Category: Sports News

Jeremy Peña homered twice, part of a three-hit night as the Royals fell to the Astros 4-2 in the series opener Tuesday night. Michael Wacha gave up four runs in six innings, ending a streak of four consecutive Quality Starts.

Peña got the Astros on the board quickly, leading off the bottom of the first with a homer. In the third, he went deep again, his 19th of the year to make it 2-0 Houston. The Royals squandered a scoring opportunity in the fourth with two runners on when Hunter Brown struck out Vinnie Pasquantino and Michael Massey to end the threat.

The Royals finally got on the board in the next inning, and it almost didn’t happen. With two outs, it appeared Isaac Collins was called out on strikes. But he challenged the call, and it turned out to be a ball, leading to a walk. He stole second, then scored on an RBI double by Carter Jensen. It was the 58th extra-base hit for Jensen this year, setting a Royals club record for rookies.

But the Astros pulled away in the bottom of the inning. Peña hit a one-out single, and likely AL MVP Yordan Alvarez put one in the seats for a two-run blast, his 39th of the year.

Vinnie Pasquantino homered in the sixth, a solo shot. It was his 12th of the year, but his sixth in his last 23 games. Salvador Perez pinch hit in the ninth and blooped a single to bring the tying run up against Astros closer Josh Hader, but the lefty shut the door, retiring Nick Loftin and Tyler Tolbert to end the game.

The Royals fall to 66-85. They’ll take on the Astros again tomorrow night with Daniel Lynch IV taking on Cristian Javier at 7:10.

On the latest episode of The Mets Pod, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo watch the past and future visit Citi Field.

The guys cover Pete Alonso's return to Queens, plus positive signs from Jonah Tong, Christian Scott, and Zac Thornton. 

The Mets Pod Answering Machine kicks off a conversation about current Mets uniforms that ends in rankings, and Down on the Farm wraps up the seasons for top prospects Mitch Voit and Jonathan Santucci,who also appeared in Queens as they accepted minor league organizational awards. 

Finally, the show ends by opening the Mailbag for questions about the future of Dodgers free agency and the idea of targeting A's catcher Shea Langeliers in a trade.

Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

After Pete Alonso hit his 300th home run, a game-tying solo home run in the top of the ninth inning on Tuesday night, the Citi Field crowd’s raucous reaction got the ex-Mets slugger out of the visitors’ dugout for a curtain call. 

“Everyone in the dugout was saying go out there,” Alonso said about the curtain call after the Orioles completed a 7-5 extra-inning win. “And they were right.”

Alonso has received an overwhelmingly warm reception in his first series back in Queens after signing a long-term deal with Baltimore this past offseason. And it has been a bit awkward for his former teammates as the home crowd continues to root for the visiting Alonso with every at-bat.

"I appreciate all the support,” Alonso said about Mets fans, “especially for all the years I'm here, all the life I've lived here. Obviously they’re recognizing that, and they’re appreciating that. It's a two-way street, I really appreciate it." 

Tuesday’s starter Sean Manaea said he had never experienced anything like that from a home crowd supporting a visiting player, and it was “crazy.”

“I played with Pete for a couple years, I know how much he means for this organization, how much he means for this city, he’s an exceptional player, and I love him as a player, as a teammate, he’s one of the greats,” Manaea said of Alonso. “And unfortunately, he is not on the Mets anymore.

“And congrats to him, 300 home runs, super happy for him, but it’s just crazy how things kinda unfolded. I’ve got nothing but respect for him and love him to death. But as a team, as the 2026 Mets, I know we have definitely underperformed, but we are, the guys in here, work their ass off every single day.

“And to have that kinda reaction to an opposing player, could be anybody, is crazy to me.”

Interim manager Andy Green, who said he didn't recall ever seeing a visiting player receive a curtain call from the home side's fans, said that while he understands how the fans feel about Alonso, his focus is "trying to win a baseball game."

"Don't spend much time thinking about how people react to things; spend time thinking about what we gotta do after that happened," Green said about the game-tying homer of Kodai Senga. "We had some opportunities to win that game. We didn't come through with those opportunities."

