Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Wyatt Sanford got going the Arizona Fall League over the weekend, blasting a huge homer in a Glendale loss to the Salt River Rafters. Sanford cranked a cutter to an 100mph exit velocity. Check out the homer:

Solo HR by SS Wyatt Sanford (1) @Pirates#GlendaleDesertDogs

Exit Velocity: 100 mph
Launch Angle: 33 deg#LetsGoBucspic.twitter.com/ncb53oOsQ9

— Pittsburgh Pirates Player Development Report (@PGHplayerDev) October 3, 2026

Pirates No. 5 prospect Wyatt Sanford hits the first homer of the 2026 Arizona Fall League season! pic.twitter.com/i8pdh0OLzJ

— MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) October 3, 2026

The Desert Dogs ended up losing this one and are now off to an 0-2 start, but Sanford is a name to keep an eye on for the Bucs.

Sanford was taken in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft, and was widely regarded as somewhat of a light hitter, however, he hit 19 home runs this past season in the Minors, including 17 with Greenboro. He also had a three home run game on May 26, hitting two solo homers and a two-run dinger in a 19-13 win over Hub City.

He did play five games in Bradenton and had two homers in just 22 at-bats. He also dealt with some injuries this season, but the 20-year-old finished his Minor League season with a combined .282 average with 19 homers, 44 RBIs, and 33 stolen bases. He had a .417 OBP, .566 slugging percentage, and a .963 OPS.

While the Bucs don’t exactly have a glaring need for a shortstop, with Konnor Griffin slotted there for the foreseeable future, Sanford is the exact type of infielder that could work as a utility guy and backup for Griffin — strong defense, quick, and improving as a hitter.

You’ll likely see Sanford above Greensboro and in Altoona this coming season, and he’s a name to keep an eye for the future after a strong start to the Arizona Fall League.

The Chicago White Sox take a 1-0 American League Division series lead into Game 2 on Monday, Oct. 5 against the Cleveland Guardians, being played at Progressive Field after an off day Sunday.

The White Sox won 3-0 in the first game of the best-of-five series in Cleveland with a dominant pitching performance and a huge home run from rookie Munetaka Murakami. The series shifts to Chicago for Game 3 on Wednesday and Game 4, if necessary, on Thursday.

"We still like where we're at," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Sunday. "We still have a great opportunity ahead of us to even the series tomorrow and go to Chicago with a chance to win it."

Left-hander Anthony Kay starts for the White Sox with Gavin Williams taking the mound for the Guardians in Game 2. Making its first postseason appearance since 2021, Chicago has won all three of its postseason games after sweeping the AL wild card series against the Houston Astros.

How to watch White Sox vs Guardians: TV channel, streaming

• Time: 5 p.m. ET
• TV channel: TBS
• Streaming: Sling and HBO Max

Watch MLB playoffs on Sling

What time is Guardians vs White Sox game today?

First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET in Cleveland on Monday, Oct. 5.

White Sox vs Guardians schedule

• Game 1 (Saturday, Oct. 3): White Sox 3, Guardians 0
• Game 2 (Monday, Oct. 5): At Cleveland, 5 p.m. ET
• Game 3 (Wednesday, Oct. 7): At Chicago, 4 p.m. ET
• Game 4 (Thursday, Oct. 8)*: At Chicago, 5 p.m. ET
• Game 5 (Saturday, Oct. 10)*: At Cleveland, 5 p.m. ET

Guardians vs White Sox predictions

• Bob Nightengale: Guardians in 5
• Gabe Lacques: Guardians in 4
• Kristie Ackert: White Sox in 5
• Jesse Yomtov: Guardians in 3

MLB World Series winners

• 2025: Los Angeles Dodgers (def. Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3)
• 2024: Los Angeles Dodgers (def. New York Yankees, 4-1)
• 2023: Texas Rangers (def. Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-1)
• 2022: Houston Astros (def. Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2)
• 2021: Atlanta Braves (def. Houston Astros, 4-2)
• 2020: Los Angeles Dodgers (def. Tampa Bay Rays, 4-2)
• 2019: Washington Nationals (def. Houston Astros, 4-3)
• 2018: Boston Red Sox (def. Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1)
• 2017: Houston Astros (def. Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3)
• 2016: Chicago Cubs (def. Cleveland Indians, 4-3)

White Sox vs Guardians tickets

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where to watch White Sox vs Guardians today, prediction for ALDS Game 2

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NY Post | Greg Joyce: The Yankees were off on Sunday, but those who wanted to stay sharp didn’t go to Tropicana Field. Instead, they went to their own spring training facility, George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Some pitchers reportedly threw there, and some position players also used the team’s facilities to work out ahead of Game 2.

