Category: Sports News

After returning to Petco Park from a disastrous road trip, the San Diego Padres had their backs against the wall. Squandering an opportunity to put distance between themselves and the other Wild Card hopefuls, the Padres had to have a successful home stand to remain in contention for a playoff spot.

Their home versus road pattern has been evident throughout the season; the Friars are not a good road team. Their 32-39 road record, seven games under .500, is the worst for any team with a winning record except the Chicago White Sox (eight games under).  The Pirates are the only other winning team with a losing road record, and they are three games under.

Home success

In a home stretch that featured the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals, the Padres took two of three from NY and swept a three-game set against the Nationals. Going 5-1 over the set allowed them to keep in step with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who also played winning ball over the past week. After falling behind Arizona by as much as 1.5 games in the Wild Card standings, the Padres battled back and now lead by a half-game.

Suffering several long slumps, the offense can fairly be called streaky at this point in the season. The frustration with the team’s underperformance has also resulted in some fans booing them at times during the past month. This has been especially true with some of the pitching performances from the newly acquired starters. 

With both Robbie Ray and Casey Mize struggling in several starts since their arrival, the team has not gotten the boost fans were hoping for at the trade deadline. The combined streaky offense and issues with the starters have contributed to the team not achieving what everyone hoped when the season began.

The recent winning stretch featured some standout performances from a couple of important contributors. 

Luis Campusano shines

The performance of catcher Luis Campusano has not been one of the areas of concern for this team. Campusano started the year as the primary backup to Freddie Fermin. The confidence expressed in him by manager Craig Stammen was viewed with skepticism by many. Up until this season, Campusano was not valued by the two previous managers of the Padres. His focus was seen as inconsistent, and his defense unreliable. Even though scouts believed he would hit in the big leagues, his previous two managers had no confidence in him.

Stammen, who pitched to Campusano early in the catcher’s career, expressed confidence in his ability. The new manager and his coaches worked to mentor and support the young catcher.

Although he was sidelined during the middle of the season with an injury, Campusano has broken out as the second half of the season arrived. 

In his first 16 games of the season, Campusano hit .366  with a 1.178 OPS and 10 RBI. He missed most of May and all of June with a broken toe and an oblique injury. Returning in July, he hit .326 with an .869 OPS. After an August slump that saw him hit .250 with only four extra-base hits in 17 games, Campusano has gained momentum in September and almost single-handedly beat the Yankees during those three games. Going 4-for-7 over the first and last games of the series, Campusano hit two home runs, had three RBI, and threw out four base runners attempting to steal. His second homer was a walk-off, winning the series for the Padres.

The Padres pitchers have all complimented his work behind the plate, and he has been the personal catcher for both Michael King and Walker Buehler.

Jackson Merrill gets in step

Much has been made of the off-and-on nature of Jackson Merrill’s third season in MLB. He has shown flashes of his five-tool talent but has also struggled for consistency at the plate. His average pre-All-Star break was .219 with a .350 slug. Since then, Merrill is hitting .292 with a .583 slug.

On Aug. 10, MLB Network broke down the drastic difference between the first and second halves of Merrill’s season.

Highlighting his ability to hit pitches in and outside the zone shows how exciting his future is. Merrill has made the necessary adjustments as the season has developed and is one home run away from his first 25 homer/25 stolen-base season.

In the final game of the home stand, Merrill had a career day against the Nationals. Going 4-for-5 with 2 home runs and six RBI, Merrill added a triple and a single to his total hits for the day while leading the Padres to a 9-2 win and a sweep, sending them off to San Francisco on a happy flight. 

Nick Pivetta surprises us all

Padres starter Nick Pivetta walked off the mound during his rehab start with Lake Elsinore on Aug. 4 with discomfort in his right elbow. At that point, most of us were sure that would be the end of his season. His rehab continued but was slow-played, and his next two rehab starts with Lake Elsinore and El Paso seemed to indicate an end-of-season return, if any.

The Padres played a game against the New York Yankees on Sunday, Sept. 6. In his post-game comments, manager Craig Stammen responded to a question regarding the following day’s starter versus the Washington Nationals. He dropped the bomb that Pivetta would start that game.

Over five innings pitched and 63 pitches, Pivetta looked like the starter who dominated in 2025. Allowing two hits and no runs, Pivetta struck out two with no walks. He earned his first win since April and showed another reason for optimism for the remainder of the season.

Joining Michael King and Walker Buehler as consistent starting pitchers for the Friars, hope surged for a successful finish to the 2026 season if Pivetta can keep it up.

With Pivetta’s return, Randy Vásquez gets bumped to the bullpen. He provides added depth and talent to an already excellent bullpen. It also gives the ‘pen another long-reliever/swing man to go with lefty Kyle Hart and bumps Griffin Canning into a mop-up role.

Two-hole problems

The Padres have had an issue with their two-hole hitter for a lot of the season. Since the loss of Luis Rengifo, who hit second for 62 at-bats with a .290/.343/.452 line, the second hitter in their lineup is 6-for-45 (.133 average) with two walks. The second spot in the lineup has a .654 OPS for the season, which is the worst in MLB.

Of the hitters to bat second outside of Rengifo, Samad Taylor, Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts come to mind.

Taylor hit second for 13 games before being injured and had a .306/.424/.347 line. 

Cronenworth has been in that slot for 35 games and 140 at-bats with a .229 average, a .294 OBP and a .615 OPS.