Pete Alonso takes a curtain call at Citi Field after his 300th career home run pic.twitter.com/FWhWhiA8En

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 16, 2026

Senga, speaking through an interpreter, said it was a strange experience, but that from the crowd reaction, "you could tell how loved he was by the fan base."

"I couldn't even hear the PitchCom right after," Senga said of the crowd noise following the home run. "He's just a great hitter. There's not much to say other than that."

Senga said "perhaps" he would have been bothered by the fans' reaction if it was another hitter. 

"If it wasn't Pete Alonso, there are other great hitters that are playing for the Mets and are playing elsewhere, but because it is him, it didn't bother me," Senga said. "It just shows how much he was loved... how much he meant to this organization." 

Manea, who pitched 5.1 innings of two-run ball, added that he has “nothing but respect” for Alonso, but he’s “never seen anything like that before.”

“I know the guys in here we are grinding our butts off and stuff like that happens,” he continued. “But I’ve never seen anything like that; it’s kinda crazy.”

The interim skipper said that while it is "tough in certain circumstances" and some players "might struggle" with these kinds of situations, their job is to "never let anything external impact the way we go about playing the game."

"Do we love our fans cheering for us? Heck yeah we do," he said. "We want our fans engaged with us, heck yeah we do. We absolutely want that. And those guys on the field are giving everything they got for the team, for the Mets across their jerseys. So those guys will continue to do that."

Senga called it "an odd situation." 

"On any other day... I hear all the cheering when I get out of a big inning, or I close the game with a save. I hear everybody cheering for me in the stands, and I love that," he said.

Asked whether the fans' reaction to Alonso had been discussed in the clubhouse, Green said he "hasn't had one conversation" about it. Manaea said he wasn’t going to speak for everyone, but reiterated his opinion that it was “crazy.”

“Pete’s not here. And the powers that be, whatever that may be. He’s just not here,” Manaea said. “I know everybody loves him, he’s the man, but, just, he’s not here.

“To see the reaction from the fans like that, I don’t know, it’s just different. Never seen anything like that.”

The starter added that he felt it was “very” surprising to him.

“Been doing this thing for 10, 11 years now, played against some legendary players, played with some legendary players, maybe it was the first time I’ve been in a situation like this,” he said. “Yeah, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

"I love him to death, but as the 2026 Mets - I know we've definitely underperformed - the guys in here work their ass off every single day. To have that reaction to an opposing player is crazy to me"

- Sean Manaea on the Citi Field reception for Pete Alonso's 300th home run pic.twitter.com/7itFYYpns7

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 16, 2026

The Colorado Rockies were desperate to break an eight-game losing streak as they faced the San Diego Padres in the second game of a four-game stand.

Cole Carrigg hit his first homer in the third, but the Rally Squirrel that appeared on the auxiliary scoreboard in the fifth inning turbocharged everything.

The Carrigg-Squirrel duo had help from a third partner: Ryan Feltner in a sparkling relief performance.

Turn the page on the losing streak: The Rockies won 9-3 to tie their series with a Padres team looking to clinch a postseason spot.

Cole Carrigg set the tone

The game did not get off to the start Kyle Freeland had hoped for.

When facing Fernando Tatís Jr., the leadoff batter, Freeland surrendered a home run on the second pitch he threw.

It was Tatís Jr’s 23rd homer of the year.

Before the Rockies had even managed an out, they were down, 1-0.

Things did not improve in the second inning when Luis Campusano stepped to the plate and led off the second with a homer, à la Tatís Jr.

After the Rockies entered their half of the second inning down, 2-0.

They threatened by loading the bases with one out as Walker Buehler’s pitch count climbed. (Yes, TJ Rumfield hit a single, so his on-base streak is up to 20 games.) However, a double play that involved a base-running mistake by Kyle Karros ended the threat.

By the end of the third inning, the Padres had already accumulated seven hits.

Carrigg, however, did some encores of his own. In Game 1, he hit his eighth home run; in Game 2, he hit another, his ninth, this time with Adael Amador on base, to tie the game.

