MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers are heading to the playoffs, and baseball’s best team left no doubt.
Garrett Mitchell hit the Brewers’ first grand slam of the season, one of four homers for Milwaukee in a 20-0 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night that secured a playoff berth that had long been inevitable.
Manager Pat Murphy celebrated with a toast to his players and clubhouse staff. Afterward, the locker room was subdued, because these Brewers (92-56) hope to accomplish much more.
This will be Milwaukee’s fourth straight trip to the playoffs and eighth in nine seasons.
“It’s not something to take lightly because it’s really hard to do,” Murphy said. “We want to see how far we can go and how complete this can be. Remember that the message to the team is that we checked off one box, but we’ve got a lot more to go.”
Perhaps the biggest hurdle will be knocking off the two-time World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, should the teams meet again. The Dodgers swept the Brewers in the NL championship series last year.
Entering Friday, the Brewers were last in the majors in home runs, but they rank near the top in batting and on-base percentage, and they hope an elite starting rotation led by Jacob Misiorowski can carry them deep into October.
Next up for the Brewers will be wrapping up the NL Central title. They lead the Chicago Cubs by 10 games, and their magic number is four.
Still, Friday’s achievement was worth a moment of reflection.
“You have to celebrate the moment, no matter how big or small,” Mitchell said. “With how long a season is, you have to be able to celebrate the moments when you have them. You never know when you’re going to get them, and you never know when the last one’s going to be. So, a small toast.”
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - AUGUST 7: Alec Burleson #41 of the St. Louis Cardinals looks on during a game against the Colorado Rockies at Busch Stadium on August 7, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s been said that it’s not how you start, but how you finish. That’s a good thing because Matthew Liberatore’s first pitch of the game got torched, but he didn’t finish poorly at all. Would that be enough for the St. Louis Cardinals to win the first game of their homestand against the Chicago White Sox? The Cardinals offense and bullpen would ultimately have to answer that question. Fortunately, the middle of the Cardinals lineup would show up big time.
After a brief rain delay, Matthew Liberatore threw his first pitch which was a 93 mph four-seam fastball. It left the bat of Chicago White Sox leadoff man Chase Meidroth faster than that and traveled 398 feet into the left field plants for an immediate 1-0 White Sox lead. Former Cardinal Randall Grichuk followed that with a double to the right field wall and it looked like the wheels might come off of Liberatore’s wagon right out of the gate. Fortunately, he pitched around the Grichuk double and a walk later in the first only allowing that lone White Sox run on the homer.
The Cardinals bats answered in the bottom of the 1st inning when they were gifted a base when White Sox starter Anthony Kay hit Iván Herrera with a pitch. Alec Burleson made them pay when he ripped a double into the right field corner which scored a hustling Herrera tying the game at 1-1.
St. Louis would take the lead in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Leo Bernal ripped a double into the left-centerfield gap. Thomas Saggese singled to center which moved Bernal to third. Leo then scored when Masyn Winn grounded out to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.
We all had a sense of the wrong kind of Deja vu in the top of the 3rd inning when Chicago White Sox leadoff man Chase Meidroth launched an 88 mph Matthew Liberatore changeup into nearly the same spot he hit his first home run over the left field wall tying the game 2-2.
The Cardinals bats did not go for a nap for a change as St. Louis rallied for another run in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Jordan Walker led off with a solid single to center then advanced to second on a groundout from Alec Burleson. Joshua Báez added a single of his own to center which scored Walker giving the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.
Matthew Liberatore would get the Cardinals 1 out into the top of the 5th inning before he would be lifted by manager Oli Marmol for Gordon Graceffo. He would leave with a runner on 1st with a line of 4 1/3 innings pitched allowing 6 hits and 2 earned runs striking out 2 and walking 3. Not his best start of the year by far, but not his worst either and he did keep the Cardinals in the game unlike a few other outings. Graceffo would run into potential trouble for his part of the 5th as the White Sox would eventually load the bases with a walk and hit-by-pitch, but he’d strike out Peters to end the White Sox threat with no runs scored.
I haven’t heard an official nickname given, but I like the idea of Alec Burleson, Joshua Báez and Leo Bernal being known as the “killer B’s”. They lived up to that billing in the bottom of the 5th when they followed a nice Jordan Walker double to left with a single, double and single consecutively to give the Cardinals 3 more runs to increase the lead to 6-2.
Oh, the eternal question (or at least the one for the second half of this season) is whether the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen could hold that lead. Luis Gastelum entered the game in the top of the 6th inning and trouble appeared to follow him. After getting Montgomery to ground out for the first out, Antonacci and Teel both reached on singles to give the White Sox a scoring threat with runners on first and second with just one out. That situation was worsened by a Gastelum walk to Meidroth which loaded the bases for Randall Grichuk. Luis struck him out as Grichuk helped the cause by swinging at some balls out of the zone. It would come down to a crucial at-bat by Miguel Vargas. He connected with an 85 mph sweeper and drove it to the centerfield wall that Nathan Church bumped into as he caught the ball for the final out of the White Sox 6th. Whew!
The St. Louis defense had some nice highlights Friday night, too, especially Nathan Church who made two difficult catches including one in the top of the 7th where he slammed into the centerfield wall saving reliever Justin Bruihl some heartache.
Joshua Báez came about as close as you can come to hitting a home run in Busch Stadium without actually hitting a home run in the bottom of the 7th inning. He turned on an 89 mph slider and hit it off of the padding at the top of the left field wall that came back into the field of play which was confirmed to be a double after a crew chief’s review. He would eventually score anyway when Leo Bernal smacked a RBI single to left making it 7-2 Cardinals.
Bruihl would not get bailed out in the top of the 8th inning when he hit Antonacci with a pitch and then gave up a single to Teel allowing the White Sox runners on first and third with no outs. That inspired Oli Marmol to remove Justin for Ryne Stanek. He struck out Meidroth who had homered twice earlier in the game for the first out in the White Sox 8th. That brought up Munetaka Murakami who has 31 home runs on the season, but Stanek got him to ground into a force out at second for the second out, but a run scored on the play reducing the St. Louis lead to 7-3. Stanek would escape the top of the 8th when Vargas grounded out to Urias at third for the final out helped by a nice play by Burleson at first who had to be creative snagging the throw from Urias.
I remember the days when the St. Louis Cardinals would have a 4-run lead going into the top of the 9th inning and I’d feel comfortable with that number. This year? Not so much. Riley O’Brien was brought in to handle the middle of the White Sox lineup starting with Colson Montgomery. He struck him out on 3 pitches. No problem. Next up was Benintendi. He flew out innocently to Victor Scott II who was a defensive replacement in right. Tristan Peters was the last home for the White Sox. He grounded out weakly to Burleson. No drama in the 9th? Pinch me, I must be dreaming. More of this please!
