• The Clippers surrender five first-round draft picks (2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033). • The Clippers are fined $30 million. • Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from anything to do with the team or the league for one year. • Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker is suspended for one year, while President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended for six months. • Kawhi Leonard must pay a $700,000 fine, and his already-fired business manager, Dennis Robertson (better known as "Uncle Dennis"), is banned from conducting NBA business for five years.
So who came out on top and who was the loser here? Let's break it down.
Winner: Kawhi Leonard
While Kawhi Leonard is paying a healthy fine — although still just a fraction of what he made on those "no-show" endorsements — it is the Clippers and Leonard's management who take the hit here. That's largely because Leonard had layers of protection, including the NBPA. A source with knowledge of the situation told NBC Sports only the players' union could force the arbitration process — a neutral arbitrator who could rule on the fairness of all the punishments in relation to the evidence — but with the union and Leonard agreeing to the terms, there is no arbitration.
Leonard will make all of the $50.3 million on his contract this season, and the trade sending him to Toronto that was in place but on pause will go through in the coming days. That puts Leonard in a city (and country) where he is a legend and adored, and is out of the U.S. media spotlight. Plus, Leonard already has his new representation talking to Toronto about a contract extension there. This has gone about as well as it could for Leonard.
Loser: Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer is the kind of owner you want for your team — he cares, he's emotional, he shows up to every game, and he's willing to spend. He lives and dies with the team.
Banning him from being around the Clippers or being involved with its business for a year will hit him hard personally. The $30 million fine is pocket change to a guy worth $152 billion, but the loss of draft picks that will seriously hamper team building for at least eight years further hurts the thing he loves. And now he can't be around it for a year.
Which is why he's going to fight this, almost certainly in the courts. Which leads us to...
Winner: Lawyers on Ballmer’s payroll
Ballmer will not go quietly into that good night. His attorney, David Kelley, already wrote a lengthy letter to the league and Adam Silver which said, in part, "We are exploring every legal remedy to address this gross injustice."
Ballmer is not selling the team — he just built the Intuit Dome — and he is going to fight this. The likely way that happens is through the courts. Ballmer has the money and willingness to drag this out and make it ugly, and the only winner from that will be the lawyers getting paid by the hour to enact his vengeance.
Loser: Clippers
The Clippers 2027 first-round pick is a swap with the Thunder. Philadelphia controls the Clippers' 2028 pick dating back to the Paul George trade. Then the sanctions kick in, costing them five straight first-round picks through 2033.
That just destroys most paths to team building — first-round picks, either as inexpensive players who can help a team or as leverage in a trade, are the lifeblood of team building. The Clippers still have a couple in the next few years via trade, but their paths to building anything close to the Lob City era (fueled by the Blake Griffin pick) or even the Paul George/Kawhi Leonard era seem daunting, at best.
For the record, to land George and Leonard, then eventually trade them away, the Clippers gave up 10 first-round picks and a variety of players, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The result was one trip to the Western Conference Finals. (To be fair, there may not be an Intuit Dome without those guys.)
Loser: Clippers fans
This team is just cursed, and its fans are the ones suffering. It's hard enough to root for "the other team" in Los Angeles — and make no mistake, for everything Ballmer has done right to raise the profile of the Clippers, and it's a lot, Los Angeles is a Lakers' town — but to see them now facing a potential decade of mediocrity because of this is just brutal. It's not fair to the fans.
Winner: Pablo Torre
Vindication.
Torre broke the story of a Leonard "no-show" endorsement deal with Aspiration on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, which led to this investigation. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on this issue. Yet, he took a lot of verbal hits both from the Clippers and a lot of people online — and in the mainstream media at points, clearly using Clippers sources — and he just kept coming up with more and more. Like the Daktronics sponsorship for Leonard. As the investigation dragged on, the critical voices grew louder.
Vindication.
Winner: Adam Silver
There were plenty of people around the league who questioned if Silver was really going to bring the hammer down on the league's richest owner — honestly, I was one of those.
Silver did. He knows Ballmer is going to fight this, and it's going to be loud and messy. But Silver did what is best for the game, he stood up to the world's ninth-richest man, and he stood up for the NBA's system and salary cap. That was a strong play.
The Braves DFA’d Hayden Harris Wednesday to make space on the 40-man roster to bring up repeat DFA victim Eliesar Hernandez. Harris was once viewed as an extremely promising bullpen prospect for Atlanta, with outrageous strikeout rates in the minors due to a unique fastball shape. He had a rough couple of innings in the majors in 2025 and really lost his command in 2026 in the minors. It’s a bummer for those of us hoping for an electric homegrown bullpen arm from Harris, but perhaps not the end of the road for him.
Training camp is fast-approaching for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that means positional battles are, too.
And, no, these won't be the positional battles of training camps past for the Penguins. This time around, the organization has prospects who are legitimately on the verge of full-time NHL minutes, and they also have a collection of players who, even if they were on an NHL roster last season, are not guaranteed a spot this season.
One position that is, seemingly, wide open for the Penguins is the left side on defense. The Penguins traded top-pairing left defenseman Parker Wotherspoon to the Vegas Golden Knights for a right defenseman in Kaedan Korczak, and they signed free agents Declan Carlile and Trevor van Riemsdyk (a righty who plays both sides).
As far as returning cast members, it's just Sam Girard and Ilya Solovyov, and prospects Owen Pickering and Jake Livanavage will also be in the picture.
So, how is this positional battle on the left side shaping up? Who are the guarantees, the maybes, and the longshots?
The guarantees
Sam Girard
When the Penguins sent newly acquired defensive-minded left blueliner Brett Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche for the younger Girard and a second, they knew they were taking a bit of a risk. Girard was injured down the stretch run, but he did play better as he got more acclimated, with those minutes largely occuring alongside Kris Letang.
Even if there was inconsistency, Girard is a puck-moving, fleet-footed defenseman in transition, and there is a higher ceiling for the 28-year-old Stanley Cup champion to reach.
It will be interesting to see who he pairs with this season and what pairing he ends up on, as there are no guarantees as far as the top-four. But Girard will be on this roster, and he will in the lineup.
There is no chance that the veteran 35-year-old defenseman - who signed a two-year, $4 million deal right at the onset of free agency - will not be on the opening night roster. However, even if he's right-handed, he spent the majority of his games with the Washington Capitals on the left side last season, and that's almost certainly where he'll find himself with Pittsburgh.
The Penguins have a boatload of right-handed blueliners and a whole lot of unknown on the left, so it only makes sense for their situation to have TVR on the left. Where on the left, though, is the question.
A look on the top pairing next to Karlsson probably makes the most sense, at least to start camp. van Riemsdyk is solid defensively, and he could be a stay-at-home yet somewhat mobile complement to Karlsson's chaos like Wotherspoon was last season.
The maybes
Declan Carlile
Yes, the Dubas signed the 26-year-old to a two-year, $3 million contract in free agency, which is pretty similar to the two-year, $2 million contract that Wotherspoon signed last summer.
But that doesn't mean he is guaranteed a spot on this roster.
Simply put, the Penguins have a lot of guys competing for few spots. Carlile spent time in both the NHL and AHL last season, and in 42 NHL games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, had a goal, two assists, a plus-5, and 40 penalty minutes. He isn't afraid to mix it up, he is a physical player, and his shutdown yet non-stationary style is similar to that of Wotherspoon's.
The Penguins need two guys to replace Wotherspoon and Shea on the left. Carlile is cut from the same cloth as Wotherspoon, but that doesn't mean he is the same player or that he'll just be handed a roster spot with an underwhelming camp.
The 6-foot-3, 208-pound Belarusian blueliner was re-signed to a one-year, $850,000 deal this summer despite seeing limited playing time with the Penguins last season. The Penguins did like what he brought in the games that he played, but the biggest issue with Solovyov is his footspeed.
Solovyov isn't someone who has to play every night, and that's actually something that might work in his favor as far as making the team as a seventh defenseman since the Penguins will want their younger guys playing every night.
But, as is the case with everyone else in this tier, he will have to earn his spot, and he isn't the only one who will be in a similar situation.
