Twins with Monday's 7:40 p.m. opener.

The Mets (69-80) start a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles with Monday's 7:10 p.m. opener on SNY.

Emmet Sheehan had his second great start of the week, and was backed by Josue De Paula’s first major league home run. The Marlins only had three base runners and no runs in the first seven innings. But the Dodgers’ two best relievers could only get three more outs in a stunning 6-4 loss on Sunday afternoon at loanDepot Park in Miami.

Edgardo Henríquez in the eighth up 3-0 had his first rough inning in a while, like Sheehan he allowed two singles, one of the infield variety, plus a walk. But Henríquez was unable to keep the Marlins at bat, surrendering a two-run single by Otto Lopez to pull to within a run. That snapped a string of 11 consecutive scoreless appearances by Henríquez, totaling 10 1/3 innings.

Tanner Scott stranded runners at the corners with a three-pitch strikeout of Griffin Conine to end the eighth.

Insurance came in the top of the ninth when Alex Freeland’s second hit was followed by his steal of second base, then Mookie Betts plated him with a ground-rule double into the right field corner.

Miami got two more infield hits to open the ninth, on a bad throw to Scott by Freddie Freeman on a Xavier Edwards grounder then a bunt single by Jakob Marsee, putting the tying runs on base. Then Javier Sanoja doubled into the left field corner to tie the game and chase Scott, with the winning run on second base with nobody out.

Brock Stewart threw only four pitches, the last of which was deposited over the wall in left center field by pinch-hitter Agustín Ramírez for a walk-off, two-run home run.

Miami scored twice in the eighth inning and four times in the ninth, the latter with the Dodgers recording zero outs in the final frame.

Welcome aboard

Multiple times this weekend, manager Dave Roberts as well as the Dodgers’ television and radio broadcasts mentioned multiple times how in control De Paula looks in the box, how he rarely swings at pitches outside the strike zone and almost never looks overmatched.

De Paula worked a walk in each of his first three games, something last done by a Dodger in 1979 (by Mickey Hatcher). In his first nine plate appearances, De Paula walked four times but didn’t have a hit. But he broke that chain — figuratively and literally, as he had to put his broken necklace in his pocket — during his at-bat in the fourth inning, culminating in a 416-foot blast well over the right field wall, giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

De Paula is just 21 years, 112 days old, the sixth-youngest player in the majors this season. Only eight other Los Angeles Dodgers that young have homered, and none since Adrian Beltré on July 27, 2000.

When the Dodgers struggled offensively in Julyand August, finding the big punishing blow was a problem for them, with only six home runs with two or three runners on base in those two months combined, in 51 games. With Kyle Tucker’s grand slam on Friday and De Paula’s three-run shot on Sunday, the Dodgers already have six home runs with two or three on base in only 12 games this September.

De Paula nearly added a second home run in the sixth inning, but settled for a 385-foot double off the wall in right center field.

Sheehan, coming off a 10-strikeout win over the Cincinnati Reds last Monday in Los Angeles, retired his first nine batters faced on Sunday in Miami. He ran into a blip with two singles and a walk in the fourth inning, but stranded the bases loaded.

After that, Sheehan settled in and pitched two more perfect innings to get him through six scoreless innings, with five strikeouts. Despite needing 25 pitches to get through that fourth inning, Sheehan only threw 81 pitches in his six innings.

Sheehan was optioned to Triple-A on August 3, and found what he needed with Oklahoma City, reeling off three straight excellent starts for the Comets, which earned him both pitcher of the week and pitcher of the month honors in the Pacific Coast League. Now back with the Dodgers, Sheehan in September allowed one run in 11 2/3 innings, with 15 strikeouts against only two walks.

But Sheehan had nothing to show for it on Sunday.

Notes

• Miguel Rojas appeared to tweak his right shoulder trying to make a diving stab of a Joe Mack ground ball single in the eighth inning. Rojas was briefly tended to by assistant athletic director Yosuke Nakajima, and remained in the game to finish out the frame on defense. Tommy Edman pinch-hit for Rojas in the ninth and finished out the game at second base.
• Will Smith doubled in the fourth inning and was on base for De Paula’s home run. The Dodgers catcher has three extra-base hits in his last five games.
• Freddie Freeman sat consecutive games on Wednesday and Friday nursing a right knee injury, but was hitless on both Saturday and Sunday, now with no hits in his last 16 at-bats and just one for his last 25. Freeman grounded into a pair of double plays on Sunday giving him 20 on the season, most in the National League and the most in his 17-year career.

