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The first game thread of the SB Nation app era, we cheered! But whether you’re on it or tuning in on the website, we’re just glad you’re here. <3
A Feed prompt for you while we await the 6:45 pm ET first pitch in DC:
Braves biweekly: all we do is accumulate wins
Braves will be calling up Blake Burkhalter and Kyle Farmer as September call-ups, per report
Three big stats to keep in mind as Braves move into September
After winning three out of four against the Marlins, the Nats homestand continues with another NL East matchup. The boys have a quick two game series against the Braves before a much needed off day. As we enter September, the Nats will have to dig deep and finish strong here.
We are getting a new name in the Nats lineup. Yohandy Morales will DH and hit 5th in what is his MLB debut. Morales had a big year in AAA and is getting rewarded with a September call up. CJ Abrams is also back in the lineup playing shortstop. Despite being benched for poor effort, Jorbit Vivas is also back in the lineup. Harry Ford replaces Keibert Ruiz behind the plate. Jake Irvin will be on the bump.
This Braves lineup is nothing new to Nats fans. Acuna, Albies, Olson, Harris and Baldwin all feature. Albies will be at DH over his usual second base though. The versatile Mauricio Dubon will be at second. Young AJ Smith-Shawver missed a lot of this season due to injury but he is back on the mound now and will face the Nats tonight.
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Game Info:
Stadium: Nationals Park
Time: 6:45 PM EST
TV: Nationals.TV
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
We are officially in the home stretch here. It is time for September baseball. The Nats are only a win away from exceeding last year’s win total. It has been an up and down year but positive progression has been made. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
The San Francisco Giants continue this road trip today as they begin a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Logan Webb, who enters today’s game with a 3.72 ERA, 3.37 FIP, with 118 strikeouts to 36 walks in 147.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 10-9 loss to the Cincinnati Reds last Wednesday, in which he allowed two runs on five hits with six strikeouts and a walk in six innings.
He’ll be facing off against Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes, who enters today’s game with a 3.79 ERA, 2.96 FIP, with 175 strikeouts to 41 walks in 145 innings pitched. His last start was in the Pirates’ 1-0 win over the San Diego Padres last Tuesday, in which he allowed just three hits with four strikeouts in six innings.
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Who: San Francisco Giants (57-81) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (67-71)
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
When: 3:40 p.m. PT
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
National broadcast: n/a
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
The Jays made many roster moves today:
Cameron only got 25 PA to show what he could do, but then that the way things work. He hit just .208/.200/.375 with the one home run, but no walk with 7 strikeouts. He’s 29 and may be running out of teams who want to take a look at him.
SWR…..well you saw what happened the other day. We are short of arms who can pitch multiple innings in the pen, but then you have to get guys out.
Mantiply last pitched for us in mid-May. He had surgery on his left knee in May and has been working his way back since. He pitched 6.2 innings in Buffalo, allowing 8 hits, 2 earned, 2 walks and 7 strikeouts.
Smith went on the IL August 20th. He was hitting .250/.323/464with 2 home runs for the Jays in 14 games. He had a hamstring issue.
Keys had a great August in Buffalo, hitting .358/.470/.684 with 7 home runs in 95 at bats. They had been playing him in left field figuring he could get at bats there in the majors. I hope his bat continues at that pace.
Tiedeman was called up mid-August, pitched 1.2 innings in one outing and was sent back to Buffalo. Hopefully he’ll be up longer this time.
The Jays also say that Trey Yesavage has been throwing on flat ground and will do a bullpen on Friday. He had knee surgery three weeks ago. Maybe he could be back for the end of the season?
Tonight’s lineups:
Today is the September 1st roster expansion where teams can go from a 26-man active roster to 28. The San Francisco Giants have added a third catcher to their roster by bringing back Zach Morgan, who’d just been added to the 40-man roster on August 10th; and, a left-handed reliever in 24-year old Cesar Perdomo, who will be making his MLB debut when or if he gets into a game.
Let’s put a pin in the specific player talk just for a moment, though, to examine the Giants roster. Here’s Andrew Baggarly’s commentary about the callups:
If you want to impress your friends or win a bet later today, memorize this list of current 60-day ILers:
Hayden Birdsong
JT Brubaker
Jose Butto
Matt Gage
Adrian Houser
Trevor McDonald
Joel Peguero
Randy Rodriguez
Carson Whisenhunt
Rowan Wick
Daniel Susac
Matt Chapman
Harrison Bader
Casey Schmitt
Willy Adames is plausibly bound for this list as well, and the Giants injury tracker is a real whopper.
