The Rockies battled, but couldn’t score the run they needed or prevent San Diego’s late insurance runs as they fell 8-7 in a heartbreaker on Monday night at Coors Field.

Colorado trailed 6-1 after four innings, but made a game of it before San Diego’s shutdown, slider-throwing closer Mason Miller posted two strikeouts to earn his 37th save of the season — the Rockies’ only two strikeouts of the game.

“We have lost a lot of tight games this year,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “…The next step is to start winning the one-run games and that happens throughout the game. There’s moments in the first inning, there’s moments in the ninth inning, and every inning in between where we can improve. But we are right there. It’s just a matter of time before we start winning those one-run games.”

The loss was the eighth in a row for the Rockies, while the Padres won their eighth straight. The Rockies are now 1-9 against San Diego this season.

Digging a hole

In the end, it turns out a team that consistently beats up on the Rockies facing a pitcher who gives up his fair share of homers is a bad combo. Manny Machado and Fernando Tatís Jr. each homered early off Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) to put the Rockies at a disadvantage from the jump.

Sugano gave up two homers for the fourth time in his last seven games as the Rockies once again found themselves down early and without enough offense to come back.

Machado hit a two-out solo homer in the first inning to put the Padres up immediately. In the second inning, Jackson Merrill led off with a single, Xander Bogaerts drew a one-out walk and Rockies killer Jake Cronenworth hit an RBI single to put the Padres up 2-1. Freddy Fermin followed with a sac fly, which set the table for Tatis’ two-run bomb to increase San Diego’s lead to 5-1. Just like that, it was four hits, one walk and five runs.

“Tomo was behind in counts and, therefore, got hit hard like hanging a two-strike breaking ball to Machado in the first,” Schaeffer said. “I just thought he was behind in counts and didn’t get to really see his good stuff with two strikes.

Sugano was hit hard again in the third when he gave up a double to Ty France and Merrill hit his second RBI double as San Diego went up 6-1. Sugano got a double play to get out of the inning and gave up lone singles in the fourth and fifth innings, but didn’t allow further damage. He was pulled after five innings, giving up six runs on eight hits with two stikeouts and one walk.

Stuck in the Mize maze

Casey Mize gave up a two-out double to Hunter Goodman and an RBI single to TJ Rumfield in the first inning when the Rockies briefly tied the game, but then regained control. Rumfield extended his on-base streak to 19 games, which is second-best in Rockies history.

Despite allowing a runner in each of the five innings he pitched, Mize didn’t allow any more runs for the next three innings. In the fifth, Connor Norby singled and Goodman drew a walk, once again providing runners for the hitting machine that is TJ Rumfield. Collecting his second run-scoring hit, the first baseman cut San Diego’s lead to 6-2.

After five innings, Mize gave up eight hits and two walks, but only allowed two runs.

“I thought we played a very good game. I thought we battled all day. We had Mize on the ropes from the get-go, traffic every inning, solid at-bats up and down the lineup. We let ‘em off the hook a few times like with a double play ball [Tovar hit into one in the second inning],” Schaeffer said. “It’s easy when you get down 6-1 and you’re on a seven-game losing streak to mail it in. But the guys in that room didn’t do that and that’s why we’re going to be good here eventually.”

Sticks come alive in late

When Kyle Hart entered the game for San Diego in the sixth and issued back-to-back one-out walks to Adael Amador and Ezequiel Tovar, the Rockies finally took advantage. Jake McCarthy came up clutch with his 10th triple of the season to plate in his 79th and 80th RBIs and cut San Diego’s lead in half.

Norby followed with a sacrifice grounder to score McCarthy and the Rockies were back in the game only down 6-4. Goodman then hit a triple of his own, reaching base for the third consecutive time, but the Rockies rally was done. Unfortunately, when Goodman came back out to catch in the bottom of the frame, he was struggling with left thumb soreness and had to leave the game. The injury came from a head-first slide on his triple.

“He jammed his thumb going into third base. We’ll re-evaluate tomorrow,” Schaeffer said.

In the seventh, Cole Carrigg smashed a 96-mph Bradgley Rodriguez fastball 424 feet to right field to cut the Padres lead to 7-6. The blast was Carrigg’s eighth of the year.

In the eighth, Tovar singled and Norby came up with a huge double that once again cut the Padres’ lead to one at 8-7. But Brett Sullivan, who entered the game after Goodman left injured, and Rumfield each grounded out to strand Norby at second.

In the ninth, Kyle Karros posted an infield single that hit off Miller’s leg, but Amador hit a high-bouncing chopper to end the game.

Bullpen blemishes

Blas Castaño relieved Sugano in the sixth and put up a scoreless 1.1 innings. Mark Manfredi’s outing didn’t go as well. With one out in the seventh, he walked Dustin Harris. Harris then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before coming home to score on a France RBI single.

Juan Mejia was able to end the seventh without surrendering any more runs, but he did give up one in the eighth when he gave up two singles and then an RBI double to Harris. Jordan Romano threw a scoreless ninth to give the Rockies a chance.

The Rockies actually struck out the Padres eight times, while only striking out twice themselves (both off Miller in the ninth). Sugano, Castaño, Mejia and Romano all posted two strikeouts apiece.

Up next

The Rockies and Padres will be back at it on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. Kyle Freeland (4-10, 6.37 ERA) is back from the IL and will start for Colorado, while Walker Buehler (8-6, 4.61 ERA)will start for San Diego.

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The 2026 regular season is into its final two weeks, with half of Major League Baseball's divisions still up for grabs.

In the AL East, the New York Yankees have closed the gap on the first-place Tampa Bay Rays and begin a climactic series beginning Tuesday, September 22. The Chicago White Sox are trying to hold off the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central and the Houston Astros barely lead the Texas Rangers with both teams hovering around .500.

The AL wild card's final spot has four teams within three games, the Guardians ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, Rangers and Baltimore Orioles entering play Tuesday. The red-hot San Diego Padres have opened up some distance for the third NL wild card spot over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the two teams end the season facing each other at Petco Park.

The regular season ends on Sunday, Sept. 27, with the postseason beginning on Sept. 29.

Here's the latest postseason bracket and standings:

Now accustomed to being featured in fine print for a game in which a beloved former Met earns top billing, Jonah Tong fared better than the last time.

Last time, when Tong took the mound to face off with Jacob deGrom in his return to Citi Field, he did not make it out of the first inning in the worst outing of his career.

A season later — when the 35,800 on hand were cheering for his opponent and booed Tong at one point for walking Pete Alonso — he authored the best outing of his career.

On a night on which fans pined for the past and cursed the present Mets front office, Tong made his best argument yet that he should be a part of the club’s future.

The young right-hander recorded his first quality start in his 11th career major league appearance, completing six innings without allowing an earned run in what became a 2-1 loss to the Orioles on Monday.

“Very, very effective in every way,” interim manager Andy Green said of Tong, who struck out six and allowed one unearned run on four hits and, notably, just one walk. “Demeanor outstanding. … [He] was a bulldog on the attack today, and I think we love seeing that from him.”

The game, though, took a backseat to the singular opponent, virtually everyone on the field who was not Alonso viewed by the crowd as at best an afterthought and at worst an obstruction to the history they desired.

The crowd wanted an Alonso moment — preferably the 300th homer of his career, regardless of the fact he was playing for the opposing team — and thus Tong, a popular top prospect, was briefly the enemy.

During Alonso’s third-inning plate appearance, he smoked a long, would-be homer that went foul to left field and would have brought the crowd to its feet — if the crowd were not already on its feet cheering for the Baltimore first baseman. Alonso returned to the plate and walked, which elicited boos and a Tong smile.

“I think next time [the fans] got to give the pitcher a little more love, too,” said Francisco Lindor with a smile after praising the love the fans showed Alonso.

“We’re proud of the young kid on the mound that stepped off the mound,” Green added. “Didn’t let anything derail him, attacked every hitter, pitched as well as he possibly could.

“… He’s taken some real major strides, and it’s fun to see.”

The real strides have come after Tong took real steps back, struggling after being arguably rushed to the majors last season and working on both arsenal and arm-angle tweaks with Triple-A Syracuse this season that made it a year of lessons rather than major league breakthroughs.

But he pitched well enough in August to earn another major league chance in September. And he might be coming out on the other side of what he acknowledged has been a “long year” stronger.

“I think [the 2026 struggles are] something I’m going to have to live with, and I’m happy for it,” Tong said. “I mean, there’s a lot of times in life that you’re going to struggle, and the best learning happens through that. I welcome it.”

Monday's 8-3 comeback at the Minnesota Twins gave the Yankees the series-opening win, their sixth victory in their past seven games and a playoff spot entering the 2026 regular season's final two weeks.

"You start back in February and the goal is to go play in October and go win a championship," New York manager Aaron Boone told YES Network near the dugout at Target Field after the game, which brought the Yankees to 87-63. "And we've checked that first box and have that opportunity now, and obviously there's a lot of important games still in front of us here the rest of the way, but we're excited that we'll be able to take our shot. Feel like the group's coming together at the right time, but today's a good day."

The Tampa Bay Rays lead the American League East by 3.5 games, but the Yankees have a chance to take the division with next week's four-game series at Yankee Stadium.

They do so with Aaron Judge, who homered in his sixth game back from a three-month absence on the injured list, among those entering the mix as the Yankees ramp up against the Twins (70-80).

"It's one thing as a team we try to talk about every series ... as we get down the stretch -- just clean up the little mistakes, trying to fin-tune the situational hitting," Judge said. "So, I was just trying to do a job there. You've got guys on base, guys in scoring position. Either move 'em over or drive 'em in. So, I'm just happy to drive in add more runs there and let our pitchers do the thing."

What makes the 2026 Yankees different from New York's World Series contenders of the past decade?

"Got a lot of grit," Judge said. "Even going into tonight's game -- Twins put some good at-bats against us. They go up 2-1. The offense wasn't really going. But we found a way to fight back there."

Entering Tuesday's 7:40 p.m. start in Minnesota, continuing the three-game series with the Twins, the Yankees possess the AL Wild Card's first spot by a sizable margin over the Boston Red Sox (82-68) and Cleveland Guardians (76-75).

"It's what you've got to deal with as a major league club," Boone said. "We've certainly had our fair share (of adversity) this year, and I feel like the guys have persevered through that to this point. "There's a lot of grit in there with these guys, which I love. And we're used to playing in tight, difficult situations, and hopefully that's something that serves us well in the month of October."

Angels 6, Mariners 4

The Big A: Cal Raleigh, +0.09 WPA
The Big F: Kade Anderson, -0.19 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day

It’s another week here at BCB After Dark: the coolest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so happy you decided to stop by. Come on in. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. We still have a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last week I asked you who you thought should be the National League Rookie of the Year. There didn’t seem to be much debate as 71 percent of you voted for the Reds’ Sal Stewart. St, Louis second baseman JJ Wetherholt came in second with 21 percent.

Here’s the part with the music and the movies. You’re welcome to come join us there.

Next week will mark the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane, so it might be a good time to go back and remember his genius. In 1965, just two years before his death, Trane released his best-selling album and the one that many consider his masterpiece: A Love Supreme. In fact, it’s considered among the top jazz recordings ever made.

This is a music video that his estate made earlier this year to go with “Part 1—Acknowledgement,” the first track on A Love Supreme. Besides Coltrane on tenor sax, this number features McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on double bass and Elvin Jones on drums.

Most of this video was shot at the famous Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey, where A Love Supreme was recorded with the aid of engineer Rudy Van Gelder.

First off tonight, I want to acknowledge the passing of legendary designer and costumer Bob Mackie (gift article) at the age of 87. As someone who grew up watching Cher and Carol Burnett on television, some of my earliest memories included his work. Of course, the Mackie-designed dress that Burnett wore in her “Went with the Wind” parody is still today one of the greatest visual jokes ever committed to television. Burnett’s line of “Thank you. I just saw it in the window and I couldn’t resist it” just took the bit up to 13. That dress now belongs to the Smithsonian.

Of course, Mackie didn’t just dress Cher and Burnett. As the obituary notes, he also designed outfits for Tina Turner, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Liza Minelli and others. Pretty much every star from that era wore Bob Mackie clothes and pretty much every designer since then has been influenced by him one way or the other.

Costume designers are an underrated and under appreciated part of movies and television. Often they work in anonymity. But Bob Mackie, along with Edith Head, were two designers who became household names anyway.

Now on to tonight’s movie.

You Never Can Tell is a 1951 movie, written and directed by Lou Breslow, that stars Dick Powell as a dog. No, really. Wait. It gets even better.

King, played by Hollywood veteran Flame, is a German Shepherd war hero who inherits six million dollars from his eccentric owner. So far, so good. Peggy Dow (who, according to IMDB.com, is still with us at 98) plays Ellen Hathaway, the old man’s secretary who is placed in charge of the dog. She also stands to inherit the money when King dies.

Charles Drake plays Perry Collins, who served in the K-9 Corps with King, shows up at Ellen’s door wanting to reconnect with King. He also immediately starts wooing Ellen and the $6 million he controls.

King, of course, turns up dead by poison. He goes up to animal heaven where he asks the lion named Lion who runs the place to return him to earth to solve his murder. King’s wish is granted and he is sent back to earth as private investigator Rex Shepard. A filly named Golden Harvest goes with him as his trusty secretary, Goldie Harvey (Joyce Holden).

Of course, Rex/King knows who killed him, he just has to find a way to prove it to humans.

That set up is pretty much all you need to know. Rex is a dog in Dick Powell’s body. Rex is both a dog and a tough-as-nails Sam Spade-style detective with a trusty secretary, who is also a horse. He needs to solve his own murder. He likes to eat kibble and dog treats and curl up onto his late-master’s favorite chair. He likes his hamburgers raw.

Much of the humor revolves around Powell and Holden acting like animals in human bodies. Powell does incorporate a lot of dog-related behavior, like the way he scratches his nose. Holden’s Goldie speaks with a thick Kentucky accent. She likes to go to track and she makes a lot of money betting on her granddaughters. Despite being in a human body, Goldie can still run 35 miles per hour.

We find out very quickly who the killer and the answer is not a surprise. The only suspense becomes how a dog is going to prove it. As a noir satire, You Never Can Tell is fine but a bit tame. It’s silly fun, but if you want a tighter noir satire, you want the Carl Reiner’s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.

Still, You Never Can Tell is one of those bonkers concepts that make watching it worthwhile. Powell and Holden really do get a lot of milage out of the ridiculousness. While the noir satire isn’t sharp, it is present and kind of clever. Overall, You Never Can Tell is the kind of movie that if you described the plot to me, I’d say “There’s no way I’m not watching that.” Luckily, the film didn’t make me regret that instinct.

I couldn’t find any trailers or scenes for You Never Can Tell, but it is available to watch until September 23 on the Watch TCM app if you have a cable or satellite subscription to TCM.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

It has been suggested by some that grabbing the third Wild Card spot in the National League is preferable to the first one. Quite honestly, it’s something that I’ve considered as well. I don’t think it’s controversial to say that the Brewers look like the best team in the National League. They have the best record. The Dodgers still look formidable, but they also look flawed and injured. The Braves are comfortably in the three slot as the division winner with the worst record and that seems unlikely to change.

Right now, the Cubs are the first Wild Card team. If they hold that position, they’ll open the playoffs with a best-of-three series at home against the second Wild Card, which is likely to be the Phillies. It could also be the Padres.

Were the Cubs to win that first series, they would then play the Brewers in a best-of-five series, with Milwaukee hosting games 1,2 and 5. In other words, just like last year.

However, were the Cubs to fall to the third Wild Card, they would play a best-of-three series in Atlanta and then face a Dodgers team that looks more vulnerable in the second round.

To be clear: NO ONE IS ARGUING THAT THE CUBS LOSE GAMES ON PURPOSE. For one, two bad things could happen if they do. The first is that they only fall to the second Wild Card, which would mean the same matchups except no games at Wrigley in the first round. The other bad thing is obvious: the Diamondbacks get hot and the Cubs miss the playoffs altogether.

However, it does seem like putting off a possible matchup with the Brewers until the Championship Series (with the chance that Atlanta, San Diego or Philadelphia knocks them out in the Division Series) is preferable to facing them in the Division Series. And it does seem like the Dodgers are a better matchup for the Cubs than the Brewers are. Just compare their record this year against LA and Milwaukee.

Of course, the problem with finishing third would be that the Cubs would have to win two out of three games on the road in the Wild Card series to get to either the Brewers. Maybe that makes a difference. Maybe it doesn’t make enough of a difference.

So with the caveat that the Cubs should try to win every game, would you feel better if the Cubs secured the first Wild Card or the third? (The second is definitely bad.)

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We’re glad to have you stop by. Please get home safely. Tell your friends about us. We won’t bug you with an annoying survey to fill out. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.

The Cincinnati Reds lost again on Monday night, this time back home in Great American Ball Park. It came at the hands of the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers, and the loss officially eliminated the Reds from postseason contention with roughly two weeks of games left to be played as they finally dipped to 10 games under .500.

Of course that’s how this season’s final nail was hit.

Anyway, while the Reds lost 4-1 after Tarik Skubal sliced and diced their eyeballs all night, at least superstar Elly De La Cruz managed to show the rest of the world that he, at still just 24 years of age, is about to be the single most dominant force on a baseball diamond for a handful of years.

He just recently wrapped up a stretch of homering in five straight games. If how hard he hit his 457 foot blast out of GABP tonight is any indication, he may well be en route to finishing the 2026 season as a whole on a similar tear.

This one went out of GABP altogether.

Too bad it just missed taking the Toyota Tacoma with it along the ride.

About three hours before the first pitch of his first game at Citi Field as a visiting player, Pete Alonso walked into the batting cage outside the Mets clubhouse, on the home side. Visiting players rarely, if ever, wander that deep into enemy territory. But, as became clear immediately, this was no usual visiting player.

“The [redacted] polar bear!” Francisco Alvarez exclaimed, his gerund of choice not fit for print.

He opened his arms wide and gave Alonso a hug, which is exactly how everyone at Citi Field treated him Monday.

The irony, of course, almost goes without saying: The only people at Citi Field who seemed to think the Mets were better off without Alonso were the ones who made the decision not to pursue him in free agency.

In the baseball sense, that is settled business now. Alonso is the heart and soul of the Orioles now. He will be for the next four seasons. The Mets failed to fill the void, if it were possible that anyone not named Pete Alonso could fill that void at all. Maybe no one could.

Because in the emotional sense, nothing about Alonso’s departure is settled business. The grief has not been processed. Acceptance has not yet grown roots.

The front office was wrong. The 2026 Mets were not better without Pete Alonso. And the 2026 Mets were always going to be judged on whether they were better without Pete Alonso. The original skeptics are credible critics, for the moment.

Alonso has already answered several sessions worth of questions about the Mets’ unwillingness to negotiate for his return. His answers to Monday’s were sparklingly diplomatic, honed and practiced. For example: He said he did not take it personally when the Mets didn’t chase him this winter.

“When you have a really good opportunity, you have great dialogue, you don’t necessarily want to, kind of, ruin that. So for me, I didn’t want to look anywhere else because Baltimore was putting in a tremendous effort,” said Alonso, who then emphasized how happy he is as an Oriole.

“Two things can be true at the same time: I’m very happy and appreciative of my time that I spent as a Met, and I’m beyond grateful and appreciative of the Baltimore Orioles.”

Alonso spent 15 minutes answering comparable questions from a gaggle of reporters three rows deep, then apologized for departing as he scurried back to the visitors’ clubhouse in his bare feet.

When he took the field for batting practice, fans in Alonso jerseys cheered. When he stepped in the cage during batting practice, they cheered again. They roared when his name was announced in the starting lineup, then chanted it for several seconds.

When the national anthem was over, they chanted his name again, even though he was not on the field.

When he finally took the field to stretch, they chanted his name again, at which point he tipped his cap to the crowd -- only to have the game production team press play on his tribute video. This required him to tip his hat again.

Alonso stepped in the box and the crowd stood until he tipped his helmet to them. They chanted his name for most of his at-bat. After he popped out, they cheered to “Fire Stearns.” And when a ground ball up the line got by current Mets first baseman Brett Baty, they cheered “Pete Alonso” again.

“It’s one of those that, you see him on the other side like, ‘Wow, those are great numbers. That’s Pete Alonso,’” Francisco Lindor said after the game.

“But at the same time, you look in our clubhouse and you say, ‘The guys that we have are capable of helping us win games. We haven‘t stayed healthy and we haven’t put the season together.‘ As a person, I do miss him, for sure.”

While the Mets have struggled, Alonso is not exactly cruising to the postseason, either: His Orioles, though technically still alive for the third American League Wild Card spot, are three games out with 11 games to play.

Alonso went 0-for-3 with a walk Monday. He did not subject Citi Field to the torture of watching his 300th career homer come for another team, though he still has two games to do so.

No, on Monday night, the baseball fates had another twist in mind: When his Orioles took the opener 2-1, they officially eliminated the Mets from postseason contention.

The Dodgers celebrated clinching a postseason berth with a champagne toast. Simple. Restrained. Leaving room for larger celebrations to come.

“The message was, ‘We haven’t come close to playing our best baseball yet,’” manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 4-1 win over the Reds on Monday. “And here we are with 12 games left, getting a ticket to the postseason. And that says a lot about this entire organization. And just to finish strong.”

It marked the Dodgers’ 14th straight playoff berth, tying a record set by the Atlanta Braves from 1991 to 2005.

“It’s different than anything I’ve experienced, for sure,” Tarik Skubal said of the understated celebration. “But I think it just speaks to the people in this room and what they expect out of this team. That was cool. A little toast and move on. Forget it happened. We’ve got more to accomplish.”

Read more:Dodgers might be forced to leave Edwin Díaz off postseason roster

Most teams don ski goggles to celebrate with champagne and beer showers. The Dodgers will save the messier celebration for clinching the division. Their win over the Reds (70-80) trimmed that magic number to three.

It was fitting that Skubal, the Dodgers’ big trade-deadline acquisition, was on the mound for the clincher. He’s progressively improved in his eight starts with the Dodgers. And on Monday, he breezed through seven shutout innings, allowing just four baserunners (three singles and a walk).

“I think a lot of the struggles have been me versus me,” Skubal said. “Thinking too much out there, not competing the way I know how to compete. Just thinking too much about pitch selection at times and trying to be too fine and not challenging guys.”

He has grown more comfortable with the pitching coaches and his catchers, and it has brought out a better version of him. Skubal seems to be peaking at the right time — just as Roberts hoped for the team as a whole.

Even after clinching the division likely this week, the Dodgers (91-59) will be playing for seeding, aiming for at least a first-round bye.

“It’s always helpful in the sense of giving your guys a break to reset,” Roberts said. “But given all the tax and where our guys are health-wise, to get that week would be huge. So we’ve still got to play well to finish out the season to get to that point.”

The position-player group has been hit the hardest down the stretch.

Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (right biceps and left knee), center fielder Andy Pages (left hand fracture) and backup catcher Dalton Rushing (sprained right elbow) are on the IL. First baseman Freddie Freeman was out of the lineup Monday managing right knee soreness, and second baseman Miguel Rojas was playing through shoulder soreness after aggravating a longstanding partial tear in a labrum.

“You’ve got to give credit to the front office,” said Teoscar Hernández, who hit a two-run homer Monday. “They put together a really good team, [a] deep team that has a little bit of too much of everything. A lot of pitchers, a lot of position players here, players that can play all over the field. We’re one of the oldest teams. We know [injuries] are going to happen throughout the season. So, we’ve just gotta be ready, and the team has to be ready, and everybody else.”

Here are more specific injury updates provided by Roberts:

— Ohtani is set to hit off a tee Tuesday. Up until this point, he’s been working out, lifting and undergoing treatment.

— Pages hit softer balls Monday and will advance to hitting baseballs in the cage Tuesday. “He’s trending really well,” Roberts said.

— Freeman is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday, but Roberts will continue to keep a close eye on him. “Where we’re at in the season, an IL is not an option in the sense of — I personally don’t think we have a better option,” Roberts said. “So I don’t think it needs to be 10 days. But could it be more than one? That’s a fair question. And I’ve got to talk to the training staff, Freddie, and ultimately make that decision. But I don’t think IL would make sense at all.”

— Rojas did not receive a cortisone injection as he had initially predicted when he hurt his shoulder Sunday. But he said it’s still a possibility as he manages pain in his shoulder. The Reds have left-handed starters scheduled for two of the four games, making Rojas’ right-handed bat valuable.

“Right now it’s front of mind, it’s not great,” Roberts said of the Dodgers’ injury situation. “But I will say this: Once you get to October, athletes have a magical way of feeling better. It happens every single year, where there’s that extra adrenaline that athletes get when you get to the postseason.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.