The Cardinals will have a big Saturday with the entrance into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame by Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Bill Sherdel Saturday night starting at 5pm. After that, it will be game 2 of the weekend series as Kyle Leahy will start the first few innings for the Cardinals. Luis Castillo gets the start for the White Sox. First pitch Saturday night is set for 6:15pm and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 08: Travis Bazzana #37 of the Cleveland Guardians hits a three-run home run in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 08, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Guardians pulled out a huge victory in the series opener in Minnesota, and it would once again be off the back of some excellent pitching. Parker Messick looked incredibly solid again, as he got through 5.1 innings, striking out 5, and giving up just 3 hits. He would only be touched for 1 run, when the Twins strung together 2 of their 3 hits off him back to back in the 2nd inning. After that, he was able to keep the Twins quiet.
In a similar fashion, Taj Bradley was able to keep the Guardians’ offense in check, giving up just 1 hit through 6 innings. The Guards were able to draw 4 walks off him and made a handful of very loud outs, but couldn’t find any outfield grass.
After the 6th, it would become a battle of the bullpens. The Twins brought in A.J. Minter to pitch the 7th, and the Guardians came out swinging. The first 3 hitters would all swing at the first pitch they saw, and after a Travis Bazzana single, Angel Martínez would crank an absolute moonshot 445 feet into the 2nd deck in left center field, giving the Guardians a 2-1 lead.
The twins would answer back in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single by Kaelen Culpepper, making it a 2-2 game. That would be all the scoring until the 9th.
Travis Bazzana lead off the 9th with a walk, his 4th time reaching base in the game. After David Fry popped out attempting to bunt Bazz to 2nd, it would be Martínez again coming up big lining a double down the right field line, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with just 1 out. Angel Genao would pinch hit for Austin Hedges and draw a key walk to load the bases and bring up Mr September himself, Brayan Rocchio. On the 2nd pitch of the at bat, Yoendrys Gómez would spike a changeup that got away from Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers, allowing Bazzana to score the go ahead run on the wild pitch. Rocchio would cap off the AB by smoking a 2 run double in the right center field gap, giving the Guardians a 5-2 lead.
Mariah Carey thaws all year to own the months of November and December.
In the bottom half of the 9th, it would be Cade Smith on to get the save. After a pop foul out to David Fry and PH single, Cade would get a weak ground ball off the bat of Walter Jenkins to first baseman David Fry. He would step on the bag and throw a perfect seed to Rocchio, who tagged out the runner, completing the double play and sealing a 5-2 victory for the Guardians. All in all, Cade Smith needed just 9 pitches to throw a scoreless 9th for his 36th save of the season.
The Guards look to lock up a series win tomorrow afternoon at 4:10 pm Eastern time. At the time of writing, the probable starter for the Guards is unknown, but it sounds like an opener situation leading to Joey Cantillo (9-9, 4.00 ERA) as the bulk guy out of the pen. The Twins’ probable starter is listed as Connor Prielipp (4-7, 5.25 ERA).
Ahead of Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp, there is understandably a fair amount of buzz surrounding the usual suspects in contention for NHL spots on the blue line.
As always, top prospect Harrison Brunicke is garnering a lot of attention, as the 20-year-old showed out well in this first two camps, made the NHL squad out of training camp last season, and looks more ready than ever. Owen Pickering, 22, gained substanital momentum in the back half of his AHL season last year, and he is developing more consistency and steadiness in his own zone while still providing some upside the other way.
But there is another name that fans should be on the lookout for in the weeks leading up to final NHL roster decisions. And that's 20-year-old defenseman Tomas Galvas.
Galvas was selected 54th overall by the Penguins in this year's draft, and it was his third attempt at the draft. Undersized at 5-foot-11, 168 pounds, many teams were worried about the blueliner's size and lack of dimension prior to the 2025-26 season.
He proved many wrong last season, though, registering eight goals and 24 points in 32 games for Bili Tygri Liberec of the Czech League. Pitted up against grown men, Galvas showed extraordinary poise and transitional ability, and he also manned the first power play unit to some success.
All of a sudden, it's not just Brunicke and Pickering that Penguins' fans - and the organization - are touting as a legitimate higher-upside prospect on the blue line. Galvas has entered that conversation, as his mobility, speed, distribution skills, and ability on breakouts are things that define his game. He also has the ability to evade the opposition with ease, which is something that may or may not get more difficult for him as he progresses through professional hockey.
His defensive game, though, is what saw the most growth over the last year and added more dimension to his game. If he can continue to add some size, he could establish himself as a top-four upside option for Pittsburgh on the left side, which is something that they could definitely use.
So, does Galvas have a chance to break camp?
Honestly, it might not be that much of a stretch.
For one, the battle on the left side for the Penguins is going to be a legitimate one. With the departure of top-pair left defenseman Parker Wotherspoon this summer, there are many questions about how the Penguins will choose to fill out the left.
They added veteran Trevor van Riemsdyk - a righty who primarily plays the left side - and Declan Carlile to help offset that loss, and as far as returning cast, Sam Girard and Ilya Solovyov are still around. Beyond that, Pickering and Jake Livanavage should be making a push, and if Brunicke wows in camp on the right side, it very well could force either Kris Letang or Kaedan Korczak to the left.
There may be a handful of defensemen competing for a few spots on the left side, but there are no givens. No one is a true No. 1 defenseman like Erik Karlsson is on the right side, so quite literally anyone could secure that left side spot on the top pairing, and quite literally anyone could secure one of the other two spots.
With a standout camp, Galvas may just have a shot at cracking the roster. Stranger things have certainly happened, so don't count him out when final NHL roster cuts are announced prior to the season opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sept. 30.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 11: Drake Baldwin #30 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates his walk-off double with teammates during the eleventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park on September 11, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Braves had ‘em all the way. Yep, had ‘em all the way. At least, that’s what we’ll tell ourselves whenever a scintilla of a memory of this game pops into our brains, right? It took 12 innings, a brief blip from Chris Sale, and run-scoring scrambles in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh, another huuuuge hit from Ha-Seong Kim, and finally, a walkoff rope off the bat of Drake Baldwin, but the Braves ultimately prevailed in the opener of the final series against their division rivals.
How do you recap this game? It felt like living a few different lifetimes. I guess we’ll just go sequentially, but this is a game that warrants watching the highlights.
