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Chase Burns makes his final home start of the year on Friday night in Great American Ball Park as the Cincinnati Reds open a weekend series against their NL Central rivals from Chicago.

While the Reds have made it mathematically certain that they a) can’t make the playoffs and b) can’t win more games in the 2026 season than they’ll lose, the Cubs roll into GABP at 85-68 and atop the National League Wild Card standings (alongside the Philadelphia Phillies). They do sit just a lone game above the surging San Diego Padres in that race, however, and have not even clinched a postseason bid given tha tthe pesky Arizona Diamondbacks remain just 4 games back at 80-73.

So, the Reds do have the ability to play potential spoiler this weekend if they can just find the time.

Burns will throw the game’s first pitch at 6:40 PM ET, and he’ll share the mound to start with Chicago starter Clay Holmes. Brandon Williamson typically piggybacks Burns now that the latter is on a pitch count, but with Williamson needed earlier this week in mop-up duty manager Terry Francona will need to alter his plans slightly.

Here’s how the Reds will line up to start:

This is an important weekend of games for the Atlanta Braves, who can clinch a playoff spot with a win (or Diamondbacks loss) on Friday night. A win would also trim the magic number to clinch the National League East to four (or even three) pending what the Phillies do at Citi Field on Friday night. Following a frustrating series loss in Chicago to the Cubs, the Braves will turn to deadline acquisition Tyler Mahle to right the ship.

In the series opener, manager Walt Weiss is sending out his usual cast of characters to face Astros righty Peter Lambert. Drake Baldwin is leading off and playing DH, Sean Murphy is catching and batting ninth, and Mauricio Dubon, who the Braves acquired from the Astros last November, is batting fifth behind Baldwin, Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson and Michael Harris.

Lambert has been on quite the run for Houston, allowing three runs or fewer in all but one start since the beginning of July.

Here’s the full lineup for Friday night:

As for the Astros, AL MVP frontrunner Yordan Alvarez is in his customary No. 2 spot in the order. Jeremy Peña leads off, the dangerous Isaac Paredes hits third, and buzzer boy himself Jose Altuve bats cleanup.

First pitch tonight is set for 8:10 p.m. ET.

Today’s roster move: Here

Friday notes…

• ROAD WARRIORS: Two wins this weekend will give the Cubs 42 for the season on the road, matching their total of last year, when they finished 42-39. They are 40-35 this year. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• MORE ON ROAD GAMES: This year vs. last year: First games of road trips: 7-5, 4-8. First games of series on road: 12-12, 9-17. First games on road after winning last game of previous series: 8-4, 4-10. Night games on the road: 30-19, 28-27. Road games on Friday: 7-5, 4-9 (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• RUN WATCH: The Cubs’ 817 runs scored are their most through 153 games in 91 years. They scored 846 in 1935, which is their third most since 1901, behind 965 in 1930 and 973 in 1929. The Cubs played 156 games in 1929 and 1930, finishing with 982 and a team-record 998 runs, respectively. They tallied 855 in 161 games in 2008 and 847 in 154 games in 1935. At their current rate of 5.34 per game, the Cubs will finish this year with 865, third most by 10 over 2008. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• WALK WATCH: The Cubs have 643 walks through 153 games. With nine games remaining, they need 14 more walks to break the franchise record of 656, which was set in 2016.

Cubs lineup:

Reds lineup:

Clay Holmes, RHP vs. Chase Burns, RHP

With one exception — a meltdown against the Marlins — Clay Holmes has been outstanding for the Cubs. He very well could be the Game 1 starter in a Wild Card series.

First things first, Holmes has not faced the Reds since July 19, 2025 in Citi Field, where they scored five runs (four earned) off him in 5.1 innings. Hopefully tonight will be better.

Current Reds are a small sample size 4-for-25 against him with five strikeouts.

Chase Burns is not only the Reds’ best starter, he’s been one of the best in the league this year, currently with a 2.80 ERA, 1.150 WHIP and 4.9 bWAR.

He held the Cubs to three runs (two earned) in 5.2 innings Aug. 30 at Wrigley Field. Pete Crow-Armstrong homered off him.

