ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - MAY 20: Tampa Bay Rays mascot DJ Kitty poses for a photo prior to a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field on May 20, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Three. That’s what the Red Sox care about right now. Both as the Magic Number and the number worn by Ceddanne Rafaela. It’s also Ranger Suarez’s ERA. All of it.
The series with the Texas Rangers went, well, not great. However it ended on mostly a high note. Aside from Willson Contreras begin hit in the hand (initial x-rays negative, not follow up announced, 2026 medical curse perhaps behind us?). One thing lining up for the Red Sox: the Rangers are fighting to get into October. The Rays have clinched. They didn’t clinch the division, but they might be, ever so slightly, less pedal to the metal.
The problem: the bats.
Not the problem: Payton Tolle.
Ranger Suarez is pitching the first game. He hasn’t faced the Rays this year but Boston signed him with big games in mind and his sterling postseason stats (1.48 ERA / 3.02 FIP). Sitting at a Magic Number of 3 a win tonight gets that to 2 minimum. Ian Seymour will try to prevent this. He’s faced the Red Sox twice this season – 3.0 innings, 3 runs and 4.0 innings, 1 run. Since the start of August batters have nearly an .800 OPS against the lefty.
Tolle himself might pitch Saturday, but it hasn’t been announced as of writing. he could also pitch Sunday and sneak in another day of rest. Monday is an off day regardless. The Sox might be waiting to see if the Magic Number is 1 after tonight’s games to decide. Regardless, the rays will send newly repaired Mets castoff Freddy Peralta. He had an ERA of nearly 5.00 in NY and under 4.00 with the Rays. If you toss out his first start with Tampa (7 runs in 3.2 innings) he’s got a 2.66 ERA / 3.78 FIP with 30 Ks in 40.2 innings.
Likewise Sunday is up in the air for Boston. Bello? Sandoval? It might depend on the Magic Number. Griffin Jax continues to covert from relief to starting. After missing a month he got rocked for 6 runs in 2.2 innings in his first start but then tossed 10 innings allowing just a single run over his next two. His first start against Boston was in May where he allowed 3 runs (2 earned) over 4.0 innings. The second was during the sweep in July where he was hit for 7 runs in 5.0 innings. Lets see that again!
Junior Caminero leads the league with 41 homers.
Chandler Simpson is tied for the batting title at .311. He is also leading ins steals (44) and caught stealing (14).
Catcher Liam Hicks has hit .297/.390/.465 since being acquired from the Marlins. What a steal.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday, September 18: Ranger Suarez (3.33 ERA / 3.08 FIP) vs. Ian Seymour (4.27 ERA / 4.02 FIP)
Saturday, September 19: TBD (— ERA / — FIP) vs. Freddy Peralta (4.67 ERA / 4.39 FIP)
Sunday, September 20: TBD (— ERA / — FIP) vs. Griffin Jax (3.80 ERA / 3.86FIP)
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The Mets’ final homestand of the 2026 season continues tonight against the Philadelphia Phillies.
At 7:15 p.m., the second game of the Mets-Phillies weekend series will air live tonight, Friday, Sept. 18, on Apple TV’s Friday Night Baseball.
Game 1 of the three-game set went to Don Mattingly’s playoff-bound club. Starting pitcher Aaron Nola twirled seven shutout innings, only giving up three hits over 81 pitches. Offensively, Bryce Harper led the way for the Phils. His 3-for-4 night at the plate and RBI was enough for the squad to prevail and win 3-0.
Over the course of the ’26 regular season, the Mets and Phillies have met nine times; Philadelphia has taken five of those contests. New York’s last win was on July 19 when Nolan McLean tossed six no-run innings and Francisco Lindor homered, doubled, singled, walked twice and drove in a trio of runs.
Tonight’s Friday Night Baseball is exclusively streaming on Apple TV, but it’s easy to subscribe and tune in — and completely free if you’ve never tried Apple TV before.
Mets vs. Phillies start time today (Sept. 18)
Tonight’s Mets vs. Phillies game is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. ET.
How to watch Mets vs. Phillies for free
Tonight’s Mets vs. Phillies game is airing exclusively on Apple TV‘s Friday Night Baseball, so you’ll need a subscription to watch the game.
Apple TV offers a seven-day free trial for users, so you’ll be able to watch two weeks of doubleheaders before the $14.99/month payments kick in.
TRY APPLE TV FOR FREE
Amazon Prime members can also subscribe to Apple TV directly through Prime Video. It costs the same monthly price and also includes a seven-day free trial, but allows you to stream Apple’s content inside the Prime Video app.
Mets vs. Phillies pitching matchup
José Urquidy (2-2, 5.28 ERA) starts for the Phillies. Zac Thornton (4-5, 3.44 ERA) will be on the mound for the Mets.
This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
With a new Vancouver Canucks season coming soon, it is time for the prospects to show off the skills they developed in the off-season. While these players are most likely headed to the AHL, it shouldn't be long before they make their way to the NHL. Here is a list of AHL-bound prospects to watch during the 2026-27 season.
Braeden Cootes
Braeden Cootes impressed the organization last season, becoming the first 18-year-old to play for the Canucks on opening night since 1990. As the 15th overall pick in the 2025 draft, Cootes came on strong. With a pre-season goal against the Seattle Kraken, Cootes made his mark early on. After a few pointless games, he was sent back to the WHL to keep working on his craft.
A year later, Cootes has the chance to remind the organization why they selected him for the opening-night roster in 2025. The chance to play for the Abbotsford Canucks can provide more professional minutes and better insight into what is expected of a top-calibre prospect. Ultimately, Cootes could be set for an impressive campaign.
Ty Mueller
Ty Mueller is another young player looking to break into the NHL. He made his NHL debut against the Minnesota Wild in 2025. During the game, he played over 10 minutes and recorded a shot on goal.
Apr 14, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Ty Mueller (39) skates in warm up prior to a game against the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
With so many injuries in Vancouver last season, Mueller was called up for six regular-season games. With a pass from former teammate Curtis Douglas, Mueller got his first NHL goal on April 16 against the Edmonton Oilers. He ranked third in goals for Abbotsford, with a career-high 16 goals. If Mueller keeps this momentum, he could become an important call-up for the Canucks and possibly a regular for the 2026-27 season.
Kirill Kudryavtsev
Kirill Kudryavtsev has now established himself as a solid defenseman with the AHL Canucks. With 20 points in 44 games last season, the young defender is beginning to feel at ease on the ice. He suited up for Vancouver three times in 2025-26 and recorded his first two career assists.
During his call-up, Kudryavtsev looked confident on the blue line. He must keep delivering smooth passes to his teammates, poke-checking to win the puck back, and closing lanes to force opponents into mistakes. Kudryavtsev has the skills to impress the organization, making him an excellent choice for the Canucks to call up throughout the campaign.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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Los Angeles, CA - September 05: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow (31) walks back to the dugout after being taken out of the game during the seventh inning of an baseball game between the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The NL West crown has been secured, but the regular season grind carries on, with the next checkmark being a playoff bye, and if the Brewers stumble, maybe even the NL’s top record: the Dodgers open a series against the Giants, with the former looking like a near formality, four up on Atlanta with nine to go and threatening a Brewers team that’s only two games ahead after losing to the Pirates yesterday.
One might argue that more than specific and still important team accomplishments that the Dodgers may have between now and the end of the regular season, the key is to see individual players nearing their best form. For the purposes of this Friday game against the Giants, we’ll focus on Kyle Tucker and Tyler Glasnow, who fit the bill to a T of what we’re trying to discuss here.
Through his last eight games, Tucker isn’t just showing signs of life; he has been this team’s best hitter, securing 12 hits in just 29 at-bats and leaving the yard four times: the most home runs he has hit in such a short sample in the entire season. Outstanding during the road trip, Tucker has a chance to carry some momentum into the playoffs. At the same time, it’d be quite flat to see him reverse back into the hitter we’ve seen from most of the year as the team returns to Dodger Stadium, a place in which he carries a .572 OPS in 2026.
On the mound, it’ll be Tyler Glasnow, who, after returning from the IL with pristine control, walking just one batter in the first two starts back, has now walked seven in the last two, allowing a combined eight runs. Glasnow will be matched up against the offense with the lowest walk rate in baseball, the Giants at 7.5% BB%.
Tucker and Glasnow would be treated as the star players on most teams, but playing for the Dodgers, they serve slightly different roles even if the expectation for outstanding production is one and the same. Can Glasnow overcome his recent struggles while Tucker carries on in improved form? Standing in their way is the San Francisco Giants, a last-place club in everything but name, sitting in fourth place in the West with the second-worst record in the National League.
Suns head coach Jordan Ott high-fives guard Jordan Goodwin (23) during a game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, on Feb. 5, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
How do you define an X-factor? When you look up and down a roster, what skills or characteristics are you searching for in a player before giving them that designation? As we prepare for the 2026–27 Phoenix Suns season, our writing staff decided to take on that question. What makes someone an X-factor? And who will fill that role for the Suns this season?
I’ll start with my own definition. Pulling out my personal basketball dictionary, an X-factor isn’t one of your primary stars. Yes, your season may ultimately sink or swim based on how those players perform, but that doesn’t make them X-factors. That makes them primary factors. An X-factor, at least in my mind, is a role player who has the ability to significantly alter the outcome of a game or even the direction of a season. They are the needle movers; those opposing teams don’t gameplan against but wish they did. And when you look at this Suns roster, there are plenty of candidates.
Last year, in my opinion, it was Collin Gillespie. He took a real step forward as a player, and while he faded down the stretch, what he gave Phoenix through the first two-thirds of the season changed the energy, effort, and outcomes of games on a consistent basis. He was given the opportunity to become an X-factor, and for most of the season, he ran with it. When opposing fanbases are asking who you are, you did the right thing.
So when I look up and down this roster and ask who can be this year’s X-factor, and certainly no opposing fan doesn’t know who he is (for unfortunate reasons), I keep coming back to Miles Bridges. I think what he brings has the potential to change the Suns’ entire offensive ecosystem. You can also make the argument that he sits just outside the primary core, with Devin Booker, Jalen Green, and Dillon Brooks representing the main trio. Our recent SunsRank rankings reflected that as well, with Bridges landing outside that group. So, yes, Miles Bridges absolutely qualifies as an X-factor.
Bridges adds another layer of complexity, gravity, and pressure to the offense. He can attack downhill, create advantages, and force defenses to account for him in ways that should open the floor for everyone else. And if he can turn that into 18 or more points per game while remaining an efficient threat, it raises the ceiling of what this offense can become. Because if Bridges plays well enough that defenses have to treat him like a legitimate scoring threat, it creates more room for your primary factors. That means better opportunities for Devin Booker. Better opportunities for Jalen Green. And potentially a much more dynamic Suns offense.
Phoenix doesn’t need him to be its best player. It needs him to make life easier for the players who are. If his downhill pressure, physicality, and scoring force defenses to give him additional attention, the ripple effect could touch everything around him. Booker and Green get cleaner opportunities. The offense gains another dimension. And Miles Bridges becomes exactly what an X-factor should be, the variable that changes the equation.
Now, onto the rest of our Bright Side writing team. Let’s see how they define the term and who they’ve identified as their X-factors for the season.
Holden Sherman: An X-factor is the player who has the largest impact on driving your team’s wins and losses. Typically, that is your squad’s best player, but not always. Take the KD Warriors as an example. Steph Curry was the player who drove the most winning but Durant was the best.
