Durham completed a 10-wicket win over Gloucestershire to cement their place at the top of Division Two
In a round for bowlers, Clarke has stood tall. Notts 321-7 and searching for batting points.
Ha, I missed that Gloucestershire opened with Ollie Price’s loopy loops. Silly season a month early.
Continue reading...Promoter Warren confirms Briton recovering in hospital
Croat accepts he lost first eight rounds before victory
Moses Itauma has been urged “not to give up” by Filip Hrgovic, the new IBF world heavyweight champion, who stopped the 21-year-old Briton with a dramatic and stunning turnaround in their title fight late on Saturday night at London’s O2 Arena.
Itauma was taken to hospital in a precautionary measure after the fight and Frank Warren, his promoter, confirmed to the Guardian on Sunday morning that his young heavyweight was still under medical observation.
Continue reading...
For a player who has been so improbable, the Dodgers must now do the impossible.
When it comes to pitching, they must shut Shohei Ohtani down.
Despite suffering a knee ailment and biceps soreness this season, Ohtani is slowly trying to take the mound for the first time in more than two months.
Stop. Just stop.
The Dodgers have no business sticking Ohtani back on the mound. He belongs out there no more than Kiké Hernandez does.
There’s no two ways about it — the Dodgers should not plan on jamming Ohtani back into the starting rotation.
Read more:Shohei Ohtani still 'not 100%' and will not pitch Sunday against the Tigers
The Dodgers should thank him for his passion, applaud him for his 1.79 ERA in his first 14 starts, promise to return his resin bag next season, and ask him to go to work on that bat.
As much as the fans want to see all Ohtani, all of the time, the next couple of months are not about celebrating a novelty, they’re about winning a championship, and Ohtani can best get that done by avoiding another injury to himself on the mound and directing all of his efforts at the plate.
Recently, his hitting needs all the help it can get. After Saturday’s loss in Detroit, it had been a startling nine games since Ohtani homered or collected an RBI. During that span he had more than twice as many strikeouts as hits (13-5).
In this final month he needs to concentrate on getting his swing right and not worry about bullpens or openers or piggy-backs or any of the numerous machinations involved in getting him back on the mound.
Bottom line, the Dodgers need him more at the top of the order than in the middle of the diamond, and for now, he shouldn’t be in two places at once.
Bottom, bottom line, there is a sense that the Dodgers agree.
Ohtani threw about 20 pitches in a bullpen session Friday and wasn’t 100%, and that set off alarm bells with the Dodgers’ bosses.
While guessing that Ohtani’s balky left knee would not allow him to be 100% by October, manager Dave Roberts openly wondered Saturday whether a pitching comeback is worth the effort.
“Obviously, where we’re at right now with the pitching, the starting pitching certainly being a strength, his value offensively is hugely important, and so we can’t compromise that in any fashion,” Roberts told reporters in Detroit. “So, if throwing potentially cuts into that, that’s not worth the squeeze. So that’s something for me. Very, very bullish on making sure we don’t compromise the hitting.”
Did you hear that? Not worth the squeeze? Exactly.
Are you listening, Ohtani? He’s always been the ultimate team player, so if the Dodgers asked his permission to shut him down, he would agree, right? Right?
Keeping Ohtani off the mound for the rest of the season is a radical view, certainly — c’mon, you’re paying the dude $700 million to hit and pitch! — but it’s a view backed by common sense.
Point One: The Dodgers won a World Series in 2024 with Ohtani strictly hitting, so it can be done.
Point Two: Last postseason, even with his three-homer, 10-strikeout gem in the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Ohtani had a playoff ERA of 4.43.
Playing in the postseason is hard. Pitching and hitting in the postseason is nearly impossible. That magical Brewers clincher was his only shining moment.
Point Three: They recently acquired Tarik Skubal specifically to reduce the need for Ohtani, and they now have a nearly unbeatable rotation without Ohtani.
With Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow having returned strong from injuries, they have four starters who easily can dominate a series.
Check out the current seven-game span of games started by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Skubal, Snell and Tyler Glasnow.
They gave up as many as three runs only twice. They pitched less than six innings only once. Their ERA was 2.38.
Read more:Tarik Skubal shines in emotional return to Detroit as Dodgers end three-game slide
Point Four: The struggling Dodgers offense desperately needs Ohtani to get right at the top. Who is going to get the big hit if he doesn’t? Entering the last month, the candidates are few.
Not a slowing Mookie Betts. Not psyched-out Kyle Tucker. Not aging Teoscar Hernández. Maybe Freddie Freeman, but he hasn’t hit a home run since July 4. And maybe Max Muncy, if they pitch to him.
Will Smith will be returning this week after a prolonged absence, and that will help, but not enough.
If anything happens to sideline Ohtani the hitter, the Dodgers are sunk, period.
And if he pitches, lots could happen to him.
The knee. The elbow. Whatever it was that has kept him off the mound since July 3. So much can go wrong if he’s pitching, and any pitching injury could have the double whammy of sidelining him as a hitter.