Caleb Jones
It's easy to forget that Jones, 29, is in the second year of a two-year deal because he barely suited up last season. He played in just seven games at the beginning of the season before a long-term injury then a subsequent 20-game suspension for PEDs kept him out of the lineup, and he sustained another injury after his suspension that held him out for the remainder of the year.
Jones is in a similar spot to Solovyov because he's not necessarily someone who needs to play every day. But given his inability to be available last season and the limited potential he showed in his seven-game sample, he will need to have a standout camp to make the roster.
He'll be in the mix, and he will need to find a way to prove he still has value to this team.
For some, it might seem like Pickering should be chalked under the "longshot" category.
But, because of the second half he had with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) last season - and the front office's belief in him as a player - don't count him out this time around.
Several members of the Penguins' front office expressed praise for the 6-foot-5, 206-pound blueliner's growth last season, as he found consistency down the stretch. The organization wanted him to develop into a reliable, shutdown option on the left side - with a dose of offensive upside - and he managed to be that guy with sustained consistency down the stretch for the AHL club last season.
Quite frankly, there is a spot in the top-six for the taking. Pickering, 22, has as good a chance as Jones, Carlile, or Solovyov to make this roster. If he makes himself stands out and has a better camp than the others, the Penguins will not block him from securing a roster spot and a lineup spot. This is his chance to snatch it.
The longshots
Jake Livanavage
Don't forget about the 22-year-old collegiate blueliner who the Penguins signed to a two-year, entry-level contract late last season and were willing to burn an entire year of the ELC just to get him to sign in Pittsburgh.
Livanavage is a mobile, offense-first defenseman, and he put up five goals and 25 points in 39 games for the University of North Dakota last season. He can man the blue line on the power play, he's good in transition, and his mobility helps get him out of trouble.
However, there are some things for him to clean up on the defensive side, and he could stand to add an element of net-front physicality to his game. Still, he's an intriguing prospect for the Penguins, and even if he still has areas to refine and doesn't break camp, he'll almost certainly be one of the first names they call on if there are left-side injuries.
Unfortunately for Graves, it appears he is likely destined to play out the remaining three years of his six-year deal buried in the AHL.
That's not to say that Graves has zero chance out of camp. At one point, he was a good NHL defenseman with the New Jersey Devils, and he has worked hard to try to regain that two-way form again.
But, at this point - and as evidenced by the Penguins' willingness to put him on waivers last season - he may have run out of legitimate opportunities to stick with the big club. Never say never, as we literally just pointed out that a top-six spot is entirely up for grabs.
There is a lot working against Graves, though, and it will be an uphill climb for the 31-year-old to make the NHL roster out of a crowded positional pool at training camp.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 31: Kevin McGonigle #7 of the Detroit Tigers looks on as he walks off the field during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on August 31, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Matt Krohn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Well this game had everything. A nice early lead, defensive miscues from rookie defenders, bad bullpen work, heroics, more shaky bullpen work, and finally 12th inning heroics from Spencer Torkelson as the Tigers staved off the sweep with an 11-6 victory over the Twins very late on Wednesday night.
The Tigers were looking to avoid a sweep in Minnesota on Wednesday night. More than that, the team really needs to get the taste of two debacles to start the series.
Kevin McGonigle grounded out off of right-hander Dean Kremer to start the game. Hao-Yu Lee bit on a curveball away and struck out. Colt Keith lined a single into right center field, but Riley Greene popped out.
Drew Anderson’s outing started off like a continuation of last night’s game. He drilled Luke Keaschall with a fastball on the second pitch of his outing. Brooks Lee flew out to Max Clark, but Kody Clemens pulled a hard ground ball to first and Colt Keith took it off the heel of the glove for an error. Anderson bounced back with some good fortune as a high changeup to Ryan Jeffers induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Eduardo Valencia saw a cutter up and away to start the second inning and he drilled it up the right center field gap for a long single. Brett Callahan bit on a good splitter and struck out, but Max Clark got a cutter in on his hands and ripped it down the right field line for a double. Valencia could only go first to third, but the Tigers had two in scoring position and one out for John Peck.
Peck worked a full count as Kremer pounded him with cutters, and he finally hung one a bit. Peck hammered it off the wall in left center field for a two-run double, collecting his first major league hit and his first RBIs all in one good swing. 2-0 Tigers.
Zach McKinstry grounded out, moving Peck to third with two outs for McGonigle. However, the Rookie, as opposed to the rookies, popped out to end the frame.
Anderson got Bell and Larnach to ground out to start the bottom half. The latter play went to Keith at first and was sharply hit, but again it kicked off Keith’s glove for a moment behind the bag, and Anderson had to break late to first to cover. He collected a quite aggressive throw from Keith to collect the out. Anderson turned to the curveball against Royce Lewis to get ahead, and then locked him up with a fastball for strike three.
Kremer bounced back in the third. Hao-Yu Lee fouled tipped one into the glove, Keith flew out, and Greene worked a 2-0 count but then fouled off a 1-2 fastball and a pair of splitters got him chasing and whiffing to end the frame.
Anderson got ahead of Kaelen Culpepper 0-2 with a pair of good changeup to start the bottom half. The young shortstop put up a fight but Anderson whiffed him with a curveball. He got ahead of the talented, recently called up rookie outfielder, Walker Jenkins 0-2 as well, but a high fastball and then one just off the plate evened the count after Jenkins challenged a called strike correctly. Anderson missed twice more and walked him.
Anderson got ahead of Keaschall 0-2 and Jenkins tried to steal second. He was called safe, but it was a pretty good throw from Valencia and the Tigers challenged. It turned out Lee got the tag down on him before he touched second base. We’ve been critical of Valencia’s work behind the dish, but he’s clearly working on it. He posted a 1.84 pop time to cut down Jenkins, which is excellent.
Instead of taking advantage and getting out of the inning, Anderson tailed a fourseamer way back inside from Valencia’s target and hit Keaschall again, this time in the hand. A pair of good kick changes got ahead of Brooks Lee 0-2 as Keaschall looked to run. A grounder to second ended the inning with Anderson at 45 pitches. The stuff looked good. The fastball command is still not good enough.
Eduardo Valencia hammered an 0-2 Kremer offering off the right center field wall for a double to start the fourth. In a 1-1 count to Callahan, Kremer dropped a splitter just onto the upper corner of the zone away. Another one down drew the whiff. Max Clark was having none of Kremer’s games, calmly watching as the right-hander fell behind 3-0, threw a cookie that Clark was taking all the way, and then walked him. So it was two on again for John Peck. The rookie shortstop fouled off a pair of high 1-2 fastballs, He then got a splitter and drove it on a line to Jenkins in center just in front of the warning track. McKinstry grounded out to Culpepper, and they’d stranded a pair.
Anderson’s maddeningly mix of good stuff and shoddy command finally got him in trouble in the bottom half. He walked Kody Clemens and Jeffers smoked an RBI double to make it a 2-1 game. The right-hander bounced back to whiff Bell, and Larnach grounded out to Keith, who fired to Anderson on the run again to get the second out. A first pitch changeup to Lewis was right on the edge and Anderson challenged it correctly himself, and then whiffed him on a changeup to end the inning.
Kremer walked McGonigle to start the fifth. A pitch to Hao-Yu Lee bounced away momentarily and the Rookie took second base just ahead of the throw. Lee paddled a single up the middle and McGonigle scored to make it 3-1. Nice piece of hitting there.
Derek Shelton came out to get Kremer, replacing him with lefty Kody Funderburk. Elite baseball name, btw. AJ Hinch pinch-hit Spencer Torkelson for Keith, and Tork lined out to left. Riley Greene torched a hot one-hopper into right center field and Jenkins had to slide just to knock it down and keep it from going to the wall. Lee roared around first to third to score for a 4-1 lead.
A wild sweeper that Funderburk lost his grip on went to the backstop and Greene took third with Valencia at the dish. Unfortunately Valencia whiffed on a sinker for strike three, and Ben Malgeri hit for Callahan and was frozen by a pretty nasty sweeper for strike three.
