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The first night at Coors Field had it all. Specifically, all the possible infield permutations this Mariners roster could muster, shuffling J.P. Crawford and Cole Young around to give them a variety of vantage points for the 15 hits Seattle yielded to the Colorado Rockies as they somehow escaped with a 5-4 victory.

The M’s jumped out to a lead that evoked their recent series in Sacramento, and in keeping, they coughed up the 3-0 lead that the top of their order generously constructed for them right out of the gate. Crawford made sure this mission to mile-high altitudes would not come up homerless, cracking a solo shot in the first at-bat of the game off oft-injured Rockies RHP Gabriel Hughes. Randy Arozarena authored the first of his three hits, cracking a double that Dominic Canzone took as license to copy but Arozarena read sub-optimally off the bat, and Seattle seemed off to the races.

It seemed like that misread would haunt the M’s with Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez punching out, and while hitting the Josh Naylor 7-7-7 slots meant a rolled over grounder snuck through for a 2-RBI single with two outs, the pair of punchouts from Seattle’s stars were emblematic ones. For Raleigh, who’s looked far closer to his better self writ large in the past month and a half, it was nonetheless an eight-pitch punchout that came due to missing two center-cut fastballs by a hair, fouling them back before waving over a middle-middle slider in a 3-2 count. For Julio, the culprit was also three missed pitches in the zone, but two foul balls on bottom third sliders before a familiar frustration mostly new to 2026: staring at a fastball for strike three at the bottom rail.

Seattle would not be the major culprit of spoiled opportunities tonight, however. The Rox are a plucky club this year, with far more verve than their catastrophic 2025 season of a 43-119 season. But Colorado is likely to lose 100 games again this season, making it four straight campaigns with 100+ defeats, and tonight was a showcase in how. Despite a night where eight of their nine starters secured at least one hit, Colorado left 12 on base and went 4-for-20 with runners in scoring position, letting Bryan Woo wriggle out of danger time and time again to achieve a defensible 5.1 frames and just three earned runs. It could have easily been worse a dozen times over, and Seattle’s league-worst range on the infield created many of the conundrums Woo had to solve.

No pitcher looks stellar at Coors Field consistently, of course, and Seattle’s beleaguered bullpen deserves their kudos for tonight’s win. After Woo’s exit, Gabe Speier regrettably yielded the lead to breakout Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy on a clobbered gap-shot triple and a RBI single in sequence, but from there it was nails. 3.1 frames followed Speier and despite runners reaching in each inning, not a single run crossed the plate again for Colorado.

It wasn’t much room, nor were Seattle’s precocious youngsters afforded much room to spark Seattle, but starting RF Lazaro Montes and pinch-hitter Michael Arroyo took their tag-team operation above the alpine. First, in the seventh, seeking a spark against southpaw from the past Brennan Bernardino, Arroyo aggressively took his chance in relief of Brock Rodden. He cracked a double down the third base line that looks familiar to anyone who’s watched Arroyo work through the minors, before dashing around the bases on a bunt and a sac fly. That set the stage for Laz, whose tour through the hitter-friendly parks of MLB has reached its zenith, visualizing and then manifesting a stratosphere-scraping second-decker to put the M’s up one in the ninth. Not even the speed of Cole Carrigg on base could stifle Seattle Friday night, as Andrés Muñoz managed a rare pickoff to clear the bases and quell the threat in the ninth. Not quite easy, but 5-4 with the players the M’s hope will help turn things around in 2027 is a pleasant way to start a series.

Record: 80-74. Pace: 84-78. Change on 2025: +3.

Is it too late to bring Angry Orchard on as an official SnakePit sponsor? In sharp contrast to last Friday night cider-cap, where we blasted the Rangers 9-1, tonight was an exercise in Charles Bukowski-esque cirrhosis. By the time the first inning was over, the sky had fallen right through the leaking roof of Chase Field. The Yankees didn’t even have to swing hard to start the bleeding. Walks, a passed ball, and a cheap little bloop single. Then George Lombard Jr. cracked a two-run single into the grass, and the scoreboard already read 5-0. It was ugly, the kind of early wreck that makes a recapper want to reach into the fridge for something that burns going down.

Eduardo Rodriguez’s struggles in the first inning had been a matter of record, even before tonight. He came in with a first-inning ERA of 6.60, and facing nine batters over the course of a 45-pitch first inning was no help in that area. He was getting ahead of batters, but proved almost clinically unable to put them away. Instead, the Yankees kept on reaching base. A walk to some Goldschmidt guy. A single. Two more walks. Another single. By the time Rodriguez recorded his first out, it was with his 32nd pitch of the inning. There was still time for a wild pitch and two-RBI single, before Eduardo finished striking out the side. Can’t be many innings involving five runs and three strikeouts.

Fast forward to the sixth inning, and E-Rod was somehow still out there. He had staunched the bleeding, but allowed a pair of solo home-runs. One in the third, and one in the sixth, finally ending his night. The line: seven runs, all earned, in 5.1 innings, on five hits and four walks, with five strikeouts. It was the ninth time this year a Diamondback has been charged with seven or more earned runs in an outing, the most for the team since 2016. First time since June 20th though, when somehow we had two pitchers (Zac Gallen and Yilber Diaz) do it in the same game. But the D-backs’ rotation has struggled in September. They are now 1-6 in fifteen starts, with an ERA of 4.80.

After a brief cameo by Taylor Clarke in the sixth, we got to see Zac Gallen make his first appearance out of the bullpen, since the opening three appearances of his professional career, back in 2016 for the rookie league Cardinals. He wasn’t helped by his defense, with errors by Nolan Arenado and Pavin Smith. Though, to be fair, the latter E could probably have gone to Gallen. He seemed surprised to discover that, if you run over to cover first, somebody might throw the ball to you. He ended up allowing two runs, one unearned, over three innings, on two hits and two walks with two K’s. So our most expensive mop-up guy since Jordan Montgomery did at least save the bullpen.