“I think 100% for me as far as an offensive player, that’s very important,” Roberts said. “As a pitcher, for me, given the strength of our staff, our team, I don’t think that’s as important. I think it’s important for us not to compromise his health in any capacity. But for me, it’s just his presence in the batter’s box is hugely important to him.”
Yes, Ohtani wants to pitch. Yes, the Dodgers promised him he could pitch. But that was before the injuries and the acquisitions and the slump.
Everything is different now. The landscape has changed.
The Dodgers no longer need the arm so badly that they can risk the bat.
Barely 20 bullpen pitches at the end of August? He’s clearly not going to be 100% by October, so shut him down and let him swing.
Shohei Ohtani is 32 and finishing his ninth season. He’s not a kid anymore.
He’s not infallible anymore.
Having him pitch and hit for a second consecutive October indeed would be a great story.
But having him use his bat to lead the Dodgers to a three-peat would be a better one.
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Ketel Marte, who abandoned the Arizona Diamondbacks two weeks ago and has yet to show his face at Chase Field, is expected to walk through the clubhouse Monday, apologize to his teammates, address the media and then try to save the team's season.
He has embarrassed the organization, infuriated a faction of the clubhouse, damaged the credibility of the front office and manager Torey Lovullo. Yet, he has has the ultimate power.
If Marte performs well, and the D-backs earn a playoff berth, he could save Lovullo’s job and spare Mike Hazen, president of baseball operations.
If he struggles, the D-backs miss the postseason again for the eighth time in nine years, no one is safe.
Marte has that kind of power, thanks to the Diamondbacks enabling him over the years.
Now, their careers may depend on him.
The Diamondbacks could have stopped Marte’s behavior years ago, but always looked the other way. They could have traded him last winter and several times in the past, but instead gave him two contract extensions, believing that would change things.
He instead has made the Diamondbacks look like puppets.
Show up when you want. Bring your buddies on the road. Agitate hotel security. Frustrate teammates with your buddies eating alongside them in the clubhouse dining room. And play when you desire.
It’s the Marte Rules.
One rule for him, one for the 25 other players.
“I’ve never seen anything like it," one Diamondback player told USA TODAY Sports.
If you’re not going to discipline Marte, how are you going to fine any player who shows up late for a team meeting? If you want to jog to first base instead of running out ground balls, how can you be pulled out of the game? You want to take a day off when you’re perfectly healthy, who can stop you?
The Diamondbacks believe that if they retaliate against Marte, or discipline him beyond brief stints on the restricted list when he went AWOL each of the past two years, they will lose him.
So, they instead choose to coddle him, indulge him, and tell the world how much they love him.
“One of the things that makes Ketel such an extraordinary player," Lovullo said, “is that he goes to the beat of his own drum."
Well, by sitting back and letting him carry him on, Marte has ravaged the organization’s image and reputation, and with 10-and-5 rights, he now has the ultimate control.
The Diamondbacks can’t even trade him now without his permission.
He’s scheduled to return Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies at Chase Field, and all eyes in baseball will be watching the drama, curious to see if the D-backs just act like all is forgiven.
Former D-backs pitcher Greg Swindell tweeted last week: “D-backs should not put up with what’s going on with Marte ... D-backs should not allow him back."
Oh, he’ll be back, and likely carrying on like nothing happened when he returns.
He’s got the power, and we’ll now see if the Diamondbacks continue to stand by, acting helpless to stop it.
– Several team officials say they have been advised that the Major League portion of the winter meetings in December in San Diego likely will be canceled, but MLB said that no decision has been made. There won’t be an official announcement unless there’s a lockout, just like in 2021.
– While no one knows the future of the 2027 season, one owner, one club president and one veteran player each predicted this week that the season will likely open in May, with the real bargaining on key economic issues happening when paychecks are missed in April.
– Former Houston Astros GM James Click, vice president of baseball strategy with the Toronto Blue Jays since 2023, has emerged as a serious candidate for the Athletics GM opening.
– While Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch still is beloved in the Houston Astros organization and has a strong relationship with owner Jim Crane, he has no interest at this time of filling their GM vacancy. He received a contract extension from the Tigers at the end of last season and wants to remain in the role.
The Astros are expected to hire a GM with a strong analytics background.
– Chad Tracy may be the interim Boton Red Sox manager, but that job could become permanent once the season ends. He took a team that was going nowhere and morphed into a powerful playoff contender that will be a force in October.
The Red Sox also realize that if they wait too long before extending him, he’ll be the hottest managerial free agent – behind only his predecessor, Alex Cora.
– No one has ever won three consecutive Manager of the Year awards, but Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers could change that.
The Brewers, who were predicted to win 84 games this year by MLB-sponsored gambling sites, once again have the majors' best record and are on pace to win a franchise-record 100. Murphy, 67, is baseball’s toughest disciplinarian, unafraid to yank players in the middle of the game, in the middle of counts, or call out players in the media.