For the Phoenix Suns, however, the team’s X-factor also happens to be their best player, which is Devin Booker. Turning 30 at the start of the season, he’s in the middle of his prime, and if he plays closer to the player we saw in 2023 than the one we’ve seen the past few seasons, the Suns could potentially be a top-six seed in an uncertain Western Conference. Along with staying healthy after not qualifying for All-NBA awards this past season, he needs to be an offensive engine not just for himself but for the team. While the roster has a good amount of continuity from a season ago, there will at minimum be two new starters from a season ago to begin the year, with Miles Bridges at the four and whoever replaces Mark Williams while he deals with his shoulder injury.
Booker needs to be the team’s leader off the court, find his own offense, especially late in games, put Dillon Brooks in a position to build off his offensive career year, allow Jalen Green to fully acclimate himself after an injury-packed first season on the Suns, and work in the team’s new starters around him, Green and Brooks
Brandon Duenas: The X-Factor term has so many different meanings. To me, it is someone who doesn’t jump off the page as a headliner. They are not the person you go to an arena to watch play. It is not Devin Booker (sorry Holden). It’s not even Dillon Brooks anymore.
It’s the player who can not only swing a game, but it’s the player who does the little things throughout. It’s the player who doesn’t get the recognition they deserve. It’s the player that mimics the phrase “you don’t know what you got til it’s gone.” To me, that is Jordan Goodwin.
We all saw what happened to the Suns’ perimeter defense without him against OKC. He is indispensable. He is the heart and soul of this team, and when he’s on offensively, very few can impact the game on both ends as he does. The silent assassin. When he goes, boy are the Suns tough to beat.
Bruce Veliz: An X-Factor for me is someone who will truly change or help shape a better season for this team. Last year, the X-Factor made that clear when he got here and shook up the culture and stepped up to the plate when injuries came to play. That is someone I am looking for this year to really help change the narrative once again on what people expect for this team, and the X-Factor to me is the person who changes that trajectory.
That’s why this year for me the X-Factor has to be Khaman Maluach, and even more so, I think now with the recent injury to Mark Williams. Maluach has to step out and really show some signs of progress after his rookie year, where he didn’t get as much of an opportunity as people may have expected/wanted. Now, after a solid summer league and being a lottery pick, the eyes are all on him to truly help this team make it to the next level, even if it’s not immediate. He will be the true catalyst in a lot of discussions surrounding this team, regardless of whether he does or doesn’t pan out.
If he can pan out, he’s that center the Suns have been wanting since the Ayton draft pick and someone who can truly be that dominant big man to Booker’s game, bringing a solid 1-2 punch. If he can reach that, not only does the future look bright for Phoenix, but the KD trade looks even better in hindsight for the team’s direction it pivoted to.
Kevin Humphries: An X-factor to me is a role player, often unproven, that will swing games for the Suns in their favor consistently. Last season, Oso Ighodaro was the ultimate X-factor to me because he was not a star player but arguably starred in his role better than anyone else on the team. He was one of the Suns’ top 5 players last season and won many games for Phoenix.
While I want to go with Ighodaro again, I believe Collin Gillespie is this year’s X-factor for Phoenix. Gillespie started 58 games last season and logged heavy minutes throughout the season, often playing through visible discomfort. In 2025-26, he had the 7th-most made threes in the NBA and was 10th in attempts. He shot a blistering 40.1% from long distance. He also averaged 4.6 assists, which was second on the team.
He will most likely start this season on the bench, but will be the first player off it and will start games when any non-center is injured. He will be the head of the snake for the bench this season, which will once again swing games. The Suns could have the best bench unit in the NBA because of Gillespie, and he could easily earn 6th Man of the Year award votes at season’s end. The big question for Gillespie is whether he can repeat his level of shooting and playmaking again this season. And if he maintains or improves his play this season, there is a case for him to start over Jalen Green to balance out the rotation for Jordan Ott. If that happens, it could force the front office’s hand to move on from Green because Gillespie is the better player.
Tom Mildenberger: X-factor means to me someone who, if they do well or play poorly, can affect the Suns’ win totals. My X-factor is Jordan Ott.
There were a lot of things to love about Ott’s first season in terms of buy-in and culture. He was not able to scheme even a game in the postseason where Devin Booker was free to be the number one scoring option. In his second year, he needs to be more intentional about which players he wants taking shots.
Mark Bowser: I am framing an X-factor as someone who is less predictable, and could also sway the season with a high-end outcome. I considered Man Man because of the extended time on the court he’s likely to get. I understand Booker, but I feel like we mostly know what we’re getting with him.
While not probable, let me submit that a best-case Jalen Green playing a high fraction of the 82 games, being a better distributor (not saying CP3 or KJ here), quicker ball movement, and improving three-point accuracy with improved chemistry year two in the system would easily be our #2 player and a likely All-Star. It would have positive ripple effects on other players, including Book. While also not likely, another injury-plagued season and reduced efficiency, potentially even pouting if there are fewer shots for him with the Bridges addition, could weigh down the team’s hopes. High variance player and our 2026-27 X-factor.
What did members of our community say?
There’s probably no single right way to define an X-factor, and that’s what makes the conversation interesting. It can be the role player who swings a game, the player whose absence exposes a weakness, the guy who takes a leap, or even the coach responsible for putting everyone in the right position. For the Suns, there are plenty of candidates, and everyone has a different reason for putting their name on the list.
So now we want to hear from you. How do you define an X-factor, and who is your X-factor for the 2026–27 Phoenix Suns? Is it one of the names mentioned above, or is there someone we overlooked? Let us know in the comments.
Welcome to the California Post’s weekly Dodgers recap, where we review the week that was, hand out very official awards and take stock of the state of the season.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kyle Tucker (12-for-29 since Sept. 9; triple shy of the cycle on Thursday)
Off the bat, it appeared history was afoot.
Already on Thursday afternoon, Kyle Tucker had kicked his slow late-season turnaround into a suddenly more hopeful gear, hitting a two-run home run in the first, an RBI double in the second and a single that aided a three-run rally in the fourth.
Now, standing at the plate just a triple shy of the cycle in the eighth, he laced a line drive that made the feat feel possible.
Kyle Tucker of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a home run during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. Getty ImagesLos Angeles Dodgers’ Kyle Tucker celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Cincinnati. AP Photo/Tanner Pearson
With yet another squared-up swing, the $240 million slugger shot a ball into the left-center field gap. As two Reds outfielders converged on it, the entire Dodgers dugout rose in anticipation.
Alas, the 11th cycle in Dodgers history would have to wait.
The Reds turned a clean relay play. Tucker wisely — although, somewhat disappointingly, given the lopsided score — pulled up at second. And on the bench, all his teammates could do was razz him by mimicking send signs with their arms helplessly waving.
“I tried my best, but I don’t think I was gonna get there,” he told SportsNet LA afterward. “I probably would’ve been thrown out halfway.”
Kyle Tucker #23 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates a home run during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. Getty Images
Well, in his last eight games, Tucker has batted .414 with seven extra-base knocks, 10 RBIs and more walks (five) than strikeouts (four).
He has hit five home runs in his last 13 games, after collecting just 11 in his first 132 games this year.
It is the version of Tucker that the Dodgers will need in the playoffs, especially with fellow left-handed bats like Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman battling ongoing injuries.
After a season that once seemed so lost, signs of revival have arrived just in time.
PITCHERS OF THE WEEK
Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (seven scoreless innings from each)
We are going with a tandem honor this week, from a pair of pitchers who will likely have the biggest influence on the Dodgers’ World Series chances.
Then again, if Skubal and Yamamoto keep pitching like they did this week — when they spun consecutive scoreless seven-inning outings in Cincinnati — those other question marks might not feel so daunting.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tarik Skubal celebrates in the locker room after clinching the playoffs during a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Cincinnati. AP Photo/Tanner PearsonLos Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto celebrates with teammates after a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. The Dodgers clinched the National League West title. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Both pitchers have sterling postseason track records: Yamamoto with a 7-1 record and 2.25 ERA in 10 playoff outings (including last year’s World Series heroics) and Skubal with a 2-1 record and 2.04 ERA in six October appearances of his own (all with the Tigers the last two years).
Either could anchor a pitching staff on their own capable of making a run to the Fall Classic.
Together, they give the Dodgers arguably the best 1-2 punch in the majors. This week, they delivered the club’s first pair of back-to-back scoreless seven-inning outings since 2022 when Tyler Anderson and Clayton Kershaw did it.
Granted, dominating the Reds in mid-September is not the same as producing gems in the playoffs.
But with so many other concerns mounting at the moment, Skubal and Yamamoto at least represent a pillar of potential pitching excellence to lean on, one that could compensate for other shortcomings in the Dodgers’ three-peat bid.
PROSPECT OF THE WEEK
The entire Dodgers’ minor-league system
The Dodgers’ big-league club hasn’t been the only one popping bottles in beer-soaked clubhouse celebrations recently.
This year, all four of the organization’s minor-league affiliates also clinched places in their respective playoffs, with Triple-A Oklahoma City completing the quad-fecta by winning the second-half title in the Pacific Coast League on Wednesday.
It marks the first time the Dodgers have had four affiliates make the playoffs since 2019 (and that year included their now-defunct rookie-ball outpost in Ogden, Utah).
“I know people don’t care about minor-league win percentages, but we kind of do,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told the California Post earlier this season. “I think it’s a good proxy of how well your farm system is performing and how to understand what it takes to win.”
Three of the club’s affiliates have already been eliminated, with Double-A Tulsa, High-A Great Lakes and Single-A Ontario all losing in their division championship series.
OKC, meanwhile, will begin its postseason push next week in the best-of-three PCL Championship Series against the Athletics’ Las Vegas affiliate. If they win that, they will remain in Vegas for the Triple-A National Championship Game against the winner of the International League.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Who should Dodgers hope to see in the first round of the playoffs?
With the NL West crown secured, the Dodgers still have work to do over the season’s final nine games.
Given their injury problems, they’ve never needed a first-round bye so badly.
The good news: They remain four games up on the Braves for the NL’s No. 2 seed, with their magic number down to six for securing passage straight to the NL Division Series.
And though they remain two games back of the Brewers for the best record in the majors — and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs — conventional wisdom in recent weeks has suggested that the playoff through the postseason might be better from the 2-seed anyway.
Now, however, the NL playoff field is getting muddied, with the red-hot Padres sitting just one game back of the Cubs and Phillies.
So, who should Dodgers fans root to see in a potential first-round matchup? Well, it depends on what kind of matchup you think suits the Dodgers best.
San Diego Padres’ Trent Grisham (2) celebrates with teammate Manny Machado after hitting a home run during the fourth inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in San Diego. AP
The Cubs and Phillies had seemed like tougher draws than the Braves or Padres, thanks to Chicago’s deep and homer-happy lineup and the Phillies’ powerhouse starting rotation trio.
But this week, Philadelphia lost one of its star pitchers, Jesús Luzardo, to a shoulder injury that has put his playoff availability in doubt. The Cubs, meanwhile, have seen their offense cool off and still face questions with an unimposing starting rotation.
The Braves have their own flaws (they’ve been a middle-of-the-pack offense since the All-Star break) but still boast Chris Sale at the top of their rotation.
It will all make for a fascinating final few days of scoreboard watching, with a slew of new postseason permutations now on the table.
The Dodgers, of course, won’t be overly worried about who they might square off against. Their focus is on continuing to play a better brand of all-around baseball — and making sure they avoid the best-of-three wild-card round.
PHOENIX – Oswaldo Cabrera’s Yankees tenure is officially over.
The beloved utilityman was claimed off waivers by the Reds on Friday, two days after the Yankees designated him for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Clarke Schmidt.