There was a brief flurry of interest in the second inning when Corbin Carroll hit his 22nd home-run of the year (above). That narrowed the gap to 5-2 due to the presence of Geraldo Perdomo on base after a single. But the Diamondbacks wouldn’t actually get an at-bat with a runner in scoring position until the seventh inning. Arenado singled, and Carroll got his second hit, with a hustle double. Of course, pinch-hitter Jose Fernandez struck out, wasting a challenge in the process, and Tim Tawa also K’d. Two other at-bats with RISP in the ninth proved equally unproductive, but going 0-for-4 there tonight was hardly the cause of this defeat.

It was really more to do with Arizona pitchers issuing six walks, four of which came round to score for New York. Meanwhile, our hitters drew just one walk, while striking out eleven times. Perdomo, Arenado and Carroll each had two-hit games, the first-named also getting the only base on balls. Carroll was dropped to seventh in the order tonight. It’s the first time Corbin has started a game that low in the order for over two years (August 29, 2024). Perhaps there’s hope though, since he’s now batting .256 over his last ten games. This is a distinct improvement over the .081 BA in the ten prior to that. Too late for this year, but always good to finish strong.

The Padres won again, because of course they did. They are now in a three-way tie with the Cubs and Phillies, This would be tremendously exciting, if it weren’t for the fact that all that’s really to be decided are the seeding positions for the wild-card spots, because the D-backs are now five games back, with eight to play. Though I do note that the Cubs and Phillies possess worse records in September than the D-backs, both having gone 7-9, compared to Arizona’s 7-8. So are they “choking” as well? Or does that not count? Anyway, the Padres are 12-4, enjoying their own version of 2007’s Rocktober. Pet-tember? I dunno. Figure it out yourself.

Click for details at Fangraphs
He drinks a cider drink: Corbin Carroll, +10%
Pissin’ the night away: Eduardo Rodriguez, -38%

Yeah, not exactly the way I’d choose to finish my recaps for 2026, a game where our Win Probability was already down to 12% before the second out was recorded. But, hey, them’s the breaks. The killer hippo film will still be there tomorrow, I imagine. Thanks to those who stuck it out in the Gameday Thread. Not exactly a happy one, but there you go. Comment of the night to Justin27, who came up from Tucson with his best friend and her two kids, who got to see their first game at Chase. A salutary reminder, that even the darkest cloud has a silver lining somewhere.

Same two teams tomorrow, with a special celebration to honor the 2001 World Series team. Brandon Pfaadt starts for the D-backs, with a slightly earlier first pitch of 5:10 pm, Arizona time. See you for that. Killer hippos permitting, anyway…

Record: 80-74. Pace: 84-78. Change on 2025: +3.

Is it too late to bring Angry Orchard on as an official SnakePit sponsor? In sharp contrast to last Friday night cider-cap, where we blasted the Rangers 9-1, tonight was an exercise in Charles Bukowski-esque cirrhosis. By the time the first inning was over, the sky had fallen right through the leaking roof of Chase Field. The Yankees didn’t even have to swing hard to start the bleeding. Walks, a passed ball, and a cheap little bloop single. Then George Lombard Jr. cracked a two-run single into the grass, and the scoreboard already read 5-0. It was ugly, the kind of early wreck that makes a recapper want to reach into the fridge for something that burns going down.

Eduardo Rodriguez’s struggles in the first inning had been a matter of record, even before tonight. He came in with a first-inning ERA of 6.60, and facing nine batters over the course of a 45-pitch first inning was no help in that area. He was getting ahead of batters, but proved almost clinically unable to put them away. Instead, the Yankees kept on reaching base. A walk to some Goldschmidt guy. A single. Two more walks. Another single. By the time Rodriguez recorded his first out, it was with his 32nd pitch of the inning. There was still time for a wild pitch and two-RBI single, before Eduardo finished striking out the side. Can’t be many innings involving five runs and three strikeouts.

Fast forward to the sixth inning, and E-Rod was somehow still out there. He had staunched the bleeding, but allowed a pair of solo home-runs. One in the third, and one in the sixth, finally ending his night. The line: seven runs, all earned, in 5.1 innings, on five hits and four walks, with five strikeouts. It was the ninth time this year a Diamondback has been charged with seven or more earned runs in an outing, the most for the team since 2016. First time since June 20th though, when somehow we had two pitchers (Zac Gallen and Yilber Diaz) do it in the same game. But the D-backs’ rotation has struggled in September. They are now 1-6 in fifteen starts, with an ERA of 4.80.

After a brief cameo by Taylor Clarke in the sixth, we got to see Zac Gallen make his first appearance out of the bullpen, since the opening three appearances of his professional career, back in 2016 for the rookie league Cardinals. He wasn’t helped by his defense, with errors by Nolan Arenado and Pavin Smith. Though, to be fair, the latter E could probably have gone to Gallen. He seemed surprised to discover that, if you run over to cover first, somebody might throw the ball to you. He ended up allowing two runs, one unearned, over three innings, on two hits and two walks with two K’s. So our most expensive mop-up guy since Jordan Montgomery did at least save the bullpen.

There was a brief flurry of interest in the second inning when Corbin Carroll hit his 22nd home-run of the year (above). That narrowed the gap to 5-2 due to the presence of Geraldo Perdomo on base after a single. But the Diamondbacks wouldn’t actually get an at-bat with a runner in scoring position until the seventh inning. Arenado singled, and Carroll got his second hit, with a hustle double. Of course, pinch-hitter Jose Fernandez struck out, wasting a challenge in the process, and Tim Tawa also K’d. Two other at-bats with RISP in the ninth proved equally unproductive, but going 0-for-4 there tonight was hardly the cause of this defeat.