Anderson was at 63 pitches to start the bottom of the fifth. He gave Culpepper a shave with a first pitch fourseamer that sailed. He came back with changeups for strikes, and a curveball got a ground out to Peck. Walker Jenkins fouled off a pair of heaters and then got undressed by a truly evil changeup to strike out. A good curve popped up Keaschall and we were on to the sixth.
Max Clark’s production against lefties has been pretty awesome so far, and he continued against Funderburk. He faked a bunt first pitch, and then in a 1-2 count smoked a line drive up the left center field gap and beat feet for second. Peck slashed a grounder through the right side for an RBI single. 5-1 Tigers. McKinstry tried to go the other way and lined out to Lee, but Peck got back to first in time to avoid being doubled off. A passed ball on a breaking ball to McGonigle got Peck to second base, but the Rookie flew out routinely to left. So, it was up to Hao-Yu Lee, and he wasn’t going to see a lefty. RHP Travis Adams entered to deal with him instead, and got a ground out to end the inning.
Anderson induced a little checked swing bunt from Lee to start the bottom half. He bobbled it along the first base line but stayed with it and got the out. Clemens lifted a dying quail to right field and McKinstry made a slick sliding catch for the second out. Jeffers pulled a chopper to McGonigle and he rushed it a bit and threw wildly to first. Bell smoked a one-hopper into right for a single, and so it was first and second with two outs. Valencia came out to give Anderson a breather and settle him down, needing just one out to wrap up a really good outing. Instead, a hanging changeup got scalded to the wall in right field, and the Tigers paid for McGonigle’s error as Jeffers scored. Surprisingly, they held Bell at third, and that was it for Anderson as Tyler Kinley entered and got Lewis to ground out, ending the threat.
Anderson finished with 5.2 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K on the night. Good results, but poor fastball command still wasted a lot of pitches in this one.
Veteran Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman, acquired by the Twins in August, took over next and he struck out Torkelson, Greene, and Valencia to start the seventh. Kinley got Culpepper to fly out to start the bottom half, and then whiffed Jenkins with a really good slider, and then carved up Keaschall with the slider as well.
Lefty A.J. Minter was on for the Twins in the eighth. Malgeri got jammed but fought it off softly into center field for a leadoff single. Max Clark scorched a line drive to Culpepper, who caught it and dropped it, perhaps trying to create an opportunity for the double play. The second base umpire decided to just rule Clark out. Peck chased a changeup fading away for the second out. Malgeri stole second and the throw bounced into center field to get him to third with McKinstry in a 1-2 count, but McKinstry flew out to left as Drew Sommers warmed in the visiting bullpen.
Brooks Lee was up first in the bottom half, and battled with a bunch of foul balls after falling behind in the count. Sommers came back with another slider but left it up and Lee served it into left center for a single. The big lefty then drilled Clemens in the elbow with an errant sinker. Everything else was working the Tigers way so far, so it made sense that Sommers would suddenly have a mess of an outing.
He fell behind the dangerous Jeffers 3-1, and then got a whiff on a good fourseamer at the top of the zone and dotted another at the bottom, locking Jeffers up for strike three. So, a double play ball would get the Tigers out of this jam. Instead, Bell got jammed but his excuse me swing was enough to pull a grounder through the left side. It was hit hard enough that the Twins had to hold the runners as Malgeri throws well, but it was bases loaded, one out, and the Tigers need strikeouts or a routine ground ball.
Hinch brought in Kenley Jansen, hoping for the strikeouts. The left-handed Victor Caratini pinch-hit for Gonzalez, making his first appearance of the series. Jansen proceeded to walk in a run to make it 5-3. Royce Lewis battled back from an 0-2 count and eventually got a cutter down inside of up, and Lewis pulled it on the ground. It looked like a double play ball but got right by Peck, who got caught flat-footed, and the game was tied.
Jansen struck out Culpepper, but there were still men on second and third with two outs. Hinch took the ball, and Tyler Holton entered to try and get them out of this. Holton carved up Jenkins with good cutters to finally end the inning, but the game was tied entering the ninth.
McGonigle popped out again for an inauspicious start to the ninth inning. Shelton pulled his lefty and put RHP Yoendrys Gomez in to face Lee. The second baseman chased a fastball away that would’ve been ball four and whiffed, but Gomez walked him anyway, squandering their last challenge on ball four. A first pitch cutter to Torkelson right down the middle was the cookie we were hoping for, and Tork grounded into an inning ending double play.
At this point the Tigers odds were underwater in this one, but a victory felt closer to impossible.
Holton took on Keaschall to start the bottom of the ninth and he flew out to McKinstry in right. Brooks Lee paddled a 3-2 changeup away up the middle for a single under a diving Hao-Yu Lee. Clemens grounded one to Torkelson, who fired to second to get Lee, but the turn to first wasn’t quite in time. Jacob Waguespack entered to try and get the last out. He did, as Jeffers lifted a fly ball to Malgeri in left to end the inning.
Gomez was still in for the Twins in the 10th. Greene flew out, Valencia grounded out too sharply to advance the runner, and Malgeri was carved up by a sweeper to leave Torkelson at second.
Ryan Jeffers started the bottom half at second base. Waguespack faced Ben Ross to start the inning as the Tigers crept in at the corners. He popped up a bunt, freezing Jeffers. It fell just in front of McGonigle, who got the out at first. Former Tiger Ryan Kreidler was up next after entering as a pinch-runner in the eighth. Waguespack fell behind 3-1 and walked Kreidler, bringing Lewis to the dish. Waguespack got ahead with a pair of heaters up and then whiffed him on a nasty changeup. So, it was up to Waguespack vs. Culpepper and the shortstop gave one a ride to right field, but McKinstry hauled it in on the warning track.
On to the 11th. These games are a lot more fun when they matter. Of course, it matters to the Twins.
The Twins went to lefty Tyler Rogers in the 11th with Malgeri starting on second. Max Clark got jammed, but dumped a ball down the left field line to score Malgeri, and Clark didn’t stop there, booking it to second base. 6-5 Tigers. Peck lined out to left, and Hinch pinch hit Gleyber Torres for McKinstry. They gave Torres an intentional pass, and Javier Báez entered to run for him. McGonigle was up next, but he couldn’t handle Rogers slow sweeper and struck out. So it was up to Hao-Yu Lee to add on a run or two. Shelton didn’t want him facing a lefty, and so Tommy Nance entered to try and get the final out. He did so, getting Lee to fly out to Jenkins, and so the Tigers had to hold a one-run lead.
Having already burned through the Tigers best, relatively speaking, relievers, the game was now in Kyle Finnegan’s hands. Not good.
The rookie Jenkins was up first. Finnegan went with heaters and got ahead 0-2, but Jenkins fouled off a pretty good fastball at the bottom of the zone. A splitter sailed high and was fouled off fortunately. A splitter missed low, and a high fastball was fouled off. Finally a grounder up the middle was collected by Peck for the first out, but Culpepper moved to third.
Keaschall was up next, and a pair of good heaters got Finnegan up 0-2 again. He missed away with the next one, and a bad splitter up and in was yanked way foul. He came back with a fastball down the middle, and Keaschall lined it to right for a game-tying single. Malgeri dove for it, but just couldn’t get there, but he managed to smother it to keep Keaschall at first.
This feels like purgatory.
Brooks Lee stepped into the batters box and he lined a hanging splitter to right for a single, moving Keaschall to third. Hinch brought Javy Báez in from left field to use a five-man infield as anything well hit in the outfield was going to end the game anyway. Kody Clemens was up next, but against a lefty and with Finnegan having zero feel for his splitter, this was likely to be ugly.
Finnegan got ahead 1-2, and challenged Clemens with a heater that was fouled off. He tried again with the same result. Another splitter sailed high to make it 2-2. Clemens spoiled the next splitter up and away. Finally, Finnegan spotted a perfect fourseamer at 97 right under Clemens hands for the whiff. That left it to Jeffers, and Báez returned to his place in left field. Jeffers grounded out to Peck, and we were on to the 12th.