Sunday particulars

Home run: Josue De Paula (1); Agustín Ramírez (4)

WP — Dax Fulton (2): 2/3 IP, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

LP — Tanner Scott (1-6): 1/3 IP, 3 hits, 3 runs, 1 strikeout

Up next

The road trip satisfies the Belichickian ideal by moving onto Cincinnati, where the Dodgers will play four games against the reeling Reds beginning Monday night (3:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Tarik Skubal and Nick Lodolo face off in a battle of left-handers and a rematch of last Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

I almost wish I was a football enjoyer so I could have had something else on during this afternoon’s Braves-Phillies series finale. But alas, baseball is my one and only, and today’s contest was engineered in a lab to be Extremely Frustrating.

A sweep would have been lovely for Atlanta and their chances at the NL East crown. And for much of the game, they were kept right in it by great defense. But as we saw last night, one big inning can put the game to bed. This time it wasn’t in our favor.

We were young, fresh and hopeful in the first inning when we saw that things were working on both sides of the ball for the Braves in the first inning. Grant Holmes worked around a Trea Turner single to right with some outs in the air – Michael Harris II was all over Kyle Schwarber’s deep flyout, and some diving plays from Mauricio Dubón and Matt Olson took care of Bryce Harper and Luis Arraez. 

In the home half, the Braves came up swinging against Andrew Painter. Michael Harris II continued his reign of terror against the righty with a first-pitch single to right. After Ronald Acuña Jr. struck out, Mike timed things well to start running and was able to make it to third on an Olson single up the middle. Drake Baldwin’s sac fly took Bryce Harper all the way to the right field wall and made it 1-0 Braves. Dubón’s first-pitch single kept the line moving, but Ozzie Albies’ groundout ended the frame. 

Holmes got Bohm to fly out before allowing a single to Bryson Stott, who’d been hitless in the series so far. Brandon Marsh’s ground ball was hit too softly for a double play, so they got the out at second. But Holmes left a 3-1 fastball where J.T. Realmuto could drive it to left center field, giving the Phillies the 2-1 lead. One pitch later, Holmes got Justin Crawford to ground out. 

Austin Riley saw six pitches but lined out to Stott. The first pitch Mike Yastrzemski saw was hit down the first base line but Bohm got it to Painter for the groundout. Ha-Seong Kim earned a well-deserved walk after a changeup came up and in near his head and sent him sprawling on the ground. But Painter was able to get Michael to strike out on a foul tip, retiring him for the first time. 

The second time through the Phillies order in the third, they unfortunately stopped being fooled by Holmes much. He issued a leadoff walk to Schwarber and threw two balls to Turner before Baldwin went to the mound to chat with his pitcher. Harper’s lineout to Yaz in right was deep enough to move Schwarber to third. But no damage would be done after Arraez grounded one to Kim, who fired it over to Olson for a double play. 

Almost as quickly as Ronald got aboard to start the bottom of the third, he was erased by a double play by Matt. This was made all the more tragic after Drake’s immediate single to right. Mauricio swung at a first-pitch strike but then saw four straight balls. But once again, with runners at first and second, Ozzie ended the threat. His pop out to Turner sent us to the fourth. 

Holmes worked a 1-2-3 inning thanks to a Yaz catch in foul territory and Matt Olson continuing to put on a defensive clinic. Matty smooth. 

Riley started the fourth with a leadoff walk and jogged back to the dugout after Yaz grounded into a force out. Painter issued another free pass to Kim, bringing us back to the top of the lineup and prompting a mound visit. Michael watched ball one but wasted no time in stinging the next pitch for a single up the middle to load the bases. We all got our hopes up for something grand or reminiscent of yesterday’s massive fourth inning. Ronald got a bit of Painter’s changeup, but not enough as Harper gloved it in shallow right field and kept Yaz at third. Matt smoked one 101 mph that looked like it might sneak by Bohm, but he made the play to keep the Braves off the board.

Realmuto hit a ball to left that looked eerily similar to his earlier homer, but Dubón was waving and watching for the wall as it came back down. While it did stay in the park, it didn’t stay in his glove. Instead, it bounced out and allowed the Phillies catcher to reach second base. A single by the nine-hole hitter Crawford brought Schwarber up with runners at the corners with no outs. This prompted Walt Weiss to slowly stroll out to the mound to replace #66 with #62, the lefty Ray Kerr. 

Once again, where the Braves refuse to capitalize offensively, they’ll immediately get back in our good graces with spectacular defense. Schwarber’s grounder went straight to Olson, who looked over at Realmuto on third, tapped the bag at first, and then fired it over to Kim for a massive double play. Kerr then punched out Turner to get out of the jam and preserve Holmes’ final line: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K. Kerr has been perfect with inherited runners so far, which is something I’m sure we all predicted.

With that momentum, the Braves… continued to let Painter Get Away With It. In a sixteen-pitch inning where Dubón saw exactly half of those, Drake popped out to short, Dubón struck out, and Ozzie grounded out.