It was really more to do with Arizona pitchers issuing six walks, four of which came round to score for New York. Meanwhile, our hitters drew just one walk, while striking out eleven times. Perdomo, Arenado and Carroll each had two-hit games, the first-named also getting the only base on balls. Carroll was dropped to seventh in the order tonight. It’s the first time Corbin has started a game that low in the order for over two years (August 29, 2024). Perhaps there’s hope though, since he’s now batting .256 over his last ten games. This is a distinct improvement over the .081 BA in the ten prior to that. Too late for this year, but always good to finish strong.

The Padres won again, because of course they did. They are now in a three-way tie with the Cubs and Phillies, This would be tremendously exciting, if it weren’t for the fact that all that’s really to be decided are the seeding positions for the wild-card spots, because the D-backs are now five games back, with eight to play. Though I do note that the Cubs and Phillies possess worse records in September than the D-backs, both having gone 7-9, compared to Arizona’s 7-8. So are they “choking” as well? Or does that not count? Anyway, the Padres are 12-4, enjoying their own version of 2007’s Rocktober. Pet-tember? I dunno. Figure it out yourself.

Click for details at Fangraphs
He drinks a cider drink: Corbin Carroll, +10%
Pissin’ the night away: Eduardo Rodriguez, -38%

Yeah, not exactly the way I’d choose to finish my recaps for 2026, a game where our Win Probability was already down to 12% before the second out was recorded. But, hey, them’s the breaks. The killer hippo film will still be there tomorrow, I imagine. Thanks to those who stuck it out in the Gameday Thread. Not exactly a happy one, but there you go. Comment of the night to Justin27, who came up from Tucson with his best friend and her two kids, who got to see their first game at Chase. A salutary reminder, that even the darkest cloud has a silver lining somewhere.

Same two teams tomorrow, with a special celebration to honor the 2001 World Series team. Brandon Pfaadt starts for the D-backs, with a slightly earlier first pitch of 5:10 pm, Arizona time. See you for that. Killer hippos permitting, anyway…

The NL West division champion Dodgers (94-60) were not hungover from the champagne celebrations and defeated the rival Giants (64-89) Friday night at Dodger stadium.

The 8-2 victory evoked memories of the “4+1” game on this date 20 years ago when the Dodgers clobbered four home runs in the bottom of the eighth inning including two sets of back-to-back jacks.

Mookie Betts has been locked in at the plate of late. Betts greeted Cesar Perdomo with a leadoff home run to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead. He would go on to hit a second home run in the eighth to give him 22 on the season, the most he has hit since 2023.

The Giants answered with a Jung Hoo Lee solo home run against Glasnow to tie the game at a run apiece.

Glasnow continued to miss with his fastball, and the Giants made him work. Two singles, a stolen base, and a walk gave San Francisco a 2-1 lead in the third. Although Glasnow’s fastball command wasn’t the sharpest, he struck out a season-high 10 batters on the night.

Betts got on base for the third time of the night with a single in the fifth inning. Mookie’s hit followed Josue De Paula’s first career hit at Dodger Stadium, a leadoff single. Teoscar Hernández drove in the tying run with the third single of the frame against the rookie left-hander Perdomo.

De Paula impressed in his Dodger Stadium debut. The young phenom drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning against the San Francisco bullpen with a ringing double to right field. He went 2-for-3 on the night with two hits and a walk.

The Dodgers put on a show with back-to-back home runs twice in the eighth inning. Max Muncy and Kyle Tucker started the homer fest with two booming back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the eighth against lefty Philip Abner.

The consecutive homers by the Dodgers harkened me back to the 4+1 game on this day in 2006. The Dodgers hit four consecutive home runs in the ninth inning, followed by a walk-off home run for a comeback win against the Padres. That was an electric game 20 years ago, and tonight’s win allowed us to both reminisce about the past and be excited for the upcoming postseason.

Betts hit the third home run of the inning for the Dodgers and the second of the night for the Dodgers shortstop. Then Will Smith followed Mookie with a solo shot of his own for the fourth long ball of the inning to make it 8-2 Dodgers.

It was a perfect opportunity to get Edwin Diaz in the game for the first time in a month. Diaz struck out two and capped off the 8-2 win with a scoreless ninth.

Friday particulars

Home runs: Mookie Betts 2 (22), Max Muncy (29), Kyle Tucker (17), Will Smith (8); Jung Hoo Lee (10)

WP — Tyler Glasnow(5-1): 6 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts (98 pitches)

LP — Jason Foley (3-2): 1 1/3 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 3 walks, 1 strikeout (27 pitches)

Up next

The Dodgers and Giants battle again Saturday at Dodger Stadium (6:10 p.m., SportsNet LA). Tarik Skubal (10-7, 2.70 ERA, 0.955 WHIP) makes his final regular season start at Dodger Stadium before he pitches for the Dodgers in the postseason.

The NL West division champion Dodgers (94-60) were not hungover from the champagne celebrations and defeated the rival Giants (64-89) Friday night at Dodger stadium.

The 8-2 victory evoked memories of the “4+1” game on this date 20 years ago when the Dodgers clobbered four home runs in the bottom of the eighth inning including two sets of back-to-back jacks.

Mookie Betts has been locked in at the plate of late. Betts greeted Cesar Perdomo with a leadoff home run to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead. He would go on to hit a second home run in the eighth to give him 22 on the season, the most he has hit since 2023.

The Giants answered with a Jung Hoo Lee solo home run against Glasnow to tie the game at a run apiece.

Glasnow continued to miss with his fastball, and the Giants made him work. Two singles, a stolen base, and a walk gave San Francisco a 2-1 lead in the third. Although Glasnow’s fastball command wasn’t the sharpest, he struck out a season-high 10 batters on the night.