After a 45-minute weather-related delay, things got started and Sale pretty much picked up where he left off. The top of the Philadelphia order went down on a flyout and two nasty strikeouts. Aaron Nola retired the first two Braves he faced, but then Matt Olson broke a two-week homerless slide with a slice the other way that juuust managed not to go foul and instead became his 38th longball of the year. A homer from the recently homer-shy Braves offense seemed to be an auspicious sign, but things quickly took a turn for the worse.
After the first two outs of the eighth, Edmundo Sosa caught a Sale slider and yanked it for a single. Sale then issued a rare walk to Bryan De La Cruz of all people, and then hit J.T. Realmuto with the next pitch, loading the bases.
***Derek Hill complaints interlude***
I freakin’ hate the Derek Hill 2026 phenomenon. In case you’re not aware, Hill is A) massively outhitting a terrible xwOBA, B) has an insane amount of WPA despite not actually performing well in higher leverage consistency, but C), most annoyingly, the White Sox traded Hill and some international bonus pool money to the Phillies for essentially nothing of value, after Hill played a key role in starting that whole Braves June swoon thing before the trade. If not for Derek Hill, this series probably wouldn’t even have much drama. Anyway…
***Interlude end***
Hill couldn’t get a hold of Sale’s 1-1 four-seamer down the middle, but he did get a hold of the next pitch, barreling it for a bases-clearing double that turned the game around. It’s possible that if the Braves were actually playing Hill to pull, Michael Harris II could have flagged it down, but that is absolutely not where they were playing him.
Sale recovered to strike out Kyle Schwarber, and then he pretty much resumed his business-as-usual pure domination. He faced just one over the minimum the rest of the game, with a leadoff walk erased on a double play and a two-out Luis Arraez the only other non-out yielded by him and his defense. Sale finished with a 6/2 K/BB ratio in seven innings of work — not hyper-dominance, but another strong outing for the ace.
Unfortunately for the Braves, they couldn’t really do much against Nola, either. They put two on with two out in the bottom of the second, but Nola struck out Sean Murphy on three pitches. In the third, Ronald Acuña Jr. doubled and Olson walked, but Harris and Mauricio Dubon couldn’t bring them home via weak contact. There was another runner stranded in the fourth, and Acuña hit into a double play to erase a Baldwin leadoff single in the fifth… only for Ozzie Albies to hit into a double play of his own after Nola clipped Dubon in the sixth.
In the seventh, though, things got a little closer. Leading off the frame, Austin Riley scooped an 0-1 sinker below the zone from Nola and absolutely demolished it, 110 mph off the bat and an estimated 434 feet of distance, to make it a 3-2 game. Mike Yastrzemski followed with a bloop single, and then Murphy barreled one to center… but that one was caught. Still, the Phillies removed Nola and inserted Jose Alvarado. The big left-hander punched out both Baldwin and Acuña, blowing away the latter on 98 mph inside the zone.
Dylan Lee and the defense got through the eighth (walk, double play, flyout), but Alex McFarlane (the guy victimized by Acuña in Philadelphia) got three outs in the air around a bloop single by Dubon in the bottom half of the inning. Bryce Harper blooped a double into the corner off Lee in the ninth, and Lee eventually gave way to Mederos, but the Phillies were kept off the board.
So, in the ninth, the Phillies went to Jonathan Bowlan, not wanting to use Jhoan Duran three days in a row. Bowlan struck out Riley, but Yastrzemski connected for a seeing-eye single, giving him a perfect 3-for-3-with-a-walk evening. And then, all hell broke loose for pretty much the rest of the game.
Murphy swung at an 0-1 slider from Bowlan and hit a hard smash between the second base bag and Trea Turner at shortstop. DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who was called up today to replace the injured Lane Thomas and had pinch-run for Yastrzemski, blazed around the bases. This probably would have set up a first-and-third situation, except that Hill misplayed the ball in center, and Keirsey sprinted home, tying the game. The Braves could’ve won it right then, but they didn’t — Bowlan plunked Baldwin, but then Acuña flied out and Olson’s hard-hit ball towards center was easily cut off by Turner for the third out.
So, the tenth, with Raisel Iglesias on the hill. Pinch-hitter Justin Crawford singled on Iglesias’ first pitch to score the free runner. The Phillies didn’t do much else, and Chase Shugart came on to pitch for the home half of the inning. Harris moved Brewer Hicklen (pinch-running for Olson as the free runner) to third with a groundout, and Dubon skied a first-pitch sweeper about neck-level to center, just deep enough for Hicklen to score. Both Hicklen and Dubon were so pumped about this turn of events — I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone go quite so berserk over a regular season, non-walkoff sacrifice fly.
The 11th started promisingly as Turner fouled out against Didier Fuentes on the first pitch. And, it did end promisingly, but not without a lot of drama. On a 2-0 pitch, Harper hit what probably should’ve been a fairly routine liner to Olson, but it didn’t end up a clean play and the Phillies had runners on the corners. Fuentes got ahead of Arraez 0-2, but the latter then pulled off his bread-and-butter, a 68 mph go-ahead single through the left side on a 99 mph fastball on the inner edge. A strikeout, a walk, and a grounder sent the game to the fateful bottom of the 11th.
Things first looked really bad (after looking really good): Riley grounded out, failing to advance the runner to third. The Phillies swapped to veteran lefty Brooks Raley. Then, Dominic Smith, who came in to play first because of Hicklen pinch-running for Olson, popped out on the first pitch. Uh-oh. It was all up to Ha-Seong Kim, but we’ve seen this story before: Kim smashed a hanging changeup 106 mph into left field, tying the game. Up next was Drake Baldwin, and that’s where this one ends. Baldwin battled Raley for a few pitches, and then hooked a sweeper on the low-outside corner into the right-center gap for a walkoff double. Kim flew around the bases, and no throw came… with Kim’s bellyflop, the Braves pushed the division lead back to five games and avoided a Sale start letdown.
Josue De Paula made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the defending champions earned a 6-2 victory against the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park on Friday, Sept. 11.
He will serve as the designated hitter for the Dodgers for this weekend series, filling in for two-way star Shohei Ohtani. Those are big shoes for the organization's top prospect to fill.
Coming into Friday’s game, Mets starter Nolan McLean had allowed four earned runs in his last five outings and was making a great final push for the National League Rookie of the Year award.
But on Friday against the Yankees, the right-hander wasn’t at his best and gave up five earned runs on a career-high 10 hits allowed in five innings. The big blow came in the second inning when Cody Bellinger took him deep for a three-run shot that gave the Yanks a 4-1 lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish in an eventual 6-4 win.