So, the Tigers had Hao-Yu Lee at second, with Torkelson facing Tomny Nance. As the fanbase roasted Hinch for pinch-hitting for Keith earlier, the beleaguered first baseman got a 1-0 slider up and lo and behold all ye faithful, he smoked it to left for a two-run shot. Well how about that?
Ah baseball. 8-6 Tigers. We began pondering who could pitch the bottom half, and it came down to Andrew Sears or Beau Brieske, but the Twins had more right-handers scheduled in the bottom half. On the other hand, no one was warming as the top of the 12th played out, and so it looked like more Finnegan was in order. Idk man, that was a high stress, long inning of work and 26 pitches.
Riley Greene worked a full count, but struck out. Valencia grounded out sharply to Lee at third, but he handled it easily. Ben Malgeri fought back from a pitcher’s count and rifled a breaking ball into right field for a single. With Max Clark at the dish, Malgeri then stole second base, and a single would score him from there. Nance fell behind 3-1 and so they elected to just walk Clark and pitch to Peck instead. Nance missed way up with his first fastball. The second clipped Peck in the helmet but it was a very glancing blow off the brim as the youngster’s reflexes protected his noggin on that one. So the bases were loaded, and Javier Báez was up.
It was time for El Mago and his magic wand to enter the chat, and in an 0-1 count, Báez saw another slider away and just flicked one off the end of the bat, over Royce Lewis, and down along the first base line. All three speedy baserunners raced around to score as the ball bounced away into foul territory. Lol, baseball. 11-6 Tigers.
Ryan Jeffers started the inning at second. Finnegan stayed in despite the tough 11th inning. He punched out Ben Ross with another good heater under his hands. Kreidler whiffed, and Lewis grounded out to McGonigle to finally put this one away.
Sheesh. Good to see the Tigers fight through this one for a much needed win. Too many mistakes, but at least they battled and pulled it out in the end. Mr. Peck needs some more work with Mr. Trammell at shortstop. The Tigers will have an off day as they travel to Cleveland to start a four-game set, including a doubleheader on Friday.
This was a nice win from the Clippers, we saw multi hit efforts from both George Valera and Blake Perkins and a homer from Dayan Frias. Kyle Manzardo, Cooper Ingle, and Alfonsin Rosario all had a hit and an RBI.
Ben Lively had another good start tonight. He tossed 4.2 innings with zero earned runs and his AAA ERA is now down to 2.00. Ryan Webb, Jack Leftwich, Steven Perez, and Connor Brodgon combined for 4.1 scoreless innings of relief.
The RubberDucks had an offensive explosion today. They scored 13 runs on 14 hits and 8 walks. This included multi hit games from Jaison Chourio, Bennett Thompson, Luke Hill, Jake Fox, and Alex Mooney. Jake Fox has had an incredible season and is now up to .336 with an OPS of .948. Ryan Cesarini also went 1-4 with another HR. He is now hitting .331 with an OPS of 1.097.
Braylon Doughty had a solid outing. He allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts in six innings pitched. Magnus Ellerts and Carter Rustad both had scoreless innings of relief.
The Captains offense was solid today scoring 7 runs on 9 hits and 8 walks. Anthony Martinez contines to turn heads this season. He went 2-4 with a HR and a walk and is now hitting .295 with a .937 OPS in High-A.
There was not a lot of positive pitching performances today. Joey Oakie got the start and it was another rough one. His High-A ERA is up to 13.50.
ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Yankees’ 6-3, 10-inning win over the Angels was delayed in the top of the sixth inning Wednesday night after Ben Rice roped a foul ball into the first-base camera well and hit a photographer in the head.
The Yankees medical staff, including director of sports medicine and rehab Mike Schuck, jumped in to tend to the photographer while head trainer Tim Lentych called for a cart as the crowd went quiet after the scary scene.
After a delay of about 10 minutes, the photographer walked under his own power (with a neck brace) to a medical cart, where Rice was waiting to shake his hand before he was driven off.
Ben Rice drilled a baseball into the camera well and hit someone.
An Angels spokesman relayed, via the photographer’s outlet, that he was receiving medical attention but was OK.
“Very relieved,” Rice said. “I saw it, he definitely was not ready for any kind of impact there, he was looking the other direction.
“I wasn’t sure how square it hit him in the head, but definitely a scary scene, so happy to hear he’s OK.”
The ball came off Rice’s bat at 79.5 mph, a low line drive that went right through the far opening to stairs in the Yankees dugout and plunked the photographer.
Ben Rice hit the foul ball down the first base side and struck a person in the camera well. X/FiresideYankeesThe person in the camera well left with a neck brace. X/FiresideYankees/
Once the cart left the field, Angels lefty Reid Detmers threw a few warmup pitches before the game resumed, with Rice ultimately flying out to center field on the ninth pitch of his at-bat.
Jacob Misiorowski walked off the mound at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, Sept. 2 having thrown 92 pitches, recorded 12 outs, and allowed five earned runs. In just four innings, the Milwaukee Brewers ace had tied his career high for earned runs allowed and had one of the worst starts of his career. The Brewers bullpen and bats pulled out a 9-5 win over the Chicago Cubs, so Misiorowski's struggled will be overlooked.
But, five earned runs ties his career worst.
On July 2, 2025, when the New York Mets got him for five in just 3⅔ innings, his fourth big-league start and his first career loss. So it's not exactly unprecedented. What makes it worth digging into is the why, and the Statcast readout from Wednesday night is not the story you'd guess.
His arm was fine
Everyone's first instinct watching this is going to be fatigue. That's been the storyline all summer. But look at the actual velocity readings and that theory doesn't hold up, not for Wednesday anyway. His fastball averaged 100.9 mph, a shade above his season average of 100.6, and it never wavered: 100.9, 101.0, 100.5, 100.5, inning by inning. He touched 102.4. Five pitches sat at 102 or better. That's not a tired arm by any measure.
So what happened? He stopped throwing his fastball. Just 48% usage Wednesday, way down from his usual 64%. He leaned heavily on his cutter (36%), nearly triple his normal 14%. And on the fastballs he did throw, he found the zone only 39% of the time, which led to four walks. Hitters weren't catching up to diminished stuff, he racked up 13 swinging strikes on the night to go with his five punchouts. He had the same power arm he always has. He just didn't use it much, and when he did, he couldn't find the plate.
That's actually a different problem than the one everyone is watching.
Against Atlanta on Aug. 21, the fastball was "100-101, a tick down," in Trevor Megill's words and Misiorowski leaned on his offspeed stuff to cover for it. Pat Murphy admitted "there could be some fatigue involved here." Six days later against the Mets, his four-seam averaged 98.7, nearly two ticks off normal, and Misiorowski chalked it up to the calendar: "The body's tired. Everyone's tired. It's August going into September." Both nights, though, the results stayed clean, so nobody made much of it.
The workload
Misiorowski is 24, in his first full big-league season, and he's already up to 155 innings. That's more than his entire 2025, majors and minors combined, roughly 129⅓, with a month still to go. He's thrown more than 2,000 pitches, nearly double his rookie-year total. He's 42 strikeouts from Ben Sheets' single-season franchise record of 264. Every one of these starts carries more weight than the last, both for him individually and for a Brewers team chasing a No. 1 seed.
Milwaukee's handling of all that has been inconsistent at best. They scratched him once in July for arm fatigue, floated a plan to shorten his outings by an inning here and there, then by mid-August basically abandoned the caution altogether. They let him go every five days with no pitch limit. That approach carried him through two starts where the warning signs were there in the pitch data and nowhere in the results.
Rookie year red flag
Misiorowski threw five no-hit innings in his June 2025 debut and made the All-Star team five starts later. It is the fastest anyone's done that in league history. Then the second half arrived and it all came apart: a 5.89 ERA over his final nine outings, bottoming out with that same five-run meltdown against the Mets.
This season, the Brewers preached smarter deployment, more oversight, no repeat of a rookie hitting a wall in September. Whether Wednesday is the first crack in that plan or just a genuinely weird one-off from a guy who clearly still has his arm depends entirely on what his next start looks like.