Aaron Boone was among those holding out some hope that the Yankees could keep Cabrera, if he went unclaimed, but it was not a surprise that another team scooped up the 27-year-old who has another minor league option remaining for next year and was batting .288 with a .790 OPS in 122 games at Triple-A this season.
Yankees third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera #95, during a spring training workout at Steinbrenner Field. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Cabrera, who had been the second-longest tenured player in the organization behind only Aaron Judge, played 305 games for the Yankees since his debut in 2002, batting .232 with a .635 OPS.
He started games at third base, second base, first base, shortstop, right field and left field, while also appearing in center field and at pitcher.
Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge celebrates with Oswaldo Cabrera after a win. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
Known for his bubbly personality and uplifting energy, Cabrera’s Yankees career was derailed in part by a broken ankle and ligament damage that he suffered on a gruesome slide home in a game in Seattle last season.
The scene left his teammates gutted, and while he was putting smiles on their faces later that night when they went to visit him at the hospital, the serious injury sidelined Cabrera for the rest of 2025 before he made his comeback this season.
Jared Young’s season is over. His head hurts. His short-term memory is an issue and at last check, according to interim manager Andy Green, he was heading to another doctor’s appointment after spending most of Thursday night in the hospital.
It does not sound pleasant. It also is “as good as could be expected or hoped for given what we saw last night,” Green said Friday, when the Mets and their first baseman could breathe a bit easier.
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After a frightening collision Thursday on which he lost consciousness and lay unmoving, Young has full motion of his limbs and is walking, Green said, and is dealing with the effects of a concussion.
The CT scan and all the non-neurological results “were what we wanted,” Green added, a real relief after Young had to be stretchered off the field following a play on which he tried to stretch for a ball at first base and Nolan McLean, attempting to jump over him, incidentally kneed him in the head.
“There is some short-term memory loss from how hard he got hit [Thursday], kind of remembering what happened on the field,” Green said before the Mets hosted the Phillies at Citi Field. “And he’s got a pretty bad headache, which would be anticipated as well.
New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean (26) collides with New York Mets first baseman Jared Young (29) while trying to field a ball during the sixth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, September 17, 2026, at Citi Field. Jason Szenes for New York Post
“More tests over the next few days to really understand all that he is dealing with. But everything we have heard has been really optimistic from a recovery standpoint and getting-back-on-the-field-eventually standpoint.
“Relieved, I think everyone is.”
Young is a popular figure in the Mets’ clubhouse, sticking in the major leagues for the first time in his career at age 31. Young was drafted back in 2017, only got a 22-game taste of MLB in 2022-23 with the Cubs and then spent 2024 playing in South Korea.
He returned stateside last year with a split contract with the Mets, did not receive much of a chance in 2025 and ran with opportunity this year, when he could not fill Pete Alonso’s shoes but easily did the best among the first basemen the club tried.
“You definitely see the joy and appreciation he has for being here,” Bo Bichette said of Young, who finishes his season with a .759 OPS, nine home runs and 39 RBIs in 103 games, with the bulk of his damage caused against right-handed pitching. “He’s ready for any situation that he’s ever put in with a smile on his face. He is happy for everybody’s success always.”
Green’s time with Young stretches back to Chicago, when Young was a prospect trying to establish himself and Green was the major league bench coach.
New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean (26) collides with New York Mets first baseman Jared Young (29), knocking him out, during the sixth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, September 17, 2026, at Citi Field. Jason Szenes for New York Post
In 2022, the Cubs called up Young for his debut in mid-September and then optioned him again on Sept. 27. The Triple-A season ended Sept. 28. Young was told he could go home.
“This guy likes to play so much,” Green recounted. “He said, ‘Can I drive to Iowa and play?’ ”
And so he drove to the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate for one game that he made memorable, drilling a walk-off home run to beat the Toledo Mud Hens.
“It’s just indicative of the type of person he is, how much he loves being on the baseball field,” Green said. “He’s loved in that clubhouse. And he was loved in the Triple-A clubhouse — any place he is, he’s thought really highly of.”
In officially moving Young to the seven-day concussion list and calling up Ronny Mauricio, the Mets lost a player and person who has a reputation as gamer who is always happy to be where he is.
But they believe they have only lost him for the season.
“I’ve never seen the guy upset about anything,” said A.J. Ewing, a locker-mate of Young. “He’s always coming in, he has a smile on his face, and I feel like it spreads on other people, for sure.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 11: TJ Rumfield #7 of the Colorado Rockies bats during the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on July 11, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Scott Marshall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
BRONX, N.Y. — From the time he was traded from the Philadelphia Phillies to the New York Yankees in November 2021, T.J. Rumfield dreamed of playing in Yankee Stadium. That dream became a reality last week.
However, it didn’t come in Yankees pinstripes. Rather, it was in Colorado Rockies purple and black.
“It’s a dream come true, to be honest with you,” Rumfield said prior to the Rockies’ three-game series against the Yankees on Sept. 8. “Any time you’re in Yankee Stadium, it’s just hallowed ground. Just kind of walking around, it’s kind of surreal, taking it all in. This is the big leagues to me, this is the show. It would just be nice to come up here and play some good games.”
The 26-year-old lefthanded first baseman was dealt in January by the Yankees to the Rockies for pitcher Angel Chivilli. The trade has been a win for Colorado. While Chivilli has spent a good portion of the season on the injured list, Rumfield is a candidate for National League Rookie of the Year. He ranks seventh in Major League Baseball (fifth in the NL) in batting with a .300 average. He has 155 hits in 146 games, including 29 doubles, three triples, 15 home runs and 69 RBIs. He is second in the NL (third in MLB) in on-base percentage at .392. Defensively, he leads the team and is tied for second among all first basemen with 10 defensive runs saved.
“He’s the man. He’s so good,” said Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy, who himself is having a career season. “It’s insane that this is his first year in the big leagues. I feel like he’s so calm and collected, he’s obviously got a great eye. It just seems like the game is in slow motion for him. It’s been super fun to watch.”