Betts got on base for the third time of the night with a single in the fifth inning. Mookie’s hit followed Josue De Paula’s first career hit at Dodger Stadium, a leadoff single. Teoscar Hernández drove in the tying run with the third single of the frame against the rookie left-hander Perdomo.

De Paula impressed in his Dodger Stadium debut. The young phenom drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning against the San Francisco bullpen with a ringing double to right field. He went 2-for-3 on the night with two hits and a walk.

The Dodgers put on a show with back-to-back home runs twice in the eighth inning. Max Muncy and Kyle Tucker started the homer fest with two booming back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the eighth against lefty Philip Abner.

The consecutive homers by the Dodgers harkened me back to the 4+1 game on this day in 2006. The Dodgers hit four consecutive home runs in the ninth inning, followed by a walk-off home run for a comeback win against the Padres. That was an electric game 20 years ago, and tonight’s win allowed us to both reminisce about the past and be excited for the upcoming postseason.

Betts hit the third home run of the inning for the Dodgers and the second of the night for the Dodgers shortstop. Then Will Smith followed Mookie with a solo shot of his own for the fourth long ball of the inning to make it 8-2 Dodgers.

It was a perfect opportunity to get Edwin Diaz in the game for the first time in a month. Diaz struck out two and capped off the 8-2 win with a scoreless ninth.

Friday particulars

Home runs: Mookie Betts 2 (22), Max Muncy (29), Kyle Tucker (17), Will Smith (8); Jung Hoo Lee (10)

WP — Tyler Glasnow(5-1): 6 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts (98 pitches)

LP — Jason Foley (3-2): 1 1/3 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 3 walks, 1 strikeout (27 pitches)

Up next

The Dodgers and Giants battle again Saturday at Dodger Stadium (6:10 p.m., SportsNet LA). Tarik Skubal (10-7, 2.70 ERA, 0.955 WHIP) makes his final regular season start at Dodger Stadium before he pitches for the Dodgers in the postseason.

With eight games left in the regular season, the Dodgers already have ticked off the most important boxes on their to-do list for the postseason.

They clinched a playoff berth for a record-tying 14th straight season and won the division title for the fifth time in a row. And with Friday’s 8-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers (94-60) also have an outside shot at their fourth 100-win season in six years.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot of work to do between now and the playoffs — the most important task being determining exactly where and when they’ll open the postseason.

With Friday’s win and the Milwaukee Brewers’ victory in Baltimore, the Dodgers trail the Brewers by two games in the race for the league’s best record and home-field advantage that goes with it. They also lead the Atlanta Braves by four games for the second-best record, which would give them a first-round bye and an extra five days to get their sizable contingent of walking wounded healthy.

Read more:Plaschke: No more bubbly. NL West champion Dodgers appear headed for early fall

“To get one of these top-two seeds is important. And our guys understand that,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Winning the division is great, but I still think our best baseball is ahead of us.”

Achieving that, however, will require emptying an injury list that is almost as long as the starting lineup. If the season ended today, the Dodgers would have at least seven players who wouldn’t be ready to play.

The Dodgers are hopeful left-hander Blake Snell, who came out of Wednesday’s game after an inning because of groin tightness, will be healthy enough for one more regular-season start.

Center fielder Andy Pages, who shares the team lead in RBIs with Shohei Ohtani despite missing a month because of a fracture in his left hand, is expected to be activated for the series against the San Diego Padres, which begins Tuesday, while backup catcher Dalton Rushing is swinging a bat and will hit against a pitching machine this weekend.

Roki Sasaki threw 48 pitches in a bullpen session Wednesday and could come off the IL next week, but Edgardo Henriquez, second among Dodgers relievers in innings and strikeouts, will miss the rest of the regular season because of a back strain. He could rejoin the team for the playoffs.

Then there’s Ohtani, the four-time most valuable player. He’s dealing with injuries to his left knee and right biceps. He has resumed taking batting practice and is eligible to come off the IL on Wednesday. Roberts hopes to get Ohtani 10 to 12 at-bats before the playoffs.

“I’m just really waiting to hear when he’s going to get on the field, let alone take live BP,” Roberts said. “He’s not there yet. But everything I’ve heard, it’s been a really productive last three to four to five days.”

One player who did return was closer Edwin Díaz. Limited by injuries to 16 appearances in his first season with the Dodgers, he was activated Friday and threw 17 pitches in the ninth, giving up a single and striking out two.

For Roberts, the last month has looked like an episode of “The Pitt,” with medical crises piling up, one atop the other. Yet that’s hardly slowed the Dodgers, who opened their final homestand of the season having won 11 of their last 14 games.

Now the focus becomes continuing that momentum while getting as close to full strength as possible.

“They can go hand in hand,” Roberts said. “We have a lot of good players that are more than capable of helping us win baseball games, at the same time making sure we try to get our best players to optimum health when the postseason starts.”

The Dodgers got a big lift Friday from rookie Josue De Paula, who didn’t figure in their regular-season plans — much less their postseason ones — until a week ago when he was called up to take Ohtani’s place. In his Dodger Stadium debut, De Paula singled and scored on a Teoscar Hernández single in the fifth, then roped a double to the wall in right-center an inning later, scoring Kyle Tucker to put the Dodgers ahead to stay.

Tucker, Max Muncy, Mookie Betts and Will Smith all homered in a five-run eighth inning, turning a nail-biter into a comfortable win. Betts also hit a solo blast in the first.

“It’s crossed my mind,” De Paula said with a smile when asked if he’s in the discussion for a playoff roster spot. “But I try to focus on the now while I’m here and I’m enjoying every moment.”

“Yeah, he’s in the mix,” Roberts confirmed. “He’s certainly doing a lot of things well.”

All of the scoring helped Tyler Glasnow (5-1) earn his second win since April 23. Glasnow gave up just three hits in six innings, striking out a season-high 10.

