ANAHEIM, Calif. — As ugly as Monday night was for the Yankees, Tuesday was much cleaner, if still not perfect.
There was Spencer Jones, who went deep for the second time in as many nights, reached base four times and drove in three runs to keep showing he deserves at-bats even once the Yankees are whole.
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There was Jazz Chisholm Jr., who went back-to-back with Jones in the first inning on the way to a three-hit night, offering more hope his recent hot streak is a sign of things to come down the stretch.
And there was Gerrit Cole, pitching in his backyard and building on a strong stretch in which he’s continued to look like himself before his bullpen picked him up.
The Yankees wasted some chances to fully blow the game open and make things even more comfortable late, but they did enough to get back on track with a 7-3 win over the lowly but newly sold Angels at Angel Stadium.
“Scoring in the first in any game, especially a game bouncing back after a loss, is huge,” Jones said. “Just being able to play with a lead for the majority of the game and bring the offense early is big for the team.”
Bouncing back from an error-filled, 10-1 letdown in Monday’s series opener, the Yankees (79-60) kicked off the final month of the regular season by staying 4 ¹/₂ games back of the Rays for the division with 23 games left to play, while moving back to four games ahead of the Red Sox for the top AL wild card.
Cole’s night ended on a sour note, when he gave up a two-run triple to Christian Moore with one out in the sixth inning that pulled the Angels within 4-3.
But Brent Headrick came on to leave the tying run at third, now having stranded 38 of 42 inherited runners this season.
Spencer Jones belts a two-run homer in the first inning of the Yankees’ 7-3 win over the Angels on Sept. 1, 2026 in Anaheim, Calif. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The Yankees then created some breathing room late — a rally started by Jones’ second walk of the night and Chisholm’s third hit — as the scuffling Trent Grisham (2-for-42) fouled off a pair of bunt attempts before roping a single for the 5-3 lead off lefty reliever Samy Natera Jr.
“That’s everyone doing a little something tonight,” manager Aaron Boone said.
After Paul Goldschmidt added a pinch-hit sacrifice fly, Jones made it 7-3 in the ninth inning with a left-on-left single to plate Cody Bellinger, who recorded three of the Yankees’ 14 hits.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. rounds the bases after hitting a solo homer in the first inning of the Yankees’ win over the Angels. Getty Images
“[Jones] is a great player, he’s a great kid,” Chisholm said of the right fielder who is batting .348 with a 1.044 OPS over his past 15 games. “We’ve heard about him for years and now he’s getting a chance to show it. I’m really happy for him.”
The late runs allowed Boone to use new reliever John Schreiber for the bottom of the ninth — after Headrick and Paul Blackburn each recorded four outs — and the side-armer delivered a 1-2-3 frame to close it out.
Cole entered the night having pitched to a 2.41 ERA in six career starts at Angel Stadium, where he grew up going to games near his home in Newport Beach.
Gerrit Cole allowed three runs in 5 ¹/₃ innings and picked up the win to improve to 8-7 on the season. Getty Images
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But when the Yankees made their annual trip here last season, in late May, Cole was still not yet throwing as he recovered from Tommy John surgery.
Now, he is 18 starts back from the major elbow surgery with a 3.29 ERA, looking primed for the stretch run.
“I’m very excited for him and Carlos [Rodón] and really the pitching staff for the Yankees, because these guys are going into the primes of their season in the playoffs,” superagent Scott Boras, who counts Cole and Rodón among his many clients, said before the game from his field-level suite. “Normally you’ve spent 190 innings, 180, and you got to get through the playoffs. But they have three starters [Cole, Rodón and Max Fried] that are very, very fresh — and veteran starters, on top of it. So it gives them an advantage few teams have.”
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 01:Spencer Jones #78 of the New York Yankees reacts after hitting a solo homerun during the first inning of a game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 01, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Spencer Jones was, is, and will always be an enigma. He’s an incredibly divisive player, one who dazzles with his pure athleticism at his hulking size, with true light-tower power, all with an Achilles heel of struggling mightily to make contact. He’s a true four-tool player and will test the absolute limits of just how good a player with those tools can be, with arguably the most important tool completely missing from his toolshed.
Jones has had his highs and lows this season, but the reality is that he’s steadily improved over the course of the season, particularly after each promotion. He’s getting by with his clear weaknesses, while not looking overmatched against velocity or left-handed pitching, two things that always were his bugaboos in the minors. Tonight in Anaheim, as September 1st bled into September 2nd, he was the catalyst in a 7-3 Yankees win that washed the bad taste of Monday night out of everyone’s mouths.
The Yankees were abhorrent in the first inning in August. As a team, they slashed .138/.214/.202 with just two total runs across 27 games, both on August 26th against Houston. Well, on the first day of September, they put up three in the first inning against Grayson Rodriguez on a pair of home runs by Jones and Jazz Chisholm Jr. The former hit his second titanic shot to right-center field in as many nights, while the latter snuck an excuse-me liner inside the left-field foul pole for one of the more fascinating home runs you’ll ever see.
Gerrit Cole took the bump and looked like he might give some runs back after a leadoff double by Zach Neto, but he worked around it with strikeouts of Mike Trout and Moises Ballesteros to strand him. After Rodriguez settled down for the Angels, Cole worked around a two-out walk by Josh Lowe to put up another zero in the second.
The Yankees had scored three in the first with the long ball, but put up the fourth on a pair of singles and a double play in the third, as Ben Rice scampered home on a 3-6-3 double play from Luis García Jr. Is that a net positive play? Up to you, but it made it 4-0. The Halos got that run back in the bottom half on a Neto single, stolen base, and RBI single by Wade Meckler.
From that point on, both pitchers settled in to an extent. Rodriguez pitched around a leadoff single by Chisholm in the fourth and struck out a pair in the fifth, while Cole pitched into some trouble in the fifth before retiring Trout with two on and two out to maintain a three-run lead into the sixth.
Rodriguez started to falter again in the sixth, as a García leadoff double and four-pitch walk to Jones got him in big trouble. A strikeout of Chisholm and a long fly out by Grisham (which would’ve been a homer at Yankee Stadium and seven others) settled him down, but a walk to Ryan McMahon loaded the bases for Caballero. With the young right-hander nearing a career-high in pitch count, Caballero swung at the first pitch and grounded out to short, spoiling a big opportunity.
As if the baseball gods were punishing the Yankees for their misdeeds, the Angels came to life against Cole in the sixth. Singles by Meckler and Ballesteros on mistake pitches set up Christian Moore, who smacked a hanging slider into the right-field corner past the dive of Jones for a two-run triple, suddenly putting the tying run on third and yanking the 35-year-old ace from the game. It’s the second start in a row that Cole has unraveled in the sixth, which might be something to monitor.
Brent Headrick was tasked with being the fireman and, as usual, he did his job. He fanned the pinch-hitting Jose Siri and got Oswald Peraza to line out. In the seventh against Tayler Saucedo, Austin Wells led off with a single, stole second, and eventually got to third, but was yet another runner stranded in scoring position. Headrick got the first two outs of the bottom half before giving way to Paul Blackburn, who struck out Trout to send this to the eighth.