What to watch
If the fastball usage snaps back to normal next time out, this was a strange night and nothing more.
If he keeps burying his heater in favor of the cutter and still can't find the zone, that's a real problem. It's arguably a stranger one than fatigue, because it points at something mental or mechanical rather than just tired legs. Either way, the Brewers are still stuck with the question they've been dodging since July: how hard do you keep leaning on a 24-year-old who's already thrown more than he ever has in his life, with October still ahead of him.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JANUARY 20: Cody Williams #5 of the Utah Jazz plays the ball away from Jaden McDaniels #3 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half of their game at the Delta Center on January 20, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With it being almost a week since the Cody Williams trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the dust has settled. But we haven’t really gotten a pulse on exactly how Jazz fans felt about it. That’s the center of the question for this week’s Utah Jazz Reacts survey. Did you feel like it was enough? Was it not enough? Was it more than enough? Some Jazz fans might have felt like they wanted to wait longer to see how things would pan out. Some may have thought we should have traded him sooner.
In this poll, it’s going to be a simple question: were you happy with the return in the trade for Cody Williams?
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Jazz fans and fans across the country.
Banana Bonds giveth with an eighth-inning triple, and Tristan Peters taketh away with a costly dash home. | (Troy Taormina/IMAGN IMAGES)
There are frustrating losses, and then there is whatever the White Sox subjected us to on Wednesday night.
Chicago wasted nearly every opportunity it received, went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and handed Houston the only two runs it needed in a maddening 2-0 defeat. The lone silver lining came elsewhere, as Cleveland also lost, leaving the White Sox with a three-game lead in the AL Central.
Davis Martin was considerably sharper in his return from the injured list. Making his first start since Aug. 13 after dealing with a blister on his pitching hand, the righthander breezed through a perfect first inning. He needed only nine pitches and received some help from Colson Montgomery, who made an outstanding play at shortstop for the third out.
The White Sox received their first gift in the second when Andrew Benintendi reached on a missed-catch error by LaMonte Wade Jr. Braden Montgomery followed with a 106.8 mph liner, but it was hit directly at Jose Altuve for the first out. Hayden Wesneski then plunked Colson to put two aboard, only for Chase Meidroth to ground into a strange inning-ending double play. It seems like Jose Altuve is always in the middle of these things.
Martin surrendered a one-out single to Daulton Varsho in the bottom half, and Varsho promptly swiped second. There was no reason to panic, however, as Martin struck out the next two batters on six pitches. His four-seamer was especially effective early.
Tristan Peters opened the third with a single, but Drew Romo struck out without advancing him. Antonacci recovered from an 0-2 count to work a walk, giving the Sox another opportunity with two on and one out. Munetaka Murakami’s struggles continued with a ground out to first, and Vargas popped up to strand both runners.
Martin needed only six pitches to retire the Astros in order in the third, but Houston finally made him work in the fourth. Yordan Alvarez led off with a double, and Isaac Paredes followed with a single to put runners on the corners with nobody out. This is generally where things fall apart, but Martin refused to let it happen. He induced a pop-up from Altuve, struck out Varsho, and retired Nelson Velázquez on a fly ball to escape without allowing a run.
Martin maneuvered around more traffic in the fifth after Cam Smith opened the inning with a single and Jeremy Peña added a two-out base hit. Alvarez represented the biggest threat of all, but Martin got him to fly out and preserve the scoreless tie.
Unfortunately, the White Sox offense was busy doing absolutely nothing. Wesneski retired nine consecutive batters from the fourth through the sixth, requiring only 33 pitches to complete those three frames.
Martin returned for the sixth and quickly recorded the first two outs before issuing a walk to Varsho. With Martin at 80 pitches, Will Venable turned to Sean Newcomb, who induced a fly out from Velázquez to end the inning.
Martin was excellent in his return, scattering five hits and one walk over 5 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out three. He gave the White Sox everything they could have reasonably asked for. The offense gave him nothing in return.
Braden Montgomery drew a walk in the seventh, but the Sox could not advance him. Wesneski finished his night having held Chicago to one hit and two walks while striking out five over seven scoreless frames. The Good Guys managed only four baserunners against him and went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
Then came the eighth, an inning that should haunt the White Sox for quite some time.
Peters opened the frame by crushing a 103.5 mph drive to center. It would have been a home run in 19 other ballparks, but at Daikin Park, it settled for a triple. Romo followed with a walk, putting runners on the corners with nobody out.
Surely, the White Sox could push across one run.
They could not.
Sam Antonacci swung at the first pitch and hit a grounder to short. Peters broke for home and was thrown out at the plate, wasting the team’s best scoring opportunity of the night with an inexplicable baserunning decision.
Murakami then snapped his 0-for-15 skid with a single to load the bases, giving Vargas a chance to erase the mistake and become the hero.
Instead, Vargas grounded into an inning-ending double play.
It was not bad luck. It was poor execution, and it was brutal to watch.
Unlike the White Sox, the Astros took advantage when their opportunity arrived in the bottom half. Alvarez reached on a one-out grounder that was initially ruled an error on Meidroth before being changed to a base hit. Newcomb then walked Paredes on four pitches. With Altuve at the plate and the count 1-2, a pitch in the dirt was ruled to have hit him, although it sure appeared to miss him. The Sox challenged, but the call was upheld, loading the bases.
Because nothing could go Chicago’s way, Newcomb induced a ground ball from Varsho but could not escape the inning. Velázquez followed with a two-run single, finally breaking the scoreless tie and punishing the White Sox for every opportunity they had squandered.
Tyler Davis replaced Newcomb and walked Smith before getting Christian Walker to fly out and end the inning.
Josh Hader took over in the ninth and retired the South Siders in order, putting the finishing touches on one of their most exasperating losses of the season.
Martin and Newcomb kept Houston scoreless for 7 2/3 innings before Velázquez finally broke through. The South Siders put runners on the corners with nobody out in the eighth and loaded the bases with one out. They still could not score.
Chicago did not lose because of one unlucky bounce or a brilliant defensive play. The Sox lost because they failed to execute when the game was sitting there for them to take.
At least Cleveland lost, too.
The clubs will wrap up the series Thursday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m. CDT.
MVP Davis Martin: 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 R, BB, 3 K
Runners-Up Tristan Peters: 2-for-3, 3B, SB Munetaka Murakami: 1-for-4, K
Cold Cat Sean Newcomb: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, BB, 2 K
Runners-Up Tristan Peters: Getting thrown out at home Miguel Vargas: 0-for-4, DP Andrew Benintendi: 0-for-3
Sep 2, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio (11) gestures after hitting a home run against the Chicago Cubs during the second inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
When it’s 90 degrees at Wrigley Field, games tend to be exciting—even when an ace is on the mound. On paper, this was a lopsided pitching matchup, with Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski facing off against the Cubs’ David Peterson. But both offenses had no trouble scoring early in this one, a back-and-forth affair that didn’t settle down until the fifth inning. By that point, the Brewers had gained, lost, gained again, lost again, fallen behind, and regained the lead, but once this game got to the bullpens, the Brewers had a clear advantage. By the end, the Brewers had tacked on a few insurance runs, and they won pretty easily on a night when their ace didn’t have it.
The first two Brewer batters of the night went down quickly, but the visiting team mounted a lengthy two-out rally. Andrew Vaughn and William Contreras hit back-to-back singles (the second of which of the infield variety) and Jake Bauers drew a seven-pitch walk on a ball that nearly hit him. That gave Luis Lara a chance with the bases loaded, and the 21-year-old came through by punching a single into right field—after that clutch at-bat, Lara improved to 4-for-9 with the bases loaded in his young career. Four pitches later, Gary Sánchez walked to score a second run. Joey Ortiz grounded out, but Misiorowski had a 2-0 lead before he threw a pitch.
