Category: Sports News

The chances are now paper thin after a series loss in Arizona, but if the Yankees are to have any shot of chasing down the Rays in the final week of the season, they absolutely must sweep this four-game series. That required a dominant performance from Carlos Rodón facing one of the AL’s best starters in Nick Martinez. They certainly got that, Rodón running rampant for eight scoreless innings, achieving both the 1,500th strikeout and 100th win of his career as the Yankees took the first game of the day’s doubleheader, 2-0.

Rodón burst out of the gate like he had a point to prove, whiffing the first two batters of the game Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda on a pair of filthy sliders. Cam Schlittler and Max Fried are likely locks for the postseason rotation, meaning if the Yankees elect to stick with a three-man unit, that final spot comes down to Rodón and Gerrit Cole. Aaron Boone has affirmed his commitment to Cole as the Game One starter in a prospective Wild Card Series. This seemingly leaves Rodón on the bubble, which might explain the extra edge he was pitching with this afternoon.

His teammates didn’t do themselves any favors early, burning both ABS challenges in the first inning. I expect the Yankees to tighten the strings on who gets to challenge and in what situation come the playoffs as you cannot deprive yourself of such a vital tool with eight innings still to play.

Martinez entered this game with the lowest walk rate of any qualified starter and among the league’s best at limiting hard contact. He was true to form going the first turn through the order without allowing a base runner. He was helped by the collectively poor approach from the lineup, with four out of the nine batters including the side in the third striking out against a pitcher with the lowest strikeout rate among qualified starters.

That started to change the second turn through the order, the Yankees finally starting to do some damage against the high volume of pitches Martinez was throwing over the heart of the plate, starting with a Ben Rice double into the corner in right to lead off the fourth. The very next pitch Martinez threw rocketed out of the yard, Cody Bellinger blasting a first pitch sinker into the seats in right for a two-run homer — his fifth homer in the last 12 games.

George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones singled with two outs to put runners on the corners. Jones then stole second unopposed, but Anthony Volpe struck out swinging to strand the pair in scoring position. They kept up the pressure in the fifth, José Caballero reaching on a bunt single against his former team and then stealing second and third followed by a Rice walk to put runners on the corners with one out. However, Bellinger popped out and Heliot Ramos flew out as they stranded a pair in consecutive frames.

Rodón settled into an impressive groove after a Chandler Simpson single in the second, retiring the next ten batters in order until Victor Mesa Jr. led off the sixth with a single. After Rodón whiffed Jorge Mateo on a slider for his sixth strikeout, he got Richie Palacios to line out to left. Mesa was running on the play and momentarily forget he had to sprint back to first, allowing Bellinger to throw an absolute seed to Luis García Jr., who applid the tag for the inning-ending double play.

With Rodón’s pitch count standing at just 89 after seven, Boone decided to go batter-to-batter in the eighth. However, Rodón ensured his manager had no choice to make, completing the eighth inning on just seven pitches, including the 1,500th strikeout of his career. It’s tied for his longest start as a Yankee, matching the eight innings he pitched against the Cubs on July 11, 2025.

Rodón entered this start as perhaps the Yankees’ most in-form pitcher behind Schlittler. Including today, in his last eight starts, Rodón has a 1.67 ERA while holding batters to a measly .134 batting average against. He had all his pitches working today, but this really felt like a throwback to his peak years with Chicago and San Francisco. He got whiffs in bunches on the four-seamer above the zone and slider below it. In likely his penultimate start of the regular season, Rodón dominated for eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out eight to lower his ERA to 2.67 on the year.

The Yankees didn’t manage another base runner in the final three innings, but Rodón made sure that it wouldn’t come back to haunt them. David Bednar pitched a one-two-three ninth to secure his 35th save of the season. The gap to the Rays now stands at five games as the Yankees become the second team in the AL to 90 wins. At worst, they have clinched the four seed in the AL, guaranteeing home field advantage in a prospective AL Wild Card Series.