Freeland had clean third and fourth innings, before history repeated itself in the fifth when Austin Hays led off with another single-shot home run.

With the score 3-2 Padres, Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer went to his bullpen.

Tonight, Ryan Feltner followed up Freeland by allowing one hit but no runs to retire the side.

Buehler started the fifth for the Padres and got two outs. However, after Carrigg hit a double (now just a triple shy of the cycle), that was it for Buehler. His final line: 4.2 IP with two runs (earned) on seven hits. He walked one and struck out one.

Wandy Peralta entered in relief and hit Rumfield with a pitch, leaving runners on first and second with two outs. However, Karros lined out to short to end the inning and the threat.

In the fifth inning, the Rockies offense got serious.

Mickey Moniak led off with a triple followed by a Troy Johnston RBI double, tying the score at three. After that came a Brett Sullivan single to score Johnston, and the Rockies had their first lead of the evening, 4-3.

Then Jake McCarthy hit a single (give him a 17-game on-base streak), and that was it for Peralta.

With two on and two out, Carrigg stepped to the plate, looking for a triple to complete the cycle is expand the Rockies lead. He battled through a 13-pitch at-bat.

Seriously, you’ve got to see it.

And then Carrigg got to work.

That’s right, Reader, it was a sweet, sweet three-run homer.

The Rockies finished the sixth inning with a 7-3 lead.

“I love this game. I love playing for my guys. Obviously a pretty long at-bat — got me fired up for sure,” Carrigg said after the game.

“That’s one of the coolest at-bats I’ve seen,” Schaeffer said of Carrigg’s extended at-bat. “He was locked in today. You see what kind of player Cole can be.”

In the seventh inning the Padres were unable to score. The Rockies, however, were not done.

Karros lead off the inning with a single, and a Johnston RBI double was enough to bring him home, and the score was 8-3.

Zac Veen was the last Rockie to get a hit, but he did in the seventh to score Ezequiel Tovar (pinch running for Johnston), and the Rockies took a 9-3 lead.

The Rockies final line was nine runs (all earned) on 16 hits. They walked once and struck out three times, going 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

“They’re all grinding ‘til the end,” Schaeffer said. “This is what they believe in. That’s why there’s so much hope for the future.”

Kyle Freeland made his return

In addition to a solid performance from Freeland, the Rockies needed length from him to spare an exhausted bullpen.

Despite giving up two home runs early, Freeland entered the fourth inning having thrown 38 pitches, which was just what the bullpen ordered.

He was done in the fifth (with no outs) after surrendering a third home run.

His final line was 4.0 IP with three runs (earned) on eight hits. He did not issue a walk and struck out one while throwing 50 pitches.

It was not the return Freeland wanted, but he helped save the bullpen.

“It was good to see him back,” Schaeffer said, noting that Freeland was efficient and on a 60-pitch limit. “I thought he got better as he went.”

“I felt good,” Freeland said. “I was able to eat some innings. Three solo-shots aren’t going to kill you.”

Stellar Feltner

If there was an unsung hero in this game, it was Ryan Feltner, who entered the game in the fifth inning.

After his outstanding showing against Atlanta, the Rockies were eager to see what he could do when following an (extended) opener.

The answer: He was good — really good.

In 5.0 IP, Feltner allowed just three hits while issuing one walk and five strike outs on 61 pitches.

“I saw attack-mode from the moment he stepped on the mound,” Schaeffer said, pointing out that it echoed the pitcher’s performance in Atlanta. He did not rule out using Feltner in a similar role going forward.

Feltner said he believed he benefits from the opposing team having less plan to prepare for him.

“Sully called a great game,” he added.

Feltner emphasized, “I’m a starter, and I like starting a game,” but he added he would do whatever the team asks of him.

Up next

Join us tomorrow night for Game 3 when Robbie Ray will face Mason Adams (and hopefully the Rally Squirrel).

First pitch is at 6:40 pm.