The MVP favorite, Pete Crow-Armstrong, came into this game 0-for-12 with nine strikeouts against Misiorowski, as Brian Anderson kindly informed us on the broadcast. As we’ve seen frequently lately, Misiorowski didn’t seem entirely comfortable with the mound, and Crow-Armstrong drew a walk to start things for the Cubs. After Seiya Suzuki popped out, Miz continued to struggle with his command, and the white-hot Alex Bregman stayed that way. A 2-2 slider didn’t slide, and Bregman hit a low line drive homer that just cleared the wall in left.
Milwaukee quickly reclaimed the lead. With one out in the top of the third, Jackson Chourio hit his 21st home run of the season, matching his career high in just his 105th game of the season.
The lead did not last, though. Misiorowski remained uncharacteristically wild in the bottom of the second, and it hurt him badly. With one out, Matt Shaw jumped on a first-pitch fastball right down the middle and hit it off the wall in right. Had Lara been in right tonight instead of center, it probably would’ve been an out, but those are the sacrifices the Brewers make to get Jake Bauers into the lineup on a night like tonight. Shaw ended up with a stand-up triple, and he came around when Tyrone Taylor—who has killed the Brewers in this series—lined a single into right that scored him.
After Miguel Amaya struck out, Crow-Armstrong drew his second walk of the night, and Suzuki followed with a five-pitch walk that loaded the bases for the last hitter the Brewers wanted in that situation, Bregman. The Cub third baseman came through with a single up the middle that scored two runs and gave the Cubs a 5-3 lead. A strikeout of Michael Busch finally ended the inning, but the Cubs had already hung two more earned runs on Misiorowski through two innings than any other team had all season.
The Brewers tried another two-out rally in the third. Lara drew a walk, and Sánchez hit a ball hard to the right-center gap. But PCA showed the other reason why he’s the favorite for MVP, and covered a ton of ground to make what looked like a relatively routine play on a ball that was 101 mph into the gap. For the first time all game, a pitcher had a scoreless frame.
Misiorowski worked around a one-out single by Ian Happ in the bottom of the inning—though Taylor put a scare into fans with a warning-track shot for the third out. The Brewers made a move again in the top of the fourth. With one out, Cooper Pratt walked and Chourio crushed his second extra-base hit, a double, into the left-field gap at 110 mph. Turang, who has been struggling badly against lefties, was up next—and the Brewers pulled off a classic, the safety squeeze. Turang dropped down a bunt that just trickled far enough up the first-base line that by the time Amaya picked it up and flipped it to Peterson at the plate, Pratt had already dove in safely. It was 5-4, and everyone was safe.
With runners on the corners and one out, Peterson then had to deal with Vaughn as his pitch count neared 90, in just the fourth inning. Vaughn got ahead before knocking an RBI single up the middle, and Contreras followed by jumping on the first pitch by knocking another RBI single to center, restoring the Brewers’ lead. Peterson got one more out on a Bauers flyout before ceding to righty Trent Thornton, who struck out Lara to end the inning. After just three-and-a-half innings, the Brewers led this wild game 6-5.
A 1-2-3 inning remained elusive for Misiorowski in the fourth, but he did have an easier time than he had all game—a couple of strikeouts, a two-out walk to Suzuki, and a pop-out from Bregman made for a relatively quick and easy inning. Christian Yelich replaced Sánchez as the DH to lead off the top of the fifth against Thornton, but he struck out on a 3-2 fastball at the top of the zone. But the BABIP gods came to the Brewers’ favor after that. After Ortiz drew a walk, Pratt and Chourio hit back-to-back bloop singles to load the bases.
At that point, Chicago removed Thornton—who was a bit perturbed upon his return to the dugout—and sent out lefty Ryan Rolison to face Turang. Rolison just needed one pitch to get a weak ground ball from Turang which turned into a fielder’s choice at home. Sal Frelick, making his first plate appearance of the game after coming in defensively in the bottom of the fourth, was nearly hit by the first pitch (he appeared angry with himself for moving out of the way). That was unfortunate, as a couple of pitches later Frelick nearly added another bloop single, but a fully laid-out Nico Hoerner made a pretty spectacular diving catch running back toward the left-field corner to end the inning with no Brewers runs across.
Misiorowski was done after four innings and 92 pitches—it was his worst outing of the year, with five runs (all earned) allowed on five hits and four walks. Still, his offense came to his aid today and he left guarnateed to get a no-decision. The first Brewer out of the bullpen was Jojo Romero, a day after making his debut for the team. He delivered the first three-up, three-down inning of the game for either team: he got Busch on a groundout, got Hoerner to chase strike three in a full count, and got a nice defensive play from Chourio on a ball that was hit hard into left field.
Rolison kept going in the sixth, and he also delivered a 1-2-3 inning, the first of the game for Chicago. Romero was done after an inning and gave way to Antonio Senzatela. Shaw nearly got him for a solo homer to start the inning but it held up on the warning track for Chourio. Taylor grounded out on the first pitch, but the Cubs got a two-out baserunner when Amaya walked (with the help of what seemed like a late ask for a challenge on a 3-1 pitch that was called a strike but was out of the zone). That was big, as it gave PCA a chance with two outs and a runner on in a one-run game, but Crow-Armstrong topped a sinker and hit a comebacker right to Senzatela for the third out.
Yelich led off the seventh and picked up another extra-base hit off of the new Cubs pitcher, Daniel Palencia, after homering off of him on Tuesday night. It was close—Taylor went into a slide—but it hit the grass and Yelich motored into second base with a hustle double. Ortiz couldn’t advance Yelich as he popped out to second base. Pratt had a long at-bat, one that was extended when Palencia needed a visit from the trainer after an awkward throw to second on a pickoff throw. After the delay, Pratt had a full count—and he came through with a solid single into center that scored Yelich from second. Chourio grounded into a double play to end the inning, but Pratt had come through with a huge insurance run to set the stage for Abner Uribe.
Uribe’s assignment was the 2-3-4 hitters in the Chicago lineup. Suzuki was first, and he just missed hitting one out to center—Lara caught it on the warning track with a little hop in front of the wall that may have been unnecessary (which Uribe jokingly let him know). Bregman was next—he hit a grounder up the middle that got Uribe—it looked like it deflected off of his lower leg and then off his glove hand—but Turang picked it up in time to throw Bregman out at first. The trainers checked on Uribe, who was fine, and he struck out Busch to end the inning.
Caleb Thielbar relieved Palencia in the eighth. Turang struck out, Frelick hit a ball well but too close to PCA, and Contreras struck out. It remained 7-5. Aaron Ashby entered in relief of Uribe, and he had a quick inning, though Happ hit one to the warning track in dead center.
Chicago’s closer, Jacob Webb, came into the game to get some work in the ninth despite the Brewers’ two-run lead. Hoerner flashed some more leather to start the inning when he robbed Bauers of a hit on a diving play to his right. Lara reached when he got clipped by a 3-1 pitch, and Yelich followed with a 103 mph drive back up the middle that nailed Webb on what looked like his glove arm. Webb, no doubt in serious pain which certainly affected his judgment, picked up the ball and made an ill-advised throw to first to try to get Yelich, who would’ve been way safe even with a perfect throw. The throw was not perfect, and went down the line, allowing Lara and Yelich to advance to second and third. Webb did not continue; he was replaced by Colin Rea, who was given an extended period of time to warm up.
With the game still certainly in reach for the high-powered Cubs offense, it was important for the Brewers to add at least one more insurance run with such a good opportunity. Ortiz was the first batter against Rea with runners on second and third and one out, and he delivered with a single through the left side that scored both runners, with Ortiz ending up at second after the throw home. After a Pratt fly out, Chourio came through with his fourth hit of the game, a single—but Ortiz was thrown out at home to end the inning. Still, Milwaukee’s lead was up to 9-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Even though it was no longer a save situation, Milwaukee went to Trevor Megill in the ninth. He struck out a pair of pinch-hitters, Michael Conforto and BJ Murray, conceded an infield hit to Crow-Armstrong, and got Suzuki on a groundout to end the game.