Hernández, who had two hits, is batting .368 with 17 RBIs in September; Tucker, who also had two hits, is hitting .424 with five home runs and 13 runs scored in his last 10 games; Betts has six hits in his last eight at-bats, lifting his average to a season-high .254.

That’s helped make up for Freddie Freeman’s struggles. Freeman, who went hitless in four at-bats Friday, striking out twice, has just six hits — and 13 strikeouts — in his last 48 at-bats.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Roberts said with a sigh before the game.

They have just over a week to get it done.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

With eight games left in the regular season, the Dodgers already have ticked off the most important boxes on their to-do list for the postseason.

They clinched a playoff berth for a record-tying 14th straight season and won the division title for the fifth time in a row. And with Friday’s 8-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers (94-60) also have an outside shot at their fourth 100-win season in six years.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot of work to do between now and the playoffs — the most important task being determining exactly where and when they’ll open the postseason.

With Friday’s win and the Milwaukee Brewers’ victory in Baltimore, the Dodgers trail the Brewers by two games in the race for the league’s best record and home-field advantage that goes with it. They also lead the Atlanta Braves by four games for the second-best record, which would give them a first-round bye and an extra five days to get their sizable contingent of walking wounded healthy.

Read more:Plaschke: No more bubbly. NL West champion Dodgers appear headed for early fall

“To get one of these top-two seeds is important. And our guys understand that,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Winning the division is great, but I still think our best baseball is ahead of us.”

Achieving that, however, will require emptying an injury list that is almost as long as the starting lineup. If the season ended today, the Dodgers would have at least seven players who wouldn’t be ready to play.

The Dodgers are hopeful left-hander Blake Snell, who came out of Wednesday’s game after an inning because of groin tightness, will be healthy enough for one more regular-season start.

Center fielder Andy Pages, who shares the team lead in RBIs with Shohei Ohtani despite missing a month because of a fracture in his left hand, is expected to be activated for the series against the San Diego Padres, which begins Tuesday, while backup catcher Dalton Rushing is swinging a bat and will hit against a pitching machine this weekend.

Roki Sasaki threw 48 pitches in a bullpen session Wednesday and could come off the IL next week, but Edgardo Henriquez, second among Dodgers relievers in innings and strikeouts, will miss the rest of the regular season because of a back strain. He could rejoin the team for the playoffs.

Then there’s Ohtani, the four-time most valuable player. He’s dealing with injuries to his left knee and right biceps. He has resumed taking batting practice and is eligible to come off the IL on Wednesday. Roberts hopes to get Ohtani 10 to 12 at-bats before the playoffs.

“I’m just really waiting to hear when he’s going to get on the field, let alone take live BP,” Roberts said. “He’s not there yet. But everything I’ve heard, it’s been a really productive last three to four to five days.”

One player who did return was closer Edwin Díaz. Limited by injuries to 16 appearances in his first season with the Dodgers, he was activated Friday and threw 17 pitches in the ninth, giving up a single and striking out two.

For Roberts, the last month has looked like an episode of “The Pitt,” with medical crises piling up, one atop the other. Yet that’s hardly slowed the Dodgers, who opened their final homestand of the season having won 11 of their last 14 games.

Now the focus becomes continuing that momentum while getting as close to full strength as possible.

“They can go hand in hand,” Roberts said. “We have a lot of good players that are more than capable of helping us win baseball games, at the same time making sure we try to get our best players to optimum health when the postseason starts.”

The Dodgers got a big lift Friday from rookie Josue De Paula, who didn’t figure in their regular-season plans — much less their postseason ones — until a week ago when he was called up to take Ohtani’s place. In his Dodger Stadium debut, De Paula singled and scored on a Teoscar Hernández single in the fifth, then roped a double to the wall in right-center an inning later, scoring Kyle Tucker to put the Dodgers ahead to stay.

Tucker, Max Muncy, Mookie Betts and Will Smith all homered in a five-run eighth inning, turning a nail-biter into a comfortable win. Betts also hit a solo blast in the first.

“It’s crossed my mind,” De Paula said with a smile when asked if he’s in the discussion for a playoff roster spot. “But I try to focus on the now while I’m here and I’m enjoying every moment.”

“Yeah, he’s in the mix,” Roberts confirmed. “He’s certainly doing a lot of things well.”

All of the scoring helped Tyler Glasnow (5-1) earn his second win since April 23. Glasnow gave up just three hits in six innings, striking out a season-high 10.

Hernández, who had two hits, is batting .368 with 17 RBIs in September; Tucker, who also had two hits, is hitting .424 with five home runs and 13 runs scored in his last 10 games; Betts has six hits in his last eight at-bats, lifting his average to a season-high .254.

That’s helped make up for Freddie Freeman’s struggles. Freeman, who went hitless in four at-bats Friday, striking out twice, has just six hits — and 13 strikeouts — in his last 48 at-bats.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Roberts said with a sigh before the game.

They have just over a week to get it done.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

PHOENIX — Who needs Aaron Judge?

The Yankees do, of course, but they began life without him again on Friday night in encouraging fashion. 

In a tribute to Judge, who has fueled much of their first-inning damage over the years, the Yankees put up a five spot in the opening frame before Gerrit Cole took care of the rest in an important bounce-back start.

Coming into the day having allowed seven home runs over his last two starts, Cole gave up another but limited the damage to just one on the way to the Yankees’ 9-2 win over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

On a day that began with news of Judge going on the injured list with a right calf strain that very much threatens his availability for the postseason, the Yankees (89-64) inched within four games of the Rays for the division with nine games remaining, while staying 5 ¹/₂ games clear of the Red Sox for the top AL wild card.