The Yankees have a few hours’ rest before taking the field again tonight. Max Fried starts the night game of the doubleheader against Drew Rasmussen. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET with the broadcast remaining on YES, so stick around!

Box Score

There have been all sorts of offensive breakouts throughout the Nationals organization. From Keibert Ruiz and Andres Chaparro at the big league level to Seaver King and Ronny Cruz in the minors, there has been a lot of success. However, one under the radar breakout has been Cayden Wallace who has put himself back on the map this season.

At one point, the 25 year old had some real prospect hype behind him. After starring for Arkansas, the Royals drafted Wallace in the second round back in 2022. Entering 2024, he was the third ranked prospect in the Royals system. Wallace was traded to the Nats in a deadline deal that sent reliever Hunter Harvey to Kansas City.

However, Wallace really struggled when he arrived in the Nats system. He missed a lot of time in 2024 due to injuries. When he came back in 2025, he did not have a very good year in AA. Wallace hit .242 with a .686 OPS and 10 homers in 121 games for Harrisburg. That led to him going unprotected and unselected in the Rule 5 draft and took him off the prospect radar.

At this point, Wallace was an afterthought who looked like nothing more than organizational depth. However, he has flipped the script this season. He lit up AA to the tune of a .300 average with 18 homers and a .915 OPS in 71 games. That was impressive stuff, but the real test was going to come in AAA. After all, you can only learn so much from a 24 year old performing well in AA.

When Wallace first got to Rochester, it took him a few weeks to settle in. After 19 games in AAA, Wallace was hitting just .207 with a .552 OPS. However, he has been lighting it up the last couple months of the season. Wallace hit .337 with a 1.015 OPS in August and followed that up with a .304 average and .879 OPS in September.

At the plate, Cayden Wallace has an interesting profile. He is an ultra-aggressive hitter who chases more than you would like but also rarely misses a chance to swing at pitches in the zone. That pairs nicely with his above average contact skills, average power and strong ability to pull the ball in the air.

As mentioned, Wallace is now a strong candidate to be added to the 40-man roster now. He was exposed in the Rule-5 draft and went unprotected last year, but I do not think that would happen again. With his lights out play in Rochester, Wallace is showing that he is a big league ready asset.

One nice thing about Wallace is that he can play multiple positions. He has spent most of his time at third base in his career, but has also gotten run at second and shortstop this season. Wallace has a very strong arm and is a solid defender and athlete.

Nats hitters all across the organization have seen pick up ticks in power, and Wallace is no exception. After hitting just 10 homers last season, Wallace is up to 29 this year. He does not have James Wood type exit velocities, but he hits it plenty hard enough and elevates consistently. 

I think Cayden Wallace has a chance to be a real piece on the 2027 Nationals. Having a utility guy who has the chance to hit for power and average while also playing solid defense is rare. When top 30 lists are updated this offseason, I think Wallace deserves to re-enter the Nationals top 30 prospect list. He is an older prospect now, but his production is undeniable. 

Between two levels, Wallace is now hitting .300 with 29 homers and an .896 OPS. Those numbers also stayed relatively stable between AA and AAA. In Harrisburg, he hit .300 with a .915 OPS and in Rochester he hit .299 with an .872 OPS. 

After falling off the map following two rough seasons, Wallace is now back on the radar. He will be one to watch in Spring Training and I think he has a chance to win a job out of camp. Wallace could easily take the Jose Tena at bats. In a season full of breakouts, do not overlook Cayden Wallace.

In true “end-of-the-season battle of the titans” fashion, the Rays were going to be facing the Yankees in a Tuesday doubleheader. Both teams had secured their trip to the postseason, but the Rays really wanted to finally lock down their place as the AL East champions without question. To get the job done, they had Nick Martinez on the mound for game one, up against Carlos Rodon for the Yankees. One man they wouldn’t need to worry about for the whole series was Aaron Judge, who will miss the remainder of the regular season and is a big question mark for the Wild Card series.

The Rays started out by going 1-2-3 in the top of the first. The Yankees helped out by doing the same thing in the home half.

