10 Bold Penguins' Predictions For 2026-27
It is the eve of Pittsburgh Penguins' regular season hockey, which means another year of excitement, intrigue, and uncertainty awaits.
And the start of the season also means it's time for my annual Bold Predictions piece.
No, this one is not our regular annual predictions piece, where each assertion is rooted in reality, reason, and calculated expectation. Although still rooted - at least, somewhat - in reality, these predictions are bold for a reason: they're fun, they're high-reaching, and they operate on the premise of expecting a lot from a team that wants to take another step toward Cup contention.
Who will have a big year? Will anyone be traded? Just how good will the Penguins be?
Here are 10 bold predictions for the 2026-27 season.
1. Egor Chinakhov scores 40 goals
Ask anyone in the Penguins' locker room, and their face just lights up when talking about the 25-year-old Chinakhov.
After a change-of-scenery trade from Columbus to Pittsburgh midseason last year, Chinakhov recorded 18 goals and 36 points in 43 games, which amounts to a 35-goal, 71-point pace in an 84-game season. He put up that pace last season with little power play time, too, as just two goals and eight points came on the man advantage for him.
He's beginning the season on the first unit. If he gets top power play minutes, he's scoring 40, or, at least, flirting with 40.
Chinakhov To Get Chance On Penguins' First Power Play UnitA plethora of injuries to the Penguins' forward unit has afforded the sniper a massive opportunity to build on his offensive production.2. The Penguins have eight 20-goal scorers and four 30-goal scorers
Speaking of goal-scoring, anyone who thinks Anthony Mantha was the key to the Penguins' playoff berth last season is probably overreaching a bit, even if he led the team in goals. The Penguins had a league-high 10 players with 15 or more goals.
Besides, instead of just one Anthony Mantha this season, how about two? Or, maybe, at least one and a half?
Andrei Kuzmenko scored 39 goals in his rookie season and 22 in his sophomore season before getting traded five thousand times and seeing a decline in production. He, like Mantha, is primed to break out again next to playmaking centers in Pittsburgh. Nick Robertson has increased his goal production by one each of the last three years, but he never played consistently with anyone the likes of Sidney Crosby.
Crosby, Kuzmenko, Chinakhov, and Rickard Rakell score 30. Robertson, Kindel, Rust, and Malkin score 20. I'll go even further and say they could have nine if Tommy Novak or Erik Karlsson are healthy all season long, but "healthy" is a lot to ask for these Penguins.
Nick Robertson's got his first in new colors! 💛 pic.twitter.com/ZLVzwm4pFm
— NHL (@NHL) September 22, 2026
3. Erik Karlsson is traded... regardless of the situation
Speaking of Karlsson, his situation will be one of the most interesting stories to follow this season.
Karlsson wants a Cup. That is not going to change. Even if the Penguins are good enough to be a playoff team - and I do think they make the playoffs again this season - he's 36 and will want to go to a more surefire contender, as Pittsburgh's best shot at a Cup in the next couple of years is by catching lightning in a bottle.
So, if he has no intention to re-sign, Kyle Dubas will pull the trigger to get value no matter the circumstance. He'll just make sure he's getting talent in return.
More on that later.
Penguins Star Defenseman Makes New NHL Trade BoardCould the Penguins end up trading Erik Karlsson this season?4. Sergei Murashov and Joel Blomqvist are the tandem by season's end
To be clear, this is not necessarily a knock on Arturs Silovs. He has a proven track record of being a big-game goaltender and getting it done when it counts. The problem with him is finding that consistency.
But while Silovs is finding that consistency, Murashov will slowly take over as the No. 1, and Blomqvist will play well in WBS to the point where it's difficult to justify keeping him down there. Whether pushed out by others' performances or performing well enough to be flipped for assets by the trade deadline, Silovs will find himself in a different uniform by the end of the season, and the other two will be in the NHL for good.
Oh, and, Taylor Gauthier gets a game this season. I don't know when. But he will.
JOEL BLOMQVIST pic.twitter.com/hqxtFnyc5U
— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) September 30, 2026
5. Dan Muse wins the Jack Adams
Well, what's the next step after being a Jack Adams nominee? A Jack Adams winner, of course!
As I mentioned before - and as Dubas mentioned in his press conference - the Penguins have no plans to take a step back this season. Muse and the rest of his staff managed the get the most out of their roster last season, and after adding a few more defensive-minded defensemen and new forwards to the mix, the staff will, once again, have the opportunity to elevate and maximize each player's potential and make the team hard to play against.
This guy is a good coach. If the Penguins make the playoffs again and win a round or two, he'll be worthy.
'It's A Very Pivotal Season For The Group': 3 Takeaways From Kyle Dubas's Season-Opening Press ConferencePenguins' general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas spoke with Pittsburgh media on Monday about expectations for the season, making some pretty bold statements6. Harrison Brunicke is the top-pairing right defenseman by season's end
Honestly, this might be the most bold prediction on this list. Will Brunicke be ready for top-pairing minutes? Most likely, not quite. But, if my other prediction of Karlsson leaving does come to pass, who else is going to do it? 39-going-on-40 Kris Letang? Defensive defenseman Kaedan Korczak with Sam Girard on the left side?
Unless the Penguins get another top-four right defenseman for Karlsson, it will be Brunicke's time to show what he is capable of at the NHL level, especially assuming he takes care of business in the AHL first.
And he will take care of business there, and in the NHL. Unlike his last NHL stint - where Brunicke sank - he will have his breakout and swim this time, helping the team make the playoffs.
Whether The Penguins Keep Harrison Brunicke On NHL Roster May Come Down To One ThingPittsburgh faces a tough decision regarding their top defensive prospect as the pre-season comes to a close - and it could have a lot do with the uncertainty involving No. 1 defenseman Erik Karlsson7. Ville Koivunen records 40-plus points
Ok, things are starting to get a bit crazy here. But, hey, we said "bold," right?
As it happens, I'm not quite as down on Koivunen, 23, as others are. Even if the term confounded me, I understand the logic behind Koivunen's eight-year, $32 million contract, and with Dubas and the Penguins betting on a young player's talent and potential to help them in the future.
So, for our purposes, why not jump on the train and take a bet on a young player? Koivunen has some work to do, but he showed well in the Penguins' final preseason game, and he did start his NHL career with seven points in eight games, an initial NHL stint that showcased his potential and that everyone seems to have forgotten about.
I expect to see more of that Koivunen this season.
