The first winds of fall: Randy Arozarena, +0.43 WPA
Falling on your butt: Andrés Muñoz, -0.49 WPA
Like every Mariners fan, I’ve been having a lot of feelings about Rizzs this season, but we’ll be in good hands.
And a bonus GTCOD, a late entrant from the captain.
The Iowa Cubs grilled the Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers), 2-1.
Starter Kohl Franklin gave up a double to the first batter of the game and a single to the second one, putting runners on first and third. After that, he was nearly perfect. Franklin allowed a one-out sac fly in the first, but only one more baserunner on a walk the rest of his start. His final line was one run on two hits over five innings. Franklin struck out five and walked one as he picked up the win.
Gabe Klobostis entered the game with the bases-loaded and two outs in the eighth inning. He got a ground ball to first to end that threat. Then he pitched a scoreless ninth and took home the save. Klobostis allowed just a one-out single, but that runner was quickly thrown out trying to steal second. Klobostis struck out one.
Both Iowa runs came on a two-run home run by left fielder Jordan Nwogu in the second inning. It was Nwogu’s third home run for Iowa and fourth overall. He was 1 for 3.
Center fielder Chas McCormick was 3 for 3 and scored on Nwogu’s blast.
Nwogu’s home run.
Some nice defense in right field from Kevin Alcántara.
Nwogu contributed with the glove as well.
More good defense from The Jaguar.
The Knoxville Smokies were oppressed by the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 7-0.
Connor Schultz only allowed one run on five hits over three innings, but that was enough for the loss. Schultz walked one and struck out two.
Knoxville managed just two hits in this game, both singles. DH Kane Kepley and right fielder Andy Garriola were both 1 for 4.
Knoxville finished the second-half at 35-33 and in second place, 1.5 games behind Rocket City. Their overall record was 73-64 after their first-half win. Knoxville will start the best-of-three Division Series in Rocket City on Tuesday. Games two and three (if necessary), will be in Knoxville on Thursday and Friday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Clarke Schmidt will be activated this week and will rejoin the New York Yankees as a reliever, 14 months after elbow surgery.
Manager Aaron Boone indicated the 30-year-old right-hander could return during a three-game series in Minnesota that starts Monday.
“This has been a long journey,” Schmidt said before Sunday’s Subway Series final against the Mets. “So a lot of anticipation and it’s probably going to feel like a debut when I go out there, but it’s going to be exciting. I’m ready to get back out there and compete with the guys.”
Schmidt had an internal brace procedure on his ulnar collateral ligament by Texas Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister on July 11, 2025, and was told recovery would take about a year. He had a 3.86 ERA in five minor league rehabilitation appearances starting Aug. 29. He threw 12 of 21 pitches for strikes and struck out three of four hitters as a reliever for Double-A Somerset on Saturday.
“I think he can be huge,” Boone said. “I think he’s throwing the ball really well. His stuff’s really good now right now. I feel like it has been for the last month. So I think he definitely could be an interesting guy for us down there and hopefully that’s the case.”
New York began Sunday second with a 3.16 bullpen ERA, trailing only Boston. Yankee relievers have thrown 527 2/3 innings, the seventh-fewest amongst the 30 teams and Brent Headrick is second to Toronto’s Mason Fluharty for the major league lead with 75 appearances.
“I think it will shake itself out as far as what the role is,” Schmidt said. “Obviously I’m a reliever so I think that how they use me in leverage or whatever the case may be, it’s going to shake itself out. I don’t think I’m going to be throwing a bunch of innings, like three, four, stuff like that and I don’t see myself probably going back to back, but I want to work myself into leverage and pitch in big scenarios and try to pitch as much as I can and help guys in big situations.”
Schmidt was 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts last season. He previously had Tommy John surgery in May 2017, a month before the Yankees selected him with the 16th overall pick in the amateur draft out of South Carolina.
The 30-year-old debuted in 2020 and made 27 of his 30 career relief appearances in 2022. He is 23-24 with a 3.82 ERA in 97 games for the Yankees and 5-3 with a 3.18 ERA and two saves as a reliever.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco’s Rafael Devers’ season is over and he may have surgery for a core muscle injury.
The Giants placed the first baseman/designated hitter and designated hitter on the 60-day injured list Sunday, ending his season.