Bogaerts has hit second in eight games and 32 at-bats, hitting .188 with a .235 OBP and a .454 OPS.

At the start of the season, Merrill hit second until his early-season struggles pushed him out of the top three spots. In his 23 games and 97 at-bats, Merrill hit .227 with a .272 OBP and a .653 OPS.

Taylor is the obvious choice to hit in the two-hole now that he has returned to the lineup. His .390 OBP in 109 at-bats is tops on the team. It should be his job to lose.

20/20 history

For the first time in Padres history, they have two 20/20 players in the same season. Both Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. have 20 or more home runs and stolen bases this year. There have been 17 20/20 seasons for Padres players since the team started. These players have achieved that status: Dave Winfield in 1978 and 1980, Joe Carter in 1990, Derek Bell in 1993, Steve Finley in 1996, Reggie Sanders in 1999, Ryan Klesko in 2000, Mike Cameron in 2006, Will Venable in 2013, Wil Myers in 2016 and 2017, Tatis Jr. in 2021, 2024, and 2025.

Roster changes and injury updates

Miguel Andujar was in Arizona for most of August, working through rehab after his right wrist fracture healed. On Sept. 8, he was sent to the El Paso Chihuahuas for a rehab assignment. He has played in three games with 12 at-bats with a .167/.167/.333 line and has one RBI.

RHP Jason Adam had a 30-pitch bullpen Monday, Sept. 7, and will progress to live BP followed by a first rehab game on Sunday.

Jhony Brito was sent to Triple-A with the activation of Nick Pivetta. Catcher Blake Hunt was DFA’d to clear a roster spot. He has since been released.

Gavin Sheets, placed on the injured list for a sprained left foot (AKA plantar fasciitis), is in a walking boot and beginning to remove the boot for baseball activities. He could have surgery in the offseason.

If the 2026 Orioles are going to pull off a September surprise to find their way into the postseason, they’re going to need a lot less drama than they got in their game against the Blue Jays on Friday night. It should look easy when you manage to score seven runs. The O’s rattled off six straight hits against Max Scherzer in a five-run second inning and that should have made it simple. It wasn’t simple. The game ended with the tying run at the plate. The Orioles held on and got the win, though, taking the series opener, 7-4.

Those who tuned in late to the game missed the start of the scoring. Dylan Beavers, batting leadoff for the Orioles, only needed to see two Scherzer pitches before he got one that he liked, blasting his seventh homer of the season over the right field fence. The O’s took this 1-0 lead and never trailed or even had a tie game from that point on.

This is not to say that Orioles starting pitcher Chris Bassitt cruised through the game, or even through the first inning. After retiring the first batter he saw, Bassitt gave up a single to George Springer and a walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., building a possible real rally. Vlad Jr. was very quickly caught napping off of first, with O’s catcher Samuel Basallo firing a back pick that Pete Alonso was able to smoothly tag into Guerrero. It’s a good thing he did this, too, because Bassitt walked that batter, Alejandro Kirk. Without the runner getting wiped out, that would have made it bases loaded with only one out.

Basallo’s back pick was a bit of a makeup for him after he blew one of the Orioles ABS challenges for the game during the Guerrero walk. Basallo and ABS challenges came back as the inning ended: Bassitt threw a strikeout pitch to Nathan Lukes that the umpire missed. Basallo raised his hand as though he intended to challenge, then decided he didn’t want to possibly lose two challenges in the first inning. The umpire took up the challenge anyway even though Basallo didn’t tap his helmet; fortunately, it was strike three and the inning was over. Too bad, Lukes!

The game swung heavily in the Orioles direction immediately after that and never turned back around. The big second inning rally began with Gunnar Henderson delivering a leadoff single. The next five batters all got hits as well, with Heston Kjerstad driving in a run, and Colton Cowser and Beavers each driving in two.

For Scherzer, this turned out to be a regrettable career first: In his 498th MLB game, he gave up six straight hits for the very first time. The future Hall of Famer pitched three more innings after this, finishing with six runs allowed in five innings. He has a 6.38 ERA for the season. The career clock may have struck midnight on the 42-year-old.

With a big early lead for the Orioles, a person who was not familiar with the 2026 squad might be fooled into thinking that they could cruise through the rest of the game. This was not, of course, the case. The third inning got interesting for the Jays after a hard ground ball ate up Henderson; Toronto eventually loaded the bases with two out in the inning. One good swing could have made this a much different game.

The Jays did not get that one good swing, at least not there. They did get it leading off the fourth inning. Third baseman Kazuma Okamoto blasted off Bassitt’s 1-0 pitch. Okamoto has pretty much been as advertised in his first MLB season after signing from Japan, with a low batting average and a lot of strikeouts but also a lot of homers. This was #31 on the season.

Bassitt had an elevated pitch count for much of his time in the game and battled to even make it through five innings and put himself in line for the win. He ended up giving up two runs on six hits and three walks over five. This would have been a better stat line if Bassitt had come out of the game after five. Manager Craig Albernaz pulled off one of his specials in leaving Bassitt in to start the sixth, then pulling Bassitt after a single and a double.

Coming out of the bullpen to defuse the situation, reliever Josh Walker did the job. A strikeout and a groundout mostly ended the threat, even as the groundout scored the man from third to make the score 6-2. Walker finished the inning by getting a flyout to Cowser in center. Things did not get out of hand. Or at least they didn’t get out of hand in that inning.

Coby Mayo gave the Orioles some insurance with two outs in the seventh inning, hitting a solo home run to make the score 7-2. This was Mayo’s 23rd home run of the year, and crucially, it came off of Jays righty Braydon Fisher, who’s been a good pitcher out of the Jays bullpen this season. Mayo is now slugging .576 over his last 30 games, .654 over his last 15, and .826 over his last seven. This has included him starting to show power against righties in addition to lefties. If he can finish strong, that will be a positive to take into next season.

Ideally, this would have been the last thing worth writing about in the game. Alex Hoppe, called upon to finish off what was then a 7-2 game, had other plans. The Orioles reliever got two outs easily and then just could not get the third out. He threw a total of 20 pitches after getting two outs, any one of which might have ended the game. They didn’t end the game, and in fact brought it much closer. Jays center fielder Brett Bateman got a two-run home run in there to make it 7-4, and Hoppe let the next two guys on base, too.

Albernaz called upon Rico Garcia to finish it off. Garcia had Alejandro Kirk foul off four pitches before hitting an easy grounder to second base that finally ended the game. It’s Garcia’s eighth save of the season.

The Orioles are now 72-76. They pulled back a game on one of the teams ahead of them by beating the Jays. Whether they can gain on the Rangers or Guardians depends on results still to come after I post this recap. All the Orioles can do is win – probably 11 more times if they want to make it. They have a chance to do that until they’ve blown too many games.

The series continues on Saturday afternoon at 3:07. Kyle Bradish makes the start for the Orioles. As of this writing, the Jays have not listed a starter.

**

It is a longtime tradition on Camden Chat to proclaim a Most Birdland Player after each Orioles victory. What is Most Birdland? Each person must decide for themselves. Sometimes, this is the same as the most valuable player and sometimes it is not. Who is your choice in this game? Make your nomination in the comments below.

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers came into tonight’s contest needing merely to win to clinch a playoff spot.

They looked motivated.

An all-out assault on Cincinnati’s pitching, whether it was starter Andrew Abbott or any of the relievers who followed him, led to eye-popping offensive numbers from the Brewers. Pair that with an extremely encouraging start in which Dustin May, who is vying for a postseason rotation spot, cruised through six scoreless innings, and the Brewers put on quite a show as they officially punched their postseason ticket.

They did not need much time to turn this one into a laugher. After a quick top of the first from May, Jackson Chourio picked up right where he left off against the Cubs and whacked a double into left. Brice Turang then bunted for a single, and with runners on the corners, William Contreras hit a sacrifice fly to center that gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead. Andrew Vaughn was up next, and he crushed a 92 mph fastball right down the middle for another double to left, scoring Turang from first.

Abbott worked out of the inning by getting Jake Bauers and Luis Lara, but it didn’t take long before the Brewers put more pressure on him. After a 1-2-3 second for May, Cooper Pratt and Garrett Mitchell started the bottom of the second with back-to-back singles. After Joey Ortiz flew out, we were back to the red-hot Chourio, who cracked one into the right-field gap. It bounced off the warning track and went over the wall, scoring Pratt from second and putting runners on second and third with one out. After a mound visit, Turang, who’d dropped down a bunt for a hit in the first, swung away—and did not miss. A changeup in a bad spot ended up in the Reds’ bullpen, and Milwaukee’s lead was up to six on Turang’s lefty-on-lefty violence.

That wasn’t all in the second, though; with two outs, Vaughn singled and Bauers, in his second at-bat, also got one off the lefty, a two-run shot to center, and it was 8-0 Brewers after two.

Back on the mound in the third, May continued to cruise with another three-up, three-down inning. Abbott was done after two innings, and reliever Julian Garcia was able to put up a zero in the third despite a single from Ortiz. Garcia even managed to get Chourio out!

Sal Stewart picked up his second single in the top of the fourth but that was all against May. In the bottom of the inning, the Brewers kept their foot on the gas. Turang drew a walk to start the inning, and after hard line drives from Contreras and pinch-hitter Christian Yelich (with the lefty Abbott out of the game) went for outs, Bauers singled and some sloppy fielding allowed Turang to score all the way from first.

In the top of the fifth, Luis Lara decided that the Brewers would flex on both sides of the ball. Eugenio Suárez led off the inning with a drive to right that would’ve been a homer, but Lara got up and pulled it back—fooling everyone in the process. Two batters later, May had another 1-2-3 inning, and was just two over the minimum through five.

If things weren’t out of hand by the bottom of the fifth, they certainly were before the inning was over. Mitchell, Ortiz, and Chourio started the inning with consecutive singles, scoring Mitchell on the third. Turang followed with an RBI double (and was replaced by David Hamilton as a pinch-runner, just to get him off of his feet), and Contreras—the last Brewer starter without a hit—lined a two-run single to center. Reds pitcher Luis Mey finally got a couple of outs with strikeouts of Yelich and Bauers, but Lara single and Pratt walked to load the bases with two out. Up stepped Mitchell, who blasted the Brewers’ first grand slam of the year.

Through five innings, the Brewers had a 17-0 leadand 20 hits. That will do.