I love seeing Ville Koivunen get on the scoresheet, especially when he's going hard to the net! pic.twitter.com/d4p4NWk2v2
— Pens System (@PensSystem) September 26, 2026
8. The Penguins have a 10-game win streak in the stretch run to make the playoffs again... and they win two rounds
Hey, why not some random win streak proclamation? The Penguins had plenty of win streaks last season, even if they never reached double digits.
They also played their stretch run largely without their legends in Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and they still earned the points and dragged themselves to the postseason. With a healthy Crosby and Malkin, and with a deeper forward group? This team, like last year's, will go through stretches where they simply overwhelm and dominate opponents with their offensive attack.
The Penguins may be streaky this year, but their winning streaks will be longer. And that will extend into the Stanley Cup Playoffs because they'll get hot at just the right time, somehow advancing to the Eastern Conference Final.
9. Ben Kindel flirts with point-per-game
Yes, Kindel (lower-body, week-to-week) is beginning the season on injured reserve, but he was supposed to start the season with Rust and Kuzmenko - both of whom won't begin the season with the team, either - on his wings. Rust has scored 30 goals. Kuzmenko has scored 30 goals. There are other options in the lineup, too, if those guys don't work out.
Once Kindel is healthy - and if the other two are also healthy - this has the potential to be a legitimate scoring third line for the Penguins, and the biggest beneficiary will be Kindel, who can both produce on his own and have scoring wingers to distribute the puck to.
He'll be pretty darn close to point-per-game this season with those two at his side.
Video - Pucks N'at Podcast: With Potential High-Scoring Third Line, How Deep Are Penguins Up Front?The Penguins were experimenting with a third line that gives them potential as a matchup nightmare for other teams10. One of Jason Robertson, Alexander Nikishin, or Simon Edvinsson is a Penguin by the trade deadline... at a cost.
Again, people... BOLD.
The Penguins and the Dallas Stars were connected in rumors for most of the summer regarding Nick Robertson's older brother, Jason, and those rumors had some substance. The Penguins also desperately need high-end talent on their blue line, as Brunicke is the highest-upside defenseman they have but still needs a ton of polishing.
Nikishin is an obvious candidate, but don't forget about Edvinsson's situation in Detroit, either. Dubas said they'll be looking at every young player available. All of these guys fit that mold.
If Dubas is to finally get his wish and execute on a "big-game hunt," this is quite the deadline to consider it. And, by then, maybe a few of his NHL-ready prospects and NHL assets, like Bill Zonnon, Will Horcoff, Owen Pickering, Rakell, Rust, and Karlsson, will have marinated a bit more and could prove valuable enough to be part of a bigger splash.
After all, I said this would come at a cost. And it's going to cost a top prospect, the Penguins' star defenseman, and more - especially if we're talking about Jason Robertson.
I think one of these three names is wearing a Penguins uniform come the trade deadline this season. Maybe younger Robo will put in a good word for Pittsburgh to his big bro during his breakout campaign.
Unsigned Red Wings RFA Simon Edvinsson Returns To SwedenDetroit Red Wings defenseman SImon Edvinsson, who remains an unsigned RFA, is back skating in his native Sweden without an NHL contract for the 2026-27 season. Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
Longtime Cubs fan Bill Murray seen at NL wild card game at Petco Park
You never know who you're going to catch at a baseball game, let alone the wild card series.
Petco Park in San Diego seats up to 39,860 and during Game 1 of the National League wild card series between the Padres and Chicago Cubs, one of those in attendance was longtime Cubs fan Bill Murray.
Murray can't be happy right with what's going on in San Diego. The Cubs were down 4-0 in the top of the fifth inning.
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado homered in the first inning to get things going. In the third inning, Machado hit a RBI double that brought home Tatis. Xander Bogaerts sent a blast 399 feet to left field to give the Padres a 4-0 lead.
All the while, the Cubs were still searching for their first hit.
Murray, 76, is from Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago and has been a Cubs fan ever since. Murray made a career as a comedian and actor, widely known for starring in films such as Ghostbusters, Stripes, Caddyshack and Scrooged. He also made an appearance in the 1996 film Space Jam, alongside Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes.
Murray's ties with Chicago sports goes way back. He's a full-time Chicago fan, especially the Cubs.
During the 2016 World Series between the Cubs and Cleveland, Murray had a memorable moment where he led fans at Wrigley Field in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch.
Murray witnessed the Cubs' 2016 World Series title, which broke a 108-year drought.
Murray has to hope that the Cubs can muster up some magic in Southern California sooner rather than later.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Longtime Cubs fan Bill Murray seen at NL wild card game at Petco Park
Forsling scores with 4.3 seconds left in OT as Panthers beat Hurricanes 1-0
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Gustav Forsling hammered a shot past Brandon Bussi with 4.3 seconds left in overtime to lift the Florida Panthers past the reigning Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes 1-0 in Tuesday’s season opener for both teams.
On a night when the defenses and goaltenders had the edge, it was a blue-liner who provided the winning play to end a matchup of the last two teams to win the Cup.
The Panthers had their final chance with the game seemingly headed to a shootout as Carter Verhaeghe brought the puck into the zone with under 10 seconds left. But Verhaeghe sent the puck back toward Forsling, who fired a one-timer from near the blue line that zipped past Bussi’s glove side to end it.
That spoiled the end of a three-month celebration for the Hurricanes since beating Vegas in June to cap a 16-3 march to the franchise’s second Cup. The final piece was the players gathering at the blue line and tapping their sticks as a championship banner rose to the rafters.
That moment came against the Panthers, who reached the Stanley Cup Final for three straight years and won it all in 2024 and 2025. They had twice eliminated the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final in their run, though injuries derailed last year.
CANADIENS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2
TORONTO (AP) — Josh Anderson and Alexandre Carrier each had a goal and assist as Montreal beat Toronto.
Zachary Bolduc also scored for Montreal, which got 25 saves from Jakub Dobes.
William Nylander scored twice for Toronto. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 shots in his first game with the Maple Leafs.
No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna and Russian winger Kirill Marchenko also made their Toronto debuts – along with seven other teammates – following an off-season of change after the Original Six franchise missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade last spring.
The Canadiens, meanwhile, are coming off a campaign that saw them take a massive step following a long before falling to the Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final.
