Category: Sports News

Go Rays!

Weather in Cleveland means daytime baseball (LCS Edition).

The Cleveland Guardians will host the Tampa Bay Rays for Game 3 of the ALCS. The Guards took Game 1 before the Rays evened things up by taking Game 2.

To accommodate some rain, they will play at 1 pm ET. As a result, NLCS Game 4 between the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers will move up an hour to be played at 8 pm ET.

The Brewers have a chance to eliminate the Dodgers today after a Dave Roberts masterclass last night / an epic at-bat by Jake Bauers. C’mon, Brew Crew – job’s not finished.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ 3-0 NLDS deficit to the Milwaukee Brewers has caused some frustrated fans to turn on each other.

Instagram user @dodgerdru posted a video of several Dodgers fans swinging on each other after a 6-2 loss to the Brewers on Wednesday night.

The video began at the end of what had been a verbal confrontation between two fans. Then one fan, who was being held back by a woman, took a huge swing at another fan wearing a blue Dodgers jersey that looked to have missed its target.

Chaos ensued after that. Another Dodgers fan wearing a purple hat threw a huge punch at that same person, which seemingly missed, while the fan who threw the first punch was being apprehended by security.

Cooler heads seemed to prevail after that, as the person recording the video turned the camera on them and said, “This is what happens when we lose. We go against each other.”

In the back drop, an entirely empty stadium could be seen in the video. The incident likely occurred well after the game ended.

The fan in the purple hat who threw the biggest punch of all escaped apprehension, and was complaining to the security that the fan who didn’t throw any punches had started the entire altercation. The video ended shortly after.

As the fan who recorded the video alluded to, it’s hard to imagine these fans would have been so upset with each other if the Dodgers had found a way to win against the Brewers.

Perhaps Game 4 on Thursday will be more peaceful. Perhaps not.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the couch watching the LCS once again this season.

It’s been 34 years since the Pirates were in the NLCS themselves, where they lost to the Atlanta Braves in seven games. This season, however, they managed to play pretty well against the top teams in the league. Here’s a look at how they did against the final four teams in the playoff bracket.

Cleveland Guardians: 2-1

The Pirates visited Cleveland for a three-game set shortly after the All-Star break. After getting rained out on Friday afternoon, the teams played a doubleheader on Saturday and came out with a split: the Pirates won 7-1 in the afternoon but lost 5-3 in the evening. The Pirates followed that up with another 7-1 victory on Sunday, giving them a series victory.

Tampa Bay Rays: 2-1

The Pirates got a crack at the Rays early in the season, in mid-April, for a weekend series at PNC Park. They pulled out a 5-1 victory against the Rays to start the series but fell 8-7 in 13 innings on Saturday. They finished off the series with a 6-3 victory on Sunday, which gave them a series win and a 13-9 record going into a six-game road trip.

Los Angeles Dodgers: 1-5

The Pirates struggled the most this season against the four top teams in the league when they faced the Dodgers during their three-game set in Pittsburgh in early June. They dropped two out of three and managed to win the middle game of the series 9-8. The Dodgers led 6-1 in the bottom of the seventh, but the Pirates managed to score eight runs in the seventh and eighth innings combined to pull out a 9-8 victory.

When they went to Dodger Stadium in August, they were swept in a three-game weekend set.

Milwaukee Brewers: 7-6

The Pirates got to know the Brewers very well over the course of the season, facing off against their division rival 13 times. In the first half of the season, the Pirates visited Milwaukee in late April, winning 2 out of 3 games and even pulling off a sweep just before the All-Star break, capped off by a 14-5 victory on July 12.

They didn’t find that same success in the second half, losing 3 out of 4 in the first week of August at American Family Field. They played a weekday series in the middle of September, dropping the first two contests at home, but a 7-4 victory on September 17 gave them the season series victory, 7-6.

Overall: 12-13

The record against the Dodgers definitely brings this record down, but overall, the Pirates have proven that they can compete against the top teams in the league. That is a strong sign for what’s to come in 2027.