Chandler Simpson got the first hit of the game with one out in the second. However, Jonny DeLuca grounded into a double play to eliminate the baserunner and end the inning. Martinez kept Victor Mesa Jr. busy in the bottom of the inning with multiple flyouts, but managed to keep the Yankees off the basepaths as well, setting them down in order.

It was another three-up, three-down inning for the Rays in the third, and the same story for the Yankees in the bottom half. I never like to speak too soon on these things, but this was shaping up to be a good old-fashioned pitchers’ duel.

The Rays went down in order again in the fourth. I did indeed speak too soon about that whole pitchers’ duel thing, because Ben Rice doubled to start the bottom of the fourth, then Cody Bellinger homered, putting the Yankees on the board first. With two outs George Lombard Jr. singled, then Spencer Jones singled, bumping Lombard to third. Jones then stole second, putting two runners in scoring position. An Anthony Volpe strikeout ended the inning with no additional runs scored.

Another three-up, three-down inning didn’t do much to help the Rays get any runs back. Jose Caballero got a one-out single in the bottom of the inning, then he stole second. Ben Rice walked, and Caballero stole third. Martinez got the next two outs, though, once again nipping the threat in the bud.

Victor Mesa Jr. opened the sixth with a single, but a strikeout and then a double play off the bat of Richie Palacios ended the inning with no runs scored. Thankfully the Yankees had a 1-2-3 inning to keep things status quo.

In the seventh, Jonathan Aranda got a one-out single, but two outs followed to leave him stranded. The Rays were really going to need to get something going if they hoped to clinch the division today. Nick Martinez was done after six innings with a final line of 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR on 94 pitches. Aside from one unlucky inning it was a pretty good outing from him overall. Ty Johnson replaced him and got the side out in order.

The Rays once again failed to get a baserunner on in the eighth. The Yankees also went down in order in the bottom of the inning.

Rodon, who had made it through eight innings of really strong work, was out for the ninth, being replaced by David Bednar. The Rays did not make any effort at a rally, going 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth and dropping the first game of the doubleheader. Hopefully they were just keeping their runs for the evening game.

Final: Yankees 2, Rays 0

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers on Tuesday got a few regulars back as reinforcements heading into the final week of the regular season and into October, activating center fielder Andy Pages and pitcher Roki Sasaki off the injured list.

Pages missed 27 games after getting hit by a fastball on his left hand on August 21. Sasaki left his start in Atlanta five days later with a blister on his right middle finger.

Emmet Sheehan and catcher Eliezer Alfonzo were optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday.

Pages was an All-Star starter this season, and when he got hurt was tied with Yoshinobu Yamamoto for second-highest FanGraphs WAR (3.9) on the team, behind only Shohei Ohtani. By Baseball Reference WAR, Pages is still third on the team now at 5.4, trailing only Ohtani and Yamamoto. That’ll happen with a .272/.338/.458 batting line with a 118 wRC+ combined with plus-defense in center field.

Before getting hit by an errant fastball on August 21, Pages started 125 of the Dodgers’ 129 games, and led the team in plate appearances (550) at the time. Pages and Ohtani are still tied for the Dodgers’ lead with 80 runs batted in. With Pages out, Alek Thomas was first called up to start six games in center field, followed by Tommy Edman starting 17 games, plus three starts by Alex Call and one by Kiké Hernández.

With Edman moving to the outfield and once Thomas was optioned, Miguel Rojas (10) and Alex Freeland (eight) have covered all but one of the starts at second base in September.

Sasaki struggled earlier in the season, but improved as the season progressed. He has a streak of six straight starts with no more than two runs allowed until his blister start in Atlanta. On the season, Sasaki has a 4.46 ERA and 4.42 xERA, but since July 8 he’s down to a 3.25 ERA and 3.76 xERA in eight starts.

With Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow set for the postseason rotation, the Dodgers will see over the next two weeks if Blake Snell will be hampered by his left groin discomfort, and will have Sheehan at the ready. That allows them to use Sasaki in relief, as they did last postseason out of necessity.

“I could see multiples [innings], but it’s not going to be bulk as in four or five innings,” manager Dave Roberts said on Sunday.

Last season was a different situation for Sasaki, who struggled mightily as a starter and spend four months on the injured list before returning in the final week of the regular season. There was no room in the rotation, so he pitched in relief in the postseason. He wasn’t dominant — only six strikeouts among his 43 batters faced, with five walks — but he was effective, allowing only one run over nine appearances and 10 2/3 innings, the highlight his perfect three innings of relief in the Dodgers’ NLDS Game 4 clincher over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Sasaki saved three games last postseason. Roberts said Sasaki probably wouldn’t get an opportunity in a save situation right away this week, but it could progress to that by the postseason.

“I trust Roki in any situation. I would say probably starting a clean inning,” Roberts said. “He’s done it, he’s really good. He’s a neutral pitcher, high-octane stuff. And you really just need four starters. So we’re in a good spot there, for now.”

Sheehan has been fantastic of late, allowing only one run in three starts for the Dodgers over the previous two weeks, with 24 strikeouts in 17 innings. The plan for Sheehan is to start on Saturday for Oklahoma City should the Comets advance to the Triple-A championship game.

Alfonzo was back with the Dodgers since September 6 when Dalton Rushing was placed on the injured list with elbow soreness. In the 14 games since, Alfonzo played only once, pinch-hitting as the designated hitter at the end of a 14-1 blowout of the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out.

Alfonzo made his major league debut against the Padres on July 5, and started nine games behind the plate. He had five hits in 28 at-bats with three doubles and four runs batted in.

Major League Baseball could have a division winner this season that doesn't finish with a winning record.

That's the state of the truly mediocre AL West, where the Texas Rangers began the final week of the regular seasson with a division-leading mark of 78-78. The second-place Houston Astros are close behind, with the Seattle Mariners clinging to a flicker of life in the event they can win out.

While baseball fans may not see excellence every night, they are very likely to see drama .... all the way to the very end.

The Astros can extinguish the Mariners' flame with a sweep of their two-game series to start the week. Then they'll travel to Sacremento to close out the regular season with a four-game set against the Athletics.

The Rangers, meanwhile, play three at home against the New York Mets, then head to Minnesota to face the Twins.

The Cubs get lucky once again in this series and don’t have to face Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara, who went Sunday against the Padres. In fact, they’ll face the same three Marlins starters they took on in the series in Miami a couple of weeks ago, in the same order.

Since these teams last met two weeks ago, the Cubs are 6-6 — but 6-3, winning three straight series, since being swept in Milwaukee. The Marlins are 4-8 and just got swept by the Padres in San Diego.

For more on the Marlins, please visit the Marlins site Fish On First.

Fun facts

Good news! This is still the regular season.

The Cubs are 67-55 at Wrigley Field in regular-season games vs. the Marlins. They are 1-5 in the postseason.

The Cubs won two of three when they last hosted the Marlins on May 12-14, 2025. Today is the 495th day since then, during which the Cubs have played 274 games, including three at Miami on Sept. 4-6. They won the first two and lost the third.

The Cubs’ last sweep of the Marlins at home was on May 7-9, 2018. They did it on the road April 15-17, 2019. This will be their 13th series vs. the Marlins since then. They were swept twice, both at Miami, in 2021 and 2023.
The Cubs have been swept at home by the Marlins only twice in 34 seasons: two games in 1997 and three in 2007.

(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

Probable pitching matchups

Tuesday: Shōta Imanaga, LHP (11-10, 3.80 ERA, 1.105 WHIP, 4.54 FIP) vs. Janson Junk, RHP (6-9, 4.50 ERA, 1.342 WHIP, 4.25 FIP)

Wednesday: Kevin Gausman, RHP (4-2, 5.04 ERA, 1.231 WHIP, 4.44 FIP in 10 starts with Cubs; 9-12, 4.55 ERA, 1.273 WHIP, 3.75 FIP in 31 starts overall) vs. Ryan Gusto, RHP (1-5, 4.14 ERA, 1.440 WHIP, 4.28 FIP)

Thursday: TBD vs. Tyler Phillips, RHP (5-6, 3.45 ERA, 1.313 WHIP, 4.63 FIP)

NOTE: Thursday would be Clay Holmes’ turn, but MLB.com currently is listing “TBD,” so that’s what I’m showing here.

