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After beating the Yankees in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader by a 10-2 score, the Orioles came out for the nightcap with a lineup that featured Jeremiah Jackson as the cleanup hitter, Rece Hinds as the right fielder, and included Yohel Pozo and José Barrero at the bottom of the order. As you already know, it did not go very well. The Orioles lost the game, 6-3.

The players who were given the assignment of playing the game were trying to win. I believe this is true every day and has been true every day of this disappointing Orioles season. Yet it is hard to escape the conclusion that the people who make the decisions on who plays where and when were not all that interested in whether or not they won the second game. This may end up being the last game of the season, with the possibility of the same rain that led to the Friday doubleheader washing out the meaningless Sunday contest.

The particulars almost don’t matter. It was another one of those dumb games. Not only dumb but dumb in a way that was brought about in part by guys who don’t even belong on any major league roster anywhere, even a bad team’s roster. It feels bad to pile on them sometimes. It’s not their fault that Mike Elias screwed things up to the point that they were needed.

It wasn’t all bad. Brandon Young put a nice bow on his season by holding the Yankees to one run over five innings. If you want to pick nits, sure, he walked too many guys with three free passes, but he only gave up two hits and he struck out six batters. He finishes the year with a 3.56 ERA. Coby Mayo had two hits. So did Christian Franklin. Pete Alonso was on base twice and scored a run on a sacrifice fly. He’s good, you guys.

Also, Pozo stole a base when he took off running on an 0-2 count to Dylan Beavers where he probably figured Beavers was about to strike out, and Pozo was super excited about it. That was fun. It was the first stolen base of Pozo’s MLB career. Beavers hit a garbage time home run in the ninth inning, his second homer of the day after a grand slam that blew open the first game.

Then, there was everything else. It’s not like the Orioles lacked for chances. They kept getting guys on base. They just weren’t bringing them home. The team left 13 men on base, went 1-13 with runners in scoring position, and struck out 17 times. Hinds had multiple bad plays in the field that led to an inning continuing and runs scoring. He also went 0-5 with five strikeouts. Josh Walker had a rough outing, not helped by Hinds. Anthony Nunez had a rough outing that had nothing to do with Hinds.

The Orioles have lost a lot of games like this over the course of this season. Perhaps either due to rain or due to playing better, this will be the last one that we have to watch.

To be fair to the guys, they ended up with the tying run at the plate in the ninth inning after Leody Taveras got an RBI double. They were battling to the end. The batter who came up next after that? It was Hinds. There was not a pinch hitter for Hinds with one out in the ninth inning when he was the tying run. He struck out for a fifth time. The players who played were trying. The people who put them on the field were perhaps less motivated to win than I would prefer.

The team is now 79-82. They are guaranteed a losing season. They are not guaranteed to finish in last place in the AL East. That depends on whether the Blue Jays win their final two games on Saturday and Sunday. They sit at 78-82 right now.

Shane Baz and Elmer Rodríguez are the scheduled starting pitchers for the 3:20 game on Sunday that may or may not happen. If this game is it, you could not write a better coda for the 2026 Orioles season.

The Dodgers (97-62) open a three-game series against the Giants (65-94) Friday night in San Francisco, wrapping up the regular season. 

Tarik Skubal (11-7, 2.85 ERA, 0.99 WHIP) makes his last regular season start for the Dodgers before he gears up for the postseason. 

Yunior Marté (0-1, 4.66 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) starts for the Giants.

Lineups

Tonight’s #Dodgers lineup at Giants: pic.twitter.com/AhACEDiAyy

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 25, 2026

Down to the final three

⌚️: 7:15 p.m. PT
📍: @OracleParkSF
📺: @NBCSGiants
📻: @KNBR | KSFN#SFGiants | @CocaColapic.twitter.com/hByu6Tay7Z

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 26, 2026

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Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Giants
• Ballpark: Oracle Park, San Francisco
• Start time: 7:15 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Cincinnati Reds have their own Tungsten Arm O’Doyle.