See you then.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The Orioles may be playing out the string in a season that’s fallen far short of expectations. But darned if they aren’t still capable of playing some mighty entertaining baseball from time to time.

Tonight’s extra-inning affair against the Mets was one of those classic, bizarre, “how the heck did the Orioles win this?” kind of games. On an evening that was a pretty boring slog for the first eight innings, the excitement ramped up drastically in the ninth when Pete Alonso delivered his long-awaited 300th homer — a dramatic, game-tying shot — in front of the Mets faithful, and the weirdness reached new heights when Coby Mayo circled the bases on a go-ahead, three-run, inside-the-park home run in the top of the 11th.

What a memorable night of baseball. Exhausting, but memorable.

Let’s cut right to the chase. There’s one reason and one reason only that fans have flocked to CitiField this week, and it’s not because they’re riveted by Orioles/Mets mid-September baseball. Fan-favorite ex-Mets slugger Pete Alonso returned to his old stomping grounds just one shy of his 300th career homer, and the constant standing ovations and celebratory handmade signs among the crowd have made it clear: Mets fans want to witness the Polar Bear’s historic blast, even against their favorite team.

Tonight, they got their wish, despite it directly robbing the Mets of a victory. The dramatic moment came in the top of the ninth with the Orioles trailing, 3-2, and two outs away from defeat. Alonso, who at that point was 0-for-3 in the game and 0-for-6 in the series, stepped to the plate against Mets closer Kodai Senga. Senga, the forkball specialist, missed with his first two pitches. Then he hurled another forkball that hung right down the middle of the plate, and Pete didn’t miss.

SMASH. Alonso clobbered one to deep left and instantly knew he’d gotten it, flinging his bat toward the O’s dugout and raising his hands in triumph. A cool 414 feet later, the ball landed among the Mets fans, most of whom were in a full-throated cheer, not caring that they’d just blown a ninth-inning lead. Honestly, good for those fans. These games don’t matter to the already eliminated Mets, so why not celebrate the historic achievement of one your franchise’s all-time greats?

A pumped-up Alonso, after exchanging intense high-fives with his O’s teammates, came out of the visiting dugout for a curtain call, doffing his cap to the crowd. Alonso got to enjoy a milestone individual achievement that also rescued his team, and the fans got to share a special moment with their longtime hero. A good time was had by all. Well, maybe not Senga.

After all the festivities, though, there was still a baseball game to finish playing. And boy, did it get weird. Two other former Mets, Rico Garcia and Josh Walker, combined to escape the bottom of the ninth with the winning run in scoring position, and off to extras we went. That’s when both teams wasted opportunities to take control.

In the top of the 10th, a Gunnar Henderson single moved the free runner, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, to third base with nobody out. The next three Orioles then had three of the worst at-bats you’ll see: Jeremiah Jackson twice failed to bunt and struck out looking, wasting the Orioles’ ABS challenge in the process; Heston Kjerstad struck out looking on a fastball right down the middle; and Leody Taveras grounded out to the pitcher. Fortunately, a Daniel Duarte wild pitch during the Jackson at-bat allowed Encarnacion-Strand to score the go-ahead run.

The lead didn’t last long. In the bottom half, Marcus Semien’s one-out double off Alex Hoppe plated the Mets’ free runner, knotting the score at four. But with two aboard and Hoppe clearly struggling with command, Christopher Morel inexplicably swung at a 3-0 pitch and grounded out, short-circuiting the Mets’ rally.

On to the 11th, where the Orioles took the lead in a way that absolutely nobody could have expected. With two on and two out — after Alonso struck out, failing to hit his 301st homer — Coby Mayo pounced on an 0-2 cutter from righty Jonathan Pintaro and crunched it to deep center field. A.J. Ewing made a sprawling, Colton Cowser-esque leap at the wall, but the ball barely eluded his glove and deflected off the fence while Ewing crashed hard into it. By the time the other Mets outfielders could rush over to back up the dazed Ewing, a hustling Mayo had hurtled all around the bases for his first career inside-the-park home run. Wow!

