Category: Baseball

39 Years Ago

The Blue Jays defeated the Orioles 18-3, powered by an incredible ten home runs. Ernie Whitt accounted for three of those blasts. I was always a fan of Whitt—his left-handed, all-out pull swing was a thing of beauty. He often finished with his left knee on the ground, a move I tried to imitate without success. I still wonder how he managed to track the ball with his head dropping like that, but somehow, Ernie made it work.

The Jays scored:

Five runs in the second inning: Whitt led off with a home run. Jesse Barfield doubled, and Rance Mulliniks followed with another homer. After Fred McGriff struck out and Willie Upshaw grounded out, Nelson Liriano walked, and Lloyd Moseby capped the inning with a two-run homer.

Two more came in the third when George Bell and Rance Mulliniks each hit solo home runs.

In the fourth, Liriano walked, advanced to second on a Moseby groundout, and scored on a Tony Fernandez single.

In the fifth, Whitt led off with another home run.

In the sixth, Bell hit his 45th home run of the season—he would finish the year with 47 homers, 134 RBI, and the AL MVP award.

The Jays exploded for seven runs in the seventh: Barfield singled but was erased on a Kelly Gruber double play. McGriff walked, Upshaw singled, and Liriano drove in a run with an RBI single. Rob Ducey followed with a three-run homer—one of just 31 in his career. Manuel Lee and Lou Thornton each singled, with Thornton collecting one of his 22 career hits. Whitt then capped the inning with his third home run of the game, another three-run blast (his 17th of the season).

In the eighth, McGriff led off with a solo home run.

That team featured plenty of great players, including a future Hall of Famer.

Eli Willits has made his primary goal crystal clear ever since he joined the Nationals organization. He wants to be a big leaguer by the time he is 20 years old. For most players, that is a pipe dream. However, Eli Willits is not most players and he made that very obvious this season.

The 18 year old just finished his first professional season in style. Willits got promoted to Double-A for the last week of the season. While he only got to play three games, the last one was legendary. Willits had a four hit game which included his first AA home run and two stolen bases. It was an amazing final act to a wonderful season.

With Willits finishing the season in AA, he is putting himself in position to make a debut late in 2027. Despite being such a young player, Willits is remarkably polished. This comes from being the son of a big leaguer and being obsessed with the game ever since he could walk. 

When I talked to Willits earlier this season, it was very clear that three things truly mattered to him. Eli Willits is all about family, faith and baseball. You will be hard pressed to find a more business-like 18 year old out there. As Willits put it, he grew up in an MLB clubhouse and it is easy to see that.

That baseball IQ manifests itself on the field. When I watched Willits for the first time in Low-A, the thing that stuck out to me most was how natural he looked. Willits looked like a big league caliber defender at shortstop already. While many young shortstops, even the defensively gifted ones make a lot of errors, Willits is already so secure. He only made 8 errors all season as an 18 year old. 

Those instincts also show up on the bases, where Willits is an absolute mad man. He absolutely loves to steal bases and creates havoc out there. For the season, Willits stole a jaw dropping 62 bases across three levels. He did get caught 15 times, but with a success rate around 80%, his aggressiveness was worth it.

When the Nats drafted Willits first overall, we knew that speed and defense were part of his game. Those have been there and are even better than expected. We also expected Willits to have a great hit tool, and that has mostly been the case as well. His contact rates were more solid than spectacular, but you have to account for just how young he is. 

With his hit tool being good rather than elite, Willits needed to show more power and plate discipline. This season, the plate discipline has been absolutely elite. Even when he was facing big league arms in Spring Training, you could see how outstanding his approach was. That held up throughout the season.

In 114 games, Willits walked 95 times. His walk rate of 17.7% is absolutely phenomenal, especially for such a young hitter. Willits rarely chased while also swinging at pitches in the zone when he saw them. Plate discipline will be Willits’ best offensive trait in my opinion.

Entering the season, Willits’ biggest concern was his power. He was not known for his pop as an amateur and he did not show much thump in his brief 2025 debut. However, he looked noticeably stronger this year and that showed up with a big power surge. Willits hit 14 homers on the season, including a no-doubter in his last game of the season.

Seeing power develop this quickly for Willits is a great sign. If he can be a 15-20 home run guy at the big league level, he will be one of the most well-rounded players in the sport. The glove at shortstop is elite, his speed is outstanding and he knows how to hit. Power was supposed to be the final piece, but it is coming.

It is worth noting that power was way up across the board in the minors this year and folks are theorizing that the ball was juiced. That may have turned a 10 homer season into a 14 homer campaign. However, even a 10 homer season would be a big step in the right direction for Willits. He also had 27 doubles and 8 triples. In the long run, I think Willits will be a player who racks up a ton of those.

For the season, Eli Willits hit .265 with a .406 OBP and .869 OPS across three levels. He looked like a number 1 pick and has established himself as a top 10 prospect in the sport. At the time, some suggested that Willits was a reach and a money saver as a first overall pick. This season he sure looked like a blue chip prospect.

The way he ended his season was also special. With a 4 hit game in AA, he joined some special company. Fernando Tatis Jr., Jesus Made and Bryce Harper are among the exclusive group of 18 year olds to have a 4 hit game in AA. You have to be a special talent to be successful in Double-A at such a young age.

It is even more special for an American born player to do this because of how the draft works. Willits and Harper are the only Americans to do this. Latin American players sign at 16, so you will see some of the elite ones get to AA at 18. However, it is much more rare to see a US born player accomplish this.

Harper and Willits were both special talents who reclassified and were drafted as 17 year olds. That combination of rare talent and circumstance puts Willits in this group. You just don’t see many 18 year olds in AA, especially ones who are in their first full year as a pro.

Eli Willits is different though. You can see that when watching him play and I got to experience it when talking to him in Wilmington. This is just a gifted and driven individual who is obsessed with baseball. He is a quiet young man, but he is supremely confident. 

He said he wanted to be in the big leagues by the time he turned 20 because he knew it was possible. For most professional baseball players that is not a realistic goal. However, Eli Willits is not most professional baseball players and we saw that in his first full year as a pro.

