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A Subway Series game on the 25th anniversary of September 11th was always going to bring about some pomp and circumstance and a chance for New Yorkers of all fandoms to come together and pay tribute.

However once the first pitch is thrown, both sets of fans want their team to win above all else. In the series opener, the Yankees’ fans were the ones that got to celebrate.

On the mound, Carlos Rodón was very good. He ended up going 6.1 innings, allowing two runs (only one earned) on three hits and a walk, while striking out eight. At the plate, the Yankees got to Mets’ starter Nolan McLean for a couple runs, including a big three-run homer from Cody Bellinger. That proved enough to give the Yankees a 6-4 win in the Subway Series opener against the mets.

The Yankees started out the game in close to perfect fashion. Ben Rice and Bellinger started with singles, followed by an Aaron Judge walk to load the bases. The inning didn’t turn out as good as it could’ve after that, though. Spencer Jones brought home one run with a single, but the bases were stranded loaded, including an inning-ending double play by George Lombard Jr.

Naturally right after that, the Mets immediately answered. Mark Vientos walked and two batters later, Marcus Semien singled, with a Jones misplay allowing them to move up a base each. That error would allow Vientos to score on a ground out, tying the game.

However, the Yankees’ offense had a reply waiting. While the first two hitters of the second went down in order, Anthony Volpe continued his nice start since returning with a single. Ben Rice followed that with a single, having used ABS to successfully overturned a strike three. That kept the inning going for Bellinger, who took a three-run shot out to right field.

Rodón settled in a bit after that and the Yankees eventually tacked on more. Rice led off the bottom of the fifth with a homer. They again missed out on an opportunity to add more, though.

In the sixth inning, Rodón got one out before allowing a single, which would be the end of his day. Paul Blackburn came in and got two outs, but a walk and a single got the Mets a run back. Brent Headrick came in for him and got out of the inning with a nifty catch on a comebacker.

Headrick then came back out for the eighth, but much like Blackburn in the inning before, he got himself into some trouble. A single and two walks loaded the bases with just one out, leading to Aaron Boone going to David Bednar for a potential five-out save. He got the first two, but a Semien sacrifice fly scored one run before the inning ended.

With the Yankees’ lead dwindling, they were in need of some insurance in the ninth. Luis García Jr. and Jones each hit a single, with George Lombard Jr. then bunting them up a base. Ryan McMahon then dropped in a single that only scored one run, as pinch runner José Caballero had to hold up to make sure the ball wasn’t caught. The hit did provide some insurance, but it did end up keeping the Yankees from more in the inning.

With Bednar back on for the ninth, the inning got off to an iffy start when A.J. Ewing hit a laser of a home run into the second deck in right field. A Francisco Lindor single later in the inning meant that Juan Soto came to the plate as the potential tying run, as the narrative decided not to use subtext. However, Bednar got Soto to ground into a game-ending double play to take round one of the set.

The Subway Series will continue tomorrow at 1:35 pm ET. Gerrit Cole and Zac Thornton are expected to be the starting pitchers.

Box Score

The Rays are back in the postseason for the first time since 2023 as the club rallied late against one of the better relievers in baseball in the 9th to walk off the Astros 3-1.

This game was two hours and twenty-two minutes long, but the 9th inning was the main event. Through the first eight innings, the teams combined for two runs coming off a sacrifice fly by Yanier Diaz in the 4th and yet another Victor Mesa home run in the 5th inning:

The Rays offense was not able to generate any other offense outside that solo shot against the quartet of Miguel Ullola, Bryan King, and Ethan Pecko, Pecko’s setup on the mound and his approach was reminiscent of how Robert Stock shut the Rays down in the last homestand. Rasmussen remained undefeated since the All-Star break even if the outing was a bit of a grind. He threw first pitch strikes to 15 of the 27 batters faced and scattered seven singles as well as a double to former Ray Isaac Paredes in the outing. He was behind in more counts than usual in his outing, but grinded through this outing with the help of a couple of timely double plays. The Rays remain undefeated in games when Rasmussen starts as he continues to embrace the role of staff ace in 2026.

Rasmussen gave way to Tyler Wells and Bryan Baker to get the last six outs and that duo permitted two runners to reach base while stranding them both to set up the 9th inning. Joe Espada brought in Bryan Abreu to begin the inning and had Josh Hader warming up, which we will revisit momentarily. Abreu entered this contest limiting hitters to a .187 average while striking out 30% of the batters he has faced.