The other major positive about the game was that Dustin May was having a great night. He had to work through a little trouble in the sixth when with two outs he walked Elly De La Cruz and Pratt was given an error when he had trouble with a hard ground ball from Stewart, but a JJ Bleday groundout ended the inning. That ended up being May’s last inning, as he didn’t need to keep going with the game so lopsided: he allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out six on an efficient 84 pitches in six shutout innings (with a nod to Lara and his home-run robbery).

Brock Burke was Cincinnati’s pitcher in the sixth and he had a 1-2-3 inning—the first of the night for the Reds—despite a 106 mph, 349 foot line drive from Contreras. May’s replacement in the seventh was the newly recalled Garrett Stallings, and his only blemish in the inning was a walk to Suárez.

It was position player time in the bottom of the seventh, and of course Jose Trevino, the Reds’ backup catcher, threw a 1-2-3 inning. In the top of the eighth, Bo Naylor came on at first base—notable, because in 347 career games in the big leagues, he’d never appeared in the field anywhere other than catcher. Stallings was perfect in the top of the eighth, and after Trevino had shut down the Brewers in the seventh, the Brewers got to him in the eighth—singles by Ortiz and Chourio were followed by a three-run homer by Contreras, giving the Brewers a 20-0 advantage.

Stallings completed his third scoreless inning—he’s now got 11 scoreless innings to start his major-league career—to finish off the Reds.

Quite a box score to peruse, but a few highlights:

• Chourio had four hits, his fourth four-hit game since August 27th. Two were doubles. His batting average is up 23 points since August 15th.
• Turang went 3-for-3 with a double and a homer before being lifted for a pinch-runner.
• Vaughn was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI.
• Bauers had two hits including a two-run homer.
• Contreras was the last Brewer starter to pick up a hit, but he finished 2-for-5 with a homer and six RBI.
• Lara had two hits and robbed a homer.
• Mitchell was 3-for-5 with a grand slam and three runs scored.
• Ortiz also had four hits, all singles. Speaking of batting averages, Ortiz was hitting .188 at the end of May and is now at .263.

Add in the combined shutout for May and Stallings, and the Brewers made quite the statement as they clinched their eighth playoff berth in the last nine years.

The Brewers are still playing for a bye and home field advantage in the playoffs, and they haven’t yet clinched the division, though they can do so in a matter of days—the earliest possible day being Sunday, if they were to sweep the Reds and the Pirates took the next two from the Cubs.

The series continues tomorrow when Brady Singer starts for the Reds. The Brewers haven’t announced any starters moving forward, so stay tuned to see who ends up on the mound.

A last little parting nugget for your evening:

Top Dodgers prospect Josue De Paula wasn’t going to be overwhelmed by the moment. Manager Dave Roberts was quite sure of that.

“He’s gonna swing at strikes, take balls, put together good at-bats,” Roberts said before De Paula made his major league debut Friday in the Dodgers’ 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins.

Sure enough, when De Paula stepped into the batter’s box at Loan Depot Park, he wasn’t tempted to swing at the first-pitch curveball that dipped below the zone. He didn’t bite on the slider that missed high and outside.

He forced Marlins starter Ryan Gusto to throw into the zone. And after De Paula had worked a full count, swinging at a pair of fastballs and fouling off the second, he sent a slider to right field.

Read more:'He's not supernatural.' Shohei Ohtani's injury management raises tough questions

Though it was a flyout, the moment was momentous: De Paula had completed his first major league at-bat.

“I always had it in the back of my mind it could happen,” De Paula said of making his debut this year. “But I never tried to think too much about it. But when it did happen, I wasn’t really thinking about it because we really only had about four days left before the [double-A] season ends. So I was just thinking — four days, playoffs and then go home.”

Instead, the Dodgers selected De Paula’s contract from double-A Tulsa and put Shohei Ohtani on the 15-day injured list. To clear room on the 40-man roster, they transferred left-hander Eric Lauer from the 15-day IL to the 60-day.

The Dodgers (90-57) don’t have a more specific diagnosis for Ohtani’s right biceps injury, Roberts said. The team simply listed it as inflammation. And that lack of clarity makes it difficult to map out his return.

“We’re really going off of how he feels,” Roberts said. “And I think there’s a good amount of communication going on, which led us to the IL, given how he’s felt. And then going forward, take a few days [off] from swinging the bat, and then let’s sort of reevaluate in the coming days and see what works.”

In the meantime, De Paula will get a chance to show what he can do with his bat. Roberts envisioned the rookie serving as the designated hitter for all three games against the Marlins (72-76).

De Paula estimated that 15 people, including his parents, attended his debut. They watched the Dodgers trim their magic number to five.

Dodgers starter Blake Snell, who hasn’t given up more than one run in any of his seven starts back from surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, was stifling on the mound. He held the Marlins to one run and four hits in 5⅔ innings, lowering his ERA to 1.91.

“The goal, at worst, is definitely six [innings] for me,” Snell said. “I also know that I can go seven, eight, nine. I know I’m able to do it. So for me not to, I’ve just got to get more efficient early in the game. I feel like once I get past the first couple innings, I start cruising and start figuring it out.”

Kyle Tucker powered the Dodgers’ offense, finishing a double shy of the cycle while recording a season-high five RBIs. He drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning. Then he tripled in the sixth and scored on a single by Will Smith. He topped it off with a grand slam in the seventh to seal the Dodgers’ season-high eighth straight win.

“Just trying to stay on top through the ball, stay up the middle or left-center,” Tucker said about unlocking a better swing. “Just keep the body from flying open.”