Nylander opened the scoring just 48 seconds into the first period when he stepped around Montreal captain and reigning Selke Trophy winner Nick Suzuki at the blue line before ripping a high shot past Dobes. Nylander tied Zdenek Nedved (Oct. 7, 1995) for the fourth-fastest goal to start a season-opener in franchise history.
BRUINS 3, RANGERS 0
BOSTON (AP) — Fraser Minten broke a scoreless tie with just over four minutes left, followed by goals by JJ Peterka and an empty-netter by Mark Kastelic 23 seconds apart, and Boston beat New York.
The three goals, over a 75-second span helped the Bruins extend their streak to 11 consecutive wins in home openers.
Jeremy Swayman finished with 24 saves for Boston, his 19th career shutout. Igor Shesterkin had 20 save for New York.
It was dream start for Minten, who recently signed a new seven-year deal.
Elias and Hampus Lindholm assisted on Minten’s goal. Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov assisted Kastelic.
The Rangers outshot the Bruins 24-23, but the Bruins were more aggressive throughout the night, finally breaking through when Minten got a clear path on the left side and knocked it through just past the glove of Shesterkin.
Red Sox lose Game 1 of the Wild Card series in horrific fashion 9-0
That game, SUCKED!!!!!! It started as a genuinely disappointing evening and then morphed into a level of disaster I haven’t seen from the Red Sox in New York on a single night since the pre 2004 days. Just a complete flaming train wreck in every way possible!
The entire lineup looked like trash, Payton Tolle was outdueled by Cam Schlitter, the Sox were using low leverage relievers in the late innings, and if all that wasn’t enough, Roman Anthony left the game in the top of the sixth inning, with (potentially) yet another non contact injury that involved him simply swinging a bat.
This is horrible news for the night, horrible news for the series, and probably horrible news for the big picture (but we’ll have plenty of time to get into that in the coming months).
For now, all we know for certain is this was a complete debacle from soup to nuts, and we might as well jump right into the studs (LOL) and duds.
Studs (really scrapping the bottom of the barrel here)
Adley Rutschman: Ten pitch base hit in the first inning, and he generally put in more competitive at bats than anybody else, even with a pair of strike outs.
Nick Sogard: For his defense. A beautiful double play in the seventh inning didn’t make a lick of difference in the outcome of tonight’s game, but at the time, it did force the Yankees to use Paul Blackburn for five outs. It also should have forced them use use David Bednar to close things out, but we’ll get to why that didn’t happen below.
Duds (Pretty much everybody)
The entire lineup (outside of the first inning at bat by Rutschman): Just a complete dogshit performance by all the bats tonight! Strikeouts galore, no real approach, and they didn’t even come close to sniffing a run. Not only did they get shut out, but they only got one man to second base. Abysmal!
Alec Gamboa: Faced four guys, didn’t get any of them out. Took a bad situation when he entered in the seventh and made it even worse.
Brayan Bello: When Bello entered the game, there was still a chance the Yankees would need to use David Bednar in the ninth. That all melted away on on this Ben Rice grand slam, which was his second home run and fourth hit of the night.
Any good news?
Not really. Since this best of three Wild Card format was implemented in 2022, there’s been 16 of them. So far, the winner of Game 1 has gone on to win 15 times. However, the one time it didn’t happen was last year when the Red Sox blew a 1-0 lead. At least now, the Sox have a chance to turn the tables (if you really, really want to look on the bright side).
Of course, that’s going to require them figuring out how to hit Yankee pitching, which they haven’t done in earnest for a year and a half.
Rice and Schlittler carry Yankees to Wild Card win over Red Sox
As we saw in last year’s Wild Card Series matchup against this very Red Sox team, winning Game 1 — even in a best-of-three series — doesn’t actually guarantee you victory. However, you’d still rather win it than not. You’d also especially rather win it in fairly easy fashion and leave your opponent looking for answers. While there’s still one more game to win, the Yankees couldn’t have gotten this year’s Wild Card Series off to a better start.
A year after shutting down Boston in a memorable AL Wild Card Series Game 3, Schlittler put in another gem, this time around in Game 1. Over 6.1 innings, Schlittler allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out 10 batters. No Red Sox batter even got beyond first base while the Yankees’ ace was in the game.
As for the offense, they were dealing with a pretty good pitcher themselves in Boston’s Payton Tolle. While they eked across one run against the lefty, once they got into the Red Sox bullpen, the floodgates opened. Led by a massive game from Ben Rice — four hits and six RBI — the Yankees crushed Boston’s bullpen for eight runs. What was once a pitchers’ duel morphed in to a laugher, the Yankees pulling away late to take Game 1 of the series 9-0.
While the Yankees couldn’t cash in on a Rice double in the first inning, they did get on the board in the second. After George Lombard Jr. singled after working the count, Anthony Volpe recorded a single two batters later. There was some consternation that Lombard was held at second on the single, but it didn’t end up mattering in the end as Austin Wells singled two batters after that, semi-comfortably scoring Lombard.
The Yankees had some other slight opportunities against Tolle, but weren’t able to cash in. With two outs in the fourth, Chad Tracy made his move to the bullpen, brining in Erik Miller for Tolle. The Yankees took immediate advantage of that, as Ben Rice took a Miller offering deep to dead center field. It cleared the fence and went into Monument Park to double the Yankees’ advantage.
Despite being up over 100 pitches, the Yankees brought Schlittler back out for the seventh. He got one quick out, but then gave up a single to Wilyer Abreu for just the second hit of the day for Boston. That’s what brought Aaron Boone out of the dugout to go to the bullpen. Paul Blackburn came in and got Ceddanne Rafaela to ground into an inning-ending double play, with the throw just beating Rafaela to the bag.
While that seventh inning didn’t see Boston draw closer, it did hammer home the need for insurance runs. They Yankees went on to get some in the bottom of the frame. Singles from Spencer Jones and Wells and a walk from Paul Goldschmidt loaded the bases before Boston had recorded an out. Rice then added another RBI, this one just a single that scored a run. Luis García Jr. was then sent up as a pinch-hitter and looked like he might’ve plated another couple by poking through a single. However, a great diving stop by Red Sox second baseman Nick Sogard instead turned it into a double play. Another run did score, but it prevented the Yankees from putting up an even more crooked number for the inning.
Blackburn remained in for the eighth and threw another scoreless frame. He did allow the first Boston runner to reach scoring position when Trevor Story doubled, but he stranded him there to keep the shutout intact.
After getting robbed of some further insurance in the seventh, the Yankees got plenty more in the eighth. After George Lombard Jr.’s third hit of the day, the Yankees again benefited from some walks, as Ryan McMahon and Jones reached base on them. Wells then hit a semi-deep fly ball to right field that was enough for Lombard to tag up and score. Following a Goldschmidt walk to reload the bases, Rice delivered the killer blow. He added to his big night with a grand slam to put the game out of reach.
With the 1-0 edge, the Yankees will go for the series victory tomorrow night, also at 8:00 p.m ET. Max Fried for the Yankees and Sonny Gray for the Red Sox are expected to be the starting pitchers.
Massachusetts kids Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice doom Red Sox in Yankees' 9-0 Game 1 win
Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler is on his way to winning the AL Cy Young, but you get the sense that the right-hander enjoys beating the Boston Red Sox more. While Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series between the two storied rivals began as a pitching duel between young aces, it ended as an emphatic statement of Schlittler’s ascendancy and a 9-0 Yankees win.
This game began and ended with Schlittler, regardless of when he actually walked off the mound. The Weymouth, Massachusetts native was utterly dominant, as he has been all season and has he has been whenever he steps onto the mound against the Red Sox. The right-hander allowed just two hits in 6.1 innings while striking out 10 and walking one. That lowered his career ERA against the Red Sox to 0.47 and made him the second pitcher in baseball history to make multiple postseason starts against the Red Sox and strike out 10 batters twice. Bob Gibson is the only other pitcher who can say that.
More than that, this performance made Schlittler the fourth pitcher in postseason history with two 10+ strikeout games before turning 26, joining Trey Yesavage (2025), Josh Beckett (2003), and Jim Palmer (1970-71). It also gave Schlittler two scoreless postseason outings with 10+ strikeouts, which put him in elite company.
Most career scoreless postseason outings with 10+ strikeouts:
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 30, 2026
Justin Verlander: 3
Cam Schlittler: 2
Sandy Koufax: 2
Kevin Brown: 2
Randy Johnson: 2
Cliff Lee: 2 https://t.co/tSYl9pXbA3
Schlittler’s performance overshadowed a solid outing on the other end from Payton Tolle, who allowed one run on five hits in 4.2 innings, while striking out four and walking one.
Despite his success, Tolle had to battle more. The Yankees had three hits in the second inning, including an RBI single to right field from Austin Wells, which scored George Lombard Jr. when Wilyer Abreu’s throw went too far up the line. After a 1-2-3 inning in the third, Tolle allowed the first two runners to reach in the fourth inning before he got Anthony Volpe to foul out to first and Spencer Jones to flare out to shortstop. Lombard Jr. got a poor read on the flight of the ball and wound up getting doubled off first base, allowing the Red Sox to escape the jam.
Yet, those long innings wound up playing a huge part in this game. After getting the first two batters out in the fifth inning and with left-hander Ben Rice coming up, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy decided to go to the bullpen. The decision could have been because Tolle has a bit of a reverse-splits issue. Righties strike out at a 31% clip against him and have a 12.3% HR/FB rate, while lefties strike out at a 22.5% rate with a 24% HR/FB rate.
So instead of letting Tolle try to finish the fifth inning against a fellow lefty, Tracy went to left-hander Erik Miller out of the bullpen, and it backfired. Rice launched a sinker over the center field fence to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead that felt insurmountable with Schlittler on the bump.
To make matters worse, when the Red Sox came up to bat in the top of the 6th inning, it wasn’t Roman Anthony who stepped into the batter’s box when the top of the order was due up. Andruw Monastero, who mostly plays against lefties, hit instead and proceeded to strike out against Schlittler. On the NBC broadcast, Red Sox analyst Lou Merloni mentioned that Anthony seemed to have injured himself on a check swing in the game against the Cubs down in Florida on Sunday. It remains to be seen if that is the case and if it could jeopardize the former top prospect’s availability for the series, but it added insult to injury in a tough Game 1 loss.
Yet, despite all of that, the Red Sox remained in the game until another questionable bullpen move by Tracy allowed this game to be blown open. With the Red Sox down 2-0 heading into the bottom of the 7th, Tracy called on Alec Gamboa, a 29-year-old who made his MLB debut this season. Gamboa is another left-hander who has been hit hard by lefties. The Yankees' two lefties he faced singled to open the inning before Gamboa walked Paul Goldschmidt and then Rice, another lefty, singled to right to bring in yet another run.
Things didn’t get better for the Red Sox from there.
Reliever Wyatt Olds allowed three of the first four batters to reach in the eighth inning. Tracy went to the bullpen again, bringing in Brayan Bello in the hopes of getting a groundball double play to end the inning and keep the score 4-0. Instead, Bello allowed a sacrifice fly, a walk, and then a grand slam to Rice to put the Yankees up 9-0.
BEN RICE GRAND SLAM
— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2026
SECOND HOMER TONIGHT
YANKEES LEAD BOSTON 9-0! pic.twitter.com/T7VMWAIjp9
Rice, a Cohasset, Massachusetts native, finished the night 4-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI. According to Sarah Langs, Rice is the first player in Yankees history with multiple home runs, including a grand slam in a postseason game. The rest of the Yankees’ top four hitters in the lineup had only one hit. Instead, the Yankees' 5-9 hitters were on base 10 times and scored seven of the Yankees’ nine runs. The Red Sox, as a team, were on base three times.
That’s a little bit of a continuation of how the final month has gone for Boston. The Red Sox scored the fewest runs in baseball in September. On Tuesday, they didn’t get a runner on second base until there were two outs in the eighth inning. Now, they will turn to Sonny Gray in Game 2 to try and extend their season at 8 pm ET on NBC/Peacock. The Yankees will counter with Max Fried, who has one of the lowest career ERAs against the Red Sox of any pitcher in baseball.
The odds are looking good for the Yankees to extend their season long enough to get their captain, Aaron Judge, back onto the field and see just how far they can go.
Cam Schlittler's scoreless outing, Ben Rice's grand slam power Yankees to Game 1 drubbing of Red Sox
Cam Schlittler authored another playoff gem against Boston and Ben Rice had four hits, including a grand slam and a solo homer, as the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 9-0, Tuesday night in Game 1 of their AL Wild Card Series.
Here are the key takeaways...
-Schlittler has now made two playoff starts against the Red Sox and has allowed no runs and just seven hits in 14.1 innings. He’s struck out 22 and walked only one. In six career starts against Boston, including the postseason, he has a 0.47 ERA, allowing only two earned runs in 38.2 innings.
-Schlittler’s strengths are his three fastballs – a four-seam, a cutter and a sinker – and they were in fine form Tuesday. The first pitch he threw in the game lit up the scoreboard radar gun at 101 miles per hour and he used his heaters and their differing movement patterns to flummox the Red Sox. But his curveball was also a weapon. He jacked up its usage – most of the season it was at 10 percent of his arsenal, but it was nearly three times that on Tuesday – and it was a fine finishing pitch. He completed four of his 10 strikeouts with the pitch and felt so good about it he occasionally threw it twice in a row. Overall, Schlittler got 24 swings-and-misses during his outing, according to Baseball Savant, an indication of how dominant he was.
-Schlittler needed 22 pitches to navigate the first inning, mostly because of a 10-pitch battle with Adley Rutschman that ended up with a one-out, bloop single. Schlittler then retired the next 13 batters before issuing a two-out walk to Jarren Duran in the fifth. Schlittler iced Trevor Story on a harmless fly to center to end the inning, threw a 1-2-3 sixth and then the Yankees had a decision to make. The last pitch of the sixth, a cutter that wiped out Rutschman for strikeout No. 10, was Schlittler’s 107th, matching his career high attained in his dominant start against Boston to close out the 2025 Wild Card Series. Aaron Boone sent Schlittler out to start the seventh and he got one out before giving up a single to Wilyer Abreu. Then Boone came to get him and Schlittler departed to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 48,437, many of whom were chanting “M-V-P, M-V-P.”
-With Aaron Judge not on the roster for this series because of a calf injury, the Yankees perhaps needed a hitter to step up, and Rice did just that on Tuesday. He was 4-for-5 with six RBI and all four of the hits were clocked at 106.4 miles per hour off the bat or harder. The grand slam off Brayan Bello was 108.6 mph. Between Rice and Schlittler, a big night for the Yanks' Massachusetts natives against the Olde Towne Team, eh?
-The Yankees have a lefty-leaning lineup, but they’ve been successful against left-handed pitching this year. Southpaw Payton Tolle started for the Red Sox and the Yanks’ victory means they are 36-20 in games started by left-handers, including the regular season. Lefty hitters helped Tuesday night. Austin Wells, who batted .122 against lefties, knocked in the first run with an RBI single and Rice delivered insurance with his 12th homer against a lefty pitcher this year. He also hit a 110-mph double off Tolle. He hit the grand slam off righty Brayan Bello.
-The Yanks didn’t get anything out of their first three at-bats with runners in scoring position, but cashed their fourth with a hit from a perhaps-unlikely source: Wells. With two outs in the second inning, Wells swatted a single into right field to score George Lombard Jr. from second base for a 1-0 Yankee lead. Wells had a poor season offensively and was particularly bad against left-handed pitching, going 11-for-90 against lefties.
-The Yanks were set up for damage in the fourth inning when Lombard reached on a tough chopper to third that was scored a base hit. Amed Rosario followed with a walk on a 3-2 pitch that became ball four when he successfully challenged the original strike call. But things flattened from there, even as Boston started its bullpen churning. The Red Sox clearly thought Anthony Volpe would bunt, because they slid their corner infielders in. Volpe swung and fouled out and then Spencer Jones hit a soft liner to the left side that Caleb Durbin easily snared. Lombard got too far off the bag at second and Durbin threw over for an inning-ending double play. After two more failed at-bats with runners in scoring position, the Yanks were only 1-for-7 in such situations early.
-Tolle lasted 4.2 innings for the Red Sox, allowing just one run and five hits – four singles and Rice’s first-inning double. He walked one, struck out four and threw 83 pitches (58 strikes). Boston manager Chad Tracy took Tolle out with Rice waiting to hit. In came fellow lefty Erik Miller and Rice punished the Red Sox, smashing a 423-foot homer over the center field wall that was clocked at 108 miles per hour off the bat. Rice’s longball, the second postseason home run of his career, gave the Yanks a 2-0 lead that seemed much wider because of the way Schlittler was pitching.
-Rice later added an RBI single in the seventh inning and the Yanks got a fourth run on a double-play grounder, too. In the eighth, Wells made it 5-0 with a sac fly and Rice connected for his slam in that inning, too, a 408-foot drive.
Game MVP
Schlittler. He threw 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and a walk. The Red Sox never got a runner past first base against him. He struck out 10 and threw a career-high 117 pitches, 77 of them for strikes. Boston’s 1-2-3 spots in their lineup were 1-for-9 against him with seven strikeouts.
Highlights
Cam Schlittler starts Game 1 off with a K pic.twitter.com/u3VdvJxsFU
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
Three strikeouts for Cam Schlittler in the first after a successful Austin Wells ABS challenge pic.twitter.com/V7X44ouZ3j
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
Four strikeouts for Cam Schlittler in 2 innings
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
He’s generated 11 swing and misses pic.twitter.com/pLHesL783f
George Lombard Jr. singles in his first postseason at-bat pic.twitter.com/0OfOKFWzcc
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
Austin Wells opens the scoring in Game 1! pic.twitter.com/11NGVmZyZ6
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
Cam Schlittler is up to 6 Ks in 3 innings in Game 1 pic.twitter.com/RyWngkIWhC
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
BEN RICE. 2-0! pic.twitter.com/PgXWZtTKcI
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
Cam Schlittler. pic.twitter.com/8SRIIYJ654
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
Paul Blackburn gets the double play! pic.twitter.com/gO4HizgMa9
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
Ben Rice with an RBI knock to make it 3-0! pic.twitter.com/Dv4DfM4Wyo
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
Nick Sogard with the diving stop to start the double play, but Austin Wells comes into score to make it 4-0 pic.twitter.com/jHJI6ym9Tc
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
Another RBI for Austin Wells on a sac fly pic.twitter.com/YPhYsoqNC1
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
BEN RICE BRINGS THE HAMMER DOWN!
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 30, 2026
A grand slam and the Yankees lead 9-0! pic.twitter.com/42w0x95BAD
Up next
The Yankees have a chance to sweep the best-of-three series against their archrivals on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.
Max Fried takes the mound for New York, squaring off against former Yankee Sonny Gray, who enjoyed an excellent 2026 regular season with Boston.
Watch Ben Rice's grand slam turn Yankees-Red Sox game into a laugher
Ben Rice turned Game 1 of the American League wild card series into a laugher with his two-out grand slam in the bottom of the eighth against the Boston Red Sox, his second home run of the night in the New York Yankees' 9-0 win.