Devers, who leads the team with 37 homers and 98 RBIs, is to meet Monday in Philadelphia with Dr. William Meyers. If a procedure is recommended, Devers would have the operation on Tuesday.
Devers had played in 309 consecutive games before sitting out the Giants’ 7-6 win over St. Louis on Wednesday.
“He battled with it the entire year,” Giants manager Tony Vitello said. “I think it’s something that has bothered him for a few years now.”
Devers homered in his last two games and had eight home runs with 20 RBIs in his final 11 games.
“I think he’s pretty geeked up about next year,” Vitello said. “His confidence in next year’s success gives me confidence.”
In the third season of a $313.5 million, 10-year contract, Devers was acquired from Boston in June 2025. He was batting .207 with two homers through April but has raised his average to .258.
Devers has a .274 average and 272 home runs in 10 major league seasons.
San Francisco selected the contract of outfielder Scott Bandura from Triple-A Sacramento.
This weekend it was time to spotlight the Colorado Avalanche rookies before main training camp kicks off this week on Thursday, September 17th. After the release of the 25-man roster of attendees, all that was left was finally some on-ice activity.
Bright and early Friday morning the group of Avalanche rookies gathered for a brief practice before their two game set in San Jose, Calif. over the weekend. First, some news was released as the club need to bolster their roster on the back end. Great to see 2026 draftee Teddy Lechner as one of the selections, he must be on loan from the USHL. Two of the other names were in invites in attendance at development camp a few months ago.
For the practice, it was a short but productive one and lasted a little over an hour. Some ideas at lines began to form with Beckett Hamilton featuring often on TJ Hughes’ right wing. There was also some center ice battle drills leading to 2v2, which was a new look, perhaps from new Colorado Eagles head coach Jussi Ahokas. Getting the special teams units up to par was also on the agenda, first the traditional 5v4 practice but then later on a down low focus of just 3v2 was an interesting new approach.
To start, this game was delayed over an hour but when the puck finally dropped, it was all Avalanche in a 7-2 victory. The top line was as suspected with TJ Hughes centering Taylor Makar and Beckett Hamilton, which was the trio that got the scoring started. For the first goal Makar received a gorgeous feed from Hamilton and then Hamilton scored himself on a one timer cross-ice pass from Hughes. Other goal scorers were from Matthew DiMarsico, Shawn Carrier, Cooper Gay and invite Kalder Varga.
Defenseman Alex Gagne had a special outing with a complete Gordie Howe hat trick plus an extra assist all while wearing the captain’s “C” on his jersey. Ilya Nabokov looked sharp in net and earned the win playing the first 40 minutes. He put on a show on the penalty kill when Anaheim was awarded numerous opportunities in the second period.
With a much thinner lineup compared to the previous tilt, the Avalanche found a tighter checking game against the Golden Knights rookies. The game unfolded somewhat similarly in the first two periods to the prior contest as Colorado built a 4-2 lead on a solid outing from goaltender Nikita Novosyolov. They received goals from invites Noah Jettelson, Kalder Varga and two from Jake Chaisson.
In the third period entered 2026 draftee Alexandre Raymond in net who was tasked with holding down the fort against Vegas’ pressure. At this point it was a total penalty-fest and Vegas evened up the game 4-4. Shortly after that Nikita Prishchepov scored on one of his half dozen penalty kill breakaways and put the Avalanche up 5-4 with only a few minutes left in the game. Linus Funck took a bad penalty and put Vegas back on the power play where they scored again and the game went to overtime.
Colorado was awarded a power play right at the end of regulation but couldn’t score on the 4v3. The five minute overtime concluded without a score and the game went into a shootout. Beckett Hamilton was the only tally for Colorado while Vegas put two on the board and the game ended 6-5 in their favor.
On defense it was an interesting mix both days of AHL veterans and young prospects. Teddy Lechner, who wasn’t even supposed to join the tournament as his USHL team begins their season in a matter of days, did well especially for as inexperienced as he is. Same goes for Ondrej Ruml as both were drafted by the Avalanche this summer. Linus Funck has hot and cold moments but was able to get a lot of ice time. Alex Gagne certainly will move up the pecking order with his strong showing in the first game as well. Sean Behrens set up a very nice goal in the second game but seems a bit lost in the shuffle.
It’s hard not to get excited for Beckett Hamilton who was able to show off his talents in this setting. He had looked good in camps prior to the showcase and turned it up a notch in these games by leading all Colorado rookies with 10 shots on goal over the two games. He’s still only 18-years-old and needs to get stronger on the puck but he has all the attributes of a NHL forward including a shot mentality to go along with a heavy shot but also great vision and playmaking ability, defensive aptitude and high hockey IQ. A goal, assist and shootout goal over the two days in a nice weekend of work heading into a tougher challenge against NHL competition where hopefully he can add a couple more shining moments. Also among the forward group, TJ Hughes and Taylor Makar set themselves up nicely to battle for NHL opportunity in main camp next week.
As the “starters” over the two games, both Ilya Nabokov and Nikita Novosyolov each contributed to the leads they allowed their teammates to build. Only giving up two goal each, the Russian netminders had particularly good sequences in the second periods when they were frequently on the penalty kill. Nabokov has a smoothness to his game with good reads and made an especially dramatic glove save. Novosyolov has a more aggressive style where he challenges in the crease more but was just as effective. To consider him just an ECHL goaltender would be a mistake.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Steven Kwan homered to lead off the game, Tanner Bibee had seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 strong innings, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Minnesota Twins 9-2 on Sunday to pull within a half-game of the American League Central-leading Chicago White Sox.
The Guardians are one game ahead of Toronto, and have a 5 1/2-game lead over Minnesota, in the race for the final AL wild-card spot. Cleveland hosts the White Sox for a three-game series beginning Monday.
Travis Bazzana drove in three runs for Cleveland, including a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Bibee (6-15) gave up just two runs on four hits. The 27-year-old right-hander had allowed 10 runs over 8 1/3 innings in his previous two September starts.
Minnesota All-Star Joe Ryan’s tough second-half continued.
Making his second start since coming off the injured list, Ryan (6-10) surrendered four runs on seven hits in four innings. He is 0-5 with an 8.48 ERA in five starts since the All-Star Game. He had given up eight runs on a franchise-record six homers allowed in a start against the Guardians on July 20.
Kwan sent the second pitch of the game from Ryan into the row of flowers in the overhang in right field at Target Field for just his third homer of the season. He finished a triple shy of the cycle.
Jo Adell added a solo home run in the third.
Kody Clemens doubled home Luke Keaschall in the third, and Trevor Larnach hit a solo homer in the seventh for the Twins.null
Up next
Guardians: RHP Gavin Williams (13-7, 3.78 ERA) starts Monday for Cleveland opposite White Sox RHP Sean Burke (8-7, 3.58).
Twins: RHP Dean Kremer (3-5, 5.65) starts Monday against New York Yankees RHP Will Warren (10-6, 4.05) to open a three-game series at Target Field.
TORONTO (AP) — For the first time this season, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has homered north of the border.
The 2023 Home Run Derby champion, Guerrero connected off Baltimore’s Trevor Rogers in the fifth inning of Sunday’s 8-1 win.
His 350-foot drive into the left field bullpen was his ninth homer of the season. It came in Toronto’s 75th home game, sparking a celebration in the dugout.
“It looked like it was a walk-off homer,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of his team’s reaction. “Vlad’s our guy. It’s just nice to get that out of the way.”
Guerrero is batting .265 with 56 RBIs in 135 games.
With the sellout crowd of 41,805 cheering his name, Guerrero came out for a curtain call.
“Obviously it means a lot,” Guerrero said through a translator.
It was Guerrero’s 29th career home run against Baltimore, his most against any opponent. The hit would have been a homer in six of the 30 big league stadiums.
Guerrero had eight home runs in 18 postseason games last October as Toronto reached Game 7 of the World Series. Three of those homers came at Rogers Centre, including one in Game 6 of the ALCS against Seattle.
A six-time All-Star, Guerrero last homered in a regular season game in Toronto in a loss to Texas on Aug. 17, 2025.
Guerrero Jr. had his second four-hit game of the season Sunday. He nearly homered in his second at bat, lining a double off the wall in right-center.
The Mets are promoting top prospect Jefferson Rojas to Triple-A Syracuse, according to a report on Sunday by The Athletic's Will Sammon.
Rojas, 21, is first in SNY's latest ranking of the Mets' top 30 prospects for the 2026 season.