Samy Natera Jr. continued the parade of lefties for the Halos and also got into trouble, walking Jones on four pitches and giving up a single to Chisholm. The slumping Grisham tried to bunt, but failed twice. Facing an unenviable situation behind in the count, he laced an RBI single to left-center field to extend the lead to 5-3.
After that, McMahon dropped a beautiful bunt that Natera misplayed, loading the bases with nobody out. There was an opportunity to blow the game open, but Caballero got a 2-2 fastball blown by him to take some wind out of their sails. Paul Goldschmidt salvaged the inning with an additional run, pinch-hitting for Wells and driving a ball to center for a sac fly, making it 6-3.
Meckler, who’s starting to get annoying, led off the bottom half with a single off Blackburn, but it didn’t matter much after a Vaughn Grissom strikeout and a 6-6-3 double play by Ballesteros. The Yankees tacked on some more in the ninth off Sammy Peralta on consecutive singles by Bellinger, García, and Jones, with the latter notching another RBI to make it 7-3. McMahon walked with two outs to again load the bases, but no further damage would come.
That insurance run proved crucial, as the Yankees were able to sit down David Bednar and trot out John Schreiber to make his Yankees debut in the ninth. He had to work for it with a lot of foul balls, but won a 10-pitch battle with Moore, a nine-pitch battle with Siri, and a much easier at-bat from the pinch-hitting Adam Frazier, getting a trio of fly outs to close out the victory.
The Yankees hold serve in the AL East after the Rays’ win over the Mets, but once again move four games ahead of Boston for the top wild card after their 9-6 loss to the Mariners.
Don’t put your coffee cup away yet, folks. The Yankees will go for just their second series win at Angel Stadium since 2019 tomorrow night at 9:38 pm EST. It’s Cam Schlittler toeing the slab against Reid Detmers on Prime Video.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - AUGUST 31: Ketel Marte #4 of the Arizona Diamondbacks walks into the dugout before the MLB game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Chase Field on August 31, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I feel as though I have already written this recap about 20 times this season. The Dbacks starting pitching was able to keep the team in the game, but the offense never got going in this one as they have yet to get a hit with RISP this series.
Perhaps the tone of the day was set before the game even started when the team announced the reinforcements have finally arrived! In the form of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Blake Walston…. Yawn. Definitely not what the fans had in mind when the reinforcements kept getting brought up going into the trade deadline. Feels a lot like the game today, yawn.
Eduardo Rodriguez was ok allowing 3 runs, but labored through a couple of long innings that knocked him out of the game after just 5 innings. He threw 31 pitches in the first inning alone.
Gerardo Carillo really struggled in this one as he came in and could not throw strikes and wound up walking a batter and giving up 2 hits resulting in 3 ER. The Philles were really able to execute on offense tonight as they were able to do the job and put the ball in play with runners on base and hit sac fly RBI’s to go along with 13 hits against the Dbacks pitching staff.
The top 4 of the Dbacks order Perdomo, Carroll, Moreno, and Marte went a combined 1-15 tonight. This group flat out needs to start producing if this team is going to contend. And specifically Corbin Carroll continues to really be struggling as of late as he is just 1-9 in the series so far and 2-19 since the start of the Giants series. Its also worth noting that Carroll appeared to be grimacing while running up the line in the 6th inning and may be worth monitoring as he may be playing through something. According to Torey in the postgame, Carroll has some low back discomfort the last couple of days but in Torey’s words “its that time of the year” and is “in there tomorrow”.
The lone bright spot of this offense was Jordan Lawlar who hit a solo HR in the 5th inning. The offense as a whole collected 6 hits but went 0-4 tonight with RISP. As a team they have still not been able to get a hit with RISP this series. They have scored 2 or fewer runs in 6 of their last 9 games as this offense has disappeared when they have really needed it most. Not the time to be going cold going into September.
The Phillies are red hot winning 4 of their past 5 series and 15 of their past 17 games. The Dbacks definitely didn’t play as well as they should have, but they also are matching up with the hottest team in baseball right now. Hopefully they can at least avoid the sweep tomorrow and fortunately for them, the Padres also lost tonight. Still though, the offense has really been underwhelming the past couple of games and is a real concern moving forward.
“It was just a unique [injury],” Hagenman said Tuesday at Tropicana Field before the Mets fell to the Rays 6-2. “You kind of just have to wait for the bone to heal. It took a lot of time, which is probably the longest I have taken off from throwing.”
Hagenman will be inserted into the Mets rotation Wednesday, allowing extra rest for Christian Scott. It will provide Hagenman an opportunity to show he can potentially be part of the organizational pitching depth heading into next season.
Hagenman showed flashes last season, pitching to a 4.56 ERA in nine appearances for the team, mostly as a bulk reliever. He was given a major league contract before last season despite never having pitched above Triple-A.
Justin Hagenman, who is returning from a long-term rib injury, throws a pitch during spring training. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
In three appearances for Syracuse this season, the 29-year-old was pitching to a 2.89 ERA.
“He throws strikes — that is what he gives you,” interim manager Andy Green said. “He’s done that his entire career. He’s done that well.”
Dylan Ross, a right-handed reliever, was recalled from Syracuse.
The Mets didn’t need to make a corresponding move with rosters expanding on Sept. 1, but will have to shed a pitcher when Hagenman is added.
Green said Ross’s fastball velocity (which has approached 100 mph) and splitter are appealing.
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“He’s somebody for a while that we thought has a chance to impact this level and we’ll see what opportunity lays out there in front of him right now,” Green said.
Kodai Senga has five saves in as many chances since assuming the closer’s role with Devin Williams sidelined.
Senga had appeared in 11 games since the trade deadline, pitching to a 1.74 ERA with 12 strikeouts over 10 ¹/₃ innings during that stretch.
The Yankees got back in the win column on Tuesday night, beating the Los Angeles Angels by a score of 7-3.
Here are the takeaways...
-- New York wasted no time in this one, getting on the board in the first inning against Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez, who has struggled mightily in his first season in Anaheim, with back-to-back home runs.
Spencer Jones got things started with a two-run bomb that gave the Yanks an immediate 2-0 lead. Jones has now homered in consecutive games after his solo shot on Monday night was the only run New York scored in a 10-1 loss. The rookie has been on a tear over his last 15 games with a .348/.392/.652 slash line with four home runs and nine RBI. After a slow start to his career following a call-up in May, the 25-year-old is now hitting .245 with a .771 OPS.
The youngster also had an RBI single, walked twice, scored twice, stole a base and had an outfield assist at second base from right field in the third inning after Wade Meckler tried stretching a single into a double.
-- Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed Jones with a solo home run to the opposite field that he managed to poke over the left-field wall while nearly kissing the foul pole. The home run was Chisholm's 19th of the season and he finished 3-for-4 as his hot streak continues.
-- The Yankees scored another run in the third inning on Luis Garcia's double play after Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger led off the inning with back-to-back hits. From there, New York was unable to get a big hit with runners in scoring position after multiple chances in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings.
Finally, in the eighth inning Trent Grisham singled with runners on first and second to drive in a run and snap an 0-for-23 skid. Paul Goldshmidt added a sacrifice fly later in the frame but the Yanks scratched out just two runs in what could've been a huge inning. They finished 3-for-16 with RISP.
-- Nevertheless, with Gerrit Cole on the mound for New York, the Yankees felt good about their chances at making a lead stick and they were right, although Cole did make things interesting. The right-hander pitched well for the first five innings, allowing a run on five hits while striking out five, but the sixth inning gave him trouble.
With runners on first and second and one out, Christian Moore ambushed Cole on the first pitch and hit a triple to right field that scored both runners and cut New York's lead to 4-3. Cole's night was done after that as manager Aaron Boone pulled him for Brent Headrick, who left Moore stranded at third base with a strikeout and lineout. Headrick, who is two appearances behind the MLB-lead with 71, has been phenomenal for the Yanks all season and owns a 1.93 ERA.
-- Paul Blackburn also turned in 1.1 terrific innings in relief and lowered his ERA to 1.62. John Schreiber made his team debut and pitched a scoreless ninth.
-- New York banged out 16 hits, with Bellinger and Chisholm each having three-hit games. Every hitter in starting lineup had at least one hit except for Jose Caballero (0-for-5, three strikeouts).
Game MVP: Spencer Jones
The rookie had a complete game, getting on base four times and adding a steal and an outfield assist.
Tiger Woods plans to change his not guilty plea in the DUI case stemming from a rollover crash near his Florida home earlier this year, according to court documents filed on Tuesday.
The 50-year-old golf star is due to appear in Martin County circuit court at 8.30am on Wednesday for a change-of-plea hearing before judge Darren Steele. Woods had previously pleaded not guilty to charges of driving under the influence with property damage and refusing to submit to a lawful test.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 30: Aaron Civale #38 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on August 30, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s another night here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hole-in-the-wall for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. We need a friend tonight. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. We validate parking. The hostess can seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last night, I asked you if one or both of the Cubs’ minor league affiliates should change their name from “Cubs.” You are generally in favor of the traditional name as 65 percent of you want to keep both teams at “Cubs.” Among those of you who want one or the other to change their name, you were split evenly at 16 percent each for Iowa and South Bend.
On Tuesday night, I don’t do movie stuff. But I always have time for jazz and that time is now.
Tonight we have some big band music featuring Chicago and Rockford’s own vocalist Kurt Elling with NYO Jazz in Beijing in 2o19. This is a song many of you are familiar with—it’s Joe Jackson’s “Steppin’ Out,” which has become a signature tune for Elling.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music.
So I always try to be optimistic, but frankly, tonight’s loss took a beating out of me. But I’m going to ask you to try to cheer me up. Because being miserable and pessimistic doesn’t do anyone any good. Believe me, I know from experience that this is true.
I believe the Cubs have the offense to win the World Series this year. They definitely have the defense. The starting pitching is a little iffier, but Clay Holmes is becoming a true ace and I think that him, along with Gausman, Boyd and Peterson give the Cubs a good chance to win any postseason series. Maybe Imanaga even bounces back.
The bullpen? Yikes. After tonight, double-yikes.
So I’m asking you to tell me which Cubs reliever is most likely to step up and get big outs in the middle innings. I’m not worried about Jacob Webb. He’s the closer and despite a recent hiccup or two, I think he will do a fine job going forward.
I’m also leaving out Javier Assad, who will likely be back in the majors on Saturday. But the Cubs are going to need more relievers than just Webb and Assad.
No one seems to be able to get outs in the sixth or seventh inning lately. But someone is going to have to step up and get those big middle-inning outs. The odds are very much against all of them continuing to struggle. Most of them have experienced success before. So who is stepping up?
Is it Aaron Civale, who has had a 1.54 ERA over the past 15 games and a WHIP of 1.03?
What about Daniel Palencia, who had a terrible night tonight but was a terrific closer last year?
Ryan Rolison has struggled badly in his recent outings, but he was quite good earlier in the season. Can he bounce back?
What about Ryan Zeferjahn, whose stuff is filthy but something just isn’t clicking since he came over from the Angels at the Trade Deadline. Can he get back to what he was in Anaheim?
Finally, there are two more options. One is Edward Cabrera, who started his rehab assignment today. The other option is Shelby Miller, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery. His ERA of 5.87 in Iowa doesn’t look too good, but that he’s struck out 13 batters in just 7.2 innings does. Miller also has not allowed a run in four of his past five outings. Even in that fifth run, both runs charged to Miller scored after he left the game.
I’d give you more options, but the stupid polling software we have won’t allow it. But please give me some reason for hope. Also, for the same reason, I don’t want to hear “nobody.” That’s defeatist talk. It might make you feel smart, but it doesn’t do anyone any good.
Thank you for stopping by tonight. You cheered us up a little. Get home safely. Don’t forget any personal items. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 14: Brandon Bussi #32 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates after winning in Game Six of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 at T-Mobile Arena on June 14, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It was probably not a coincidence that at the exact four week mark when the puck drops on the new season, the Canes sent out a post with news on how fans will be able to watch the other 72 games that aren’t on national TV this year.
Introducing the Hurricanes Hockey Network 📺
The new broadcast home for #Canes hockey will feature Mike Maniscalco, Tripp Tracy, Hanna Yates, and Shane Willis for the 2026-27 season.
The local entity broadcasting the games will be called the Hurricanes Hockey Network. It was also announced everyone that Hurricanes fans had come to enjoy on screen will officially be back for the 2026-27 season. Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy had been announced prior, but the release made official that Shane Willis and Hanna Yates would also grace the screen during the broadcasts.
That Willis is back isn’t a surprise as he was a Hurricanes employee already. Yates, however, is the news as prior to this season she was actually an employee not of the Hurricanes but of the entity that broadcast the games—Main Street Sports, last known by FanDuel Sports Network. For her to continue to appear on the broadcasts, she would have had to become a Hurricanes employee—something that was up in the air as Tom Dundon is known for being, shall we say, thrifty when it comes to the number of people he’ll hire when he hast to.
That said it isn’t that much of a narrative changer for Dundon. The release mentions that VP of Communications Mike Sundheim will add managing “all aspects of production, distribution, sales and marketing for HHN, in coordination with the National Hockey League.” In short he’ll still do all the work he did before and add more to his plate. Yates also will be doing more than just appearing on the broadcast as she added digital host to her title, so it’s possible we’ll see her a lot more on the official team videos that are sent out across social media platforms.
Unfortunately in terms of news, that was it for the communication and that leaves unanswered a huge question: how to watch? The only acknowledgement of how fans would be able to watch this new Hurricanes Hockey Network came at the bottom of the release:
The Hurricanes Hockey Network (HHN) is the exclusive local television home of Carolina Hurricanes hockey. Owned and operated by Hurricanes Holdings, the organization oversees all aspects of production, distribution, sales and marketing for the network, in collaboration with the National Hockey League. The network provides fans with live coverage of games, as well as comprehensive pregame and postgame shows. HHN will be available throughout the Hurricanes’ regional broadcast territory via cable and satellite providers and as a direct-to-consumer streaming subscription to be announced at a later date.
The last part was emphasized by myself, as it doesn’t really let us know which cable and sattelite providers in the area had agreed to sign on to host HHN. That would usually lead one to believe that they don’t have agreements with any of these entities yet.
One of the holdups may have been signaled on Monday by a reporter from the DLLS site. While the main function of the report was stating that the Dallas Stars would be leaving their distributor Victory+ for Amazon Prime, the same reporter had posts indicating that the Stars were not the only team headed to Amazon Prime
Still awaiting full confirmation, but the leading teams to make the same move to Amazon Prime Video are the:
Columbus Blue Jackets Minnesota Wild Carolina Hurricanes Anaheim Ducks St. Louis Blues https://t.co/kITfHBl6Y8
Half of his report has become official as Victory+ announced on Tuesday they were dissolving. It’s worth noting that the other clubs mentioned in that post are either using the NHL Production services like the Hurricanes, or are now former Victory+ teams like Anaheim. There hasn’t been a comment from the Canes on this report—Joe Ovies reported reaching out to them on Monday to get the no comment—but the release on Tuesday again highlights the more traditional cable and satellite model that most fans have gotten used to.
Note at this point we reach the land of speculation and conjecture
It is worth mentioning again that the current NHL broadcast contract ends after the 2027-28 season, and they will be the first of the non-NFL leagues that will have the opportunity to directly negotiate the ability of centralizing local broadcast rights into one hub within the framework of a new deal. With the consistent collapse of the RSN structure, the central NHL production was seen as the first step to try and get as many local broadcast rights under the wing of the NHL that they can turn around and negotiate as part of the next broadcast deal. The theory is the NHL gets the money from a company like Amazon or Disney to be THE app fans go to when they want to watch their local team play. If those broadcasts end up on a cable, satellite, or streaming service like YouTubeTV, then it would basically be at the discretion of that service.
Thus it’s notable that Amazon is trying to already to be that hub. The report for the Stars is that Amazon Prime subscribers in the Dallas market would get Dallas Stars games as part of the service and not have to pay extra. It would be available to them just like the NFL, NASCAR, and the NBA is. However, if you are a Stars fan living in California, you’d still need the Center Ice or Power Play package from ESPN Ultimate in order to watch their broadcasts.
What that means for the Canes is anyone’s guess. As Ovies noted, just because Tuesday’s release mentioned cable and satellite doesn’t mean that’s set in stone. If Amazon insists on exclusivity except for the separate and offers the team a significantly good price to do so, would anyone be surprised if the Canes took it? It’s also possible that as advertisement revenue would go to the Canes, they would want the broadcasts to be seen by as many people as possible—thus they may take less from Amazon to allow them to get the games elsewhere.
The first broadcast on the HHN—presuming they don’t do some sort of pregame for Opening Night before ESPN takes over—is going to be October 2nd when the Washington Capitals come to town. So, the good—if frustrating—news for fans is we still have over four weeks to find out how games will be available to the masses and what the price of the stand alone streaming service will be. Hopefully the information will be out well before that.
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 1: TJ Rumfield #7 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates his two run home run with Cole Carrigg #16 in the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Coors Field on September 1, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If there was any team that needed a win — really, really needed a win — it was the Colorado Rockies. Their odds of avoiding another 100-loss season were sagging by the day, and they were drowning after their 10th consecutive loss at Coors Field.
Making things worse were Monday night’s near win that ended in heartbreak thanks to a Colton Cowser bottom-of-the-ninth home run robbery.
But the Rockies came to play on Tuesday and finished the evening having defeated the Orioles 4-2 and ended that home-field losing streak — their first win at Coors Field since August 2.
“I think it was a good win,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “It’s good to see the boys get rewarded with a W tonight.”
The offense (finally!) managed to score some RISP
Jake McCarthy picked up where he left off on Monday night with a lead0ff double (28). He got to third, when, with two outs, TJ Rumfield took his 65th walk, leaving runners at the corners. However, Cole Carrigg flew out to second to end the threat.
With the game still scoreless, it looked like the Rockies would waste the second inning much as they had the first with Orioles starter Kyle Bradish recording two quick outs.
And then Adael Amador stepped to the plate to hit his second home of the season run and give the Rockies a 1-0 lead.
“All we’ve seen is good out of him this year,” Schaeffer said.
Zac Veen was in the mood to make some noise himself, and followed Amador’s homer by rattling one off the right field wall the left him (having disposed of his batting helmet between first and second) celebrating at third.
With that, the lineup rolled over, and McCarthy hit an RBI single that gave the Rockies a 2-0 lead.
The Orioles got on the board in the top of the third when Carlos Narváez scored on an odd Gunnar Henderson-Pete Alonso double play masterminded by Rumfield.
Brett Sullivan got things rolling in the fourth inning by hitting a double. With two outs and Sullivan still on second, Veen had a masterful at-bat that resulted in a walk. However, McCarthy flew out to left to end the threat with the Rockies hanging on to a 2-1 lead.
In the fifth inning, after getting two quick outs, Hughes loaded the bases on a hit and two walks. Manager Warren Schaeffer went to his bullpen and Brennan Bernadino for the third out, which took just three pitches.
Mickey Moniak led off the Rockies half of the fifth with a single. But — stop me if you’ve heard this one before — the Rockies were unable to score. Instead, they continued to cling to a thin 2-1 lead.
And that was it for Orioles starter Kyle Bradish. He finished the evening with 5.0 IP allowing two runs (earned) on six hits. He struck out four and walked two.
With Zach Agnos pitching, Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a lead-off single to start the sixth inning. But he was soon mowed down by Sullivan when trying to steal second, and the Orioles failed to score.
As the sixth inning kicked off, Sullivan got his second hit of the evening, a single with one out. Amador added his second hit, which moved Sullivan to third and gave the Rockies runners at the corners. But a Jordan Beck strikeout followed by a McCarthy pop out again kept the Rockies from scoring.
Jaden Hill entered the game to pitch the seventh. He got two outs, and then left a fastball up that Jackson Holliday drove over the right field wall, his first Coors Field MLB home run.
Give TJ the purple coat! The Rockies had a 4-2 lead!
“It was huge — a left-on-left matchup,” Schaeffer said. “TJ’s been awesome for us this year.”
Juan Mejia had the eighth inning. After getting two quick outs, he gave up a double to Dylan Beavers and then hit Samuel Basallo to put runners at first and second. But he struck out Leody Taveras to end the threat.
The Rockies had Sullivan and Ezequiel Tovar on in the eighth but failed to score.
Closer Jordan Roman entered to close the game. Two strikeouts and a fly out later, it was over. The Rockies won 4-2.
They Rockies finished the evening with four runs on ten hits. They had three walks and struck out six times.
In addition, they went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base.
Hughes has a promising start
It was an excellent start for Gabriel Hughes, who in previous games had labored through an inflated pitch count early that led to a shortened outing. Tonight, however, he was dealing through the first four innings.
Case in point: Please enjoy this first-inning Pete Alonso strikeout.
Two former Golden State Warriors employees have sued the organization over allegations of sex, gender and age discrimination harassment, retaliation and defamation, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
Lisa Shelley, professionally known as Lisa Meyer, and Jennifer Vasquez filed the joint complaint with the San Francisco County Superior Court of California on Aug. 25, alleging "discrimination, hostility, and retaliation," all violations of the Fair Employment and Housing Act with the California Civil Rights Department.
Shelley joined the Warriors in 2021 serving as Associate General Counsel and Director of Business & Legal Affairs and Risk Management. Vasquez joined Jan. 3, 2022 and served as Vice President of Diversity Equity & Inclusion.
"Golden State prides itself on its commitment to maintaining an inclusive environment grounded in mutual respect and professionalism. We take all workplace concerns seriously. The lawsuit filed by two former employees contains allegations that are false, misleading, and unsupported by credible evidence," the team said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. "Many of the allegations have been previously reviewed or investigated and found to be without merit.
"Golden State intends to vigorously defend against these baseless claims and is confident that an examination of the facts will confirm that Golden State, its leadership, and the employees targeted in this lawsuit have at all times operated with the highest levels of integrity and fairness."
Here's what you need to know about the complaint:
Workplace survey complaints
According to court documents, Shelley and Vasquez made complaints concerning workplace practices and fallout from an NBA-wide anonymous employee survey that reflected significant dissatisfaction within the organization's Legal, Finance and People Operations.
Shelley and Vasquez allege that survey results showed an employee dissatisfaction within the Legal and People Operations departments and leadership sought to identify and question employees who provided critical responses, the lawsuit states.
Leadership allegedly questioned Vasquez regarding her survey responses. An investigation that ultimately found no wrongdoing, the court document says.
Discriminatory promotion, compensation practices
Shelley alleged she was not compensated accordingly for additional duties related to arena operations, including concerts, private events and special events.
According to court documents, Shelley was promised promotions she never received. She also alleges that she was up for promotion for a Senior Director of Business and Legal Affairs position but was passed over for a younger, male candidate with less experience.
Shelley alleged that their promotion process requires each candidate's photograph to be displayed to the SeniorLeadership Team during a closed-session vote, according to the court document. Employees have allegedly been denied promotion based on subjective criteria such as "likability" or "fit," which often translates to physical appearance and how they fit into the organization's aesthetic, the lawsuit said.
According to court documents, Shelley was aware throughout her employment that female employees’ bodies, weight, clothing, attractiveness and appearance were routinely scrutinized. The lawsuit said a manager in the Sales' Department allegedly commented on a female employee's ability to sell saying, "sex sells," in reference to her attire. The employee reported the comment but no action was taken, according to the lawsuit.
Further allegations say that Shelley learned that two male colleagues with less experience were paid more than she despite starting at the same title around the same time.
She warned leadership that inconsistent application of vague standards to employees in protected classes created legal risk, but concerns were disregarded, according to court documents.
Shelley alleges that a white woman was hired as Director of Guest Experience at an annual salary range between approximately $135,000 to $145,000. When later promoted and it came to fill he role, an African-American woman was considered but the organization allegedly refused to authorize a comparable salary range and limited compensation to $125,000.
Age discrimination, sexual harassment
Vasquez is over 40 years old, according to court documents. She alleged that she was ridiculed for her age. Additionally, she alleged that she "observed an overly amorous and unprofessional atmosphere among members of senior leadership" during social gatherings.
She described executives engaging in "awkward and overly familiar physical contact with one another," according to the lawsuit.
Two executives began a romantic relationship and repeatedly engaged in unprofessional exchanges and comments containing sexual double entendres in front of Vasquez, making her uncomfortable, the lawsuit said.
The court documents allege that Vasquez routinely saw instances that women of color, women with disabilities andwomen with larger body types were subjected to consistent harassment.
Termination
Shelley was terminated on Dec. 4, 2025. She alleges that her termination constituted retaliation for raising safety and workplace concerns and for her role in connection with the 2025 NBA league-wide survey, the lawsuit states. She was the second of three employees who had raised related concerns to be terminated by the organization.
In June 2026, Shelley allegedly had a conditional offer from another NBA team in California, but the offer was rescinded, believing that the withdrawal resulted directly from false and damaging statements made by Warriors personnel regarding her performance and professional conduct.
Vasquez felt her job was at risk when the new presidential administration slashed all DEI-initiatives in Jan. 2025. She was employed with Golden State for another year before Vasquez was effectively terminated, weeks after Shelley, in Jan. 2026.
Shelley and Vasquez are seeking general, special and punitive damages, costs, interest and all otherrelief available, according to the court document.
Declan Carlile was one of three defensemen the Pittsburgh Penguins added to their roster this offseason, either via trade or free agency.
The Penguins signed Carlile to a two-year $3 million contract when free agency opened on July. 1. Carlile spent most of the 2025-26 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, compiling one goal and three points in 42 games. He also played in 16 games with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch, racking up two goals and 11 points.
Carlile only has 46 NHL games to his name, but he's been solid in that sample. He's played 611:54 at 5v5 since making his NHL debut, and when he's been on the ice, the Lightning have controlled 52.7% of the scoring chances and 50.5% of the high-danger chances.
He's -4 in shot attempts, but there's plenty of time for that to get above water now that he's a Penguin. Carlile is a player the Penguins have been tracking for "a few years," and they're excited to bring him in.
"Declan Carlile is a guy that we've tracked for a few years now. He's a steady, stay-at-home defenseman, really good in his own end, really good on the penalty kill," Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza told the media on July. 1.
Like Kaedan Korczak and Trevor van Riemsdyk, Carlile isn't going to be flashy in the offensive zone, but he'll win his minutes in the defensive zone. I think he'd do best with a more offensive defenseman like Kris Letang, though there's a chance head coach Dan Muse starts him on the third pair (likely with Korczak).
Either way, Carlile will try to help the Penguins not give up as many chances as they did last year. He's also an option for the penalty kill after logging 47 minutes on the Lightning's PK last year.
Overall, there's a good chance Carlile plays more than 42 games this year, and if he continues to stay on this developmental track, the Penguins could have their next Parker Wotherspoon.
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 1: Colorado Rockies center fielder Jake McCarthy (31) celebrates after his first inning double as Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) looks on during a game at Coors Field on September 1, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
I’m old enough to remember when the Orioles had a .500 record. Those were good times.
The O’s couldn’t keep up the momentum of their series opener, dropping the second game to the Rockies, 4-2. Newly promoted Luis De León, making his major league debut, coughed up a tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh after a Jackson Holliday error started the rally, and the Birds’ bats once again went dormant at one of the league’s best offensive ballparks. The Birds’ loss combined with the Guardians’ win over Toronto has dropped the Orioles 1.5 games behind Cleveland for the third wild card spot.
It’s no secret that Kyle Bradish has been looking a little fatigued of late, with a 6.07 ERA in his last six starts, and the high-altitude Coors Field sure isn’t the ideal setting to get back on track. Indeed, Bradish continued to struggle with his command tonight, with his pitches noticeably lacking the kind of movement and sharpness we normally see from the right-hander.
Bradish needed 20 pitches to get through the first, giving up a double and a walk, but was fortunate to escape with no runs. He wasn’t as lucky in the second. After two quick outs, Bradish coughed up a homer on an 0-2 pitch to Adael Amador, playing in just his sixth game of the season. One solo dinger won’t ruin you, but Bradish had trouble finishing the inning. Number nine hitter Zac Veen followed with another deep blast to right that just barely missed being another homer, deflecting high off the wall for a triple. Jake McCarthy then poked a timely RBI single up the middle to extend the lead to 2-0. By the time Bradish finished the second inning, his pitch count was at 46.
And yet, Bradish battled. You might say he Braddled. He managed to power through five innings and kept the Rockies off the scoreboard the rest of the way, even as he continued to labor. His only clean inning was the third, but he threw another 19 pitches in the fourth — allowing a double and a walk before escaping — and stranded a leadoff single in the fifth. Bradish exited after that frame with a pitch count of 95. He gave up six hits, walked two, and struck out four. It wasn’t a great outing by any means, but I’ll give him credit for hanging in there and limiting the damage.
That outing would’ve been plenty good enough to win if only the Orioles could, you know, hit. But for the second straight game, they had all sorts of trouble scraping across any runs, even in the cavernous hitter’s paradise that is Coors Field. It didn’t even seem to matter that they were facing a pitcher, Gabriel Hughes, who had a 6.61 ERA and zero major league wins in nine starts. As we’ve seen all too often this season, the O’s offense is capable of making the most nondescript and/or ineffective pitchers look like Cy Young winners. It’s not ideal.
To be fair, the Orioles did make some loud contact against Hughes throughout the game, but every hard-hit ball seemed to find a glove. The only run they scored against him came in the third, when Carlos Narváez led off with a single — no, really! — and hustled to third on a Pete Alonso one-out knock.
Then came a controversial play. Gunnar Henderson smacked a bouncer down the first-base line that TJ Rumfield appeared to snag in foul territory, just in front of the bag. But umpire John Bacon called it fair, and Rumfield touched the base for an out, then caught Pete Alonso in a rundown between first and second. Alonso at least managed to stall long enough for Narváez to score from third before the Rockies tagged him out for the double play. Henderson disputed the foul call, to no avail, and it wasn’t a reviewable play.
Hughes pitched into the fifth inning with a 2-1 lead, but he got into some two-out trouble on two walks and a single, prompting manager Warren Schaeffer to make a pitching change with the bases loaded. The poor guy came one out shy of qualifying for his first major league win. But Schaeffer’s strategy worked, as lefty Brennan Bernardino retired Gunnar Henderson on a pop-up to leave ‘em loaded.
The Orioles ever so briefly made this an interesting game in the top of the seventh when Jackson Holliday launched a game-tying solo homer, in the same ballpark where his dad Matt crushed 93 career blasts. But no sooner had Holliday played the hero than he became the goat.
The bottom of the seventh inning began with a routine Mickey Moniak pop-up to shallow right. Holliday waved everyone off, settled under the ball, and…dropped it. Just straight-up dropped it! No excuses for that blunder. Moniak ended up at second base representing the critical go-ahead run with nobody out.
Holliday’s error put his pitcher in an immediate bind, and that pitcher happened to be the 23-year-old lefty Luis De León, who was making his major league debut after being called up earlier in the day. Talk about throwing him into the fire! Craig Albernaz probably would’ve preferred for De León’s first appearance to come in a lower-leverage situation, but with the Rockies having two lefties due up, he took a chance on the southpaw in a tie game.
I’d love to say that De León delivered a stupendous inning in his debut and kept the game tied and put the O’s in position to win. Unfortunately, none of that is what actually happened, and it’s not all Holliday’s fault. With one out, De León left a hanging slider to the lefty-swinging Rumfield, who demolished it over the right-center field wall for a go-ahead two-run homer. Sigh. Welcome to the big leagues, Luis. While De León did flash some impressive stuff, including a nasty slider to strike out Hunter Goodman, his untimely gopher ball put him in line for the loss in his debut, assuming the Orioles couldn’t rally back again.
They couldn’t. Rockies reliever Juan Mejia worked a scoreless eighth, working past a two-out Dylan Beavers double and Samuel Basallo HBP by striking out a badly flailing Leody Taveras. Ugly at-bat there. And closer Jordan Romano finished things off with a perfect ninth, snapping the Rockies’ 10-game home losing streak and sending the Orioles back below the .500 mark. Well, it was nice while it lasted.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 01: Lawrence Butler #4 of the Athletics hits a sacrifice fly during the eighth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on September 01, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Athletics faced the Texas Rangers in the middle game of their three-game series. The Rangers moved one step closer to a sweep of their division rivals, defeating the A’s 8-5 in another game marked by bad pitching and struggles with runners in scoring position. The Green and Gold finished 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 14 runners on base.
Rangers Offense Strikes First
The Rangers got right to work in the bottom of the first. Facing A’s opener Brady Basso, doubles by Corey Seager and Brandon Nimmo gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead after the first inning of play.
Leading off the top of the second inning, Tommy White hurt himself on a swing. The A’s first baseman exited the game with low back soreness, with Michael Stefanic replacing him.
The visitors had a chance to equalize, but Rangers starter Mackenzie Gore struck out Alika Williams to strand the tying run on second base. Through two innings, it was clear the club had learned nothing from last night, as several batters swung at first or second pitch of their at-bats.
Tie Game Not for Long
With two outs in the third, A’s left fielder Zack Gelof reached second on an infield single and a throwing error by the Rangers third baseman. Right fielder Lawrence Butler drove him in with a game-tying RBI single to center. A few batters later, Jeff McNeil strode to the plate with the bases loaded. However, he failed to capitalize, flying out to center to end the inning.
Corey Seager’s second double in two at-bats marked the end of Basso’s outing. Right-hander Scott Blewett replaced him with one on and one out in the bottom of the third. Nimmo remained hot, recording a two-out RBI single to put the Rangers back in front 2-1.
In the top of the fourth inning, Rangers second baseman Ezequiel Duran made a nice diving play to end the inning, robbing Bolte of a potential game-tying hit.
Blewett ran out of gas in the fifth inning, allowing a single and a walk to start the frame. Fellow A’s right-hander Luis Medina replaced him, tasked with working out of the jam and keeping the Rangers’ lead at one.
The first batter he faced singled, loading the bases with no outs. Nimmo made it two straight seeing-eye singles, driving home two runs to put the hosts up 4-1. Once again, Butler bobbled a ball in right field as he prepared to make the throw home before fielding it cleanly. The Rangers right fielder recorded hits in each of his first three at-bats, driving in his team’s first four runs. Texas added a fifth run on Duran’s RBI groundout.
A’s Waste Chance to Respond
Gore’s night was done after he walked two batters in the sixth inning. The southpaw allowed one run on five hits with four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. Right-hander Chase Silseth entered out of the Rangers’ bullpen and worked out of the jam by striking out pinch-hitter Carlos Cortes and then Henry Bolte.
The Green and Gold wasted a prime opportunity to get back in the game, leaving the bases loaded for the second time this evening. A’s manager Mark Kotsay’s decision to bring the struggling Cortes off the bench predictably backfired. Center fielder Denzel Clarke should have hit in that situation, given that he has missed most of the season because of injury and needs as many reps as possible to improve offensively.
Suarez and Muncy Experiments Should End!
Following the visitors’ failure to regain momentum, the Rangers immediately extended their lead, scoring three runs on four hits against A’s left-hander José Suarez in the bottom of the sixth. Nimmo collected his fourth hit and fifth RBI of the game.
The A’s offense did not go down quietly. In the top of the seventh, Stefanic’s RBI single off Rangers left-hander Adam Macko made it an 8-2 game. Stefanic made the most of his playing time, accumulating two hits and two walks.
On the other hand, Max Muncy is looking like a first-round bust, as he has struggled in the field and at the plate. He grounded into a double play as the A’s failed to capitalize with the bases loaded for the third time tonight.
Consolation
The Athletics loaded the bases again in the eighth inning against Rangers right-hander Trevor Williams. Butler’s sacrifice fly, his second RBI of the game, brought the A’s third run home.
Of all the A’s pitchers who appeared in today’s game, nobody would have predicted that Yunior Tur would be the only one not to allow a run. Yet that is exactly what happened, as the rookie reliever threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The A’s scored two more runs off Williams in the top of the ninth. McNeil hit his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot to right-center field that cut his team’s deficit to three. The Athletics’ late-game rally forced the Rangers to bring in closer Jacob Latz to get the final two outs of the game, which he did without further drama.
The team’s comeback attempt is a positive that they must carry over into tomorrow’s series finale. Left-hander Jacob Lopez will start for an A’s squad seeking to avoid a second straight series sweep, while the Rangers will counter with left-hander Cody Bradford.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 01: Christian Yelich #22 of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field on September 01, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Nights like these are the nights the Brewers are glad they came out on the winning end.
A night filled with little league errors was quickly overshadowed by big league blasts to give the Brewers a 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs, evening the series and extending their division lead back to eight games.
Entering play tonight, the storyline was mainly about how the starting pitching would hold up for both sides. Matthew Boyd for the Cubs hasn’t pitched well at home this season, and then Robert Gasser for the Brewers hasn’t pitched well on the road for the Brewers. Through the first three innings, none of those seemed to be the main concern.
The main concern began in the top of the fourth inning with two on and one out for the Crew. Following a William Contreras popout to first baseman Michael Busch, Jackson Chourio took off to third, without Brice Turang following behind him to second. Carson Kelly took care of business at third with a nice throw down, quickly stifling any sort of offensive momentum the Brewers had, as that was the second out before Jake Bauers ended the inning with a strikeout.
After moments like those, you just hope the frustration doesn’t carry over into the pitching side of the ball; But it did. A leadoff walk from Seiya Suzuki followed by a base hit from Alex Bregman set the Cubs up with an early opportunity. Former Brewer Tyrone Taylor continued his hot start with the Cubs as he doubled to drive in two runs to give them a 2-0 lead.
To add more salt into an early wound, Gasser forced Nico Hoerner into a ground ball hit to Andrew Vaughn that was fielded near where Turang usually sits. From there, Vaughn underhanded it from deep, where Gasser then dropped the catch, which otherwise would’ve been the first out of the inning. The error led to another run to make it 3-0.
Needing something to go their way offensively, Luis Lara and Joey Ortiz kept the top of the fifth inning alive with two two-out base hits. Cooper Pratt came through with a base hit to left field to break the Brewers into the scoring column, cutting the Cubs’ lead down to 3-1.
The offense carried its momentum into the top of the sixth inning with back-to-back hits to lead off the inning from Turang and Contreras. After getting Bauer to pop out, Daniel Palencia replaced Boyd on the mound, where, before he even threw a pitch, he balked to allow another Brewers runner to score to make it 3-2. Vaughn capitalized on the moment with a double to right field to tie the game at 3-3. Then, the MVP came through, as Christian Yelich hit his 10th home run of the season to give the Brewers their first lead of the game at 5-3.
Now needing to keep the lead intact, the Brewers got to experience their bullpen at full strength for the first time this season as newcomer JoJo Romero replaced Antonio Senzatela with two outs. He instantly allowed a double to Michael Busch, which triggered a hold-your-breath moment as Ortiz, Pratt, and Chourio collided in left field. Everyone ended up staying in the game, but a moment to keep an eye on going forward. Following the injury delay, Kelly grounded into a fielder’s choice to drive in another run to cut the Brewers’ lead down to one.
Fortunately for the Brewers, that was the worst of the headache situations going forward as the offense broke out the bats. Contreras tacked on a run with his 24th double of the season as Sal Frelick came in off the bench and singled to drive in another run to push the Crew’s lead to 7-4.
To cap things off, Ortiz took advantage of a hanging cutter from Tyler Ferguson and deposited a baseball into the left-center field bleacher seats to seal the Brewers’ win at 9-4.
All things considered, the Brewers pitching staff made up for their forgettable performance from a night ago. Gasser, all things considered, had a decent start, albeit not long enough, as he threw 4.1 innings, allowing two earned runs, while walking two and striking out four. As mentioned earlier, we got our first look at the full-strength bullpen, as they threw the final 4.2 innings, allowing just one run on three hits. Romero finished the night with 0.2 innings, allowing just two hits. Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby, and DL Hall all combined for three scoreless innings with four punchouts.
After the nightmare that was game one of the series, the Brewers are sitting in a great spot with Jacob Misiorowski toeing the slab for game three of the series tomorrow evening. With a win, the Crew will take the lead on the series and push their division lead to a season-high nine games.
It’ll be another night game tomorrow, and another nationally broadcast game as well. MLB Network will be covering the game, along with the Brewers.TV and WTMJ 620, with first pitch to come at 6.40 p.m.
The call-up to San Diego happened for San Diego Padres top prospect, Ethan Salas, after a loud last week with El Paso. The Padres catcher-of-the-future impressed in his 24 games with the Chihuahuas and finished strong before getting the promotion to finish his 2026 season with the major league squad.
In 105 plate appearances with El Paso, Salas hit .326/.410/.539 while slugging six doubles, two triples, three home runs and 24 RBI. His .944 OPS is tops among team regulars. In his last week with the Chihuahuas, Salas delivered with a .947 OPS, walking four times, hitting a triple, and stealing four bases.
During his time in Triple-A, Salas has a 44.9% hard hit rate (40-44% average), a 93.1% in-zone contact rate (78-83% average), and a 9.8% whiff rate (22-26% average), all with a 90th percentile exit velocity of 103.7 mph.
