Although they played their best game of the season overall, the Philadelphia Flyers' best still wasn't good enough, losing 2-1 to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday night and dropping their fifth straight game.
Now 0-3-2, the Flyers will face the Boston Bruins in Boston on Saturday afternoon, and if they can't win that one, they will return home Sunday still winless. And on Sunday, they host Carolina... again.
The schedule isn't getting any easier for the juiceless Flyers, who were shut out at 5-on-5 for the second time already this season. In five games, the Flyers have scored just four times at 5-on-5, and the five teams tied with them (Calgary, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Columbus) have all played four games or fewer.
Nick Cousins got the Senators on the board following the expiry of an Ottawa power play, deflecting a Tyler Kleven shot past Joseph Woll after beating Cam York to the front of the net. Despite the fortunate bounce, the Flyers actually out-shot the Senators 11-8 in the opening frame.
The Flyers repeated the feat in the second period, out-shooting their opponents 11-9 with Matvei Michkov tucking in a loose Trevor Zegras rebound on the power play to tie the game at 1-1.
In the third period, the Senators punched back with a 9-7 shots advantage, which is generous to the Flyers, who generated the bulk of their offense trying to tie the game in the dying few minutes.
Carter Yakemchuk scored the game-winning goal for the Senators in a dark twist of irony, as Michael Bunting, the player signed to give the Flyers a spark, took the penalty that gave the Senators their fifth power play opportunity of the night, and one they didn't squander, in his first game action of the season.
So, while the Flyers finally didn't get crushed by their opponents in the run of play, it shouldn't be celebrated as progress or a building block. That's the expectation every night for all 84 games.
That's how the Flyers got in this mess, with conversations about "compete" and complacency a week into the 2026-27 campaign.
Stats dump and line changes
Matvei Michkov is the only Flyers player with multiple goals this season, and now he's playing center on the power play, too. (Photo: Eric Hartline, Imagn Images)
I was a bit surprised to see David Jiricek move up to the second pairing next to York after his high-profile backbreaker against Tampa Bay on Monday night, but he handled the added responsibility, including time on PP1, very well.
Jiricek recorded two shots on goal and played 18:25 (third to only Travis Sanheim and Jamie Drysdale). According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers out-shot the Senators with Jiricek on the ice at 5-on-5 in terms of attempts, unblocked attempts, and shots on goal, though scoring chances were 6-5 in Ottawa's favor.
With York on the ice at 5-on-5, though, scoring chances were 10-3 in Ottawa's favor. The 25-year-old's uncharacteristically poor play at both ends of the ice has dragged down his defense partners early on this season.
Matvei Michkov took over as the de facto center on PP1, winning four of seven faceoffs (57.1%) in place of Trevor Zegras.
There was once a time in the not-so-distant past that the Flyers refused to have the two on the same power play, and now Michkov has wrested another job from Zegras just five games into the season.
Tyson Foerster has just two goals, his only two points, in his last 15 games, including the playoffs. He is a -8 in that span.
Porter Martone has been held off the scoresheet through his first five games this season, though it's worth noting he's averaging just 12:55 of ice time a game.
Comparatively, Martone averaged 17:02 in his nine regular season games with the Flyers at the end of last season, and 16:48 in the playoffs.
SPRINGFIELD, MO - AUGUST 30: Tre Richardson III #8 of the Springfield Cardinals high fives teammates prior to the game between the San Antonio Missions and the Springfield Cardinals at Hammons Field on Sunday, August 30, 2026 in Springfield, Missouri. (Photo by Kaylee Vaughan/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
VEB points will be awarded to contributors who can identify the prospect on the opening screen. Hint…one of the most surprising break-out performances of the 2026 season, especially in regards to power.
What was going on in the minor leagues?
If you haven’t heard, power numbers are up throughout the minor leagues. Most notably, the power numbers are REALLY up in the levels AA back down through Low-A. AAA? Not so much. Almost flat-earth at AAA. The AAA league the Redbirds play in has seen only a .3% change in HR rate.
Baseball America (behind a paywall) recently published on article on the very topic I’ve been monitoring for a bit. For those with BA subscriptions, you can read it here. If you don’t have a subscription, you can satisfy yourself with my high-level summary of their work (which as usual is very good – their work).
You can see from the data points above the MiLB scoring has hit a high point in 2026. The data is a little slim to determine if that ratchet up from 2024-2025 is extreme or if it just looks that way because those 2024 and 2025 years were down years. Regardless, scoring is up.
Sure enough, homerun rates follow a similar trajectory. Lots more, especially this year. Why? First, BA stripped out AAA runs and HRs and found that the AAA experience is not nearly as extreme as the other 4 MiLB levels. Suspicious? They naturally land on the different baseball being used as a likely culprit. Intuitive, but I’m not sure they convinced me of the leap from increased HR = increased runs = juiced MiLB baseball. I checked with some Cardinal folks and they too believe that while there may be something there, the jury is still out on what or how much.
Moving on, BA focused on actual batted ball data out of the Florida State League (FSL). Every team (except Daytona) has Hawkeye systems installed, so they get the proverbial Statcast data that is publicly available.
Authors Note: You guys have seen my prior articles on Cardinals and the Technology Revolution. Through my research for this article, I was able to confirm that the Cardinals now have Hawkeye installed at all affiliates except the Florida Complex League (if you’ve seen the backfield they play on, you’d understand why not there). Now that the FSL is done, some FCL guys will play at RDS and they will get some fine detail on those players.
Long story short, in looking at the FSL data, BA found that a lot of the unusual increase in homeruns fell into a group of batted balls I would consider mid-tier EV fly balls (95-105 mph) hit at an optimal trajectory, where the avg fly ball seems to travel about 5-10 feet farther this year, leading them to suspect the ball. This finding appears to account for about 50% of the increase in runs/HRs. More specifically, they found that mostly it was the pulled and opposite field fly balls that experienced the unusual HR increase, not so much balls hit to the deepest part. Stated succinctly, a fly ball pulled (or hit opp0) that travels 350 feet instead of 340 has a pretty high chance of changing from a deep fly to a wall-scraping HR. Unlike a ball hit to centerfield, where a 350 foot flyball looks an awful lot like a 340 foot fly ball and likely has the same result as last year. Good points.
That is my summary of BA’s fine work. If you want more detail, check it out in the link above.
I’ll add to this a little science. Two batted ball metrics that affect the balls flight are the Coefficient of Resistance (COR) and drag. Interestingly, one of the weird effects of drag is that some balls hit in that mid-tier EV mph range and hit at an optimal angle tend to generate a little extra lift at the end of their journey and have a tendency to float, so a not quite barreled fly ball may float a bit if it was hit at the optimal launch angle (think: between like 27 and 30 degrees). Not dissimilar to how an airplane wing generates optimal lift at the right attack angle – not too steep, not too shallow.
So the BA data may indeed be showing us a different ball, but it may also be showing us that the hitting instructional evolution around optimizing swing path is beginning to take hold at the lower minors and making the hitting experience down there more similar to the upper minors and MLB.
How does it affect evaluation of Cardinal prospects?
I spoke with Director of Hitting Dalton Hurd about this topic. They really evaluate players on their process, less so their results. Swing path, swing decisions, launch angle, etc., etc. are what they look at. In a sense, they value process over results. Not that you ignore results, but if the process is right, they expect good results. If one year the environment produces great (instead of good) results due to the ball or the weather or whatever, they can kind of wash that out by remaining focused on the process of hitting. Not quite said, but suggested, was the implication that better coaching, league wide, is likely contributing to better launch angles and higher EV.
For years, we’d look at stat lines of players in a place like Low-A (or previously High-A) Palm Beach, and we would have to remind ourselves that a .710 OPS by a 19-year-old really wasn’t that bad, because the run environment was harsh on hitters, particularly ones who hadn’t fully matured yet. We’d attenuate our evaluation due to the environment the player experienced. Now we look in 2026 and find that the run environment isn’t quite so harsh. Why? Well, the BA article says about 50% of the offensive increase is likely due to the baseball. But what about the fact that RDS fences were moved in after the 2024 season? Also, what about the overall reduction in players due to minor league contraction and reductions in the draft length?
I did do a wee little bit of research to see if Park Factors for a renovated RDS might be part of the equation. Pre-renovation, using 2023 numbers, run production in RDS is pretty much the same (RDS suppresses runs by about 10%) as it was in 2026. Interestingly, HR suppression improved quite a bit, from an abysmal 81 in 2023 to 94 (still below average) in 2026. Ball? Or park? Or hitters? Or all of the above?
I was reminded not to overlook that the minor leagues were compresses and the draft shorten. This could theoretically have the effects that: 1) the remaining group is by definition higher quality and you’d expect higher output and 2) don’t be shocked if you looked closely and found that some higher OPS, higher whiff guys are now coming up the system faster, instead of marinating in the Complex League longer. Higher OPS, higher whiff translate to higher EV and higher HR rates, which is what BA observed as the major eye catcher when looking at the data. Even if that player strikes out a ton. True outcomes and all…
We discussed a group of players who blazed through High-A Peoria at a time when the whole Midwest League was experiencing quite a jump in HR rates. This group will include some familiar names – Tai Peete, Won-Bin Cho, Rainel Rodriguez, Jack Gurevitch, Tre Richardson III. If you are a honk for “the MiLB ball is juiced”, you will have some trouble explaining how exactly the plethora of HRs hit by that group at Peoria seemed to follow them to Springfield and didn’t stay behind in Peoria to boost up the other players, as Peoria saw a drop in offense mid-season as those guys moved up. Notably, at the same time a weak Springfield offense saw quite a surge. Everyone I spoke with denied shipping pallets of juiced baseballs from Peoria to Springfield along with the players. Also, a juiced ball doesn’t explain how each of these phenoms struggled early after their promotion and then found the right adjustment to take off (again). It’s not like the AA league quit using a “juiced ball” for a couple of weeks to confound RainRod honks.
Hurd told me they really discourage players from trying to take advantage of environmental things (like a short porch of whatever) and just stick with the process. A good swing will produce good results. Good launch angle, good EV will produce good results over time. Trust the process, they say. He said in all five cases, each of those players had successfully made observable adjustments that explains their success. Not spoken, but by implication, this suggests a player seeing an increase in offense but is not advancing may be someone who isn’t really adjusting their approach but perhaps riding the wave that lifts everyone. I didn’t ask specifically, but one might think of Sammy Hernandez in this vein.
He did acknowledge that the ball could be having some effect, although he thought the jury is still out on how much. I gathered they somewhat ignore the unusual results because they are universal. If Cardinal hitters were NOT experiencing some extra oomph and everyone else was, they’d be more concerned about it. Also, they recognize there are so many uncontrollable factors involved in hitting and it could swing back the other way next year. So they focus on what they can control – the hitting process.
In the end, the story seems to be about trusting the hitting process, and that good process leads to good results (and advancement). And recognizing that much of hitting involves a lot of things the hitters can’t control like game time, temperature, humidity, pitch quality, the ball, etc.
A rabbit hole
One thing that came up that I haven’t yet had time to fully digest. Part of the hitting evolution involves where to contact the baseball relative to the plate. Since pulling the ball requires getting to the ball further out front (and going oppo allows for the ball to travel further), I think we’d have to look not only at whether pulled/opps hits are more likely to scrape over the wall, we’d need to know if more balls are being contacted well out front (close to 36” in front of the plate) and/or allowed to travel deeper in the zone (less than 30” for an opposite field direction).
Note: This little morsel is something I’ve been poking on since it seems to be something the Brewers have discovered that no other team has. The Brewers have a pretty strong tendency to allow the ball to travel and hit the ball oppo during most game situations. They essentially sacrifice power for OBP through scattering the ball to all fields and having increased contact, instead of selling out for pull side power. This approach defeats shifting, but also sags HR rates.
Fascinatingly, in high leverage situations, they revert more to pull side power. While their overall HR rate is very low by modern MLB standards, their close-and-late HR rate is average. Like they change hitting approaches mid-game. Interesting. It stands to reason that some of the data on MiLB runs is the opposite of this…most teams are selling out for launch angle with pull side power, and those slightly mis-hit, wall scraping HRs might well be the end result of that. This winter, I might try and dig into a data source that tells me how much MiLB hitters are trying to make contact well out in front of the plate. Getting pitch-by-pitch data on MiLB batters that would include contact point might be challenging, though. If only StL made that Hawkeye data available…
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski reacts after striking out San Diego's Luis Campusano during Game 1 of the NLDS on Oct. 3. (Kayla Wolf / Associated Press)
Tanner Scott stuck upside-down beers in Friedman’s shirt. Alex Freeland dumped beer into his mouth and all over his face. Eric Lauer coordinated a sneak attack, announcing that he was heading to the showers before reappearing from a side entrance.
Friedman never stopped grinning. But it almost looked like he had an extra glint in his eye when asked whether he’d rather take on the Milwaukee Brewers or San Diego Padres in the NLCS.
Later that night, the Brewers advanced, locking in an NLCS rematch that could certainly deliver chaos.
The Dodgers and Brewers are meeting in the playoffs for the fourth time in nine years. Last season, the Dodgers swept Milwaukee in the NLCS.
Usually before playing a big-market team like the Dodgers, Brewers manager Pat Murphy leans into the underdog narrative by saying he suspects the opponent can’t name many of the Brewers players. But by becoming perennial playoff contenders, and posting the best record in the majors over the past two seasons, the Brewers have given up whatever anonymity they may have had when they promoted Murphy a few years ago.
The cast of characters on both sides has remained relatively consistent since last October. But even after trading away top pitcher Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee is a more complete team than last season.
But losing talented players hasn’t stopped the Brewers from winning the last four NL Central titles. They keep saying goodbye to top players — including Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, closer Devin Williams and shortstop Willy Adames — then raise their win total.
The biggest difference-maker has been Jacob Misiorowski, who had the lowest ERA (1.80) in the majors this season and is the NL Cy Young favorite. As a rookie last year, the flame-thrower was relegated to the postseason bullpen until the NLCS. This year, he was the Brewers’ Game 1 starter in the NLDS against the Padres.
The Brewers have long hung their hat on playing sound baseball, from pitching and defense to baserunning. But the knock on them has been the lack of thump in their lineup.
First baseman Jake Bauers had a career season, leading the team in home runs (26), on-base percentage (.389) and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.873). Jackson Chourio, who was hobbled by a hamstring injury in the last NLCS, hit a career-high 25 home runs and led the team in slugging percentage (.487). And though the Brewers likely won’t out-slug the Dodgers — they hit 50 fewer home runs during the season — they have a pesky roster that stole 90 more bases.
The Brewers also had a better regular-season record (103-59) than the Dodgers (100-62), so the series will begin in Milwaukee on Sunday.
Signs point to a more competitive series than last year. The Brewers even entered the postseason with the better World Series odds (18.5%) than the Dodgers (16.7%), according to Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA standings.
“The mistake that the outside perspective kind of gets sometimes is to underestimate certain teams,” said Kiké Hernández as the Dodgers celebrated their NLDS victory. “And we knew we had a tough task ahead of us. [The Braves are] a team that was playing really good baseball, had a lot of momentum, and they were throwing the ball really well. They had a really good bullpen, a lot of different kinds of arms, and, fortunately for us, they were a little bit short on starting pitching, so they had to tax their bullpen to a point where it paid off for us.”
The Dodgers ended the series before it returned to Los Angeles for an if-necessary Game 5. So they got to turn their attention to the Brewers a couple days early.
“I think the strength of our team is our rotation,” Friedman said. “And so even if we weren’t able to reset it, we still feel like it would be a strength of ours. But to be able to line it up the way we want to, certainly advantageous. To be able to have a few days off our feet and rest up for Sunday, also really helpful.”
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 05: A general view before the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 5, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Hello, friends.
There are 166 days remaining until the next scheduled Orioles game. Whether an Orioles game (or any MLB game) happens on that date or any time close after is not something we are going to know until probably mid-February, when spring training begins. I’m already dreading having nothing going on in December and January, not that I expect anyone reading this to share the particular concerns of running a baseball blog.
For now, there are the playoffs as a diversion. Except, there won’t be any games played today. Both National League series wrapped up in four games, setting up a Dodgers-Brewers NLCS rematch. Their division series would have played Game 5 today. That wasn’t needed after all.
There will be one more division series game played on Friday. The Guardians-White Sox series is going five games. They will be traveling today. Cleveland piled on the runs against Chicago to knot their series at 2-2. They staved off elimination after losing both games at home to start the series. It won’t mean much if they lose their last home game as well. This Game 4 happened to be the first time all postseason that a team that scored at least four runs lost the game. The White Sox managed this because they gave up many more than four runs in the process.
Seeing these games play out, it really calls to attention what the good teams and good-enough teams have that the Orioles do not. Maybe if they had managed to sneak in, they might have had enough to knock off the Astros, and you could probably argue there’s better pitching in the O’s stable than what the White Sox have been able to bring to bear this postseason. Mostly though, the Orioles aren’t on this level. Certainly not on the level of most of the teams that will play in the league championship series round.
Can it be better next season? That’s the question we all want to know the answer to. The labor situation means that this is not a great offseason to be a team trying to enact different plans for your players, because coaches and management will not be able to check in with anybody after the lockout hits on December 1. It will take until spring training – whenever that comes along – to start to see who really did the work and who was, as Chris Bassitt recently put it when assessing the 2026 team, just checking the boxes.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
What process are the Orioles trusting? (Defector) It’s always worth reading when Defector turns its sights on the Orioles, even though you know this only happens when things aren’t going well.
Orioles missteps testing limits of fan support (The Baltimore Sun) The team managed to draw around 25,000 more fans this year than last year. If things don’t improve early next year, I wonder what that picture is going to look like.
Six Orioles ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 100 (MASN) Is this worth anything? Here’s an indirect way of answering that: The last time the Orioles had six top 100 prospects on this list was at the start of the 2023 season. These were the prospects: Colton Cowser, DL Hall, Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, Grayson Rodriguez, Jordan Westburg. You don’t need me to tell you what those six players collectively contributed to the 2026 Orioles.
2026 Orioles draft report card (Baseball America) Subscription required to see the thoughts on this year’s draft. People like it! For now.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1966, the Orioles won their first World Series title by finishing a sweep of the Dodgers. Frank Robinson hit a home run that scored the game’s only run; Dave McNally pitched a four-hit shutout as the O’s knocked off the defending champions.
In 1971, the Orioles beat the Pirates in Game 1 of the World Series. McNally featured again, throwing a three-hit complete game as the O’s won, 5-3.
In 1996, Jeffrey Maier happened. I’m never going to be over it until the Orioles win a title in my lifetime.
In 2014, the Orioles reached a contract extension with J.J. Hardy in between the division series and ALCS rounds of the postseason. Although this seemed exciting at the time, Hardy had negative value in two of the three years of the new contract.
There are a few former Orioles who have birthdays today. They are: 2015-16 reliever Chaz Roe, 2013 four-game outfielder Jason Pridie, and 2001-13 infielder Brian Roberts. Today is Roberts’s 49th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you as well! Your birthday buddies for today include: French scandal figure Alfred Dreyfus (1859), baseball Hall of Famer Rube Marquard (1886), The Beatles member John Lennon (1940), movie maker Guillermo del Toro (1964), University of Maryland basketball standout Juan Dixon (1978), and professional organizer Marie Kondo (1984).
On this day in history…
In 1806, Prussia launched the War of the Fourth Coalition against Napoleonic France. Nine months later, the war was over and Prussia lost half of its territory in the peace settlements.
In 1919, the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series, a series that is now known for the Black Sox scandal.
In 1986, The Phantom of the Opera opened in London. The musical is still continuously running in the West End, though its record-setting Broadway run ended in 2023. Phantom is only the second-longest-running West End musical, trailing the previous year’s Les Miserables – also still running continuously there since its premiere.
**
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 9. Have a safe Friday.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 30: Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts after a home run against the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning in game two of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park on September 30, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The NLCS is set. The ALCS isn’t. The Senior Circuit’s juggernaut is still in play, while the Junior Circuit, regardless of the outcome of the Division Series, will be sending an underdog to the Fall Classic. (Can you really call the Rays an underdog when they’ve been one of the best teams in baseball this season? That’s a semantic question I don’t particularly care to get into).
Sep 10, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; General view of the helmet used by the Milwaukee Brewers before the start of the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. The Brewers are back in the National League Championship Series for the second consecutive season and the third time in the last nine years, and they’ll face the Dodgers once again — the third time facing L.A. in the NLCS, and their fourth time facing them in the postseason. Milwaukee was swept a season ago, but they’ve improved from last season, while the Dodgers mostly maintained their status quo. Does the Crew have what it takes to get past them this time?
Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-baseball sports, the Brewers, you name it. As long as it’s appropriate and is allowed by our moderators, it’s fair game here.
1919 – Chicago White Sox starter Lefty Williams gets just one man out in the first inning and the Cincinnati Reds go on to a 10-5 victory. Cincinnati wins the best-of-nine World Series in eight games. A year after the Series ends, the White Sox will become the “Black Sox“, and eight players will be barred from baseball for taking part in throwing the Series, including Williams who was allegedly threatened before the game to make sure the outcome is no longer in doubt after the first inning.
1920 – Several hours before the start of Game 4 of the World Series, Brooklyn’sRube Marquard, a Cleveland native, is arrested when he tries to sell a ticket to an undercover cop for $350. He will be found guilty and fined a dollar and court costs ($3.80). For their first World Series game on the lakefront, 25,734 Indians fans watch their home team score two in the first and two in the third off Leon Cadore and Al Mamaux. Cleveland wins the game, 5-1.
1958 – The New York Yankees’Bob Turley pitches 6.2 shutout innings in relief to beat the Milwaukee Braves, 6-2, for the World Series title. New York becomes the first team since 1925 to win the World Series after being down three games to one.
1966 – In the World Series, Dave McNally of the Baltimore Orioles wraps up a brilliant pitching display, and a World Championship, with a four-hit 1-0 victory. Frank Robinson‘s home run off Don Drysdale gives Baltimore a surprising sweep of the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The 33 consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Baltimore sets a World Series record.
2017 – In the ALDS, Houston eliminates Boston with a 5-4 win in Game 4. Boston takes a 3-2 lead in the 5th on a two-run homer by Andrew Benintendi off Justin Verlander, making the first relief appearance of his career. In the eighth, Alex Bregman ties it with a solo homer off Chris Sale, also making an unexpected relief outing, before Carlos Beltran drives in the go-ahead run with a single off closer Craig Kimbrel.
Today in Cubs history:
1938 – In the World Series, the New York Yankees become the first team to win three successive World Championships, defeating the Cubs, 8-3. Red Ruffing posts his second victory of the Series as the Yankees sweep the Cubs for the second time in six years.
2015 – John Lackey is the star, pitching 7.1 innings during which he gives up no runs on two hits, making a 1-0 Cardinals lead dating back to the 1st inning hold. The Cards score three more runs in the bottom of the eighth, on a pinch-hit homer by Tommy Pham and a two-run shot by Stephen Piscotty, and end up 4-0 winners over the Cubs and Jon Lester.
2017 – Max Scherzer pitches no-hit ball until one out in the seventh, when Ben Zobrist hits a double for the Cubs then scores the tying run on a single by pinch-hitter Albert Almora. In the eighth, Anthony Rizzo drops a hit between a trio of players in the outfield to allow Leonys Martin to score from second, and Chicago wins Game 3 of the NLDS, 2-1, over Washington.
2025 – In the other NLDS, Ian Happ hits a three-run homer off Freddy Peralta in the bottom of the 1st, and it’s all the runs the Cubs need as they go on to defeat the Brewers, 6-0. The win forces a decisive Game 5 to be played.
1000 – Leif Erikson reaches “Vinland” (possibly L’Anse aux Meadows, Canada), reputedly becoming the first European to reach North America.
1781 – Americans under George Washington and the French under Comte de Rochambeau begin bombardment of Yorktown, the last battle of American Revolutionary War.
1924 – Municipal Grant Park Stadium in Chicago, Illinois (later known as Soldier Field) is officially dedicated.
1936 – Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to Los Angeles.
1965 – The Beatles’ single “Yesterday” goes No. 1 and stays there for four weeks.
2012 – Women’s rights and education activist Malala Yousafzai is shot by a Taliban gunman as she tries to board her school bus in the Swat district of northwest Pakistan.
2022 – Brightest cosmic explosion ever seen: a gamma-ray burst 2.4 billion light-years away, believed to be a massive star collapsing to form a black hole in a 1-in-10,000-year event.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - MAY 30: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs during the third quarter in Game Seven of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center on May 30, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 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 Christian Petersen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Per a Spurs pres release:
The San Antonio Spurs invite fans to take part in the 2026-27 Spurs Tipoff Week, presented by Ticketmaster, taking place from Tuesday, Oct. 13 through Tuesday, Oct. 20. This weeklong celebration across the city of San Antonio, consisting of in-person activations, giveaways, discounts and more, will build momentum and excitement for the team’s upcoming season, presented by H-E-B, and the Oct. 20 home opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 8:30 p.m.
Said Jordan Mandelkorn, vice president of marketing, creative and retail at Spurs Sports & Entertainment,
“It’s a thrilling time to be part of the Spurs community, as we carry the momentum of last season’s Finals run into a new chapter. That energy and unwavering support set the tone for what’s ahead, and Tipoff Week will bring the Silver & Black spirit to life across San Antonio and beyond as we celebrate our fans and welcome a new season together.”
For more details on all the activations, text TIPOFF to 210-444-5940.
Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.
Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 12: Donovan Mitchell #45 and Evan Mobley #4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers high five during the game against the Washington Wizards on December 12, 2025 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Kenny Giarla/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers climbed their way back to relevance five years ago through their work on the defensive end. They ascended 20 spots in defensive rating from 2021 to 2022 thanks to the additions of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. That upward trajectory continued the next season as they finished 2023 with the best defense in the league.
Then, the slow decline started.
The Cavs’ defense dropped from first to sixth, and then to eighth. Last season was their biggest decline, with Cleveland finishing the year 15th in defensive rating.
They intend to turn this trend around.
“We definitely want to get back to being a top-five defense,” Sam Merrill said. “It had been that way, and then last year that wasn’t the case. That’s been most of our discussion throughout this camp.”
Talking about wanting to improve the defense is a pretty common refrain in the preseason. Actually doing it is much more difficult.
“I don’t like saying much,” Donovan Mitchell said when asked about the defense. “I want to go out there and just do it.”
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can find the awesome Cavs’ Starter jacket HERE. Homage’s entire Cavs collection can be found HERE.
The NBA game has changed drastically over the last 15 years; the need to protect the rim hasn’t. Attempts at the basket are still the most efficient place to score from and where every elite offense tries to get. Cleveland has the personnel to defend the rim well with Mobley and Allen, but the point of attack needs to be better to utilize that advantage.
“It’s understanding the strengths we have with Evan and J.A., but not putting too much on their plates,” Merrill said. “I think there were times last year where we put too much on their plates by getting beat off the dribble, getting into rotations and whatnot. If we can do a better job of keeping the ball out of the paint and force the right shots, that should help us ascend.”
To Merrill’s point, Cleveland’s defense has been predicated on funneling their opponents inside, making them finish at the rim, or more preferably, take a midrange jumper. This requires running your opponents off the line and then rotating back out to the perimeter to prevent three-point looks.
Last season, the defense’s rim protection numbers were in line with what we’ve come to expect. They were 16th in defensive rim frequency and forced the fourth-best rim percentage for their opponent. The difference was how many threes they gave up.
Mitchell didn’t specifically mention that they needed to tighten up the three-point defense, opting not to get into the specifics of how the defense will look different. Although he did say they needed to go “back to what we were.”
Another question facing the Cavs is whether they can have a truly elite defense with James Harden. Harden is a good rebounder and does compete better than he often gets credit for, but he doesn’t have the lateral quickness to keep guards in front of him or navigate screens as you’d like. That said, it isn’t impossible.
In 2024-25, the Los Angeles Clippers posted a 111 defensive rating with Harden on the floor (83rd percentile) and finished that season with the third-best defense in the league. It’s possible to have an elite defense with Harden on the court. It does, however, require a buy-in from everyone on the court.
“You have to play team defense,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Getting everybody on the same page and then being able to be adaptable, pliable, flexible. The NBA is not one [on] one defense.”
The Cavs have the tools offensively to be elite. We’ve seen that consistently under Atkinson. That said, championship teams can dominate both sides of the floor. A look at previous champions shows that pretty clearly. If the Cavs want to get to that level, they need to get back to their defensive roots.
“We can score with the best,” Mitchell said, “but for us, not having that be our calling card.”
CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 08: Jordan Walsh #27 of the Boston Celtics shoots over Evan Mobley #4 and Tyrese Proctor #24 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the preseason game at Rocket Arena on October 08, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. 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 Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
1. Glass Cleaners
Boston Celtics basketball is finally back! Not only in the literal sense but in the way the Celtics dismantled the Cleveland Cavaliers, taking them down 124-113 in the first preseason game of the season. This felt like a big upset in a way given the Cavs played their starters in the first half vs a Celtics team who rested most of their roster. One thing that didn’t change from all the roster turnover however was the way that Boston dominated the rebounding battle.
The Celtics out rebounded the Cavs 56-39! The craziest part for the Celtics is that 21 of those rebounds came as offensive rebounds. Boston was so good on the offensive glass that after the first quarter the Celtics had as many offensive rebounds (10) than the Cavaliers had total rebounds. Just a dominant performance on the glass that makes me excited to see what will happen when all the starters return.
2. Luka Garza Board Monster
With a lot of key rotations guys out for the Celtics in their first preseason game, Luka Garza was given the starting spot for Boston and he showed out. Garza finished with a team high 22 points along with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks on 6-17 shooting. The biggest takeaway from Garza’s performance tonight was his dominance on the offensive glass. Out of the 10 rebounds he finished with, 4 of them came as offensive rebounds and that is where we saw him shine the most.
This was a common theme of the night for the entire team but Garza was the one to really set the tone. It is going to be interesting to see what kind of role Garza plays for Boston moving forward. Obviously Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson is ahead of him on the depth chart but I hope the Celtics can still find him some playing time throughout the season.
When the Celtics signed Devin Carter to an Exhibit 10 deal back in September there was a good amount of excitement around the move. It looked like he was going to be a shoo-in for Boston’s final two-way spot but there looked to be a lot of competition with other players like Milos Uzan and Hayden Gray on the Celtics training camp roster. I would like to say there is a good chance the battle is in Carter’s favor as of now. The former Providence Friar finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals on 5-9 shooting and a team high +22.
Carter made his presence known on his first offensive play of the game when he went coast-to-coast throw down a monster slam over Peyton Watson. This was the beginning of a first quarter where we saw Carter lead the way with 7 points including a three point shot that looked pretty solid. With 15 points in the first half we saw an array of moves driving to the basket and finishing through contact while also playing some nice defense on Donovan Mitchell.
Devin Carter coast to coast and 1, that's 15 points in 10 minutes. Really liking this pickup for the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/LXvJUbbkPp
With the way he looked tonight I could see why the Celtics were so optimistic about taking a chance on Carter. When Joe Mazzulla was asked about the former lottery pick last week, he praised Carter’s work ethic saying, “I’ve appreciated just his mindset, his mentality, the chip on the shoulder that he brings to the game. So I’m looking forward to watching him throughout the preseason.” I am also looking forward to seeing what else Carter can do but it makes me wonder, why did the Kings trade him? Not only that, why did the Hawks waive him? Either way the Celtics have another chance to be turn the Kings leftovers into a legit piece once again.
4. Jordan Walsh Aggressive Offensively
One player who I think had an underrated game was Jordan Walsh. Walsh finished with 16 points on 6-14 shooting from the field and 2-5 shooting from three. Walsh talked in the offseason about trying to improve his offensive bag and with an increased role in this game we saw him aggressively hunt his shot. This is something that caught my eye because it looked like something he was genuinely working on.
He looked comfortable when it came to handling the ball and driving to the paint. The finishing could have been a little better but this was more of an offensive bag that we’ve seen from Walsh since he’s been in the NBA. Even in games before when starters were out before, we have never seen Walsh look to be aggressive for his shot. We know he has a great relationship with Jaylen Brown last season and he talked about how the offseason workouts with Paul George and Jayson Tatum were legitimate workouts to help build on his game. Having two of the best wing scorers in NBA history on his team could mean we see more of this offensive creation from Walsh this season and I am very excited to see how it turns out.
5. Baylor Scheierman Confidence
It felt like the Celtics had to have watched a bunch of AND-1 mixtapes before the game today because of the amount of flashy plays we saw in this game but one player I am convinced did was Baylor Scheierman. He was making some prime Rajon Rondo passes out there, including one in the first quarter where he had a shot blocked, got his own offensive rebound running towards the basket, and then made a behind the back dime to Chris Cenac Jr. for a dunk.
In total Scheierman finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists on 5-12 shooting from the field and 4-7 from three. He definitely looked the most comfortable out there when it came to playing in the flow of the offense. This makes me feel like I don’t have to worry about the production we will get out of him moving forward. Very excited for more Baylor hoops moving forward.
6. Hugo Gonzalez Solid Contributor
Finishing off the trio of young wings for the Celtics we have the performance from Hugo Gonzalez. Similar to Scheierman he played a solid game, finishing with 15 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds on 5-9 shooting from the field and 3-6 from three. A big thing I noticed in this game from Gonzalez was that everything he did looked to be faster.
From his jump shot to his Eurostep, it looked like he was dictating the pace on all his attempts. Not only did shot attempts look good, but he made some nice passes setting his teammates up for easy baskets. He also played his brand of chaotic defense that gave the Celtics life in the first half.
WHAT a sequence by Hugo Gonzalez
Phenomenal pass with his off hand to Garza after the Flare – poked the ball loose and finishes on other end pic.twitter.com/DexuYlSdNI
This game was the first time we saw 2026 Draft Picks Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell take an NBA court and I think its safe to say that they are going to be just fine. Cenac Jr. finished with 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks on 3-13 shooting. I was glued to my TV screen anytime he had the ball in his because he looked incredibly comfortable creating his own shot off the dribble but just missing out on the finishing. I feel like that will come in due time but his shot looks really promising. His defense was also remarkable, protecting the paint better than I would have expected. We saw flashes of this during Summer League this year but Cenac Jr. really makes me excited to see what he can develop into under the Celtics Big Fella University.
Dillon Mitchell was also impressive tonight, finishing with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals on 4-7 shooting. One thing we knew about Mitchell was that he was going to be able to jump out of the gym with his athleticism and it was on display. He finished with multiple alley-oop slams and did a great job positioning himself underneath the basket for offensive rebounds and put-backs. His defense was fun to watch as well with both of his steals leading to the Celtics running out in transition.
I felt like Mitchell also took charge in the 4th quarter as well. When the main starters were sitting out, Mitchell looked at as the go to guy on both sides of the court and he did a pretty a solid job, finishing with a +8 in the quarter. It’s going to be fun watching both of these guys continue to develop and it might be one game, but I am willing to say the future is looking for the newest Celtics draft picks.
I need to see Dillon Mitchell jumping over a car in the dunk contest this year pic.twitter.com/79uPPbvT6c
With most of the Celtics rotation players sitting out for this preseason game, it was interesting to see that Mike Conley was in the starting lineup. Conley signed with Boston back in July and throughout camp so far we have seen him be a great veteran presence to all of the young guys on the roster. This is the big reason why he was brought to Boston but how did his play look on the court? It was fine.
Conley finished with 3 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 steal in his Celtics debut on 1-3 shooting. He wasn’t the main scoring option for Boston by any means but he was still a great primary ball handler and even made some highlight reel passes. The one that stands out most was when he found a wide open Hugo Gonzalez for a corner three after faking like he was going to pass it to Baylor Scheierman on the wing. I don’t know how much of Conley we are going to see in the Celtics rotation this season but I do think he will be a solid depth piece for Boston moving forward.
Good mid-air redirect on the pass from the veteran Mike Conley
Saw Watson bite on the first read and gets it to the corner – Hugo knocks it down pic.twitter.com/nz0TNzADfl
It wasn’t only players that got a chance to show their talents tonight but it was also two Celtics assistant coaches that got a chance to shine as well. Celtics assistant coaches Tony Dobbins and DJ MacLeay were given the reigns from head coach Joe Mazzulla and coached their first NBA game. Dobbins coached the first half and MacLeay coached the second half while Mazzlla just watched the game from the locker room. Mazzulla said that his reasoning for this was, “I want to give them the opportunity to be able to just build themselves as coaches…Both those guys had head coaching interviews this past summer, and I want them to be able to build on that.”
Joe Mazzulla said that Tony Dobbins and DJ MacLeay will coach tonight’s preseason game against the Cavaliers
Both were finalists for head coach positions this past summer
“They'll be running the show, and excited for them, and want them to continue to grow.” pic.twitter.com/JIpyTxDWx4
So how did it go for the Celtics new coaching duo against the Cavs? Pretty well I would say. Dobbins in the first half showed his philosophy by coaching the Celtics to a 71-62 lead at halftime. Boston did a great job of controlling the paint on both sides of the ball which led to the lead. MacLeay on the other hand had some adversity out of halftime after the Cavs went on a 12-3 run to tie the game in the beginning of the 3rd quarter. But he did a great job of calling a timeout and letting the team regroup, leading to Boston winning the 4th quarter 25-17 and winning the game.
This was such a cool thing to see coming from Joe Mazzulla. Continuing to develop Dobbins and MacLeay to get them ready for future opportunities is something I feel like you don’t see often. It’s only a matter of time before we see the Mazzulla coaching tree spread across the entirety of the NBA.
10. It’s Good To Be Back
I wanted to reserve my final takeaway just to say how great it feels to watch Boston Celtics basketball today. I didn’t care if 7 players were out, I would have watched any version of this team if it meant we got to see Celtics basketball played again. This has been the longest offseason we have had as Celtics fans in a while. Obviously with the first round exit, to the roster turnover this season, to the Draft, Summer League, and Media Day, it felt like this offseason was moving at a snails pace.
But the wait is finally over. The next step of waiting is hopefully seeing all the starters play in a game at some point this preseason. I want to see the dynamic between Jayson Tatum and Paul George, the big man rotation of Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson, and the leap of Payton Pritchard. Even if we don’t see them much in preseason, we are less than two weeks away from Boston’s first regular season game in Detroit at 3:30pm on October 20th.