Twice, in May and June, Rumfield was named NL Rookie of the Month. Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer believes Rumfield should be NL Rookie of the Year.
“Just look at the numbers,” Schaeffer said. “He’s been so great this year offensively, defensively as well. This is a both sides of the ball game and he’s done a great job from both sides.
“He’s handled the pressure in his first year exceptionally well. Every game, he plays with so much confidence. T.J.‘s a kid who can handle anything.”
Rumfield has been having fun this season and is honored to just be mentioned and considered for an award like NL Rookie of the Year. “It just makes me grateful for all the people I had coming up that helped me, especially in the Yankees organization,” he said. “They developed me into the player I am today. I’ve been able to run with this opportunity now because of the preparation and the things I’ve done before this.”
His father Toby was drafted in 1991 by the Cincinnati Reds and played 1,204 games in the minors over 12 seasons, including four at Triple-A.
Originally selected by the Phillies in the 12th round of the 2021 Draft, Rumfield was dealt with left-handed pitcher Joel Valdez to the Yankees for right-handed pitcher Nick Nelson and catcher Donny Sands. He worked his way up through the Yankees organization: High-A Hudson Valley in 2022; Double-A Somerset in 2023, where he earned a Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove; and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2024 and 2025.
In two seasons with the RailRiders, he batted .288 in 252 games (265-for-920) with 57 doubles, one triple, 31 home runs, 158 RBIs, 157 runs and 113 walks.
“Scranton was so much fun. Playing for (manager) Shelley (Duncan) and playing for that city, I feel like it was just a blessing,” Rumfield said. “To be able to even have the opportunity to play with the Yankees in Triple-A and to play every single day, not every young guy gets that opportunity. To be able to do that and then eventually catch the eye of somebody from another organization is kind of what you dream about. And then to be able to be in the big leagues now is awesome.”
McCarthy is a Scranton native, so he and Rumfield have been able to bond over that.
“He’ll be like, ‘I used to live by this grocery store,’ and I’m like, yeah, I know that (place),” McCarthy said. “It’s funny. I just feel like Scranton kind of takes on a new meaning when you tell someone you’re from there in professional baseball. I feel like at some point, someone’s probably made a pit stop there whether they played or came as a visitor.”
Unfortunately, with the Yankees already having a lefthanded-hitting first baseman with power in Ben Rice, Rumfield was expendable and traded for Chivilli. He was a nonroster invitee to Rockies spring training and wound up earning a spot on the team.
“I think everybody within the Yankees organization was happy for me,” Rumfield said. “I don’t know if they were sad to see me go or anything. But they were definitely excited for me and the opportunity and I’ve just ran with it from spring training on, just trying to make the team out of camo and I did. I just didn’t look back from there.”
Colorado has one of the worst records in the major leagues. But with Rumfield and other young players like Cole Carrigg and Zac Veen complementing veterans like McCarthy and Hunter Goodman, the future looks promising for the Rockies.
Somewhere along the way, the Dodgers did the impossible: They met the requirements to become the sports franchise Los Angeles demanded.
Appreciating what this means requires an understanding of how Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant transformed this city in the early 2000s,
With O’Neal and Bryant as their stars, the Lakers didn’t just win championships.
They were unbeatable.
This image was reinforced by the play of O’Neal, a 7-foot-1, 325-pound freak of nature who literally couldn’t be stopped.
By the time the Lakers completed their three-peat in 2002, championships were no longer something Los Angeles hoped for.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) runs to first base after hitting a single in the third inning of an MLB game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Los Angeles, Friday, August 21, 2026. CHRIS TORRES/EPA/Shutterstock
They became something the city expected.
This is the standard used to measure teams with aspirations of becoming a cultural touchstone in this congested market. With plenty of other entertainment options, casual fans won’t invest too much of their time and money in a team unless they believe it will create the kind of citywide pride O’Neal’s Lakers once did.
The Lakers haven’t been that team for some time. The Rams are producing a worthy on-field product, but they remain in the process of winning back fans they lost over the two decades they spent in St. Louis.
“What’s funny is Los Angeles has always been looked at, as far as sports, (as) a Laker town,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think we might have the market share right now in Los Angeles. It’s great. I think we draw more fans than anyone in the world, obviously, with the home dates we have. But it’s 40,000, 50,000 every night. We travel well. I do think the guys see it. They feed off it.”
The Dodgers managed to do this despite playing a sport that is particularly hard to dominate. The Lakers could dump the ball into O’Neal 30 times a game. The Dodgers have employed a number of Hall of Famers over the years, but as great as Shohei Ohtani is, he can only hit four times a game, maybe five.
The Dodgers have become a different kind of juggernaut.
With substantial investment from their owners, they have built some of the deepest rosters in baseball history. In its first season operating the team, Guggenheim Baseball Management signed All-Star outfielder Andre Ethier to an $85 million extension, picked up a then-unknown Yasiel Puig for $42 million, traded for All-Star infielder Hanley Ramirez and assumed more than $260 million in contract obligations in a blockbuster trade for Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett.
Season after season, the Dodgers fielded one of the most expensive teams in the major leagues — if not the most expensive team.
Which is why at some point in each of the last 14 seasons, the Dodgers were considered favorites to win the World Series.
Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50) throws to first to get Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart out in the ninth inning at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
They are well into their second decade as baseball’s model franchise — or, depending on the perspective, Evil Empire. The last time they didn’t reach the playoffs, the world was a completely different place. LeBron James had just won his first NBA championship. “Gangnam Style” was a global phenomenon. The recreational use of marijuana was still outlawed in every jurisdiction of the United States.
There’s an entire generation of fans who don’t know what it’s like for the Dodgers to not be legitimate contenders.
Consistency by itself didn’t turn the Dodgers into the Dodgers of today. Actually winning championships was important, of course, and doing that required them to adjust how they built their rosters.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman used to operate as if the playoffs were a crapshoot. The organization’s focus was on the regular season, on just reaching the postseason. Because depth is required to survive a 162-game schedule, quantity was emphasized over quality.
The approach didn’t produce any championships. The Dodgers reached the World Series twice in their first eight seasons under Guggenheim ownership but lost both times.
General manager Andrew Friedman of the Los Angeles Dodgers answers questions from the media during a news conference at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. The news conference was held to introduce Mookie Betts and David Price. Getty Images
The failures prompted them to pursue real difference-makers.
Mookie Betts, who was the catalyst of the championship team in 2020. Freddie Freeman, the home run hero of the 2024 World Series. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Most Valuable Player of the 2025 World Series. And, of course, Ohtani, the franchise’s most transformative player since Fernando Valenzuela, or maybe even Jackie Robinson.
The Dodgers have won three of the last six World Series.
Even with Ohtani dealing with right arm and left knee injuries, they will open the postseason as the odds-on favorites to win their third consecutive championship.
As fragmented as Los Angeles can be, most of the city can get behind that.
Celtics fans are still trying to adjust to the idea that their team traded away Jaylen Brown. Even Brown admitted he's still adjusting to playing for a new team in a new city.
"For me, I love that guy. What we were able to accomplish together in nine years, right, went to the conference finals five times, we went to the championship twice, we won a championship, we've shared All-Star games together. You can't talk about him without talking about me and vice versa, the success that we've had as just two young kids growing up in this league and really just pushing each other.
"Unfortunately, the business of basketball is always going to play a part. Nobody has ever played together forever, but it's not like a thing to be sad or upset about, it's a thing to celebrate what we were able to do."
As for this coming season, Tatum admitted, "I was nervous every game I played in," not fully trusting his Achilles yet after returning from rupturing it. That has changed now, he added.
"I'll be back to myself when we get out there this October."
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — Evgeni Malkin remains as passionate as ever about hockey as his 21st season with the Pittsburgh Penguins begins.
Whether it's his last, be it in Pittsburgh or anywhere else, only his body knows. And right now, it's not telling the 40-year-old Russian star anything.
“I mean it’s a hard question,” Malkin said Friday. “We see what’s going on during the season, you know. And right now I won’t say yes.”
He also won't say no, though he has one very clear metric that will play a massive role in whatever happens beyond this season.
“If I not feel hundred percent, I’m not playing,” Malkin said, adding that if he's not helping the team to win, “I'm retired.”
Malkin was able to turn the clock back a bit last year, posting 19 goals to go with 42 assists despite missing time with injuries. He averaged over a point per game for the first time since 2019-20 and seemed fueled by the desire to prove to Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas he was still worth the investment.
Dubas played his cards close to the vest until after Pittsburgh's first-round playoff exit to Philadelphia. He praised Malkin's effort and about a month later, negotiations that appeared a little tense outwardly resulted with Malkin signing a one-year deal to remain with the club where he's won three Stanley Cups, two scoring titles and an MVP during a career that will almost certainly end in the Hall of Fame.
The deal also extended the partnership between Malkin, captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang to 21 years and counting, the longest three teammates have ever played together in major North American professional sports history.
Though Malkin believes it's production, not nostalgia, that has kept them together.
“It’s not we're just here because we win three Cups, you know,” he said. “I hope we’re here because we still play good.”
The Penguins are banking on it. Pittsburgh largely kept together the roster that finished a surprising second behind Carolina in the Metropolitan Division, including re-signing forward Egor Chinakhov, a Russian who blossomed while playing alongside Malkin after being acquired in a trade with Columbus.
There are now four Russians on the team, allowing Malkin the chance to serve as a mentor in the same way former Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar did for him two decades ago.
“Any advice, any like ‘Go to dinner,’ you know, we just do it. “I'm the old guy here and I just have the experience.”
Malkin begins the year with 1,407 career points, just 14 shy of surpassing Hall of Fame center Adam Oates to climb into the top 20 on the NHL's all-time list.
He's done it while serving as the emotional ‘yin’ to Crosby's more reserved ‘yang.’ If Malkin had ended up somewhere else, maybe he'd had been the face of the franchise. He's long made peace with the trade-off. If this is his final season, it's been a great ride. But he's not quite ready to head off into the sunset just yet.
“I think last year I showed my good games, and I am excited to be here,” he said. “And again, like, I’m here to win.”
New York Mets first baseman Jared Young is taken off the field on a stretcher after colliding with pitcher Nolan McLean during a game on Thursday. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press)
New York Mets first baseman Jared Young was carted off the field Thursday night after he took a knee to the head during a collision with pitcher Nolan McLean while both players were trying to make a play on a ground ball hit by Philadelphia’s Justin Crawford.
Young, who landed face-first in the dirt, reportedly was briefly knocked unconscious during the sixth-inning incident at Citi Field.
“It was scary to sit there and just know that he wasn’t with us in that moment,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said after the game. “He was just somewhere else.”
Young was able to give a thumbs-up to the crowd, however, as he was driven off. Mets interim manager Andy Green told reporters after the game that it “feels at this point in time like we’ve avoided the scariest outcomes.”
A CT scan at a hospital was negative, said Green, who added that Young had concussion symptoms but also had full use of his extremities.
Still, Green said after his team’s 3-0 loss, “it was a terrifying moment on a baseball field. Took him a while to come to. It was a really scary collision.”
On Friday, the Mets placed Young on the seven-day concussion injured list and provided an update from Green that the player is doing “as good as could be expected, or hoped for, given what we saw last night.”
“All the tests that were ran, we got the right kind of results,” Green said. “Everything we have heard has been really optimistic from the recovery standpoint.”
McLean remained in the game and struck out Philadelphia’s Garrett Stubbs to end the inning. He was replaced by reliever Tobias Myers in the seventh.
Young, 31, has been a bright spot for the Mets (69-84) during his first full season, hitting .266 with nine homers and 39 RBIs in 103 games. A left knee injury caused him to miss six weeks early in the season.
“He’s somebody we all respect and appreciate and have love for,” Lindor said. “He’s been a big part of our team this whole year.”
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 16: Oneil Cruz #15 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates his solo home run with third base coach Tony Beasley #27 in the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on September 16, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Pirates have hovered around .500 all season, which was enough to keep them in contention through the trade deadline. But the Phillies and Padres have pulled away since then, leaving the Pirates without a postseason appearance for the eleventh consecutive season.
Kansas City Royals (67-86) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (76-77) at PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Last year the Pirates scored the fewest runs in baseball, this year they are fifth. The spike in offense has come from the additions of veterans Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn, improvements by Bryan Reynolds and Nick Gonzales, and solid rookie debuts by Esmerlyn Valdez (who is out this series) and Konnor Griffin.
Who’s hot:
Rafael Flores Jr. is hitting .390/.405/.561 over his last 11 games.
John Rave is htiting .255/.369/.509 with four home runs and five steals in his last 18 games.
Who’s not:
Konnor Griffin is hitting .200/.245/.300 in 12 games since coming off the Injured List.
Nick Loftin has hit .158/.200/.211 in his last 12 games.
Interesting splits:
Oneil Cruz is hitting .311/.364/.462 against lefties.
Maikel Garcia is hitting .333/.405/.413 with runners in scoring position
Since July 1, Randy Dobnak has the 9th-highest groundball rate among starting pitchers at 49.8 percent. Paul Skenes has the tenth-best strikeout rate in baseball at 27.8 percent.
Noah Cameron has a 3.18 ERA on the road in 14 games this year. Right-handers are hitting .216/.313/.290 against Bubba Chandler.
Opponents are hitting just .191 against Michael Wacha, and FanGraphs grades his changeup as the fourth-best in baseball. The Pirates have not yet announced a starter for Sunday, but it could be lefty Antoine Kelly, who was just called up.
Pittsburgh has a 4.13 ERA out of their bullpen, with the third-highest walk rate. They are tied with the Royals with 24 blown saves. Mason Montgomery and Gregory Soto are tied for the team-high in saves with 14 each. Montgomery has the second-highest strikeout rate among qualified relievers.
The Pirates swept the White Sox in Chicago last week, but dropped back-to-back series to the Cubs and Brewers. They are 39-36 at home this year, with the fourth-best home wRC+, hitting .269/.347/.431 at PNC Park.
The Reds have lost nine of their last 13 — all of those games against the Brewers and Dodgers, pretty tough competition.
Then again, the Cubs are a pretty good team as well, and the Cubs have won seven of the first 10 games between these two teams this year.
For more on the Reds, here’s Wick Terrell, manager of our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter.
Once again the Cincinnati Reds get to limp home at the end of a disappointing season, both literally and figuratively. Winners of just 2 of their last 10 games, the meat of their schedule has hit them at the precise time they were most ill-equipped to deal with it, and both the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers have slammed shut even the tiniest windows of ‘success’ this club could have held open down the stretch.
The Reds have been eliminated from postseason contention, officially. They’ve secured a ‘losing’ season with their 82nd loss. Brady Singer, who Chicago will unfortunately (for them) miss this series, has pitched so poorly he has mercifully made it impossible, surely, for the Reds to consider giving him a Qualifying Offer at season’s end. All that remains to be seen now for Cincinnati is if the Cubs can help them build on their -154 run differential on the season and make a run at the league-leading Colorado Rockies mark of -177.
At least Elly De La Cruz has gone nuclear of late. He’s staking his claim for NL Player of the Month and – in a non-PCA world – as the best player on the senior circuit altogether. Hopefully that shows up again for one last series in Great American Ball Park for the 2026 year with the Cubs in town.
Fun facts
The Cubs and Reds have played 2,439 games against one another since 1890, when the Reds jumped to the National League from the American Association, where it had been a founding member in 1882.
Over 137 seasons, the difference in wins and losses between the Cubs and Reds is . . . 23, with the Cubs leading, 1,220-1,197. There have been 32 ties.
The Cubs won two of three games in their previous trip to Cincinnati this season, on July 10-12, bouncing back from a 4-0 loss to win, 5-3 and 8-4.
They dropped four straight games in their second, late-season appearance at Great American Ball Park last year. The Cubs last swept a series there June 27-29, 2016. This is their 26th visit to Cincinnati since then. Five times, they won the first two games and lost the third, most recently Aug. 11 and 13-14, 2022.
(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
Probable pitching matchups
Friday: Clay Holmes, RHP (2-3, 3.46 ERA, 1.205 WHIP, 4.07 FIP in seven starts with Cubs; 6-7, 2.85 ERA, 1.145 WHIP, 3.58 FIP in 16 starts overall) vs. Chase Burns, RHP (15-3, 2.80 ERA, 1.150 WHIP, 3.17 FIP)
Saturday: Matthew Boyd, LHP (8-5, 4.16 ERA, 1.238 WHIP, 4.34 FIP) vs. Nick Lodolo, LHP (3-5, 5.12 ERA, 1.490 WHIP, 5.76 FIP)
Sunday: David Peterson, LHP (5-2, 4.15 ERA, 1.457 WHIP, 4.27 FIP in 14 games with Cubs; 8-8, 5.11 ERA, 1.551 WHIP, 4.06 FIP in 30 games overall) vs. Rhett Lowder, RHP (6-11, 5.79 ERA, 1.520 WHIP, 4.78 FIP)
Times & TV channels
Friday: 5:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Reds market territories)
Saturday: 5:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Sunday: 12:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, also streaming on Peacock (outside the Cubs and Reds market territories)
Prediction
Given these pitching matchups, the Cubs ought to score a lot of runs in this series. They’ll take two of three.
Up next
The Cubs return to Wrigley Field for the final regular season home series of 2026. They’ll face the Miami Marlins in a three-game series beginning Tuesday evening, after an off day Monday.