The New York Mets (69-80) welcome the Baltimore Orioles (72-78) to Citi Field for a three-game series starting this evening. The Mets are coming off a 1-2 Subway Series with the Yankees, which saw two relatively competitive games go the Yankees’ way, and an absolute rout of a dub for the Mets.

The Yankees are a playoff team and they have the likely American League Cy Young winner as their ace, so it isn’t exactly a shocker that the Mets dropped two of three, but it was the way they dropped them that was bothersome. On Friday night, Nolan McLean had a tough outing, Juan Soto let what should’ve been a fairly easy fly ball drop in front of him leading to a run scoring, and the entire game was a frustrating mix of mini-comebacks and poor moments that seemed avoidable.

Losing 2-0 to Cam Schlittler isn’t anything to be ashamed of, but it was the absolute lack of any offense against the Yankees bullpen that was so frustrating, especially because the Mets had done so well against them in the first two games. I know their bullpen overall has been excellent this year, but for a team that has been clicking offensively to get three hit with no real scoring opportunities was frustrating.

Speaking of frustrating, get ready for three straight days of arguments about Pete Alonso. It’s hard to have an Alonso take that is unique at this point, and it seems just as rare to have one that doesn’t get shouted at folks who disagree with you. My take is fairly simple: while I do think his skillset ages more poorly than others, he meant enough for the Mets that they should’ve tried harder to retain him. I miss rooting for Alonso each night, and his bat would certainly have helped during the offensively challenged periods earlier this season.

Alonso and Francisco Lindor are both one home run away from career #300, and it would very cool to see them do it in the same game, and it would be nice for Pete to be able to celebrate the milestone with the fans who were there for the majority of those home runs.

As for the rest of his Orioles teammates, they’re in a bit of a rough spot. They’re in last place in the AL East, but only four games out of a Wild Card spot, but there are two teams between them and the final spot, currently occupied by the Guardians. They’re 3-7 over their last ten games, and every team ahead of them in the WC standings has been at least .500 over that stretch. They simply need to be playing better to have any chance at a playoff push, and while they’re not exactly running into a juggernaut, the Mets have been solid in the second half and might not be the pushovers that Baltimore hopes they’ll be.

Monday, September 14: Jonah Tong vs Brandon Young,  7:10pm EDT on SNY

Tong (2026): 15.0 IP, 14 K, 8 BB, 2 HR, 4.80 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 117 ERA-

In Tong’s sole start since his most recent call up, he went five innings, giving up four earned runs on four hits and one walk, while striking out seven. He had a very rough second inning where he gave up a a single, a walk, a triple, and a home run, but in every other inning he gave up just one hit and generally kept Miami off-balance. While his stock has fallen since his debut last season, Tong is starting to look more like a pitcher who can work around some adversity and keep his team in the game.

Young(2026): 140.2 IP, 112 K, 50 BB, 20 HR, 3.71 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 91 ERA-

This season is going much, much better for Young than his rookie campaign did. He’s been hovering around a 3.5 ERA for the better part of the year, and he’s averaging decent length in his starts. However, his last start was a really messy one; he didn’t make it out of the fourht inning, gave up six runs on eight hits and two walks in a loss to Cleveland.

Tuesday, September 15: Sean Manaea vs Shane Baz, 7:10pm EDT on SNY

Manaea (2026): 133.1 IP, 146 K, 41 BB, 21 HR, 4.79 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 116 ERA-

It has been a weird year for Manaea, who started the year looking like a candidate to be designated for assignment, then looked like he belonged here, and is now maybe looking like a DFA candidate again. Over his last five starts, he’s given up at least four earned runs and he only made it into the seventh inning once. It’s hard to tell exactly what is left in Manaea’s tank at this point in the season, and this point in his career.

Baz (2026): 169.0 IP, 150 K, 58 BB, 14 HR, 4.05 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 99 ERA-

Baz had his worst start of the second half last week against the Guardians, where he couldn’t finish the sixth inning, gave up two home runs en route to giving up five earned runs. But overall, he’s been solid, if unspectacular, for Baltimore this season. He’s had just three starts where he hasn’t gone five innings and his walk and home run rates are both down from his career norms. He’s striking out fewer batters than you’d like, but with the other metrics in consideration, it’s hard to be too upset about his performance.

Wednesday, September 16: Robert Stock vs Chris Bassitt, 7:10pm EDT on SNY

Stock (2026): 30.1 IP, 29 K, 15 BB, 2 HR, 5.93 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 144 ERA-

The Bob Stock feel-good story is still going, despite all evidence suggesting that this was never a good idea. Aside from his one disaster appearance against the Brewers, Stock has been reliably solid, even if he’s not going deep or doing a ton to impress in terms of actual stuff. But he’s making the absolute most of what he’s left with at this point in his career, and what more could we ask for?

Bassitt(2026): 90.1 IP, 66 K, 36 BB, 10 HR, 4.88 ERA, 4.58 FIP, 120 ERA-

Old friend Chris Bassitt had one of his best ever seasons with the Mets in 2022, but he’s coming back to Queens a very different pitcher. Bassitt is older, wilder, less effective, and generally just not the player he was last season, let alone four years ago. It is hard to say because I really enjoyed watching Bassitt pitch, but this might be a very, very ugly game to watch on both sides.

This season has not gone as the Royals had hoped. After back-to-back winning seasons, the front office was hoping to return to the formula that led them to a postseason appearances in 2024. But the offense started off cold, the bullpen blew many early leads, and injuries buried any hope the team could climb out of their hole.

There will be a lot of pressure for the Royals to turn their fortunes around next year. Fans are upset this season turned out so badly, and the organization is facing additional backlash for trying to circumvent a public vote on their downtown baseball project. Looming over this offseason is the possibility of a work stoppage that could result in missed games. And if things are resolved, the financial state of the game could look much differently, with owners adamant about implementing a salary cap.

Royals payrolls since 2020, the pandemic-shortened season, have increased under the Sherman ownership team, aside from in 2023 when spending remained flat.

So what does the salary situation look like for 2027? The Royals have already parted ways with Kris Bubic, Lane Thomas, Starling Marte, Matt Strahm, and John Schreiber, all of whom were impending free agents this upcoming offseason. Jonathan India and Craig Kimbrel are also free agents, and the Royals seem very likely to decline the $13 million club option on Carlos Estévez and pay his $2 million buyout after he missed nearly the entire season with an injury.