Burns has been held to three innings in each of his last two starts and the expectation tonight is that he’ll do the same, no more than about 50-55 pitches.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Great American Ball Park.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. It’s also on MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Reds market territories).

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter. If you do go there to interact with Reds fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

The Mets have placed Jared Young on the seven-day concussion IL and have called up Ronny Mauricio to take his place on the roster. Unsurprisingly, Young’s 2026 season is over following a scary collision in which he took Nolan McLean’s knee at full force to the head while both players tried to field a ground out in Thursday’s loss.

Andy Green confirmed the news on Young but expressed optimism at his prognosis, saying Young is doing “as good as expected or could be hoped for.” The really great news is that Young has full motion of his arms and legs and is able to walk, according to Green, which seems to indicate that he has avoided a worst-case scenario. Green added that they got the “right kind of results” from the tests that they ran on Young, and that his sense of humor remains in tact, though he appears to be suffering from some short-term memory loss and bad headaches. The team will run more tests to “understand all that he is dealing with” and Green noted that there is optimism “from a recovery standpoint and a getting back on the field at some point standpoint”. He expressed relief at the prognosis.

Young enjoyed a really terrific campaign for the Mets and lamented the fact that he would not be able to finish strong to Green. The first baseman posted career-best numbers across the board, hitting nine home runs, driving in 39, and scoring 46 runs while slashing .266/.330/.429 with a 111 wRC+ with 1.7 bWAR in 103 games. The 31-year-old has positioned himself to be in the conversation for first base heading into the 2027 campaign, and hopefully for Young, the injury recovery will not derail that journey, as he finally seemed to find a good situation that allowed him to thrive and gave him space to contribute.

Mauricio will get the final week-and-a-half of the season to showcase his talents and try to fight for a spot on next year’s team. Mauricio has struggled at the major league level, posting -0.5 bWAR in just 17 games played. He’s hitting .180/.180/.26o with one home run in 50 plate appearances.

After reports emerged last night that the Nats were closing in on an extension with Cade Cavalli, the team made it official this afternoon. The 28 year old right hander is signing a 4-year contract that includes a club option for a 5th year. Those first four years will cost $47 million and the team option is for $23 million.

This is not some super long term deal, but given Cavalli’s age and team control that makes sense. After this season, Cavalli had three more years of club control. That means that the Nats will be buying out at least one free agent year with a chance to buy out a second.

With that context, a five year deal always felt like the sweet spot. That is pretty much what this contract is. If the club option is picked up, it will be a 5 year $70 million deal. That is actually $10 million less than what I predicted this morning. 

That feels like a great length and takes Cavalli right through his prime years. By the end of the fifth season, Cavalli will be 33 years old. This deal means that Cade Cavalli will spend his prime years in DC. That should be music to Nationals fans ears.

In their announcement of the deal, both Paul Toboni and Mark Lerner were quoted. They spoke of Cavalli’s resilience and character, as well as his baseball ability. That resilience was really tested in Cavalli’s journey. As we know, his Tommy John recovery was less than smooth. About 18 months ago, this day felt very unlikely, but here we are.

This contract has been well earned and feels like a great deal for both sides. For the team, they lock up their ace for four to five years. Meanwhile, Cavalli gets long term security after his career looked to be in jeopardy only a couple years ago.

If Cavalli continues to pitch like he has this year, the deal will be a bargain. On the season, Cavalli has a 3.12 ERA with 194 strikeouts in 164.2 innings. The newly extended Cavalli will have a chance to get his 200th strikeout tonight against the Cardinals.

This is a massive day for both Cavalli and the Nats. It is a statement that the Nats are actively looking to keep core pieces in the building long term. You can question whether the deal should have been longer, but it is done and Cavalli will be a National for the foreseeable future.

Tonight will be a celebration of Cade Cavalli and his new contract. Hopefully he can continue to do what he has been doing all season and deliver another quality start. This is a big win for the Nats and hopefully this is the first of many extensions.

Texas Rangers lineup for September 18, 2026 against the Toronto Blue Jays: starting pitchers are Kumar Rocker for the Rangers and Dylan Cease for the Jays.

Its the beginning of a three game set at home against the team that is currently tied with the Rangers in the Wild Card race. Exciting September baseball is on tap.

The lineup:

Duran — 3B

Seager — SS

Jung — DH

Nimmo — RF

Langford — LF

Burger — 1B

Lopez — 2B

Diaz — C

Carter — CF

7:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +115 underdogs.

The Mets placed first baseman Jared Young on the injured list with a concussion and called-up Ronny Mauricio from Triple-A Syracuse, but the news was positive after Young's scary injury in Thursday's game.

Interim manager Andy Green said Young is doing "as good as expected or we could have hoped for," ahead of Friday's game with the Philadelphia Phillies.

"All the tests that were ran, he got the right kind of results," Green said. "He has got his sense of humor in tact, I've texted back and forth with him quite a bit today, he also lamented not being able to finish the season on the active roster and continue playing; he was gonna finish strong.

"Mostly, he is doing pretty well."

It was a ghastly sight when Young's head slammed into the knee of pitcher Nolan McLean and the first baseman laying motionless on the ground. He would be taken off the field on a stretcher. 

The Mets announced Young had feeling in his extremities and was being taken to the hospital for further evaluation. He flashed a thumbs-up to the crowd as he was exiting the field on a cart.

Young was discharged from the hospital sometime in the early hours of Friday morning and able to go home. He has "full motion of his arms and legs," and is dealing with a concussion, the manager said on Friday, adding he is experiencing some "short-term memory loss" and a "pretty bad headache."

"More tests over the next few days to really understand all that he is dealing with," the skipper added. "But everything we have heard has been really optimistic from a recovery standpoint, from getting back on the field eventually standpoint.

"Relieved, I think everybody is. His family, all in all, about as good as we could hope for."

Young, 31, was having a breakout year for the club. In 103 games, he has tallied 29 extra-base hits (nine home runs) with a .266/.330/.429 slash line for a .759 OPS (112 OPS+ and 111 wRC+). Before the 2026 season, Young had played just 44 big-league games for the Mets and Cubs since his MLB debut in 2022.

The Mets plan to use Mark Vientos and Brett Baty at first base for the remainder of the season. Christopher Morel could also see time at first, Green added. 

Mauricio, 25, has played 17 games this year for the Mets, with nine hits in 50 at-bats (.180) for a .440 OPS. In 71 games with Syracuse, he has 18 home runs and 57 RBI while batting .261 with a .795 OPS. 

Since making his big league debut in 2023, Mauricio has posted a .226/.278/.345 slash line for a .623 OPS in 104 games. A natural shortstop, he has also spent time at second base and third base.

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

IndyAnaJones asks:If the Yankees lose the division, at whose feet might you lay the blame, without resorting to excuses such as… injuries, or lack of options at the trade deadline, or too high prices for options that were available at the trade deadline, or even further back, last offseason?

The Rays have just been the better team in the regular season, is what it boils down to if you want to wave all of those other reasons off as just “excuses.” Frankly, with the team losing Aaron Judge after May and not getting him back until just recently, I’m amazed that they’ve held firmly onto the top Wild Card spot and have even been in a position to challenge for the division. But the team did punt away a handful of games over the summer due to their struggling offense and the Rays simply haven’t gone on as terrible a stretch, syncing up with the Yankees’ latest hot streak to prevent them from gaining any ground. If there’s any culprit to pin the blame on, collectively its the lineup as a whole — but sometimes you have to tip your cap and say that another team’s success is just legitimate this season, and at this point I’m not going to diminish the fact that the Rays are a contender that pulled ahead. It’s on the Yankees now to run the gauntlet that they couldn’t last year and beat them when it matters most, assuming that the standings don’t dramatically flip from their upcoming showdown in the Bronx.

golfhog54 asks:In lining up the pitching for the post season, against Boston, it’s probably Schlittler, Fried, and Cole. How does the Tampa Bay series line up after that?

I agree that it will probably be Schlittler, Fried, and Cole should the Wild Card Round go to a third game, but worries have certainly crept in about Cole’s spot there. The ace is in need of a get-right game after his last two outings have seen seven long balls launched over the last 11.1 innings he’s pitched, and if that carries over into a third consecutive start that officially becomes a capital-c Concern. Cole’s one of the best pitchers in the sport still when he’s right, but the home run derbies he can spawn from time to time are his biggest weakness and an elimination game is the worst possible timing to throw a pitcher like that out there. Cole has insisted that it’s a visibility issue with his pitching that he can tweak rather than an injury concern, but time is of the essence with only a handful of starts remaining in the regular season.

The Yankees have another viable postseason starter in Carlos Rodón, who could also line up as their Game 1 starter for the ALDS should they advance similar to how they pitched Luis Gil against the Blue Jays to open last year’s Division Series. Rodón could instead be the Game 3 Wild Card starter if Cole continues to look like a gamble, letting Cole rest until the ALDS instead where they could let him set the table and potentially steal back home field advantage from Tampa. I doubt they’d do this though, for two reasons: one, the Yankees believe in Cole and so long as he’s not running three-plus homer games all the way to October then he’ll be penciled in there, and two running Rodón has its own risks right now as his fastball velocity has dipped in September. The Sox offense would probably get woken up more facing Los’ heater right now than they would Cole’s, and so the status quo seems the most beneficial, with the rotation resetting for Schlittler grabbing a potential Game 2.

lidbit asks:A lot was seen this year of the potential of 18 year old center fielder Yostin Pena. He has shown hitting for average and power with excellent baserunning skills albeit in the lower minors. Is he a five tool prospect that can reach the Bronx in a few years? How excited are the Yankees’ player development personnel?

Pena turned a lot of heads with his performance down in Tampa this season after getting the promotion stateside following just 37 games in the Dominican Summer League. His bat stayed scorching, turning in a .941 OPS in 24 games with six homers and 10 steals. His discipline at the plate is still a little wild but that’s to be expected for the massive leap he’s made already, and he displayed an elite ability in several key facets of the game already. He’s also got a cannon of an arm, something that’ll play well in any portion of the outfield but would especially pair well with covering the deepest parts of Yankee Stadium’s center field should he make it to the majors. His trajectory is a complete unknown considering how quickly he appeared on the map in the first place — this could simply be the pace that he blazes through the minors and we could be talking about the possibility of seeing him a year or two from now, or he may get adjusted to as he faces older competition and take some more time. One thing for certain is that he’ll be gracing some top prospect rankings after the rise he’s had, and there’s potential for him to be the organization’s biggest name on the farm by the end of next season.

Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson was supposed to have two rehab games with Triple-A Iowa and then rejoin the team Friday in Cincinnati. Best-laid plans and all, both Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s I-Cubs games at Omaha got rained out.

So instead of action with Iowa, Swanson reported to Wrigley Field Wednesday. So did two Cubs pitchers currently on rehab assignments:

The Cubs then held a sim game for Swanson at Wrigley Field Wednesday afternoon, with those two serving as pitchers.

And so, Swanson will indeed be activated from the 10-day injured list for tonight’s game in Cincinnati against the Reds. To make room for Swanson on the active roster, infielder B.J. Murray Jr. was optioned to Iowa.

While the Cubs have a capable backup infielder in Pedro Ramirez, and Nico Hoerner can play shortstop, the Cubs defense is not nearly as good without Swanson at short and Nico at second, where they are both elite fielders. Swanson left the game against the Cardinals Aug. 16 with an oblique injury during his first plate appearance that afternoon, so he’s been out exactly a month. The Cubs were 72-52 entering that game against the Cardinals and they have gone 13-16 in Swanson’s absence, including that day.

I’m not suggesting that poor record since Swanson’s injury is cause-and-effect, but clearly, they have missed his defense. Hopefully he’s 100 percent (or close) and can provide some spark to the lineup as well as defensively. Swanson had been on something of a hot streak before the injury, batting .278/.409/.528 (10-for-36) in the 11 games prior, with three doubles, two home runs, seven walks and 10 runs scored.

As always, we await developments.