He removed rookie Cooper Pratt for lack of hustle last week in his latest example of discipline, and is why the Brewers have the utmost respect across the game.
“We have a standard and an agreement for how we play here,’’ Brewers veteran Christian Yelich told reporters. “We all know it … You have to be a certain kind of player to play for Murph and to play here. You have to be mentally tough and physically tough."
Says Murphy: “I’m not trying to be Johnny Hardass … If you’re trying to accomplish something difficult, there’s going to be pain, there’s going to be sacrifice, and there’s certainly going to be disagreement. You got to do your best to put standards that are believable, are authentic, and are best for the player."
– The only question now for Atlanta ace Chris Sale is what cap he wears in Cooperstown with the way he keeps pitching, going 13-9 with a 2.06 ERA, and giving Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski a run for the NL Cy Young award.
Sale, at 37 years and 150 days, became the sixth pitcher since 1900 at that age or older to pitch a shutout with at least 10 strikeouts and no walks in his 1-0, 11-strikeout gem against the Dodgers. The last to do it was Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in 2004.
– The Chicago White have been living in the penthouse of the AL Central most of the season, but that object that's larger than it appears is the Cleveland Guardians.
The Guardians’ .605 winning percentage in September/October since 2013 is the best in the American League, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs.
– Hard to believe that Yankees starter Cam Schlittler, in his first full season, tied the franchise record for most starts of permitting one or no runs in a game, last accomplished by Ron Guidry in 1978.
He also may be joining Guidry as a Cy Young award winner, and is no worse than a co-favorite to win the award with Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease.
– The San Francisco Giants were 2,208-0 in their history when leading by six or more runs in the ninth inning before playing the Cincinnati Reds.
They are now 2,208-1.
They have now lost 11 games with a lead in the ninth, the most in MLB.
– Brewers starter Logan Henderson, who walks barefoot in the outfield grass and takes a visit to the mound in the afternoon before his starts, may have started a new trend.
The dude has now gone 19 career starts without permitting more than three runs, tying Zack Greinke for the longest streak to begin a career in MLB history. He’s 12-2 with a 2.30 ERA during the streak, with the Brewers going 16-3 in the 19 games.
“It grounds me,’’ he tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of his barefoot walks. “There’s a lot of emotions you feel.’’
– Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper is having his finest month since arriving to Philadelphia. He entered Saturday night with a .496 on-base percentage, reaching base in a career-long 30 consecutive games. He has drawn 28 walks while still hitting .329 with a .577 slugging percentage and 1.072 OPS in August.
– MLB, seeking a free-agent signing window in December to drum interest at the winter meetings, insists that November signings are rare, anyway. There was only one free-agent signing among the 137 free agents last November.
If players don’t sign in December, they would be required to wait until February.
Bruce Meyer, interim executive director of the players union, said the proposal would create “an artificial free agency window … which would reduce player leverage and create a game of musical chairs pitting player vs. player.”
– Walker Jenkins, the Minnesota Twins’ top prospect who made his major-league debut Friday, has almost a mythical work ethic.
When Jenkins traveled to Fort Myers, Florida, after his introductory press conference at Target Field in 2023, he asked if he could take swings once he arrived at the team’s spring training facility.
It was after midnight.
He hit for 45 minutes.
“I don’t think there is anybody who is going to go out there and love the game more than I am, and have more fun doing it,” Jenkins told the Minnesota Star-Tribune. “When you love something, you want to be the best at it.”
– San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish, who forfeited his $15 million this season when he voluntarily went on the restricted list, has begun throwing bullpen sessions to see if he can return in 2027.
He still has two years and $30 million remaining on his contract.
– Teams will try once again to pry ace Sandy Alcantara from the Miami Marlins this winter. He has been sensational of late, yielding a 1.99 ERA since July 4, pitching at least six innings in all 10 starts.
– The Marlins owe a debt of gratitude to Derek Jeter, who traded Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins to the Yankees in December, 2017, saving the franchise $265 million.
Stanton played in 158 games his first year with the Yankees, hitting 38 homers with 100 RBI, but will have missed 588 games in the past eight seasons once this year ends.
– One of the top free-agent signings of the year belongs to the San Diego Padres, who grabbed first baseman Ty France for just $1.35 million on a minor-league deal this spring. He is hitting .321 with 12 homers and a .958 OPS since becoming their everyday first baseman, fourth-best in the big leagues.
– Tough year for Mariners third baseman Brendan Donovan, who was acquired from the Cardinals last winter.
He has gone on the injured list three times, the latest when a staff member hit Donovan in the head during batting practice, sending him to the seven-day concussion list. He was not wearing a helmet.
“He’s had kind of a year from hell in a lot of ways,’’ Mariners GM Justin Hollander told reporters.
– The Chicago Cubs sure know how to throw reunion parties, with the latest Saturday commemorating their 150th anniversary as a National League franchise.