For those who didn’t let their brains rot on Twitter during the long, lonely COVID days, the fictionally dominant O’Doyle was a shooting star in 2021 as future Hall of Famers Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout languished on a Los Angeles Angels roster that was a full three levels beneath them.

every time I see an Angels highlight it's like "Mike Trout hit three homes runs and raised his average to .528 while Shohei Ohtani did something that hasn't been done since 'Tungsten Arm' O'Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen, as the Tigers defeated the Angels 8-3"

— ℳatt (matttomic.bsky.social) (@matttomic) May 18, 2021

Anyway, the Cincinnati Reds watched superstar shortstop Elly De La Cruz swat the 30th homer of his season last night against the Atlanta Braves and then – with just a trio of games remaining – manage to swipe his 30th bag of the season tonight in Toronto. In the process he became the first Cincinnati Reds player to log 30 homers, 30 steals, and 30 doubles in a single season in 30 years since Hall of Famer Barry Larkin is the only other player in franchise history to have done so (back in 1996).

The 4th Red in the 30/30 Club ⚡️@ellylacocoa18pic.twitter.com/XsVglXR8r4

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 25, 2026

It also marks the first 30-30 (homer-steal) season the Reds have had since Brandon Phillips pulled that off back in 2007. Elly, BP, Larkin, and Eric Davis are the only players in the history of the Reds to go 30-30.

That was all well and wonderful as the Reds surged to a 5-2 lead over a Blue Jays club that was officially eliminated from postseason play earlier in the week. Except for the fact that Cincinnati’s bullpen blew that and the Reds lost 6-5.

The legend of Elly De La O’Doyle is building.

Let out that breath you’re holding; the Tigers won their first game of the weekend over the Pirates 8-7.

The Tigers had a lot to win for going into this weekend. They might not be fighting for a place in the postseason, but with fans coming around to celebrate the final weekend of Justin Verlander’s career, the team definitely wanted to put on a good show. Jackson Jobe got the nod for the Tigers as a starter, up against Bubba Chandler for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was nice to see that Justin Verlander, in his big farewell speech, took a moment to shout out former teammate and Pirates’ manager Don Kelly. Kind of a cool full-circle moment.

In the top of the first, the Pirates went 1-2-3. The Tigers also went down in order in the home half.

Oneil Cruz got a leadoff walk to open the second inning. With one out, Cruz stole second, his 30th steal of the season. Ryan O’Hearn then singled, bringing Cruz home for the first run of the game. After the second out, Spencer Horwitz doubled, bringing in another run. Jobe finally got the third out of the inning, but the Tigers were now in a two-run deficit. Eduardo Valencia got a leadoff walk in the home half, then with two outs, Brett Callahan singled, bumping Valencia to third. A Spencer Torkelson triple (his first of the season!) brought two runs in and clearly made Tork’s day.

Brandon Lowe got a one-out walk in the third, but two outs followed, leaving him stranded. In the bottom of the inning with two outs, Kevin McGonigle got a walk, then Valencia singled, pushing McGonigle over to third. Riley Greene walked, then a Dillon Dingler single brought two more runs in to put the Tigers in the lead. Callahan walked, then Torkelson struck out, but the third strike got away as a wild pitch and two more runs scored. That was it for Bubba, who was replaced by Evan Sisk, who came on and got the final out of the inning.

Tigers just scored 2 runs on a dropped third strike.

The last time a team scored multiple runs on a dropped third strike was April 30, 2021 (Phillies)

— Tigers Data (@TigersData) September 26, 2026

In the top of the fourth, the Pirates went 1-2-3. Max Clark got a leadoff single in the home half, but Hao-Yu Lee bunted into a force out that eliminated Clark at second. Lee then stole second. Valencia and Greene then got back-to-back walks to load the bases. Despite being in a great position to score more runs, the Pirates actually managed to get out of the inning without any additional runs scoring.