Times & TV channels

Tuesday: 6:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Wednesday: 6:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Thursday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Prediction

The Marlins are a much worse team on the road (31-47) than at home (45-33). The Cubs took two of three from them in Miami, and so ought to at least do that again, with a fair shot at a sweep.

Up next

The final series of the regular season, a three-game set vs. the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park beginning Friday evening. The weather forecast is a concern.

Last August, the White Sox were in the middle of a 102-loss season while the Royals were trying their best to stay on the fringes of the Wild Card race. The Royals would win 10 of 13 against the Sox, a big part of why they were able to finish with a winning record. The baseball world expected another trying season for the White Sox, but they grew up and found themselves in a pennant race this year. They go into this series just one game out of first place, and three games up for the last Wild Card spot. They have won 7 of 10 this year against the Royals, turning the tables on them.

Chicago White Sox (80-76) vs. Kansas City Royals (67-89) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

White Sox: 4.70 runs scored/game (6th in MLB), 4.43 runs allowed/game (15th)

Royals: 4.21 runs scored/game (23rd), 4.86 runs allowed/game (25th)

The White Sox went from scoring the fourth-fewest runs in baseball in 2025 to the sixth-most runs this year. They added Munetaka Murakami, who is second among all rookies with 32 home runs. Outfielder Tristan Peters was acquired for cash considerations last December from the Rays and is now third among all rookies in fWAR at 3.9. Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery have also blossomed into 30+ home run hitters, and Sam Antonacci is tenth in the American League with a .363 on-base percentage.

Kyle Teel missed the first two and a half months with a hamstring injury and returned two weeks ago from an ankle injury. Brenton Doyle has not drawn a single walk in 37 games since the White Sox acquired him in July. Former Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi is hitting just .167/.216/.229 in his last 18 games. Former Royals outfielder Randal Grichuk is hitting .318/.361/.618 against left-handers.

Anthony Kay has not pitched into the sixth inning in any of his last five starts. Lefties are hitting just .186/.251/.267 against him, and he has a 5.07 ERA on the road. Daniel Lynch IV has a 5.28 ERA in eight starts, but is coming off his best start, throwing five shutout innings against the Astros his last time out.

Erick Fedde has a 2.84 ERA in five career starts against the Royals, but Salvador Perez is 5-for-11 (.455) with a home run against him. He has a 1.57 ERA over his last six starts. Seth Lugo has a 7.35 ERA in nine starts since the start of August, but the Royals are 5-4 in those games. He has a 2.14 ERA against the White Sox in 46.1 career innings.

The White Sox have not yet announced a starter for Thursday, but it is David Sandlin’s turn in the rotation. The former Royals farmhand has struggled in his rookie campaign, giving up five runs in four innings in a loss to the Tigers his last time out. Randy Dobnak lasted just 3.2 innings in his last start, his shortest outing in 14 games with the Royals.

White Sox relievers have a 3.68 ERA, seventh-best in baseball, but they have 30 blown saves, third-most. The team traded closer Seranthony Domínguez away at the deadline, with Grant Taylor and Bryan Hudson sharing closing duties since then. Hudson was claimed off waivers in spring training and is 25th in fWAR among all relievers. Former Arkansas standout and first-round pick Hagen Smith has become a bullpen weapon, with opponents hitting .107/.242/.167 against him. Trevor Richards, who pitched in three games for the Royals in 2025, has the seventh-most relief innings in baseball this year at 77.2.

The White Sox just took three out of four from the Tigers in Chicago, but have a losing record of 8-11 in the month of September. They are 34-44 on the road, the worst road record of any team currently projected to make the postseason. The White Sox have flipped the script from a year ago, and with the postseason within reach, they’ll look to continue their dominance over the Royals this season.