End of an error? Dave Dombrowski puts shortstop Trea Turner on notice originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Earlier this week, Dave Dombrowski summoned Trea Turner to Citizens Bank Park for a face-to-face meeting.

Just five years earlier, Dombrowski had convinced Turner to come play shortstop for the Phillies on a mammoth $300 million deal.

Now, the team’s president of baseball operations was looking the 33-year-old player in the eye and putting him on notice.

“We were very clear,” Dombrowski said. “He knows he has to be better at shortstop. I told him that’s really mandatory.

“If he plays shortstop like he did in ‘25, he can play shortstop. But if he plays it like he did in ‘26, he can’t.”

Dombrowski’s directness when commenting on the Turner situation was the big takeaway from his annual end-of-season news conference Thursday. Dombrowski acknowledged that the news conference came later than usual – a full two weeks after the Phillies were eliminated by Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs. He said he needed the time to address the team’s managerial situation – Don Mattingly, who posted a 79-55 record as interim skipper was retained on a two-year deal – and speak with players about what would be expected from them in 2027.

His message to Turner was so serious that he asked the player to fly from his Florida home to Philadelphia for a frank conversation that lasted two hours.

“Trea did not have a good year,” Dombrowski said. “He does not think he had a good season, offensively or defensively. He takes complete accountability.”

Offensively, Turner went from winning the National League batting title (.304) in 2025 to hitting .242 in 2026. Hitting first and second in the batting order, his on-base percentage plummeted from .378 to .297. His strikeout rate climbed from 16.7 percent to 21 percent. He led the majors with 507 outs made.

Turner’s struggles were equally notable in the field, where he tied for the major-league lead with 21 errors. By almost every metric, he was one of baseball’s worst shortstops. According to Fangraphs, he ranked a minus-17 in defensive runs saved, the worst mark among big-league shortstops.

Turner made a total of 40 errors at shortstop in 2023 and 2024, his first two seasons in Philadelphia. He tightened things up in 2025, recording plus-17 outs above average, according to Statcast measurements. But that number dipped to minus-10 (the bottom three percent of all defenders) in 2026.

In a game where strength up the middle is vital, the Phillies cannot live with that.

Dombrowski made that clear to Turner.

“He totally understands that,” Dombrowski said.

For now, Turner remains the Phillies’ starting shortstop. It is the position he wants to play. But, according to Dombrowski, Turner will have a short leash. He will have to show improvement as early as spring training to avoid being moved to second base or the outfield. The team would be willing to make a move on the fly while giving looks to Aidan Miller and Bryan Rincon, two minor-league prospects.

“We went through the scenarios,” Dombrowski said of his honest chat with Turner. “If you’re not playing well at shortstop in spring training and things don’t work in that regard … We do have a couple of young players. Will they be ready? I don’t know. And I don’t know what other additions we may make this winter. We needed to leave it, if he doesn’t play shortstop, he’s willing to do what’s best for the Philadelphia Phillies organization. So that’s how we left it. He’s determined to show us that he can play it, and I said, ‘You have to show it. You cannot play shortstop like you did defensively in ‘26 going into ’27.’ “

Essentially, as soon as spring training or whenever the team assembles to prepare for the 2027 season, Turner will be on an almost daily tryout for his shortstop job. That could create some pressure on the player.

“He’ll work hard and be open-minded and we’ll just have to make a wise decision on what position he plays,” Dombrowski said. “I can’t control the daily banter about what takes place. He’s not the first player I’ve been around (in a similar situation). Trea’s a smart guy. He knows he needs to get better, and I think he’ll deal with it. He’s got a long time to be here, but I think he still has it. The reason we signed him in the beginning compared to some others was not only was he a good player, we thought he had the ability to continue to be a good player for a long time because of his quick-twitch muscles, the type of athlete he is. He led the lead in hitting (in 2025). I was as surprised as he was by the offensive year he had this year. So, it’s up to us to try to fix all those things.”

The Phillies have 190 million reasons to want to see improvement from Turner, on both sides of the ball. He is signed for seven more years at $190 million. He negotiated a full no-trade clause when he signed with the Phillies, so there’s no moving on from him.

Turner will have two new voices trying to help him improve. The Phils fired Kevin Long on Wednesday and will have a new hitting coach in 2027. Infield coach Bobby Dickerson was also let go. He was quickly replaced by former New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. In addition to overseeing infield defense, Mendoza will coach third base.

“Carlos will be responsible for working with Trea,” Dombrowski said.

Improvement must come quickly. If it doesn’t, Turner could find himself under the tutelage of Pablo Figueroa. He’s the team’s outfield instructor.

Well, we’re officially eight days away from the beginning of the 2026 World Series. Next Friday’s series opener looks like it’ll be a battle between a pair of low-payroll teams that aren’t Los Angeles or New York. You gotta know that makes commissioner Rob Manfred and the other owners mad. If you ask any actual baseball fan though, it’s going to be glorious seeing a team that hasn’t won the World Series in decades finally be able to lift that trophy. We got a few more games before we find out the matchup, but if the right team wins today we could know at least have of the teams in this year’s Fall Classic by tonight.

Rays at Guardians (10:00 AM PST)

Based off the first two games this series looks like it could go the distance. What else would you expect from two scrappy young teams like these two? Both organizations are absolutely desperate for the chance to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy. The Guardians are on a 78-year drought, which is longer than the Rays have even been in existence. Still, they’ve never tasted that final win of the season and won’t let Cleveland get an easy trip to the Fall Classic. This’ll be a critical Game 3 as the team that wins this morning is in the driver’s seat.

The visiting Rays will have right-hander Griffin Jax (8-10, 3.53 ERA) taking the ball for this critical contest. A mid-season acquisition last year, Jax converted to a starter this year to solid results. He was remarkably consistent throughout the year for someone converting to the rotation for the first time in five years. Jax will now be pitching in the biggest game of his life to date as he seeks to get the Rays to within two games of the World Series. Tampa might have a short leash with him though; he only went two innings in his lone postseason start this year, when he allowed just one run on a hit and a walk against the Yankees.

Here’s the Tampa Bay lineup this morning:

As for the Guardians, they have their own righty in Gavin Williams (14-8, 3.76 ERA) taking to the hill this morning. Williams has already made two starts (plus one relief appearance) this postseason, all against the White Sox in the previous round. The 27-year-old has stepped his game up at the perfect time for the Guardians. He’s gotten double-digit punchouts in his two starts but he’ll now be facing a much harder lineup with the Rays. And like Jax, it’s not hyperbole to say this is the biggest game of his life… so far.

And Cleveland’s starting nine, courtesy of skipper Stephen Vogt:

Brewers at Dodgers (5:00 PM PST)

While the Rays-Guardians series looks like it’ll be a battle through the weekend, the Brewers are in complete control over the reigning champion Dodgers, up 3-0 in the series and just one more win away from their first World Series appearance since 1982. Like the Rays, they’ve never tasted the glory of a World Series win so they’re coming into tonight’s game as motivated as you can imagine. The Dodgers just don’t look like they have it this year as injuries and age are finally catching up to them. You never to say it’s a done series prematurely but there’s only ever been one team to come back from an 0-3 deficit and this Dodgers team doesn’t seem like they have the same energy of the ‘04 Red Sox.

The Dodgers will hope that veteran Tyler Glasnow (5-2, 3.53) can prolong their season a couple more days with a strong start. The right-hander has, once again, battled injuries all year but is healthy for when it matters most. He looked like he was ready for the moment in his lone postseason start to date. Glasnow pitched into the fifth inning against the Braves in the previous round, allowing just one run on one hit. His outing wasn’t without its warts as he also issued five free passes to Braves batters. If he does that again then this series might not make it back to Milwaukee.

Milwaukee meanwhile has yet to announce their plans for tonight’s game so stay tuned!

We could find out one team in the World Series by the end of the day. Stakes are getting higher and higher for everyone still alive! Should be another great day for playoff baseball!