The Celtics next preseason game will be on Saturday October 10th when the new look Philadelphia 76ers come to TD Garden. This will also be the first time we see Jaylen Brown in a 76ers uniform since being traded away from Boston this offseason.
The 27-year-old flanker confounded expectations leaping from Durham university’s fourth XV to Prem rugby captain – don’t bet against his big England ambitions
At the start of every season for the past few years Fitz Harding has written down his goals for the next 12 months on the first page of a crisp new notebook. “You can probably guess what they are,” says Bristol’s impressive captain ahead of his team’s trip to Saracens this weekend. “I want to win the Prem, I want to play for England, I want to go to the World Cup.” He makes it sound almost matter of fact, like a list of basic groceries to be picked up on the way home.
The longer you spend with him, though, the more you wonder if those lofty ambitions may be realised. Not only is the 27-year-old Harding intelligent and personable but he is not the type to give up easily. Nor does he lack for motivation. “I don’t just want to be in England’s squad. I want to play for England. It sounds silly but just getting a phone call [ahead of the November Tests] wouldn’t mean very much to me. They’re not going to write in my obituary: ‘He made the England squad once.’”
Australia has made a dominant start to its three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, cruising to a seven-wicket victory with 146 balls remaining in Brisbane.
It was the most highly anticipated return in cricket, one that had an admittedly meagre crowd in Durban on the edge of their seats as they warmed up their vocal chords.
The Sharks improved to 3-1 to start the 2026 NHL season after a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. And for the third time this season, the win came in overtime. The Sharks have dominated in overtime in recent seasons. They have been so dominant that they now lead the entire NHL with 13 overtime wins dating back to the start of last season.
Kings of overtime 👑
With tonight's win, the San Jose Sharks have an NHL-leading 13 OT wins since the start of last season.
The Sharks got the season started off with a bang, beating the Florida Panthers 4-3 thanks to a game-winning goal from Luca Cagnoni. The next game, a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings, Igor Chernyshov found the net in overtime to help the Sharks improve to 2-0.
The Sharks lost their first game of the season to the Dallas Stars but bounced back in their most recent contest, getting the overtime win over the Blues thanks to a Darnell Nurse game-winning goal. Even without star Macklin Celebrini, who has missed the last two games with an unspecified lower-body injury, the Sharks have found ways to win.
San Jose faces a tough slate of games for the rest of the month, facing the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins at home before going on the road for six straight games from Oct. 15-Oct. 24. But for a Sharks team hungry to make the playoffs after coming up just short last season, these next few games are the perfect test to see what kind of team they are.
The Sharks revamped their roster this offseason, acquiring players like Nurse via trade and signing free agents such as forward Mason Marchment and defenseman Jacob Trouba, and entered the season with high expectations.
The last time the team made the playoffs was in 2018-19, where they made it to the Western Conference Finals. Now, with a roster full of young stars, the team hopes that this season can be the start of perennial hockey success in San Jose.
The Sixers’ still-surreal starting five was fully intact Thursday night.
The team’s newly assembled, star-heavy unit played the first half together at Barclays Center. The final result was a 114-108 preseason loss to the Nets, but the Sixers led by two points at halftime and the evening certainly was not short on positive moments.
“I think there were some really good things happening right off the bat, a bunch of back cuts and good passing,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. “We obviously turned the ball over a lot, which you can never do. Just a little clunky in segments, too.
“But it’s preseason, first time that they’re together. You look at what’s good and what are the learning experiences, things that we can improve on. And just try to get ‘em together as much as we can.”
The usual horde of bodies and cameras and phones surrounded LeBron James postgame in the visiting locker room following his Sixers preseason debut.
“It obviously feels a little different playing in a new uniform,” James said, “but the game is the game.”
At 41 years old, James remains a game-changing presence.
He’s a unique physical force when rumbling downhill. The four-time Finals MVP scored 10 points in 18 minutes on a single field goal attempt, finishing 1 for 1 from the floor and 8 for 8 on his free throws. He also posted five assists, four rebounds and a steal. James enhanced the Sixers’ offense in both the half court and transition, throwing inch-perfect hit-ahead passes, feeding cutters and spotting open shooters.
The 22-time All-Star continues to be extremely impactful in obvious and subtle ways.
“It’s both offensively and defensively,” VJ Edgecombe said. “Defensively, he’s loud, he’s talking, so you’ve got confidence in guarding. And then offensively, he just creates plays. He requires so much gravity, everybody else gets open. He doesn’t care about scoring. He’s already got the (NBA) record; he doesn’t care about scoring.”
The Sixers have plenty they’d like to sharpen before they’re back in New York for opening night against the Knicks on Oct. 20.
They didn’t play a poor game on defense, but the Sixers will have higher standards for themselves in the regular season. The young Nets scored 33 points in the first quarter.
“We’ve got to do better,” Joel Embiid said. “I think we over-helped a little bit too much. We’ve got to do a better job of stopping penetration. They drove all night. … A lot to watch and learn and get better.”
Embiid committed eight of the team’s 21 turnovers and looked exactly like a player in his first game since May. Brooklyn’s defensive aggression disrupted the Sixers at times.
“A team like that is very active,” James said. “Their job is to try to pressure you, make you play against the shot clock. Besides the pick-sixes and the turnovers we had, I thought we played some good ball and it’s good to go against a team like that.”
For James, Embiid, Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey, that’s one game down.
The hope is to have many to go as a first five. Brown called Thursday night “just the first step in the journey.”
“I think the more you get on the floor, the better you become,” Embiid said.