Salvador Perez will be under the last year of the two-year, $25 million contract extension he signed after the 2025 season. The deal pays him a $9 million salary in 2027, although $2.5 million of it is deferred until 2032. Spotrac has his 2027 number at $12.5 million, reflecting the contract’s $12.5 million average annual value for Luxury Tax purposes. In terms of actual cash paid in 2027, however, the Royals will owe Perez just $6.5 million of his salary, with the remaining $2.5 million coming later, plus a deferred $7 million signing bonus that isn’t paid until 2030.

So here are the amounts the Royals will pay players under contract for next year.

• Seth Lugo $21.5 million
• Bobby Witt Jr. $20.111 million
• Michael Wacha $14 million
• Cole Ragans $7.583 million
• Maikel Garcia $7.26 million
• Vinnie Pasquantino $6.9 million
• Salvador Perez $6.5 million

Those seven players total $85.854 million in salary, plus the $2 million buyout for Estévez. The team has a $6 million club option on Randy Dobnak with a $1 million buyout. With his emergence this year and their need for pitching depth, it seems likely that would get picked up. The Royals also have a $2.5 million club option on Tony Gonsolin which is likely to get picked up. That puts us at $96.3 million.

The Royals have eight players eligible for salary arbitration under the current rules (which may be changed in the next collective bargaining agreement): Lucas Erceg, Kyle Isbel, Alex Lange, Daniel Lynch IV, James McArthur, Nick Mears, Alec Marsh, and Michael Massey.

Considering their injury histories, McArthur and Marsh each seem like a good bet to be non-tendered, although I would expect the Royals to make an effort to retain them on minor league deals. Alex Lange had mixed results, Nick Mears was largely hurt, and Lucas Erceg ended up being demoted so there should be a decision to be made on each of them. But the cost for each of them likely won’t be high and the Royals are not in a position to shed bullpen depth. I would not expect more than $1.6 million as a salary for any of them should they be retained.

Lynch will be tendered a deal for his second year of arbitration, which should earn him a salary around $2 million. Michael Massey will be eligible for the second time, and is probably looking at a deal close to $3 million, while Kyle Isbel could earn $4 to $4.5 million in his final year of arbitration.

The Royals tend to hang onto “close call” arbitration cases, so let’s say these players are all retained for just under $15 million combined. That puts them at just under $111 million in contractual obligations for 15 players.

The remaining 11 players on the roster at near the league minimum will collectively earn around $9 million, so that’s $120 million.

The Royals haven’t publicly committed to a payroll number for next year, but owner John Sherman has hinted the team expects to spend at least as much as they did this year.

“We’re freeing up some money that I think we can invest,” he said in an interview in August. “We have our payroll that I think is probably at the highest sustained level as the Royals maybe ever have had, right? And it didn’t work out this year, and that’s frustrating. But it doesn’t take away from what we want to accomplish here. We want to win. We want to win now. We think that our division is still there for the taking.”

That would give roughly $20 million for Picollo to match this year’s payroll, potentially more if they continue to increase payroll as they have in each of the last three seasons. The Royals need major upgrades to the bullpen, although Sherman dismissed the thought of spending a lot in that area, suggesting they could “cobble” together a solution.

This winter’s free agent class is very heavy on starting pitching, not an area the Royals particularly need to address. There are some bats the team could pursue like Gleyber Torres, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Randy Arozarena, Taylor Ward, Luis Arraez, or Brandon Lowe, although the depth falls off pretty quickly. The Royals could also wait out the market and pivot to scoop up bargains late, as they did in February of 2025 when they signed Estévez after failing to land a bat.

How would you address this offseason? Can the Royals make the changes needed to get this team back to contention?

Note: The original article omitted Randy Dobnak, Tony Gonsolin, and Craig Kimbrel. The article has been revised to include them.

A 3-4 week for the Phillies isn’t horrible considering the competition they had, but the general tenor that is surrounding the team right now isn’t that great. They should have done more against both the Astros and Braves, yet several blown games really has left a sour taste.

Three up

J.T. Realmuto – Yes, the team still needs him to play less. This has been his worst season of his career, maybe because he’s wearing down, maybe he’s just not that good anymore, maybe he’s just an older catcher seeing Father Time get closer in the rearview mirror. His week this reminded us that when he was right, Realmuto was the best catcher in baseball and it really wasn’t close for a time.

Jesus Luzardo – A complete game shutout? In this baseball economy? Sure, the shoulder pain he’s having right now is probably a result of his pushing to get that shutout, but Luzardo has truly elevated himself to be discussed among the top starting pitchers in the game right now. We’ll all hold our breath to make sure he’s actually alright for the final two weeks, but let’s just pause and appreciate the game he pitched this past week. He really is an ace now.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ – I really wanted to give the third spot here to Justin Crawford since his overall numbers for the week were pretty good, but do you really remember him being that good? I thought about Trea Turner, but his feeble attempt at an at bat during the extra innings loss to Atlanta has stuck with me these past few days. Kyle Schwarber had a grand slam, but he has largely stunk of late. Some of the bullpen guys have actually been pretty good, but three innings deserves a spot here? Eh. Let’s just leave it as an “I don’t know” for now.

Three down

Luis Arraez – It seems that whatever bloom was on the Arraez rose trade has officially fallen off. This wasn’t a good week for the second baseman (.222/.276/.259 over 29 PA), but it was more about the lack of clutchness that he was exuding more than anything. He’s simply not a cleanup hitter, no matter what the lineup card may say. He has not truly demonstrated the ability to drive runs in on a consistent basis and his being miscast as someone who does is costing the Phillies runs. They don’t really have someone that can do the job in the classic sense of the term, so this is basically what they’re going with for now. A change may need to be made.

Brandon Marsh – You could point to this week as an example of his not being that good, but it’s the splits that truly tell the story.

• 1st half: .301/.339/.490 in 363 PA
• 2nd half: .184/.244/.247 in 173 PA

He’s just been all around bad, this week a classic example of that.