In the fifth, Jake Mangum got a one-out single. Once again, though, the Pirates weren’t able to convert the baserunner. Wilber Dotel was the new pitcher in the bottom of the inning. Torkelson got a one-out double, perhaps hoping to sneak in a cycle this game? Why not? Two outs followed, though, leaving Tork stranded.

With one out in the top of the sixth, Jobe’s day was done. His final line was 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K on 86 pitches. A really solid outing from him, showing some flashes of what to expect from him going forward as he hones his skills even further. Drew Sommers replaced him, and with two outs gave up a walk to Nick Gonzales before getting the final out of the inning. With two outs in the home half, Valencia walked, the seventh (!!) of the game. Greene then singled to put runners on the corners. Dingler reached on a fielder’s choice and thanks to a fielding error, one more run scored. They’d have to settle for just the one, but it gave them a 7-2 lead.

Andrew Sears was the new pitcher for the seventh. He got the Pirates out in order. Spencer Torkelson got a solo home run to start the home half. Officially only one single away from the cycle. John Peck then singled. A wild pitch allowed Peck to advance to second. The Tigers went down in order after that, though, failing to extend their lead.

Konnor Griffin was hit by a pitch to start the eighth, but a double play off the bat of Lowe quickly eliminated the baserunner. Bryan Reynolds walked, followed by back-to-back singles from Cruz and Gonzales, scoring another run for them. An O’Hearn single brought in a fourth run for Pittsburgh. Rafael Flores Jr. then homered, and suddenly it was a one-run game. Tyler Holton replaced Sears and got the final out of the inning. Brandon Eisert was the next Pirates pitcher and Valencia got a leadoff double against him. Unfortunately, the Tigers weren’t able to bring in any additional runs, or give Torkelson a chance to get the single he needed for the cycle.

Kenley Jansen came in for the ninth, hoping to keep the Tigers from extras. He did just that, getting the side out in order and collecting win 498.

Final: Tigers 8, Pirates 7

The Mets fell to the Nationals by a score of 7-6 to open up the final series of the season. The Mets went with a bullpen game and most of the damage came in a disastrous third inning. It’s hard to say who was at fault but it certainly wasn’t a good look for Francisco Alvarez who was behind the plate for three wild pitches in the third. Two of them allowed a run to score and they came on back-to-back pitches with Jonathan Pintaro on the mound.

It was an ugly game for Alvarez all around. First he grounded out into a double play with the bases loaded in the first. He was 2-for-32 with the bases loaded in his career according to Gary Cohen. Next, in the second inning he attempted to throw behind a runner at second base and instead threw it into centerfield. Then came the nightmarish third inning. He did drive in the Mets’ sixth run with a sacrifice fly but overall it was a pretty poor performance by the catcher.

After the nightmarish third inning the Mets used the long ball to attempt to get back in it. Juan Soto just missed a home run that was knocked down by the wind but both Bo Bichette and Carson Benge managed to leave the yard to pull the Mets to within one. It was a milestone home run for Benge who became the first rookie in Mets’ history to join the 20/20 club.

Both the Mets and Nationals would add on another run, but the third inning was the turning point in the game. In the grand scheme of things this game means very little in a lost season but it would have been nice to pass the Nationals and get out of the cellar which is now impossible. Only two more games and then this season will mercifully come to a close.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big winner: Carson Benge, +28% WPA
Big loser: Francisco Alvarez, -30% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -40% WPA
Total batter WPA: -10% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Carson Benge single in eighth, +14.7% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: CJ Abrams’s RBI single in first, -16.4% WPA

After some sloppy defense and less-than-ideal pitching (what else is new, amirite?) sunk the Mariners last night, they’ll have another chance to deal the Angels their 99th loss of the season. Please, baseball gods. We are asking for so little at this point.

