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Athletics pitching prospect Jamie Arnold was struck in the face by a comebacker in Triple-A on Tuesday and suffered multiple facial fractures, but the club said he will not require surgery.

The 11th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, Arnold was making his second start for the Las Vegas Aviators since being promoted from Class AA and was hit by a ball off the bat of Sacramento's Bo Davidson in the top of the first inning.

Arnold came out of the game and the club said that the 22-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital in Las Vegas. A day after the scary incident, the club announced that Arnold had suffered intra-orbital and maxillary sinus fractures and that there was no timetable for the lefty's return.

Arnold is ranked as the Athletics' third-best prospect and 57th in baseball by MLB.com. He has a 3.50 ERA with 130 strikeouts in 25 starts across two levels in 2026, his first professional season.

📹 Jamie Arnold exits due to an injury pic.twitter.com/WMCnqtKUqJ

— MLB Injury Bot (@MLBInjuryBot) September 9, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jamie Arnold injury update: Scary moment leaves prospect with facial fractures

We’ve been waiting to get a look at right-hander River Ryan since the Tigers acquired him from the Los Angeles Dodgers as a key part of the Tarik Skubal trade. The 28-year-old has missed much of the season with a right hamstring strain that reoccured the first time he came off the injured list in the Dodgers’ system. On Wednesday, he debuted in the Tigers’ organization with two scoreless frames for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.

As you’d expect after a hamstring injury, the Tigers didn’t push him in this outing. And as you’d expect if you’ve seen Ryan pitch, he looked really good. He allowed just two weak hits and struck out two in his two innings of work.

Ryan averaged 97 mph with his fourseam fastball, mainly pairing that with his 91-92 mph slider. He mixed in his 94 mph cutter, using his sinker, curveball, and changeup minimally in the short outing. In short, his arm looks as good as ever. Ryan is the most talented arm in the organization, and will hopefully be able to take his spot in the 2027 rotation. The Tigers got a really good one here. It’s just a question of whether he can finally put the injury bug behind him.

You can watch the full outing below. Look for him to stretch out with at least one more start for the Mud Hens before finishing the season with the Tigers.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto starts as the Dodgers host the Reds for a final time, going for a second straight home sweep and potentially extending their current win streak to seven games. It’s a curious time in Yamamoto’s regular-season campaign, as he could feasibly tie last season’s innings total with four fewer regular-season starts, although that would take him covering 7.2 innings against the Reds tonight. Evidently, it’s an unlikely accomplishment, although Yamamoto has done it five times before this season, so one could hardly call it a significant surprise.

Subtle differences make up Yamamoto’s current campaign in comparison with last year, ultimately reaching the same destination of outstanding quality and an identical 12-8 record up to this point. Yamamoto has sacrificed strikeouts—going from a 29.5% K% to a 25.4% K%—to also drastically cut back on walks, lowering his 8.6% BB% from a season ago to just 6.0% BB%, ultimately leading to more efficient outings, which is what allows him to cover more innings on fewer starts.

On the subject of strikeouts, though, we’ve seen an interesting development that’s worth keeping an eye on as Yamamoto and the Dodgers prepare for postseason ball. Last season’s World Series MVP has experienced an uptick in strikeouts, punching out eight or more batters in each of his last five starts. Before this sequence, Yamamoto had only struck out eight or more in five of his first 20 starts. And as Dodger pitchers have come to learn in the previous two games of this series, the Cincinnati Reds lineup—for as dangerous as it may seem when it’s rolling—also strikes out like no other, number one in baseball with a 25.4% K%.

Earlier in the week, Emmet Sheehan tied a career-high in strikeouts against the Reds with 10 punchouts, and you want to know who also has 10 as his career-high mark in punchouts stateside? Yamamoto, who last earned this mark in early July in a win against the Padres.

Wednesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Reds
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Start time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Willson Contreras set for rehab stint in Portland, eyeing Red Sox return originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Red Sox are close to getting their most impactful bat back into the lineup.

Willson Contreras, who went on the injured list on Aug. 31 with a hamstring strain, is scheduled to head to Maine for a rehab stint with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs this weekend.

Interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters prior to Wednesday night’s game at Fenway Park that Contreras will likely play one or two games to get back up to speed.

That could put Contreras in line to return for the finale of Boston’s brief six-game homestand, as they host the Royals on Sunday afternoon. Or it could set up Contreras to rejoin the Red Sox after an off day on Monday, with the team starting a three-game series in Texas on Tuesday night.

The Red Sox were scuffling when Contreras was placed on the IL, losing three out of four against the Yankees in New York after dropping a game in Miami prior to heading to the Bronx. Yet they managed just fine without Contreras over the weekend, sweeping the Orioles in a four-game set in Baltimore before returning home and winning the series opener against the Angels on Monday night.

The five-game winning streak was snapped on Tuesday, though, when Boston’s bats mustered just one run on four hits in a 6-1 loss to the Angels.

Among qualified players, Contreras is the Red Sox’ leader in OPS (.900), home runs (26) and RBIs (79). The 34-year-old Contreras hasn’t played in the minors since a six-game stint with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, when he was recovering from a broken forearm — the injury that accelerated his transition from catcher to first base.

Don Mattingly addresses his team's baserunning failures one-on-one originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Phillies manager Don Mattingly didn’t wait long to address the baserunning blunders that his team made in Tuesday night’s 6-5 loss to the Houston Astros. He spoke to the guilty parties one-on-one before everyone went home.

Mattingly’s conversations with Edmundo Sosa and Brandon Marsh were not punitive tongue-lashings. Both players knew where they went wrong.

“I think you just have to remind (them), make sure we’re thinking correctly,” Mattingly said before the Phillies got back to work Wednesday night. “Most of the time, you’re asking what they’re thinking in that situation.”

Marsh, who was doubled off second base with the Phillies down two runs in the seventh, explained himself after Tuesday night’s game.

Sosa, who did not run hard out of the box on a no-out double that could have been a triple in the bottom of the ninth, spoke with reporters Wednesday.

“When I hit the ball, I kind of surprised myself,” he said through Diego D’Aniello, the team’s Spanish-language interpreter. “I watched the ball travel and totally forgot to run the bases. I was focused on the ball. That caused me not to get to third base. It was a big mistake that might have cost us the game right there.”

In the moment, it looked like Sosa thought he’d hit a game-tying homer to right-center. A day later, he said he did not believe the ball was going to reach the seats. Instead, it hit high off the wall and ricocheted to center field.

“I know this stadium,” Sosa said. “I didn’t think it was gone. It was just a lack of focus on my end not to run and get to third base. A lack of focus in that moment.

“I respect the game. Not running at full speed there is something that won’t happen again. It’s all said and done. I look at that and say it’s not happening again.”

Mattingly believes the Phillies will tighten up their baserunning after Tuesday night’s issues.

“For sure,” he said. “The Phillies have actually rated out the last few years as a good baserunning team, one of the best in baseball. And this has been a good baserunning team. But you have to keep teaching and make sure everybody understands what we’re looking for in those situations, and hopefully you learn from it and those mistakes don’t happen again.”

According to Statcast, the Phils rank fourth in MLB with eight runs created from baserunning this season. They are also fourth in that metric over the last three seasons.

Overall, however, Mattingly does believe that baserunning in today’s game leaves a lot to be desired. He mentioned on Tuesday that he’s seen that fundamental slip over the last decade.

“I don’t think they play enough games young,” he said. “But that’s really no excuse. We should still be able to do it. I think there’s less emphasis on it overall. I’ve been saying it a lot the last five to seven years as I’ve noticed it.

“In general, there’s less situational-type stuff. A lot of things that happen on the field you learn from it happening in game situations. You play the scoreboard, the outs, the inning, the situation. If you’re not in those situations a lot …

“And usually, the best players don’t spend a whole lot of time in the minor leagues now. They’re kind of burning their way through the minors pretty quick. So, I’m not sure there’s as much situational stuff that goes on as in the past. That’s just my spitball theory.”

Mattingly pointed out that changes in the structure of batting practice may be affecting baserunning adversely.