It has been a roller coaster career for Michael Massey so far. He flashed good power for a middle infielder in 2023, but not much offensively. He came into his own in 2024, flashing great defense and finishing fifth on the team in home runs with 15, frequently hitting leadoff in the playoffs. But injuries piled up last year – a left ankle sprain, a right wrist fracture, and back issues that caused him to miss over two months of action, and limited him to just 77 games. He came into his first arbitration-eligible season at a crossroads.

And in 2026, Massey had his best season as a big leaguer. One factor was health. While he did begin the season on the injured list with a calf strain, and missed a week with a concussion in September, he generally stayed on the field, appearing in a career-high 131 games. When he played, he contributed, posting a line of .272/.303/.428 with 13 home runs. He was sixth among American League second basemen with a career-high 2.3 fWAR. He was also a finalist for his first Gold Glove Award, after finishing second among all AL second basemen in Outs Above Average and Defensive Runs Saved.

Massey has never been shown significant platoon splits, and this year he actually hit lefties much better than righties. He has shown good plate coverage and a high contact rate of 82.3 percent. His 16.6 percent strikeout rate was third-lowest on the team among semi-regulars, behind only Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino.

While he is good at making contact when he swings, he does swing a LOT. Out of all hitters with at least 450 plate appearances, he was 25th in swing rate at 52.9 percent (joining two other Royals in the top 25, Salvador Perez and Jac Caglianone). His walk rate went up this year, but was still just 4.6 percent, tied for seventh-lowest in the league. He did post a career-high in on-base percentage, but making outs almost 70 percent of the time still puts him near the bottom of the league in that category.

So through four and a half seasons and 489 MLB games, we have a good idea of what Michael Massey is. He will be 29 by next Opening Day, and the Royals can likely count on him as a good glove at second base, with good pop for a middle infielder, a good lefty bat with no platoon split, but very low walk rates and a propensity to get injured. He is eligible for arbitration for the second time this winter, and will likely earn over $3 million next season.

There is an argument the Royals should look to trade Massey while his value is high, although the team shouldn’t expect a big return. The Royals could “replace him in the aggregate” through some combination of Nick Loftin, Tyler Tolbert, and Isaac Collins, or even look to make a big move to upgrade at the position.

More likely, Massey will begin next year as the team’s starting second baseman, hitting sixth or seventh in the lineup. You can win with a guy like that in your lineup – the 2024 Royals are evidence of that. He is a productive offensive player in his prime, who is a plus on defense, and is still cost-controlled.

But his low on-base skills may cap the impact he can have offensively, and in a lineup full of fellow free-swingers, the Royals need someone who can work a count and get on base consistently. Massey is a useful piece, but if the Royals want to take the next step offensively, they may need more production from second base. Michael Massey took a step forward, but if he wants to be more than a stop gap measure, he will need to take his game to the next level.

Carlos Mendoza has a new job — and it’s in the National League East.

The former Mets manager, who was fired during the team’s miserable first half the 2026 season, was hired as the Phillies third base and infield coach. 

The move was announced Thursday by Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski as the team made a string of coaching changes upon signing Don Mattingly to a new two-year deal to remain as manager without the interim tag. 

Mendoza, 46, spent two-plus years in the Mets dugout after being hired by president of baseball operations David Stearns. He led them on a surprise run to the NL Championship Series in 2024 before losing to the eventual champion Dodgers, but the Mets then had an ugly collapse following a strong opening two months in 2025. 

With high expectations heading into this past season, the Mets were a mess early and suffered through a 12-game losing streak in April. Injuries to Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto didn’t help. 

Despite playing better for part of May, a six-game losing streak in June sealed Mendoza’s fate, and he was fired after a June 25 loss to the Cubs. 

Mendoza was replaced by Andy Green on an interim basis before Green accepted the full-time job and a three-year contract near the end of the season. 

Prior to joining the Mets, Mendoza coached in the Yankees minor league system from 2011-17 before moving to their major league coaching staff in 2018. He was Aaron Boone’s bench coach from 2020-23. 

Mendoza finished his tenure with the Mets with a 206-199 record and now moves to Mattingly’s staff, which saw former Mets and Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long, as well as infield coach Bobby Dickerson, let go this week.