Kerr got into some trouble immediately with a leadoff Harper double, but a gift of a Luis Arraez bunt pop out, Bohm grounding out after a successful ABS challenge by Drake (!), and challenging Stott with three straight strikes stranded Harper at third. 

Painter’s afternoon ended after five innings. He gave up six hits and walked four, but only allowed the one run in the first. He was relieved by flamethrower rookie Alex McFarlane, who struck out Riley to start the bottom of the sixth. Yaz battled but stared at the ninth pitch of the AB for strike three, and Kim hit a 99 mph laser that was smothered by Arraez and thrown over to first. 

Kerr trotted back out to pitch in the seventh with Victor Mederos warming in the bullpen. But he wouldn’t be needed – Kerr struck out pinch-hitter Bryan De La Cruz and Realmuto, retiring the latter for the first time this afternoon, and got Crawford to ground out. What a day for Ray: three innings of one-hit ball with four K’s.

It felt like this game was cursed to end 2-1 by the seventh inning stretch. (It didn’t, first for better, then for much worse.)

Mound-perfectionist José Alvarado got the call to face the top of the Braves order in the seventh. Harris greeted him rudely with a single to center to make it a three-hit afternoon for our center fielder. A wild pitch advanced him to second before Ronald’s deep flyout got him to third. And thankfully, Matt immediately looped a cutter into left field to bring Michael home to tie the game at two runs apiece.

Some catcher-on-catcher crime occurred as Drake struck out on a ball that Realmuto challenged for strike three that barely clipped the corner. Mauricio made up for his misplay in left earlier with a single and stolen base. The throw to second got away from Arraez briefly, which might’ve allowed Matt to score, but he held up. Given his speed and grace of a newborn giraffe, I understand it but it ended up being frustrating since his buddy Ozzie was an absolute machine at leaving men on base this afternoon. Love him, but our second baseman added two more to his total of six men LOB with his rally-ending fly out to right. 

Dylan Lee entered and ran into trouble immediately. Schwarber hit a leadoff single, Turner grounded into a force out, and Harper doubled to right. Arraez’s pop out to third was a big second out. But Lee allowed a bases-clearing double to Bohm and an RBI single to Stott to make it 5-2 Phillies in the blink of an eye. Mederos was tasked with getting the final out of the eighth. After he allowed De La Cruz to reach with a single, Realmuto continued the hit parade with another single to make it 6-2. In between those hits, we got a brief glimpse of something new: an AJ Smith-Shawver getting loose in the bullpen. Just an interesting preview since he’s not slated to start in the upcoming Cubs series. 

Mederos walked Crawford to load the bases for Schwarber. Yaz had to wonder what baseball god he angered to have every ball be seemingly magnetized to the right field grass, because Schwarber’s double and Turner’s single were hit in his direction and tacked on three more runs to make it 9-2 before Mederos was lifted. Happy Braves debut, Bailey Falter. Thank you for getting the last out of this nasty eighth inning.

Now with a substantial lead, newly reinstated reliever Tanner Banks came on to pitch to the Braves and the Phillies took Harper out, subbing in Derek Hill. No chipping away to be found here with a Riley pop out to short, Yaz strikeout, and Kim groundout.

Falter worked around a Bohm single and Stott double, but otherwise kept the score where it was. Thank you again, Mr. Falter.

With one run being so insurmountable for most of the game, the vibes weren’t feeling great for a miraculous 7+ run rally in the bottom of the ninth. With the top of the order due up, Banks stayed in and got Harris to strike out. But an infield single from Ronald and home run #39 on the season for Matt Olson cut into the deficit a bit to make it 9-4. Drake was called out on strikes. Down to our final out, Dubón got quickly down to 0-2 before singling to Turner. But no two-out rally for us: Ozzie’s pop out to Realmuto in foul territory closed the book on this one. But here, enjoy the Matty O homer.

Silver linings: Matt Olson 3-for-5 with a home run and otherworldly first base defense. Michael Harris II, off the heels of last night’s four-hit game, also going 3-for-5. Mauricio Dubón with his own 3-for-4 afternoon. Ray Kerr the revelation. The series win and five game lead in the NL East with twelve left to play.

The Braves will now hit the road for a two-city trip to play the Cubs and Astros. Tomorrow’s series opener at Wrigley starts at 7:40 pm ET.

A team playing for the playoffs seemed more inspired than a team playing for pride. 

Or maybe motivation wasn’t a factor and Cam Schlittler’s power was simply overwhelming when matched against the Mets’ second-half pluck. 

Regardless of the reasoning, the Yankees showed why they will play far bigger series this season than the September Subway Series, which marked the last meaningful weekend of the schedule for the Mets. 

Schlittler was dominant to carry a lineup that consisted of just two meaningful swings in a 2-0 shutout of the Mets in front of 45,508 in The Bronx on Sunday afternoon, when the Yankees did not clinch a playoff spot but did claim a set from their red-hot, playing-for-nothing neighbors. 

“Special weekend for the city,” said Schlittler, who watched the Sept. 11 commemoration Friday and then heard Mets fans revel in a blowout win Saturday. “… It was a little frustrating [Saturday] just hearing all the Mets chants. 

“I wanted to make sure I could come in here today and kind of shut that down.” 

The Yankees (86-63) won a fifth out of six, narrowed their magic number to one to clinch a playoff spot and remained four games behind the Rays in the AL East, while the Mets (69-80) have gone 22-14 since a trade deadline in which they waved goodbye to much of their club and waved a white flag. 

Since Aug. 3, Mets season has taken on a different hue, with development more important than details like the score (and yet they have surged). 

Against the front-runner for the American League Cy Young — and perhaps MVP, which would be a rarity that several (though not Aaron Judge) on the Yankees endorsed after Schlittler’s latest gem — Sunday was an opportunity for growth. 

“Anytime you go up against the best, you actually should smile and enjoy the challenge of it,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said, though if there were any smiles Schlittler would have used his heat to erase those, too. 

The young righty was the best pitcher on the day and in the series, bulldozing through the sizzling Mets lineup through six scoreless, one-hit innings in which the Mets never really threatened — apart from accidentally threatening Schlittler’s health. 

His last batter of the matinee was Bo Bichette, who smashed a 111.5 mph comebacker off Schlittler’s right hamstring in a moment that evoked Spencer Jones vs. Clay Holmes. 

“Hard hit, so, it’ll be a fun couple days trying to get that recovered,” said Schlittler, who added that he believed he would make his next start. “I think we’re in a good spot.” 

Apart from the end of the top of the sixth, when Austin Wells grabbed the ricochet and threw out Bichette, Schlittler inflicted more pain than he felt while striking out eight and lowering his ERA to 1.95. Only three qualified Yankees pitchers since 1913 have finished a season with ERAs under 2.00: Spud Chandler (1.64 in 1943), Ron Guidry (1.74 in 1978) and Ray Caldwell (1.95 in 1914). 

The usual trio — Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn and David Bednar, who struck out a heavily booed Juan Soto in the ninth — locked down a game in which the Mets barely mounted a semblance of a rally, with just two at-bats with a runner in scoring position, and the Yankees’ scoring meant a pair of swings from Ben Rice and Wells. 

Against a solid Christian Scott (six innings, two runs, seven strikeouts, two walks), the Yankees only managed three hits, but two of those left the park. 

The first arrived on Scott’s fifth pitch, Rice hooking a splitter that did not dive enough, sending it 333 feet to take advantage of the short porch. 

“They snuck one out at about 315 feet,” Green said after Rice’s 38th dinger of the season. “Would have been nice if we had done that as well.” 

The Yankees lead doubled in the third, when an ice-cold Wells, who entered the at-bat in an 0-for-20 slide, turned on an up-in-the-zone four-seamer and clobbered it to the second deck in right. 

Virtually anything Wells offers offensively is a bonus considering the caliber of arms he is catching. 

“I think ‘valuable’ is a good word — he might be the MVP, too,” Aaron Boone said when asked about Schlittler’s value to the team. “He’s been awesome. … I think it’s got the feel a little bit of: You want to be here seeing it on the day he goes to the mound.”

The late innings have not been a fun time for the Nationals this season. However, that changed this weekend. The Nats overcame blown leads and actually found a way to mount offense and carry the day. They took advantage of a weak Angels bullpen and did just enough to get three one-run wins this weekend.

Riley Cornelio opened for Jake Irvin in this contest, and set the tone with 2 scoreless innings. Outside of a pair of solo homers, Irvin was also solid in his 5 innings of work. Blake Butera brought his right hander back out for the 8th inning, which ended up being a mistake though. Overall, it was a promising outing from both pitchers.

The Nats had a chance for a big inning in the first with the bases loaded and nobody out. However, they could not cash in due to a lack of timely hitting and hustle. James Wood had a chance to open the scoring if he ran hard, but instead he was jogging home. He probably thought that Zach Neto was going to throw to second base, but you still have to run harder.

Overall, it was not the cleanest game for the Nats. They walked 6 Angels hitters and CJ Abrams made a costly error in the 8th. Thankfully, they were playing the Angels who gave the Nats chances to stay in it. For the most part, the Nats took advantage of these opportunities with hustle ironically playing a big role.

The Nats got their first run due to CJ Abrams turning a single into a double with his speed. Yohandy Morales drove in Abrams to make it a one run game. They got the tying run thanks to Brady House beating out what would have been an inning ending double play.