“You’ve got a full facility, our training stuff, modalities, things like that, plenty of fields to get whatever space you need,” manager Aaron Boone said on a video call Sunday. “We’ve got Trajekt for guys who want to get on that. And staying in Tampa, it’s a quick, easier back and forth.”

NY Post | Mark Suleymanov: The Yankees dropped Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday. While they won’t take the field on Monday with the season on the line, it certainly feels like it – losing Game 2 would leave them in a 0-2 hole. “It’s a must-win [game],” former captain Derek Jeter asserted during Fox Sports’ postgame coverage. Tying the series behind Cam Schlittler would certainly give New York the kind of boost they need ahead of two (hopefully) key games in the Bronx.

SNY | Anthony McCarron: Yes, Saturday’s 1-0 loss hurt. However, according to McCarron, the quality pitching showing on the Yankees’ side in the series opener plus “the looming spectre of Cam Schlittler in Game 2 (and Game 5) are all evidence that this ALDS is far from over.” Drew Rasmussen being up one more time is certainly a problem, but the Yanks have the arms to match the Rays. They do need their hitters to, well, hit.

The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: Austin Wells committed what could be a ‘season-altering’ baserunning blunder in Game 1. He hit a double off Rasmussen, the Yankees’ first hit of the night, and thought he had a chance to go for the triple. Kirschner described the moment in the words of the catcher himself.

“I put my head down and went for it,” Wells said. Wells, for a moment, loved his chances. There was one point during his race, however, that he knew he would be tagged out. “This was the chance I was going to take with the game on the line,” he said. “I thought it kicked pretty favorably in my way.”

On Friday, Baseball America published a spotlight of 25 prospects who’ve added significantly to their exit velocities in 2026. At the bottom of the post is a list of all 162 prospects in baseball who added at least 2mph to their 90th percentile exit velocity between last season and this one. The 90th percentile is an important metric, because almost all softly hit balls go for outs, and it’s how hard a batter’s hard hit are that mostly separate sluggers from slap hitters.

Nine Jays prospects made the list (in addition to Arjun Nimmala, who’s an Angel now but probably owes his gains to work done while he was with the Jays organization). Only the Cardinals (11) and Dodgers (10) has more of their batters add major strength this year. The team has invested a lot in their strength and conditioning program as part of the redevelopment of the Florida complex, and that seems to be paying off. They’ve been singled out as a top organization in that area by multiple prospect experts, most recently Fangraphs’ Brendan Gawlowski. Below, I’ve briefly profiled each of the nine players who made a jump.

The AA Sluggers: Aaron Parker and Jace Bohrofen

Each added a bit more than 3.5mph, with Parker jumping from 106.7mph to 110.4 and Bohrofen from 105.4 to 109.3. Those are big numbers. BA’s Eli Ben-Porat looked into MLB players’ 90th percentile exit velocities in the 2023 seas on to develop rules of thumb for translating the numbers into power scouting grades. He found that most big leaguers cluster around 104mph, making that a 50 on the 20-10 scale. Each mile per hour is a half grade (5 points). 110mph is an 80, the top of the scale. It’s the land of Yordans Alvarez and Aarons Judge. Parker crushes the ball, and Bohrofen is just behind him in the realm of Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and, well, Vlad.

Neither player is a top prospect in spite of all that juice, however, because of issues with their approaches and contact ability. Parker got the bat on the ball just under 67% of the time this season, while Bohrofen managed an abysmal 62%. Both represent 20 grade contact, and would surely go down farther against MLB calibre pitching. They each take some walks, but that’s more a factor of wild AA pitching than particularly strong plate discipline.

Both players, then, have an exciting carrying tool but will need major strides in the other aspects of hitting to be able to use it at the top level.

Getting to Average: Dub Gleed, J.R. Freethy, Nick Goodwin, Alexis Hernandez and Jean Joseph

All of these players jumped from between 101 and 102mph to between 104 and 105, or 30-35 to 50 on the scouting scale. Gleed and Freethy were both later picks in the 2024 draft, with the former going to the Marlins in the 9th and the latter the Blue Jays in the 14th. Gleed was eventually the trade return for Leo Jimenez when he was squeezed off the 40 man roster this spring. Goodwin was drafted one year earlier. All three are infielders in the upper minors with above average contact skills, solid approaches, and no slam dunk position. With 35 level raw power that profile is just above an org player, the kind of guy who gets hidden on the back half of a AAA roster. With average power, they have a shot to fit as bat first bench infielders that can add a little actual value in MLB. It’s not a thrilling profile, but you need players of this type. 25 different players took a PA for the Jays this past season. When the time comes, it’s nice to have a player who can offer a little pop at the back of the lineup.

Hernandez is a deep, deep sleeper. He was acquired from the Red Sox in the AAA portion of the 2023 Rule 5 draft, which is typically mostly a way to fill out organizational role players. He’s spent the last three seasons slowly climbing the ladder, culminating in a month at AA this past year. He raised his 90th percentile EV from 102.5mph to 104.9 this season, to solid average. Combined with a swing that generates a lot of line drives up the middle, solid contact numbers and a semblance of an approach, that allowed him to put up a career best 132 wRC+. He’s not a major prospect by any stretch, and you have to take a 23 year old’s results against mostly 21 year olds in A+ with a grain of salt, but a guy who plays all three outfield positions and has some offensive tools is worth noting. This season moves him from firmly an org guy to someone who might see an outfield call up if he can consolidate his improvement with a full season in the upper minors in 2027.

Joseph is younger than the other three, at just 21. He jumped straight to A ball as a teenager in 2024 and has held his own at that level over the past three seasons. After losing some time to injury, he got his first taste of A+ late this year. A .153 BABIP masks a strong performance, as he struck out just 13.6% of the time and launched four home runs and seven total extra base hits in 81 PA. His contact rate took a step forward this season and is now plus. He’s always had a strong approach, and has been noted for some speed in the past (although he moved from centre to primarily right field this year). Pair all that with now average thump, and there are the ingredients for a real player. Keep an eye on him as a breakout candidate next year.

A Young Player Flexing his Potential: Aldo Gaxiola

Gaxiola is a 20 year old who signed as an international free agent out of Mexico without much fanfare in May of 2023. He spent two years in the Domincan Summer League and then last season at the American complex before debuting in real games with Dunedin this summer. It was technically his age 20 season, although with a mid-June birthday he was still among the younger players at the level. That didn’t stop him from posting a 106.9mph 90th percentile exit velocity, which would be comfortably plus at the MLB level. He looks solid and physically mature for his age, but given how young he is there’s potential for 70 or better raw power once he’s fully grown up. Right now, there’s a lot of work for Gaxiola to do if that thump is going to carry him to the major leagues. He chased too much and made too little contact this season, and he’ll need to learn to elevate the ball a bit more to turn his strength into production. As he’s already in the process of moving to first base the offensive bar he has to clear is going to be high. Near-elite raw power is a great cornerstone of a prospect profile, though, and he’ll bear close watching this coming season.

The Top Prospect: Sean Keys

I’ve been beating the drum on Keys all season. He was our #17 prospect entering the season after a decent year at A+, and got a pretty cautious write-up from Matt, noting some issues with swing and miss and defensive limitations that would require him to prove it at every level. Well, prove it he did, launching 14 home runs in just 49 games in a brief stop at AA before producing even better after a promotion to Buffalo. His 165 wRC+ was the best in the entire minor leagues among players who got at least 400 PA. His cameo in MLB went poorly, as he got over-aggressive and posted just a 57 wRC+ with too many strikeouts and few walks. The underlying proof of his talent was still there, though, with great bat speed numbers, a 54% hard hit rate and 10% barrel rate, and a contact rate that stood up surprisingly well to top level pitching. His 107.1mph 90th percentile EV is just confirmation of all that then: he upped his power from solid average to easy plus while retaining the ability to make enough good quality contact for it to play. He’ll need to continue to refine his approach, but I’m a true believer and think he’ll hit enough to be a solid regular even at first base or DH.

LOS ANGELES — In the shadows of Hollywood, where stars are born, dreams are made, and the outrageous becomes conceivable, say hello to that baseball team that could out of Atlanta.

Let’s be honest, no one gave Atlanta a prayer against the mighty and powerful Los Angeles Dodgers in this National League Division Series.

It was supposed to be a glorified bye for the Dodgers, who just 48 hours ago, were talking about setting up their starting rotation for the National League Championship Series.

Now, they’re not even guaranteed playing another game at Dodger Stadium.

Atlanta, made the decision to give 37-year-old Cy Young winner Chris Sale ample rest and go with a bullpen game for the third consecutive contest, facing two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell.