De Paula batted No. 7 and worked full counts in his first two at-bats. He drew a walk in the fourth.

De Paula gave a glimpse of his base running ability — he had 31 stolen bases in double-A this season — as he raced to second and touched the base before the tag came down. But his hand came off as he slid past the bag, and after a replay review, he was called out. He’s still seeking his first hit, but he proved the Dodgers’ confidence in his ability was well placed.

“He’ll be in there [Saturday] and the next day,” Roberts said, “and he’ll get his first one soon enough.”

De Paula, 21, has been pushing for a promotion with his play at the plate for months. He had a .948 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in double-A and went on a power spree starting at the end of July, hitting 11 of his 27 home runs before his promotion.

De Paula is expected to get regular at-bats at DH, with possibly some time in the outfield. He has some familiarity with his teammates and coaches after being at spring training the last two years.

Hitting coach Aaron Bates said De Paula’s calmness in the batter’s box stood out.

“It’s a ‘wise beyond his years’ kind of thing,” Bates said. “Just very polished in the sense that there’s no panic when he’s in the box — especially for a young hitter. You see young hitters try to swing faster or catch up or swing harder. He’s got a great temperament about him as far as the way he goes about it. And I think this year he was able to kind of put it all together.”

De Paula pointed to improvements across the board — defensively, physically, mentally.

“It was a lot of visualization and concentration, holding focus,” he said before the game. “Practicing that, I felt it would help focus in on what I have to do and not distractions. I feel it’s going to help me on the field.”

Freeman out of lineup

Freddie Freeman was out of the lineup because of a sore right knee for the second straight game.

“Turf [field], flight, travel, just smart to give him one more day,” said Roberts, who initially hoped Freeman would return to the lineup Friday.

Roberts expected Freeman to play Saturday.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

A game that meant a great deal to New York only meant something to one of the city’s teams in the standings. 

The Yankees delivered in both regards. 

On a Friday night that began with an emotional pregame ceremony that honored all those lost 25 years ago in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the Yankees kept pace in their division race, holding on late to beat the Mets 6-4 for their fourth straight win in front of a sellout crowd of 47,410 in The Bronx. 

Cody Bellinger crushed a three-run homer off Nolan McLean in the second inning that proved to be the difference, thanks in large part to a strong start from Carlos Rodón, as the Yankees (85-62) remained three games back of the Rays for first place in the AL East with 15 games left. They also moved to 5 ¹/₂ games clear of the Red Sox for the top AL wild card. 

“Today was a day where it felt bigger than the game and bigger than yourself,” said Bellinger, whose father, Clay, was a Yankee in 2001 and later became a firefighter. 

The Mets (68-79) threatened to play spoiler, coming alive late against the Yankees bullpen to nearly get all the way back from a 5-1 deficit before David Bednar finished off a five-out save. 

“Certainly wish the game outcome was different than it was, but special to be a part of,” Mets manager Andy Green said. 

The Yankees now have a chance to clinch a playoff berth as early as Saturday, needing a win and a Blue Jays loss. 

“Obviously as a club, we’re playing for a lot, but having some of the people involved back today and part of the pregame ceremonies, it felt special,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It felt like what you’d want a ballgame to feel like.” 

Ben Rice added another home run as part of a three-hit game while Luis García Jr. chipped in three hits and some slick defense at first base to support Rodón, who struck out eight across 6 ¹/₃ innings of two-run ball. 

Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick, two of the Yankees’ best but most-used relievers, both got into trouble in relief of Rodón. They combined to record three outs and give up two runs while both loading the bases (Blackburn in the seventh, Headrick in the eighth). But Headrick escaped Blackburn’s jam in the seventh by snagging a line drive right back to him off the bat of Francisco Lindor — after a fan waving a Palestine flag ran onto the field and caused a delay — to strand three Mets. 

Bednar then bailed out Headrick in the eighth — after Carson Benge worked a 10-pitch walk to load the bases — getting two fly balls, one of which was Marcus Semien’s sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 5-3, to end the inning. 

After Ryan McMahon provided some insurance in the eighth with an RBI single, A.J. Ewing led off the top of the ninth with a home run off Bednar. But the Yankees closer eventually slammed the door by getting ex-Yankee Juan Soto — who was booed vociferously by the home crowd all night — to ground into a double play to end it. 

The Yankees tagged McLean for a career-worst 10 hits across five innings in which he allowed five runs. They were on him from the start, loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first, though they had to settle for only one run on Spencer Jones’ RBI single. 

The Mets tied it in the top of the second after a fielding error by Jones in left-center field allowed both runners to move up 90 feet, putting Mark Vientos in position to score when Christopher Morel grounded out to deep shortstop. 

But the Yankees took the lead back for good in the bottom of the second in a rally that began with a one-out single from Anthony Volpe in his second game back from Triple-A replacing the injured Jazz Chisholm Jr. 

Rice followed with another single on a 10-pitch at-bat before Bellinger appeared to draw a walk when he took a 3-1 pitch out of the zone, only for it to be called a strike. He said he considered challenging but not until it was too late, though he made the most of it, belting the next pitch into the right field seats for a three-run shot that made it 4-1. 

“Obviously glad I didn’t do it,” Bellinger, wearing an FDNY cap, said with a grin. 

“That felt like a little bit of an exhale moment, like we were off and running,” Boone said. “But credit to the Mets, they were able to hold us down and climb back into it.”

