Vegas Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart was ruled out for Oct. 27's game against the Ottawa Senators, with the goalie exiting during the morning skate on Tuesday.
Vegas coach Ryan Craig confirmed Hart would miss the Golden Knights' home game and Adin Hill would start in his place. Hart has a 2.76 goals against average in this fledgling season and an .889 save percentage.
Craig would not provide further updates.
Carter Hart injury update
Hart exited the morning skate on Oct. 27 with what appeared to be a lower body injury, as he moved with a noticeable limp.
It is unknown what the extent of Hart's injury is.
Adin Hill stats
Hill has played five games this season, posting a 2.96 goals against average and a save percentage of .882.
Miguel Rojas thanks the Dodgers for changing his life.
As the 2026 MLB season is nearing the end, so is Miguel Rojas’ time on the baseball diamond.
Rojas appeared as a guest during the Fox pregame show for Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night and said his time with the Dodgers over the last four years “changed my life.”
Miguel Rojas thanks the Dodgers for giving him the best 4 years of his life:
“They changed my life, they gave me the opportunity to go back home where I made my debut in 2014… it’s not just for me, it’s for my family. My son, he was shagging fly balls in the outfield, he was… pic.twitter.com/evlZkBroa3
Miguel Rojas thanks Dodgers for changing his life. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
“They gave me the opportunity to go back home in LA where I made debut 12 years ago …where I had where I had the opportunity to live the best four years of my life in baseball,” Rojas said.
Rojas said on the broadcast that he will always cherish the moments the Dodgers organization did for his son son Aaron, like when his teammates would take him to the outfield to shag fly balls.
“He was living the dream for me, and for my daughter, just to be around them. That’s what I told the guys,” Rojas said. “Thank you for changing my life. And for being part of the best four years of my life.”
Rojas’ professional baseball career originally began in 2006 when he signed as an amateur free agent from Venezuela with the Cincinnati Reds. In 2012, he became a free agent and signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers.
Miguel Rojas hoisting the Dodgers World Series trophy alongside Freddie Freeman in a low rider.
His MLB Debut came in June 2014. He went on to play in 85 games with the Dodgers.
The next season, he was traded to the Marlins and would spend the next eight years with them.
His second stint with the Dodgers came in 2022 — one of the most important periods in the franchise’s history.
Rojas became a World Series hero in 2025 when he hit a solo home run in the ninth inning in Game 7 that propelled the team to winning their second consecutive World Series.
Rojas contemplated retirement after his heroics but decided to stick around for the 2026 season to help the Dodgers attempt a three-peat.
Miguel Rojas receiving a hug from Brewers manager Pat Murphy before Game 7 of the World Series on Tuesday. Getty Images
BOSTON — A year after the Nets’ much-scrutinized first-round draft class — an NBA-record five in all — Egor Dëmin has been its biggest saving grace.
One of those sophomores (Nolan Traore), who made his first start on Tuesday night, had been coming off the bench, another (Danny Wolf) is out of the rotation and two more (Drake Powell and Ben Saraf) were in the G-League on Tuesday as the Nets took on the Celtics.
Dëmin, 20, is carrying the huge class. But so far this season, he’s having a hard time even pulling his own weight.
“It’s going to be one of the most important parts for me,” said Dëmin.
“For me personally, I’m trying to figure it out. I’m a different type of player as I had been last year, so I’m just trying to figure out how to play within these players now, and everybody else is trying to play with me. That’s what teams go through. So, I’m not panicking. I’m excited for what’s coming next for us.”
Entering Tuesday, Dëmin was averaging 9.7 points, three assists and 2.7 rebounds on 30.8 percent shooting overall and 31.6 percent from behind the arc.
Every one of those stats was down from his rookie campaign.
But Dëmin backslid the next night, managing just three points on 1-for-6 shooting to finish minus-20 in just over 19 minutes.
The greatest concern is Dëmin’s driving. After a rookie season that saw him get turned at the point of attack, he’s touching the paint more now. But he’s been ineffective once he gets downhill, going just 1-for-4 at the rim and missing his only dunk attempt.
That’s the next step for Dëmin.
Egor Dëmin defends Andrew Nembhard during the Nets’ blowout loss to the Pacers. Corey Sipkin for New York Post
“Yeah, effectiveness is important in the NBA in everything you do. You touch the paint, obviously you can spray it for your teammate to shoot a good shot, or you finish at the rim, dump off and so forth,” Nets coach Jordi Fernández said. “One of the conversations I’ve had with him is, last year I felt like everything went 1,000 mph. And right now, one year in, more games under your belt, now it feels like he has more control of what we can see or what he sees or doesn’t see. So again, we’re going to keep working with him and encourage him to keep doing the things that he does very well, but also keep improving in all those areas.”
Dëmin agreed that was the biggest area of improvement.
“One hundred percent,” he said. “That’s the ultimate goal for me, to be able to not just get there to get there but to get there to be efficient and score. And not just score, but create for others. That’s going to be the next step for me as a playmaker, being able to choose between finishing and finding someone else.”
The struggles aren’t limited to Dëmin.
The Nets dragged a winless mark into Boston, and looked disoriented on defense.
“Everybody was very excited for this season, and there’s certain expectations and goals. That’s [making] us a little too excited about it, a little anxious…which is not necessarily bad. We’ve just got to convert it into effort and into energy,” Dëmin said.
“I wouldn’t say pressure. … For us, it could be an inner pressure, just being able to be the best versions of ourselves. And how do you [improve]? Just by sticking together. That’s going to help us get on a deeper level of communication and understanding of each other. We just talked about it, being able to trust each other no matter what’s going on, what the game looks like. That’s gonna be the key.”
Jonny DeLuca and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson singled home runs in a stunning 12th-inning rally, and the Tampa Bay Rays staved off World Series elimination with a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night that forced Game 5.
Cooper Pratt hit a tiebreaking home run off Ian Seymour in the top of the 12th as Milwaukee neared a sweep and its first World Series title.
But the Rays, also seeking their first championship, rallied in the bottom half after a throwing error by third baseman Joey Ortiz on Junior Caminero’s leadoff grounder against reliever Antonio Senzatela.
Liam Hicks singled off Shane Drohan, who relieved in his first appearance since Oct. 15, and DeLuca’s single to center drove in pinch-runner Cedric Mullins to tie the score at 3.
Chandler Simpson’s single loaded the bases and Milwaukee employed a five-man infield with the infield in.
Williamson, who had been 1 for 15 in the postseason, hit a chopper over first baseman Jake Bauers and into right field.
“We’ve got a lot of fight in us. We’re never going to shy away,” Simpson said. “We were going to keep fighting until the end — the last inning, the last out, the last play, the last pitch. We were going to keep fighting. That’s what we did tonight.”
Game 5 in the best-of-seven matchup is Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, with NL Cy Young Award favorite Jacob Misiorowski scheduled to start for the Brewers. Rays manager Kevin Cash said he hadn’t decided on a starter yet.
Tampa Bay became just the fifth of 26 teams that fell behind 3-0 in the World Series to win Game 4. The previous four lost Game 5.
Of 43 teams to trail 3-0 in any best-of-seven postseason matchup, the only one that rebounded to win was the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series.
“It just shows the resiliency of this group,” Williamson said. “We continue to fight, and that’s been the motto this series and this full season, is just fight.”
Caminero was replaced by Mullins at third base and hobbled off the field with an ailing left foot. But the slugger said he’ll definitely play Wednesday night.
“He’ll play tomorrow on one leg. I’ll make sure of it,” Cash said.
Tampa Bay ended an eight-game winning streak by the Brewers, who were bidding to become only the second team to sweep a League Championship Series and the World Series.
“If you want to win a championship, you’ve got to survive some hard things,” Milwaukee captain Christian Yelich said. “Like I said earlier, it’s supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to test you. We understand that.”
David Hamilton also homered for the Brewers. Jackson Chourio had a single and double, improving to 10 for 20 in the Series.
Pratt, a 22-year-old rookie whose go-ahead hit sparked the Brewers to a 5-4 win in Game 2, drove a slider into the left-field seats against Seymour. Pratt had tied the score at 1 with an RBI double in the second.
Milwaukee players bounded out of the dugout to greet Pratt, who debuted in June and became the first rookie to hit an extra-inning homer in the World Series.
Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Cooper Pratt #12 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with teammate Garrett Mitchell #5 after hitting a solo home run in the 12th inning during Game Four of the 2026 World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Seymour had allowed Frelick’s tying homer in Game 2.
Milwaukee fans in the crowd of 40,514, many waving yellow towels and some wearing cheeseheads, brought a Badger State feel to Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay returned to its white home jerseys, a day after playing in Devil Rays throwbacks.