“We’re obviously bummed for Aaron and Aaron’s probably bummed too,” Cole said. “But we’ve been in this position before this year, so unfortunately, it’s our reality at this point. We came out tonight with a good mentality and we played really good baseball and that’s a recipe for success, regardless of who’s in the lineup. Aaron’s a quick healer and a hard worker, and he’ll be back sooner than later for us. In his absence, we’ll hold the fort.”

Barring a Rays collapse, the Yankees will almost certainly be facing the Red Sox in the AL wild-card series, and Aaron Boone said before Friday’s game that he would expect Cole to make a start in that series despite getting roughed up of late.

Cole then took the mound and backed up that faith, tossing six innings of two-run ball in his penultimate start of the regular season.

The runs both came on Corbin Carroll’s two-run shot in the second inning, which came on a 97 mph fastball, the pitch that opponents have hit hard lately against Cole.

And though he still only generated four whiffs on 20 swings against his fastball, he found a way to minimize the damage and get back on track.

“I think a lot of people probably overreacted to a couple of outings that, frankly, are inevitable in a long season,” Boone said. “The reality is he’s having an outstanding season, he’s throwing the ball really well, and a great pitcher like him is going to be able to make some adjustments when you have a couple where they get to you.”

The veteran right-hander struck out six while walking none and scattering just four hits — all of which came off his fastball — against the Diamondbacks (80-74), who are on the outside looking in for the final NL wild card.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

Boone said Cole “grinded pretty hard” between starts, which the former Cy Young winner indicated was about tightening up his delivery to create more deception.

“I don’t think we did a perfect job tonight,” Cole said. “I think we moved the needle in the right direction, but there’s still some meat on the bone there. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary. It’s the big leagues.”

It helped that the Yankees gave Cole a 5-0 lead to work with before he threw a single pitch, as they made Diamondbacks All-Star lefty Eduardo Rodríguez throw 45 pitches in the top of the first.

Each of the first five batters reached base, as Paul Goldschmidt walked, Cody Bellinger singled, Heliot Ramos walked, Ben Rice walked and Amed Rosario singled.

One out later, George Lombard Jr. roped a two-run single up the middle to make it 5-0.

Rice added a solo shot off Rodríguez in the third inning, for his 39th home run of the season — a number Boone insisted he predicted back in spring training — before Lombard knocked him out of the game in the sixth with a home run of his own that made it 7-2.

“Obviously we were missing [Judge] for a long time there, so this one is especially hard to swallow, him just being back for a brief period and now already gone,” said Rice, who added a triple and two walks. “But we have no choice but to keep playing hard, keep doing our thing.”

PHOENIX — Who needs Aaron Judge?

The Yankees do, of course, but they began life without him again on Friday night in encouraging fashion. 

In a tribute to Judge, who has fueled much of their first-inning damage over the years, the Yankees put up a five spot in the opening frame before Gerrit Cole took care of the rest in an important bounce-back start.

Coming into the day having allowed seven home runs over his last two starts, Cole gave up another but limited the damage to just one on the way to the Yankees’ 9-2 win over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

On a day that began with news of Judge going on the injured list with a right calf strain that very much threatens his availability for the postseason, the Yankees (89-64) inched within four games of the Rays for the division with nine games remaining, while staying 5 ¹/₂ games clear of the Red Sox for the top AL wild card.

“We’re obviously bummed for Aaron and Aaron’s probably bummed too,” Cole said. “But we’ve been in this position before this year, so unfortunately, it’s our reality at this point. We came out tonight with a good mentality and we played really good baseball and that’s a recipe for success, regardless of who’s in the lineup. Aaron’s a quick healer and a hard worker, and he’ll be back sooner than later for us. In his absence, we’ll hold the fort.”

Barring a Rays collapse, the Yankees will almost certainly be facing the Red Sox in the AL wild-card series, and Aaron Boone said before Friday’s game that he would expect Cole to make a start in that series despite getting roughed up of late.

Cole then took the mound and backed up that faith, tossing six innings of two-run ball in his penultimate start of the regular season.

The runs both came on Corbin Carroll’s two-run shot in the second inning, which came on a 97 mph fastball, the pitch that opponents have hit hard lately against Cole.

And though he still only generated four whiffs on 20 swings against his fastball, he found a way to minimize the damage and get back on track.

“I think a lot of people probably overreacted to a couple of outings that, frankly, are inevitable in a long season,” Boone said. “The reality is he’s having an outstanding season, he’s throwing the ball really well, and a great pitcher like him is going to be able to make some adjustments when you have a couple where they get to you.”

The veteran right-hander struck out six while walking none and scattering just four hits — all of which came off his fastball — against the Diamondbacks (80-74), who are on the outside looking in for the final NL wild card.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

Boone said Cole “grinded pretty hard” between starts, which the former Cy Young winner indicated was about tightening up his delivery to create more deception.

“I don’t think we did a perfect job tonight,” Cole said. “I think we moved the needle in the right direction, but there’s still some meat on the bone there. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary. It’s the big leagues.”

It helped that the Yankees gave Cole a 5-0 lead to work with before he threw a single pitch, as they made Diamondbacks All-Star lefty Eduardo Rodríguez throw 45 pitches in the top of the first.

Each of the first five batters reached base, as Paul Goldschmidt walked, Cody Bellinger singled, Heliot Ramos walked, Ben Rice walked and Amed Rosario singled.

One out later, George Lombard Jr. roped a two-run single up the middle to make it 5-0.

Rice added a solo shot off Rodríguez in the third inning, for his 39th home run of the season — a number Boone insisted he predicted back in spring training — before Lombard knocked him out of the game in the sixth with a home run of his own that made it 7-2.

“Obviously we were missing [Judge] for a long time there, so this one is especially hard to swallow, him just being back for a brief period and now already gone,” said Rice, who added a triple and two walks. “But we have no choice but to keep playing hard, keep doing our thing.”

The two starting pitchers entered this game trending in opposite directions. Gerrit Cole had just allowed the most home runs (seven) in a two-start span in his career, while Eduardo Rodriguez is in the midst of a career year with a 2.62 ERA. One of those trends remained — Cole giving up another home run on a fastball — but fortunately the other trend was momentarily halted, the Yankees scoring five in the first off E-Rod to give themselves enough of a cushion to weather Cole’s continued home run woes.

Cole settled down after the Carroll dinger to give the Yankees six innings, by which time the offense all but put this game out of reach. They kept the pressure on, scoring a further four runs including solo home runs by Ben Rice and George Lombard Jr., to cruise to a series-opening victory in the desert, 9-2.

Rodriguez came into this game with an ERA above six in the first inning and an ERA right around two for the subsequent innings combined. That made it imperative that the Yankees find a way to do damage before the home team had a chance to come to bat, especially with the rate Cole is giving up the long ball. They did just that with a clear disciplined approach not to expand the zone against E-Rod’s curveball.

Paul Goldschmidt drew a leadoff walk, Cody Bellinger followed with a single, and Heliot Ramos also walked to load the bases with no outs. Rice drew the Yankees’ third walk in the first four batters to plate Goldschmidt and open the scoring, Goldy, Ramos, and Rice all working full counts before taking the free pass. Amed Rosario then fought off a cutter that handcuffed him up and in, muscling it to the opposite field perfectly between center and left fielder to plate Bellinger as the runners went station to station. A wild pitch allowed Ramos to score and Rice and Rosario to move up to second and third. This set up a two-run ground ball single from Lombard that just got by Geraldo Perdomo’s diving attempt to atone for his defensive misplay in the 13th that allowed the Twins to walk off the Yankees on Wednesday.

Rodriguez struck out Volpe to end the inning giving him three strikeouts in the frame, but the damage was done. The 45 pitches he threw were the most he’s thrown in the first inning in his career. 33 of those pitches fell out of the zone, but only eight induced a chase.

It’s a good thing they hung such a crooked number, because Cole immediately gave two of those runs back. He gave up a leadoff single to Perdomo before yanking an 0-1 four-seamer right into Corbin Carroll’s nitro zone, the three-time All-Star obliterating it to right for a two-run bomb to reduce the Yankees’ lead, 5-2. Rice made sure to immediately tilt the momentum back in his team’s favor. After falling behind 0-2, he stayed back on an elevated heater from E-Rod riding it out the other way and over the fence in left-center for a leadoff bomb, his 39th of the year, to give Cole some more of his cushion back, 6-2.

Cole settled down to work a scoreless third and fourth, helped in part by a sharp uptick in slider usage at the expense of some four-seamers as well as an impressive sliding catch in left-center by Spencer Jones in the third. He finally began dialing the fastball command to the corners in the fifth, striking out Tim Tawa and Lars Nootbaar on four-seamers to end the frame after Jesús Sánchez singled with one out. This allowed Lombard to restore the Yankees’ five run lead in the sixth, the rookie punishing a hanging curveball from E-Rod by lining the solo shot down the line it left and into the bullpen for his fourth of the year and third RBI on the night.

The four-seamer was the prime culprit for Cole in his previous two starts with a 68.2-percent hard-hit rate and just six whiffs, and that remained the case tonight. However, I believe it is Cole’s rustiness with his secondaries that is leading his four-seamer to get barreled. The fastball still has plenty of velocity — at 97 mph it’s a full tick above last season. I will grant that he has missed location in the zone on numerous occasions which hasn’t done him any favors.

However, after his last start, Cole identified a lack of chase and whiff against his secondaries as the reason his fastball is getting crushed. Hitters being able to lay off those chase pitches forces Cole to overuse the fastball in counts that favor the softer stuff, which in essence gives them the opportunity to hunt the heater when they should be defending against the breaker. When you can hunt a fastball in any count, chances are you are going to do damage when Cole misses his spot in the zone, the high velocity not much of a weapon when hitters’ bats are preemptively sped up.

Indeed, once he started commanding his slider and knuckle curve to the shadow of the zone in the middle innings, the hard contact against the fastball dried up. Having pitched a strong fifth and sixth and with his pitch count at 90, Boone saw no reason to overextend Cole and ended his night after six with his best innings freshest in mind. He finished night having pitched six innings, allowing two runs on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts.

Despite possessing one of the stingiest bullpens in baseball, the Diamondbacks decided that a five-run deficit in the seventh was too steep to justify using their high leverage arms. So, Zac Gallen made his first career relief appearance, the former All-Star in the midst of am injury-plagued, below-replacement-level campaign. He allowed a leadoff single to Goldschmidt and walked Ramos and Rice — again, both in full counts — to load the bases with one out. Aaron Boone sent out Ryan McMahon to pinch-hit for Rosario, and he hit a sharp grounder to first that Pavin Smith gloved but airmailed the underhand toss to Gallen covering first as all the runners were safe and a run scored on the error. Spencer Jones then appeared to ground into the inning-ending double play, but his hustle out of the box and down the line just beat the throw to pick up an RBI and make it 9-2.

Ryan Yarbrough pitched 1.1 innings in relief of Cole and worked himself into and out of trouble in the seventh. Arizona put runners on second and third as Nolan Arenado singled and Carroll doubled with one out. However, Yarbrough struck out Jose Fernandez and Tawa to strand the pair in scoring position. Rice smoked his fourth triple of the year in the ninth but was stranded at third by a McMahon strikeout. Michael Fulmer and Luis Gil recorded the final five outs of the game without allowing a baserunner to seal the win, 9-2. With the Rays having lost to the Red Sox earlier in the evening, the Yankees’ deficit is back to four games in the division, making that looming four-game set against Tampa in the Bronx even more high stakes.

Cam Schlittler looks to cement his AL Cy Young case tomorrow after Dylan Cease suffered his shortest start of the season on Friday. The Yankees ace will face off against Brandon Pfaadt with a slightly more reasonable game start time. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 pm ET with the broadcast remaining on YES.

Box Score

The Yankees' offense scored five first-inning runs, en route to a 9-2 victory over the Diamondbacks on Friday night in Arizona.

With the win and the Rays' loss earlier in the evening, the Yankees are 4.0 games behind Tampa for first place in the AL East. 

Here are the takeaways...

-The Yankees got to Eduardo Rodriguez early, loading the bases (walk, single, walk) with no outs in the first. Ben Rice worked his way back from a 1-2 count to walk and force in the game's first run. Amed Rosario, starting at third base, blooped a single to drive in a run. Spencer Jones struck out before a passed ball allowed Heliot Ramos to score from third. George Lombard Jr. followed up with a two-run single to give the Yankees a 5-0 lead. 

-Gerrit Cole, after allowing seven home runs in his last two starts, had a shutdown 12-pitch first inning after the Yankees gave him that five-run lead. However, the longball would bite Cole in the second, when Corbin Carroll launched a two-run shot to put Arizona on the board.

But that's all Cole would give up in six strong innings. He allowed those two runs on four hits, no walks, while striking out six, a great bounceback performance from the right-hander.

-Rice smashed his 39th home run of the season off the southpaw Rodriguez in the third. The homer went 390 feet over the left center field wall. He now has five homers in his last 22 games. Rice finished 2-for-3 with the home run and a triple. 

Lombard's productive day wasn't done either, as the rookie launched a solo shot in the sixth to knock Rodriguez out of the game. 

-The Yankees pushed across two more runs in the seventh off former ace Zac Gallen, making his first career relief appearance after he was moved to the bullpen after a terrible 2026, thanks to an error and a failed double-play attempt.

-In relief of Cole, Ryan Yarbrough, Michael Fulmer and Luis Gil got the final nine outs. Yarbrough worked out of trouble after giving up two hits in the seventh and Gil worked out of an inning where he allowed two baserunners.

-With Aaron Judge on the IL for the foreseeable future, the rest of the Yankees outfield's production will be under a microscope. Cody Bellinger (1-5), Jones (0-4, RBI) and Ramos (0-2, 2 BB) combined to go 1-for-11. 

Jones, in particular, is struggling. He went hitless again and struck out two more times. He's now struck out nine times in his last four games.

Game MVP: Gerrit Cole

The Yankees and the right-hander needed this start, to instill confidence that Cole has not lost it. He also helped give the bullpen a rest after the 13-inning game on Wednesday. 

Highlights

Amed Rosario brings home the second run of the inning! pic.twitter.com/ibR3TfoRCq

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 19, 2026

George Lombard Jr. makes it a five-run first inning for the Yankees 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YS1TWfmBct

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 19, 2026

Ben Rice's 39th home run of the year! 🍚 pic.twitter.com/Bc9RrX91QH

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 19, 2026

George Lombard Jr. homers into the left field corner! pic.twitter.com/edeHuenKRe

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 19, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and D-backs continue their three-game set Saturday night. First pitch is set for 8:05 p.m.

Cam Schlittler (14-6, 1.95 ERA) takes the mound and goes up against Brandon Pfaadt (7-3, 3.77 ERA). 

The last couple of seasons have not been kind to Mark Vientos.

The young Mets slugger, after a breakout 2024 -- especially in the postseason -- was primed to become a building block for the team's future. But after a down 2025 and a miserable 2026 filled with injuries and poor performance, Vientos' future in Queens may not be so clear-cut.

“Do I want to be a New York Met? Of course I want to be a New York Met,” Vientos told MLB.com's Anthony DiComo this week. “This is the team that I got drafted by and I have so many great memories with. But it’s whatever life has in store for me.”

The Mets have a decision to make this offseason. Vientos is arbitration-eligible for the first time, but he's also a non-tender candidate. As DiComo notes, Vientos will receive a significant raise in salary if the Mets tender him a contract through the arbitration process. If they non-tender him, Vientos' time with the Mets will be up. 

New York could also tender a contract and try to trade Vientos, or tender him and cut him in spring training, which he will be just 27 by then. 

All of this seemed impossible just a couple of years ago when Vientos, 22 years old at the time, batted .266 with 27 home runs before hitting .327 with five more homers in the Mets' magical 2024 postseason run. However, he slashed .233/.289/.413 (.702 OPS) with just 17 home runs in 121 games the following season when he was given the keys to an everyday job. 

This season has been more of the same. In 82 games, Vientos is slashing .218/.267/.405 (.672 OPS) with 13 home runs. 

“After '24, I had expectations,” Vientos said. “When those expectations don’t come, you start to wonder, ‘What do I need to do?’ … I believe what I did in '24, that’s me.

“I feel like these past two years were just learning experiences that I really appreciated. And I think it’s going to help me for sure.”

Vientos landed on the IL with a hand fracture in July and returned Aug. 31, but did not see immediate playing time.

Interim manager Andy Green was upfront with Vientos when he went on his rehab assignment that he would have to earn playing time. 

"I was very forthright with him when he started the rehab assignment that a lot of that will be dictated by how others perform and also by how he performs," Green said at the time. "Still think there’s a very bright future for him out there if he wants to grab a hold of it. That’s on him."

Vientos told DiComo that he doesn't know what his future will hold, but will "go with the flow." In the meantime, he's content with the playing time and Green has applauded Vientos' approach to this situation and being a good teammate when he's not in the lineup. 

Vientos was in Friday's lineup as the DH and went 1-for-3 with a walk. With the season-ending injury to Jared Young, Vientos could see more playing time as the DH and at first base. 

He will try to use the final eight games to show what he's capable of, and let the chips fall where they may this offseason.