The desire is still mostly there for the Nats. However, the execution and consistency leaves something to be desired. Heading into the 8th inning, this game was tied at 2. Both of these leaky bullpens changed that quickly though.

After Irvin walked the leadoff man, Butera pulled him for Erik Tolman. After lighting the world on fire early on, Tolman has come down to earth a bit lately. He was wild today, walking a batter and allowing a runner to score on a wild pitch. However, got let down by Abrams who booted a routine ground ball.

For most of this season, these blown leads would take a toll on the Nats offense. Thanks to some resiliency and the Angels bullpen, that was not the case today. The boys strung together five hits in the bottom of the 8th to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 lead. It was a true team effort with Lile, Vivas, Young and Crews all coming through.

As they tend to do, the Nats bullpen made things interesting in the 9th. Jack Sinclair gave up a double on the first pitch he threw. However, he buckled down and got the job done. The man on second ended up scoring after a pair of ground outs but that run did not matter. Sinclair mowed down Zach Neto with 3 sweepers and the ball game was over.

The Nats got their third sweep of the season. After being road warriors who struggled at home for most of the year, that script has flipped lately. The Nats can’t buy a win on the road, but have strung together some impressive home performances. I guess that is just baseball for you.

With their 70th win of the season, the Nats have a few milestones coming up. With two more wins, they will have the most wins in a season since 2019. If they get three more wins, they will avoid a 90 loss season. The Nats could also reach 75 wins with a 5-6 finish to the year. Even though they faded down the stretch, these would all be good signs of progression.

Even though it was the lowly Angels, this series was encouraging. They were finally able to win a few close games. CJ Abrams also looked the best he has in a while. Hopefully this can continue and the Nats can finish the season on a positive note.

It’s not quite true that all’s well that ends well, given that the good ending to this series in no way erases the fact that the Phillies lost said series. But it is true that batting around against a hated rival is really, really fun.

Trea Turner got the Phillies’ first hit on a little bloop, coming against Atlanta starter Grant Holmes; it didn’t look great coming off the bat, but it landed safely— Atlanta, being home to the country’s busiest airport, is used to safe landings. But not all landings are so smooth: Bryce Harper lined a ball to left, and that one did look good off the bat, but Maurcio Dubón dove to snatch it away. Another dive, this one from Matt Olson, took a hit away from Luis Arraez, and the Phillies ended the first without a run.

The Braves got started fast against Andrew Painter with a single from Michael Harris II and another from Olson; the latter of the two put his ball right up the middle. A sacrifice fly from Drake Baldwin put the Braves on the scoreboard first. The Phillies would not take long to respond: Bryson Stott singled, and while he was erased on a ground ball from Brandon Marsh, the Braves failed to turn the double play which would have ended the inning. This would become highly relevant just one batter later, as J.T. Realmuto saw a high four-seamer and decided to send it even higher, watching it arc and sail into the left-center seats for a 2-1 lead.

They’d keep working in the third, with both Kyle Schwarber and Turner walking to begin the frame, but it came to naught on a lineup and double play. That’s some misfortune, and the Phillies would encounter more of it in the bottom fourth, as the Braves used a combination of walks and a single to load the bases with just one away and Ronald Acuña Jr. at the plate. But luck turns, eventually, and Acuña flew out, shallowly enough that no run could score; a great grab from Arraez on an Olson grounder ended the inning.

More good fortune for the Phillies, and of their own making: Realmuto doubled when a ball bounced away from Dubón in left , and Justin Crawford singled to put runners on the corners with none away, ending Holmes’ day. But luck turns, sometimes sooner than you’d like. Ray Kerr came in from the bullpen to get the platoon advantage against Schwarber, successfully inducing a double play (3-4); a Turner strikeout ended the inning.

Alex McFarlane replaced Painter to start the sixth (final line: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 K), and worked a 1-2-3 inning. José Alvarado took the seventh, allowing a single to Harris II, then advanced him on a wild pitch. Hey scored an an Olson single, and the game was tied. And then it got worse: another single, then a misaimed ball on an attempt to put out a steal hit Arraez in the hand. Fortunately, Alvarado ended the inning before the Braves could take the lead, but the mood was decidedly sour.

The Phillies got Dylan Lee in the eighth, and Schwarber started things off with a single to right. He was soon sent back to the dugout on a force out, but the Phillies kept rolling, with Harper sending a Lee fastball right into the gap between the range of Olson at first and Mike Yastrzemski in right for a double. An Arraez pop out shifted the mood back to tension. Alec Bohm came to the plate in a tone-setting moment: an out would give the Phillies, already stinging from a seasons’ worth of painful losses to Atlanta, a sense of doom. But Bohm saw to it that fatalism would not rule the day: he smacked a pitch into center-right to clear the bases, giving the Phillies a 4-2 lead. He scored himself when Stott hit a single into shallow center. The skies cleared, the clouds vacated their positions. Optimism emerged like the first shoots of spring (or, for a more seasonally appropriate simile, like the first pumpkin spice lattes of fall).