One thing to keep in mind about the 60-day IL players is that they can’t be there in the offseason. JT Brubaker is the only free agent in the bunch so, absent any DFAs/cuts (ahem, Harrison Bader), that’s 13 roster spots to be mindful of when thinking about who else the Giants might call up. That could be why we’re not seeing Bo Davidson right now… or they’re just waiting for Willy Adames to hit the 60-day.
Because this is an important evaluation period for the players who are left. I’ll admit to getting a little excited by Jonah Cox’s performance of late. Reiver Sanmartin had a 2.24 FIP in 13 IP in August. Turner Hill is showing his utility. Grant McCray is playing himself out of the organization.
So, it’s less that there are spots up for grabs, and more that it’s time for these fringe roster guys to earn their keep. Who’s going to be sticking around in 40-man slots 27-40 next season?
Morgan was in the majors for, like, 5 minutes after being added to the 40-man on August 10th and then optioned on August 11th. He’s yet to play a major league inning. In the minors, he’s done more than just catch, with a game in left field for Richmond, but also innings at first, third, and even the occasional DH. And, yes, he pitched 1.2 innings; so, the position player pitcher group has been shored up a bit after Christian Koss.
He has a career .334 OBP in the minors but just a .679 OPS.
Meanwhile, Perdomo could make the lefty reliever situation heading into next year interesting. With Gage and Hentges injured an older and a bit more expensive, maybe the Giants are trying to find similarly talented and slightly cheaper options in Sanmartin, Perdomo, Phil Abner, and… Carson Whisenhunt?
Or maybe Perdomo is just there to be a long man behind, say, Landen Roupp or Blade Tidwell, the other two starters in this Pittsburgh Series? He’s struck out 125 in 120 IP this season and has a 4.43 ERA in 24 games (22 starts) across Double-A and Triple-A. Back in June, FanGraphs had this to say about him:
Perdomo is a smoke-and-mirrors lefty with above-average control and a nice changeup, a spot starter’s skill set.
He’d strike out 13 just 4 days later, but outside of that, he has basically been that all year. Anyway, welcome to The Show, Cesar Perdomo! Go get ‘em.
Oct. 9
Today in sports history
Today is Oct. 9. On this date in:
1905: Christy Mathewson pitched a four-hit shutout as the New York Giants defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 3-0 in the World Series opener, beginning a record-setting Series in which he threw three shutouts.
1919: Cincinnati defeated the Chicago White Sox 10-5 in Game 8 of the best-of-nine World Series to capture the first championship in Reds history.
1928: Babe Ruth hit three home runs as the New York Yankees defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 7-3 to complete a World Series sweep and win their second consecutive championship.
1934: Dizzy Dean pitched a six-hit shutout on one day’s rest as the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Detroit Tigers 11-0 in Game 7 of the World Series.
1943: No. 1 Notre Dame defeated No. 2 Michigan 35-12 in the first college football game matching the teams ranked first and second in the national media poll.
1944: The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the St. Louis Browns 3-1 in Game 6 to win the only World Series contested entirely in St. Louis.
1949: The New York Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers 10-6 in Game 5 to win the World Series, beginning a major league-record run of five consecutive championships.
1958: The New York Yankees defeated the Milwaukee Braves 6-2 in Game 7, completing a comeback from a 3-1 Series deficit to win their 18th World Series championship.
1961: The New York Yankees scored five runs in the first inning and defeated the Cincinnati Reds 13-5 in Game 5 to win their 19th World Series championship.
1966: Dave McNally pitched a four-hit shutout as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 to complete a World Series sweep and win the first championship in franchise history.
1974: The expansion Washington Capitals played their first regular-season game, losing 6-3 to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
1982: Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scored twice against Vancouver to reach 200 NHL goals in 242 games, becoming the fastest player in league history to reach the milestone.
1996: Derek Jeter’s disputed home run, assisted by 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier’s reach over the right-field wall, tied Game 1 of the AL Championship Series before Bernie Williams gave the Yankees a 5-4 victory over Baltimore with an 11th-inning homer.
2005: Chris Burke hit a walk-off home run in the 18th inning as the Houston Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-6 and clinched their National League Division Series in what was then the longest postseason game in major league history.
2011: Sebastian Vettel finished third in the Japanese Grand Prix and clinched his second consecutive Formula One world championship, becoming the youngest two-time champion in series history at age 24.
2016: The Western New York Flash defeated the Washington Spirit on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw to win the NWSL Championship in the first shootout in league history.
2020: Mike Brosseau hit an eighth-inning home run off Aroldis Chapman as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the New York Yankees 2-1 in Game 5 to win their American League Division Series.
2022: Max Verstappen won a rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix and clinched his second consecutive Formula One world championship, becoming the second-youngest two-time champion in series history.
— USA TODAY Network
This story was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of information gathering, review, editing and publishing. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in sports history, October 9
The Cincinnati Reds are absolutely not going to non-tender Nick Lodolo at season’s end. They just aren’t.
However, they are beginning to face a reality that consists of their former stud lefty being a guy who’s allowed 14 ER in 16.1 IP since returning from a recurring blister issue that caused him to dump perhaps his single best pitch in exchange for a different breaking pitch that simply hasn’t worked yet. They’re facing a reality of him earning an arbitration raise off his $4.73 million salary heading into his final season of team control with his trade value at a nadir.
They’re facing a reality that suggests they are running out of time to find a way to get the most out of him in the quickest amount of time with a repertoire that even he has never gained experience with, and they’re going to get to do it for more money than they’re paying him right now.
In other words, the final four or five starts he gets during the 2026 are about as vital to the Reds from a knowledge-gaining perspective as there is on this current roster, especially with Brady Singer likely pitching his way out of even an outlandish Qualifying Offer stunt and Hunter Greene on the shelf for all of 2027. Do the Reds actually have anything close to the ~5 WAR pitcher from 2025 on their roster? Or are they going to be in need of yet another starting pitcher on the open market over the winter?
Yeesh.
Lodolo’s next chance at turning things around comes on Tuesday in Great American Ball Park against Randy Vasquez and the San Diego Padres. Nick will throw the game’s first pitch at 6:40 PM ET, and here’s how both clubs will line up to start:
Angels fans spent years pleading for change.
Less than a day after they finally got it, some are wondering just how much change might be coming.
The overwhelming response to Arte Moreno agreeing to sell the Angels to Stan Kroenke’s Kroenke Sports & Entertainment has been celebration after years of “Sell the team” protests.
But amid the victory laps, a more anxious question has emerged across social media: What exactly will Kroenke do with the Angels?
“Any fears Kroenke moves the team out of So Cal?” one Angels fan asked on Reddit, adding: “Be careful what you wish for.”
Others were less concerned about Southern California than Anaheim specifically.
“If he moved the team to LA he’d immediately be worse than Arte,” one fan wrote.
Another summed up the anxiety more jokingly: “Inglewood Angels incoming.”
The speculation is easy to understand. Kroenke owns the Rams and developed SoFi Stadium and the 300-acre Hollywood Park complex in Inglewood. He also relocated the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, a history St. Louis fans quickly resurfaced after news of the Angels sale.
“What he did to St Louis with the Rams was disgusting,” one commenter wrote. Another predicted simply: “He’s planning to move that team. Bet.”
There has been no indication Kroenke intends to relocate the Angels. KSE’s own statement called Orange County a market with a “distinct civic identity” and described the acquisition as extending its Southern California footprint south from Inglewood.
That distinction matters. Baseball fandom remains intensely regional, and Los Angeles is firmly Dodgers territory. The Angels’ clearest identity — and much of their long-term value — remains tied to Orange County.
Still, Angel Stadium gives fans something tangible to worry about. The ballpark is city-owned, the current lease runs through 2032 and the Angels hold options through 2038. A state audit has also warned the aging stadium could require hundreds of millions of dollars in repairs.
“It’s a beautiful place,” one fan wrote. “I hope they choose to renovate rather than build from the ground up in the parking lot.”
Then there is the name.
Unlike relocation, plenty of fans are actively asking for change there, with calls to restore either the Anaheim Angels or California Angels already spreading online.
“Anything but Los Angeles!” one fan wrote.
For years, Angels supporters wanted Moreno gone.
Now they have their new owner — and the celebration is already giving way to questions about just how new their Angels are about to become.
Oct. 10
Today in sports history
Today is Oct. 10. On this date in:
1904: The Boston Americans clinched the American League pennant when New York Highlanders ace Jack Chesbro uncorked a ninth-inning wild pitch that allowed the deciding run to score.