In the end, the game was more lopsided than it felt. The Brewers finished with nine runs on 14 hits, while the Cubs petered out after their hot start—they had only six hits in the game, and didn’t score after the second inning. There were big numbers up and down the Brewer side of the box score: Chourio led the way with four hits including a double and a solo homer, but Vaughn had two hits and an RBI, Contreras had two hits and an RBI, Lara had a clutch RBI single, Yelich came off the bench and went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, Ortiz knocked in a couple of runs, and Pratt had two hits, a run scored, and an RBI.
The bullpen was fantastic in relief of Misiorowski. After the second inning, Misiorowski settled down and he and five relievers covered seven shutout innings while allowing just two hits and two walks. When all was said and done, the Brewers held a season-high nine-game lead in the NL Central with just 22 games to go.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 1: Graham Pauley #21 of the Miami Marlins in action against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on September 1, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a 5 run first inning, Kansas City had a multi-run lead for over half the game. The Marlins kept chipping away inning after inning to eventually win 9-6.
It was a very exciting beginning to the game tonight, though it was both the good and bad type of exciting. Noah Cameron had a breaking ball hit the back foot of the leadoff hitter to start the game. Then Otto Lopez hit a hard groundball down the third baseline and into the corner that John Rave misplayed into a triple and an RBI. Kyle Stowers was up third and the infield was in. He immediately hit a little single up the middle to make the game 2-0. Cameron started to settle in after that and got out of the first. In the bottom half the Royals decided to show Miami that anything they could do KC could do better. Carter Jensen led the game off by pulling a solo home run and cutting the lead in half. Bobby Witt managed to reach base with a single before Jac Caglianone mirrored the triple in the top half of the inning only down the first baseline and into the corner for a double. It was enough with Witt’s speed to tie the game up 2-2. That was not enough for Salvador Perez however, so he also turned on a ball and hit his 18th bomb of the year to score two and give the Royals the lead. After which Vinnie Pasquantino flew out, Nick Loftin worked a walk, and the newly returned Michael Massey drove a double to right center for a 5-2 lead.
That was a long inning for Eury Perez ending with 34 pitches thrown, and the Marlins even got the bullpen moving a bit before the end of the initial frame. It was a great start after the last two games where the Royals got blown out, but the crazy first was a long way from the end of this one. Cameron, after those first three batters, took down the next 8 in a row before Miami got to him in the 3rd. With two outs and no one on, Stowers got his second RBI knock of the night by hitting a solo homer to left center. It looked like he may have struck out on a check swing the pitch before the home run, but it was called no swing on appeal.
In the bottom of the 4th, with Eury still hanging in there, Carter Jensen tagged another mistake and lined it 110mph into the Royals bullpen. It was his second multi-homer game of his career and brought him to and then above the 20 homer mark. Not bad for your first full season in the bigs. Royals lead 6-3.
Noah started struggling in the 5th when it seemed his pitches lost some of their bite. It is ludicrously hot currently so fatigue or grip could have been an issue. He walked Jared Serna who was leading off the inning, never the way you want to start. Then the 9-hole hitter, Joe Mack, lined a pitch into right for a single. Heriberto Hernandez kept it going with a ground rule double to left center that luckily hopped the fence and kept it to one RBI cutting the lead to two. At that point Jose Cuas started warming up, but Cameron was not finished. He struck out the next three batters including Stowers on a full count after which Stowers challenged and lost. Three big Ks to strand two runners showed a level of maturity on the mound that should excite all Royals fans.
On the other side, Perez did not survive the inning. He did get two outs into the bottom of the 5th, but Loftin had singled and stole second in between them. John Rave then put together an impressive ten pitch walk. That pushed Eury over 100 pitches and Cade Gibson out of the pen to strike out Isbel and end the threat. The Marlins also lost a second challenge and would be without any for the back half of the game.
After warming up the prior inning, Cuas came in for the 6th and Cameron’s night ended in line for the win. That possible win was immediately in jeopardy after the inning began with a single followed by a walk. Former Royal Jeff Conine’s son, Griffin, came in to pinch hit and grounded an RBI single through the right side to begin a big day off the bench for Conine. Kyle Isbel then helped Cuas out by making a long run and a diving play against Serna, but it was enough to get the run home from third and tie it 6-6. Jose was removed for Connor Thomas after recording just one out and giving up the lead. Thomas has been mostly effective since joining the Royals pen but was not effective enough tonight. He struck out Mack before giving up the lead on a Hernandez double that got the Marlins back ahead 7-6. That was a third run charged to Cuas and Thomas did end the inning with no more damage done.
After all of that through 6, the scoring dried up. Only the 2nd inning had seen both teams fail to score in the first two thirds of the game and then in the final third they both started posting all zeros. The Royals had opportunities in the 6th and 7th but stranded multiple runners both innings in part thanks to Conine making two great plays in right field on well struck balls from Vinnie and Massey. In the ninth the scoring started again, though it was for the wrong team. Alex Lange had taken over for the Royals to begin the ninth and Stowers and Ramirez out to start the inning. It looked like he could maybe turn it back over to the bats needing just one run before he gave up back-to-back home runs and make it a 9-6 lead for Miami.
That was enough as no Royals reached base in the 9th. For the Marlins it is a big win to keep pace with Arizona and pick up one on San Diego, the two teams ahead of them for that third NL Wildcard slot. Miami has won the series and will go for the sweep tomorrow when Michael Wacha faces Sandy Alcantara.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 31: Nelson Velázquez #30 of the Houston Astros reacts after hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Daikin Park on August 31, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
At this rate, Nelson Velazquez might just become “Mr. September”. For the second time this week, he’d come through in a major way. Astros 2 White Sox 0.
Wednesday Night was a scoreless affair until the 8th inning. Hayden Wesneski was nothing short of sensational. Seven innings, and only a single hit allowed. The difference would be execution late.
AJ Blubaugh initially appeared to be in trouble to start the 8th in relief. Tristian Peters tripled to start the frame. Drew Romo then walked. With runners on the corners, Peters got a late jump on Sam Antonacci’s infield contact and was thrown out easily at home. Chicago would rebound briefly thanks to Munetaka Murakami’s single to right. That loaded the bases, but Miguel Vargas grounded into a double play and the side was retired.
For Houston’s home half of the 8th, the results would be vastly different. Yordan singled to center, Paredes drew a walk and Altuve was hit by a pitch, which loaded them up. Daulton Varsho would hit into a force out, but fortunately Nelson Velazquez would bring home Altuve and Paredes on a 2-run RBI single.
Josh Hader came on and closed the door in the 9th. Hader has now converted all 22 of his save opportunities this season. The best sequence for Hader was an 8-pitch battle against Randal Grichuk who went down on a nasty slider.
140 games are in the books. The Astros sit with a mark of 71-69 and now have two game lead over the Rangers.
After all, on this night, rookie outfielder Nick Morabito was the underdog on top.
Morabito made his MLB debut on May 19, but after going hitless in his first 11 career at-bats, he was sent back down to Triple-A Syracuse just a week later.
He was called back up to the bigs by the Mets on Sep. 1, which is when all rosters across the MLB expanded from 26 to 28 players.
Morabito -- who was inserted into the game in the sixth inning as a pinch-runner for Mark Vientos -- finally notched his first MLB hit in the seventh inning with two outs and the bases loaded. He drove in all three baserunners with a double down the left-field line, extending New York's lead to 9-4.
"I'm glad to get my first one out of the way, I'd be lying to say it wasn't weighing on me," Morabito admitted after the game. "There's some relief there, for sure, but I still feel every time I get into the [batter's] box, I'm confident I can get on base."
The very next inning, playing in left field, Morabito visited that same foul line where his first big league hit landed, reeling in a line drive with a superb diving grab.
Mets interim manager Andy Green "wasn't surprised" by Morabito's web gem, but admitted that "it's special when everyone gets to see it" at the MLB level.
Meanwhile, Morabito himself, his face soaked from the water bottle shower he received from his teammates, did his best to play it cool after his big night.
"It was amazing," Morabito said of his breakout performance in his on-field postgame interview. "The guys were all giving me high-fives and hugs... it felt great."
Morabito was then asked what he was going to do with the baseball he knocked for his first career hit, which was given to him after it was authenticated in the dugout.