Brooks Raley – You know when people are actually fine with Tanner Banks being back as a left handed option out of the bullpen, things have taken a turn. Raley has generally disappointed since his trade from the Mets. This week, he had multiple shots to redeem himself, yet struggled on Friday and Saturday evening, giving up crucial runs when the team needed a stop. One has to wonder if he’s on a (potential) playoff roster.

With 12 games left in the season, Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco are counting down the games until the Kansas City Royals’ season ends amid a much-needed offseason overhaul.

Carter Jensen is the centerpiece of the on-field conversation after tying the Royals rookie home run record and climbing historic rookie leaderboards in extra-base hits, doubles, RBI, walks, and caught-stealing rate. He may not win AL Rookie of the Year, but Jacob and Jeremy make a real case for him as a catcher Silver Slugger contender. Bobby Witt Jr.’s pursuit of a 20-40 season keeps the MVP conversation alive, and a quick thought experiment considers whether a Padres roster crunch could open the door to a Freddie Fermin reunion.

The bullpen evaluation dominates the back half of the episode, with the hosts sorting the current arms into keep, depth, or move-on buckets. Steven Cruz and Nate Pearson both earn real support as 2027 pieces based on improved strikeout-minus-walk profiles, while Craig Kimbrel, Alex Lange, Anthony Gose, Jose Cuas, and Easton McGee are all scrutinized as possible non-tender or depth-only candidates. Connor Thomas and Nolan Hoffman emerge as pleasant surprises, drawing praise for strike-throwing and ground-ball rates.

The rotation discussion turns urgent quickly. Noah Cameron looks like the likely Opening Day starter, while Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Randy Dobnak, and Daniel Lynch IV are sorted into very different tiers of trust. Jacob and Jeremy stress that the Royals need multiple starting pitchers before a likely December lockout compresses the free-agent market, and the front office may have no choice but to move fast and overpay this winter.

On the farm, Quad Cities and standout left-hander Kendricho draw praise, LP Longavin’s strikeout totals are turning heads as a future Northwest Arkansas arm, and Carson Roccaforte is putting together a 30-30 season in Omaha.

Need your Royals fix? Head to royalsreview.com for news, analysis, and to engage with Royals fans around the world! Follow us online:

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On September 14, 2026, the Texas Rangers begin the day a game back of the Houston Astros in the American League West, two games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the battle for the third Wild Card spot, and a game behind the Toronto Blue Jays. Texas had played 150 games, and had 12 games left over the final two weeks to determine whether they will make the playoffs. Fangraphs gave the Rangers a 30.3% chance of making the playoffs.

On September 14, 2025, the Texas Rangers ended the day three games back of the Seattle Mariners in the American League West, and two games back of the Houston Astros for the third Wild Card spot, a half-game up on the Cleveland Guardians for that spot. Texas has played 105 games, and has 12 games left over the final two weeks to determine whether they will make the playoffs. Fangraphs gives the Rangers a 31.3% chance of making the playoffs.

So much has changed. And yet, so much is still the same.

In 2025, the Rangers started the penultimate week of the season with a three game set in Houston, having just taken two of three in New York against the Mets to raise their record to 79-71. It was part of an improbable run after the team had been wracked with injuries and left for dead in mid-August.

In 2026, the Rangers return home for nine straight games at the Shed, beginning with three against the Boston Red Sox, having spent the last month or two generally hovering a game or two under .500.

The 2026 Texas Rangers have a worse record than last year’s version, but unlike the 2025 team, they aren’t running with a patchwork, duct-taped roster. Here’s the starting lineup the Rangers rolled with in their opener in Houston last year:

Smith — SS

Langford — CF

Pederson — DH

Burger — 1B

Garcia — RF

Osuna — LF

Jung — 3B

Heim — C

Moore — 2B

Cody Freeman, Kyle Higashioka, Michael Helman, Rowdy Tellez, and Ezequiel Duran entered the game off the bench. Jack Leiter started, with Jacob Webb and Carl Edwards, Jr. appearing out of the pen.

The Rangers, as you may recall, were swept by the Astros, then were swept at home by the Miami Marlins, pretty much putting a stake into their playoff hopes.

And here we are a year later, with the Rangers back in much the same place, fighting to stay in the playoff hunt, trying to keep their hopes afloat down the home stretch, facing a Boston team that has pretty much clinched a playoff spot, followed by a Toronto team they are battling in the playoff race.

History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes. Hopefully this time around, it results in a better outcome.

Poor Baltimore. The only AL East team to lose Sunday and it was in no small part because they were playing a divisional foe. The rest of the division, led of course by Cam Schlittler’s gem for the Yankees, all put notches in the win column.

Meanwhile, the rest of the AL continues to gravitate to the mushy middle. With the White Sox’s loss Sunday, they drop a mere three games above .500 leading the AL Central. The Astros, despite getting swept this weekend in Tampa, hold down the top spot in the West with a perfectly cromulent .500 record.

Tampa Bay Rays (90-59) 14, Houston Astros (75-75) 4

Sigh. The Houston Astros can’t do anything right. After losing Friday and Saturday to Tampa in nail biters, Houston evidently decided to take the suspense out of it and let the Rays put two touchdowns on them in honor of opening Sunday of NFL season. Tampa attacked early and often, scoring in four of the first five frames, giving themselves an 11-0 lead before the Astros got off the schneid.

It was a very balanced attack from the Rays Sunday as well. Every starter either scored or drove in a run, with six of the nine ending the day with at least one ribbie and eight of nine stepping on home plate at least once. Former Yankee farmhand Hayden Wesneski was on the receiving end of the onslaught, giving up seven runs (four unearned thanks to an error) in just three innings of work.

Other Games

Boston Red Sox (82-68) 4, Kansas City Royals (66-84) 1: It’s a good thing the AL East is representing these days, because the rest of the Junior Circuit… woof. The Red Sox sit third in the division, 14 games over .500. Only two AL teams outside the East are above .500 at all. Sunday, Roman Anthony broke a 1-1 tie with a single in the seventh. Trevor Story provided the insurance in the eighth with a two-run single of his own and Boston held on to take down an AL also-ran.

Chicago White Sox (76-73) 1, St. Louis Cardinals (74-76) 3: Imagine getting called up from Triple-A, taking a perfect game into the sixth, and… losing. Such was David Sandlin’s fate for Chicago today. Sandlin was perfect through 5.1 innings. Then, a pair of singles and an error loaded the bases for Alec Burleson. His 36th double of the season cleared them all and gave the Cards a lead they never surrendered.

Cleveland Guardians (76-74) 9, Minnesota Twins (70-79) 2: And while Chicago was losing, Cleveland was notching a win to move within half a game in the AL Central. Power powered the Guardians for a change, as they clubbed three dingers Sunday. And in a small miracle, Tanner Bibee was on the hill for a win for a change. Sunday’s outing gives him six to go with his 15 losses.

Toronto Blue Jays (75-75) 8, Baltimore Orioles (72-78) 1: Canada’s long national nightmare has ended. The $500 million man, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. has finally homered this season at home. Incredibly, it took 149+ games for the franchise player to put one in the seats in Toronto. Also of note, Dylan Cease put together another solid start as he continues to at least make the AL Cy Young Award race a conversation.

Texas Rangers (74-76) 7, Arizona Diamondbacks (79-71) 6: The Rangers took advantage of Houston’s loss Sunday. They scored five runs in the middle innings, just enough for the win, as Arizona scored twice in the ninth to get within one and brought the winning run to the plate. Corey Seager led the way for Texas, launching a majestic 458-foot bomb.

Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below. Check out the previous day’s recap here.

AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (72-71) won 5-0 (BOX SCORE)

Weiss started for Sugar Land and pitched well tossing 5 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts. The offense got on the board in the 6th inning scoring 5 runs on a Spence RBI single, Schiavone hit by pitch, Delgado walk and Ferreras 2 run single. The pen was really good tossing 4 scoreless innings as they closed out the 5-0 win for Sugar Land.

Note: Ferreras is hitting .320 in Triple-A.

• Pascanel Ferreras, SS: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
• Joey Loperfido, DH: 3-for-5, R
• Collin Price, 1B: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB
• Lucas Spence, LF: 2-for-5, R, 3B, RBI
• Zach Dezenzo, 3B: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB
• Jason Schiavone, C: 1-for-2, R, RBI, BB
• Ray Delgado, 2B: 0-for-2, RBI, 2 BB

• Ryan Weiss, RHP: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
• Nic Swanson, RHP: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
• Logan VanWey, RHP: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Kai-Wei Teng, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Roddery Munoz, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (62-76) lost 6-5 (BOX SCORE)

The Hooks got on the board in the 2nd inning scoring 4 runs on a Moss 2 run double and Bush 2 run single. They got another run in the 5th inning on a Whitaker RBI double. Dombroski got the start and pitched well tossing 6 scoreless innings allowing just one hit. Marrero struggled in relief allowing 6 runs and the offense was unable to respond as the Hooks fell 6-5.

Note: Moss has a .852 OPS in Double-A.

• Jack Moss, DH: 2-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
• Will Bush, 1B: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, SB
• Walker Janek, C: 2-for-4, R, 2B
• Tyler Whitaker RF: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB
• Alejandro Nunez, 2B: 1-for-4, R, SB
• Hector Salas, 3B: 1-for-3, R, BB, SB

• Trey Dombroski, LHP: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
• Andrew Marrero, RHP: 0.1 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Railin Perez, RHP: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, o ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Ramsey David, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

A+: Asheville Tourists (43-87) SEASON OVER

A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (1-0) won 14-4 (BOX SCORE)

The Woodpeckers got on the board in the first inning scoring a run on a wild pitch. In the 2nd inning, the offense blew the game open scoring 10 runs on a Tryon solo home run, Flores RBI double, Piasecki RBI single, Alvarez 2 run single, Luciano sac fly, Galloway walk, Flores sac fly, Piasecki RBI single and Hughes RBI single. Weber started for the Woodpeckers and went 4.2 innings allowing 2 runs. The offense added 3 more runs in the 6th inning on a Piasecki RBI double and Durnin 2 run home run. The pen allowed 2 runs late but held on as the Woodpeckers won game one 14-4.

Note: Woodpeckers are one win away from a Carolina League Championship!

• Kam Durnin, SS: 3-for-4, 3 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB
• Logan Hughes, DH: 2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB
• Kevin Alvarez, CF: 1-for-5, R, 2 RBI, SB
• Ben Tryon, 1B: 2-for-5, 2 R, HR, RBI
• Rashawn Galloway, RF: 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
• Arturo Flores, C: 2-for-2, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
• Aaron Piasecki, 2B: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, SB

• Charlie Weber, RHP: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• Mick Uebelhor, RHP: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (WIN)
• Aubrey Smith, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Leomar Rosario, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Brady Thomas, RHP: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
• Jank Pichardo, RHP: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Today’s minor league starters:

SL: OFF

CC: OFF

AV: OFF

FV: OFF

This one is basically for the folks who were paying attention to the Probable Pitchers page over on the Atlanta Braves’ official website. It still lists Wednesday’s starter for the game as “TBD” but that picture may becoming a little more determined with this latest move that the Braves have made.

Bailey Falter has been designated for assignment and his replacement on the Braves roster will be none other than Owen Murphy.

This will be Murphy’s first stint with the Braves since back in July, which is when he made three appearances (one of which were starts) before getting sent back down. He’s been pretty productive at the Triple-A level for the Gwinnett Stripers, which is where he’s made 18 starts and pitched 96.2 innings while producing an ERA of 3.61 and a FIP of 4.23. His last start for the Stripers was on September 8, which is when he tossed six innings and only gave up a run against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. If he does make the start, then he’ll be on more-than-regular rest.

With all of that being said, the indication does seem to be that Murphy will be coming out of the bullpen. That’s what Mark Bowman of MLB.com is reporting shortly after this news came down.

So Wednesday’s starter is still clearly “TBD” and we could still see another move before then. Will it be JR Ritchie? Will the Braves choose to go with Chris Sale on his regular rest? It’s all up in the air but for now, it’s time to see how Owen Murphy fares in his latest stint for Atlanta.

Meanwhile, Bailey Falter’s time with the Braves is now up in the air after 3.1 innings pitched for Atlanta during his time on the roster. He got a handful of outs against the Phillies on Sunday without giving up any runs, so “job done” in that regard. We’ll see what happens with Falter and the Braves organization going forward.

Edwin Díaz signed a record-setting contract for a relief pitcher last offseason, but his first season with the Dodgers has been a lost cause, sidelined by a pair of injuries, currently on the sidelines with neck inflammation. Díaz had another bad rehab outing on Sunday with Oklahoma City.

Díaz faced eight batters and retired two of them. He permitted two singles, walked three batters and hit another, and struck out one. He left with three runs already in, and two of his three bequeathed runners scored after he left. He threw only 13 strikes in his 30 pitches, the third time in four outings on this rehab assignment he’s thrown more balls than strikes.

In his four games over the previous eight days in Triple-A, Díaz has allowed six runs in 3 1/3 innings, with seven walks, four strikeouts, and a hit batter, with 46 balls and 40 strikes. I’m not sure what the Dodgers will do for the final two weeks of the regular season, but Díaz has no place on any postseason roster this year and it would make more sense to look forward to 2027 than activate the veteran closer for any of the final two weeks of the regular season.

Meanwhile, Kris Bubichas been getting outs on his rehab assignment, including 1 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts on Sunday for Oklahoma City. Bubic is a starter but being groomed for relief after the Dodgers acquired him from the Kansas City Royals on August 3, currently sidelined on the 60-day injured list with elbow soreness and shoulder soreness.

But right now Bubic looks healthy and in his six appearances over two weeks in Triple-A has pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings with two singles and two walks allowed, with nine strikeouts among his 21 batters faced, a 42.9-percent strikeout rate.

Player of the day

Infielder Jake Gelof capped off a stellar regular season with another home run on Sunday for Double-A Tulsa. His 34th home run of the season set a modern-era (since 1932) Tulsa record, surpassing Tim Wheeler in 2011 when the Drillers were a Colorado Rockies affiliate.

Gelof, the Dodgers’ second-round draft pick in 2023 out of Virginia, where he set a school record for home runs, had his best professional season to date, hitting .271/.285/.565 with a 138 wRC+, while splitting time at third base,s second base, and first base.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The five runs charged to Díaz were the only runs scored on Sunday in the Comets loss to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Astros), snapping Oklahoma City’s 14-game win streak.

Cole Irvin started and pitched 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision. The 32-year-old left-hander leads the Pacific Coast League in innings pitched (134), ERA (3.09), and wins (12).

Ryan Fitzgerald had two of Oklahoma City’s four hits, all singles.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers dropped their regular season finale the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals), but finished with a stellar 88-50 record, with 10 more wins than another team in the Texas League.

Tulsa also got reinforcements on Sunday, with High-A Great Lakes eliminated on Friday. Top-100 prospects Eduardo Quintero and Charles Davalan joined the Drillers for the playoff drive. Davalan got a hit, while Quintero hit a two-run home run in his first game in Double-A.

Tulsa starts the Texas League playoffs on Tuesday, Quintero’s 21st birthday.

Transactions

Triple-A: Pitcher Antonio Knowles was activated after missing five weeks on the injured list. He did not pitch on Sunday.

Double-A: Outfielders Eduardo Quintero and Charles Davalan were promoted to Tulsa. Outfielder Augstin Acosta and pitcher Alex Walsh were transferred back to the Arizona Complex League.

Sunday scores

• Sugar Land 5, Oklahoma City 0
• Northwest Arkansas 5, Tulsa 4

The week ahead

• Texas League divisional playoffs: Tulsa vs. Springfield (Cardinals)
• Oklahoma City at El Paso (Padres)

The North Division playoffs is best-of-3 for the Drillers, with Game 1 at second-half winner Springfield before Game 2 and potentially Game 3 in Tulsa on Thursday and Friday. Left-hander Adam Serwinowski starts Game 1 for Tulsa, with righthander Yhoiker Fajardo on the mound for Springfield.

(64-68) Columbus Clingstones 1, (71-66) Montgomery Biscuits 4

• John Gil, 2B: 1-for-4, .315/.385/.427
• Eric Hartman, LF: 0-for-4, .182/.312/.265
• Alex Lodise, SS: 0-for-4, .283/.343/.435
• Owen Carey, RF: 0-for-4, .211/.296/.323
• Davis Polo, SP: 6.1IP 8H 4R 3 ER 3BB 5K – 18 whiffs, 2.19 ERA

Box Score

The Clingstones ended the season on a sour note falling 4-1 to the Montgomery Biscuits ending the second half in the fourth place. The Clingstones got solid pitching from Davis Polo and Julio Robaina, but the offense came up short with just one hit in the season finale.

Davis Polo (6.1IP 8H 4R 3ER 3BB 5K) got the start in the final Clingstones game of the season and overall pitched very solidly. Davis clearly struggled with his command missing quite often in the first – missing erratically, well erratically for Davis Polo. Even still, Davis did well to generate whiffs with 18 on the afternoon coming from his slider and his quickly developing changeup. After giving up a pair of runs in the first two innings of the game he settled in putting up zeroes over the next four innings giving the Clingstones offense a chance to come back throughout the game. Davis would give up a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, get a fly out, and give up a walk before he was replaced by Julio Robaina (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K) who allowed that runner to score – but was unearned. He would go on to completely close the door, pitching a perfect 8th inning and opening the door for the Clingstones offense who couldn’t get the job done today.

Offensively, it was a stinker by the Clingstones who couldn’t get anything going throughout the game. As a team they went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and they stranded a total of three runners on base the entire game. The lone run that scored came in the ninth inning when Dalton McIntyre lead off the inning with a walk, took second on defensive indifference, took third on a passed ball, and scored on an error by the shortstop. The only hit of the game was a fourth inning lead off single by John Gil who would be thrown out immediately after trying to steal second. It was a frustrating end to what has been a strong season for many of the Braves prospects on the team. It will be interesting to see who is moved up to Gwinnett this week to get more work in, but those that don’t will be able to hang their heads high after a strong season.

Hopefully, you are a Bears fan and had a lot of fun Sunday watching the team run up and down the field. As a Bears fan in Tampa, I wasn’t able to watch, but did enjoy some highlights and watching the score light up. As someone who feels like it wouldn’t be hyperbole to say I’ve seen years where some of the Cub scores this year would have been pretty good Bear scores, it was fun to see them put what I think of as a college football number on the board.