They announced their all-Cubs’ team with more than 20 players in attendance, including Sammy Sosa, had the dedication of a Founders’ Clock at the corner of Clark and Addison, inducted Jon Lester, Jody Davis and former broadcaster Vince Lloyd into their Hall of Fame and even sold Budweiser beer for a couple of innings for just $1.50.
– The Seattle Mariners, one of the most disappointing teams in baseball this year, entered Saturday seven games below .500.
Yet, miraculously, they are only four games out of first place in the woeful AL West.
And they play 13 of their final 15 games against the Angels, Athletics, and Rockies.
Remember a year ago, they reeled off a 17-1 stretch to win the AL West.
– The Baltimore Orioles likely will be sitting home in October, but don’t blame first baseman Pete Alonso. He has been everything they hoped for, and more. Alonso entered Saturday hitting .272 with 31 homers and 91 RBI this season, including a blistering 358 with nine homers, 22 RBI and a 1.093 OPS in the month of August.
– Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart, the favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year award, has a chance to go where only two players have gone in baseball history.
Stewart could join Ted Williams (1939) and Walt Dropo (1950) as the only rookies to lead their league in runs batted in, racking up 103 with 30 homers entering Sunday.
– There’s not a more dangerous team in the major leagues with two outs in the ninth inning than those Philadelphia Phillies.
Edmundo Sosa’s game-winning grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning Friday against the Angels was their fourth go-ahead homer with two outs in the ninth this season.
No team has hit even three, with Sosa’s pinch-hit slam with two outs in the ninth inning the first since Ozzie Virgil in 1983.
– It was at 12:45 p.m. Friday that a baseball miracle occurred.
The Tampa Bay Rays will finally have a new home.
The Hillsborough County Commission approved the funding for a $2.3 billion ballpark in Tampa for the Rays that is scheduled to open in 2029.
Finally, the drama is over.
The Rays aren’t going to Montreal, Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville or Orlando.
They finally have a home.
And now that the Rays' and Athletics’ stadium woes are finally resolved, look for expansion coming in 2032, with Salt Lake City and Nashville still the heavy favorites.
Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nightengale's Notebook: Ketel Marte going AWOL has D'backs teammates fuming
The Yankees opened this series against the Red Sox with a narrow 1-0 win, but they’d need more offense than that to do well in the scheduled doubleheader lined up on Saturday. The first game was a dud as they got shutout and let the game fully get away from them in the ninth inning, but they bounced back to take the nightcap 9-2 and managed to avoid using David Bednar for a night after pouring it on with five runs in the bottom of the eighth. Now perhaps the most important game of the season lays before them as the final game against the Sox today will determine who wins the season series: with both teams in position to face each other in the Wild Card Round, having the tiebreaker to give them home field advantage for those 2-3 games is a massive deal. The Yankees’ three game lead for the first slot would suddenly be a lot thinner if they lose tomorrow, but if they take it then they’ve got a sizeable gap to work with for the final month of play.
Before we get to the business on the field, let’s go over what’s in store earlier in the day. I’ve got the Rivalry Roundup covering the Rays gaining a half-game after a comeback win, Jonathan recounts the career of Johnny Lindell and his days with the 1940s Yankees on his birthday, and Scott talks to Scranton manager Shelley Duncan after he crossed the 1,000 games managed milestone on Friday. Then after the game, John will pop in to deliver the weekly social media spotlight.
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox
Time: 1:35 p.m. EST
TV: YES Network, NESN
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
1. How long of a leash does Will Warren get for today’s game after the bullpen had to work overtime yesterday?
2. How concerned are you about George Lombard Jr. after he exited yesterday’s nightcap with an apparent knee injury?
The season isn’t here yet. We’re making do.
It’s Sunday, why not take a look at some NHL team lines and chop it up?
Last summer when I did this exercise, it worked pretty well. Can’t do better than 5-0 (went under on Calgary, Utah, Florida; over on Buffalo and Detroit). Not shabby. Shame I didn’t actually make any of the bets but let’s try to take a look at it for this upcoming season. I grabbed this from an online sportsbook as of this week for the totals.
Some interesting numbers on the table, let’s start on the teams that I think can overshoot.
Boston 86.5 – The Bruins had 100 points last year. They’re a team that doesn’t make sense on paper, it doesn’t look like they should be particularly good but usually come through (unless their goalie has a protracted contract holdout and screws up the timing for the year, anyways). Boston is minimally changed from last season, having lost Viktor Arvidsson and Andrew Peake while adding JJ Peterka and Connor Clifton. I don’t even know if they’ll make the playoffs again, but in an 84-game season, I don’t see how they can’t get at least 87 points considering they’re usually strong in net, defensively and score a little more than you might expect (their 268 goals were 10th last season). Going with Swayman, MacAvoy and Pastrnak to coax out at least decent performance from their team seems like a good bet to make.