Mayo’s chaotic sprint around the bases had given the Orioles a 7-4 lead, and this time the lead was bulletproof. Andrew Kittredge, who has badly struggled of late, was able to nail down the save in the bottom of the 11th despite a two-out RBI single by Bo Bichette. The Orioles, somehow, had escaped with their second straight win.

Long before the late-inning bedlam, Shane Baz’s extremely weird year came to what may be an extremely weird end. The first-year Oriole entered the game with a league-leading 15 losses due to his well-chronicled lack of run support, and he never got a chance to add a win to his ledger tonight after an abrupt fifth-inning exit. Bo Bichette led off the inning with a scalding 105-mph liner that deflected directly off Baz’s right elbow as he tried to turn away. The ball was hit so hard that it sailed all the way into left field after hitting Baz, who kneeled on the mound and clutched his arm.

Craig Albernaz and the training staff immediately came out to check on the injured hurler. Baz gamely attempted to throw a warm-up pitch, but he sailed it to the backstop and promptly walked off the mound without argument. After the game, X-rays came back negative, but when you’re dealing with an elbow, why risk trying to pitch again this year? It’s not like these games matter for the Orioles anymore. Shut down Baz and have him get an early rest before next season.

Before the injury, Baz was having one of his rockier outings. The Mets tagged him for seven hits (including the Bichette liner) and two walks in his four innings of work, which came on a first-inning sacrifice fly, a second-inning Juan Soto RBI single, and a Carson Benge solo homer in the third.

The Orioles’ bullpen, thrust into action earlier than expected, did a nice job to keep the Mets off the board. Grant Wolfram, Luis De León, and former Mets prospect Anthony Nunez combined for four scoreless innings of relief while the O’s trailed. De León was particularly impressive by throwing a pair of shutout frames, his best outing as a big leaguer.

For a while, it didn’t seem like it would matter, because the Orioles’ offense was nonexistent for most of the game. Their wacky lineup against southpaw Sean Manaea included Rece Hinds (a career 3-for-55 against lefties) in the leadoff spot and Leody Taveras (.502 OPS against lefties this year) also in the lineup, while homegrown left-handed hitters like Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, and Heston Kjerstad were once again benched. What are we doing here, guys?

The threadbare O’s lineup had a grand total of two good swings against Manaea. Both came in the second inning, when Encarnacion-Strand launched a solo homer to left-center, and two batters later, Jeremiah Jackson followed suit with his first dinger since June 14. And…that was the end of the Orioles scoring runs for the next seven innings. Manaea, Austin Warren, and Nate Lavender held the Mets’ 3-2 lead until the ninth.

And we know what happened after that: a hefty dose of Alonso heroics, some good luck against a bad Mets team, and, of course, a sprinkling of Orioles Magic.

Camden Chatters, who’s your Most Birdland Player for tonight?

The Texas Rangers scored four runs while the Boston Red Sox scored two runs.

The Rangers, in need of as many wins as they can get from here on out, returned home to begin their final homestand of the season with the first leg of three against AL Wild Card-leading Boston.

Texas had the non-Cal Quantrill guy you’d want on the mound with Jacob deGrom starting the opener. It would seem that perhaps tonight was a poor groin night for the achy veteran, however, as he lasted only five innings and sometimes labored through his 92 pitches.

But deGrom also mostly kept Boston off the board aside from a two-run home run hiccup from No. 9 batter Nick Sogard after the Rangers had grabbed an early 4-0 lead.

How that lead came about is something of a lost media mystery if you’re an at-home Rangers Sports Network viewer. All of the Rangers four runs came in a window of time when the broadcast feed had gone down. I guess an opportunity to see Texas go up on Boston was a Shed exclusive tonight.

With the Rangers putting together a rally with two runners on base and Elias Diaz at the plate with two outs, the telecast suddenly cut to commercials before showing a segment of Elvis Andrus and Jared Sandler learning how to do the two-step. In The Shed, Diaz was doing a little two-step of his own as he doubled in the game’s first runs.

Right as the RSN switched gears to show Andrus and Sandler trying their hand at running the mascot Dot Race, Danny Jansen and Justin Foscue drew two-out walks and Corey Seager received a gift with a blooper to shallow center field that Boston shortstop Trevor Story seemed to have a play on before letting it drift beyond his reach as two more runs scampered in.

The game returned to our televisions in time for the Red Sox to bat in the top of the third, which is when Sogard took deGrom deep. For us TV baseball watchers, it could have been assumed that the Rangers were down a couple of runs but within the pocket dimension of The Shed, it was known that Texas was up 4-2.

And then the game just stayed at that score the rest of the way because baseball is weird like that. It turns out, if the Rangers cannot be observed, they’re pretty good!

The Rangers needed four innings from arms not named deGrom and that meant a heavy bullpen day. The Rangers were off on Monday so everyone was a little more rested and up to the task. Chase Silseth pitched a scoreless sixth inning, and Tyler Alexander did the same in the seventh. In the eighth, however, Robert Garcia was elevated to setup duty and ran into some trouble.

With one out, the Rangers brought in Jacob Latz for another of his patented extended outings. Called on to face Rangers killer and Shed lover Wilyer Abreu with two on, Latz got a ground out and then intentionally walked Story before striking out pinch hitter Andruw Monasterio to leave the bases loaded.

Latz had a more usual scoreless frame in the ninth to pick up his 30th save of the season and give the Rangers a big win in the opener.

Neither Houston nor Cleveland lost so the Rangers didn’t make up any ground on the leaders of their two avenues to the playoffs, but Toronto lost which allowed Texas to leapfrog the Blue Jays for the nearest contender behind the Guardians for the final Wild Card spot at a game and a half back.

Player of the Game: Latz once again went the extra mile with a five-out save as he continues to be an x-factor, multi-inning weapon at the end of games for the Rangers if they can get to him with a lead.

Up Next: The Rangers and Red Sox will play the second game of this series with LHP MacKenzie Gore next up to pitch for Texas opposite LHP Jake Bennett for Boston.

The Wednesday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto continued his excellent season and beat the Cincinnati Reds for the second time in a week, this time with seven scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ 4-0 win at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Yamamoto was uncharacteristically wild to open the game, with eight of his first nine pitches outside the strike zone, but then completely settled down and didn’t walk another batter the rest of the way.

Elly De La Cruz doubled with two outs in the third, his fifth game with an extra-base hit in five tries against the Dodgers over the last nine days. But the first four of those games included home runs, so Yamamoto keeping him in the park was a win.

After the double, Yamamoto retired his next 13 straight batters. After the two walks, Yamamoto retired 21 of 22 batters to finish seven innings for the third straight start and 12th game this season, the latter second-most in the majors.

Yamamoto finished with seven strikeouts and has allowed zero or one run in 14 of his 27 starts. Since the All-Star break, Yamamoto has a 1.98 ERA in 68 1/3 innings in 10 starts, with 72 strikeouts and 16 walks.

Yamamoto’s outing immediately following Tarik Skubal’s gem in Monday’s series opener gives the Dodgers back-to-back starts of at least seven scoreless innings for the first time since September 12-23, 2022, when Tyler Anderson and Clayton Kershaw turned the trick in Arizona. In both cases, the first such win clinched a postseason spot for the Dodgers.

Teoscar Hernández was hitless in each of the first two games in Miami to snap his hit streak before sitting on Sunday, and has now homered in each of the first two games in Cincinnati. On Tuesday, it was another hard-hit ball for Hernández, a 109.3-mph screamer over the left field wall for a two-run shot in the third inning to pad the Dodgers’ advantage.

Over Hernández’s last 14 games, he’s hitting .417/.517/.771 with four home runs, eight extra-base hits, and 18 RBI.