1920: Cleveland defeated Brooklyn 8-1 in World Series Game 5 as Elmer Smith hit the first World Series grand slam, Jim Bagby became the first pitcher to homer in the Series and Bill Wambsganss turned the only unassisted triple play in postseason history.
1923: Casey Stengel hit the first World Series home run at Yankee Stadium, an inside-the-park shot, as the Giants beat the Yankees 5-4 in Game 1 of the Fall Classic.
1924: The Washington Senators captured their only World Series championship while based in Washington, defeating the New York Giants 4-3 in 12 innings in Game 7.
1948: A World Series-record crowd of 86,288 packed Cleveland Municipal Stadium to watch the Boston Braves defeat the Indians 11-5 in Game 5.
1951: The New York Yankees defeated the New York Giants 4-3 in Game 6 to secure their 14th World Series title.
1956: Johnny Kucks pitched a three-hit shutout and Yogi Berra hit two home runs as the New York Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers 9-0 in Game 7 to win their 17th World Series championship.
1957: Lew Burdette pitched his second shutout and earned his third complete-game victory of the World Series as the Milwaukee Braves defeated the New York Yankees 5-0 in Game 7 to win the franchise’s first championship in Milwaukee.
1964: Mickey Mantle hit a ninth-inning walk-off home run to give the New York Yankees a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in World Series Game 3, surpassing Babe Ruth with his record 16th career World Series homer.
1968: Mickey Lolich, pitching on two days’ rest, outdueled Bob Gibson for his third complete-game victory of the World Series as the Detroit Tigers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 in Game 7 to win the championship after trailing the Series three games to one.
1980: George Brett hit a go-ahead three-run home run off Goose Gossage as the Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Yankees 4-2 to complete an AL Championship Series sweep and capture the first American League pennant in franchise history.
1982: Cecil Cooper’s two-run single in the seventh inning lifted the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-3 victory over the California Angels in decisive Game 5 of the AL Championship Series, sending the Brewers to the World Series for the first time.
2011: Texas Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz blasted the first walk-off grand slam in Major League Baseball postseason history, giving Texas a 7-3 victory over Detroit in 11 innings in Game 2 of the ALCS.
2019: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady passed Peyton Manning for second place on the NFL’s all-time passing-yards list during a victory over the New York Giants.
— USA TODAY Network
This story was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of information gathering, review, editing and publishing. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in sports history, October 10
If you were wondering why the Astros chose to recall Ronel Blanco earlier today and not Mike Burrows, it turns out we now have a legitimate reason, courtesy of this report from Brian McTaggart of MLB.com:
Burrows, who was on the IL with right elbow neuritis, now is battling shoulder inflammation.
Two different injuries to the same pitching arm at the same time have now pushed Burrows timetable for return to an unknown point. Whether or not Burrows is able to return to the Astros this season is very much in question.
For the first time in what feels like forever, the Philadelphia Flyers will be heading into training camp and a new season with a respectable amount of depth at both forward and defense.
Over the last year, forward prospects Alex Bump and Denver Barkey graduated to the NHL level after brief, impressive stints with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Oliver Bonk, a 2023 first-round pick, came on strong in his first professional season, and ultimately made his Flyers debut and Stanley Cup playoff debut within weeks of each other to finish out the campaign.
But, as the aforementioned youngsters continue to surge, other prospects will have to play catch-up just to have a shot at an NHL future going forward, and some are approaching their last chance to secure such a role.
Helge Grans, RHD, Age 24
This time last year, Flyers defense prospect Helge Grans was the in-house favorite to take over as the team's third-pair right-shot defenseman, but had a training camp and showing so poor that the Flyers cut him early and stuck with the likes of Egor Zamula and Noah Juulsen as their depth options.
Flyers May Finally Try to Maximize the Talents of Matvei Michkov and Trevor ZegrasThe Philadelphia Flyers are turning to their two most talented forwards to rescue the worst power play in the NHL.Grans, now 24 years old, is running out of time to show that he's an NHL-caliber defenseman.
In his age-22 season in 2024-25, Grans played six games for the Flyers under former head coach John Tortorella, recording one assist in his November jaunt with the big club.
This year, however, Grans is heading into the last year of his two-year contract and will be 25 years old when free agency begins on July 1.
A future with the Flyers is not guaranteed, either, if for no reason other than Grans being a Group 6 unrestricted free agent, as he'll be 25 years old with fewer than 80 NHL games played.
This year, Grans will have to overtake the younger, more talented David Jiricek, whom the Flyers acquired for Bobby Brink at the recent NHL trade deadline, as well as Bonk, just to make the roster. Establishing himself as a regular at the NHL level will require another two or three gears up from what we have seen in the past.
Jacob Gaucher, C, Age 25
The Flyers thought highly enough of Jacob Gaucher, who came to the organization as an undrafted free agent, to award the swashbuckling center an NHL contract on Dec. 12, 2024.
Somewhat surprisingly, despite having not established himself, Gaucher returned to the Flyers on June 4 on a one-year deal, after which he'll be an unrestricted free agent.
The brolic 6-foot-4 center is an interesting prospect for the Flyers in that he has played eight NHL games for them over the last two seasons, but his underlying metrics in a sheltered role have been quite poor.
At the AHL level, though, Gaucher has scored no fewer than 20 goals and 36 points in each of the last two seasons, and scored three goals, three assists, and six points in seven Calder Cup playoff games in 2025.
Flyers Free Agent Forward Emerges as Strong Option for OilersThis former Flyers forward offers the grit and defensive reliability needed to stabilize the Oilers' injured bottom-six for a Stanley Cup run.The Flyers spent much of last season searching for a right-shot center they could use for matchup purposes, and with top prospect Jett Luchanko still playing at the junior level in the OHL, there was nobody stopping Gaucher from coming up and filling that role.
Instead, the Flyers bypassed him and left him in the AHL with the Phantoms, and eventually claimed veteran Luke Glendening on waivers from the New Jersey Devils on March 6 instead.
Now that Nikita Grebenkin is healthy and Noel Acciari has been brought in as a veteran fourth-liner with versatility, the odds are really stacked against Gaucher sticking at the NHL level at some point.
Still, the Longueuil, Quebec, native offers some valuable size and scoring upside should the Flyers need it, and he's proven that he can beat the odds to make it to this level in the past.
We can't count Gaucher out just yet, but he, like Grans, is in a contract year having to play the numbers game.
Pakistan cricket selector and ex-captain Misbah-ul-Haq resigned following the shock sacking of red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed in the wake of successive Test defeats to England, sources told AFP.
The saga surrounding Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets continues to escalate, with recent reports suggesting the divide between the goaltender and the organization may run deeper than initially believed.
TSN analyst and longtime NHL netminder Martin Biron addressed the situation on Overdrive this week, saying he believes the three-time Vezina Trophy winner could be prepared to sit out the entire 2026-27 season if his trade request isn't granted.
"I really feel that Connor Hellebuyck is gonna say, 'Ok that's fine, suspend me whatever. I'm willing to sit out a year, I've made good money, I've put it away... just gonna take time with my family,'" Biron said.
It would be an unprecedented step in the modern NHL and would mean walking away from a significant chunk of the $59.5 million remaining on his seven-year contract, but Biron suggested Hellebuyck may be prepared for exactly that outcome.
Hellebuyck's public statement last week made clear he wants to move on from Winnipeg, but the severity of that stance has only become more apparent as the situation has unfolded.
Biron also weighed in on what it would take for the Jets to move him, suggesting Winnipeg should be seeking a first-round pick, a high-end prospect, an established NHL player and additional help in net to pair alongside newly acquired goaltender Stuart Skinner.
The rift has also become a talking point on other platforms, including the widely followed Spittin' Chiclets podcast, hosted by former NHL players Ryan Whitney, Paul Bissonnette and Keith Yandle.
During a discussion of the situation on Tuesday's episode, Bissonnette, a Canadian native who has spent much of the past year working in the United States on NHL broadcasts among other media assignments around the league, offered some added context. He noted the relief he personally felt returning home to Canada after a long hockey season, and suggested a similar pull toward home may be another factor driving Hellebuyck, a Michigan native currently playing in Winnipeg.
The hosts also pointed back to comments Hellebuyck made following his return from the Winter Olympics, where he described the reception back in Winnipeg as far from warm despite having just won gold with Team USA.
In an article published by CBC back in March, Hellebuyck spoke about the backlash both he and his family faced. "The blowback that my wife [Andrea] was getting is just not fair. I don't understand how she can take so much heat for just being with me as a hockey player.
"We've done nothing wrong, she's done nothing wrong, my kids have done nothing wrong," he said.
Jets head coach Scott Arniel also addressed the situation at the time, expressing sympathy for what Hellebuyck and his family had gone through. "I really feel for him, [because] it got real personal, not just with him, but with his family, with his wife," Arniel said.
"That's the stuff that is out of bounds for me, and that's the part that really, really upset him."
The podcast hosts speculated that the fallout from the Olympics may have marked the beginning of the divide between Hellebuyck and the organization, one that only deepened once Winnipeg's season ended outside the playoffs.
With training camp approaching and no resolution in sight, the situation risks intensifying further, particularly if Hellebuyck were to skip camp entirely, a scenario that could turn an already tense standoff into a much bigger issue for both sides. Given the stakes, it may ultimately be in Winnipeg's best interest to find a resolution sooner rather than later.
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Oct. 4
Today in sports history
Today is Oct. 4. On this date in:
1895: The inaugural U.S. Open golf championship concluded at Newport Golf Club, where England’s Horace Rawlins won by two strokes to claim the first U.S. Open title.
1925: Detroit’s Harry Heilmann collected six hits in a doubleheader and edged teammate Ty Cobb for the American League batting title, .393 to .389, while Cobb finished his 20th consecutive season batting above .300.
1948: The Cleveland Indians defeated the Boston Red Sox 8-3 in a one-game playoff at Fenway Park to capture the American League pennant behind Gene Bearden and player-manager Lou Boudreau.
1955: The Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 2-0 in Game 7 to win the first World Series championship in franchise history. Johnny Podres threw a shutout and became the first World Series MVP.
1969: The New York Mets played the first postseason game in franchise history, defeating the Atlanta Braves 9-5 in the first National League Championship Series game.
1991: The Edmonton Oilers traded captain Mark Messier to the New York Rangers for Bernie Nicholls, Steven Rice and Louie DeBrusk. Messier later captained the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years in 1994.
1995: Jim Leyritz hit a two-run homer in the 15th inning to give the New York Yankees a 7-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 2 of the AL Division Series. The 5-hour, 13-minute game became the longest postseason game in major league history at the time.
1997: WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis stopped Andrew Golota in the first round in Atlantic City.
1999: Al Leiter threw a two-hit shutout as the New York Mets defeated the Cincinnati Reds 5-0 in a one-game playoff for the National League wild card.
2001: Barry Bonds hit his 70th home run of the season, tying Mark McGwire’s major league single-season record as the San Francisco Giants played the Houston Astros.
2001: San Diego Padres outfielder Rickey Henderson homered to pass Ty Cobb and become Major League Baseball’s career leader in runs scored.
2011: Arizona Diamondbacks rookie Paul Goldschmidt hit a grand slam and drove in five runs in an 8-1 victory over Milwaukee in Game 3 of the NL Division Series.
2014: Brandon Belt homered in the 18th inning as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Washington Nationals 2-1 in Game 2 of the NL Division Series. The 6-hour, 23-minute contest became the longest postseason game by time in major league history at the time.
2020: Tom Brady threw five touchdown passes in Tampa Bay’s 38-31 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, becoming the oldest quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in a game and continuing his record-setting NFL career.
2020: The Seattle Storm defeated the Las Vegas Aces 104-91 in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, setting a Finals record with 33 assists and moving within one win of the franchise’s fourth championship.
2022: New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit his 62nd home run of the season, surpassing Roger Maris to set the American League single-season record.
— USA TODAY Network
This story was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of information gathering, review, editing and publishing. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in sports history, October 4
The Anaheim Ducks will retire the No. 15 jersey of franchise icon Ryan Getzlaf on Jan. 30 before their game against the Nashville Predators.
Getzlaf will get the honor after being the franchise's all-time leading scorer and longest-serving captain (2010 until his 2022 retirement).
He played his entire career with the Ducks after being drafted 19th overall in 2003 and finished with 1,019 points in 1,157 games. He also ranked first on the team with 737 assists and fourth with 282 goals.
Getzlaf had a team-best 17 points as the Ducks won their lone Stanley Cup title in 2007 in his second year in the league. He also won gold medals with Canada at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
He will become the fourth Ducks player to have his number retired, joining Teemu Selanne (8), Paul Kariya (9) and Scott Niedermayer (27).
A call that Getz will remember for the rest of his life 🧡 pic.twitter.com/VwOCXTmQQv
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) September 1, 2026
Two other NHL players will have their numbers retired this season:
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Anaheim Ducks to retire Ryan Getzlaf's jersey number