Atlanta started 32-year-old rookie Ray Kerr, who was in the foster care system as a kid. He worked at the local 7-Eleven and cleaned movie theaters to make ends meet as a junior college player in Reno. They used 21-year-old Didier Fuentes, the youngest pitcher in baseball, to retire 11 consecutive batters – the longest streak by a reliever that young in postseason history. And they relied on Atlanta native Michael Harris II to provide the offense, who singled, doubled, tripled, scored and drove in a run.

When the evening ended, Atlanta had a 3-2 victory at Dodger Stadium, and they headed back to their Beverly Hills hotel with a flight back home Monday, leading this best-of-five National League Division Series at 1-1.

Well, technically the series is tied, but with a rested Sale – who shut out the Dodgers in August – ready to pitch Game 3, and Tyle Mahle, who has been baseball’s biggest trade deadline acquisition (4-1, 1.99 ERA) scheduled in Game 4, no wonder they feel like they’re leading the series.

Certainly, no one in the Atlanta clubhouse dared to say they were in the driver’s seat, knowing that World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamato is lined up to pitch Game 3 for the Dodgers, with Tyler Glasnow in Game 4 and two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal for a potential Game 5.

The Dodgers are the two-time defending World Series champions for a reason.

Yet, all of a sudden, they appear a bit vulnerable.

“We’re feeling pretty good," Atlanta DH Rowdy Tellez tells USA TODAY Sports. “It’s big getting the split here and going back to our place. We know we’re going to be facing Yamamoto, so to have our best counterpart go against counterpoint, I think is going to be good for us.  We also saw a lot of their pitchers, so that puts us in a good spot."

Says outfielder Mike Yastrzemski: “I think in a realistic world, coming in there and leaving at 1-1, was a really good scenario for us to be able to take that home. This is not an easy place to play, especially in the playoffs, and it’s not an easy team to beat. So, to leave here 1-1 and have Sale going is awesome. It’s nice that he got rest, too."

After throwing 24 pitches in relief on Thursday, Atlanta wanted a fresh, well-rested Sale, for Game 3, gambling it would work.

It worked, just like a Hollywood script, with Weiss purposely holding back his top leverage relievers for Sunday once they were losing Game 1.

“I think losing the way we did [Saturday]," Weiss said, “allowed us to do what we did tonight and gain the split."

But, of course, who knew that it would be as simple as Fuentes entering the game in the sixth inning, and watching him come within one out of closing it out. He was one strike away from completing the four-out save before giving up a home run to Max Muncy before Raisel Iglesias stepped in for the final out, getting Josue De Paula to pop out.

“It wasn't the plan, believe me," Weiss said. “When I went to him in the sixth, I was thinking I've got to get the last four innings between him and Iglesias. To be honest with you, I thought it would probably be most likely two and two, but Didi was throwing the ball so well, I didn't want to mess with that. He was throwing the ball really well. ... I don't want to get in the way of a good thing."

Fuentes said when he became the fifth Atlanta pitcher in the game, he had no idea how long he’d go. He was just going to keep on pitching until someone told him to stop.

“It was super emotional, very exciting, against the Dodgers no less," he said. “It’s been nice to be able to gain that confidence throughout the whole season, and just gain that experience as well. The message stays the same. Whenever you need me, just let me know, and I’ll do whatever the team needs."

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The Dodgers were trying to tell themselves in the clubhouse before leaving for Atlanta that at least they’ve seen all of Atlanta’s relievers in the first two games. They not only have all of the scouting reports, but they’ve seen the pitchers with their own eyes.

Now, they just have to execute.

“We need to get going offensively," said Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts. “It’s not going to be easy, but I mean we knew that from the beginning. We know it’s going to be a tough matchup, no matter who’s on the mound."

The Dodgers know they just need to win one game in Atlanta to assure that at the least, the series returns to Dodger Stadium, where two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal would pitch in Game after dominating Atlanta in the series opener.

“Look, we've got to face more Cy Young Award winners for them," Weiss said. “Every starter on their staff is a Cy Young guy. It doesn't get any easier, but I like the fact that we go back home even and we have Chris Sale.

“We're in a good position."

And, yes, besides Sale and Mahle scheduled the next two games, they also have Kerr.

Kerr, who helped Atlanta beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card round by starting and pitching 3 ½ shutout innings in their deciding Game 3, stepped up again and delivered.

“Ray Kerr is amazing, man," Weiss said. “He did it again for us, just amazing. There always seems to be some unsung heroes in the postseason. Ray's definitely one of them.’’

Said Kerr: “You know, it’s been fun, it’s very exciting, and like overnight I’ve got like a thousand followers on Instagram. So, I’m getting used to it. I’m just going to be myself.’’

But if Atlanta can pull off this stunning upset, stopping the Dodgers from becoming only the third franchise to win three consecutive World Series, their entire team will be remembered forever.

Hollywood awaits.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Atlanta's Cy Young gambit pays off with sucker punch to Dodgers in NLDS

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LOS ANGELES – Dave Roberts had every reason to feel good going into Game 2 of the NLDS on Sunday. The Los Angeles Dodgers had just powered their way to a 5-3 series-opening win over the Atlanta Braves the day before behind homers from Teoscar Hernández, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy and a six-inning gem from Tarik Skubal. And with the Braves opting for a second straight bullpen game and Blake Snell set to start, it looked as if the Dodgers were about to take a chokehold on the series.

But things went awry almost instantly at Dodger Stadium.

Snell walked Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies back to back after Ronald Acuña Jr. got on base with a one-out single. The former Cy Young winner needed 27 pitches to get out of that bases-loaded jam in the first inning and limited the damage to just one run, but 90 pitches in just 3⅔ innings later, Snell was out of the game. The Dodgers went through six relievers in a 3-2 loss to Atlanta in what turned out to be a bullpen game of their own.

"He just was fighting himself with his delivery all game," Roberts said. "The fastball was really good. The change-up was good at times. I think in total didn't have fastball command, didn't have slider command, and the change-up wasn't there. He was pulling it. ... He just wasn't sharp tonight."

The metrics on Snell all looked good on Sunday. His velocity across all four pitches was up as he drew 12 whiffs in his outing, leading all pitchers. Crucially, his velo didn't go down as the game went on, so there was nothing in the numbers to suggest that Snell was still dealing with the left groin tightness that pulled him after just one inning in his penultimate start of the season in Cincinnati on Sept. 16. While Roberts admitted he didn't think Snell looked sharp when he pitched four innings in San Francisco in his return to the mound on Sept. 26, he still felt good coming out of it.

He was encouraged further when he threw an inning earlier this week during the bye.

"There were no concerns," Roberts said.

Where things went wrong was Snell's inability to find the strike zone as he walked five batters. His induced vertical break was down across his entire arsenal, and he only threw 13 called strikes for a combined called strike plus whiff rate of 28%, just slightly lower than the 32% of all his pitches that found the zone. The command just simply wasn't there on Sunday.

Snell was unavailable to the media postgame due to a family matter, per Dodgers PR.

“He was fighting himself all game.”

Before Freddie Freeman’s game-tying solo home run, Dave Roberts spoke with @Ken_Rosenthal about Blake Snell’s outing today and what his plans are for the bullpen. pic.twitter.com/GeOO2xA1Te

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 5, 2026

What a turn of events for the Braves, though. Just when it looked like their season was about to be over, they created enough traffic on the bases to chase the Dodgers' second ace and steal a win on the road to tie the series up heading back to Atlanta, where they'll have a rested Chris Sale waiting to take the mound. Suddenly, they now have the upper hand in a series they once seemed desperately out of.

The pressure now lies on Yoshinobu Yamamoto more than it does on the 37-year-old Sale.

"We're in a good position," Braves manager Walt Weiss said. "... Look, we've got to face more Cy Young Award winners for them. Every starter on their staff is a Cy Young guy. It doesn't get any easier, but I like the fact that we go back home even and we have Chris Sale."

For the Dodgers, the inconsistent offense that plagued much of their summer reared its head again at the worst possible time. Shohei Ohtani still doesn't look right at the plate. Andy Pages is struggling in October once again, despite posting the best season of his career at the plate in 2026, which Roberts admitted has given him "a little bit" of concern. Collectively, the Dodgers left seven runners on base and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position on Sunday. No matter who's on the mound, that can't happen. Especially in the postseason.

The momentum has been snatched from the Dodgers. Yamamoto has shown he's more than capable of getting it back. But the Braves showed on Sunday this won't be the cakewalk some thought it would be.

"It's a good team offensively. They're going to fight," Roberts said. "(Michael) Harris (II) is swinging a good bat. We knew it was going to be a battle. So, we knew those guys weren't going to go down. Expecting to see Sale Game 3. We've got our work cut out. So now it's a three-game series."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blake Snell's sluggish Game 2 start was worst-case scenario for Dodgers