“If you don’t have your best stuff, teams are gonna beat you and I didn’t have my best stuff tonight,” McLean said. “The Yankees are a good team and they came out and beat me.”
While McLean admitted to not having his best stuff overall on Friday night at Yankee Stadium, he said the pitch to Bellinger, a curveball down in the zone, was where he wanted it.
“I was happy where I put that pitch,” McLean said. “I didn’t wanna leave the zone too much and not get the swing and put him on base. He was able to kinda dig it out and kinda ride through his front side a little bit and put it in the seats. It’s unfortunate, but that guy’s good at baseball too so it’s part of it sometimes.”
The home run was the first McLean has allowed on his curveball, a pitch that has mystified hitters since the rookie entered the league.
It wasn’t just the homer by Bellinger, though, that did damage against McLean.
In the first inning, the rookie was put in immediate danger following two singles and a walk before a third single in the inning brought home a run. The right-hander also fell behind a lot of hitters and interim manager Andy Green thought he could’ve been more aggressive, especially on the inside of the plate.
“I think Nolan had the opportunity to probably attack in more than he did today and you can feel from the beginning they were living out over [the plate], so it wasn’t necessarily his best day,” Green said. “There was opportunity to probably get in more aggressively than he did though.”
As for Bellinger’s home run, Green agreed with his young pitcher that the lefty slugger “hit a couple of nice pitches.” Bellinger finished 2-for-4.
Not only was McLean’s start the first of the Subway Series, but it also came on the 25th anniversary of the attacks on 9/11, which put things into perspective for the 25-year-old who was just a couple of months old when the events transpired.
“It was awesome. Awesome fans, awesome city,” McLean said of the energy at the stadium. “I think that’s what’s ultimately most important about tonight – the people who died trying to help others and the people who were in those buildings; it’s awesome to see that many people show up and support it.”
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 11: Drake Baldwin #30 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates his walk-off double with teammates during the eleventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park on September 11, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Braves had ‘em all the way. Yep, had ‘em all the way. At least, that’s what we’ll tell ourselves whenever a scintilla of a memory of this game pops into our brains, right? It took 12 innings, a brief blip from Chris Sale, and run-scoring scrambles in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh, another huuuuge hit from Ha-Seong Kim, and finally, a walkoff rope off the bat of Drake Baldwin, but the Braves ultimately prevailed in the opener of the final series against their division rivals.
How do you recap this game? It felt like living a few different lifetimes. I guess we’ll just go sequentially, but this is a game that warrants watching the highlights.
After a 45-minute weather-related delay, things got started and Sale pretty much picked up where he left off. The top of the Philadelphia order went down on a flyout and two nasty strikeouts. Aaron Nola retired the first two Braves he faced, but then Matt Olson broke a two-week homerless slide with a slice the other way that juuust managed not to go foul and instead became his 38th longball of the year. A homer from the recently homer-shy Braves offense seemed to be an auspicious sign, but things quickly took a turn for the worse.
After the first two outs of the eighth, Edmundo Sosa caught a Sale slider and yanked it for a single. Sale then issued a rare walk to Bryan De La Cruz of all people, and then hit J.T. Realmuto with the next pitch, loading the bases.
***Derek Hill complaints interlude***
I freakin’ hate the Derek Hill 2026 phenomenon. In case you’re not aware, Hill is A) massively outhitting a terrible xwOBA, B) has an insane amount of WPA despite not actually performing well in higher leverage consistency, but C), most annoyingly, the White Sox traded Hill and some international bonus pool money to the Phillies for essentially nothing of value, after Hill played a key role in starting that whole Braves June swoon thing before the trade. If not for Derek Hill, this series probably wouldn’t even have much drama. Anyway…
***Interlude end***
Hill couldn’t get a hold of Sale’s 1-1 four-seamer down the middle, but he did get a hold of the next pitch, barreling it for a bases-clearing double that turned the game around. It’s possible that if the Braves were actually playing Hill to pull, Michael Harris II could have flagged it down, but that is absolutely not where they were playing him.
Sale recovered to strike out Kyle Schwarber, and then he pretty much resumed his business-as-usual pure domination. He faced just one over the minimum the rest of the game, with a leadoff walk erased on a double play and a two-out Luis Arraez the only other non-out yielded by him and his defense. Sale finished with a 6/2 K/BB ratio in seven innings of work — not hyper-dominance, but another strong outing for the ace.
Unfortunately for the Braves, they couldn’t really do much against Nola, either. They put two on with two out in the bottom of the second, but Nola struck out Sean Murphy on three pitches. In the third, Ronald Acuña Jr. doubled and Olson walked, but Harris and Mauricio Dubon couldn’t bring them home via weak contact. There was another runner stranded in the fourth, and Acuña hit into a double play to erase a Baldwin leadoff single in the fifth… only for Ozzie Albies to hit into a double play of his own after Nola clipped Dubon in the sixth.
In the seventh, though, things got a little closer. Leading off the frame, Austin Riley scooped an 0-1 sinker below the zone from Nola and absolutely demolished it, 110 mph off the bat and an estimated 434 feet of distance, to make it a 3-2 game. Mike Yastrzemski followed with a bloop single, and then Murphy barreled one to center… but that one was caught. Still, the Phillies removed Nola and inserted Jose Alvarado. The big left-hander punched out both Baldwin and Acuña, blowing away the latter on 98 mph inside the zone.
Dylan Lee and the defense got through the eighth (walk, double play, flyout), but Alex McFarlane (the guy victimized by Acuña in Philadelphia) got three outs in the air around a bloop single by Dubon in the bottom half of the inning. Bryce Harper blooped a double into the corner off Lee in the ninth, and Lee eventually gave way to Mederos, but the Phillies were kept off the board.
So, in the ninth, the Phillies went to Jonathan Bowlan, not wanting to use Jhoan Duran three days in a row. Bowlan struck out Riley, but Yastrzemski connected for a seeing-eye single, giving him a perfect 3-for-3-with-a-walk evening. And then, all hell broke loose for pretty much the rest of the game.
Murphy swung at an 0-1 slider from Bowlan and hit a hard smash between the second base bag and Trea Turner at shortstop. DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who was called up today to replace the injured Lane Thomas and had pinch-run for Yastrzemski, blazed around the bases. This probably would have set up a first-and-third situation, except that Hill misplayed the ball in center, and Keirsey sprinted home, tying the game. The Braves could’ve won it right then, but they didn’t — Bowlan plunked Baldwin, but then Acuña flied out and Olson’s hard-hit ball towards center was easily cut off by Turner for the third out.