Simpson hit an RBI double off starter Dustin May in the second, but Milwaukee tied the score in the fourth against Griffin Jax when Frelick hit a two-out single and came around on Pratt’s double.
Caminero singled leading off the bottom half to chase May and advanced on a groundout. DeLuca hit a hard grounder to Hamilton and Caminero twisted toward the grass to avoid the third baseman’s tag, then came home when Hamilton bounced his throw past Bauers for an error.
Hamilton, Milwaukee’s No. 9 hitter, drove an 0-2 fastball at the letters from Jax into the right-field seats for his second home run of the postseason — half his regular-season total and just his second since June 6.
Jonny DeLuca and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson singled home runs in a stunning 12th-inning rally, and the Tampa Bay Rays staved off World Series elimination with a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night that forced Game 5.
Cooper Pratt hit a tiebreaking home run off Ian Seymour in the top of the 12th as Milwaukee neared a sweep and its first World Series title.
But the Rays, also seeking their first championship, rallied in the bottom half after a throwing error by third baseman Joey Ortiz on Junior Caminero’s leadoff grounder against reliever Antonio Senzatela.
Liam Hicks singled off Shane Drohan, who relieved in his first appearance since Oct. 15, and DeLuca’s single to center drove in pinch-runner Cedric Mullins to tie the score at 3.
Chandler Simpson’s single loaded the bases and Milwaukee employed a five-man infield with the infield in.
Williamson, who had been 1 for 15 in the postseason, hit a chopper over first baseman Jake Bauers and into right field.
“We’ve got a lot of fight in us. We’re never going to shy away,” Simpson said. “We were going to keep fighting until the end — the last inning, the last out, the last play, the last pitch. We were going to keep fighting. That’s what we did tonight.”
Game 5 in the best-of-seven matchup is Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, with NL Cy Young Award favorite Jacob Misiorowski scheduled to start for the Brewers. Rays manager Kevin Cash said he hadn’t decided on a starter yet.
Tampa Bay became just the fifth of 26 teams that fell behind 3-0 in the World Series to win Game 4. The previous four lost Game 5.
Of 43 teams to trail 3-0 in any best-of-seven postseason matchup, the only one that rebounded to win was the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series.
“It just shows the resiliency of this group,” Williamson said. “We continue to fight, and that’s been the motto this series and this full season, is just fight.”
Caminero was replaced by Mullins at third base and hobbled off the field with an ailing left foot. But the slugger said he’ll definitely play Wednesday night.
“He’ll play tomorrow on one leg. I’ll make sure of it,” Cash said.
Tampa Bay ended an eight-game winning streak by the Brewers, who were bidding to become only the second team to sweep a League Championship Series and the World Series.
“If you want to win a championship, you’ve got to survive some hard things,” Milwaukee captain Christian Yelich said. “Like I said earlier, it’s supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to test you. We understand that.”
David Hamilton also homered for the Brewers. Jackson Chourio had a single and double, improving to 10 for 20 in the Series.
Pratt, a 22-year-old rookie whose go-ahead hit sparked the Brewers to a 5-4 win in Game 2, drove a slider into the left-field seats against Seymour. Pratt had tied the score at 1 with an RBI double in the second.
Milwaukee players bounded out of the dugout to greet Pratt, who debuted in June and became the first rookie to hit an extra-inning homer in the World Series.
Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Cooper Pratt #12 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with teammate Garrett Mitchell #5 after hitting a solo home run in the 12th inning during Game Four of the 2026 World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Seymour had allowed Frelick’s tying homer in Game 2.
Milwaukee fans in the crowd of 40,514, many waving yellow towels and some wearing cheeseheads, brought a Badger State feel to Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay returned to its white home jerseys, a day after playing in Devil Rays throwbacks.
Simpson hit an RBI double off starter Dustin May in the second, but Milwaukee tied the score in the fourth against Griffin Jax when Frelick hit a two-out single and came around on Pratt’s double.
Caminero singled leading off the bottom half to chase May and advanced on a groundout. DeLuca hit a hard grounder to Hamilton and Caminero twisted toward the grass to avoid the third baseman’s tag, then came home when Hamilton bounced his throw past Bauers for an error.
Hamilton, Milwaukee’s No. 9 hitter, drove an 0-2 fastball at the letters from Jax into the right-field seats for his second home run of the postseason — half his regular-season total and just his second since June 6.
A fresh report has ramped up speculation that Pat Cummins’ shock decision to bowl first in the Cape Town Test was one fuelled by emotion after Steve Smith’s withdrawal at the eleventh hour.
New York Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand (33) makes a save in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026.
There must have been so many days when the NHL felt so far away. There must have been so many nights when Dylan Garand felt like his time would never come.
But just one month after the 24-year-old was sent down to begin his fifth straight season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Garand’s lifelong dream has been granted — and twisted by necessity.
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The rookie has played in each of the Rangers’ nine games since Igor Shesterkin suffered a season-ending injury, including Monday’s 6-3 loss to the Kings, when Garand played more than 38 minutes in relief of the struggling and debuting James Reimer.
“It’s been challenging,” Garand said following Tuesday’s practice. “There’s so many games. You play a game and almost the next day you gotta get ready for another game, so it’s almost a never-ending thing. That’s something that I’m learning and going through now. I’m just trying to handle it the best that I can.
“I think I played nine games in 18 days, so that’s quite a bit. It’s definitely the first time I’ve ever gone through it. I’m definitely trying to embrace that challenge and work my hardest every day. … It’s gonna be good for me in my career moving forward.”
New York Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand (33) makes a save in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Garand, who entered the season with just three career NHL appearances, initially exceeded expectations when he stepped in for Shesterkin, going 4-1-1 in his first six starts while boasting a .929 save percentage and 1.85 goals against average.
But the former fourth-round pick has allowed five goals in each of his past two starts — and two more goals Monday — as the Rangers (7-6-1) have dropped five of their past six games.
Garand entered Tuesday ranked 15th in the league in goals against average (2.69) and 21st in save percentage (.899).
“It’s a little frustrating [because] my work ethic and my compete-[level] is there,” Garand said. “I’m really trying hard. I’m just making a couple mental errors and mental mistakes by not executing at the level I know I’m capable of … you look at the last three weeks, I’ve played some really good hockey.
“I think the last couple games, I don’t really love my execution. I think I could’ve been a little better, but it’s part of it. I’m trying to be ready for every opportunity in every game that’s coming.”
Head coach Mike Sullivan acknowledges how much the team has asked of a goalie with such limited experience, noting that Garand will benefit from the team’s current five-day break more than any other player.
Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand (33) looks on as teammate Marcus Pettersson (26) and Maple Leafs’ Jack Roslovic, left, battle for a rebound during the third period of game in Toronto, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP
Soon, Garand’s workload may decrease significantly, with Joonas Korpisalo expected to return from injury in the next week or two.
Soon enough, Garand may be wondering when his next opportunity will come.
The next start can’t come soon enough.
“Playing in the NHL you gotta zoom out a little bit and never take it for granted and enjoy it, and I do,” Garand said. “I enjoy playing and going to battle with the guys in this room every night. The last week or so we haven’t been playing our best and that’s disappointing, but I have full trust in this group and in myself.”
After finishing the 2025-26 season at the top of the Atlantic Division, the Buffalo Sabres are having a tough start to this campaign.
At the time of this writing, the Sabres are sporting a 4-4-3 record and have lost each of their last three games. With this, they are also at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings.
Now, as the Sabres continue to struggle early on, they are reportedly looking to upgrade their roster.
"Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen is believed to be exploring the trade market for some additional goalscoring, TFP’s David Pagnotta reported on TSN 690 in Montreal during his weekly Tuesday appearance," The Fourth Period wrote.
With the Sabres moving on from Alex Tuch through a big sign-and-trade with the Washington Capitals this off-season, it makes sense that they are looking to add another forward to their roster. The Sabres could use another skilled winger to solidify their top nine.
The Fourth Period did not specify any specific wingers who the Sabres are looking at, but there are some intriguing names in the rumor mill right now.
The Athletic's Chris Johnston recently included wingers like Jake DeBrusk (Vancouver Canucks), Rickard Rakell (Pittsburgh Penguins), Dmitri Voronkov (Columbus Blue Jackets), and Ivan Miroshnichenko (Washington Capitals) on his latest trade board.
Other wingers who could be interesting players for the Sabres to pursue are Brock Boeser (Canucks), Bryan Rust (Penguins), and Joel Farabee (Calgary Flames).
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if the Sabres can strike a deal for a new winger soon.
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 26: LaMelo Ball #1 speaks with Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 26, 2026 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
With a day of rest and the comforts of home, the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the fading specter of the Golden State Warriors. This mid-week game will be their third in four days, with another back-to-back to start Halloween weekend. Still smarting from their first loss of the season at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Wolves will look to get back on the correct side of the win/loss column.
Minnesota continues to shoot below 70% from the charity stripe. Their second efforts to gather rebounds and run in transition like children bounding to the house that is giving out king-size candy bars might be sapping some of the energy from their legs.
The big highlight plays that fill up our timelines are fun and feel big and important. They can demoralize an opponent and lead to 20-point blowouts. And yet, leaving points on the board will come back to haunt the Wolves when they pour out their plastic pumpkin and find the weight of their haul misleading.
It’s the points here and there, the KitKat minis that fill in the spaces that will sustain the sugar rush.
Oct 26, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) defends a shot by Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Wolves committed 42 turnovers combined in their back-to-back bouts. Their uptempo and loose play style will naturally lead to the ball flying around – sometimes errantly, sometimes snatched by a defender hiding just out of sight.
During the Golden State Warriors’ dynastic run, they were consistently in the top ten for average turnovers per game. The cost of creating havoc for defenses is that sometimes the havoc pulls you in.
All that said, there is at least one space that should be easier to clean up. The guards need to be better about how they give Rudy the ball in the post. He is not a player who can regularly catch it cleanly in traffic anywhere beneath his head. When he does get the ball at his chest while under the basket, he regularly puts his Ricky Bobby costume on and gives it away.
On the positive side of things, TJ Shannon Jr. is off to a roaring start of the season. He has more than doubled his average points per game and is currently shooting 50% on five attempts from beyond the arc. I don’t foresee the three-point percentage holding, but if he can stick in the upper 30s with the same shot frequency, he will have that much more space for his preferred method…
Attacking the Rim
These Warriors are small. 6’6 Draymond Green is their starting center, while Al Horford at 6’8 is their backup. Both players are near the tail end of their careers, and neither is the tallest available player on the team. That honorific goes to Malevy Leons, who has seen roughly ten whole minutes of floor time this season. Kristaps Porziņģis is out indefinitely due to a chronic illness.
The Wolves attacking the basket or snagging offensive rebounds for putbacks is a recipe they should be able to go to again and again.
Jonathan Kuminga has also been thoroughly impressive in his start with the Wolves.
If the stories about infighting between JK and Warriors coach Steve Kerr are true, then this game will be a real test for Kuminga’s focus and consistency. He has the size and athleticism to make the Warriors pay on both ends of the floor, but it will serve him and his team best if he does so in the flow of the game and not looking to prove a point.
In his last game against the Warriors, Kuminga had only two points on one for nine shooting, four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 22 minutes of action. The Hawks did win that game but lost the minutes JK was on the court. Now more ingrained in a team that believes in him, he should look to get to the hoop when the lane is there, shoot the open three, and find the next open man if neither option is available.
No Guard to Change
The Golden State Warriors are not what they once were. They are not even the team that tussled with Minnesota in the second round of the playoffs in 2025.
The second timeline that promised a seamless change of the guard now plays for different teams. Only Moses Moody is still there from that initial youth movement that started with trading D’Angelo Russell to the Wolves (and he won’t even be playing in this game).
Stephen Curry still raises hell from the three-point line. Draymond Green can still play tricks on any offense looking for a sweet bucket. These moments are fewer, and much of the cast that props up these dynastic remnants is out with no clear timetable for return. Jimmy Butler, Porziņģis, and Moses Moody will look to suit up sometime in the winter if at all.
The freshest face the Warriors roll out is rookie Yaxel Lendeborg. At 24 years old, he’s the same age as much of the Wolves roster. He has shown flashes already and is able to make the reads that lead to open shots for his teammates.
If he gets the Anthony Edwards LaMelo Ball assignment, look for Yaxel to start chirping early, as he did against Luka Dončić. We have seen what happens when Ant feels a one-on-one competition brewing, and it rarely goes well for the opponent.
Prediction
The Wolves are still kicking themselves for letting the game in Cleveland slip away. Back in Target Center, they will jump out to an early lead on the back of Edwards LaMelo giving Yaxel all he can stomach. Jonathan Kuminga will drill a three in front of the Warriors’ bench and earn a technical as he stands staring at them for a full thirty seconds.
By the start of the fourth quarter, Kerr will wave the white flag, and his bench of broken-down Hall of Famers will resemble the waiting room in Beetlejuice.
Our blogging buddies are over at Golden State of Mind. Be kind to our friends with sunny minds!
Demonstrator with a sandwich board reading The End Is Nigh protests in Westminster on Budget Day on 22nd November 2017 in London, England, United Kingdom. As the Tories deliver their Autumn Budget, protesters make their views heard outside Parliament. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images Images) | In Pictures via Getty Images
This could be the last major-league game for quite a while. If you were hoping for a long, drawn-out World Series, it seems the Brewers have other intentions. They have disposed of the Rays with brutal efficiency. Through three games, the Rays have averaged just 33 PA. That’s the third lowest figure in World Series history. In the second ever event, in 1905, the Philadelphia Athletics averaged 32.8 across a five-game loss to the New York Giants. And in the 1963 World Series, the Dodgers averaged 32.75 PA/G. Though they swept the series, and skipped the ninth inning in Games 3+4.
The Tampa Bay offense has been almost completely stifled, with a line of .187/.237/.264 for a .501 OPS. Only one team is below that since 1988. The Detroit Tigers in 2012 hit .159/.243/.246 for a .489 OPS – that was also the last time the World Series ended in a sweep. But that’s in line with this being the worst postseason offensively as a whole in the same time span. Pitching has dominated this October, in a way not recently seen. Going into the potentially final game, the 12 teams have a collective OPS of .637, across 2,768 PA. That’s the lowest playoff OPS since 1983.
Milwaukee Brewers @ Tampa Bay Rays (3-0): 5 pm, FOX
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 12: Jeremiah Estrada #56 of the San Diego Padres pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning at Petco Park on August 12, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to our series grading every member of the San Diego Padres’ 40-man roster. The roster being evaluated is current as of Oct. 18, prior to the end of the World Series. Because of that, it will include players who will be free agents once the postseason concludes. Each player will be graded on their performance in the 2026 season, including the playoffs. That performance will be weighted based on how much time the player spent with the team (availability is the best ability).
A Troubling Relief Campaign
Jeremiah Estrada never had a real shot at breaking into the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen. The Padres made that something that the Northsiders would live to regret when they claimed him off of waivers ahead of the 2024 season. Estrada had a dominant 2024 campaign, highlighted by a 2.95 ERA and an MLB-record 13 consecutive strikeouts. Since then, he’s been solid but uninspiring.
Overall Grade: C
It’s not that Estrada’s 2025 campaign (3.45 ERA, 73.0 IP) was particularly bad. The bigger problem was his breakout 2024 made it seem like the right-hander would be automatic from then on. He was somewhat unlucky in 2025, with a 2.76 expected ERA compared to his 3.45 ERA. However, he allowed a career-high 12 home runs, contributing to his high 3.55 Fielding Independent Percentage (BB, HR, SO and HBP).
The problem with Estrada’s 2026 season was his lack of availability. The righty had three separate stints on the injured list due to elbow tendinitis, knee inflammation and a shoulder impingement. That resulted in Estrada being able to toss just 31 innings for the Friars. He was solid during that time (3.48 ERA) but just wasn’t nearly as dominant as his former self.
Entering 2027, Estrada’s health will be closely monitored. He should be good to go come Spring Training, but San Diego will need to keep a close eye on his performance in the offseason and through Cactus League. Notably, Estrada’s .183 opponent batting average was a step forward. His bigger problem was in limiting free passes (16 walks). Regardless, Estrada will be a big factor in San Diego’s bullpen plans for 2027.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - OCTOBER 26: Garrett Mitchell #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with William Contreras #24 after scoring in the fifth inning during Game Three of the 2026 World Series presented by Capital One between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Monday, October 26, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
We’re on the verge of baseball history, folks. Tonight, the Milwaukee Brewers could become World Series champions for the first time in the 58-year history of the franchise.
The Brewers, who had the best record in baseball during the regular season, have steamrolled their opponents in these playoffs. They’re 10-1 so far, taking three out of four from the Padres in the Division Series and sweeping the Dodgers in the NLCS, and are now on the verge of a second straight sweep and a ninth consecutive win. After squeaking past the Rays with a pair of one-run wins in Milwaukee, the Brewers delivered a beatdown in last night’s Game 3 in Tampa Bay. Their eight-run fifth inning — which featured seven consecutive two-out hits — allowed them to build an insurmountable lead and give all of their high-leverage relievers some much-needed rest.
I must say, the Brewers’ offensive approach is a joy to behold, and it’s almost unrecognizable to Orioles fans. Two-out hits! Hitting to the opposite field! Grinding out at-bats! Scoring 10 runs without any homers! Who knew that a team could succeed without just trying to pull the ball in the air all the time? Someone alert the O’s coaching staff.
Now the Brewers are in an enviable position. They have all of their best bullpen arms available to try to string together 27 outs tonight. And even if they can’t seal the deal today, they’ll have a fully rested Jacob Misiorowski ready for Game 5. Chances are good that they’ll win the championship without the series ever needing to head back to Milwaukee. It’ll be a shame if they don’t clinch in front of the home crowd, but considering how many Milwaukee fans were in the stands at Tropicana Field tonight, the Brewers will have no shortage of supporters on hand.
Starting for the Rays tonight is Griffin Jax, representing Tampa Bay’s last hope to stay alive in the series. No MLB team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a World Series, and it’s only happened once in any postseason series, the memorable 2004 Red Sox takedown of the Yankees in the ALCS. The Rays were the AL’s best team this year, but I’m not sure they have the juice for that kind of comeback.
Only once before have the Brewers been within a win of a championship. That came in 1982, their only previous World Series appearance, when they built a 3-2 series lead over the Cardinals before suffering a blowout loss in Game 6 and a heartbreaking defeat in Game 7. They’ve waited 44 long years to get back to the Fall Classic, and 57 years to win one. Will it happen tonight?
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 10: Bryce Eldridge #8 of the San Francisco Giants is swarmed by teammates after a walk off grand slam at Oracle Park on June 10, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Yesterday, we took a look at the pitching struggles that shaped the disastrous 2026 season. But it wasn’t six months of pain and bigotry. There was an exciting vein of success running through it that has the potential to reverberate into the future, and beyond just this single player.
Bryce Eldridge will get the full season review treatment later on, but for now it’s enough to point out that the Giants did it. They finally graduated a hitting prospect with All-Star potential. It had been too long and seemed to cement the idea that the Giants, as a player development entity, were failures. That part of the baseball operation was a money pit that only offered up the occasional hope or dream. But a 6’7” left-handed slugger who could seize control of Oracle Park as Barry Bonds once did… he was a prospect with too much potential to ignore or even diminish with low expectations.
And all Eldridge did was play up to the modestly high ones fans and prospect hounds alike had for him heading into the season. For example, here were ZiPS 80th and 20th percentile projections for him:
Take a bow, Dan Szymborski and your various graphics cards that run ZiPS projections! No, that’s not really the spirit of ZiPS — Dan’s not trying to prove to you how smart he is, he’s trying to show you the likeliest outcomes based on meaningful statistical analysis — but it just goes to show that the modest projection for him was something far less than where he wound up. I wonder how often a 21-year old hits their 80th percentile projection?
Yes, his season was cut short due to an abundance of caution following an incident with a door frame, but he still wound up with a very respectable 17 home runs and 57 RBI with that triple slash, which helped put him in some interesting company:
Bryce Eldridge this season: 443 PA | 12.9 BB% | .465 SLG | 131 wRC+
The only other players since 1983 to put up those numbers in their age-21 or younger season:
Is there a bit of scrounging going on here? Hoping to find the right sort or filter to make Eldridge stand out? Sure. Eldridge wound up being the 20th-most valuable rookie in 2026 (by fWAR; min 100 PA) — Wade Meckler’s defense got him to 2 fWAR, good enough for 18th — and even out of the 21-year old rookies (of which there were 10 with a minimum of 100 PA), he came in 3rd in terms of fWAR, behind Kevin McGonigle and A.J. Ewing. He is, technically, the best hitter of the group by wRC+, but his 131 is ahead of Kevin McGonigle by just two points while McGonigle had 259 more plate appearances (707 to 448). So, he had a very good season, but not an historic one.
Then again, this is a Giants blog and he’s a Giants prospect and dang it, there was a lot of history in this wonderful season. Also, and rather crucially, there was this historic moment for the ages:
That was his 109th plate appearance of the season, and it’d be easy to say it was the high point, but, really, the whole season was a high point. The record will show that he had just a .799 OPS after this game over his next 339 plate appearances, but what we saw every day was a player who would get a little ahead, then fall a little behind. Get ahead, fall behind. His splits by month is a testament to her perseverance and, potentially, evidence of how he was able to maintain focus over his first full season.
(Also, maybe some credit to Hunter Mense and the hitting staff, too.)
in our first extended look at him defensively, he’s … pretty OK? Maybe even really good, with a much higher ceiling than anyone expected? (And if anyone is expected to have a high ceiling, we know it’s Eldridge.)
As a continuing storyline, Eldridge was the first bold step forward in the industry’s and fan’s perception of the franchise’s player development. A big, tall leading indicator that the farm system was turning around.
All 7 farm teams posted winning records and overall the system combined for a record of 413-303. That follows a season where 6 of the 7 were winners and they system overall went 405-314.While it’s true that the player development system has had success this decade prior to Buster Posey taking command (2021-2024: 1,535-1,429, .518 win%), perception is very important, and the Giants have managed to turn that around fairly quickly. Eldridge isn’t a fluke. He’s leading the next generation.
Who follows in his footsteps remains an open question, but with their top 5 players all on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 and their next 5 another group of tantalizing talents with standout skills — Kilen’s 60 hit, Jordan’s 60 power, Davidson’s 50s across the board, Bresnahan’s 60 FB/65 CU, and Bolemon’s 60 breaking stuff — it feels like the system is finally having A Moment. Whether or not they can sustain it long-term (Bobby Evans and Brian Sabean certainly couldn’t) is actually besides the point. As a 2026 storyline, the emergence of an actually interesting player development pipeline is one of the bigger ones.
Yes, some of the best are still maybe a year or two away and maybe a year or two away from putting it together to approach their projections, and many simply aren’t going to make it, but at this point, you have to see player development as a continuing storyline that figures to bear fruit in every season when it matters. Like this one we all just endured.
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 19: Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons gets a pass during the game against the New York Knicks on February 19, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The undefeated Detroit Pistons will ride their 3-0 record into New York to face the winless Knicks (0-3) tonight at Madison Square Garden. No defending champion has begun the season 4-0 since the 1969-70 Boston Celtics. The Pistons last went 4-0 in 2018-19. If the Pistons win tonight, it gets really interesting. Detroit has gone 5-0 to start a season since 2005-06. That was the 64-win team in its first year under Flip Saunders coming off of consecutive trips to the NBA Finals. But first, they have to deprive the Knicks of their first win of the season, something you know the Knicks will be fighting like hell for.
Why are the Knicks winless? Nobody on their team, save for Karl-Anthony Towns, seems to remember how to shoot. They rank 30th in points, 30th in shooting efficiency, 29th in shooting inside the arc, and 27th in points in the paint. They are also surrendering 37% shooting from three, a bottom-10 mark in the NBA. The Pistons have started the season both hot and prolific from deep and hopefully that trend continues. Last season, the Pistons went undefeated against the Knicks in the regular season and Cade Cunningham averaged 27.3 points, and shot 51% from two and 41% from three. He also averaged 11 assists and four turnovers. Also, Ausar Thompson should be back in the lineup for the Pistons tonight after sitting out the team’s victory over the Philadelphia 76ers with an ankle injury.
Game Vitals
When: 8 p.m. ET Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York Watch: TV: NBC | Streaming: Peacock Odds: Pistons +4.5
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons (3-0)
Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, John Collins, Paul Reed
New York Knicks (0-3)
Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - OCTOBER 27: A detail shot of a World Series bat on the MLB Network stage prior to Game Four of the 2026 World Series presented by Capital One between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Three straight wins for the Brewers. I was hoping for a long series, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. If the series ends tonight, the off-season starts tomorrow.
Today’s Lineups
BREWERS
RAYS
Jackson Chourio – LF
Yandy Diaz – DH
Jake Bauers – 1B
Jonathan Aranda – 1B
Christian Yelich – DH
Junior Caminero – 3B
William Contreras – C
Liam Hicks – C
Brice Turang – 2B
Jonny DeLuca – CF
Sal Frelick – RF
Chandler Simpson – LF
Cooper Pratt – SS
Ryan Vilade – RF
Garrett Mitchell – CF
Richie Palacios – 2B
David Hamilton – 3B
Taylor Walls – SS
Dustin May – RHP
Griffin Jax – RHP
I thought the Rays would, at least, make a series out of this, but it doesn’t look like it is going to happen.
My wife and I went up to Edmonton yesterday to see a night of John Prine music. Four very talented singers/musicians played 2+ hours of John Prine songs. They did all the songs you’d want to see Prine sing, if he were still around. Many that I knew by heart, but also a few that were album cuts that I didn’t remember.
And we had supper with our son and his girl friend, which was great.
Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images