Notes

• After a planned off day Monday — his third time sitting in the previous five games with a sore right knee —Freddie Freeman snapped 0-for-16 and 1-for-26 skids with three singles on Tuesday.
• Catcher Hunter Feduccia drove in the Dodgers’ first run with an RBI single, his second straight start with a run batted in. He also walked twice, reaching base three times on Tuesday.
• Alex Freeland homered into the left (opposite) field corner in the seventh inning for an insurance run, and doubled in the ninth. It’s Freeland’s fourth game this season with two extra-base hits, along with March 27 (homer, double), April 25 (two doubles), and May 31 (homer, double).
• Josue De Paula batted leadoff and went 0 for 5. After five walks in his first 17 major league plate appearances, De Paula finally struck out in the big leagues and did so in his final two PA on Tuesday.
• The win, coupled with the Padres loss to the Rockies in Colorado, reduced the Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the National League West to one. The earliest the Dodgers could clinch the division is Wednesday.

Tuesday particulars

Home runs: Teoscar Hernández (15), Alex Freeland (4)

WP — Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-8): 7 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts

LP — Rhett Lowder (6-11): 5 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts

Up next

Blake Snell is on the mound on Wednesday night (3:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA), pitching on four days rest for the first time this season. Left-hander Andrew Abbott starts for Cincinnati.

The Dodgers on September 14 beat the Reds to clinch a playoff berth for the 14th season in a row, tying the major league record also held by the Atlanta Braves, who made it to 14 consecutive postseasons from 1991-2005.

Los Angeles won again in Cincinnati on September 15, which eliminated the Arizona Diamondbacks from National League West contention. Then the Dodgers beat the Reds on September 16, ensuring they’d finish ahead of the San Diego Padres and clinching the fifth consecutive division title for Los Angeles and 13th in the last 14 years.

Clinching a bye

The two division winners with the best records get a bye directly into the National League Division Series, which means beginning the postseason on Saturday, October 3 instead of in the wild card round on Tuesday, September 29.

NL division leaders

1. Brewers 100-59
2. Dodgers 97-62
3. Braves 93-66

through September 24

The Dodgers clinched a bye with the Braves’ loss on Thursday, September 24. That ensured the Dodgers (97-61 at the time) would finish ahead of Atlanta (93-66), and thus finish no lower than the No. 2 seed.

The Dodgers do not have the tiebreaker with either the Brewers or Braves, which means they have to have a better record to gain a higher seed. The Los Angeles loss on Thursday night ensured the Brewers would finish as the No. 1 seed, and the Dodgers at No. 2.

Welcome to BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Please come and sit with us. There’s no cover charge. We still have a few tables available. The hostess can seat you now. There’s a two-drink minimum, but it’s bring our 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 night I asked you whether it might be better for the Cubs to start the playoffs on the road in Atlanta as opposed to at home versus (probably) Philadelphia or San Diego. The idea behind this was to avoid Milwaukee as long as possible. Well, 88 percent of you thought that was crazy talk and that the Cubs should try to start the postseason at home and not worry about what comes next.

On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I don’t do any movie stuff. But I always have time for jazz and now is that time.

Keeping up with our tribute to John Coltrane as we approach the 100th anniversary of his birth next week, here is one Coltrane song that many of you will be familiar with. No, it’s not “My Favorite Things” which you’re probably all familiar with because it is Christmas music these days. Instead, we feature Coltrane’s “Equinox.”

McCoy Tyner is on piano, Steve Davis on bass and Elvin Jones is the drummer.

Welcome back to those who missed the Trane.

Assuming the Cubs make the playoffs, and even after tonight’s tough loss, it’s a safe assumption, the Cubs will need three starters for the Wild Card Series.

I’m assuming that two of those starters will be Clay Holmes and Kevin Gausman. That’s why the Cubs traded for them. They’ve also been the Cubs best two starters lately, although Gausman had a bad game against the Brewers recently. Luckily, the Cubs won’t play the Brewers in the first round.

But who gets the third start? Of course, the best scenario is that the Cubs win the first two games and don’t need a third starter. But manager Craig Counsell can’t count on that. So who should be the third Cubs pitcher in the Wild Card series?

There are three real options, although I’ll let you vote “other” if you want to make a case for Javier Assad, Colin Rea or a bullpen game in the comments. But the other three pitchers currently in the rotation are three southpaws: Matthew Boyd, Shōta Imanaga and David Peterson.