So, the tenth, with Raisel Iglesias on the hill. Pinch-hitter Justin Crawford singled on Iglesias’ first pitch to score the free runner. The Phillies didn’t do much else, and Chase Shugart came on to pitch for the home half of the inning. Harris moved Brewer Hicklen (pinch-running for Olson as the free runner) to third with a groundout, and Dubon skied a first-pitch sweeper about neck-level to center, just deep enough for Hicklen to score. Both Hicklen and Dubon were so pumped about this turn of events — I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone go quite so berserk over a regular season, non-walkoff sacrifice fly.
The 11th started promisingly as Turner fouled out against Didier Fuentes on the first pitch. And, it did end promisingly, but not without a lot of drama. On a 2-0 pitch, Harper hit what probably should’ve been a fairly routine liner to Smith (who came in to play first after Hicklen pinch-ran for Olson), but it didn’t end up a clean play and the Phillies had runners on the corners. Fuentes got ahead of Arraez 0-2, but the latter then pulled off his bread-and-butter, a 68 mph go-ahead single through the left side on a 99 mph fastball on the inner edge. A strikeout, a walk, and a grounder sent the game to the fateful bottom of the 11th.
Things first looked really bad (after looking really good): Riley grounded out, failing to advance the runner to third. The Phillies swapped to veteran lefty Brooks Raley. Then, Smith popped out on the first pitch. Uh-oh. It was all up to Ha-Seong Kim, but we’ve seen this story before: Kim smashed a hanging changeup 106 mph into left field, tying the game. Up next was Drake Baldwin, and that’s where this one ends. Baldwin battled Raley for a few pitches, and then hooked a sweeper on the low-outside corner into the right-center gap for a walkoff double. Kim flew around the bases, and no throw came… with Kim’s bellyflop, the Braves pushed the division lead back to five games and avoided a Sale start letdown.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 12: Josiah Hartshorn #27 of the Chicago Cubs takes batting practice before the MLB All-Star Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the South Bend season over, first baseman Josiah Hartshorn, shortstop Angel Cepeda and outfielder Michael Gupton were promoted from South Bend to Knoxville.
Knoxville second baseman Drew Bowser, second baseman Dom Krupinski and right-hander Jacob Wallace were moved to the Development List to make room.
Terrific start tonight for Braxton Garrett, who allowed just one unearned run on two hits over five innings. Garrett walked two and struck out four as he picked up the win.
First baseman Kevin Alcántara hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning. It was his 20th home run this year, 21st counting the one in the majors. Alcántara went 2 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored.
Second baseman James Triantos doubled twice in a 3 for 4 night. He drove in two.
Third baseman Owen Miller went 3 for 5 with a stolen base. He drove in one and had one run scored.
DH Owen Ayers was 2 for 5 with a double. He had one RBI and scored one run.
Right fielder Chas McCormick opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning. McCormick went 2 for 5 with a double.
Center fielder Justin Dean was 2 for 5 with two runs scored.
Starter Jake Knapp allowed one run in the first, one in the second and three more in the third. Knapp’s final line was five runs on three hits over 2.2 innings. One of those hits was a solo home run in the first and another one was a three-run home run in the third. Knapp walked five and struck out two.
Grayson Moore relieved Knapp in the third inning, retired the next seven batters in order over the next 2.1 innings and got the win. Moore struck out two.
Tyler Schlaffer gave up two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it close, but then he retired the side in order in the seventh. That left things up to Tyler Ras, who was six-up, six-down in the eighth and ninth innings for the save. Ras struck out four.
Catcher Ariel Armas hit a two-run home run in the third inning, his seventh on the season. Armas went 1 for 5.
DH Alex Ramírez went 3 for 4 with two walks and two steals. He scored once.
Center fielder Kane Kepley was 2 for 5 with a walk and four steals. Kepley scored twice.
In his Double-A debut, shortstop Angel Cepeda went 2 for 4 and scored one run.
Right fielder Josiah Hartshorn also made his Knoxville debut. Hartshorn was 1 for 3 with two walks and a sacrifice fly. He also stole a base. Hartshorn had two total RBI and scored one run.
Smokies baserunners went 11-for-11 in stealing bases tonight. Second baseman Alex Madera was 1 for 2 with three walks and two steals. He scored one run. Shortstop Karson Simas was 1 for 4 with a walk and two more steals. Simas scored one run and drove in one.
The 19-year-old Hartshorn’s first hit in Double-A.
#Cubs No. 1 prospect Josiah Hartshorn picks up his first Double-A hit and RBI in his first at bat! pic.twitter.com/MDS4UZ8poF
Friday's emotionally charged Subway Series opener could have gone a lot differently if not for a successful ABS challenge from Ben Rice.
After the Mets knotted the score at 1-1 in the second, the Yankees were close to being put down 1-2-3 by Nolan McLean. Anthony Volpe hit a two-out single before Rice came to the plate. The Mets' young right-hander got ahead in the count, 1-2, before he dropped a curveball down in the zone and away. The home plate umpire called it a strike, but Rice challenged.
The ABS overturned the call, extending the at-bat. Rice continued to make McLean work, fouling multiple pitches before lining a single on the 10th pitch of the at-bat, and putting runners on the corners for Cody Bellinger. Six pitches later, Bellinger smoked a McLean curveball into the right-field stands to give the Yankees a lead they wouldn't relinquish in their 6-4 win.
"Can never be too confident on a challenge. I challenged instinctively," Rice said of the challenge. "Thankfully, it was a ball, knew it was going to be close."
Rice said the successful challenge was made sweeter knowing it eventually led to the Bellinger homer.
"Not only setting the table for Belli there, but working the pitch count," Rice added. "And [Bellinger] does what he does with a big swing there."
Bellinger's home run was the first one McLean allowed on his curveball this season. In fact, McLean came into this game completing at least 6.0 innings in 13 of his last 14 starts, and allowing two or fewer earned runs in 15 of his last 17 starts. The Yankees pushed across five runs on McLean, and picked up 10 hits on the rookie, the most McLean has allowed in his career.
The Yankees' left fielder was asked about his approach on the homer and said he wasn't trying to do anything specifically.
"Really in that at-bat, just tried to keep it simple," Bellinger explained. "Volpe had a good at-bat in front, then Ben Rice had a 10-11 pitch at-bat. Tried to keep it simple. Got down to two strikes there and tried to put a good swing on it."
The three-run homer would prove to be the difference as the Mets' rally fell short, and the Yankees remained 3.0 games back of the Rays for first place in the AL East after Tampa won earlier in the evening.
BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 11: Sonny Gray #54 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday, September 11, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Joe Sullivan/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
We said the Royals were pesky. They came in and proved it in Game 1.
Kansas City beat the Red Sox 3-2 at Fenway Park on Friday night. Not a great start to a series that matters. The Royals had no business being three up through three innings in this ballpark against this team—and yet there they were.
Sonny Gray was the story, and not the good kind. Kansas City touched him for 10 hits across six innings and scored all three of their runs before the third inning was over. Sal Perez’s two-out single in the first got past a diving Caleb Durbin down the left field line. Then Carter Jensen’s double in the third went high off the Monster, and Vinnie Pasquantino followed by finding the hole right past a shifted-up Nick Sogard to make it 3-0. Three runs. None of them were bloops—decent contact, all of it—just well-placed at the worst possible time.
Gray settled in after the third—and yes, technically this was a quality start, six innings and three earned, which is almost funnier than getting shelled would have been—and the bullpen held Kansas City scoreless in the eighth and ninth, including stranding a runner at third with one out in the top of the ninth. But the damage was already done.
The Sox made it interesting in the fifth. Mickey Gasper, playing DH, led off with a laser into the bullpen—his ninth of the year, because that’s what Evil Mickey does—to make it 3-1. Then Wilyer Abreu doubled off the Monster to knock home another run and cut it to 3-2. A laser and a Monster shot in the same at-bat sequence, and suddenly the comeback math was right in front of them. Seth Lugo had been hittable all night, and now the crowd was into it. You could feel the thing tilting.
Then it didn’t. Nolan Hoffman replaced Lugo to start the sixth, and Kansas City’s bullpen—Hoffman, Connor Thomas, Nate Pearson, Steven Cruz—held the Sox to nothing the rest of the way. The Royals are a bottom-five bullpen by ERA in baseball. The Sox had four innings to score one run against them and couldn’t do it. Eight hits for the game, two runs. It has nothing to do with Gray.
Evil Mickey could hit double-digit home runs at this rate. Nine already. It feels unfathomable for a catcher-slash-DH who wasn’t supposed to be this kind of bat, but here we are.
The Rays clinched a playoff spot tonight. Other teams are punching tickets to October. The Sox still have the lead and still control their own destiny—but it’s nut up or shut up time. Boston needs to be next.
Studs
Mickey Gasper
Nine home runs now. DH or catcher, doesn’t matter—Evil Mickey finds a way. The solo shot in the fifth didn’t win the game but it started the only momentum the Sox could muster all night.
Wilyer Abreu
Two hits, including the RBI double that made it a one-run game. Willy showed up. The rest of the lineup needed to find a way to push one more across.
Duds
Sonny Gray
Six innings, three runs, ten hits. Gray didn’t blow up, but he never had command of the game either. A team with a losing record put up 10 hits against him at Fenway. Not the kind of start you need when this series matters.
The Sox Offense vs. a Bottom-Five Bullpen
The Sox had the momentum after the Abreu double. They couldn’t do a thing with it. Kansas City’s bullpen is one of the worst in baseball by ERA, and Boston got four innings against them and came away scoreless. Not one run. That’s the dud of the night. That has to change tomorrow.
Play of the Game
Gasper’s shot to start the fifth. It was the moment the game flipped from a comfortable Royals win to something Boston could actually take. They just couldn’t finish the job.
Sep 11, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) celebrates after a home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
What looked like a good night for the Phillies, a night in which they were able to sneak a few runs across the plate against Chris Sale, turned into a bullpen nightmare.
It started off a little rough for the Phillies, Aaron Nola serving up a home run to Matt Olson that somehow clanged off the fair pole in left field to give the Braves a quick 1-0 lead.
From there though, Nola was really good. He looked to be struggling with his grip all night long, constantly going back to the rosing bag, to the mound, anywhere to get a good hold on the baseball, but something worked and he kept getting outs.
On offense, he got all the help he needed in the second inning. Sale got the first two outs with ease, then let his foot off the gas. He gave up a single to Edmundo Sosa, walked Bryan de la Cruz and hit J.T. Realmuto with a pitch to load the bases for your favorite Hill and mine, Derek. Doing what he seemingly has done all year long, Hill delivered with a bases clearing double that put the Phillies up 3-1.
Chris Sale loads the bases with two outs in the 2nd. Derek Hill hits a bases-clearing double to make it 3-1. pic.twitter.com/yMK6rt0jsc
Sale was so good that the Phillies amassed only four hits all evening, two in this inning, but they made them count.
From there, there was a pitcher’s duel in place between the starters. Both made it into the seventh inning, Sale completing his, Nola needing some help to finish his. Austin Riley homered in the seventh to chase Nola from the game, but Jose Alvarado came in to lock things down in that frame, followed by Alex McFarlane in the eighth to keep the game 3-2.
And yet they could have added another run in the ninth, but another baserunning blunder, this one by Bryce Harper, prevented them from pushing a leadoff double across the plate to get an all important insurance run that would have been important.
To close out the game, having used Jhoan Duran two days in a row, Don Mattingly was loathe to using him yet again, so Jonathan Bowlan was given the save assignment on the evening. He could not get the job done, giving up two singles that weren’t exactly scalded, but were put in the right spot (and were aided by a bad error in center field by Hill) to allow the Braves to tie the score at 3. Bowlan was able to get out of further trouble by getting Ronald Acuna to fly out and Olson to ground out, but the game went to extra innings, still knotted up.
Once the inning began, Justin Crawford was summoned to face Raisel Iglesias and on the first pitch of the at bat, he drove him Bryson Stott to take the lead.
Chase Shugart was the choice to close the game down in the bottom half of the tenth, yet could not get the job done. With a runner on second, a ground ball to second baseman Luis Arraez and a flyball to Justin Crawford got the run across and tied the game once more, sending the game to the eleventh. There, Arraez was able to drive home pinch runner Garrett Stubbs for the fifth run of the game for the Phillies, but even with loading the bases, that’s all they would get. Shugart got Austin Riley to begin the inning, then was relieved by Brooks Raley. He was able to induce a pop up from Dom Smith, but Ha-Seong Kim of all people, he of the .135 batting average, delivered the game tying hit.
Ha-seong Kim ties the game in the 11th with the Braves down to their final out! pic.twitter.com/G90QV0IiiG
He hurt us, or you. (Photo by Andrew Ritter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Well, that wasn’t worth staying up for, was it? The Twins walked the leadoff hitter four times, you’re not gonna win too many games that way. Inning-by-inning notes:
1: Taj Bradley decides that walking the very-fast Steven Kwan is a good idea. Hey, it works out; flyout, strikeout, and forcing Jo Adell into Chasing Pavements Baseballs.