The Braves pulled Lee; his replacement, Victor Mederos, fared no better, as Realmuto knocked one into center for another run. It was then, to quote a baseball great, Deja vu all over again as Schwarber came back to the plate, and got another single to right, scoring two more. Turner got a second chance too, and this time made good, sending one through the right-side gap for a RBI. 9-2, good guys. Mederos departed, and former Phillie Bailey Falter was tasked with getting the third out, doing so on a strikeout of Harper.

The recently returned Tanner Banks took the eighth, and showed no rust, in the eighth, putting three Braves down in order. He showed some in the ninth, allowing a two-run homer to Olson. On another day, in a tighter game, this would have produced enormous dread, despair, dismay. Today it produced no more than mild irritation. There was a bit more trouble, but nothing to write home about. The game concluded soon after.

The Phillies are 83-67. They’ll start a series in Washington on Tuesday at 6:45.

It really should have been expected when you think about it. There was a lack of energy in the stands at Busch Stadium Sunday afternoon as Michael McGreevy through the first pitch for the matinee game against the Chicago White Sox. After Saturday’s emotional induction of Pujols, Molina and Sherder into the Cardinals Hall of Fame, Sunday’s game was anti-climatic at least at the start. Alec Burleson would have something to say about that later, though.

The Chicago White Sox did not take long before they jumped out to an advantage. In the top of the 2nd inning, Benitendi reached with a one-out single. Peters then doubled which gave the White Sox runners at second and third with just one out. Chase Meidroth lifted a sacrifice fly to center for a 1-0 Chicago lead. Fortunately, McGreevy got Colson Montgomery to ground out without allowing any more runs.

While Michael McGreevy was pitching a fine game, his counterpart David Sandlin was even better for the White Sox for the first half of the game. Through the first 5 innings, he was perfect in a baseball sense. No hits, no walks, no baserunners.

Potential trouble reared its head in the top of the 6th inning when Antonacci led off with a triple. Teel then walked giving the White Sox runners at first and third with no outs, but they would not score as McGreevy got Vargas to fly out to short right for the first out. The crucial play was Murakami grounding to Burleson at first base who fired the ball home to get Antonacci out in a rundown for the second out. Benetendi’s groundout to second ended the White Sox 6th with no runs scored.

The St. Louis Cardinals FINALLY got their first hit and baserunner with one out in the bottom of the 6th inning when Nathan Church lanced a single to right field. Masyn Winn followed Church’s lead by smacking a single of his own to left-center giving St. Louis runners at first and second with just one out. Unfortunately, Bryan Torres struck out on a high fastball for the second out. What looked like it would be an inning-ending groundout from Herrera turned into an opportunity as it went off the glove of White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery allowing him to reach and loading the bases. That caused the White Sox to bring in Chris Murphy from the bullpen to face Alec Burleson. Burly proved clutch as he muscled a double into the right field corner scoring three for the Cardinals giving them their first lead of the game at 3-1.

Michael McGreevy gave the Cardinals a great effort Sunday. He pitched 6 innings allowing just 1 earned run while striking out 6 and walking 3.

Gordon Graceffo took over in the top of the 7th inning to begin another St. Louis bullpen adventure. He had no troubles setting the White Sox down 1-2-3 to keep the Cardinals lead preserved at 3-1. After the Cardinals failed to add to their lead in the bottom of the 7th, Gordon was the Cardinals answer for the top of the 8th inning also. He once again had an efficient and drama-free 1-2-3 half-inning.

More than a few of us wanted the Cardinals to add to their 2-run lead in the bottom of the 8th. Nathan Church got that off to a good start as he led off with a double to left-center. The White Sox then turned to Trevor Richards to keep them within striking distance. Masyn Winn did his part by at least flying out to deep right to move Church to third with just one out. Victor Scott II also did his job by lifting a fly ball to right-center deep enough to be a sacrifice fly, but Church failed to tag up and did not score. Unbelievable. After Herrera grounded out to end the Cardinals 8th, you couldn’t help but wonder if that mental error would end up being costly.

The top of the 9th would be in the hands of George Soriano to hold this Cardinals lead and give them a series win. His first pitch was hit for a single into left by Vargas. You just knew that the potential tying run would come up, didn’t you? After Soriano walked Murakami, the potential go-ahead run came to the plate for the White Sox in the form of Benetendi. All he could manage was a weak flyball to center that didn’t advance either runner. Peters grounded out for the 2nd out bringing up Meidroth. Soriano walked him to load the bases and put the potential tying run at 2nd base with the go-ahead run at first. Montgomery, with 31 home runs for the season, stepped to the plate. He mercifully flied out to center on a 2-2 pitch to end the game. It’s never easy with this bullpen, but we’ll take it.