Between those three pitchers, which one should get the third start? That doesn’t necessarily mean in a potential Game 3. If you want to break up Holmes and Gausman and have the third starter go in game two, that’s OK. But if you were the Cubs, which one of these three pitchers would you trust alongside Holmes and Gausman to get a Wild Card Series start?

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What a night for Pete Alonso and the majority of the 28,097 Mets fans on hand. 

What a gut punch — or maybe a jab directed a bit lower — for the Mets. 

In yet another surreal scene during a series filled with them, Alonso crushed a milestone, game-tying home run at Citi Field and bathed in the adoration of Mets fans who had just watched him help steal a game from the team they root for. 

Alonso’s 300th helped send the game to extra innings. It was another home run — an inside-the-parker from Coby Mayo in the 11th inning — that just about sealed it for the Orioles. 

And after all that, the Mets might have felt as bruised as A.J. Ewing, who smacked into the wall and was slow getting up after trying to catch the Mayo drive that led to the 7-5 Mets loss Tuesday in Queens, where the fans showed dramatic swings in allegiance. 

“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” said Sean Manaea, a close friend of Alonso who nonetheless made clear that he did not love the team’s own crowd supporting the opponent. 

In a game the Mets led 3-2 with one out in the ninth, Alonso demolished a high-arcing blast to left off Kodai Senga for history in a ballpark that has seen 124 of those homers, but only one in which Alonso provided a run for the other team. 

The swing was less jarring than the reaction: Alonso hurled his bat toward the Orioles dugout and circled the bases to mostly cheers. 

“Pete Alonso” cheers broke out until Alonso — in a visiting ballpark, having just tied the game — took a curtain call from a fanbase that does not have much to root for during September of a lost campaign and thus decided to root for the one who got away. 

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“Everyone in the dugout was saying, ‘Go out there,’ and they were right,” Alonso said. “I appreciate all the support. Especially all the years I’ve been here, all the life I’ve lived here. Obviously appreciate that, and it’s a two-way street.” 

The love between fans and player is understandable. The virtual entirety of a ballpark cheering as its team’s closer blows a save is nearly unfathomable. 

Senga said the crowd reaction did not bother him solely because it was Alonso — with any other hitter, he said, he would have been irked. 

While choosing his words carefully, Manaea did not agree. 

“I love him to death, but as a team, as the 2026 Mets — I know we have definitely underperformed,” said Manaea, who threw 5 ¹/₃ effective, two-run innings. “But the guys in here work their ass off every single day. To have that kind of reaction to an opposing player — it could be anybody — is crazy to me.” 

As Alonso disappeared into the dugout, those cheers transitioned into a loud, piercing jab toward the person who helped shoo the Polar Bear away: a stadium-wide round of “Fire Stearns.” 

After both teams traded runs in the 10th, the Orioles — who are still alive and fighting for a wild-card spot — ran away with the contest against Jonathan Pintaro in the 11th. The big blow was Mayo’s drive chasing Ewing to, and almost through, the center field wall, smacking hard against it and then hitting the warning track dirt. Ewing appeared to be OK, but by the time he and the Mets outfield recovered, Mayo had rounded the bases for a three-run, inside-the-park home run. 

For Mets fans hoping for another Alonso moment in Queens and mere drama in a season that no longer has much, the ninth-inning swing offered plenty. 

For the Mets — a group that has been the undercard in its own city, with Jonah Tong hearing boos a day earlier when he walked Alonso rather than serving up a home run — it is hard to imagine the season winding down any worse. 

“Pete’s not here,” Manaea said. “The powers that be — whatever that may be — he’s just not here. I know everybody loves him. He’s the man. But he’s not here. 

“To see the reaction from the fans like that, I don’t know — it’s just different.” 

The scenes in each clubhouse — raucous cheers and beers around the Orioles, while the Mets tried to grasp what just happened — sure were different, too. 

“It’s crazy,” Manaea said four times.