Kyle Tucker hit a crucial seventh-inning grand slam to power the Dodgers (90-57) to a 6-2 win over the Marlins (72-76) Friday night in Miami.

It was an exciting night in Miami with pregame buzz surrounding the MLB debut of Dodgers top prospect Josue De Paula. De Paula went 0-for-3 on the night. He flied out to right fielder Esteury Ruiz in his first major-league at-bat. In his second at-bat, with one out in the fourth, the 21-year old drew a walk. In his third at-bat, De Paula grounded out to first baseman Kyle Stowers.

Blake Snell put together another solid night on the mound, only allowing 1 run on 4 hits to the Fish. Otto Lopez singled against Snell in the first, but Smith gunned down Lopez at second on a steal attempt to end the inning. The Marlins got more base runners on in the second against Snell, but he was once again able to pitch around the traffic to get out of the inning unscathed.

Tucker has been getting hot at just the right time for the Dodgers after an abysmal year at the plate.

The Dodgers manufactured a run in the top of the third. Tommy Edman drew the leadoff walk, and Max Muncy singled. Kyle Tucker’s sac fly gave Snell a 1-0 lead.

De Paula got thrown out on his first MLB steal attempt with two outs in the fourth. His hand came off the bag, and his leg was touching the tag. After a manager’s challenge, the call was overturned, and the inning was over.

After he brought in the first Dodgers run with a sac fly, Tucker tripled with one out in the top of the sixth. Smith drove in the second run of the night for L.A. with a single off Gusto.

The Marlins broke through with two outs in the sixth against the Dodgers bullpen. After Javier Sanoja singled against Snell, Dave Roberts replaced him with Evan Phillips. Agustín Ramírez put together a solid at-bat against Phillips and ultimately came out the winner with an RBI double to make it 2-1.

The Dodgers loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with two outs against the Miami bullpen. Tucker, who had two hits on the night, crushed a grand slam versus Cade Gibson. It was his first grand slam since summer of 2023.

The Fish added a second run to their tally in the bottom of the eighth against Blake Treinen. Javier Sanoja led off with a triple, and Owen Caissie brought him home on a sacrifice fly.

Edgardo Henriquez closed the door in the home half of the ninth to secure the Dodgers their 90th win of the season. Their Magic No. to clinch the NL West is now down to 4.

Friday particulars

Home runs: Kyle Tucker (14)

WP — Blake Snell(4-1): 5 2/3 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts (101 pitches)

LP — Ryan Gusto (1-5): 6 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts (89)

Up next

The Dodgers and Marlins continue their series Saturday at loanDepot Park (1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA). It will be a battle of the Tylers when Tyler Glasnow (4-0, 3.12 ERA, 0.88 WHIP) counters Tyler Phillips (5-6, 3.51 ERA, 1.33 WHIP).

A Subway Series game on the 25th anniversary of September 11th was always going to bring about some pomp and circumstance and a chance for New Yorkers of all fandoms to come together and pay tribute.

However once the first pitch is thrown, both sets of fans want their team to win above all else. In the series opener, the Yankees’ fans were the ones that got to celebrate.

On the mound, Carlos Rodón was very good. He ended up going 6.1 innings, allowing two runs (only one earned) on three hits and a walk, while striking out eight. At the plate, the Yankees got to Mets’ starter Nolan McLean for a couple runs, including a big three-run homer from Cody Bellinger. That proved enough to give the Yankees a 6-4 win in the Subway Series opener against the mets.

The Yankees started out the game in close to perfect fashion. Ben Rice and Bellinger started with singles, followed by an Aaron Judge walk to load the bases. The inning didn’t turn out as good as it could’ve after that, though. Spencer Jones brought home one run with a single, but the bases were stranded loaded, including an inning-ending double play by George Lombard Jr.

Naturally right after that, the Mets immediately answered. Mark Vientos walked and two batters later, Marcus Semien singled, with a Jones misplay allowing them to move up a base each. That error would allow Vientos to score on a ground out, tying the game.

However, the Yankees’ offense had a reply waiting. While the first two hitters of the second went down in order, Anthony Volpe continued his nice start since returning with a single. Ben Rice followed that with a single, having used ABS to successfully overturned a strike three. That kept the inning going for Bellinger, who took a three-run shot out to right field.

Rodón settled in a bit after that and the Yankees eventually tacked on more. Rice led off the bottom of the fifth with a homer. They again missed out on an opportunity to add more, though.

In the sixth inning, Rodón got one out before allowing a single, which would be the end of his day. Paul Blackburn came in and got two outs, but a walk and a single got the Mets a run back. Brent Headrick came in for him and got out of the inning with a nifty catch on a comebacker.

Headrick then came back out for the eighth, but much like Blackburn in the inning before, he got himself into some trouble. A single and two walks loaded the bases with just one out, leading to Aaron Boone going to David Bednar for a potential five-out save. He got the first two, but a Semien sacrifice fly scored one run before the inning ended.

With the Yankees’ lead dwindling, they were in need of some insurance in the ninth. Luis García Jr. and Jones each hit a single, with George Lombard Jr. then bunting them up a base. Ryan McMahon then dropped in a single that only scored one run, as pinch runner José Caballero had to hold up to make sure the ball wasn’t caught. The hit did provide some insurance, but it did end up keeping the Yankees from more in the inning.