The St. Louis Cardinals begin a 3-game series against the San Francisco Giants Monday night at Busch Stadium. Quinn Mathews takes the mound for the Cardinals while the Giants have yet to announce a starter. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

The Orioles and Blue Jays sent their top starters to the mound today as each tried to help his team claim the series win. Dylan Cease was not on his game, but kept the Orioles off the board through the first four innings. Trevor Rogers, on the other hand, looked very good through four innings before falling apart in the fifth. Between the Orioles’ offense failing to capitalize, Rogers’s fifth-inning funk, and a disastrous relief appearance, it spelled another loss for the Orioles.

Things started off so well. Cease struggled with control from the get-go and walked leadoff batter Dylan Beavers. Pete Alonso singled, then Gunnar Henderson worked the first of his three walks in the game. With the bases loaded and no outs, they were poised for a breakout inning against one of the best pitchers in baseball. They failed.

Coby Mayo started his at-bat 3-0, then saw four more pitches: a called strike and three fouls. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Coby took what was called ball four. The call was challenged by the Blue Jays; the ball barely nicked the strike zone.

After that productive but ultimately unsuccessful at-bat, Samuel Basallo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand were the opposite. They struck out too, but looked overmatched (especially Basallo).

Cease threw 33 pitches, which was the only solace in the inning. Rogers, in contrast, needed just 12 pitches in his four-batter first. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled to kick off his big day at the plate.

The Blue Jays took the lead in the second inning. Charles McAdoo singled, then stole second base. With one out, Andrés Giménez hit a pop-up to left field. None of Beavers, Encarnacion-Strand, or Henderson could get to it. Encarnacion-Strand made a diving attempt but it deflected off his glove. Beavers got to the ball pretty quickly after it landed, but McAdoo ran all the way and scored easily. It was an interesting choice given it was hardly a given the ball would fall in, but it worked.

The Orioles had another chance in the third inning, when Henderson and Mayo worked back-to-back walks with two outs. But Basallo popped out on the first pitch to end the inning.

Rogers worked around a Guerrero double and a walk in the third, then pitched a 1-2-3 fourth inning. Guerrero had yet to homer at home this season, which is wild. His double came mere feet from breaking his 0-fer. His drought would only last a little bit longer.

In the top of the fifth, the Orioles tied the game. Beavers doubled, then Alonso singled him in to make the score 1-1. It was Alonso’s 100th RBI this season, tops in the American League. We like Pete! Henderson followed with another walk, but both he and Alonso were stranded.

Then, the bottom of the fifth. Rogers went from holding his own to falling apart in a matter of moments. He got two easy outs to start off. Next up, George Springer, who homered. Then Guerrero, who hit his first Rogers Centre home run of the year. Then Kazuma Okamoto went deep. Guerrero and Okamoto both homered on a full count. Before you could blink twice, the Orioles were down 4-1.

Cease, who walked five batters but only allowed one run, was out after five innings. Rogers came back for a 1-2-3 sixth. His final pitching line: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

After the bullpens took over, the Blue Jays held the Orioles. The Orioles did not hold the Blue Jays.

Beavers singled in the sixth, his third time on base. Coby Mayo picked up his first hit in the seventh. And Leody Taveras singled off tough submariner Tyler Rogers in the eighth. (My daughter, watching along with me: “Why does that guy throw underhand?!”)

Craig Albernaz turned to Yaramil Hiraldo after Rogers exited. Just added to the roster today, the idea seemed to be to have him close out the game barring an Orioles comeback (lol) . He pitched a scoreless seventh inning, though it was bumpy. He issued a walk and gave up Guerrero’s fourth hit of the game. He returned for the eighth inning and things got very bad.

Nathan Lukes walked, then Hiraldo got the next two batters. He was so close to a non-disaster! But Brandon Valenzuela singled, then Myles Straw walked to load the bases. Relief pitcher Cam Sanders had been warming up and was surely ready to come into the game.

As Straw jogged down to first base, the camera panned to Albernez decidedly doing nothing in the Orioles dugout. Hiraldo, who had thrown 43 pitches and clearly did not have it, was left in to face Boston Bateman. He walked Bateman to make the score 5-1. Finally, Hiraldo was removed.

Sanders came in to face George Springer. Springer hit a line drive to left-center field. It looked like it might hang up for Beavers to catch, but sank as he approached. Beavers kind of waved his glove at the ball as it sailed past him and went to the wall. All three runs scored.

A better outfielder would have caught that ball. But even Beavers should have gotten a glove on it and kept the worst from happening. I like what Beavers has been doing at the plate lately, but his defense remains upsetting. Guerrero was finally retired to end the inning. The damage was one.

The heart of the order attempted a comeback in the top of the ninth. Alonso and Henderson singled back-to-back, but Coby Mayo struck out. The Orioles had pinch-hit for Basallo with Jeremiah Jackson earlier in the game, so Yohel Pozo batted instead. He promptly hit into a game-ending double play.

Orioles lose, 8-1. They now sit at 72-78. Tomorrow, they start a three-game series against the Mets in New York. I expect we’ll see Pete Alonso hit his 300th career home run sometime during the series. Something to look forward to.

Earlier this week, my colleague Josh asked whether Cam Schlittler could join Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw as the only pitchers this century to win MVP. With each successive appearance like this one, Josh’s question begins to look more and more prescient. Schlittler was close to untouchable, allowing just one hit across six scoreless innings to hold serve with Dylan Cease in the AL Cy Young race. Ben Rice and Austin Wells provided all the offense with a pair of early solo home runs to right as the Yankees won the rubber game, 2-0, to secure this edition of the Subway Series (and a 3-3 split for 2026 as a whole).

Christian Scott entered this game as one of the best pitcher’s in the NL when it came to his team’s record in his starts, which made it important that the Yankees get on the board early. He offers a rare blend of swing and miss and damage limitation, so it was encouraging to see Rice really get into a 1-2 splitter, lining it just over the wall in right for a classic Yankee Stadium porch job.

As if you needed anything more to play for in the midst of a tense divisional race, Schlittler seemed to be pitching with an added edge this afternoon. He is neck-and-neck with Cease in the AL Cy Young race — also starting today against the Orioles — and likely wanted to answer the humiliation the Yankees faced in their drubbing the afternoon prior. He struck out four in the first two innings, three of those coming against a four-seamer that the whole Mets lineup looked nowhere close to catching up to.

Volpe got his first real test in these four games at second base and answered it with aplomb. He ranged well to his right on a sharp Brett Baty grounder, gloving it and making a jump throw to first, this shorter throwing distance seeming to suit Volpe’s arm better than having to make a similar throw from in the hole at short. In the bottom of the frame, it was his chicken parm brother’s turn to make his mark on this game.

Austin Wells has looked miles more competitive at the plate over the last few months after a truly abysmal start to his season. He’s not giving so many pitches away and he’s not missing as much when he gets what he is looking for. That being said, he entered today’s contest amid an 0-for-20 skid — snapped in loud fashion in his first AB of the game. He ambushed an elevated first-pitch heater at 96 mph, launching it into the second deck in right for his eleventh home run of the year to double the Yankees’ lead, 2-0.

With the way Schlittler was dealing, those two runs must have looked like a mountain to climb to the opposition. The Mets didn’t manage their first hit off him until two outs into the fifth, Baty pulling a 3-1 cutter into the corner in right for a double before a Nick Morabito grounder stranded him at second.

Other than the pair of solo homers, the Yankees offer much resistance against Scott. José Caballero and Rice drew a pair of walks after the Wells homer but that came to nothing. Otherwise it was pretty smooth sailing for the Mets’ second-year starter, who ended with seven strikeouts across his six innings of work including striking out the side in the fifth.

After the contact started to tick up against Schlittler in the fourth and fifth, he answered Scott’s striking out of the side by ringing up Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto to open the sixth (aided by a generous check swing strike three call on Soto by the third base umpire). There was then a scary moment as Schlittler took a 112 mph liner from Bo Bichette off the back of his right thigh, the batted ball missing his pitching hand by inches. He was able to walk off the field under his own power, but went straight down the tunnel to end his outing at 94 pitches with Brent Headrick coming out to open the seventh.

If Schlittler can keep stacking starts like this, his Cy Young hopes and his team’s playoff outlook will keep on improving. It’s his sixth straight outing allowing one or fewer runs, extending his single-season Yankees franchise record to 21 such starts. He had to lean on four-seamer and sinker today, the curveball showing little feel while he wasn’t quite able to finish his cutters, leaving a lot out of the zone to the arm-side. This elevated his pitch count to 94, which in addition to the come-backer were likely the reasons Schlittler couldn’t go really deep in this start given his stuff showed no signs of degrading in his final inning. Schlittler ends the day having given up a hit and two walks with eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings to lower his season ERA below two for the first time since the first week of July.

As they’ve done almost without fail since the start of summer, Headrick, Paul Blackburn, and David Bednar slammed the door after Schlittler’s day ended. They allowed just two hits and no walks in the final three scoreless innings, the three-headed monster nailing down another victory, 2-0, to secure the series over the crosstown rivals.

The Yankees next fly to Minnesota for three games against the Twins. Will Warren is slated to start the opener, facing off against a familiar face from his days with the Orioles in Dean Kremer. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 pm ET on Monday with the broadcast remaining on YES.

Box Score