Abreu struck out Yandy Diaz on a high inside fastball to get the first out. Jonathan Aranda then worked a 1-1 count and got a cutter that found too much of the plate and came within a foot of hitting a walk-off home run, instead settling for a double:

That brought Junior Caminero to the plate with a base open and Liam Hick on deck. Logic would have said to put Caminero on base and bring in Hader to either face Hicks or force Cash to likely pinch hit with Ryan Vilade. Hader has held hitters to a .114 average this season, but Espada stuck with Abreu who attempted to announce his presence with authority to Junior Caminero. Abreu chose poorly:

Caminero’s 40th home run on the season was his first career walkoff. He has now hit 40 home runs in consecutive seasons and is the first player in nearly 30 years with multiple 40+ homer seasons before the age of 24. It was a fun comeback with two well-struck baseballs in the 9th thereby equaling the team’s output through the first eight innings of the game. The Rays hold serve in the standings as the Yankees defeated the Mets in the first game of the Subway Series as they celebrate for one evening while staying focused on higher aspirations this month.

MIAMI –– Time will tell if Kyle Tucker is truly heating up.

But for now, at the very least, it finally seems like he is starting to thaw out.

After being stuck in a deep freeze at the plate for much of the last month, Tucker produced a second-straight offensive outburst in the Dodgers’ 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday night, finishing a double shy of the cycle in a three-hit display highlighted by a grand slam at loanDepot Park.

It started with a single in the first inning, allowing Tucker to pick up where he left off after a three-hit performance on Wednesday. He then opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the third, giving Blake Snell a lead he wouldn’t relinquish in a 5 ⅔-inning, one-run start.

In the top of the sixth, Tucker took another confident hack, squaring up a hanging first-pitch slider for a triple off the wall in right. He would later score on a bloop single from Will Smith.

And for a finale, his breakout night culminated with the bases loaded an inning later, setting up Tucker for a grand-slam swing –– on a 395-foot drive that landed in the right-field bullpen –– that punctuated perhaps a season-best performance.

“Felt good in the box, put the barrel to the ball, put up competitive at-bats,” Tucker said afterward. “Wherever the ball goes, it goes. Just trying to hit it hard.”

Up until the last few days, hitting the ball hard had not been a common occurrence for the team’s $240 million flop of an offseason signing.

He had gone from bad to worse during a slump through much of August and September, taking an already disappointing debut season to even more confounding lows by batting .116 over his previous 26 games.

But then came Wednesday, when Tucker had three hits, two runs scored, a double and, technically, a home run, albeit off a position player.

“It still counts,” he joked that night. “I’ll take it.”

Now, following Friday’s 3-for-3, five-RBI performance, Tucker has collected three hits in back-to-back games for the first time all year.

To manager Dave Roberts, the resurgence is not a coincidence. He said that Tucker and the team’s hitting coaches found a fix to his swing recently that has “cleaned up his bat path” and kept his barrel square through the zone.

“I know the hitting coaches kind of unlocked something with Kyle, and it’s just good to see it translate that quickly,” Roberts said.

Added Tucker, who was vague about the specifics of his breakthrough: “There’s a lot more room for error hitting the ball because you can hit it deep and go the other way or catch it out in front and pull it a little bit more. Just trying to be consistent with that and be as long through the zone as possible.”

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There’s little saving Tucker’s season-long stats at this point, of course. At the end of play Friday, he was still hitting just .230 on the year (a career-worst for a full-length campaign) with a .701 OPS (the 36th-lowest mark of MLB’s 139 qualified hitters).

However, the Dodgers’ main impetus for signing the four-time All-Star was to bolster their chances of a World Series three-peat. Despite his struggles, they remain in prime October position. And while all might not be forgiven if he has a big playoff moment, it would certainly help erase the sting of his regular-season frustrations.

“The numbers [for the season] probably are what they are,” Tucker said. “But we’ve got a lot of important games coming next month. Just trying to finish out the season strong, get to that point and just try to win games. That’s the most important thing.”

Granted, there’s a long way to go before any of that. Two games, against two sub-.500 opponents, offer little more than a simple seed of hope that Tucker can eventually turn things around.

Then again, that’s more than the Dodgers have had to cling to for most of this year, while waiting on something from the 29-year-old superstar.

Now, at long last, Tucker has real confidence. He’s not quite hot yet, but he’s no longer ice cold either.

It is Friday night.

The Orioles have beaten the Blue Jays, 7-4, to open their series in Toronto. Dylan Beavers led off the game with a homer, the Orioles offense rattled off five runs thanks to six straight hits in the second inning, and things got interesting later but Rico Garcia was able to get the final out and close out one of the probable 12 wins in their last 15 games that the O’s need to get. The odds are not good, but they’ll get better if the Orioles keep winning.

YOU KNOW WHAT MUST BE DONE.

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the Mets and Yankees met for a game that seemed bigger and more impactful than it realistically should have, given each team’s current playoff position. However, the emotions were running high and, despite multiple attempts at a comeback, the Mets couldn’t claw their way back from an early deficit, losing 6-4 to their crosstown rivals.

After five straight quality starts, Nolan McLean had a bit of a rough start this evening. In the bottom of the first, the first three batters reached first on two singles and a walk, before Spencer Jones drove in the first run on a one-out single. McLean was able to work his way through without further damage.

The Mets tied the game in the top of the second when Mark Vientos scored on a Christopher Morel groundout, but that would be the entirety of the Mets’ offense against Carlos Rodón. Aside from a third inning single by Juan Soto, the Mets didn’t muster another baserunner until the seventh.

That was not true of the Yankees, who added on as soon as the Mets tied the game. McLean got the first two outs in the second, but two straight singles by Anthony Volpe and Ben Rice put two on for Cody Bellinger, who hit a three-run home run to right-center field, putting the Yankees up 4-1.

In the fifth, Ben Rice led off the inning with a solo home run, extending the lead to four runs. McLean would be done after five, allowing ten hits and five runs while walking one and striking out five.

Carson Benge took the ball the other way for a one-out single in the top of the seventh, the first Met baserunner in four innings, and that would do it for Rodón. Old friend Paul Blackburn was first out of the Yankees’ bullpen. Blackburn walked Marcus Semien to start his evening, but induced a weak ground ball from Jared Young for a fielder’s choice, erasing Semien at second. A.J. Ewing drove in Benge with a pulled single over second base, cutting the lead to 5-2. Blackburn walked Francisco Alvarez to load the bases, and that would be it for Blackburn.

Lefty Brent Headrick was brought in to keep Lindor batting from the right side, where he has been far weaker this season. Lindor worked the count full before an extended delay was caused by an idiot running out on the field. Lindor lined the ball hard up the middle, but right into Headrick’s glove to end the inning.

Jack Weisenburger, fresh from Syracuse, pitched the sixth and seventh inning for the Mets, not allowing a baserunner and striking out both Bellinger and Aaron Judge. It was an impressive outing for Weisenburger, another one of the seemingly endless parade of arms the Mets have called up in the second half.

Soto grounded out to start the eighth, but a single by Bichette and a Vientos walk put two on with one out for Benge. Benge worked a really great at-bat and walked to load the bases. David Bednar, Yankees’ closer, was brought in to get the five out save, or at least get the Yankees through the eighth.

Semien stepped to the plate, and hit a long fly ball to center, scoring Bichette and allowing pinch runner Cristian Pache to tag up to third. It was for naught however, as Young lined out to left-center to end the inning, but the Mets brought the game within two.

Weisenburger came out for the eighth, and quickly allowed singles to Luis García Jr. and Spencer Jones, and all of a sudden things looked shaky for Weisenburger. George Lombard Jr. laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, pushing the runners to second and third with one out. Ryan McMahon dorked a ball in front of Soto, allowing a run to score and widening the Yankee lead to three. Weisenberger gout out of it with just the one run scored, but the uphill battle got a little steeper.

On the first pitch of the ninth, Ewing turned on a ball and cranked it over the short porch in left, bringing it back to a two-run game. Alvarez quickly was out on strikes, leaving it to the top of the Mets’ order to get it done. Lindor, batting from the left side for the first time in the game, dribbled a single between first and second, bringing Soto to the plate as the tying run. Bednar was feeding Soto nothing but splitters, and Soto topped over one into a game-ending 3-6-3 double play.

The Mets will look to even the series tomorrow when Zac Thornton faces Gerrit Cole at 1:35.

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Box scores

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Tie: Mark Vientos, Marcus Semien, and Carson Benge, +5.0% WPA
Big Mets loser: Nolan McLean, -29.0% WPA
Mets pitchers: -29.0% WPA
Mets hitters: -21.0% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Marcus Semien’s second inning single, +9.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Cody Bellinger’s three-run dinger, -25.3% WPA

The Mets lost to the Yankees, 6-4, in the series opener of the Subway Series on Friday night.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- Nolan McLean had his first clunker in quite some time after allowing five earned runs on a career-high 10 hits in five innings in his Subway Series debut at Yankee Stadium.

-- The right-hander’s outing started off shaky after he loaded the bases on two singles and a walk to the first three batters he faced. After a lineout, Spencer Jones drove in the game’s first run with a single. McLean managed to get out of further trouble by getting a double-play ball from George Lombard Jr.

-- The second inning started better for McLean, who retired the first two of the frame, but then disaster struck. Anthony Volpe kept the inning alive with a single before Ben Rice had his second hit of the night and suddenly the Yankees had a two-out rally going. 

The big blow came off the bat of Cody Bellinger, who demolished a hanging curveball by McLean into the right field seats for a three-run bomb. It was the first home run allowed by McLean on a curveball in his career.

-- The rookie faced the minimum from there (thanks to another outfield assist by Carson Benge, this one against Luis Garcia Jr. at second base) until the fifth inning when Rice extended the Yanks’ lead with a leadoff solo shot to the opposite field that just went over the glove of Juan Soto. McLean had more trouble to deal with in the inning after two more singles, but he finished his night by striking out Jones and getting Lombard to fly out.

-- The right-hander’s final line: 5 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR on 101 pitches (63 strikes). It was the first time in five starts McLean allowed more than two earned runs and failed to pitch at least six innings. His ERA climbed from 3.06 to 3.24.

-- On the other side, Carlos Rodon limited the Mets to two runs (one earned) over a season-high 6.1 innings. He allowed three hits and struck out eight as he continued his strong season when healthy.

-- The Mets’ best chance to get back into the game came in the seventh inning when, with a run already scored in the inning, they loaded the bases against former Met Paul Blackburn, which brought up Francisco Lindor. 

The Yankees countered with Brent Headrick, who ran the count full against Lindor before snagging a liner hit right back to him to end the inning and the threat.

-- The Mets settled for just one run again in the eighth inning despite another prime opportunity to get more after loading the bases with one out. Marcus Semien drove in the run with a sacrifice fly, but closer David Bednar ended the inning with a flyout.

-- The Yanks got that run right back in the bottom half of the inning against Jack Weisenburger, who went three innings in relief of McLean to save the rest of the Mets' bullpen. New York (AL) finished with 13 hits, with Rice and Garcia leading the charge with three each while Bellinger and Jones added two apiece.

-- A.J. Ewing led off the top of the ninth with a home run for his second hit of the game to cut the Mets' deficit to 6-4, and after Lindor singled, it brought up Soto as the tying run. The former Yankee, who heard boos all game, ended the game by grounding into a double play.

Game MVP: Carlos Rodon

The offense did its thing, but the left-hander had the Mets off balance all night.

Highlights

Nolan McLean gets a bases-loaded double-play ball from George Lombard Jr. to avoid further damage in the first pic.twitter.com/9eLX6MPTTJ

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 11, 2026

Christopher Morel's groundout brings home Mark Vientos to tie the game at 1 pic.twitter.com/Y12gocBQ4A

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 11, 2026

CODY BELLINGER THREE-RUN HOMER! pic.twitter.com/A5tO3iLN73

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 11, 2026

Stop running on him!

Carson Benge throws out Luis Garcia Jr. at second base pic.twitter.com/JRwojA6wzo

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 12, 2026

Ben Rice solo shot! pic.twitter.com/DW0mOFTMGP

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 12, 2026

A.J. Ewing drives in a run and brings the tying run to the plate 👀 pic.twitter.com/gqtE1J8eZV

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 12, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Yankees continue the second installment of the Subway Series this season in the Bronx, with a Saturday matinee kicking off at 1:35 p.m. on SNY.

LHP Zac Thornton (3-5, 3.53 ERA) will face off against RHP Gerrit Cole (8-8, 3.41 ERA).

Carter Jensen hit a pair of doubles, drove in a run, and scored a pair to lead the Royals to their second straight victory and first win against Boston since August 6 of last year. The final score was 3-2 in favor of Kansas City.

It was kind of a weird start for Seth Lugo. I attempted to do a reverse jinx on him with the game preview, and he ultimately allowed only two runs in five innings. That’s good enough for now. However, looking toward the future, allowing 7 hits and 2 walks, even while striking out 7, in 5 innings is not a recipe for sustained success.

He only threw seven of his pitches tonight and, perhaps most notably, eschewed the slow curve entirely. The curveball and four-seamer were both much more effective than they have been of late. Perhaps this is a sign he’s on the rebound.

For a while it seemed like the jinx on Sonny Gray might work, too. Gray came into the game with a 1.74 ERA against the Royals, the best among any pitchers with at least 10 starts against the team. Jensen’s first double led off the game. He advanced to third on a groundout from Bobby Witt Jr. and scored on a Salvador Perez single when Gray inexplicably threw Salvy a sinker in instead of the usual breaking stuff away.

In the third inning, it seemed like the Royals might just go ahead and knock out Gray then and there. Isaac Collins led off with an automatic double at 103.2 MPH down the right field line that hopped over the short fence near the pole. Carter followed up by smashing one at 102.6 off the monster in left to trade places with Collins. Bobby flew out to center at 103.3 to advance Carter to third and Vinnie Pasquantino hit one at 102.4 to give the Royals their final run. Sadly, Salvy grounded into a double play to end the inning and that was the last time KC would score.

The bullpen, as has occasionally been the case in the second half, while it was almost never the case in the first half, pitched well for four innings. Connor Thomas, Nolan Hoffman, Nate Pearson, and Steven Cruz combined for 3 strikeouts, 0 walks, and only 1 hit. That’s how you cling to a one-run lead for half of a game.