Lineups:

If you groaned upon seeing Weston Wilson and Leo Rivas round out the M’s lineup, I can’t say I blame you, but on a happier note, Michael Arroyo will make his first career big league appearance in left field – and batting fifth to boot! Randy Arozarena will get a rare DH day, just the fifth time he has not played the field all season, while J.P. Crawford and Cal Raleigh both get the night off against Reid Detmers. Don’t be surprised to see some pinch-hitting in the later innings should Seattle make Detmers work a bit, though, and we all could use some more Lázaro Montes in the last couple days of the year.

As for the Angels, they’re rolling out a nearly identical lineup to last night’s, with the exception of Denzer Guzman hitting the bench as Vaughn Grissom moves across the diamond while Moises Ballesteros covers first base. Behind the plate is one Travis d’Arnaud, and if you’re surprised he’s still playing Major League Baseball, well, join the club.

News:

Andrés Muñoz’s season will end a few days before everyone else’s, as Seattle’s closer was placed on the 15-day injured list with right knee inflammation. Muñoz exited Sunday’s win against the Rockies with the injury and underwent an MRI that same day. Troy Taylor has been recalled to take his roster spot.

Game Time:

First Pitch: 7:10pm, with postgame fireworks

TV: Mariners TV

Radio: Old Reliable

The Mets and Nationals went blow-for-blow, but New York could not overcome its early deficit as they fell 7-6 on Friday night in Washington, D.C.

The loss guarantees the Mets (73-87) will finish last in the NL East in a full season for the first time since 2003. 

Here are the takeaways...

-The Mets offense got started quickly, with Mark Vientos driving home Juan Soto, who hit a one-out single, on a double. It's the first first-inning run Andrew Alvarez has allowed this season (17 starts). But it could have been more. After Carson Benge walked to load the bases, Francisco Alvarez was up in the count 3-1 before he grounded into an inning-ending double play. 

New York would get more runs in the third inning, though, as a Bo Bichette RBI single and a Vientos sac fly put the Mets in front 3-2. 

-Jefrey Yan got the start and had a tough time in the first. Yan allowed two baserunners on but was one out away from getting out of the inning when CJ Abrams hit a bomb to right-center field. It looked destined to be a home run, but the wind must have pushed it back in as it hit off the wall, scoring two, but keeping Abrams -- who was admiring his shot -- to a single. 

Yan tossed 37 pitches (21 strikes), allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out one batter.

-Jonathan Pintaro was the next arm out of the Mets 'pen and had a messy third inning. He allowed two runs to score on three wild pitches in the frame, including back-to-back, to give the Nationals the 4-3 lead. Cionel Perez was next and also threw a wild pitch, the fourth of the inning before the Mets recorded an out. A Daylen Lile sac fly pushed across Washington's third run of the inning. A Keibert Ruiz RBI single later, and the Mets finally got out of the third, allowing four runs and four wild pitches. 

The Mets had to use five pitchers to get through Friday's game. Justin Hagenman was the long man out of the 'pen and the most effective of the pitchers used in the series opener. However, the home run he allowed to Dylan Crews proved to be the difference in the game.

Here's how the pitchers did:

• Yan: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• Pintaro: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB
• Perez: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB
• Hagenman: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• Nate Lavender: 1.0 IP, 1 K

-While the wind affected plenty of fly balls to the outfield, it couldn't knock down Bichette and Carson Benge's bombs in the fourth to pull the Mets to within one run. For Benge, it was his 20th homer of the season, and he became the first Mets rookie to have 20 bombs and 20 stolen bases. An Alvarez sac fly in the eighth gave the Mets their sixth run of the game, but that's all they would muster after A.J. Ewing struck out on a check swing that was called a swing by the third base umpire, leaving a runner on base. The rookie yelled at the umpire and was ejected, the first Mets player to be ejected this season.

Game MVP: Nationals bullpen

The much-maligned 'pen allowed just one run in 4.1 innings of work.

Highlights

Mark Vientos gets the Mets on the board in the first! pic.twitter.com/ZGROG9Gd5F

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 25, 2026

Bo Bichette brings home Francisco Lindor to tie the game! 💪 pic.twitter.com/WeNcUFs8LX

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 25, 2026

Mark Vientos' sacrifice fly brings in Juan Soto and gives the Mets the lead! pic.twitter.com/YcaVlINC9X

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 25, 2026

Jonathan Pintaro and Cionel Pérez combined to throw four wild pitches before recording an out in the third inning pic.twitter.com/HP00LVFt2E

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 26, 2026

Bo Bichette goes dead center for his 18th home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/W6F4ljCQ1g

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 26, 2026

A 20/20 ROOKIE YEAR FOR CARSON BENGE!

HE'S THE FIRST METS ROOKIE EVER TO DO IT! pic.twitter.com/OK8jNuwxf2

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 26, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Nationals continue their final regular season series Saturday. First pitch is set for 12:35 p.m. on SNY.

Jonah Tong (2-2, 4.21 ERA) will make his final regular season start against Connelly Early (7-5, 3.44 ERA). 

The San Francisco Giants begin their final series of the 2026 season tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I have not been willing to give the Giants organization much credit this season, but I do have to hand it to them for making sure that tonight’s game is not being broadcast on Apple, Twitch, or like Venmo or something. I was legitimately concerned that was going to happen and that we would miss the Willie Mac Award ceremony. So they got that one right, thankfully.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Yunior Marté, who enters tonight’s game with a 4.66 ERA, 5.37 FIP, with 11 strikeouts to nine walks in 19.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 10-4 loss to the Dodgers last Saturday, in which he allowed six runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and three walks in four and two thirds innings.

As of the time this is being written, the Dodgers have not yet announced a starting pitcher for this game. Maybe it’s me, and the Giants might have a chance of winning! You’ll have to check down in the comments to find out.

Game #160

Who: San Francisco Giants (65-94) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (97-61)

Where:Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 7:15 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

Even when you’re watching on TV, you can tell the ballpark has no juice. The fans roared boos from time to time when the offense did nothing but there was just no energy the entire night. The 2026 Philadelphia Phillies do not deserve it. They entered this game with their magic number at two and once again failed to control their own destiny.

The Phillies have scored two runs in their last three games. An offense that already ranked as one of the worst in baseball is hitting a horrible cold streak at the wrong time. They just lost their cleanup hitter and replaced him with Edmundo Sosa, hitting ninth, who went hitless with a throwing error.

The first two innings for Cristopher Sánchez were not swimming in excellence; he allowed three straight two-out singles in the first to give the Tampa Bay Rays an early lead and a Nick Fortes home run in the second. However, that probably shouldn’t end the game.

Sánchez would do whatever he could to right those first two innings. He probably got a bit lucky when Junior Caminero’s 107 mph flyball died at the track on a windy night but he was nearly flawless beyond that. After a Jonathan Aranda walk in the fifth, Sanchez retired the next seven batters he faced on strikeouts, ending Jorge Matteo in the seventh inning with two unhittable changeups.

If the Phillies somehow finish this collapse and don’t get the chance to play a playoff game, there won’t be many players blameless. If there is one guy who doesn’t deserve criticism, it’s Sánchez. While the Rays have nothing to play for, striking out ten batters over seven innings against one of the best teams in the sport should lead to a win.

But his offense offered no support. Freddy Peralta took the ball for the Rays and it isn’t like he should be unhittable. He has performed a lot better for the Rays compared to his tenure with the New York Mets but that’s still a 117 ERA+ over nine starts. That’s good but nothing special.

The Phillies made him look a bit special. He allowed a Bryson Stott leadoff single in the second but nothing materialized. Brandon Marsh cannot escape the depths of sadness he is in and hit a lazy flyball to Jonny DeLuca in center field, followed by a Justin Crawford double play.

Even though it was a two run game, the Phillies carried three opportunities tonight where one of their top baserunners reached first base to leadoff the inning. Stott did in that second inning, Justin Crawford hit a Baltimore chopper in the sixth and Trea Turner took a Freddy Peralta fastball to right field in the sixth. The Phillies never tried putting a runner in motion, despite an offense that clearly needs some juice.

It’s hindsight but it’s worth a thought nonetheless.

The worst one of these innings has to be the sixth. Trea Turner reached based on that aforementioned single and Bryce Harper followed him up with a single of his own.

With two and no one out, Alec Bohm hit a worked a full count but hit the seventh pitch right to Jonathan Aranda at first base, who’s only out was to first base.

That still left runners on second and third with one out. Left hander Cam Booser came out of the Rays bullpen to face Bryson Stott, who fouled off a couple of well placed fastballs before hitting a soft line drive right at Ben Williamson at second base.

Don Mattingly called Bryan De La Cruz to hit for the struggling Brandon Marsh, and hit a line drive kind of hard but right at Jorge Matteo at shortstop to end the inning.

The Phillies would not have another reach base the rest of the night. Jhoan Duran pitched the eighth inning against the Rays top of the order but did not return for the ninth when the top of the Phillies order went down in order. Tim Mayza worked a meaningless ninth and the Phillies didn’t make Rays closer Bryan Baker work a sweat.

The Phillies do not need a Diamondbacks loss tonight but they could sure use it. A win from them only puts more pressure on a Phillies team that can’t string anything together. Remember, the Diamondbacks have the tie breaker so if both teams are locked with the same record, the Diamondbacks get in.

Things are getting bad. BAD… BAD.

All eyes will be on Blake Snell on Saturday afternoon as the Dodgers left-hander makes his final tuneup of the regular season before October, against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.

Snell left his last start, on September 16 in Cincinnati, after only one inning as a precaution after feeling left groin discomfort.

Left-hander Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson starts for the Giants.

Saturday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Giants
• Ballpark: Oracle Park, San Francisco
• Start time: 1:05 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Braves’ pitching staff largely took care of business despite an untraditional assignment in Friday night’s opening game of the regular-season sendoff series in Miami

The offense, which was not tinkered with and likely resembled what could be the team’s postseason lineup, did not seem to get the memo.

Atlanta managed just one hit off Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez, who threw his first career complete game and first career shutout in a 3-0 Miami win. Pérez struck out eight and walked one, facing just two over the minimum.

The lone Braves hit, a sixth-inning single from Sean Murphy to break up the no-hit bid, was immediately erased by a double play.

That offensive no-show negated what had been a strong combined pitching performance from Ray Kerr and Grant Holmes.

Kerr made his first start of the season as an opener while Holmes pitched four innings out of the bullpen, each testing out potential new postseason roles.

After Kerr allowed the first two Miami batters to reach on singles, he escaped the first-inning jam unscathed and retired eight of the final nine batters he faced to finish with three scoreless innings. The only additional baserunner he allowed, a leadoff walk in the second, was immediately erased by a double play.

Holmes (10-6) replaced him and navigated two hits and three walks through his first three innings before allowing the game’s first run on a solo homer from Marlins catcher Joe Mack with one out in the seventh.

Didier Fuentes was tasked with the eighth inning and had a rare ineffective outing, allowing two runs on five hits — both the most he’s allowed since he gave up seven hits and four runs in an April relief appearance at Washington.

The first five Miami batters of the inning had hits off Fuentes, who got the first two outs via a baserunning mistake and a pickoff at second base. Heriberto Hernandez made it 2-0 with an RBI single after Jakob Marsee’s leadoff triple, and Griffin Conine closed out the scoring with another solo homer.

The Marlins somewhat surprisingly sent Pérez back out to the mound for the ninth as he approached 100 pitches and he retired Murphy, Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr. in order to finish just six pitches shy of a Maddux at 105 pitches.

Game 2 of the series is slated for Saturday at 4:10 p.m. EDT.