San Jose 93.5 – The Sharks finished with 86 points last year, so an improvement is already priced in for this year’s over/under. I think they’re ready to get there. It helps that a decent amount of their division (SEA, CGY, VAN) is pretty poor. Anaheim is basically the same, listed at 94.5, I like the Sharks’ goaltending and team better considering that Macklin Celebrini is emerging as such a great player that can elevate others. This is risky to bet on an ascending team that hasn’t done it with this core just yet, but SJ showed enough signs last year to believe they are heading back towards at least playoff contention.
Montreal 98.5 – Big numbers should be scary in over/unders, but this one isn’t big enough. The Habs had 106 points last year, and all of their best players are in the 20-27 age range that should be able to replicate what they did last year or play even better. They also have two young goalies that should be improving. Montreal is in a very competitive division but I don’t see this being a major sweat. Montreal ought to be staying towards the top of the standings for a while, I think they’re an easy 100+ point team this year.
Now, some numbers that aren’t adding up in the summer.
Florida 108.5 – There’s no doubting that Panthers should be back to very good this year. This good? They did have 110 points in 2023-24 and now have Aleksander Barkov healthy and Brady Tkachuk joining up. But 110+ points with Jakob Markstrom and Akira Schmid as the goalies? Can’t say I see that. It’s a tough call than it looks since this could easily be a 105ish point team and it only takes winning a couple extra games to hit the over (and again, with 84 games there’s more opportunities to get there) but gee, this number is a bit too high (only Carolina at 109.5 is higher).
Toronto 95.5 – There’s been so much roster turnover that it’s tough to get behind what to expect. Being a popular team with star power, a high number is understandable for the books to not want to give in too much. Sergei Bobrovsky is 38 and wasn’t that great last year in Florida. The Leafs have some offense but everything is so new from management to coaches to the goalie and as many as 10 new players that they’re tough to get a read on. Sometimes things don’t gel instantly and provide great results, so I guess I’ll lean to thinking an under-performance is on hand.
Vancouver 74.5 – Vancouver has the lowest number on the board, and I still don’t think it’s low enough. Their defense has like one good player left. Elias Pettersson has been in a funk to put it mildly. There’s rumors they might be selling off Brock Boeser next. They have a rookie NHL head coach and new GM. I think they’ll be an outlier on the low-end this year, mired in some pain as they look to the future, of which they don’t even have that much U-22 material expected at the NHL level this season to even give hope for the immediate term. The Canucks had an NHL low 58 points last year, and even if they do better it would have to be a massive improvement to hit the over. Just don’t see that happening based off the minimal changes to the roster of adding Brendan Gallagher (who looks spent and might just replace the 31 points from the departed Evander Kane), Jamie Oleksiak and Luke Schenn while trading Marcus Pettersson for a first round pick four drafts from now.
ESPN: In case you missed the report on Pinstripe Alley, the Yankees had to pull rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. from the nightcap of their doubleheader against the Red Sox. He appeared to tweak something on a check swing during an at-bat in the second, and though he remained in the game for a couple innings, he was replaced on defense in the fourth. Diagnosed with “right knee discomfort,” he underwent testing; based on initial results, manager Aaron Boone classified Lombard as “day to day.” We’ll have to wait and see if it’s any worse once more is known, but that’s the latest report.
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Recovering from 2025 Tommy John surgery, right-hander Clarke Schmidt made his first rehab appearance of the 2026 campaign for the Somerset Patriots. He was joined by fellow Yankee Ryan McMahon, who went down on August 19th with a Grade 2 left thumb sprain.
Schmidt threw 20 pitches, 16 of them for strikes. He pitched 0.2 innings and allowed two hits (one of them being a homer) and two runs, striking out two. The goal is for him to rejoin the Yankees as a reliever in the middle of September, while McMahon should be available sooner than that, likely on September 1st when rosters expand to 28 players. The third baseman will travel with the team out west as they begin their road trip tomorrow in Anaheim.
MLB Trade Rumors | Mark Polishuk: The Yankees signed former top prospect Jarred Kelenic to a minor league contract on Saturday. The 27-year-old outfielder has spent the 2026 campaign with the Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers, posting a 76 wRC+ in 83 plate appearances between the two American League squads.
Kelenic was with the Rangers until this week, when he cleared waivers and rejected an assignment to their Triple-A team. After being taken by the Mets with the sixth overall pick in 2018 and being the top prospect traded to Seattle in the Edwin Díaz trade, Kelenic’s career has had more valleys than peaks, and he has been labeled by most as a bust to this point. The Yankees are going to take a look at him as a depth outfielder.
NBC Sports: Manager Aaron Boone announced that Elmer Rodríguez, who beat the Houston Astros on Wednesday, will stay in the rotation for at least one more turn and start on Monday against the Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander, owner of a 4.70 ERA in 23 MLB innings this year with the Bombers, tossed his first quality start against the Yankees’ decade-long nemesis, surrendering three runs in six innings.
MLB Trade Rumors | Connor Byrne: Between Game 1 and Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Yankees designated Justin Topa for assignment to activate left-hander Max Fried, the starter for the nightcap, from the injured list. Topa did his job, giving New York three innings with a 0.00 ERA (he did allow an unearned run) in his short stint with the MLB team, but he became a victim of the roster crunch and his short-term future is now uncertain. He’ll likely be placed on waivers, and if he goes unclaimed, the organization will surely be happy to welcome him in Triple-A. It remains to be seen if he accepts, though.