The Royals will play a late-afternoon match tomorrow. Randy Dobnak (2.54 ERA, 4.58 SIERA) will face off against Ranger Suarez (3.44 ERA, 3.95 SIERA) at 3:05 PM Central. Suarez, of course, is a lefty. So the Royals will have their work cut out for them.

The Colorado Rockies entered Detroit hoping to snap a seven-game losing streak on the road. Despite a solid start from their rookie pitcher and an offense that out-hit the Tigers, the Rockies bullpen collapsed in the middle innings, leading to a 6-2 defeat. They are now just eight games away from losing 100 games for the fourth season in a row.

Well done, Mr. Adams

Making his fourth big-league start, Mason Adams continued to impress in a Rockies uniform with a fairly quick and efficient outing.

The night started promisingly as Adams struck out the side in the bottom of the first inning. In the second, he allowed a leadoff single to Riley Greene and a one-out walk to Max Clark but managed to escape with a ground ball double play. He then worked a quick 1-2-3 third inning followed by a quick fourth inning where he faced the minimum.

Through the first four innings, Adams had thrown just 52 pitches with four groundouts and looked primed to go the deepest into the game than he had previously. Unfortunately, he had to labor in the fifth inning with 25 pitches.

After the Rockies had taken the lead in the top half of the fifth inning, it didn’t take long for the Tigers to tie things up. After striking out Dillon Dingler for the second time, Adams surrendered a solo home run to rookie outfielder Max Clark on a fastball that was low and inside. The home run may have rattled Adams a smidge as he walked the next two batters, but he got out of the inning by inducing another double-play ball.

His night was over after 77 pitches, having allowed just the one run on two hits over five innings with five strikeouts against three walks. Adams pounded the zone and the Detroit lineup had a tough time squaring him up. Even the pitch Clark hit out was a quality offering that he just got beat on. The efficiency was on point and the future remains quite bright for the young right-hander.

“I thought [Adams] was really good,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “He got behind in some counts and had some walks but other than that I thought the breaking ball was really good. The punch-out was high; he looked sharp.”

“I think it all goes back to his poise and his preparation. He looks in total control out there and he has really good stuff. Those two things combined and the presence he brings on the mound, it’s something that lines up for a long time in the future.”

Sixth inning bullpen struggles and beyond

After a great performance by the rookie starter, the Rockies turned to rookie reliever Mark Manfredi in the sixth inning. After retiring Kevin McGonigle to start the inning, Manfredi walked Gleybor Torres. He then got pinch-hitter Spencer Torkelson to fly out to right field for the second out of the inning. Riley Greene then stepped up to the plate and seemingly struck out to end the inning, but he challenged the pitch, which was flipped to a ball. Greene then launched a ball to center field that Cole Carrigg tracked all the way to the wall, but as he hit the wall and got tied up as the ball hit the wall right next to his glove. Greene ended up with an RBI triple to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

The Rockies then turned to rookie reliever Nick Frasso.

Unfortunately, Dingler unloaded on the first pitch he saw for a two-run home run — his first long ball in five weeks — to put the Tigers up 4-1. Frasso lost all command of his pitches as he spiked a curveball that hit Clark, who promptly stole second base. Frasso then yanked back-to-back wild pitches that allowed Clark to move up to third base and subsequently score and make it 5-1 Tigers. John Peck then walked and stole second base before Zach McKinstry flew out to finally end the inning.

Blas Castaño took over in the seventh inning and worked a quick inning, but the Tigers collected their sixth run of the game when Greene collected an RBI double in the eighth inning. He managed to escape without any further damage.

The bullpen surrendered five runs on just three hits while walking three and hitting a batter, while recording zero strikeouts.

Stalled engine

Much like the series in New York, the Rockies had opportunities to score but couldn’t put much together against Tigers starter Framber Valdez. The Rockies managed to get a pair of base runners in the first inning, but Valdez escaped with a double-play ball from Hunter Goodman.

The ground ball was quite prevalent for Valdez throughout his start. Through his six innings of work, he induced 11 groundouts while striking out just two batters and issuing two walks.

The Rockies finally managed to crack through in the fifth inning, but it took a lot of frustration. Troy Johnston led off the inning with a single and moved up to third when Jordan Beck singled to right field. With runners on the corners, Ezequiel Tovar dropped a bunt that resulted in a flip play by Valdez to cut down Johnston at the plate. Jake McCarthy then lined up a ball into right that looked like it would score Beck from second base. Unfortunately, McKinstry got to the ball quickly and fired a bullet to home plate to cut down Beck.

Connor Norby then managed to draw a walk to load the bases with two outs. Carrigg rolled over on a ball to third base that ended up kicking off the heel of McGonigle’s glove, allowing Tovar to score and give the Rockies a brief 1-0 lead.

Jacob Waguespack replaced Valdez and threw two scoreless innings, giving up just one hit while striking out two. The Rockies then were able to threaten in the ninth inning against Brant Hurter. Adael Amador singled to lead off and eventually came in to score on a two-out infield single by Zac Veen. McCarthy then singled to put two runners on, his third hit of the game, which prompted Detroit to bring in Kenley Jansen. He then retired Norby on three pitches.

The Rockies lineup only had five strikeouts while out-hitting the Tigers 10-5, but they had no extra-base hits and went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The lack of thump and lost chances in the fifth inning, combined with the dozen groundouts, made for another tough night offensively.

Up next

The series continues Saturday morning with Tanner Gordon (1-4, 5.40 ERA) taking the ball for the Rockies. Detroit has yet to announce a starting pitcher.

First pitch is scheduled for 11:10 am MDT.

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The San Francisco Giants welcome the San Diego Padres to Oracle Park tonight to begin a three-game weekend series. And just a heads up that this game is only available on Apple TV.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Anthony Molina, who enters tonight’s game with a 1.88 ERA, 3.52 FIP, with 13 strikeouts to two walks in 14.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 9-5 win over the New York Mets on Saturday, in which he allowed two unearned runs on one hit with six strikeouts and a walk in five innings.

He’ll be facing off against our good friend and now Padres left-hander Robbie Ray, who enters tonight’s game with a 3.39 ERA, 4.68 FIP, with 127 strikeouts to 77 walks in 151.1 innings pitched between the Giants and Padres this season. His last start was in the Padres’ 5-1 loss to the New York Yankees on Saturday, in which he allowed five runs on five hits with one strikeout and four walks in two and a third innings.

Game #148

Who: San Francisco Giants (62-85) vs. San Diego Padres (78-68)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 7:15 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: n/a

National broadcast: Apple TV

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

The Tampa Bay Rays became the first major league club to clinch a 2026 playoff berth - and they did so in walk-off fashion thanks to their superstar third baseman.

Junior Caminero hit his 40th home run of the season, a two-run shot off Houston Astros reliever Bryan Abreu, and the Rays punched their postseason ticket in the giddiest fashion possible, beating the Astros 3-1 Friday, Sept. 11 at Tropicana Field.

The Rays (88-59) return to the postseason for the first time since 2023, when they won 99 games but were eliminated by the eventual champion Texas Rangers in the wild-card round.

This season, their sights are set much higher.

The Rays retain a three-game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East, and the division champion is nearly assured the top seed in the AL and a first-round bye. Tampa Bay entered Friday with an 81% chance to win the divison, according to FanGraphs.

How they clinched

Oh, what a finish.

Jonathan Aranda nearly ended it a batter earlier, when his shot to right center field hit just below the yellow line on the outfield fence. He settled for a one-out double. Caminero then leaned back and blasted an Abreu first-pitch fastball 417 feet over the wall in left, his AL-leading 40th of the season.

JUNIOR CAMINERO WALKS IT OFF@RAYSBASEBALL HEADS TO THE POSTSEASON! pic.twitter.com/tkDpYi0OEe

— MLB (@MLB) September 12, 2026

Caminero pounded his chest twice, exhorted his teammates in the Rays dugout and commenced a joyous trip around the bases as Tropicana Field roared.

That culminated a crisp ballgame in which starter Drew Rasmussen pitched seven innings of one-run ball. Closer Bryan Baker pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the win.

How the Rays got here

Tampa Bay has the AL's best record for a reason, a club with one legitimate superstar in third baseman Caminero and a slew of well-fitting parts. The Rays lineup is a daunting combination of power and speed, with Caminero's AL-leading 40 home runs tucked in the lineup around slugger Yandy Díaz (22 homers, .835 OPS) and first baseman Aranda (19 homers, .359 OBP). Speedy Chandler Simpson ranks second in the AL with a .306 average and the club makes contact better than any team in the majors.

Meanwhile, right-handers Nick Martinez and Rasmussen have combined for a 28-5 record and ERAs of 2.92 and 2.81, respectively.

What's next for the Rays?

Tampa Bay has two games remaining with the Astros before hosting the Athletics for three games. And then the road gets tougher to finish the season.

The Rays host third-place Boston for three games before a challenging seven-game road trip, beginning with four games at Yankee Stadium Sept. 22-24 that should go a long way toward determining the division title. Tampa Bay finishes the regular season with three games at NL wild-card hopeful Philadelphia.

If the Rays hold on and win the division, they will play host to Game 1 of the five-game AL Division Series on Saturday, Oct. 3.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tampa Bay Rays first to clinch MLB playoff berth on Junior Caminero walk-off homer

A bozo waving a Palestinian flag ran onto the field at Yankee Stadium during Friday night’s Subway Series game — at 9:11 p.m. on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The man stormed the field during the seventh inning of the Yankees-Mets game in The Bronx, waving the flag as the crowd erupted in anger.

Some fans broke into chants of “USA! USA!” while others could be heard yelling “f–k you” at the man.

The disruption came as New York marked 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

It was not immediately clear how the man managed to get onto the field.

Fans tossed drinks at the protester, who was kicking at the security guards as they carried him off the field.

The spectacle came on a night steeped in emotion at Yankee Stadium, where the crosstown rivals had gathered to commemorate a quarter-century since the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Before the first pitch, the Yankees played a seven-minute video on the outfield scoreboard featuring members of the 2001 team reflecting on the aftermath of the attacks.

Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada were among the former Yankees featured in the tribute.

Country singer Lee Greenwood then performed “God Bless the USA,” drawing roaring applause — followed by chants of “USA” from the stands.

The Yankees also welcomed back members of the 2001 team, whose run to the World Series that fall unfolded as a grieving city struggled with the aftermath of the attacks.

Jeter, Posada, O’Neill, Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Mariano Rivera and former manager Joe Torre walked onto the field to loud applause before the game.

Two people who lost their fathers in the attacks — Brielle Saracini and her husband, Sean McGuire — threw out the ceremonial first pitches.

More coverage on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11:

• Condoleezza Rice apologizes to families for failing to prevent 9/11
• 9/11 25th anniversary live updates: JD Vance unites with Clinton, Obama, Biden, Bush at Ground Zero ceremony
• Rudy Giuliani shakes Zohran Mamdani’s hand at NYC 9/11 memorial ceremony after calling on mayor to skip
• Sept. 11 widow blasts Saudis: ‘How can it be 25 years and still we have no justice?’

Both were 10 years old when their fathers were killed on Sept. 11, 2001. The pair later met at Camp Better Days, an organization created to support children who lost parents in the attacks.

Members of the 2001 Yankees stood behind the couple near the mound as they delivered the pitches.

Mets interim manager Andy Green had described the significance of the matchup before the game.

“It’s gonna be special,” Green told reporters.

“I think obviously it takes us back 25 years and all of the emotions and uncertainty we felt that day. The pain we felt for people who lost loved ones.”

“It’s gonna be incredibly special. Major League Baseball got this one right by putting these two teams against each other on this day.”

— Additional reporting by Thomas Gamba-Ellis

Let’s go streaking! The Tigers won their first game of the series against the Rockies 6-2.

After winning their series against the Twins, the Tigers were hoping to ride that winning momentum into their weekend series against the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies, having a rough season, might prove to be a good team to help bolster the Tigers in their final weeks of the regular season. They had Framber Valdez on the mound to get things started, up against Mason Adams for the Rockies.

Jake McCarthy singled to get things started for the Rockies in the top of the first. He was then eliminated in a force out off the bat of Connor Norby. Cole Carrigg singled, putting two men on, but Hunter Goodman grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the home half.

Adael Amador got a one-out walk in the top of the second, but two outs followed to leave him stranded. In the bottom of the inning, Riley Greene got a leadoff single. With one out, Max Clark walked. However, John Peck grounded into a double play to end the inning.

With two outs in the top of the third, Norby singled, but the Rox weren’t able to convert the baserunner. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.

The fourth inning was likewise a three-up, three-down affair for both teams, and I can’t say that I anticipated the biggest excitement in this game being the broadcast crew talking about the Rockies’ fun glittery belts, but here we are.

Things got a bit more interesting in the top of the fifth. Troy Johnson singled to start things off, then Jordan Beck singled, pushing Johnson to third. A fielder’s choice off the bat of Ezequiel Tovar saw Johnson head for home, but got tagged out. McCarthy singled, and once again a Rockies player headed for home, only to get tagged out by a monster throw from Zach McKinstry that managed to beat the run to home plate. Incredible.

Norby walked to load the bases. While the Tigers put up a mighty effort to balance out the mid-game collapse of Valdez, Carrigg reached on a fielding error by Kevin McGongile, scoring the first run of the game as Tovar came home. They did manage to get the final out of the inning at second, but the Rockies were on the board first. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Clark evened everything out again, with a solo home run.

Peck walked. McKinstry walked. And though it seemed like a good opportunity for the Tigers to pull into the lead, Javier Baez hit into a double play to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth, the Rockies went down in order. It was Colorado who dipped into their bullpen first, surprisingly, bringing in Mark Manfredi for the bottom of the inning. Gleyber Torres got a one-out walk. After a lengthy at-bat, Greene hit a triple off the centerfield wall that Carrigg just couldn’t field, and Torres scored.

The Rockies went back to their bullpen for Nick Frasso, and he immediately gave up a two-runner homer to Dillon Dingler on the first pitch.

Max Clark got a free bag after getting hit by a pitch, then stole second without hesitating. Love it. Then back-to-back wild pitches from Frasso advanced Clark to third and then easily home for another run. Peck also got the walk, because Frasso simply cannot seem to find the zone. Peck then stole second. It took an epic at-bat from McKinstry that Frasso ultimately won to end the inning, but the Tigers had extended their lead to 5-1.

Valdez’s day was done after six innings, with a final line of 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K on 90 pitches. The game started well enough for him, but that fifth inning was hard to watch. Jacob Waguespack came in from the bullpen. He got the side out in order for a nice, efficient inning. Blas Castaño came in to pitch in the home half, and he got the Tigers out in order.

Carrigg got a one-out single in the top of the eighth, but the Rockies left him stranded. There was also some debate about a super nice catch from McGonigle that saw him going into the protective netting. While the catch looked clean, it was ruled a foul, and later clarification from MLB suggested that because McGonigle “lost control of his body” in the netting, the catch was not an out, but rather a foul. This, of course, begs the question: would it have counted if there was no netting and McGonigle had landed on the fans? It would have. Just one of those slightly frustrating baseball things. In the bottom of the inning, Spencer Torkelson walked. Greene then doubled, bringing in another run.

Three outs followed, but the Tigers had extended their lead into an almost safe zone. Also, credit where credit is due, the final out from Moniak was a real thing of beauty.

Brant Hurter came out to pitch the ninth, hoping to hold the Rockies scoreless and keep the Tigers queued up for a win. Amador got a leadoff single. With two outs, Zac Veen singled with a little dribbler down the third-base line that allowed Amador to score, and couldn’t get to first in time to get Veen out. McCarthy then singled. That was all she wrote for Hurter, who was replaced by Kenley Jansen. Jansen came in clutch, got the final out, and secured the Tigers’ win.

Final: Tigers 6, Rockies 2

San Diego Padres (78-68) at San Francisco Giants (62-85), September 11, 2026, 7:15 p.m. PST

Watch: Apple TV

Location: Oracle Park – San Francisco, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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A fresh start, perhaps?

Lineups:

Kirby takes the mound tonight, hoping to be steadier than the uneven Jeffrey Springs. JP is back to leading off, and Birthday Boy Weston Wilson hits ninth. Taylor Ward is the DH tonight against the lefty Springs, and not to complain, but Arroyo would have been more fun.

News:

A fun storyline to watch tonight – Kirby has been one of the worst pitchers in the league at holding runners on base. Read Kate’s article on it here, it will surely be more (or at least as) interesting than the game tonight.

Today’s game information:

Game time: 6:40 PT

TV: Mariners TV, with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink

Radio: ESPN 710 AM with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.

Zac Thornton understands the Yankees still are playing for the American League East title, so he carries a responsibility. 

“We want to be spoilers to some people’s seasons,” the Mets left-hander told The Post on Friday. “We did a little bit of that last week in Miami — that felt good to spoil some seasons — so we have got to keep it on.” 

The rookie will have an opportunity to leave his mark Saturday, when he is scheduled for his Subway Series debut. Thornton has been among the Mets’ surprises this season, emerging from obscurity in spring training to post a 3.53 ERA over 12 starts for the team. 

In Miami, the Mets swept three games against a team clinging to National League wild card possibilities. Hope for the Marlins had all but faded once the final game was complete. 

Thornton is familiar with at least one member of the Yankees: his minor league career largely overlapped with that of rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. 

“Every single level that I have been at, I have thrown to Lombard, so it will be fun to throw to him in the big leagues,” Thornton said. “We have had some good battles throughout the years. He’s a good hitter. He’s always getting the ball in play, so he’s a tough guy to strike out.” 

Any conversation about the Yankees lineup starts with Aaron Judge, who returned from the injured list this week. 

“A really good player, but at the end of the day hitting is hard, and I am going to go out and throw my stuff and see what guys can do with it,” Thornton said. 

The lefty wasn’t his best in his last start, when he surrendered six earned runs over five innings (including four homers) in a loss to the Giants last Saturday. It was the first time since his major league debut on May 20 that Thornton allowed more than three earned runs in a start. 

“I think I fell into a trap of trying to be too cute early on in counts, where if I pound the zone early, I won’t really be in as many hitters’ counts as I was last week,” Thornton said. “I m just trying to do my job to get my guys in good counts.” 

Thornton is anticipating the moment. 

“It will probably be the closest thing we’ll get to a playoff atmosphere this year,” Thornton said. “It’s probably really good just for my development as a pitcher, to kind of feel these crowds and see if I can rise to the occasion.”