The Yankees led 4-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth and pushed a fifth run across on Austin Wells' sacrifice fly. But Brayan Bello walked Paul Goldschmidt to load the bases again, bringing up Rice. The All-Star fell behind 0-2 but worked Bello to a full count before driving the sixth pitch of the at-bat over the wall, sending Yankee Stadium into a frenzy.
Rice hit 41 home runs in the regular season and had a solo homer off left-hander Erik Miller in the bottom of the sixth inning that had extended the Yankees one-run lead to 2-0.
Rice guys finish blast. pic.twitter.com/afe7NqeqKB
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 30, 2026
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch Ben Rice's grand slam turn Yankees-Red Sox game into a laugher
Cam Schlittler, Ben Rice lead Yankees to emphatic Game 1 win over Red Sox
Cam Schlittler is going to win the American League Cy Young winner in November, and likely garner MVP votes while he is at it.
But if the Yankees ace is going to keep pitching like this against the Red Sox in the postseason, they are going to start naming babies and streets and everything else after him around these parts.
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Try it freeAnd Ben Rice may not be far behind.
Schlittler and Rice, the sons of Massachusetts, continued to torment their hometown team and carry the Yankees, combining to run away with a 9-0 win over the Red Sox in Game 1 of the AL wild-card series on Tuesday night at a boisterous Yankee Stadium.
Schlittler struck out 10 across 6 ¹/₃ shutout innings, all of which came in a tight game before Rice helped blow it open — his grand slam in the eighth inning providing the knockout punch on his second home run and fourth hit of the night.
“The job’s not done,” Schlittler said. “We’ve got to get another win [Wednesday]. But it’s very well known that if you want to be a legend, which is obviously the goal, you’ve got to do it in the postseason.
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“So go out there and have dominant starts and put the team in a position to win. And that’s kind of the most important thing. I thought a lot of guys today did a great job of that.”
The flame-throwing, 25-year-old Schlittler, who mixed in more curveballs than he has in any start of his career, allowed just two singles and one walk. After throwing his career-high 117th and final pitch of the night in the seventh inning of what was then a 2-0 game, he walked off to “MVP” chants and a thunderous standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 48,737.
After dominating the Red Sox in a clinching Game 3 of the AL wild-card series here last year — tossing eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts to announce his arrival on the big stage — Schlittler delivered yet again on Tuesday to give the Yankees a chance to finish off the sweep Wednesday when they hand Max Fried the ball against Sonny Gray.
Rice, who like Schlittler (and Anthony Volpe, who also enjoyed a strong night) was signed and scouted by Matt Hyde, led the Aaron Judge-less offense with four of its 12 hits — matching the same number of hits he had across six playoff games last year – while driving in six runs.
“I’ll remember getting a ‘W’ versus the Red Sox — there’s nothing better than that,” Rice said. “I’ll remember Cam going out there and just being lights out, like he always is. I’ll remember the atmosphere. It was just an awesome night.”
What threatened to be the Yankees’ kryptonite coming into the series — the Red Sox’s parade of lefty arms — proved to be their offensive key to Game 1. Their left-handed hitters (Rice, Cody Bellinger, Spencer Jones and Austin Wells) went 7-for-13 against three Red Sox lefties, including starter Payton Tolle, who lasted just 4 ²/₃ innings.
Making matters worse for the Red Sox was the fact that they lost one of their best hitters, Roman Anthony, to a recurrence of his hand injury in the middle of Game 1 that threatens his availability the rest of the series.
Schlittler came out firing, striking out three in the top of the first inning — two on his curveball, foreshadowing how important it would be for him on the way to a career-high 24 whiffs — on a night when he lowered his career ERA to 0.47 in six starts against the Red Sox.
The bottom of the Yankees’ lineup started the scoring in the second inning, which George Lombard Jr. led off with a single — becoming the youngest player (21 years, 119 days) in franchise history to record a hit in his playoff debut — before Volpe roped a one-out single of his own.
Then with two outs, Wells lined a left-on-left single through the right side for the 1-0 lead.
Rice, who crushed 41 home runs during the regular season but cooled off some during the summer months when Judge was out with a broken rib, greeted lefty reliever Erik Miller in the fifth inning with a solo blast into Monument Park to double the lead.
Paul Blackburn relieved Schlittler in the seventh inning and rolled a double play ball to erase the inherited runner. But from there, the Yankees added on against the Red Sox bullpen, scoring twice against lefty reliever Alec Gamboa before Rice blew it open in the eighth, a fitting exclamation point on a night that belonged to him and Schlittler.
“Pretty remarkable,” manager Aaron Boone said. “For them to go out and have that kind of night together to start this postseason, pretty amazing and kind of hard to grasp a little bit, frankly. But I’m certainly glad we have those two.”
Roman Anthony leaves Game 1 against Yankees in possible injury scare: ‘Not a good sign’
The Red Sox looked lost at the plate against Yankees ace Cam Schlittler Tuesday night, and then saw one of the club’s budding stars exit early.
Roman Anthony was unexpectedly lifted for pinch hitter Andruw Monasterio in the top of the sixth inning after striking out in his first two plate appearances in Boston’s 9-0 loss in Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Yankees.
After the defeat, manager Chad Tracy told reporters that Anthony’s right hand “flared on him” after a check swing.
Tracy added that it was “hard to say” whether Anthony would play in Wednesday’s Game 2 or not.
Anthony was seen flexing his right wrist in the dugout after his first-inning strikeout but stayed in for another plate appearance before he was removed.
“That’s not a good sign,” ex-Red Sox infielder Lou Merloni said during the NBC broadcast.
Merloni referred to an at-bat in Boston’s regular-season finale on Sunday against the Cubs in which Anthony appeared to experience discomfort in his right hand.
“There was a check swing [in Sunday’s game], where we weren’t sure what we were seeing,” Merloni added. “It looked like he was shaking it out a little bit. Obviously, [he] hasn’t been right and there’s something going on with it.”
The 22-year-old missed 107 games after sustaining an injury, which was initially reported as a wrist issue but later called a ring finger ailment, and experiencing a myriad of setbacks during his rehab.
In 55 games this season, Anthony hit .245/.339/.396 with just five homers and 15 RBIs.
It was not the type of season either side envisioned after Boston inked Anthony, considered one of baseball’s top prospects, to a historic $130 million deal shortly after his MLB debut.
NHL winners and losers include Panthers goalie, Maple Leafs newcomers
The Carolina Hurricanes got their championship rings this week, they raised their Stanley Cup banner on Tuesday, Sept. 29, and they have their first loss of the season.
They did pick up a point as the Florida Panthers and Hurricanes pushed their scoreless tie to overtime in the NHL's 2026-27 season opener.
But Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling scored with 4.3 seconds left in overtime to get a 1-0 win as Florida tries to return to the playoffs after the two-time Stanley Cup champions were crushed by injuries last season.
The NHL had five games on the schedule. Here are the winners and losers of the early games from opening night:
WINNERS
Panthers goalie Jacob Markstrom
The question heading into the season was whether the Panthers' goaltending would be good enough.
They couldn't work out a deal with two-time Cup and Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky and he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the days leading up to free agency, the Panthers traded for Markstrom and Akira Schmid.
Markstrom, who began his career with the Panthers, was steady in the opener, making 15 saves, including on Carolina's 4-on-1 break. He matched his shutout total from last season, when he struggled with an .883 save percentage for the New Jersey Devils.
Hurricanes' Stanley Cup banner raising
The Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas last season, so they gave fans the on-ice celebration that they missed. Better yet, they did a Storm Surge, the traditional post-win celebration. The players gathered around the faceoff circle, captain Jordan Staal brought in the Stanley Cup and they did their traditional overhand clap. Then they posed with the banner before it went to the rafters.
The most special Storm Surge of all time pic.twitter.com/K0fk1X8uQt
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) September 29, 2026
Toronto Maple Leafs' William Nylander
Nylander was the Maple Leafs most consistent player in a season in which their nine-year playoff streak ended. He was again on Tuesday, scoring the first goal of the 2026-27 NHL season and adding another to pull the Maple Leafs close in a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
Boston Bruins' Fraser Minten
Minten was one of the youngsters who cashed in this summer, signing a seven-year, $50 million contract. He broke a scoreless tie with a wicked shot late in the third period of a victory against the New York Rangers.
LOSERS
Maple Leafs' newcomers
GM John Chayka was busy remaking the Maple Leafs this summer and fall. Just-acquired Kirill Marchenko had an assist and another opportunity. But defenseman Darren Raddysh was a minus-2. So was No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna, who made an ill-advised bank pass off the boards. None of the other newcomers had a point and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had an .875 save percentage.
Hurricanes' play on Florida's winning goal
The Hurricanes had the puck deep in the Florida zone late in overtime and allowed the Panthers to come down the ice and set up Forsling's winner on a one-timer. Hurricanes goalie Brandon Bussi didn't like how he gave up a shot from distance and lost an opportunity for the game to go to a shootout. "By my standards, it's a bad goal," he said.
PURE FILTH BY PETERKA IN HIS BRUINS DEBUT AND THE B'S TAKE A 2-0 LEAD LATE 🔥🚨 pic.twitter.com/TFQh2ooJov
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) September 30, 2026
New York Rangers' collapse
The Bruins-Rangers game looked like it might be the second one of the night to be scoreless through regulation. But the Rangers gave up three goals in 75 seconds for the loss. JJ Peterka made a great move through Braden Schneider for the Bruins' second goal.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL winners and losers include Panthers goalie, Maple Leafs newcomers
Recap: Late goals lift B’s to Opening Night win over Rangers
After waiting all summer for hockey to return, the Bruins made you wait another 40+ minutes before their 2026-2027 really began.
The Bruins got three goals just 75 seconds apart late in the third period to turn what had been a relatively sleepy affair into a 3-0 Opening Night win.
Fraser Minten broke the deadlock with a laser past Igor Shesterkin with 3:46 left in the third period, then that was followed by JJ Peterka’s first goal as a Bruin and an empty-netter by Mark Kastelic to sew up the win.
The Bruins controlled play for the majority of the first two periods but were unable to solve Shesterkin. The Rangers had a bit more push-back in the third, but never really managed to turn the tide in their favor.
Minten led the way for the B’s with the game-winning goal and an assist on Kastelic’s goal, while Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves in the shutout win.
The B’s had a few good chances early in the game and hit a couple of posts, but the game remained scoreless into the last five minutes of the third period.
That’s when Minten, fresh off of a new contract, beat Shesterkin top corner to make it 1-0 Bruins.
Peterka saw that rocket from Minten and raised him an undressing of Braden Schneider and a five-hole goal against Shesterkin to make it 2-0 Bruins just 52 seconds later.
Mike Sullivan would pull the goalie shortly after, and…it didn’t work.
Kastelic scored into the empty net just 23 seconds after Peterka’s goal, and that was all she wrote.
Bruins win, 3-0.
Game notes
- Well that all happened pretty fast, didn’t it? This game started as “yes, hockey is back!” then had a long period of “we waited all summer for this?” However, all’s well that ends well, particularly when the end features three goals in less than two minutes.
- While the Rangers outshot the Bruins in both the second and third periods, it never really felt like this game was getting away from the B’s. Whether that speaks more to the offensive ineptitude of the Rangers, the stinginess of the Bruins, or just general early-season hockey remains to be seen, but it was ultimately a sturdy overall performance from the home team.
- This game featured just two penalties, one per side and both in the first period.
- Mason Lohrei deserves a lot of credit for gloving the puck out of the air immediately before Minten’s goal, turning what may have been a Rangers clear into a scoring chance for his team. While Lohrei Hockey is often quite an experience, he had a good game tonight.
- Speaking of an experience, Connor Clifton received a hefty “welcome back” in the form of leading the B’s in ice time. Clifton skated 23:23, almost two minutes more than second-place Nikita Zadorov.
- Peterka’s goal was a DOUBLE LINDHOLM, as both Hampus and Elias recorded assists. I don’t know if that’s rare or not, but I enjoyed it.
- The giveaways/takeaways stats are often murky at best, but tonight’s seem like they tell a pretty accurate story: the Rangers were charged with 20 giveaways, compared to just 10 for the Bruins.
- James Hagens had a relatively quiet night, recording just one shot on goal. However, he was credited with two blocked shots, tied for second-most on the team.
- Per the ESPN broadcast, tonight’s win was the 11th consecutive home opener win for the Bruins; that ties the NHL record previously held by the Montreal Canadiens.
- In a weird bit of coincidence, Minten scored the game-winning goal in last season’s home opener as well; that one was an OT goal against Chicago.