For as long as there was baseball, teams hit on the field before games. When a player got in the cage, he laid down two bunts. He then hit behind a runner to move him up a base before getting him in from third. All the while, the previous hitter was on base, reading balls off the bat, getting jumps and reacting to situations. It wasn’t game speed, but it was good practice.

Now, many players take pregame batting practice in indoor cages where they can hit off high-velocity machines and curveball machines while getting real-time data feedback on their swings and reactions to pitches. There’s certainly merit in that. But there was also merit in the old way of doing things, as well. Mattingly believes that was seen on the basepaths.

File all this under the evolution of baseball. And always run through the first-base bag.

The third game of the series with the A’s. And game #147 of the season.

It looks like a bullpen day for both teams. Braydon Fisher opens for the Jays. Brady Basso for the A’s. Joey Estes will be the bulk guy for the A’s, likely. Estes is in my OOTP rotation and have been very good, but he’s only pitched once for the A’s, going 4.1 innings, and gave up 4 earned. Michael Lorenzen is likely to be the bulk guy for the Jays. He’s pitched 6 innings for the Jays, allowing 4 hits. Before that he had a 7.08 ERA in 26 games, 25 starts.

Today’s lineup. Apparently George Springer is ‘a little banged up’. Apparently he could pinch hit if needed. I’m doubtful, if you can’t DH how can you pinch hit?

Go Jays Go

Texas Rangers lineup for September 9, 2026 against the Seattle Mariners: starting pitchers are Cody Bradford for the Rangers and Kade Anderson for the Mariners.

Texas goes up against wunderkind Kade Anderson this afternoon, and since Anderson is a lefty, you know what kind of lineup there is.

The lineup:

Duran — CF

Seager — SS

Foscue — 2B

Nimmo — RF

Langford — LF

Burger — 1B

O’Hoppe — DH

Diaz — C

Freeman — 3B

3:10 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +127 underdogs.

This afternoon, the Athletics have a chance to win their second straight series if they can capture the rubber game against the Toronto Blue Jays, who remain in the race for the final American League wild-card slot.

The A’s are once again rolling with the opener strategy today, a move necessitated by the numerous injuries and inconsistent performances the team’s starting rotation has dealt with this season. Left-hander Brady Basso will open the game for the fifth time in his 23rd appearance of the season. The 28-year-old has gone 1-2 with a 4.32 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 33 1/3 innings.

Speaking of southpaws, here’s a medical update on A’s pitching prospect Jamie Arnold from his mother.

Back to the game, there is a strong possibility that right-hander Joey Estes will handle the bulk of the relief work after Basso pitches the first couple of innings. Or, with the team off tomorrow, the Athletics could give everyone in the bullpen, minus the two relievers who each pitched two innings yesterday, an inning and see how it goes.

Here’s how the Athletics will line up for the series finale:

Well, this A’s lineup is certainly something. Right fielder Lawrence Butler, who is batting .179 over his past seven games, will bat between Henry Bolte and Zack Gelof. If the A’s want to win, they will need first baseman Tommy White, catcher Brian Serven and shortstop Alika Williams to contribute offensively.

Why did the team bring back Denzel Clarke, only to sideline him every game? The injury prone player needs at-bats to improve offensively, which he will not get by sitting on the bench. It seems like the Athletics only reinstated Clarke to make social media content.

With the Green and Gold relying on their league-worst bullpen, it would have made sense to shore up the outfield defense by putting Clarke in center field and moving Bolte to left. Unfortunately, that apparently did not cross A’s manager Mark Kotsay’s mind.

The Blue Jays are also rolling with a bullpen game. Right-hander Brayden Fisher will open on the mound for the visitors. The 26-year-old enters his 70th appearance and ninth start of the season with a 3-4 record, a 3.20 ERA and 68 strikeouts over 70 1/3 innings. Fisher has been lights-out lately, having not allowed a run over his last seven games.

And Toronto’s starting nine:

George Springer remains out of the lineup for the Blue Jays, who will rely on the sluggers in the middle of their lineup to lead their offense as they pursue a road series victory. Left fielder Charles McAdoo and backup catcher Brandon Valenzuela will make their first starts of the series this afternoon.

Time to win a second straight series and make Toronto’s path to the postseason even more challenging. Let’s go, A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast