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We’re down to our final two games of Athletics baseball this year! After the first couple months of the season, it seemed like the A’s had the ability to remain competitive in the American League (AL) West. However, injuries coupled with a league-worst pitching staff resulted in the team’s second consecutive midseason collapse and fifth straight losing season.

The A’s have embraced the role of spoiler over the past few weeks. They will have two more opportunities to do so against a Houston Astros club fighting for the division title and a playoff berth. Depending on the results tonight and tomorrow, either the Astros or Texas Rangers will make history as the first team to reach the playoffs without a winning record.

Athletics right-hander Jack Perkins will make his final start of 2026. The 26-year-old enters his 37th appearance and 17th start of the season with a 3-12 record, a 5.90 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP and 131 strikeouts over 116 innings.

Perkins started the season in the bullpen before moving into the rotation in June. The right-hander looks to be ending the season on a high note. He has gone 1-3 with a 2.62 ERA in his last seven games, pitching at least six innings while allowing just one run in each of his last two starts.

The talented right-hander, making his third appearance against the Astros this season, will look to end his campaign on a strong note and position himself for a spot in next year’s rotation. Will Perkins make it three straight quality starts, or will his inconsistency resurface and force the Athletics to turn to their bullpen earlier than expected?

Here’s the A’s Saturday night lineup:

The Athletics are rolling with the same starting lineup that scored six runs last night. Center fielder Henry Bolte will look to serve as the spark plug once again, setting the table for Lawrence Butler, Shea Langeliers and Zack Gelof.

These final two games are important for Tommy White, whose aggressive swing-at-everything approach has held him back in his first taste of MLB action. With injured sluggers Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker set to return next year, White could fall out of the team’s plans unless he improves his approach or unlocks the power he displayed in college baseball. Meanwhile, looming free-agent catcher Jonah Heim needs to put together a strong finish to the season if he hopes to attract suitors on the open market.

The A’s offense will face Astros right-hander Hayden Wesneski this evening. The 28-year-old, who returned from Tommy John surgery in late July, enters his 11th and final start of the season with a 5-2 record, a 3.50 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP and 41 strikeouts over 54 innings.

Wesneski aims to continue his dominance against the Green and Gold tonight. He is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and 11 strikeouts in two career appearances against the Athletics. Nearly a month ago, the right-hander earned the win after allowing just one hit over five scoreless innings when these teams met in Houston.

And the Astros’ starting nine shapes up like this:

All the Astros regulars are playing, including Thursday’s unlikely hero, rookie Lucas Spence. The A’s have mostly kept AL MVP front-runner Yordan Alvarez and star second baseman Jose Altuve quiet this series, something that will have to continue if the hosts want a second straight win today. Left fielder Taylor Trammell is the only newcomer in the visitors’ lineup as he makes his first start of the series.

Time to hand Houston’s division-winning hopes a crushing blow and secure at least a split of this season-ending series. Let’s go, A’s!

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Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, KVMX 92.1/105.5, A’s Cast

WASHINGTON — Brett Baty added a sixth starting position to his toolbox Saturday with a cameo at shortstop. 

Citing the flexibility it could give the team next season when Francisco Lindor needs days off, manager Andy Green said Baty has the skill set to handle the position. 

“I think some of the things we’re doing in these last couple of days gives us a look at those things and to look at different possibilities,” Green said before the Mets’ 7-1 victory over the Nationals in which Baty committed a ninth-inning fielding error at shortstop. “These games don’t have playoff implications for either team. We don’t feel like we’re necessarily shorting the industry by doing it at this point in time and it serves our purpose for the future.” 

Baty, who has been among the team’s most productive hitters since the All-Star break, has also started games this season at first, second and third base in addition to left and right field. 

Green said the experimentation with Baty at shortstop will likely carry into spring training next season. 

“I’ve had the privilege of coaching a lot of really good big league infielders,” Green said. “[Bench coach] Kai [Correa] has as well, and [third base coach] Tim Leiper has too, and we all see in him the athleticism necessary to defend the field there, not on a regular basis, but on a step-in and fill-in basis. Brett is incredibly athletic.” 

Green considers Baty’s versatility an asset, along with a bat that began play with an .890 OPS since July 10. 

“You look around baseball, and the best teams have someone like this who has the athleticism to do all of these things,” Green said. 

Ronny Mauricio started at second base and delivered homers from both sides of the plate in what might have been his Mets farewell. The 25-year-old infielder, who has underperformed in his limited chances with the major league club (and spent significant time on the injured list) is a non-tender candidate this winter. 

“He’ll have an opportunity to compete to make a team next year, and Ronny has a ton of athleticism,” Green said. 

Sunday’s start time has been moved up to 1:05 p.m. because of weather concerns.

Autumn beckons. The chilly rains of Friday night kept Seattle’s bats cool and offered little comfort to Bryce Miller as he struggled through another disappointing outing, hampered at every turn by his dismal defense. Tonight’s penultimate affair has rookie LHP Kade Anderson on the hill, hopeful to finish his season strong and bully another below par as he did the Colorado Rockies this past weekend.

Lineups:

The final RHP starting opponent Seattle will face this year is one M’s fans should grow accustomed to. Ryan Johnson’s adventurous prospect path has nonetheless settled in a fairly traditional back end rotation trajectory, something he should be to start 2027 as well.

Game Time:

First Pitch: 6:40pm

TV: Mariners TV

Radio: Old Reliable

Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen suffered a shoulder injury while warming up in the bullpen on Saturday in the win over the San Francisco Giants. The veteran right-hander’s season is likely over.

Brock Stewart pitched the bottom of the seventh inning but was allotted extra warm-up pitches as he entered the game. He wasn’t warming up in the bullpen before getting called in, but Treinen was before suddenly stopping.

In the top of the eighth, the SportsNet LA broadcast showed footage from the Dodgers bullpen, showing bullpen coach Josh Bard embracing Treinen, then of Treinen walking back to the Dodgers dugout and clubhouse with trainer Bernard Li.

“I don’t know if it was a complete blowout. But really unfortunate,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters at Oracle Park in San Francisco, as shown by SportsNet LA. “We’re going to get imaging, obviously it’s an IL, his season’s over.”

Treinen missed two and a half months with elbow inflammation before returning in September, when he has allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings, with three walks and six strikeouts.

Treinen had a 3.64 ERA and 5.07 xERA in 36 games, with 31 strikeouts and 13 walks in 29 2/3 innings this season, his seventh with the Dodgers. The 38-year-old is the longest-tenured pitcher on the team.

“Obviously it’s gut-wrenching for us,” Alex Vesia told reporters, again per SportsNet LA. “Blake’s one of our leaders in the bullpen. He’s been around for quite some time.”

Treinen is in the final year of a two-year, $22 million contract with the Dodgers and will be a free agent after this season.

Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen is likely out for the postseason, after injuring his right shoulder warming up in the bullpen Saturday.

“I don’t know if it was a complete blowout, but really unfortunate,” manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 4-3 win against the San Francisco Giants.

The Dodgers plan to put Treinen on the injured list Sunday, Roberts said. And he’ll undergo imaging to diagnose the injury.

Read more:Blake Snell delivers 'best-case scenario' as Dodgers defeat Giants for win No. 99

“It just popped up,” Roberts said.

Treinen, 38, is the longest-tenured Dodgers pitcher on the roster. He spent over two months on the IL earlier this season with inflammation in his right elbow. But in 36 appearances this season, he posted a 3.64 ERA.

Treinen has a history of shoulder injuries and underwent right shoulder labrum and rotator cuff repair surgery after the 2022 season.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Dodgers just took a major blow to their bullpen days before the postseason.

Blake Treinen was warming up during the seventh inning of their eventual 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, Sept. 26 before he abruptly stopped. Brock Stewart entered the game instead, and Spectrum SportsNet cameras spotted Dodgers bullpen coach Josh Bard wrapping his arms around Treinen before the 38-year-old reliever walked to the dugout with a member of the training staff.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game that Treinen's shoulder flared up. He'll undergo further imaging, but the Dodgers believe his season is over.

"I don't know if it was a complete blowout, but really unfortunate," he said. "... Obviously, it's an IL, his season's over. ... That was what landed him on the IL before, so it just unfortunately showed its head again."

Is Blake Treinen out of the postseason discussion? 😕 pic.twitter.com/dVdasVQT9Q

— Hyeseong Kim Muse 김혜성 (Fan account) (@HyeseongKimMuse) September 26, 2026

Treinen has been a key high-leverage arm for the Dodgers since signing with the team ahead of the 2020 season, but injuries have also maligned much of his time in LA. He missed much of the 2022 season with a right arm injury and was placed back on the IL after just one appearance in September with right shoulder tightness. He underwent surgery that offseason and did not pitch again until May 2024, but went down again three months later with left hip discomfort. Treinen missed more than three months again in 2025 with right forearm tightness and was out from June 20-Sept. 2 with right elbow inflammation.

Since his return on Sept. 6, Treinen posted a 4.05 ERA with six strikeouts and three walks in seven games.

Despite the injury history Treinen always seemed to deliver and be at his best in October. He's been a crucial part of each of the Dodgers' three World Series runs this decade, and without him Roberts will need to look for that production elsewhere. Expect Alex Vesia, Tanner Scott and Brock Stewart to get more mound time in high-leverage situations, while Edwin Díaz might see increased usage before Roberts might have expected.

Treinen is set to hit free agency this offseason.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blake Treinen injures shoulder, likely out for season

At least for offensive reasons, Austin Wells had been approaching unplayable territory, and even GM Brian Cashman acknowledged in July the catching position had grown into “an issue, clearly.” 

From the start of the season to Aug. 2 — a stretch of four-plus months only interrupted by a June stint on the injured list — the Yankees’ starting catcher owned the worst average (.161) and OPS (.537) in baseball among the 240 hitters who took as many at-bats as he did. 

And since the Aug. 3 trade deadline, when the Yankees essentially committed to Wells playing full time as he began to show signs of life, he has been the most played catcher in the sport, squatting for 42 of 47 games and catching 5,779 pitches, both tops in that span. 

“That’s awesome,” said Wells, whose rare days of rest are about to evaporate. 

Starting Tuesday, Wells in all likelihood will be the everyday Yankees catcher for the postseason. If Ali Sánchez catches for one meaningful inning, either something has gone wrong for the Yankees or a game has turned sideways. 

After Game 162 on Sunday and beginning when the Red Sox visit The Bronx for Game 1 of the wild-card round, Wells will take a knee behind the plate for a maximum of 22 postseason games, and he feels ready for the challenge. 

“I feel solid [physically]. It comes and goes — you take a foul ball to the face, you make a couple of throws in a couple of games, your arm starts hanging a little bit,” Wells said this week. “But this is how I want it. This is where I want to be.” 

It would have been difficult to envision this is where Wells would be a few months ago. 

A prospect known for his bat who had been OK offensively — roughly league average — in his first three seasons while showing off a defensive acumen that was far better than expected. If this season the Yankees expected a jump, what they saw instead was a nosedive. 

It kept getting worse. He was hitting .200 at the end of April, .178 at the end of May, .155 at the end of June. 

The team sees the turning point as the 15 days he spent on the IL in June with cervical headaches, time that allowed Wells to physically feel better, and to tweak his swing and generate more loft. 

In the 15 games preceding Cashman’s trade-deadline decision, Wells posted an .886 OPS, demonstrated far better plate discipline (seven walks and eight strikeouts), clubbed three home runs and showed the Yankees enough that the club did not overpay for a starting or a complementary catcher. 

The Red Sox, for instance, gave up plenty of prospect capital for Adley Rutschman (who could make those prospects well spent with a few swings in the wild-card series). Ryan Jeffers remained in Minnesota. 

The Yankees stuck with Wells and Sánchez, who has been a true backup. 

“You feel like he’s that threat again down there, and that’s massive,” manager Aaron Boone said earlier this month of Wells, who since that Aug. 3 moment of truth has posted a .785 OPS, proving the Yankees’ faith correct. 

“Feel like I’m seeing the ball well, trying to have good at-bats and turn the lineup over, get on base for the guys at the top,” Wells said Thursday. “Do whatever’s necessary to win the game.” 

This is where Wells was two years ago, when he started 12 of 14 (and played in all 14) postseason games in his first full season in the majors, which ended with the World Series loss to the Dodgers. 

This is where Wells was last year, when he started all seven of the Yankees’ games against Boston and Toronto. 

He has learned that the wear and tear of October can be ignored. If he plays every day, he has no time to think about the toll it is taking, which then becomes clear once the offseason starts and his body actually heals. 

“You just roll with it,” said Wells, who is among the select few Yankees (Cody Bellinger, and perhaps Ben Rice and George Lombard Jr.) who is expected to get everyday run in the playoffs. “Being behind the plate every day — that’s where I want to be.”

San Diego Padres will host the Chicago Cubs in National League Wild Card series originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

On September 4th, the Padres were a half game out of the final National League playoff spot and a full 6.0 games back of the Phillies for the fourth seed. There were real concerns about San Diego even making it to the postseason, let alone hosting the first round.

Then they went on a 17-and-4 rampage punctuated by Saturday night’s 10-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks that officially brings the NL Wild Card series to Petco Park.

After trading runs for the first few innings the DBacks had a 4-3 lead in the 4th inning. With two runners on Manny Machado went to the porch for a spell. Machado hit a laser into the Petco Porch in right field. His 30th homer of the season (giving him eight career 30-bomb campaigns, the same number as Hall of Famer and San Diego native Ted Williams) put the Padres on top 6-4 and kicked off a party in the East Village.

In the 5th inning Xander Bogaerts launched a solo homer to left field to make it 7-4 and San Diego put it away with another rally in the 6th. A pair of singles and a walk loaded with bases with two outs for Jake Cronenworth, who lined a single up the middle to plate two more and put it out of reach. San Diego not only makes a 3rd straight postseason appearance for the first time in franchise history, the Friars also win 90 games in three straight years for the first time ever.

Last year they had to go to Wrigley Field, where the Cubs ended their series in three games. This year the Padres will get a chance to return the favor. They’ll host the Cubbies in a best-of-three affair starting on Tuesday. Getting to play that series at home is not insignificant. San Diego has won 50 games at Petco Park this year, one of only five teams in Major League Baseball to get 50 wins at home.

There is one more regular season game to be played, on Sunday afternoon, and that one could have serious playoff implications. If the Diamondbacks win and the Phillies lose, Arizona will knock Philadelphia out of the final playoff spot and grab the 6th seed, then hold a celebration in the visitor’s clubhouse at Petco Park and head to Atlanta to face the Braves in the Wild Card round.

All four of the Wild Card series will be broadcast on NBC and/or Peacock. Game times and broadcast plans will be revealed on Sunday evening.

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ active roster is at 28 and the 40-man roster is at 39.

• Recalled from Triple-A Reno: C Adrian Del Castillo
• Designated for assignment: OF Jesús Sánchez

This is because Gabriel Moreno left yesterday’s game with a balky hamstring, and is limited to DH duties today. The team isn’t comfortable with just one genuine catchers, hence the return of Del Castillo. And a likely farewell to Sánchez, who didn’t exactly deliver the expected impact against RHP expected. He went 2-for-15 with no extra-base hits and a K:BB of 5:1. Let’s just hope we don’t have to rely on Del Castillo’s 55 OPS+.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Moreno has the best chance ever to become the first Diamondback to win a batting title. It’s startling, considering that after the game on June 1, he was hitting just .258. Since then, he has hit .329 over a 93-game span, which takes him ahead by the narrowest of margins:
Moreno: .31064
Arraez: .31040
If Gaby goes 3-for-10 or better over the next two games, and Arraez remains benched, that would do it. Going exactly 3-for-10 would drop Moreno to .31042, giving him the win by two hundred-thousandths. That would be the narrowest victory ever, ten times closer than the 1949 AL one, where George Kell beat Ted Williams, .3429 to .3427. 2-for-9 would drop him to .31027, and give Arraez the title, also by the smallest margin ever.

But that is very much a secondary consideration today. It’s all about the battle of the bullpens, since both Arizona and Philadelphia will be running bullpen games in their contests. I’m sure we all know the situation. The Phillies’ magic number is still two: they need a win and a D-backs loss to clinch. Otherwise, it’ll all come down to the result of the season finales tomorrow afternoon. A win for us and a Phillies loss, on the other hand – as happened yesterday – will mean the D-backs pull level, and control their own destiny. Our playoff odds are up to 30.8%, which is not so far from where they were on Opening Day, at 36.4%!

Phillies’ game was scheduled to start at 4:15 pm, but the weather pushed it back to a currently estimated start time of 4:50 om. That’s close enough to the normally scheduled time of 5 pm, so I’m going with that. Join me for a little pre-game scoreboard watching!

SAN FRANCISCO — In the second-to-last game of the regular season on Saturday, the Dodgers lost their longest-tenured pitcher to a likely season-ending injury.

While warming up in the bullpen during the Dodgers’ 4-3 win over the Giants, veteran reliever Blake Treinen suffered a potentially serious shoulder injury, according to manager Dave Roberts.

While Treinen will go for imaging on Sunday, he is heading for the injured list and is not expected to return in the playoffs.

“I don’t know if it was a complete blowout, but really unfortunate,” Roberts said. “His season’s over, unfortunately.”

A 38-year-old right-hander who played key roles in each of the Dodgers’ three recent World Series titles in 2020, 2024 and 2025, Treinen has been plagued by arm issues the last two years. This season, he missed 2 ½ months with inflammation in his right elbow. Last year, he missed almost three months with a forearm problem. And after the 2022 season, he underwent a shoulder surgery.

The Dodgers had been trying to manage Treinen’s usage carefully since his latest return in early September, giving him just seven appearances in the four weeks he had been back.

However, he felt something on a single warmup during Saturday’s game. The pain was bad enough to send him straight back to the clubhouse alongside a trainer.

“It’s gut-wrenching for us,” fellow reliever Alex Vesia said. “Blake’s one of our leaders out there in the bullpen.”

Treinen had already appeared to be a playoff roster bubble candidate previously, with a 3.64 ERA in 36 games this year. Still, the Dodgers had been encouraged by a recent uptick in velocity and were still hoping to have the 12-year veteran as a postseason option — especially given his 43 career games of playoff experience, highlighted by a heroic 2 ⅓-inning outing in their title-clinching victory in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. 

Instead, his season — and, as a pending free agent, perhaps his Dodgers career, as well — now suddenly appears to be over.

“I saw him and hugged him,” Roberts said. “It’s just unfortunate.” 

Arizona Diamondbacks (86-74) at San Diego Padres (89-71), September 26, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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