In 29 games for Double-A Binghamton, Rojas slashed .280/.336/.593 with nine home runs and 29 RBI.
New York acquired Rojas from the Cubs in the Aug. 3 trade that dealt RHP Clay Holmes and LF Tyrone Taylor to Chicago.
With Chicago's Double-A affiliate, the Knoxville Smokies, Rojas slashed .270/.339/.461 while hitting 15 home runs and driving in 57 runs over 91 games.
"While his skill set does not scream future star, scouts I speak to look at Rojas as a high-floor player who looks the part of a future everyday player," DeMayo wrote. "It would not surprise me if the Mets gave Rojas a taste of Triple-A before the 2026 season ended. But even if not, he should begin the 2027 season with Triple-A and put himself in position to make his major league debut if/when an opportunity presents itself next season."
Martone moments add to buzz about his future as Flyers sweep rookie series originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Flyers’ top prospects were as advertised Sunday night.
They put together a 4-1 win over the Rangers at PPL Center in the second of two rookie games this weekend.
Porter Martone (one goal, one assist) and Denver Barkey (one goal, one assist) each had multiple points. Martone iced the game with the Flyers’ second empty-net goal. Noah Powell had the first.
Brek Liske also found the back of the net. Oliver Bonk, Jett Luchanko, Maksim Sokolovskii and Spencer Gill all had an assist.
The Flyers took the first matchup, 3-2. Alex Bump led the charge and then received the night off for Game 2.
• Martone just oozes with leadership qualities. You can see why he was a captain in the OHL and at world juniors.
In the second period, the 19-year-old winger tried to regroup offensively for another rush. But two Rangers converged on him and forced a turnover that resulted in Liam Greentree’s game-tying 1-1 goal.
But Martone responded. And he was also accountable. The Flyers went into second intermission with a 2-1 lead after Martone helped orchestrate Liske’s goal. After the horn sounded on the period, Martone found his goaltender Marek Sklenicka and apologized for his earlier mishap.
“I went up to him and just said, ‘That’s on me, we’ll get you back here,'” Martone said. “He played awesome for us coming in there. It’s probably tough with one of his first shots being off a backdoor pass. … I made a mistake there, but I had to bounce back in the third and get the win. He came up big for us down the stretch.”
The Flyers have loved Martone’s maturity. He didn’t dwell on his previous play and instead made the next one.
“That’s what good players do,” John Snowden, the AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley head coach, said. “Short memory, things happen.”
In the second period, Barkey absorbed a heavy hit from the Rangers’ 6-foot-7 forward Dylan Roobroeck. Martone made sure to find Roobroeck after the whistle for a get-together.
“He doesn’t have to do that, I don’t want to see him doing that stuff,” Barkey said with a smile. “I’ve got to keep my head up, too, at the same time. But it’s obviously super cool to see someone of that caliber have the guts to go do that to a guy like that, and not back away. It means a lot and it goes a long way when you know someone’s got your back like that.”
• It didn’t take long for the London connection between Barkey and Bonk to be on display.
The Flyers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period when the former Knights teammates executed up ice.
“We played for four years in London together,” Barkey said, “so I guess we know where each other is quite often.”
Barkey made a strong move in close after Bonk joined the rush and found him. Bonk, a 21-year-old defenseman, is pushing for the Flyers. The 2023 first-rounder keeps the puck out of his net and his offensive instincts are good.
“He’s very, very smart,” Snowden, who runs rookie camp, said. “He’s surgical on his decisions and when he jumps up into the play. He’s really good at kind of hiding himself in those situations and just hitting with a burst, jumping into a spot at the right time.”
On Barkey’s goal, Luchanko ignited the sequence with a subtle but impressive play along the boards while under pressure. The 2024 first-round center had a pair of helpers over the weekend.
“I think a lot of his things go unnoticed,” Martone said. “Just winning defensive battles in the O-zone, kind of starting the play. I think he’s going to have a big year this year. You can see his vision, too. He makes small, little plays around the ice that kind of get the offense started.”
• Powell was highly noticeable in both games because of his hard-nosed, bottom-six brand. The 2024 fifth-round winger knows that will be his ticket to the NHL. The front office had to take notice.
He was a pest all weekend and dropped the gloves in Game 2.
“Hockey’s a violent game,” Powell said. “I’m not saying I’m a violent person, but when I get out there, I definitely do like to play a violent, vicious style of hockey. Kind of get out there and make sure that it’s known.”
• The Flyers went with their Czechia goalie tandem from this summer’s draft.
Martin Psohlavec, one of the Flyers’ two second-rounders, started and made seven saves.
Sklenicka, a fourth-rounder, played the back half of the game. He converted eight saves.
• The Flyers are scheduled to have two more days of rookie camp. Main training camp begins Thursday.
The Vancouver Canucks wrapped up the 2026 Prospects Showcase with a 5–2 win against the Seattle Kraken. Adam Novotný, Bennett Schimek, Gabriel Chiarot, Braeden Cootes, and Alonso Gosselin scored for Vancouver today, while Ty Young and Aku Koskenvuo split the start and stopped a combined 31 of 33 shots faced.
After an individually successful first game the day before that saw him score his first goal in a Canucks uniform, Novotný put on an excellent performance once again, opening the scoring with less than five minutes to go in the first period. Playing on a new line with Cootes and fellow 2026 draftee Brooks Rogowski, the winger helped advance the play into the O-zone, chipping it up to Rogowski before advancing on net and beating Kraken goaltender Nikke Kokko.
Novotný’s impact went farther than just on the scoresheet, however, as he was also noticeably more physical in today’s game — specifically in throwing extra jabs at the Kraken prospects after the whistle went.
“In a good way, bull in a china shop,” Abbotsford Canucks Head Coach Ryan Papaioannou said post-game of Novotný’s performance. “Everything [went] north for him, chipping pucks to areas, winning races, really tough to knock off the puck. So I think he probably just stayed to his brand.”
“He’s got an elite shot release. You saw him on his first goal today — that’s pretty sick," linemate Rogowski added. "Just with his speed too, he just creates so well. His speed opens up ice for everyone else because guys kind of duplicate on him and it just creates more space for everybody. For a guy like him, he’s such a threat. It sometimes takes the pressure off me a little bit to give me some more space to make a play.”
Just as it seemed to for Seattle the night before, once the second period came around, the Canucks’ floodgates opened up.
At the beginning of the second, the Kraken announced a change at goal, swapping Kokko with Maks Corovic.
The Kraken managed to tie things up at the five-minute mark of the second period, though it didn’t take long for Vancouver to regain their lead and then some. Schimek helped start the play that led to his goal, retrieving the puck from a Seattle team attempting to break-out. After giving it to Kirill Kudryavtsev to reset, the Abbotsford Canucks forward tore into the O-zone and flipped the puck past Corovic’s glove.
Vancouver scored once again after things got scrambly near Seattle’s crease, with the puck hitting a Kraken player’s stick before ending up in the net. Cootes tapped Vancouver’s fourth goal into the net after receiving a smooth pass from linemate Rogowski.
Before Vancouver could score their fifth, Kraken prospect Jagger Firkus found the back of the net for Seattle. Five minutes later, however, Novotný brought the puck into the O-zone, keeping it alive along the boards before passing it to Gosselin, who tucked it in for the Canucks’ fifth goal of the game.
By the end of the second period, the score was up to 5–2 for Vancouver.
The third period featured more special teams time as well as some stunning saves by Koskenvuo. This included a split-save that saw the goaltender stretch across the crease to stop the Kraken from scoring with around five minutes remaining in the game.
One of the most impactful changes to Vancouver in today’s game was the switch in lines. The new line of Novotný, Cootes, and Rogowski helped score three of the Canucks’ five goals, with each member of the line registering at least one point.
“I think [it was] just probably something that we all wanted to see, everybody in the stands included,” Papaioannou said of the Canucks prospects’ top-line.”Give those guys a look together, and whether they had a successful game or not, I think it was fun just to watch.”
Vancouver’s prospects will now look to build on today’s result by having a strong training camp next week.
1st Period:
15:54 - VAN: Adam Novotný from Brooks Rogowski and Arseni Anisimov
2nd Period:
5:23 - SEA: Tyson Jugnauth from Oscar Fisker Molgaard and Jagger Firkus (PPG)
6:28 - VAN: Bennett Schimek from Kirill Kudryavtsev
7:56 - VAN: Gabriel Chiarot from Carson Cameron
9:08 - VAN: Braeden Cootes from Brooks Rogowski and Adam Novotný
11:33 - SEA: Jagger Firkus from Julius Miettinen and Ty Nelson
16:24 - VAN: Alonso Gosselin from Adam Novotný and Sawyer Mynio
3rd Period:
No Scoring.