Australia’s hopes of success in the upcoming tour of South Africa have dramatically improved with reports superstar quick Kagiso Rabada is set to miss the Test series.
The Mets’ Luis Robert Jr. gamble could be coming to an unceremonious end — but only if someone is willing to pay for it.
Robert was placed on waivers Saturday, The Post’s Joel Sherman confirmed, giving him 48 hours to potentially land with a contender and still be eligible for their postseason roster.
The outfielder pinch hit in the eighth inning of the Mets’ 6-2 win over the Astros at Citi Field and can continue to play while on waivers.
If a team decides to claim him, they’d owe the approximate $3 million remaining on his contract for this season plus a $2 million buyout.
If other MLB teams decide that Robert, 29, isn’t worth the approximately $5 million, a likely outcome based on his struggles, he’d end up back with the Mets.
They acquired Robert from the White Sox in January, hoping the deal would bring a missing piece for a contending season, but Robert missed time due to an injury in addition to underwhelming at the plate. The Mets spiraled toward a lost year. And then they unsuccessfully tried to trade Robert ahead of the deadline.
Through most of the early-season free fall, Robert was out of the lineup with a lumbar spine herniation. At the time of his injury, which ultimately sidelined him until July 20, he was hitting just .224 with a .656 OPS.
Once he returned, his batting average dipped to as low as .189 — and his OPS as low as .597 — after the Mets’ Aug. 5 game.
And while he’d hit .311 with a .994 OPS across 19 games since then, entering play Saturday, Robert has still collected just 10 homers and 23 RBIs even after his recent uptick in production.
His path to playing time also became complicated. The Mets have received strong contributions from rookie outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, who both factor into their long-term future more than Robert.
Juan Soto returned from a left calf strain Saturday, too, and while the Mets will ease him back into the lineup as designated hitter initially, he’ll factor into the defensive equation in 2027 and beyond.
Robert could be owed $20 million next season via a club option, but the Mets — or any team he’s claimed by — would likely pay the $2 million buyout instead.
Their decision to waive Robert could help solve that outfield logjam.
It would also save the Mets money. But if not, if the two days pass without him getting claimed, it becomes just another footnote in a disappointing year, another sign of the Mets admitting an offseason mistake.
Two planes left fans terrified after almost colliding with the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa.
This game, with Mitch Bratt starting the second game of a rare Saturday doubleheader before a Sunday off day, felt like it was gonna be a long shot even against the lowly San Francisco Giants, and so it was. Merrill Kelly pitched a gem in the early game to secure us the series split and to pull us briefly ahead of the San Diego Padres for the third wild card spot, so winning this one would have been gravy anyway, but alas, it was not to be.
The Giants started AA hand Yunior Marte today, and he walked Lars Nootbaar to start things off, but Nootbaar was quickly erased when Corbin Carroll hit a hard liner right to Bryce Eldridge at first base for an unassisted double play. Perdomo then rolled over to second for the third out. Bratt, meanwhile, started his day by walking Jonah Cox on four pitches, earning him an immediate mound visit so he could be reminded of where the strike zone actually was. That proved effective enough, as he got through the rest of the first with only eight more pitches thrown, but unfortunately Jonah Cox turns out to be a very speedy baserunner and he stole second and third before Eldridge singled him home with a grounder to left. 1-0 San Francisco
The middle of our lineup sat down in order against Marte in the second, but Bratt settled down quite well in the bottom half, only needing five pitches to retire the Giants. We broke through against Marte in the third, tying the game thanks to a one-out Ildemaro Vargas single followed one out later by a Lars Nootbaar bloop double into shallow left that left fielder Grant McCray dove for and missed. 1-1 TIE
Bratt pitched around a one-out Jonah Cox single (and subsequent stolen base) in the bottom of the third to put up another zero, and then retired the side in order in the fourth, with a total of 44 pitches thrown through four innings. It actually seemed to be shaping up to be a genuinely good and efficient Mitch Bratt outing, despite that first-inning blemish.
Sadly, however, that ended once the bottom of the fifth rolled around. Bratt gave up a leadoff single to McCray and then walked the next batter before a perfect sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position and earned Bratt the hook, perhaps because he’d completed his second time through the San Francisco order and Torey Lovullo felt like that was quite enough. Geraldo Carrillo came in to relieve him and, uncharacteristically, it went rather badly. He wound up going walk-single-single-walk to the first four batters he faced before finally buckling down and recording the final two outs of the inning, but by then three more runs were in and there was your margin of defeat. 4-1 San Francisco
We were well into the Giants’ bullpen at this point, and managed to get another run across courtesy of singles by Max Kelper, James McCann, and Vargas in the top of the seventh. 4-2 San Francisco
Sadly, however, that was all we were going to get, and meanwhile the bullpen was unable to do its usual job of putting up zeros and keeping things close. Derek Law, called up today from Reno and making his first major league appearance since 2024, threw a very nice scoreless sixth but allowed a run to score in the seventh, and Justin Martinez and Dennis Santana combined to allow two more runs (unearned, but runs nonetheless) to cross the plate to take the score to its final resting place of 7-2 San Francisco
Cioppino: None
Rice-a-Roni: Geraldo Carrillo (2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, -19% WPA), Nolan Arenado (4 AB, 0 H, -12% WPA), Ryan Waldschmidt (3 AB, 0 H, 1 K, -10% WPA)
Perhaps because it was the second game of a doubleheader, or perhaps because this one just didn’t seem to be going well from the get-go, we wound up with a rather sparse 159 comments in the Game Day Thread at time of writing. Most of the comments that went red were embedded in existing and often off-topic side conversations, so I’m going to award Comment of the Game to Diamondhacks for this one that, along with being a hilarous callback to a comment from the afternoon GDT, also feels like it works right now completely unmoored from its proper context:
As you wish!
On that note, you will not have the option to join us tomorrow, as we have a rare (and deeply weird) off day tomorrow. So stop by on Monday when we are back home at Chase Field, hosting the Phillies with firs tpitch scheduled for 6:40pm AZ time. No starting pitchers have been announced yet for either club, so I guess it will just have to be a surprise. Have a good Sunday, everyone….sorry that this was the note we ended the weekend on.
On the bright side, even after tonight’s loss we remain tied with San Diego for the third wild card spot going into tomorrow’s off day, and Corbin Burnes pitched two perfect innings in Reno this afternoon, needing only seventeen pitches to record six outs against the Sacramento River Cats, so at least one of the long-awaited rotation reinforcements is getting closer to his long-overdue return.
As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!
Another day, another comeback as the Philadelphia Phillies (76-60) took their second straight victory against the Los Angeles Angels (52-84).
Cristopher Sanchez pitched one of his best starts of the season, allowing two hits and a walk over seven innings with eight strikeouts in a no decision.
The Phillies got on the board first against Angels’ starter, Ryan Johnson, in the second inning with lead-0ff single by Alec Bohm, a walk by Bryson Stott and an RBI-hit by Brandon Marsh.
Sanchez, Johnson and company held serve for seven innings until Jonathan Bowlan allowed a game-tying solo homer by Zach Neto in the bottom of the eighth.
Jhoan Duran preserved the tie and brought the game to extras, where the Phillies pulled ahead with an RBI double by Schwarber and a two-RBI single by Trea Turner.
Duran did allow another run to score on a fielder’s choice by Wade Meckler, but held on to put things away on a pair of fly outs.
The Phillies go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon as Zack Wheeler faces off against Yusei Kikuchi.
Twelve days ago, Max Fried landed on the injured list.
The initial reaction was that it could be it for him this year, the second time he’d been sidelined with the same bone bruise in his left elbow.
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Try it freeLess than two weeks later, the left-hander was back on the mound for the Yankees in The Bronx.
Fried looked like himself Saturday night, though it wasn’t a long outing in a 9-2 victory that earned them a split of the day-night doubleheader against the Red Sox. He struck out four, walked three and allowed one earned run over 3 ²/₃ innings while throwing 63 pitches.
“I was sharper earlier than late, but nice to get back out there, get your competitive juices going,” he said. “At the end of the day, us being able to win the game was really big.”
Fried allowed a solo homer to Nick Sogard in the third inning but didn’t let Boston do any more damage. The Red Sox did put two runners on in the third with one out, but Fried retired Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu to end the threat. He ended his evening on a high note by striking out Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio.
“I thought, overall, he threw the ball pretty well, gave us enough there at the start,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought he was pretty good overall. He kind of featured everything and had a feel for everything, so that was good to see.”
The one concern with Fried’s outing was his four-seam fastball’s velocity was a bit down. On the year, he has averaged 95 mph on that pitch, which on Saturday was at 93.8 mph. His cutter also was down, from 92 to 90.8. Oddly, his sinker was slightly up.
“It’s not something that I’m too worried about,” Fried said. “I feel like I was still able to make some good pitches, keep them off-balance, and I was feeling good.”
The hope is that Fried is back for the remainder of the season. He said this latest IL stint was the result of one pitch irritating the elbow. He doesn’t expect to miss any more time.
“I feel great,” Fried said. “Very, very confident.”
As we head into the final month of the season, this year’s past frustrations are just that, past. For all their flaws in construction and execution, the Orioles now have the chance to seize control of their playoff destiny, stack some wins, and grab the third and final Wild Card spot for good. Today, they got two pieces of good news: Cleveland, the team currently holding onto that last spot, just lost, 8-3, to the lowly Royals. The other piece of good news: the Birds just won the series against the Athletics with a hard-fought win in Game Two.
Very little about today’s 5-3 win was easy. It was one of those games where the Orioles scored a few runs early, then had to hang on for dear life while the starter got tired and the bullpen got weird. The O’s posted four runs in the first six innings before Shane Baz, nearly unhittable for five, flagged, walking three batters, giving up two singles, and hitting a guy, all in a dreadful sixth inning. After him, several relievers struggled: Alex Hoppe, Rico Garcia, Cam Sanders, even closer by default by default Andrew Kittredge. But they just held on. And while the offense has been frustratingly touch-and-go all season, Orioles hitters did just enough tonight.
Athletics starter Jack Perkins doesn’t have a ton of experience as a starting pitcher, but he has an interesting arsenal featuring a great changeup and a slider. Perkins started off strong: he pitched a 1-2-3 first inning and faced the minimum in the second, as Christian Encarnacion-Strand walked and Samuel Basallo hit into a double play.
But the Birds opened the scoring in the third, when Perkins walked leadoff man Coby Mayo on four pitches, then fired wildly over to first—he thought Mayo was going to steal?—and the ball got away. Mayo hustled to second, narrowly avoiding being thrown out. A Colton Cowser deep fly moved Mayo to third, setting up Leody Taveras for an RBI situation. Taveras delivered: he cranked a high changeup to center for a ground-rule double. 1-0 Orioles.
After wasting a two-on, no-outs situation in the fourth, the Birds dispensed with the small ball in the fifth, as Cowser took Perkins yard to deep center. 2-0, O’s.
As for Shane Baz, who is leading all pitchers with 14 losses, you wouldn’t know he’s been the O’s’ bad luck charm from how nasty he came out of the gate tonight. His stuff darted all over the place in a nine-pitch first inning. Excellent team defense all night didn’t hurt his chances, either. Still in the first, Baz benefited from CES looked like he was moving at 2x speed in order to ring up Henry Bolte, the fastest guy in MLB by foot speed, on a grounder to third. And in the second, Gunnar Henderson turned in a play that had everyone on the diamond smiling, ranging to his backhand, way behind the basepaths, to field and throw out Tommy White.
In the middle innings, Baz got two timely double plays, the first erasing a Jonah Heim single in the third, the second allowing him to face the minimum in the fourth. He also pitched a three-up, three-down fifth.
The sixth inning ended Baz’s scoreless run and saw both teams put up tons of traffic on the basepaths. First, Jack Perkins exited and José Suárez, an erstwhile starter for the Angels, allowed a three-hit, two-run Baltimore rally with two outs. Dylan Beavers and Coby Mayo (both hot at the plate lately) singled, and Taveras doubled, plating his second and third RBIs of the night. 4-0, Birds.
It felt like a roomy lead, given how unhittable Baz was looking, but the righty ran out of gas quickly, throwing a dreadful sixth inning where he walked three batters, gave up two singles, hit a guy, and loaded the bases with Athletics twice. Considering all that, for Baz to leave with a line of 5 2/3 innings, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB and, most importantly, a potential W, seemed pretty fortunate.
Yet holding onto a 4-2 lead proved trickier than you might expect—although if you’ve watched this team at all this year, you know that bullpen meltdowns are none too rare. Reliever Alex Hoppe came in with two outs in the sixth and the bases full of Athletics, then threw three straight balls before getting another highlight-reel play from CES to keep the score intact. For a guy in there for his bat, Encarnacion-Strand is playing fantastic defense right now at the hot corner.
More bullpen shenanigans followed, but none proved fatal. Rico Garcia loaded the bases in the seventh, and it took Yennier Cano getting two vintage strikeouts to get out of it. Cam Sanders allowed a third Athletics run in the eighth, and the breathing room was shrinking.
Help came late in the form of Colton Cowser, who manufactured a fifth run with what was as close to a Little League homer as you get, other than the real thing. Cowser scorched a ball 104 mph at Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof. The ball squirted by, and right fielder Lawrence Butler made a terrible throw to first. The ball sailed past the infielder, then stopped at the feet of catcher Jonah Heim, who accidentally kicked it into the dugout. As the hijinks unfolded, Cowser was rounding the bases. He stopped on third, but not for long: a wild pitch by pitcher Elvis Alvarado, facing Leody Taveras, allowed Cowser to scamper home.
A 5-3 Orioles lead felt a lot better, entering the ninth, and Andrew Kittredge was just up to the task. The righty allowed two singles, but got a well-timed grounder to third. CES—who else?—was there to fire to first and close this thing out.
If you’re into such things, check out the latest Wild Card standings, in which your Orioles have moved back ahead of the Blue Rays and the Rangers and now sit just one game back of the third spot.
So, Camden Chat, who is your Most Birdland Player of the night? Shane Baz, who broke the losing streak and got his first win since June 12? The notorious CES, who pounded the ball all night, is hitting .357 in his last week, and made three highlight reel plays? Leody Taveras, who quietly drove in three of the team’s five runs and stood at the plate for the wild pitch that plated the fifth? Colton Cowser, still flashing the power and in the mix for most of his team’s scoring, too?