The B’s will be back in action on Friday night in Winnipeg, as the NHL graciously gives them several days to take horses and buggies to the lone NHL city without an airport.
Hey, an Oregon Trail-style journey to Manitoba feels better with a win stashed amongst your provisions.
Astros deliver dud in bullpen game battle vs. White Sox
HOUSTON — In Tuesday’s Game 1 of the American League wild-card series, Chicago White Sox rookie left hander Hagen Smith found himself in uncharted territory: making his first postseason start and facing the reigning AL batting title winner.
He didn’t blink.
Smith spun three scoreless innings and helped the White Sox deliver a deluxe version of a bullpen game in a 6-3 win over the Houston Astros at Daikin Park, putting Chicago on the precipice of advancing to the AL Division Series for the first time since 2021.
“It was awesome,” Smith told USA TODAY Sports. “From the first day out here, the guys on the team have just been awesome. It’s super fun to show up every day and just play with them, so I was really happy to go out there with them.”
Facing a Houston lineup known for its power, Smith surrendered two hits, singles to Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith, and stifled one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. AL MVP candidate Yordan Alvarez went 0-for-2 with two groundouts against Smith.
“He's a great hitter,” Smith said of Alvarez after the game. “Obviously, when you look at the scouting reports you kind of circle him as one of the guys that you try not to let him beat you. And, yeah, just trying to go to go out there and do the same thing I always do. Just not make the moment too big for that certain hitter, and just try to attack him with my strengths.”
After Smith’s start, the White Sox used three relievers – Jordan Hicks, Sean Newcomb and David Sandlin – as a bridge to closer Grant Taylor. Taylor secured seven laborious outs, the biggest among them when he stifled a Houston rally in the eighth inning by striking out Yainer Diaz, who represented the potential tying run with two on base and two outs.
On the other side, the Astros used eight pitchers in total after rookie opener AJ Blubaugh walked three of the five batters he faced and didn’t even get out of the first inning. Bryan King gave up two runs on four hits while finishing the first inning. Miguel Ullola briefly stabilized the home team but couldn’t stop the bleeding as the White Sox hit .324 with four walks. The crowd in Houston, accustomed to postseason dominance, booed Astros pitchers on multiple occasions.
White Sox manager Will Venable said Smith’s outing “couldn't have gone better” for the visitors, who head into Wednesday’s Game 2 with a chance to avenge an ALDS loss to the Astros from five years ago.
Smith, a former collegiate starter, was primed for the moment.
The University of Arkansas product was drafted fifth overall by the White Sox in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft and made his major-league debut out of the bullpen on Aug. 9 of this year. Since then, the White Sox have mostly utilized him as a middle reliever capable of covering multiple innings.
Smith went 3-3 with a 1.29 ERA in 28 innings pitched this season, the lowest ERA by a White Sox pitcher over his first 18 career outings since 1912.
Although Smith changed elements of his routine when he became a reliever, he said he prides himself on “being able to go out there ready to roll” and said his familiarity with starting helped him prepare to be the White Sox opener against the Astros.
After the game, Smith stopped in a back hallway and greeted a half dozen family members, many of them wearing his White Sox jersey.
Smith grew up as a Texas Rangers fan in the eastern Texas town of Bullard, about a two-hour drive from Dallas and three hours from Houston. The Rangers and Astros were both potential wild-card opponents for the White Sox, but Smith said he didn’t have a preference for one matchup over the other.
Before Tuesday, Smith had started just one other game in his big-league career and had never faced the Astros. He pitched three innings for just the second time in his young career and threw 28 of his 38 pitches for strikes. Smith leaned heavily on his slider and cutter, two pitches that generated a 33% whiff rate against the Astros.
“The newness is always kind of tough, right?” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Kind of cross-fire, tough angle. His pitches do have some kind of difficult shape that keeps you off balance. He did a nice job of doing that. Once we got into the middle of the game, I thought we were more familiar with those guys, we’d seen ‘em before and that's when our offense started clicking a little bit. But not enough just to get it to that finish line.”
Smith, 23, is emblematic of a young White Sox roster with barely any postseason experience. Although the team’s run to its first postseason in five years has been characterized as improbable, those inside the clubhouse say they always believed it was possible.
“I think just all the guys in the clubhouse, you see the team play – we play super hard and play with our hearts,” Smith said. “I think it’s just very contagious for everybody and everybody wants each other to win. I think that’s a big part of it.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Astros deliver dud in bullpen game battle vs. White Sox
White Sox get blessing from Pope Leo before MLB playoffs — then go dominate Astros
You could say the White Sox holy rolled the Astros in Game 1 of the American League wild-card series, taking advantage of the divine intervention that one of the club’s biggest fans sent their way before the game.
Pope Leo XIV sent a letter of support to the White Sox, which the team shared on social media hours before the American League Chicago team went on to defeat Houston 6-3 at Daikin Park on Tuesday
on Sept. 28, 2026, in Metz, France. The mass is part of the papal apostolic
journey to France. Grzegorz Galazka/SIPA/Shutterstock
“As I have noted, sport can truly become a school of life, where all can learn that abundance does not come from victory at any cost, but from sharing, from respecting others and from the joy of walking together,” the first American Pope wrote to White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.
Pope Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost, hails from the Windy City and has made his White Sox fandom known since being elected pontiff in May 2025.
Then known as Father Bob, the Pope attended the White Sox’s World Series opener in 2005 when they played the Astros, sitting in section 140, Row 19, Seat 2 to watch as the White Sox won 5-3.
It’s the White Sox first postseason appearance since 2021 and followed three consecutive 100-loss seasons
“In this spirit, it is my hope that the White Sox will continue to foster bonds of friendship and solidarity among people, and thus bear hopeful witness to the possibility of living and working together in peace,” the Pope’s letter, dated Sept. 5, continued. “With these sentiments, I willingly invoke the Almighty’s abundant blessings upon you and your loved ones.”
The letter was sent to the White Sox in response to the team’s promotion on Aug. 11, when fans at that game received Pope hats with the team’s logo.
One was delivered to Pope Leo by Chicago native Father Tom McCarthy in August.
Pope Leo was likely very happy with the result on Tuesday as his beloved White Sox moved one step closer to advancing, with Colson Montgomery hitting a solo home run and Sam Antonacci driving in a pair of runs in the Game 1 victory.
Game 2 takes place on Wednesday in Houston.