"I'm probably going to give it to my parents," he responded.
After the game, Green called Morabito "a plus-baserunner, a plus-defender, and a guy who can put the ball in play."
The New Jersey Devils dynasty years provide throwbacks for fans with great moments from those Stanley Cup-winning years. The Scott Stevens hit on Eric Lindros in the 2000 Eastern Conference Final. The Patrik Elias Game 7 game-winning goal in that series against the Philadelphia Flyers.
While the Devils didn’t win the Cup in 2012, the Adam Henrique Game 6 overtime winner against the New York Rangers is a highlight worth replaying over and over again (which you will probably do below before scrolling).
The only thing better than the Devils winning is when they defeat their rivals in the process. It’s those great matchups between two juggernauts throughout the regular season and then in the playoffs that stand out. Frankly, that hasn’t happened in a while, mainly because the Devils have struggled in recent years, making the playoffs only three times in the past decade.
That said, this season can see some of those reinvigorated rivalries. The Devils, for one, are poised to bounce back. Plus, with the way the Metropolitan Division is shaping up, a handful of teams can put together great seasons and face the Devils in games that matter.
Devils-Penguins
The early 1990s were when the Devils started turning a corner and looking like a Cup contender, except they kept running into Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It made the 1995 Eastern Conference Semi-Final victory significant, not just because the Devils got their revenge but also because it was a changing of the guard.
The Devils defeated the Penguins in 1995 and went on to win the Cup. The game shifted from high-flying offenses to the trap and defenses dominating play. The early 1990s were a clash in styles, and when the Devils finally beat the Penguins, they became the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
The parallels from a roster standpoint are there to some extent. The Sidney Crosby-led Penguins are in the final seasons of their contention window, while the Devils are hopeful this season is the start of something special. However, these games will be centered around how the Devils handle the Penguins and their offense because if they are good, it’s because of all the skill with Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson turning back the clock again.
Devils-Hurricanes
The Devils don’t have much of a rivalry history with the Carolina Hurricanes because, in fairness, the Hurricanes weren’t that good for a while. They were worse when they were the Hartford Whalers.
The best rivalry games were recent, although they haven’t been fun matchups for the Devils. The two teams met in the 2025 First Round and the 2023 Second Round, with the Hurricanes winning both matchups in five games. Plus, there was that 2006 series that the Hurricanes won on their way to their first Cup title.
This season, the Devils will use the Hurricanes as a measuring stick. The Hurricanes have become the team to beat in the Metropolitan Division in recent years, and now, they are the defending champs. So, how the Devils play against them will be telling. How far have they come, and how big is the gap between the two teams?
Devils-Capitals
This rivalry was at its peak before both teams were. In the late 1980s and early 90s, the Devils and Washington Capitals had some nasty games, the kind where line brawls and all-out mayhem were a common occurrence. Game 3 of the 1988 Patrick Division Finals saw the two teams combine for 231 penalties in minutes, which doesn’t seem mathematically possible (it was the 80s; it was a different time).
This season, the rivalry can be restored, although not with the same animosity and certainly not the same fights. The Capitals are shaping up to be a Cup contender after an impressive offseason where they acquired Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, and Boone Jenner. Likewise, the Devils overhauled their forward unit and expect to turn things around.
If there was any team that crossed paths with the Devils when they were winning the Cup, it was the Flyers. The 1990s teams went up against Eric Lindros, Ron Hextall, and well-built Flyers teams capable of winning the Cup. The 1995 Eastern Conference Final, which went six games, was a tougher test for the Devils than the Final, where they swept a young Detroit Red Wings team on the rise. Then there was the 2000 Eastern Conference Final, which had plenty of iconic moments and went the distance.
There’s a good chance that both teams are great this season and will provide great matchups. The Flyers have young, elite talent on the wings, while the Devils are led by great play up the middle.
Whether it’s Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, or Trevor Zegras for the Flyers, or Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier for the Devils, any shift is a highlight waiting to happen. Plus, both teams feature coaching staffs that will adjust and pivot all season to keep their teams in the playoff picture. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if one of these teams barely edges out the other for a playoff spot and a game or two between these teams decides who gets in.
Will The Other Matchups Have The Same Spark?
The New York Islanders never had their dynasty overlap. When the Islanders had their dynasty in the 1980s, the Devils were known as a “Mickey Mouse organization,” as Wayne Gretzky put it. Then the teams traded places, and the Devils were winning while the Isles were a bottom-feeder.
It sets up the next few seasons to be the best of the rivalry years. The Islanders are a team on the rise, while the Devils are anticipating a bounce-back and more stability under a new general manager.
The Devils and Rangers have plenty of history and have one of the best rivalries in hockey. This season specifically, the rivalry isn’t expected to have the same intensity since the Rangers are rebuilding and unlikely to be in the mix with the rest of the division.
The same might be the case with the Columbus Blue Jackets. They have all of the pressure to make the playoffs, but there’s the looming tension surrounding Zach Werenski, and Adam Fantilli remains a restricted free agent at the time of this typing. Plus, the Devils and Jackets don’t have much of a rivalry history to begin with.
Which matchup are you most looking forward to this season? Comment below!
Apr 7, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Justin Steele (35) delivers against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
I’m going to get something off my chest. Any level of baseball where the player gets paid a salary is “professional.” (Name, Image and Likeness money in college doesn’t count.) The Dominican Summer League and Arizona Complex League are professional leagues. There’s some guy on Twitter that keeps saying a player’s first hit in Myrtle Beach is their “first professional hit!” when they have dozens of professional hits in lower leagues.
I’m not correcting that guy because I don’t post on that site anymore unless I’m asked a direct question. But that guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Justin Steele made his first official appearance in over a year on a rehab start. Steele did well in the first inning but struggled in the second, giving up three runs, but his defense was partly to blame. The final line on Steele was three runs, one earned, on four hits over 1.2 innings. Steele struck out two and walked no one. He threw 36 pitches and 26 were strikes. His fastball averaged only 90.3 miles per hour.
Center fielder Chas McCormick was 2 for 4 with a double, a stolen base and one run scored.
DH Owen Ayers went 2 for 4 with a double.
Hearn did not get an RBI on this double, but it scored a run.
Brody McCullough turned in a great start, giving the Smokies five scoreless innings and striking out ten. He allowed just two hits and did not walk anyone.
Marino Santy pitched the seventh inning, gave up three runs and got the loss. Santy allowed just one hit in his one inning, but it was a three-run home run. Santy walked one, hit one and struck out one.
Center fielder Kane Kepley tripled to lead off the bottom of the first inning and scored on an single by right fielder Alex Ramirez. Kepley went 2 for 4 and Ramirez was 1 for 4.
Brayden Spears started and threw four scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, waled one and struck out five.
Braylon Myers picked up after that, allowed one run on three hit over the next 3.2 innings, and got the win. He struck out five and walked two.
JP Wheat gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but South Bend had a three-run lead so he got the save. Wheat’s line was two runs on one hit and three walks over 1.1 innings. Wheat also had two wild pitches. But Wheat also struck out three, including the final two batters of the game with the tying run on second.
Catcher Justin Stransky hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning, his sixth on the season. Stransky was 1 for 4.
Third baseman Matt Hallbach was 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. Hallbach scored on Stransky’s blast.
Right fielder Michael Gupton got his first professional hit (really!) and it was a triple. He was 1 for 3 with a walk, a steal and a run scored.
Hayden Frank started and took the win after giving up two runs on five hits over five innings. One of those hits was a two-run home run in the fifth inning. Frank walked four and struck out four.
The bullpen did not give up a hit or a walk the rest of the way. Ashton Pocol was responsible for the first three innings of that and Jordan Henriquez pitched the ninth in a non-save situation.
Left fielder Caden Sorrell smashed a three-run home run in the third inning, his fourth as a professional. (And yes, that’s true.) Sorrell went 3 for 5 with five overall RBI.
DH Juan Thomas got his first two hits in Low-A, going 2 for 4 with a double. He scored on Sorrell’s home run.