With Bednar back on for the ninth, the inning got off to an iffy start when A.J. Ewing hit a laser of a home run into the second deck in right field. A Francisco Lindor single later in the inning meant that Juan Soto came to the plate as the potential tying run, as the narrative decided not to use subtext. However, Bednar got Soto to ground into a game-ending double play to take round one of the set.

The Subway Series will continue tomorrow at 1:35 pm ET. Gerrit Cole and Zac Thornton are expected to be the starting pitchers.

Box Score

The Rays are back in the postseason for the first time since 2023 as the club rallied late against one of the better relievers in baseball in the 9th to walk off the Astros 3-1.

This game was two hours and twenty-two minutes long, but the 9th inning was the main event. Through the first eight innings, the teams combined for two runs coming off a sacrifice fly by Yanier Diaz in the 4th and yet another Victor Mesa home run in the 5th inning:

The Rays offense was not able to generate any other offense outside that solo shot against the quartet of Miguel Ullola, Bryan King, and Ethan Pecko, Pecko’s setup on the mound and his approach was reminiscent of how Robert Stock shut the Rays down in the last homestand. Rasmussen remained undefeated since the All-Star break even if the outing was a bit of a grind. He threw first pitch strikes to 15 of the 27 batters faced and scattered seven singles as well as a double to former Ray Isaac Paredes in the outing. He was behind in more counts than usual in his outing, but grinded through this outing with the help of a couple of timely double plays. The Rays remain undefeated in games when Rasmussen starts as he continues to embrace the role of staff ace in 2026.

Rasmussen gave way to Tyler Wells and Bryan Baker to get the last six outs and that duo permitted two runners to reach base while stranding them both to set up the 9th inning. Joe Espada brought in Bryan Abreu to begin the inning and had Josh Hader warming up, which we will revisit momentarily. Abreu entered this contest limiting hitters to a .187 average while striking out 30% of the batters he has faced.

Abreu struck out Yandy Diaz on a high inside fastball to get the first out. Jonathan Aranda then worked a 1-1 count and got a cutter that found too much of the plate and came within a foot of hitting a walk-off home run, instead settling for a double:

That brought Junior Caminero to the plate with a base open and Liam Hick on deck. Logic would have said to put Caminero on base and bring in Hader to either face Hicks or force Cash to likely pinch hit with Ryan Vilade. Hader has held hitters to a .114 average this season, but Espada stuck with Abreu who attempted to announce his presence with authority to Junior Caminero. Abreu chose poorly:

Caminero’s 40th home run on the season was his first career walkoff. He has now hit 40 home runs in consecutive seasons and is the first player in nearly 30 years with multiple 40+ homer seasons before the age of 24. It was a fun comeback with two well-struck baseballs in the 9th thereby equaling the team’s output through the first eight innings of the game. The Rays hold serve in the standings as the Yankees defeated the Mets in the first game of the Subway Series as they celebrate for one evening while staying focused on higher aspirations this month.

MIAMI –– Time will tell if Kyle Tucker is truly heating up.

But for now, at the very least, it finally seems like he is starting to thaw out.

After being stuck in a deep freeze at the plate for much of the last month, Tucker produced a second-straight offensive outburst in the Dodgers’ 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday night, finishing a double shy of the cycle in a three-hit display highlighted by a grand slam at loanDepot Park.

It started with a single in the first inning, allowing Tucker to pick up where he left off after a three-hit performance on Wednesday. He then opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the third, giving Blake Snell a lead he wouldn’t relinquish in a 5 ⅔-inning, one-run start.

In the top of the sixth, Tucker took another confident hack, squaring up a hanging first-pitch slider for a triple off the wall in right. He would later score on a bloop single from Will Smith.

And for a finale, his breakout night culminated with the bases loaded an inning later, setting up Tucker for a grand-slam swing –– on a 395-foot drive that landed in the right-field bullpen –– that punctuated perhaps a season-best performance.

“Felt good in the box, put the barrel to the ball, put up competitive at-bats,” Tucker said afterward. “Wherever the ball goes, it goes. Just trying to hit it hard.”

Up until the last few days, hitting the ball hard had not been a common occurrence for the team’s $240 million flop of an offseason signing.

He had gone from bad to worse during a slump through much of August and September, taking an already disappointing debut season to even more confounding lows by batting .116 over his previous 26 games.

But then came Wednesday, when Tucker had three hits, two runs scored, a double and, technically, a home run, albeit off a position player.

“It still counts,” he joked that night. “I’ll take it.”

Now, following Friday’s 3-for-3, five-RBI performance, Tucker has collected three hits in back-to-back games for the first time all year.

To manager Dave Roberts, the resurgence is not a coincidence. He said that Tucker and the team’s hitting coaches found a fix to his swing recently that has “cleaned up his bat path” and kept his barrel square through the zone.

“I know the hitting coaches kind of unlocked something with Kyle, and it’s just good to see it translate that quickly,” Roberts said.

Added Tucker, who was vague about the specifics of his breakthrough: “There’s a lot more room for error hitting the ball because you can hit it deep and go the other way or catch it out in front and pull it a little bit more. Just trying to be consistent with that and be as long through the zone as possible.”

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There’s little saving Tucker’s season-long stats at this point, of course. At the end of play Friday, he was still hitting just .230 on the year (a career-worst for a full-length campaign) with a .701 OPS (the 36th-lowest mark of MLB’s 139 qualified hitters).