The Twins are all like “are we still playing” “um I guess I’m up to bat” “I wonder what leftovers I want tonight maybe the pizza maybe the fries, except leftover fries are soggy unless you crisp them up in the oven, so probably pizza then, I can eat that cold” “oops I struck out”
2: Since a leadoff walk worked well last time, Taj does it again. To Travis Bazzana. The name Travis always sucks unless you’re an unhinged taxi driver, but Bazzana is cool. It works again, flyout flyout popout.
Hey points hey! Kody Clemens with the single and Royce Lewis with the RBI double. (Matt says RBI stands for “Royce batted in.”)
Boy it would be nice to see him get back to something like he used to be next year. He won’t, because we can’t gave nice things. Like hits with runners in scoring position; Twins 1-0
3: Three for three, Taj! Five-pitch walk to Brayan Rocchio. When I hear the name on the radio my ears perk up; any relation to the late, enjoyable columnist Mike Rokyo? No such luck. Because walking every leadoff batter isn’t challenging enough, Taj does it again with one out. Is he working on a knuckleball or something? (He is not.) Eh, it’s Water Under The Bridge as Taj gets Adell to ground out to end the inning.
Walker Jenkins is young and can develop, and he’s a good fielder. Right now him reaching the Mendoza Line would be a gift from heaven. (He strikes out here). Parker Messick accidentally ON PURPOSE plunks Kaelen Culpepper (no, it wasn’t on purpose); nothing comes of it.
4: Sigh; Taj will not walk the leadoff hitter in all nine innings. The good news is it’s because Bazzana get a single instead, so the degree of difficulty fun is still with us. Hey, DP time! 4 unassisted. Lewis catches the liner and steps on the bag.
Hey we can get a walk, too! Josh Bell leads off with one. Nothing comes of it. THE TWINS WANNA EAT THEIR COLD PIZZA DAMMIT
5: Hey Taj can have a 1-2-3 inning! Nobody tell him or he’ll make it a habit.
This time it’s Austin Martin with the leadoff bunt. Because Walker Jenkins is currently hitting like a pitcher, the Twins do the smart thing and have him bunt… oh wait, nobody knows how to do that anymore so he uselessly flies out instead. Doesn’t matter, neither of the following two guys get hits anyways.
Ryan Jeffers gets the leadoff single; there’s a fielder’s choice, and then LHP Tim Herrin comes in. Clemens singles off him. Pop out for Lewis; strikeout for Brooks Lee.
7: Bazzana with the leadoff single off thrilling new acquisition A.J. Minter. Minter then thrills us more by giving up a long dong to Angel Martínez. Yay trade deadline yay, obviously ownership CARES now.
Eric Sabrowski in to pitch; he plunks Austin Martin. THIS TIME Jenkins bunts; badly, but it gets Martin to second. Luke Keascchall flies out; slider specialist Hunter Gaddis comes in. Culpepper ties this baby up! Nobody else wants to contribute, so tied 2-2
8: Minter gets the first guy, then Shelton’s Magical Arm Barn brings in Jeff Hoffman, just back from Ishtar. Clemens make a nice play to snag the grounder by Ramírez, and Lewis a nice dig out of the dirt to take the throw. Boy, hings aren’t Easy On Me for Addell; it’s his third strikeout.
Gaddis keeps throwing that slider and it keeps working. It’s gonna be hard to win a bullpen battle with these guys.
9: Yoendrys Gómez for the Twins. Walks the leadoff guy (AGAIN!) David Fry’s another guy who can’t bunt worth s**t; he tries and pops it to Gómez. But then Angel Martínez doubles; it’s second and third with one out. Gómez walks some pinch-hitter I never heard of. Then Gómez throws a wild pitch and everybody moves up a base. Then… ballgame.
Rocchio clears the pitches with a double. Mike Rokyo would never have done that to us.
Some Twins come to the plate but it’s purely Frozen Pizza Time. Twins lose.
With the loss, the Twins are now 5.5 games out of the last wildcard spot, chasing four teams. It was right for the team to announce that Byron Buxton is gonna have hip surgery next week; this season’s cooked.
Studs: Taj (kinda): 6.0 IP, 1 H, 4 BB, 0 R. Duds: Minter, Gómez, front office and ownership.
COTG go to Zach with Attenborough photo, Name-Game with a sound assessment, Matt for rewriting some lyrics, and nagurskiinnortheast with a story about Aragorn, son of Arathorn. Thanks to everybody who joined in on a nice end-of-summer night.
Tomorrow’s game is at 3:10; it’ll be our own Connor Prielipp against TBD (bullpen day). Expect long man Slade Cecconi to take a few innings.
After returning to Petco Park from a disastrous road trip, the San Diego Padres had their backs against the wall. Squandering an opportunity to put distance between themselves and the other Wild Card hopefuls, the Padres had to have a successful home stand to remain in contention for a playoff spot.
Their home versus road pattern has been evident throughout the season; the Friars are not a good road team. Their 32-39 road record, seven games under .500, is the worst for any team with a winning record except the Chicago White Sox (eight games under). The Pirates are the only other winning team with a losing road record, and they are three games under.
Home success
In a home stretch that featured the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals, the Padres took two of three from NY and swept a three-game set against the Nationals. Going 5-1 over the set allowed them to keep in step with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who also played winning ball over the past week. After falling behind Arizona by as much as 1.5 games in the Wild Card standings, the Padres battled back and now lead by a half-game.
Suffering several long slumps, the offense can fairly be called streaky at this point in the season. The frustration with the team’s underperformance has also resulted in some fans booing them at times during the past month. This has been especially true with some of the pitching performances from the newly acquired starters.
With both Robbie Ray and Casey Mize struggling in several starts since their arrival, the team has not gotten the boost fans were hoping for at the trade deadline. The combined streaky offense and issues with the starters have contributed to the team not achieving what everyone hoped when the season began.
The recent winning stretch featured some standout performances from a couple of important contributors.
Luis Campusano shines
The performance of catcher Luis Campusano has not been one of the areas of concern for this team. Campusano started the year as the primary backup to Freddie Fermin. The confidence expressed in him by manager Craig Stammen was viewed with skepticism by many. Up until this season, Campusano was not valued by the two previous managers of the Padres. His focus was seen as inconsistent, and his defense unreliable. Even though scouts believed he would hit in the big leagues, his previous two managers had no confidence in him.
Stammen, who pitched to Campusano early in the catcher’s career, expressed confidence in his ability. The new manager and his coaches worked to mentor and support the young catcher.
Although he was sidelined during the middle of the season with an injury, Campusano has broken out as the second half of the season arrived.
In his first 16 games of the season, Campusano hit .366 with a 1.178 OPS and 10 RBI. He missed most of May and all of June with a broken toe and an oblique injury. Returning in July, he hit .326 with an .869 OPS. After an August slump that saw him hit .250 with only four extra-base hits in 17 games, Campusano has gained momentum in September and almost single-handedly beat the Yankees during those three games. Going 4-for-7 over the first and last games of the series, Campusano hit two home runs, had three RBI, and threw out four base runners attempting to steal. His second homer was a walk-off, winning the series for the Padres.
The Padres pitchers have all complimented his work behind the plate, and he has been the personal catcher for both Michael King and Walker Buehler.
Jackson Merrill gets in step
Much has been made of the off-and-on nature of Jackson Merrill’s third season in MLB. He has shown flashes of his five-tool talent but has also struggled for consistency at the plate. His average pre-All-Star break was .219 with a .350 slug. Since then, Merrill is hitting .292 with a .583 slug.
On Aug. 10, MLB Network broke down the drastic difference between the first and second halves of Merrill’s season.
Highlighting his ability to hit pitches in and outside the zone shows how exciting his future is. Merrill has made the necessary adjustments as the season has developed and is one home run away from his first 25 homer/25 stolen-base season.
In the final game of the home stand, Merrill had a career day against the Nationals. Going 4-for-5 with 2 home runs and six RBI, Merrill added a triple and a single to his total hits for the day while leading the Padres to a 9-2 win and a sweep, sending them off to San Francisco on a happy flight.
Nick Pivetta surprises us all
Padres starter Nick Pivetta walked off the mound during his rehab start with Lake Elsinore on Aug. 4 with discomfort in his right elbow. At that point, most of us were sure that would be the end of his season. His rehab continued but was slow-played, and his next two rehab starts with Lake Elsinore and El Paso seemed to indicate an end-of-season return, if any.
The Padres played a game against the New York Yankees on Sunday, Sept. 6. In his post-game comments, manager Craig Stammen responded to a question regarding the following day’s starter versus the Washington Nationals. He dropped the bomb that Pivetta would start that game.
Over five innings pitched and 63 pitches, Pivetta looked like the starter who dominated in 2025. Allowing two hits and no runs, Pivetta struck out two with no walks. He earned his first win since April and showed another reason for optimism for the remainder of the season.
Joining Michael King and Walker Buehler as consistent starting pitchers for the Friars, hope surged for a successful finish to the 2026 season if Pivetta can keep it up.
With Pivetta’s return, Randy Vásquez gets bumped to the bullpen. He provides added depth and talent to an already excellent bullpen. It also gives the ‘pen another long-reliever/swing man to go with lefty Kyle Hart and bumps Griffin Canning into a mop-up role.
Two-hole problems
The Padres have had an issue with their two-hole hitter for a lot of the season. Since the loss of Luis Rengifo, who hit second for 62 at-bats with a .290/.343/.452 line, the second hitter in their lineup is 6-for-45 (.133 average) with two walks. The second spot in the lineup has a .654 OPS for the season, which is the worst in MLB.
Of the hitters to bat second outside of Rengifo, Samad Taylor, Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts come to mind.
Taylor hit second for 13 games before being injured and had a .306/.424/.347 line.
Cronenworth has been in that slot for 35 games and 140 at-bats with a .229 average, a .294 OBP and a .615 OPS.
Bogaerts has hit second in eight games and 32 at-bats, hitting .188 with a .235 OBP and a .454 OPS.
At the start of the season, Merrill hit second until his early-season struggles pushed him out of the top three spots. In his 23 games and 97 at-bats, Merrill hit .227 with a .272 OBP and a .653 OPS.
Taylor is the obvious choice to hit in the two-hole now that he has returned to the lineup. His .390 OBP in 109 at-bats is tops on the team. It should be his job to lose.
20/20 history
For the first time in Padres history, they have two 20/20 players in the same season. Both Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. have 20 or more home runs and stolen bases this year. There have been 17 20/20 seasons for Padres players since the team started. These players have achieved that status: Dave Winfield in 1978 and 1980, Joe Carter in 1990, Derek Bell in 1993, Steve Finley in 1996, Reggie Sanders in 1999, Ryan Klesko in 2000, Mike Cameron in 2006, Will Venable in 2013, Wil Myers in 2016 and 2017, Tatis Jr. in 2021, 2024, and 2025.
Roster changes and injury updates
Miguel Andujar was in Arizona for most of August, working through rehab after his right wrist fracture healed. On Sept. 8, he was sent to the El Paso Chihuahuas for a rehab assignment. He has played in three games with 12 at-bats with a .167/.167/.333 line and has one RBI.
RHP Jason Adam had a 30-pitch bullpen Monday, Sept. 7, and will progress to live BP followed by a first rehab game on Sunday.
Jhony Brito was sent to Triple-A with the activation of Nick Pivetta. Catcher Blake Hunt was DFA’d to clear a roster spot. He has since been released.
Gavin Sheets, placed on the injured list for a sprained left foot (AKA plantar fasciitis), is in a walking boot and beginning to remove the boot for baseball activities. He could have surgery in the offseason.
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson could be back in the team’s lineup in a week, manager Craig Counsell said before Friday’s game with Pittsburgh.
Swanson, a smooth-fielding two-time All-Star, went on the injured list on Monday, Aug. 17 with a a left oblique strain he suffered taking an awkward swing during a loss to St. Louis on the previous day. Swanson had been expected to miss four weeks.
Counsell said Swanson’s rehab has been progressing smoothly and that the 32-year-old infielder would continue working with the Cubs at Wrigley Field during their weekend series against the Pirates.
Barring a setback, Swanson would join Triple-A Iowa for rehab games on Tuesday and Wednesday, and “(we) then hope to have him active Friday (Sept. 18) in Cincinnati,” Counsell said.
Swanson is hitting .216 with 18 homers and 66 RBIs in 119 games. In his 11th season, he played at shortstop in 117 games this season and has a .987 fielding percentage.
Swanson twisted awkwardly after swinging and missing a Hunter Dobbins’ high fastball in the third inning against the Cardinals on Aug. 16. He stepped outside the batter’s box, talked briefly with Counsell and training staff, then exited to the dugout.
After the game Swanson told reporters, “Never have I had a soft tissue injury in my whole professional career.”
Nico Hoerner, two-time Gold Glove winner at second base, has moved to shortstop with Swanson sidelined.
