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The Guardians lost 6-4 to the Baltimore Orioles today

Joey Cantillo was, again, awful. He went 2 and 1/3rd and gave up four runs and five walks and hit two batters. Franco Aleman wasn’t great, either and Slade Cecconi surrendered his scheduled homer. I vote Austin Peterson gets the Cantillo starts for the rest of 2026, until such a time as Ben Lively would demonstrate his readiness.

Steven Kwan and Jo Adell had two hits and Nathaniel Lowe hit a three-run homer in the ninth. So, that’s nice to see some life.

I don’t know if this team is gonna do anything with Jose’s hand like it is, currently. But, today was the scheduled loss of this series. Let’s get these guys the next two.

MIAMI — One rough inning wasn’t going to sabotage Jonah Tong’s major league return. 

Back to the laboratory after allowing four runs in the second inning Monday, the rookie right-hander utilized a steady array of changeups and cutters for his final three frames, largely avoiding his four-seam fastball. The adjustment helped Tong finish strong. 

Tong got the win, and the Mets won for the fourth time in five games, 9-4 over the Marlins. 

This team playing for next season has started reevaluating the 23-year-old Tong, a third rookie to join Nolan McLean and Zac Thornton in the rotation. 

“Last year, I felt like a kid going out there every time, being shell-shocked,” said Tong, who started five games late in 2025. “Now, it’s more like my feet are kind of more set than they were last year and it’s just go out there and do my job.” 

Tong allowed four earned runs on four hits and one walk with a hit batsman over five innings and struck out seven. It was a welcome return to the major leagues for Tong (who had two previous stints with the club) after he pitched to a 0.84 ERA in his last four starts for Triple-A Syracuse. 

Tong’s major misstep on this day was the three-run homer he surrendered to Graham Pauley in the second inning. 

“Really pleased with the outing,” interim manager Andy Green said. “The second inning is one of those things that the only hits he gives up all day are sequenced together right there, and then the home run bites pretty hard. But to watch him be a cutthroat competitor, get back in there and go back at them for the next three innings, it was really good. 

“It’s what you want to see from him. I know he’s not going to love the line at the end of the day, with four runs coming in, but the way he pitched today is way better than that line is going to indicate.” 

Tong said he turned to his cutter and changeup (and away from his four-seamer) as the game progressed with an eye toward quicker outs. 

“It was more quality of contact and assessing that we wanted to go deeper into the game and obviously we needed to get some quicker outs,” Tong said. “It was just seeing what was in front of us.” 

A 16-hit attack carried the Mets, who were swept in three games at this ballpark Memorial Day weekend and had lost four straight here overall, including Game 162 last season, when they fell a victory short of the playoffs. 

The Mets capitalized on sloppy Miami defense to score the game’s first run. Bo Bichette hit a grounder that Javier Sanoja threw into left field while attempting to get the force at second, allowing Juan Soto to score. Bichette scored when catcher Joe Mack threw errantly to second base while attempting to nail Carson Benge stealing. 

Nick Morabito’s RBI single in the third followed a Brett Baty double and gave the Mets a 3-0 lead against Eury Pérez. 

Tong struck out the first four batters he faced before getting knocked around in the second inning. After Sanoja delivered an RBI triple, Tong walked Owen Caissie and surrendered a three-run homer to Pauley that gave the Marlins a 4-3 lead. Pauley hit a 95 mph four-seamer on the outside corner over the right field fence. 

“It wasn’t even the home run — it was more just the walk before that,” Tong said. “That kind of sucked because I can live with the hits, it’s just I can control that part with the walk. Other than that, it’s just the same thing after every pitch, and it’s really easy to just move on from that.” 

Francisco Alvarez’s RBI single in the fourth tied the game after Marcus Semien hit a leadoff double and A.J. Ewing reached on an infield single. 

Bichette’s RBI single in the fifth reclaimed the lead for the Mets. With two outs, Ewing stroked a two-run double that extended the Mets lead to 7-4. The rally started with singles by Francisco Lindor and Soto. 

Semien’s RBI double in the sixth widened the Mets lead to 8-4 before Ewing delivered his third hit of the game, an RBI single. 

“I thought we were great up and down the lineup,” Green said. 

Padres fans have already shown what they are willing to endure for a coveted giveaway. Joe Musgrove’s wizard makeover could test that restraint again.

San Diego will celebrate Harry Potter Day during Monday’s Labor Day game against the Nationals, with a limited-edition “School of Pitchcraft and Wizardry” Musgrove bobblehead anchoring the promotion.

The collectible is available only through a designated Theme Game package, not with a standard ticket.

One Musgrove bobblehead presale was marked sold for $50 before the promotion. Other Harry Potter-themed MLB collectibles have commanded more. Aaron Judge versions from the Yankees’ 2026 event were marked sold for $75 and $99.99, while a Drake Baldwin-Braves edition was offered for $99.99 with at least one sold.

Listings do not guarantee future value, but the market suggests Musgrove may quickly graduate from souvenir to resale inventory.

The Padres already know how feverish demand can become.

Their April puffer-vest giveaway, advertised for the first 40,000 fans, descended into pushing and fights after popular sizes reportedly ran out. Viral videos showed employees struggling to control the surge, while delays caused some fans to miss the beginning of the game. The Padres subsequently apologized.

Harry Potter Day uses a package-ticket system, which should make the supply easier to manage. Fans can still expect costumes, house scarves and a ballpark atmosphere designed to resemble a different kind of school.

There is also a small Southern California coincidence. A 290-foot superyacht reportedly owned by “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling recently docked at Marina del Rey with its name concealed. Rowling has not confirmed that she is in California, and there is no known connection between the vessel and the Padres’ event.

The real attraction remains in San Diego, where fans do not need an owl, wand or sorting ceremony to obtain Musgrove’s bobblehead.

They need the correct ticket package — and, considering the Padres’ recent giveaway history, an early arrival would not hurt.

Here’s how cursed the Angels remain, no matter the owners (for now): Brayan Bello started today’s game and went 5 innings with 7Ks and without allowing a run. The last time he did anything comparable to that at home this year was all the way back on May 22nd, when he shut out the Twins over 5 with 5 Ks, back when the Sox were just the worst. Now they’re good, and they proved it in the 2nd inning against Grayson Rodriguez, with a warmup solo shot from Jarren Duran:

Followed by the main event, a three-run stealth bullet from Adley:

Bring us 6 tomorrow, fellas.

The Nats suffered from familiar problems this weekend against the Dodgers, with the bullpen up to their usual tricks. However, they have a chance to bounce back and be spoilers against the Padres. The Friars are deep in the wild card hunt, but the Nats have a chance to put a dent in their playoff dreams.

Blake Butera is shaking up his lineup today. CJ Abrams is back at shortstop due to Nasim Nunez’s offensive struggles. That moves Jorbit Vivas to second base. The outfield consists of Dylan Crews, Jacob Young and James Wood with Daylen Lile at DH. Abi Ortiz will be at first base and Keibert Ruiz is behind the plate. Jake Irvin will be on the bump.

Some Padres mainstays such as Tatis, Machado, Merrill and Bogaerts are in the lineup. However, we will see a new face with 20 year old Ethan Salas starting behind the plate. Despite all these big names, Ty France has probably been the Padres best hitter this season. Nick Pivetta will be making his first big league start since April 12th.

Game Info:

Stadium: Petco Park

Time: 5:10 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Playing the Padres is always exciting given the history between these two teams. Seeing James Wood and CJ Abrams spoil their playoff dreams would be awfully exciting. However, they will need some help from the bullpen. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

Jonah Tong earned the win in his first big league start of 2026, as the Mets bested the Marlins 9-4 in this series opener at loanDepot Park by taking advantage of some shoddy defensive work by Miami.

The Mets handed Tong a lead to work with right away, assisted heavily by the Marlins’ defense. With one out, Juan Soto lined a single up the middle that narrowly missed hitting Eury Pérez, which would have been potentially catastrophic given how hard the ball was struck. Bo Bichette then hit a grounder to second and rather than getting the sure out at first, Javier Sanoja tried to get the lead runner Soto at second, but he threw wildly and the ball went sailing into left field and all the way into foul territory, allowing Soto to score all the way from second base for the game’s first run and Bichette to reach second. Pérez then walked Carson Benge, but got Marcus Semien to fly out to right for the second out. Benge then stole second base and the Marlins made their second costly errant throw of the inning when catcher Joe Mack sailed the throw into center field, allowing Bichette to score. Benge advanced to third on the error, but Pérez managed to limit the damage to just the two runs by getting A.J. Ewing to ground out to end the inning.

Jonah Tong responded by striking out the side in the bottom of the first to send the offense right back out there and they scored for Tong again. In fact, the Mets scored in each of five of the first six innings of the game. With one out, Brett Baty scorched a double to the gap in left-center. Nick Morabito then laced a single up the middle to score Baty and extend the Mets’ lead to 3-0. The Mets would load the bases on walks to Soto and Bichette, but Pérez once again managed to limit the damage.

Tong’s only tough inning came in the bottom of the second. Things started promisingly enough when he struck out Otto López—not an easy man to strike out—for his fourth straight K. But then things unraveled for Tong rather quickly. He gave up a single to Jakob Marsee for the Marlins’ first hit and Sanoja made up for his earlier defensive miscue with a triple to plate Miami’s first run. Tong then walked Owen Caissie and Grant Pauley socked a three-run homer to put the Marlins in front. Tong stopped the bleeding there, retiring the next two batters—the latter via another strikeout—but he had coughed up the early lead the Mets had given him.

However, the Marlins’ lead was short-lived, as the Mets tied the game in the third and took the lead in the fourth, after which they didn’t look back. Marcus Semien led off the third inning with a double and then the Mets benefited from another lapse in the field by the Marlins when A.J. Ewing hit a grounder between first and second on which Griffin Conine made a nice diving stop, but Eury Pérez failed to get over to cover first base, allowing Ewing to reach safely. Ewing eventually gave the out back by getting picked off and not staying in the rundown long enough to score Semien, who had advanced to third on the play. However, now without a runner on first, the Marlins brought their infield in and Francisco Alvarez hit a sharp grounder past the drawn in infield for a game-tying single. Tong only needed six pitches to retire the Marlins in the bottom of the third and the Mets put up a crooked number in his favor in the fourth—again with some help from the Marlins’ defense. Francisco Lindor led things off by blooping a single in front of a diving Caissie. Soto then hit a screamer right at López, but the 111 mph rope ate him up and deflected off of him into center field, advancing Lindor to third. Bo Bichette then laced an opposite field single to drive in Lindor and retake the lead 5-4. It looked like Pérez was poised to avoid a big inning again, as he bounced back to get Carson Benge to ground into a fielder’s choice at second and Semien to pop out in foul territory. But then A.J. Ewing, who continues to break out of his slump, blooped a double just fair down the left field line to score both runners and extend the Mets’ lead to 7-4.

Tong delivered another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth as he settled into the game and Cade Gibson came in the game in relief of Pérez for the Marlins and provided a rare scoreless frame for Miami. All told, Pérez gave up an unsightly seven runs on ten hits in just four innings. Only five of those runs were earned, but one could certainly argue that an even greater proportion were due to defensive plays that weren’t called errors, but should have been made. Meanwhile, Tong worked around a one-out hit by pitch in the fifth to become the pitcher of record and got handshakes in the dugout for a start the final line of which looked a lot worse than it actually was. In reality, the outing amounted to one bad inning that Tong managed to battle through and still keep his team in the game, striking out seven batters while walking only one.

The Mets piled on in the sixth against Josh Ekness. With one out, Carson Benge singled to right. Marcus Semien then laced a double down the left field line to drive him in and Ewing followed with a single to score Semien and make it a 9-4 game in the Mets’ favor. Ekness threw a wild pitch to advance Ewing to second and walked Francisco Alvarez before retiring Baty and Morabito to end the inning. The Marlins threatened in the bottom of the sixth against Dedniel Núñez when López and Jakob Marsee reached via back-to-back infield singles, but Marcus Semien made an excellent play on a grounder by Sanoja to turn a 4-4-3 double play. Núñez then struck out Caissie to escape the inning unscathed.

Chris Devenski was tasked with the bottom of the seventh for the Mets and worked around a hit by pitch and wild pitch with a couple of strikeouts to keep the Marlins off the board. Meanwhile, Bradley Blalock worked two scoreless innings for the Marlins in relief. Daniel Duarte pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning for the Mets in his first outing in five days. The Mets loaded the bases in the top of the ninth with nobody out against Blalock in his third inning of relief on a walk and two choppers by Morabito and Lindor that both went for infield hits, but then Soto hit a sharp grounder to Sanoja and this time the drawn in infield was to the Marlins’ benefit, as Sanoja whipped an excellent throw home for the first out and Soto was thrown out at first for the double play. Sanoja followed that great play with another web gem when Bo Bichette followed with a grounder up the middle on which Sanoja made a leaping throw to get Bichette by a stride at first.

Austin Warren was able to bounce back from his rough outing against the Giants to pitch a scoreless ninth inning to cap off four scoreless innings of relief for the Mets’ bullpen to seal the victory. He issued a leadoff walk to Javier Sanoja, but struck out the next two batters Caissie and Pauley looking and then picked Sanoja off first base to end the game.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, +26% WPA
Big Mets loser: Jonah Tong, -15% WPA
Mets pitchers: -8% WPA
Mets hitters: +58% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: A.J. Ewing’s RBI double in the fifth, +18.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Grant Pauley’s go-ahead three-run homer off Jonah Tong in the second, -22.5% WPA

The Mets racked up 16 hits to take the first game of a three-game series against the Miami Marlins, 9-4, on Monday afternoon.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- New York took advantage of some poor defense by Miami in the first inning, scoring two unearned runs. Juan Soto was able to score from first base on Bo Bichette's grounder to second, as Javier Sanoja sailed the throw into no-man's land in left field. Bichette later scored easily from third base to make it 2-0 on another throwing error, this time by catcher Joe Mack trying to get Carson Benge stealing second base.

-- Brett Baty ripped a double to center field with one out in the second inning, giving him four straight games with an extra-base hit. He then came around to score on Nick Morabito's single to extend the lead to 3-0. 

-- Jonah Tong, making his first start of the season, allowed four runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and one walk over 5.0 IP (87 pitches).

Tong struck out the side in the first inning, becoming just the third Met to do it this year (joining Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean). Although, the second inning was the complete opposite. He struck out his fourth straight to open the frame, but then let up a single, RBI-triple, walk, and three-run HR to Graham Pauley as the Marlins took a 4-3 lead.

The 23-year-old rebounded with a 1-2-3 third inning, followed by four-batter fourth and fifth innings to be in place for the win.

--The Mets fought back in the third inning as Marcus Semien won an ABS challenge to extend his at-bat and doubled, then A.J. Ewing reached first on an infield single to give them runners on the corners. Ewing made a rookie mistake and was caught in rundown trying to steal second, although Semien stayed at third base. Francisco Alvarez then came through and drove him in to tie it up at 4-4.

The top three of the order recorded three straight singles in the fourth, as Bichette earned the RBI and put New York back up, 5-4. Ewing made up for his mistake earlier, slicing a two-out, two-run double down the left field line to push the lead to 7-4.

-- After Benge singled with one out in the sixth, Semien drove him in with an RBI-double. Ewing added on again with an RBI-single, extending the lead to 9-4.

-- New York's bullpen carried the baton after Tong's day was done: Dedniel Núñez, Chris Devenski, Daniel Duarte, and Austin Warren combined to throw four scoreless innings of relief, allowing just two hits (both against Núñez). Warren capped it off with an impressive pick off to Baty at first to end the game.

Game MVP: A.J. Ewing

The rookie recorded his first three-hit game since Aug. 7, going 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI.

Highlights 

Bad fundies by the Marlins and Juan Soto comes all the way around to score from first on the throwing error! pic.twitter.com/evRWDggEom

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

The Mets score their second run of the inning on another Marlins throwing error pic.twitter.com/ynbcnksekZ

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

Jonah Tong strikes out the first batter he faces today pic.twitter.com/LDpPm4WhPW

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

Jonah Tong gets two more Ks to strike out the side in the first! pic.twitter.com/NTIrLGYnNu

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

A fourth-straight game with an extra-base hit for Brett Baty!

It's his 20th double of the season pic.twitter.com/AIMSXKP57X

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

Nick Morabito with an RBI single and moves up to second on the throw! pic.twitter.com/ApBEo4tkt9

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

Francisco Alvarez ties the game at 4-4 with an RBI single pic.twitter.com/kqm70eaSS1

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

Bo Bichette drives in Francisco Lindor to give the Mets a 5-4 lead pic.twitter.com/l8q1DKd3UF

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

A.J. Ewing slices a double the other way to drive in a pair to give the Mets a 7-4 lead! pic.twitter.com/BeaPWioVGp

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

Marcus Semien with an RBI double as Carson Benge scores all the way from first! pic.twitter.com/hLbKKVXd8k

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

A.J. Ewing with his third hit and third RBI of the day to make it 9-4 Mets! pic.twitter.com/b5AUOTctrt

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

Austin Warren picks off Javier Sanoja to end the game! pic.twitter.com/i0Hei9rscw

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2026

Upcoming Schedule

The Mets and Marlins continue their three-game series in Miami on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. on SNY.

Sean Manaea (4-7, 4.70 ERA) takes the mound against Sandy Alcantara (13-9, 3.54 ERA).

After spending much of the past month raising questions about their offense, the Dodgers found another way to make history.

Mookie Betts completed a three-game sweep of the Nationals on Sunday by crushing a two-out, three-run homer in the eighth inning, turning a 5-4 deficit into a 7-5 victory. Will Dion retired the first two batters before Alex Call singled and Tommy Edman walked, bringing Betts to the plate.

It was an improbable repeat of the previous night.

Trailing 4-2 in the seventh Saturday, Los Angeles received a one-out walk from Alex Freeland and a two-out single from Kiké Hernández. Edman then drove Clayton Beeter’s 2-1 slider into the right field seats for the decisive blow in a 6-5 win.

According to OptaSTATS, the Dodgers became the first MLB team to hit a two-out, game-winning homer worth at least three runs while trailing in the seventh inning or later in consecutive games.

That resilience offers another reason to believe Los Angeles can complete its World Series three-peat. The Dodgers have won four straight after losing six of eight, and the streak has come with Shohei Ohtani missing four games because of left knee and right biceps discomfort.

There is an obvious qualifier.

The rallies came against the lowly Nationals, who fell to 67-78 with their fourth consecutive loss. Washington sits only one game above the Mets in the NL East cellar, and the Dodgers finished their season series against the Nationals 6-0.

Beating Washington does not erase the offensive problems that threatened the Dodgers’ hold on a first-round bye. They entered Sunday only one game ahead of Atlanta for the National League’s second seed after producing a bottom-10 OPS over the previous 30 days.

October will offer less forgiving opponents. Still, the Dodgers did not need ideal circumstances, a healthy Ohtani or more than one remaining out to reverse either game.

Washington offered limited resistance, but Betts and Edman supplied something the reigning champions can carry into the postseason: evidence that Los Angeles is never entirely out of a game.

Washington Nationals (67-78) at San Diego Padres (75-68), September 7, 2026, 2:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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In 143 games this season, the Colorado Rockies have 146 pinch-hit at-bats. While the PH lineup changes have only happened in 92 games, meaning there are often multiple pinch hitters per game, the approach marks a massive change in Colorado.

Over the last five seasons, the Rockies have trended upward on MLB leaderboards for pinch-hit at-bats. Since 2022, here’s where Colorado has ranked:

• 2022 — 30
• 2023 — 16
• 20204 — T-28
• 2025 — 14
• 2026 — 5

The difference is drastic to move from last in MLB to fifth.

Obviously, this coincides with Warren Schaeffer taking over as manager. Being put in charge after 40 games in 2025, Schaeffer immediately increased how often the Rockies used a pinch hitter. In his first season, in 122 games, plus the 40 from Bud Black, the Rockies did very well in the pinch-hitting department. As a team, they slashed .260/.325/.442 with 27 hits, five homers, and 16 RBIs.

This season, the Rockies have already pinch hit in eight more games and had 42 more at-bats than they did in 2025, but they aren’t quite seeing the same production at .233/.285/.308. Those numbers are well below Colorado’s team batting line of .254/.324/.417.

At the same time, the 34 hits are tied for the second-most in MLB, while ranking No. 5 in at-bats.

Across baseball, whether it’s the pressure or not being in the groove of the game or the fact that pinch hitters are usually bench players, pinch hitters don’t have as good of numbers as everyday players. The median batting average is .209. The Rockies batting average is in the top half at No. 11, the OBP and slugging are both in the lower half at No. 19.

Schaeffer has used 19 different pinch hitters this season, so the sample size is pretty small per player.

Troy Johnston is the most often-used pinch hitter and he’s gone 5-for-15 with two doubles, three RBI, two walks and seven strikeouts. The best pich hitter overall is the Rockies best hitter in TJ Rumfield, who’s gone 4-for-8 with a double and two RBI. No surprise there — whatever the situation is, Rumfield rakes.

In the Rockies 10-8 loss on Sunday, Hunter Goodman, Connor Norby, and Zac Veen all pinch hit and did fairly well. In the ninth inning, Goodman was hit by a pitch, and Veen singled. Both came around to score when Jake McCarthy hit a single. Norby went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts, but the pinch hitters did their job in the final frame.

Perhaps the best pinch-hit performance came on June 11 when rookie Sterlin Thompon connected for a PH single to help the Rockies walk-off the Cubs 3-2.

The Rockies have an impressive history when it comes to pinch hitters. John Vander Wal set the MLB record at the time when he recorded 28 pinch hits in 1995 for the Rockies. Pat Valakia became a fan favorite in 2017 when he posted 12 extra base hits and drove in 16 runs as a PH. In 2019, Raimel Tapia hit not one, but two pinch hit grand slams. For Vander Wal and Valakia, they were important pieces of playoff teams.

While the Rockies numbers may not jump off the board, they are decent. Perhaps more importantly, Colorado is establishing itself as a team that plays to analytics to favor the matchup and the moment by using pinch hitters. As they slowly improve as a team, perhaps they can find their next Vander Wal or Valakia. Maybe that guy is already in the Rockies organization.

Only more at-bats will tell.

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