However, the Dodgers’ main impetus for signing the four-time All-Star was to bolster their chances of a World Series three-peat. Despite his struggles, they remain in prime October position. And while all might not be forgiven if he has a big playoff moment, it would certainly help erase the sting of his regular-season frustrations.

“The numbers [for the season] probably are what they are,” Tucker said. “But we’ve got a lot of important games coming next month. Just trying to finish out the season strong, get to that point and just try to win games. That’s the most important thing.”

Granted, there’s a long way to go before any of that. Two games, against two sub-.500 opponents, offer little more than a simple seed of hope that Tucker can eventually turn things around.

Then again, that’s more than the Dodgers have had to cling to for most of this year, while waiting on something from the 29-year-old superstar.

Now, at long last, Tucker has real confidence. He’s not quite hot yet, but he’s no longer ice cold either.

It is Friday night.

The Orioles have beaten the Blue Jays, 7-4, to open their series in Toronto. Dylan Beavers led off the game with a homer, the Orioles offense rattled off five runs thanks to six straight hits in the second inning, and things got interesting later but Rico Garcia was able to get the final out and close out one of the probable 12 wins in their last 15 games that the O’s need to get. The odds are not good, but they’ll get better if the Orioles keep winning.

YOU KNOW WHAT MUST BE DONE.

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the Mets and Yankees met for a game that seemed bigger and more impactful than it realistically should have, given each team’s current playoff position. However, the emotions were running high and, despite multiple attempts at a comeback, the Mets couldn’t claw their way back from an early deficit, losing 6-4 to their crosstown rivals.

After five straight quality starts, Nolan McLean had a bit of a rough start this evening. In the bottom of the first, the first three batters reached first on two singles and a walk, before Spencer Jones drove in the first run on a one-out single. McLean was able to work his way through without further damage.

The Mets tied the game in the top of the second when Mark Vientos scored on a Christopher Morel groundout, but that would be the entirety of the Mets’ offense against Carlos Rodón. Aside from a third inning single by Juan Soto, the Mets didn’t muster another baserunner until the seventh.

That was not true of the Yankees, who added on as soon as the Mets tied the game. McLean got the first two outs in the second, but two straight singles by Anthony Volpe and Ben Rice put two on for Cody Bellinger, who hit a three-run home run to right-center field, putting the Yankees up 4-1.

In the fifth, Ben Rice led off the inning with a solo home run, extending the lead to four runs. McLean would be done after five, allowing ten hits and five runs while walking one and striking out five.

Carson Benge took the ball the other way for a one-out single in the top of the seventh, the first Met baserunner in four innings, and that would do it for Rodón. Old friend Paul Blackburn was first out of the Yankees’ bullpen. Blackburn walked Marcus Semien to start his evening, but induced a weak ground ball from Jared Young for a fielder’s choice, erasing Semien at second. A.J. Ewing drove in Benge with a pulled single over second base, cutting the lead to 5-2. Blackburn walked Francisco Alvarez to load the bases, and that would be it for Blackburn.

Lefty Brent Headrick was brought in to keep Lindor batting from the right side, where he has been far weaker this season. Lindor worked the count full before an extended delay was caused by an idiot running out on the field. Lindor lined the ball hard up the middle, but right into Headrick’s glove to end the inning.

Jack Weisenburger, fresh from Syracuse, pitched the sixth and seventh inning for the Mets, not allowing a baserunner and striking out both Bellinger and Aaron Judge. It was an impressive outing for Weisenburger, another one of the seemingly endless parade of arms the Mets have called up in the second half.

Soto grounded out to start the eighth, but a single by Bichette and a Vientos walk put two on with one out for Benge. Benge worked a really great at-bat and walked to load the bases. David Bednar, Yankees’ closer, was brought in to get the five out save, or at least get the Yankees through the eighth.

Semien stepped to the plate, and hit a long fly ball to center, scoring Bichette and allowing pinch runner Cristian Pache to tag up to third. It was for naught however, as Young lined out to left-center to end the inning, but the Mets brought the game within two.

Weisenburger came out for the eighth, and quickly allowed singles to Luis García Jr. and Spencer Jones, and all of a sudden things looked shaky for Weisenburger. George Lombard Jr. laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, pushing the runners to second and third with one out. Ryan McMahon dorked a ball in front of Soto, allowing a run to score and widening the Yankee lead to three. Weisenberger gout out of it with just the one run scored, but the uphill battle got a little steeper.

On the first pitch of the ninth, Ewing turned on a ball and cranked it over the short porch in left, bringing it back to a two-run game. Alvarez quickly was out on strikes, leaving it to the top of the Mets’ order to get it done. Lindor, batting from the left side for the first time in the game, dribbled a single between first and second, bringing Soto to the plate as the tying run. Bednar was feeding Soto nothing but splitters, and Soto topped over one into a game-ending 3-6-3 double play.

The Mets will look to even the series tomorrow when Zac Thornton faces Gerrit Cole at 1:35.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Tie: Mark Vientos, Marcus Semien, and Carson Benge, +5.0% WPA
Big Mets loser: Nolan McLean, -29.0% WPA
Mets pitchers: -29.0% WPA
Mets hitters: -21.0% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Marcus Semien’s second inning single, +9.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Cody Bellinger’s three-run dinger, -25.3% WPA