Up Next:
The next time the Canucks will hit the ice in front of their fans is on September 17 for Day 1 of their 2026 Training Camp in Penticton. The 2026 NHL pre-season begins a couple of days after on September 19, with the Canucks facing none-other than the Kraken in Seattle.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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Brett Baty’s return to the lineup allowed for the only really good Mets swing against Cam Schlittler on Sunday.
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Try it freeAfter the Yankees ace fired 4 ²/₃ hitless innings, Baty launched a double off the right field fence at Yankee Stadium. It was the only hit Schlittler surrendered over six innings in the Mets’ 2-0 loss.
Baty had missed the previous two games after departing with left knee pain Wednesday in Miami. He started at second base Sunday.
“It’s really kind of mean as a manager to give him two days off and tell him to go get Schlittler, after sitting with an off-day on the front side of that,” interim manager Andy Green said. “It’s good that he is healthy. It’s fun to watch him slide headfirst into second base.”
Over his past 15 games, Baty has produced a 1.101 OPS.
Nate Lavender pitched a scoreless seventh in his first appearance since his streak of 14 shutout innings to begin his major league career was snapped Wednesday in Miami. The left-hander allowed one walk and one strikeout. In his previous appearance he surrendered three earned runs and recorded only one out.
“He was right back to being himself,” Green said. “Getting lazy fly balls, getting above barrels a little bit and then just a relatively efficient inning. He’s a guy we’re excited about. He will continue to work. I wasn’t worried about him getting back on the mound after finally giving up some runs.”
Jonah Tong will be the third rookie in four games to start for the Mets when he faces the Orioles on Monday at Citi Field. The right-hander was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse last week and allowed four earned runs over five innings in a win over the Marlins.
The Mets will begin their final homestand of the season, with the Phillies (four games) following the Orioles into Queens.
The Mets split the season series with the Yankees. All time in the regular season, the Mets are 72-86 in the Subway Series. This includes a 21-27 record at the present Yankee Stadium.
Earlier this week, we asked you to choose your preferred first round opponent for the Phillies. Your responses were this:
It’s not surprising that the Padres would be the choice. It has always felt like the Phillies have played them well, regardless of where it is. Were those games to come to fruition, it would likely be in Philadelphia where the Phillies have dominated them in the past five years, going 12-4.
Based on how they have been lately against teams that have winning records, it’s really not surprising that people would want to avoid the top tier of the National League until they absolutely have to.
MIAMI –– Freddie Freeman will be back out of the Dodgers’ lineup on Monday, manager Dave Roberts announced, after the veteran first baseman continued to look physically limited during back-to-back losses to the Miami Marlins this weekend.
Freeman has been battling a right knee injury over the last couple weeks, with a problem he described as “patellar tendonitis.” It got bad enough that he had to miss games on Wednesday and Friday, after falling into a 1-for-18 slump at the plate with a clearly hampered swing.
Evidently, those days off only did so much good. While Freeman insisted his knee was feeling better, he still suffered back-to-back 0-for-4 performances on Saturday and Sunday and committed a costly miscue defensively in the latter, contributing to a 6-4 walk-off loss.
“Just talking to him today, he said he felt good,” Roberts said, before countering: “Obviously, the swings don’t indicate that, don’t kind of validate that … The last week, it’s pretty obvious that he’s not himself in the box.”
For now, the Dodgers are still not considering an injured list stint for the newly-turned 37-year-old slugger.
As Freeman told the California Post on Saturday, he is hopeful continued treatment and medication will help the problem improve over the final couple weeks of the regular season.
Still, his dubious health status is only adding to the Dodgers’ long list of late-season headaches.
And on Sunday, the team got a reminder of the risk it runs by trotting him out at less than 100%.
With the Dodgers protecting a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, Freeman was called into action on an Xavier Edwards grounder that forced him to range to his right. While Freeman fielded the ball cleanly, he had to then stop, turn and make an underhand flip back to first base –– ultimately misfiring on a lob that was too high and off-target for pitcher Tanner Scott to receive while still covering the bag.