But you don’t come here for my analysis of football. The Cubs played a game and they just couldn’t come up with hits at the right times and only managed three runs on five hits and six walks drawn. Had the wind been blowing the other direction, I’m fairly certain this one would have been different. I didn’t think the Pirates hit too many scary flies. There is no question Pete Crow-Armstrong hit one that would ordinarily be a homer. I thought a few others, including one off of the bat of Ian Happ, might have had enough oomph to get out on another day. But you have to play the conditions that exist and as it turned out, the Cubs hit a lot of harmless fly balls on a day where the wind was blowing in pretty hard.

The Cubs also grounded into a pair of double plays, twice stifling promising innings. In the end, the Pirates made pitches when they needed to, the Cubs didn’t. For the first time I can remember, the Cubs used Aaron Civale like a reliever and not a bulk innings guy. By that, I mean they brought him into a dirty inning, with runners on second and third and only one out. The Cubs won on Saturday, in part, because Jacob Webb escaped a similar situation. But Civale failed and let both score.

This does not change the fact that I think Civale should be in the Cub mix for the playoffs. I basically think the Cubs need to manage the postseason like every game is an elimination game. You evaluate batter to batter and use guys potentially in situations where they wouldn’t ordinarily be used in order to maximize matchups and to change looks frequently. No Cub pitcher, save for Clay Holmes when he’s really on his game, particularly has the kind of stuff that wants to be seen over and over again by another team. Use a guy for an inning or two and get him out before anyone gets comfortable. Make sure the pitchers and catchers know that is the plan and don’t save any bullets or tricks. Do what works and attack.

It would have been great to complete the sweep. But this is a day where I’m going to tip the cap. The Pirates really executed when they needed to. I’ve said it a lot lately, but there is another good team in the making. Who’d have believed going into the year that their pitching might not be quite as good as it had been. But if their pitching stays where it is or gets better and that offense continues, that organization might finally be turning around. A lot of ifs, but it’s organization that really just went through a pretty lost decade.

Just not enough positive here to dwell on. I’ll hit the things that there were positive in the three positives section. Bring on the Braves who just had a weekend full of the Phillies.

Three Positives:

• Miguel Amaya. He had two of the five Cub hits, one of them a two-run homer. He also threw a runner out stealing to help keep the game close.
• Daniel Palencia looked good in the ninth. That was the best I’ve seen him look in a while. A hat tip to him bouncing back after allowing a walk with a strikeout to keep the game at one. I’ll say again, there is no functional circle of trust. This is going to be a trust fall this year. Like Webb yesterday, you probably have to throw Palencia in a big situation and just hope.
• Michael Busch seems to be heating up a bit. He had two hits and scored a run. Five hits including a double and a homer over the three-game set. The Cubs could really use his big bat. Without looking, I’m guessing his .396 slug is near the very bottom of all typical three hitters in big league lineups. Interestingly, the Cubs do have a .470 overall from the three spot (.380 from the two). Alex Bregman has a .536 slug when hitting third.

Yeah, I don’t go back into narrative often. I can hear Anthony Rizzo in my head. If you are worrying about getting an extra plate appearance for your best hitter, you probably aren’t a very good team. That would be his argument for PCA batting third, I’m sure. The traditional spot for the team’s best hitter. Regardless of how you do it, Bregman should probably bat behind PCA. That maximizes your offense and encourages them to throw to Pete and then hopefully Breggy bats with more traffic. I certainly wouldn’t move Pete out of the top spot now. It’s worked so well for so long. I think I would hit them 1/2. I’d go PCA/Bregman/Happ against a right handed pitcher. Then Seiya and Busch. I’m comfortably batting Happ third, because I’m pinch hitting with Conforto the second they bring in a righty to face that Bregman/Happ/Seiya combo.

I’ll hang up and wait to be flamed for the above suggestion. Maybe just checking to see who’s paying attention.

Game 150, September 13: Pirates 4, Cubs 3 (83-67)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Miguel Amaya (.271). 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Hero: Daniel Palencia (.041). IP, 4 BF, BB, K
• Sidekick: Caleb Thielbar (.031). 0.2 IP, K

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Pedro Ramirez (-.205). 0-3, BB, R
• Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.134). 0-4, RBI
• Kid: Matthew Boyd (-.131). 5.1 IP, 24 BF, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 R, 3 K (L 8-5)

WPA Play of the Game: Miguel Amaya’s two-run homer with two outs in the very briefly gave the Cubs the lead. (.309)

Pirates Play of the Game: Nick Gonzales’ RBI double in the sixth tied the game back up with no outs in the sixth. (.220)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 149 Winner: Pedro Ramirez received 51 of 75 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Alex Bregman +27
• Pete Crow-Armstrong +24.5
• Carson Kelly +16.5
• Michael Conforto +15
• Ben Brown +13.5
• Jameson Taillon -13
• Seiya Suzuki -15
• Nico Hoerner -15
• Dansby Swanson -17
• Caleb Thielbar -18.5

Scoreboard Watching: Padres won (1.5 behind Cubs and Phillies). Phillies won and moved back into a tie with the Cubs, though the Cubs still own the tiebreaker and would be Wild Card 1 right now. The Diamondbacks lost, they are four games back of the Cubs with 12 to play. The Cubs magic number to make the playoffs has reached eight, since they have the tiebreaker.

Up Next: The Braves come to town at 88-62. They helped the Cubs a bit, winning two of three from the Phillies over the weekend in Atlanta. Their game ended first, so they should be in Chicago plenty early to get as good a night’s sleep as one gets on the road. The Braves are 37-35 on the road, 14-10 versus the Central and 61-42 at night. They are 13th in MLB in OPS. They are 7th in WHIP. But, I do believe they threw their best pitchers over the weekend as one would expect. Their bullpen WHIP is second, and they are fifth in saves, so this is not a series where waiting out the starter is necessarily their go-to strategy.

David Peterson (7-8, 5.28) starts for the Cubs. His Cub numbers are a fair bit better (4-2, 4.41). He’s gotten blasted twice at Wrigley (10 over 3.2 against the Cardinals and 6 over 3.2 against the Brewers). He’s been pretty good at Wrigley otherwise. That is a lot of words to say “hit or miss,” about what you’d expect from a back of the rotation guy.

32-year-old righty Reynaldo Lopez starts for the Braves. Lopez has made 25 appearances but only 12 of them are starts. He’s 2-4 with a 4.47 as a starter, so his numbers (4-4, 4.13) are buoyed a bit by his relief numbers. He just started against Tampa, allowing six runs over 4.2 innings. Before that, he hadn’t pitched at the big league level since July 26. He missed a little over a month after having left knee inflammation. He threw 93 pitches in a rehab outing and 80 last week, so he’s pretty good to go endurance wise.

Fangraphs actually like the Cubs best in the middle game of this series, but they continue to favor the Cubs in all three games. Not totally unreasonable with the Braves fairly ordinary on the road and not using Tyler Mahle or Grant Holmes in the series (and maybe not Chris Sale either). This all assumes Fangraphs has projected their starters correctly.

The Braves have a five-game lead with 12 to play. That’s an enormous edge with no head to head remaining with the Phillies. So they’ll want to be doing things to get guys healthy and rested and lined up for an eventual first round series. They are likely to end up playing a Wild Card series though they could technically catch the recently hot Dodgers. Not having to play in the Wild Card round is enough of an edge to play for. They’d likely get either the Padres and their bullpen or a roller coaster Diamondbacks team. But I’m sure they’d rather just wait out a Wild Card winner instead.

Let’s go get a win in this one. Go Cubs!

Good morning! As I wrote last night, yesterday’s win against the Royals was subtly important for the Sox. I was looking at things in the context of the team’s recent sluggish play heading into a tough roadtrip. But it was important in another sense: it was their 82nd win, meaning the Red Sox will finish the 2026 season over .500.

Prior to last year’s 89-win campaign, the Sox had failed to reach that mark for three seasons in row, a level of historical ineptitude they had not previously hit in 31 years. Had the Sox not turned around their season in historic fashion after an ugly start to this campaign, this season would have marked 5 sub-.500 seasons in 7 years, which would’ve been as bad a stretch of baseball that the club has had since before the Impossible Dream season of 1967. In light of the fact that 1967 is sort of looked at as the beginning of the modern period of Red Sox baseball around these parts, that would’ve been unacceptable.

This isn’t exactly cause for popping Champagne (though I’m hardly one to discourage you from livening up your Monday any way you can) but it’s nice to have mathematical confirmation that the dark days are behind us.

Use this space to talk about whatever you want and, as always, be good to one another.

When the San Diego Padres jumped out to a 5-0 lead over the San Francisco Giants and their ace pitcher Logan Webb in the first two innings, it appeared they were on their way to an easy win on getaway day at Oracle Park. Like the first two games of the series, that proved not to be the case as the Padres held on for a dramatic 6-4 win to complete the three-game sweep of the Giants.

Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon AND Bradgley Rodriguez were all out for the final game of the series due to recent heavy workloads. That meant that if the Padres found themselves in a tight game, they would need to finish the game with the like of the lower leverage and long-relief arms in the bullpen. Despite a fast start which saw San Diego jump out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning of the game, the Padres needed those remaining arms in the ‘pen to secure a two-run win.

Nick Pivetta started for San Diego and allowed two runs over four innings with five hits and five strikeouts. He was up to 69 pitches after four innings and due to the fact that this was just his second start since returning from injury he did not return to the mound in the fifth inning. That task was given to Kyle Hart who allowed two runs in one inning of work. Hart allowed a single and a stolen base to Christian Koss to open the bottom of the fifth and then issued a walk to Drew Gilbert. A double steal allowed Koss and Gilbert to move into second and third. Hart then got Jung Hoo Lee to pop out and Bryce Eldridge grounded out, which allowed a run to score. The Padres were able to get out of the inning with a 6-3 lead.

Hart started the sixth inning but after allowing a single to Scott Bandura who was making his MLB debut and advanced to second on an error by Xander Boagaerts, Hart was replaced by David Morgan. The right-hander got a groundout before issuing a walk to Drew Cavanaugh to put two runners on, Morgan then got Turner Hill to strikeout, but allowed an RBI-single to Koss to make the score 6-4. Morgan got the second out of the inning but was then replaced by Wandy Peralta.

Peralta got the final out of the sixth and worked a scoreless seventh before Randy Vasquez was called on for the eighth inning. Vasquez allowed two walks in the inning but kept the Giants off the board. Yuki Matsui got the call in the bottom of the ninth inning and kept it interesting, but was ultimately able to get three outs and earn his first save of the 2026 season.

The San Diego lineup jumped all over Webb from the start of the game, although he would settle in as he is known to do. Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the game with a single and was followed by Dustin Harris who singled to put runners at the corners just seven pitches into the game. Harris then stole second before Manny Machado walked and the Padres had the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the first inning. Luis Campusano popped out to shortstop for the first out of the inning, but Jackson Merrill took advantage of the opportunity when he lined a double to left field to give the Padres a 2-0 lead. A pop out and a strikeout ended the inning, but it was a sign of things to come.

Samad Taylor singled to start the second for San Diego and stole second base. Ethan Salas, who would notch his first MLB hit (a triple) later in the game, struck out. Tatis recorded his second of three hits in the game and that allowed Taylor to score to give the Padres a 3-0 lead. Harris grounded out for the second out of the inning, but Machado crushed a two-out, two-run home run to put San Diego up 5-0 after two innings.The Padres tacked on a run in the top of the fourth, which made the score 6-2 at the time.

Tatis was the offensive leader for San Diego, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI and a strikeout. Machado had the two run-home run and Merrill had the two-run double.

The Padres return to action tonight when they open a road series against the Colorado Rockies at 5:40 p.m.

Padres News:

• Xander Bogaerts has steadily declined on offense since signing with the Padres and Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball says he needs to be better.

• Ramon Laureano is still in the process of recovery from a surgery earlier in the season, is not ruling out an October return should the Padres reach the postseason.

Baseball News:

• Vladamir Guerrero Jr. hit his first home run at his home field in the 2026 season to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a win over the Baltimore Orioles.

• Josue De Paula hit his first home run since being called up for the Los Angeles Dodgers but it was not enough to help them top the Miami Marlins.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks came up one run short in their loss to the Texas Rangers.