For his 2026 season, between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso, Salas hit .296/.374/.448 with 19 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, and 61 RBI in 96 games as a catcher and DH.
He was four years younger than any other player in El Paso while he was there. He was at least three years younger than anyone else who played in San Antonio this season.
Defensively, Salas has always received top marks for his maturity and handling of a pitcher and a game. His 33.3% caught-stealing rate (normal for MLB is 25-30%) in Triple-A goes along with an under-1.9-second pop time (average is 2.00-2.01 seconds). These are good-to-elite numbers for MLB catchers, all of whom are older than 20. When he makes his debut, Salas will be the youngest catcher to play in MLB since Pudge Rodriguez debuted in 1991.
As Salas was the catcher used for both Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta’s rehab starts, the Padres have had real-time feedback regarding his readiness for the last month of the season.
DSL Padres Gold
The Padres Dominican Gold team won its second straight championship this past week, defeating the Reds DSL team two games to one in the championship series. They remained dominant all season long despite losing top prospect SS Joniel Hernandez in a trade for LHP Robbie Ray.
The hero of the season was catcher/first baseman Dayquer Alfonzo, hitting .331/.464/.533 in 51 games and 222 plate appearances. The 18-year-old finished his third season playing for the Dominican team and will likely be seen in the States next season.
Gabriel Teran, 18, a Venezuelan who plays all over the field, was on both the Brown and Gold teams this season. Playing all positions except center field and third base, Teran finished the year hitting .323/.558/.455 with 43 walks to 28 strikeouts in 155 plate appearances.
Their best starter was Carlos Alvarez, 18, who pitched 44.1 innings with a 3.25 ERA. Reliever Albieris Polanco, 20, ended with three saves in 31 innings and a 3.19 ERA.
(Salas stats per Clark Fahrenholdt of MadFriars.com)
El Paso Chihuahuas (53-79 record, last in PCL East)
Playing a make-up game during the week, the Chihuahuas completed a 3-4 record. Their season ends on Sept. 20.
LHP Jagger Haynes had a good outing with five innings pitched without allowing a run. He struck out four and walked one. He finished August with a 3.38 ERA in 24 innings.
RHP Jhony Brito joined Ethan Salas in the flight to San Diego. He was the pitcher called up for the Sept. 1 roster expansion for the Padres. Used as both a starter and a reliever in his career, Brito has pitched very well since his return from UCL surgery. In his 11 games and 10 starts, Brito has a 2.98 ERA in 42.1 innings with 27 strikeouts to nine walks with El Paso.
San Antonio Missions (55-71 record, last in Texas League South)
The Missions had a 1-5 record for the week. They play their last game of the season on Sept. 13.
The Missions snapped a seven-game losing streak with their one victory during the week, then ended the week with a loss.
First baseman Romeo Sanabria struggled when promoted to El Paso and was returned to San Antonio. Since his return, Sanabria has surged. Over the past week, he had two doubles, two walks and four RBI in 19 at-bats and is hitting .368 with a .958 OPS since rejoining the team.
Outfielder Alex McCoy has been inconsistent since joining the Missions but overall, he is hitting .328 with three home runs and an .891 OPS in his three weeks in San Antonio.
The big concern is his 33.3% K rate and 43.6% whiff rate since joining the team. If he hits three more homers before the end of the season, McCoy will have a 20-home run and 20-steal season in his second year in the Padres system.
Fellow undrafted free agent outfielder Braedon Karpathios has had an inconsistent season too, but had a .313 average and .946 OPS in August with 13 extra-base hits.
San Antonio pitching has been a big disappointment. RHP Eric Yost has had the best season of the group but carries a 4.20 ERA in 98.2 innings pitched over 16 starts and 22 appearances.
LHP Luis Gutierrez has made five starts since his return from a spring shoulder injury. In his 16.1 innings pitched, Gutierrez has a 4.96 ERA with 18 strikeouts to seven walks.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (52-72 record, last in Midwest League East)
The TinCaps went 2-4 in their week and end their season on Sept. 6.
Catcher Robbie Lavey, the only new Padre to begin his pro career at the Single-A level, had a good offensive week. He hit .333 with two doubles and seven RBI. In 13 games with Fort Wayne, Lavey has a .764 OPS.
Outfielder Ryan Wideman went on the injured list, and outfielder Ryan Gerety, an undrafted free agent who signed in July, was called on to replace him in the lineup.
There are intriguing arms pitching with Fort Wayne, but none of them have had an outstanding season.
RHP Carson Montgomery, completing his first season post-Tommy John surgery, has been inconsistent with his command. Over 21 games and 20 starts, Montgomery has a 4.81 ERA in 88 innings with 76 strikeouts to 48 walks. Boasting a four-seam/sinker combo with a plus-slider, Montgomery is being developed as a starter but could end up in the bullpen. He is Rule 5 eligible this offseason, so a decision will need to be made.
RHP Bryan Balzer, the 21-year-old Japanese/American pitcher signed by the Padres after only a minimal amount of pitching in high school, has also had an inconsistent season coming back from Tommy John surgery. Mostly an infielder before being drafted, Balzer is a power pitcher with raw stuff and will still need refinement but is a name to watch for next season.
Two-way experiment Sean Barnett was not successful trying to do both. He has since concentrated on pitching and has had some success as a reliever this season. The righty has a high 90’s fastball but has command issues at times.
Lake Elsinore Storm (62-64 record, second in Cal League South)
The Storm ends its regular season on Sept. 6.
After losing their 11th straight game to start the past week, the Storm broke the losing streak but then lost the last game of their series. They are guaranteed a playoff spot due to their first-half record but have struggled to put together a balanced performance since promotion time.
Infielder Joe Trioly, a new Padre starting his career with the Storm, has been a welcome surprise for Lake Elsinore. Hitting four homers in four games, Trioly has a .353/.353/1.059 line in his 13 games. Overall, he has six home runs and 12 strikeouts with three walks in 56 plate appearances.
There are three pitchers to watch who will finish the season with the Storm. Taiwanese right-hander Lan-Hong Su, 19, has had a light workload this year as the organization is easing him into pro ball. He is undersized but should pick up velocity as he adds bulk and strength. Over the past 18.1 innings with Lake Elsinore, Su has a 2.95 ERA with 26 strikeouts and five walks.
LHP Adler Cecil returned from the injured list late in the season and tallied eight strikeouts in 3.2 innings of relief without allowing a run this past week.
RHP Jesus Castro, 19, seemingly has tired at the end of the season. His last three starts have shown decreased effectiveness. He continues to rack up the strikeouts, though, and in 85.1 innings over 19 starts, Castro has 97 strikeouts to 31 walks.
AFL begins in October
After the affiliates complete their regular season games, each level will have its playoff series. Those will end later in September. After the completion of the full slate for each level, the Arizona Fall League will begin work for its season.
The AFL begins games on Oct. 3, and the season will end on Nov. 14 with the championship game. Players to participate will be named after the affiliate season ends.
Many players currently working in the Arizona Bridge League will also see work in the AFL.