The resulting infield single helped put into motion the Marlins’ four-run walk-off rally.
It was a moment Roberts highlighted specifically in his postgame review of the team’s collapse.
“There’s a PFP that Freddie made an errant throw,” Roberts said, before later adding: “He’s obviously not moving as well as he’s used to [on defense].”
Thus, the Dodgers will try another day of rest for Freeman again on Monday. They will hope he feels better by the time he returns to action (or is at least scheduled to) on Tuesday.
“He’s doing anything and everything he can to prepare,” Roberts noted.
But so far, it hasn’t assuaged the growing concerns over Freeman’s health –– giving the team yet another critical question mark with the start of the playoffs just three weeks away.
The Texas Rangers scored seven runs while the Arizona Diamondbacks scored six runs.
Back on June 30, coincidentally on the exact day the Rangers secured their last road series win before today’s victory, AJM wrote about how the Rangers being unable to grab an extra bag on base hits was hindering their run production.
After Texas went up 2-0 just two batters into the game when Corey Seager hit a monstrous two-run home run, the game settled in at that score until Josh Jung led off the top of fourth with a single and then scampered to second base on a Brandon Nimmo single and then went to third base on a two-out Ezequiel Duran single and then didn’t score because Elias Diaz struck out with the bases loaded.
In the bottom of the inning, two pitches after the Rangers had spent like 25 minutes getting three hits and not scoring, Gabriel Moreno hit a solo home run off of Cal Quantrill to make it a 2-1 game. It felt for a moment like we were in for a repeat of Friday’s loss — and many similar losses throughout the summer — where the Rangers failed to score with the bases loaded in a close game only for the opponent to pounce the next half inning.
Quantrill buckled down and prevented the Diamondbacks from getting anything else going and the game remained 2-1. However, something interesting happened the next inning. After an out, Justin Foscue reached on an error and then took off for third base on a Seager single and made it just before the throw. It was an aggressive play on the bases, one we haven’t seen very often.
It paid off. Jung followed with a single that Arizona left fielder Lars Nootbaar got nutmegged on which allowed two runs to score and Jung to reach second base. After an out, Nimmo singled in Jung to put the Rangers up 5-1. An inning after that, the Rangers added a couple more runs to go up big.
Quantrill ended up with his customary weekly quality start and though Tyler Alexander ran into some trouble in the seventh to allow the Diamondbacks to get back in the game, Robert Garcia was good for a scoreless inning before Jacob Latz escaped the ninth with a save to give the Rangers their first road series win since the first day of July.
There’s only two weeks left. Let’s go gambling!
Player of the Game: Seager finished the day with a team-best three hits and three RBIs while also scoring a couple of runs. The Rangers need their superstar shortstop to be a superstar difference maker in the season’s final couple of weeks and today was a good start.
Up Next: The Rangers have Monday off before beginning a series back at The Shed against the Boston Red Sox beginning on Tuesday evening.
It’s series finale time, and for the last time this year, the San Francisco Giants are facing the San Diego Padres. The Giants are trying to avoid the sweep, after losing on Friday and Saturday.
There will be an MLB debut for the Giants, who called up Scott Bandura before the game, and placed Rafael Devers on the Injured List. Bandura will become the 67th player to play for the Giants this season, which is a franchise record.
Taking the mound for San Francisco is the face of the franchise, righty Logan Webb. The 29-year old three-time All-Star has made 26 starts this year, and is 8-8 with a 4.10 ERA, a 3.46 FIP, and 127 strikeouts to 40 walks in 155.2 innings. He held the St. Louis Cardinals to one run over six innings in his last start.
For San Diego, it’s veteran right-hander Nick Pivetta, who makes just his sixth start of the year. The 33-year old is 2-2 with a 3.43 ERA, a 1.48 FIP, and 26 strikeouts to six walks in 21 innings. In his last start, which was his first outing since a nearly five-month stint on the IL, Pivetta tossed five scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals.
Enjoy the baseball, everyone. Happy Sunday!
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Giants
RHP. Logan Webb
Padres
RHP. Nick Pivetta
Who: San Francisco Giants (62-87) vs. San Diego Padres (80-68)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
When: 4:20 p.m. PT
Regional broadcast: n/a
National broadcast: Peacock/NBC Sports
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM