Dodgers waste no time finding their October groove in Game 1 win over Reds

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 30, 2025: Teoscar Hernandez celebrates his second home run of the evening in the sixth inning off Cincinnati Red Connor Phillips at Dodger Stadium on September 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Teoscar Hernández, left, celebrates with Andy Pages after hitting his second home run of the game during a 10-5 win over the Reds in Game 1 of an NL wild-card series at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

This year, October started a day early for the Dodgers.

Thanks to their underwhelming regular season, their march toward postseason history began before the month even started.

This season’s team, coaches and players acknowledged repeatedly in recent weeks, had played their way into this spot: Having to begin the playoffs on the last day of September, in a daunting best-of-three wild-card series against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday; facing the slimmest of margins in their pursuit of back-to-back World Series championships, having won the National League West but failed to secure a top-two playoff spot.

That meant, unlike the last three years, the Dodgers did not have a bye to the division series.

Read more:Plaschke: Dodgers flatten overmatched Reds in unwanted first round. But about that bullpen...

It meant, this fall, they had to hit the ground running.

“The pitfalls are just [avoiding] kind of easing your way into a series,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday afternoon.

But, he added declaratively, “I don't see that as a problem.”

In a 10-5 Game 1 defeat of the Reds at Dodger Stadium, it indeed was not.

Shohei Ohtani led off with a home run. Blake Snell was superb in a seven-inning, two-run start. And in a rollocking two-batter sequence in the bottom of the third inning, the Dodgers broke the score wide open, with Teoscar Hernández hitting a three-run bomb moments before Tommy Edman went back-to-back with a solo shot.

The Dodgers’ troublesome bullpen made things uncomfortable at the end, nearly walking the Reds out of a 10-2 deficit in a three-run eighth inning that included four free passes (two of them with the bases loaded) from three different relievers.

Nonetheless, the Dodgers held on. And now, with Game 2 on Wednesday at 6:08 p.m., just one more win will advance them through the opening round.

For most of the night, this game was everything the Dodgers hoped it would be, extending the momentum from their 15-5 finish to the regular season with star-studded offense (they matched a franchise postseason record with five home runs) and dominant starting pitching (Snell’s seven innings were a new personal postseason high).

Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Reds on Tuesday night.
Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Reds on Tuesday night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Ohtani delivered the first blow, taking Reds starter and Los Angeles native Hunter Greene deep on the right-hander’s fourth pitch. Behind 2-and-1 in the count, Greene tried to go inside with his trademark 100-mph fastball. Ohtani, fresh off a 55-homer regular season that should earn him his fourth MVP award, turned it around with a 117.7-mph line drive that rocketed into the right field pavilion.

From there, the Dodgers’ offense never looked back.

In the bottom of the third, the team landed a knockout blow. Hernández got a hanging slider from Greene and — in a scene so reminiscent of his heroics last October — sent a three-run home run sailing deep to left, flipping his bat as he skipped out of the box.

A crowd of 50,555 had barely settled back into its seats before the Dodgers went yard again, this time on a hooking fly ball from Edman that wrapped around the right-field foul pole, giving the Dodgers a 5-0 lead.

Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell delivers in the first inning Tuesday against the Reds.
Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell delivers in the first inning Tuesday against the Reds. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

That was plenty for Snell, who picked apart a Reds offense that ranked just 14th in scoring and 19th in batting average during the regular season. In a four-hit, nine-strikeout, 91-pitch start, he got quick outs with his fastball early in counts, and snapped off a wicked combination of curveballs and changeups to put them away when he got to two strikes.

The Reds — who were no-hit by Snell last year when he pitched for the San Francisco Giants — didn’t get their first hit until Matt McLain doubled with two outs in the third. And though TJ Friedl walked in the next at-bat, Snell responded with three swing-and-miss changeups to Noelvi Marte to retire the side.

That was the start of 11 consecutive batters Snell would set down in a row, not letting another Cincinnati hitter reach base until Austin Hays’ seventh-inning single sparked a two-run rally that got the Reds on the board.

By then, the Dodgers had kept adding onto their lead. In the fifth, Hernández hit his second home run of the game off right-hander Connor Phillips (one of the Reds’ best relievers late in the season). Ohtani did the same in the sixth, belting his second long ball (also against Phillips) on a 454-foot blast that landed near the top of the right-field stands.

Read more:A 'really grateful' catcher Ben Rortvedt is thrust into Dodgers' postseason plans

The score was 10-2 when Roberts finally turned to his bullpen in the eighth, trying to take no chances by summoning top left-hander Alex Vesia. Vesia, however, wasn’t sharp, retiring only one of the three batters he faced. And after that, the Dodgers flirted with an unthinkable collapse.

Edgardo Henriquez gave up two walks (one to load the bases, another to force in a run) and an RBI single. Jack Dreyer followed with the inning’s fourth free pass, again with the bases loaded, before finally escaping on a strikeout of Tyler Stephenson (who three times swung at what would’ve been yet another ball four) and a pop-up from Ke’Bryan Hayes.

The bullpen concerns will hang like a cloud over the team going forward. Even in the ninth, Blake Treinen had to work around a two-out single from Gavin Lux.

Still, as the calendar officially flips to October, the Dodgers are already one step closer to defending their title.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Observations From Blues' 5-3 Preseason Loss Vs. Stars

ST. LOUIS – Dylan Holloway scored twice, but the St. Louis Blues are now winless in four preseason games after a 5-3 loss against the Dallas Stars at Enterprise Center on Tuesday.

Philip Broberg also scored, and Jordan Kyrou assisted on both Holloway goals in his preseason debut; Pius Suter also made his Blues debut and had an assist, and Joel Hofer was the first Blues goalie to play an entire preseason game; he made 25 saves.

The Blues dropped to 0-3-1 and will host the Ottawa Senators on Thursday in their final home preseason game before finishing against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

Here are some observations of the game:

* Holloway is ready for Oct. 9 – Cut to the chase. Holloway is ready for Oct. 9 when the Blues open the regular season against the Minnesota Wild.

When this guy told me he wants to be one of the best players in the league, there was a reason why.

Not only did Holloway scored twice on Tuesday, but just watching the game, his attention to detail right now seems to be pristine. And there’s a reason, according to Blues coach Jim Montgomery.

“What you love about him is his second- and third-effort on pucks,” Montgomery said. “I've said it a couple times last year, this is a second- & third-effort league and he is relentless on pucks. That's why he comes up with pucks. That's why everyone wants to play with him. If I was to ask anyone on our team, ‘Who do you want on your line?’ He’s going to be one of the first names that comes up because you know you’re going to get the puck, you know you’re going to get offensive opportunities because he’s relentless, and I think he brings us real good energy and a real good role model as to how you need to play. We need more of that permeating throughout our lineup in training camp right now.”

Holloway’s stick always seemed to be in the right place, he’s going to get more opportunity on the penalty kill this year, his hustle and jump on pucks is second to none, and he never gives up on a play. That’s what he’s shown previously, and he did so again in a meaningless preseason game playing it like he still has to win a job.

“He’s just in tremendous shape, he can handle a lot of ice,” Montgomery said. “Being able to get him PK, we’ll be able to get him up into the 18, 19 minutes a night, which the way he’s continuing to develop, that’s the kind of ice time he’s demanding right now with his play.”

* Suter looked solid between Holloway, Kyrou – It’s the first time this preseason since the coaching staff has put Suter between those two wingers that they’ve played in a game and each finished a plus-1.

Suter (16:24) led the ice time of the trio, with Kyrou (16:07) and Holloway (15:59) following.

Holloway led the Blues with six of their 24 shots on goal on nine attempts and scored two beauties.

His first cut the Stars’ lead to 2-1 at 12:56 of the first:

His second made it a one-goal game at 4-3 off a beautiful give-and-go with Kyrou at 13:07 of the third period:

But the fact that playing against a loaded Dallas lineup, one of the Blues’ top lines going into the season wasn’t penetrated defensively. They looked to be on the same page quite often.

“I thought it was pretty good,” Montgomery said of the line. “Obviously they scored the two goals, but besides the two goals, I didn't think they gave up all that much and I thought they continued to support each other really well.”

* Kaskimaki is a puck hound – One under-the-radar forward continues to be 2022 third-round pick, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, who was a plus-1 in 15:04 in the game on Tuesday.

I can best describe Kaskimaki as a puck hound, someone who also doesn’t give up on a play.

“I’m trying to just show my compete and my skills in the O-zone and the 200-foot game,” Kaskimaki said. “If you compare (training camp) it to last year, it feels like you have a little more time there on the ice.”

Kaskimaki skated with Dalibor Dvorsky and Alexey Toropchenko on Tuesday.

“His awareness without the puck primarily,” Montgomery said regarding Kaskimaki’s play. “He’s really shown that his defensive side of the game is really good. He’s almost too safe. I understand. He doesn’t want to give up much. I imagine he’s been well-coached in the past.

“He seems to be a puck hound on top of pucks, and he’s always on the right side, so he always seems to be in a good position to handle pucks.”

* Skinner is making a case for himself – Montgomery mentioned multiple times how he’s noticed defenseman Hunter Skinner’s game, and the fourth-round pick in 2019 by the New York Rangers who was acquired in the Feb. 9, 2023 trade that sent Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola to the Rangers is making things very interesting for that seventh defensive position.

“I feel a lot better,” Skinner said. “Trying to prove that I can play and put my best foot forward this year, hoping for an opportunity. Just keeping my head down, just keep working, grinding through it hoping for an opportunity.

More so just focusing on my game. I think worrying about playing physical, playing my game, getting shots through, playing hard.”

Skinner played 18:28 and had two shots on goal with four hits despite being a minus-2 when both goals against went in off partner Leo Loof’s skates.

“I like how assertive he is,” Montgomery said. ‘I think he’s had a good training camp. He’s assertive physically, he’s assertive taking away time and space. He’s not afraid to hold onto pucks and make a play, so that confidence is nice to see in a young defenseman.”

Should Matthew Kessel be looking over his shoulder? I would.

* Broberg – After what Montgomery said he didn’t think Broberg had his best first period, the top-pair defenseman in this game, playing with Justin Faulk, asserted himself quite nicely and scored a beauty of a goal. In the second at 15:24 to tie the game 2-2.

It came after Dvorsky won a face-off, Broberg took the puck off the left wall, gave Casey DeSmith a small pump fake like he was coming with it to the front of the net just enough to freeze the Stars goalie long enough to pull off a wraparound goal:

Broberg was a plus-1 in 21:03 of ice time.

“I think he’s really starting to understand how gifted he is as an athletic hockey player,” Montgomery said. ‘What I really liked is I didn’t think ‘Broby’ had the best first period, but he responded within the game, found his game and became dominant in the second period and I thought he was good in the third. It’s good because there was a lot of times last year, and I thought he started to do that at the end of the season last year, but when he would kind of have an off period, he’d get down on himself, and I could see him talk to himself tonight. He talked himself into being a good player tonight. That’s a real good sign of a young pro becoming a better pro.”

* Lucic verdict still out there – It was the second preseason game for Milan Lucic, who is in training camp on a professional tryout.

The 37-year-old tied with Loof and Mathieu Joseph for a game-high five hits in 13:58, his second preseason game after playing Sept. 21 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“Just personally, feeling better overall,” Lucic said. “I felt like I did some good things, especially on the forecheck. Made some better plays coming out of the D-zone, but I still feel like I’ve got another gear. Good thing is two more preseason games here to play. Every day just get a little bit better.

“Having a good practice yesterday just helped me with my confidence. Even more so getting that first game out of the way. I almost felt like a rookie again, the jitters and being nervous and everything like I was that first game in Columbus. I felt little bit more comfortable, but I have more and I’m going to get a chance to prove that. That’s on me.”

Lucic strained his groin a week ago Tuesday and missed the next three practice days and did not play last Saturday against the Blackhawks but was back on the practice ice Monday. He skated on a line with Joseph and Alexandre Texier.

“I thought he skated much better,” Montgomery said. “I thought he was around the puck, I thought he caused disruptive plays. Next couple games with the opportunity, he’s going to be able to make more. We’ve got to see more with the puck, but we know he’s capable of it. It was good to see him have a good game.”

* See ya, Leo – It was a tough game for Loof, the Blues’ 2020 third-round pick. He did play a physical game, but his skating wasn’t always there, and his positioning in front of his net left a little to be desired.

The Stars scored two goals that caromed in off Loof’s skates, including one by former Blue Radek Faksa late in the second period.

Loof played 18:06 and had a shot on goal to go with a team-high tying five hits but his days are likely numbered and will be heading back to Springfield in short order.

* Texier not helping his cause – For someone playing for his job, it just hasn’t been there for Texier, who played 15:22 and had two giveaways in the game.

The Blues have tried the 2017 second-round pick an opportunity at wing and at center but he was just too non-existent in the game, and defensively, it has to be there if the offensive game isn’t working, and I didn’t think he was sound without the puck either.

The Blues are going to have to make a decision soon enough, and there are younger forwards (Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Otto Stenberg) and Lucic who would love to grab one of those final jobs.

* Dvorsky needed that "it" game  Training camp has been pretty solid for Dvorsky, the No. 10 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, but for him to really knock down the door to a job out of training camp, I thought he needed to back up his solid performance from Saturday with another one tonight.

Dvorsky did have an assist on the Broberg goal when he won the face-off, but he only won four of 12 and was a minus-1 in 15:58. Dvorsky also had three missed shots on goal, and for a player who predicates himself to be dangerous offensively, it just wasn't there on Tuesday against a strong Dallas side.

I think the center will get at least another look in a preseason game before a decision is made, but Tuesday could have really made the decision difficult with backed up with another solid performance.

Fowler, Parayko Have Meshed From The Word Go, St. Louis Blues Top Defensive Pair Now Locked In Through 2029Fowler, Parayko Have Meshed From The Word Go, St. Louis Blues Top Defensive Pair Now Locked In Through 2029MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Cam Fowler wasn’t the only one smiling after agreeing to terms on a three-year, $18.3 million contract extension that will keep the defenseman with the St. Louis Blues through the 2028-29 season. Blues Prospect Wins KHL Rookie Of The Week For Second Consecutive WeekBlues Prospect Wins KHL Rookie Of The Week For Second Consecutive WeekSt. Louis Blues prospect Mikhail Fyodorov has won the KHLrookie of the week for the second consecutive week.

Yankees, on brink of elimination, have shown the mettle to bounce back in Game 2 of Wild Card series

Playoff life comes at you fast. Especially in the treacherous, best-of-three Wild Card round.

The MLB postseason has just started – they only recently hung the playoff bunting at Yankee Stadium, for crying out loud – and the Yankees are already facing elimination after losing to the Red Sox, 3-1, in Tuesday night’s opener. 

A season in which they tied for the best record in the American League – but lost out on a first-round bye because they did not hold a tiebreaker – is suddenly, perhaps cruelly, in peril. Boston, a club that has dominated the Yankees this season, can finish them off Wednesday night in Game 2. In the Bronx, no less.

The Yanks are tangling with a historic rival, one that beat them 9 of 13 during the regular season. And history. Recent history, anyway – in the previous three years of this current MLB playoff format, no team that lost the opener of a Wild Card round ended up winning the series.

We’ll see, of course, if these Yankees can buck that trend. And, even though they knew coming into this series how difficult it would be, they say they can do it.

“We are going to show up (Wednesday) and I expect us to do pretty well,” Aaron Boone said at his post-game press conference. Later, he added, “Look, we have been playing these types of games for a while now. We have been playing with a lot on the line seemingly every single day.

“So (Tuesday) was a great baseball game that we just couldn't get that final punch in. So we will be ready to go, and I expect us to come out and get one (Wednesday).”

Boone’s right about the quality of the contest. It was a taut game filled with brilliant pitching by Boston’s Garret Crochet and Yankee ace Max Fried. Anthony Volpe gave the Yanks an early 1-0 lead with a homer off Crochet. But the Yankee bullpen later surrendered that lead. The Yanks loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth inning against old buddy Aroldis Chapman, but Chapman, maybe baseball’s best reliever this year, escaped.

Before the game, Boone opined that the 2025 version of the Yankees might be the best he’s ever taken into the playoffs in his tenure as manager, which started in 2018 and has included an October trip every season but one. They won their final eight games of the regular season, were healthy, full of mutual trust and confidence. They also, he said, have “different ways to beat ya.”

Better pluck one from the pile Wednesday night. Maybe it’s Carlos Rodón, the lefty starter who’s taking the ball against Brayan Bello of the Red Sox. Rodón had a terrific season, but still makes some fans nervous with a big start looming. Maybe he needs to be great to save this Yankee season.

Rodón had some October moments during last year’s run to the World Series, but he was also so hyper during a playoff start against the Royals that it seemed to wobble him. Boone says Rodón has learned.

“He has done a really good job since he has been here of learning from some stumbles, learning from some good times,” Boone said. “Last year – I am hoping that serves him well and just really slowing things down, really controlling moments, because that’s an important thing to have.”

Perhaps we should offer these Yankees the benefit of the doubt. After all, they resurrected themselves later in this season, even after some of their own fans wrote them off as they fumbled their AL East lead and plunged into a morass of poor play. They pushed aside their problems with fundamentals and, while they obviously haven’t solved all their bullpen issues, added help there at the trade deadline.

Their superlative offense, which led baseball in runs per game, covered up some deficiencies, too. By August, the Yanks were on fire, started beating good teams and finished 34-14 over their final 48 games, best in MLB.

“We’ve been doing it all year,” said Aaron Judge. “There’s a lot of veterans in this clubhouse. We’ve been through some stuff. Been to the World Series, been through some tough moments. We’ll go out and play our game. We’ll be good.”

If they’re not, they’re cooked. Seems weird for it to get so real so quickly, considering there’s no October chill yet (it was 77 degrees at first pitch Tuesday). Heck, Game 1 wasn’t even played in October. But here we are.

From the brink, can the Yankees win Wednesday night and push the Red Sox close to the abyss, too? After Game 1, they sure said all the right things, noting that they had done some of the right things during the season.

Now they must do them again, just to survive another day.

Should Ben Kindel Get The Nine-Game Trial? The Case For And Against

There are a lot of stories coming out of Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp this year. Many of them involve young players making an impression and pushing for the NHL roster.

And one of those young players has been the biggest surprise of the pre-season.

Penguins' forward prospect Ben Kindel has been a standout in camp this year, and his play has opened a lot of eyes. The 18-year-old center was selected 11th overall by the Penguins in the 2025 NHL Draft after registering 35 goals and 99 points in 65 WHL games with the Calgary Hitmen last season, and there were many unfamiliar with Kindel's game who assumed that he was a reach at his draft position.

But one look at Kindel's tape from last season goes to show that his performance in training camp up to this point should come as no surprise at all. 

Although he may be a hair undersized at 5-foot-10, 182 pounds, Kindel doesn't let that get in the way of what he's trying to do. His hockey IQ, vision, edgework, and playmaking ability have always been hallmarks of his game, and those skills are translating on the ice at the NHL level - that is, at least in the pre-season.

Kindel seems to be getting better with every game he plays, and along with each game has come better competition. He hasn't missed a beat, and it has led some to conclude that Kindel should be given the "nine-game trial."

In the NHL, a junior player can play in nine NHL games before their entry-level contract would kick in at Game No. 10. If a player stays in the NHL beyond nine games, a year of their contract is burned regardless of whether or not they get sent back to their junior team at any point that same season. 

Mailbox Monday: What Will The Penguins' Final Roster Look Like?Mailbox Monday: What Will The Penguins' Final Roster Look Like?Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp is beginning to draw to a close, and there is sure to be a lot of drama in the next several days. 

So the Penguins have some decisions to make regarding Kindel, especially if he continues to build on every performance. He is slated to appear in the Penguins' sixth pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, and he is the only player on the camp roster who has participated in four games up to this point. 

Should the Penguins give Kindel a nine-game trial, or should they just send him back to Calgary for another season of development instead? Here is the case for and against the nine games.


The case for

Quite simply, Kindel has earned it.

Yes, there have been other young forwards in the pre-season up to this point who have proven themselves worthy of the NHL roster conversation, and many of them are suiting up Wednesday as well. This includes Tristan Broz, Avery Hayes, Filip Hallander, and Ville Koivunen. 

Cases can be made for each of these players to make the NHL roster. They're all older, more established, and less raw than Kindel, and they've earned more looks up to this point.

But Kindel has been the standout for the past two games. He only has one goal in four games, but this is a situation where the stat sheet doesn't tell the entire story. Kindel was one of the best players on the ice against the Columbus Blue Jackets during Marc-Andre Fleury's final game as a Penguin, and he was the best player on the ice in a tight-checking, well-played 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.

Penguins Oust Blue Jackets On 'Fleury Night' In PittsburghPenguins Oust Blue Jackets On 'Fleury Night' In PittsburghWhat a game, what a night, and what a player.

Many have argued, "Why burn a year of his entry-level contract on a terrible Penguins' team? Let him dominate the WHL next season."

While this is understandable to an extent, it's also, arguably, a bit nonsensical.

Kindel is not a step behind. His reads are up to speed. He's keeping up with the speed of the game in general, and he doesn't look out of place in the slightest.

If a player is showing that he is NHL-ready - at least, for now, in this short sample - what is the hurt in giving him a nine-game trial to prove it's not a fluke?

If a player is NHL-ready, what exactly is the holdup? Why hold a player back when he proves he can rise above the occasion? Is dominating a level he has likely outgrown best for his development, or is putting him in a league of players who will challenge him better?

The easy road would be to send him back to Calgary. But there is logic in giving him nine games to prove he belongs. If he does, he'll be an important player for the Penguins this season. If he does not, he'll be sent back to juniors like nothing happened. There's not really much risk involved.


The case against

Even if the argument can be made that Kindel is NHL-ready, there are simply too many other factors that make giving Kindel the nine-game trial a bit too complicated. 

For one, those other players are deserving, too. Koivunen is likely to make the roster, anyway.  Broz and Hayes have been every bit as good as Kindel for most of camp. And Hallander has not only had a pretty good camp, his experience and all-around game as a two-way center give him a bit of a leg-up on others. 

In a perfect world, all of these players and Kindel crack the roster. But, that's simply not realistic. There are too many other players - veterans and carryovers from last season alike - in the mix in addition to the prospects already. And several of them - such as Robby Fabbri, Connor Dewar, and Philip Tomasino - have turned in strong camps as well. 

Penguins' Mid-Camp Prospect Tiers: Who Is Most Likely To Make NHL Roster?Penguins' Mid-Camp Prospect Tiers: Who Is Most Likely To Make NHL Roster?We're officially 10 days into Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp, and if one thing is for certain, there has been a ton of competition. 

This makes it unlikely that Kindel would be able to stick, anyway. So why bring him into the fold in the first place?

The other part of this concerns the Penguins' goals for this season. It's anyone's guess what the roster is going to look like on Oct. 7, and Dubas said that the "young guys are coming." It will be interesting to see just how many young guys make the roster over veterans. 

But there is a world - and not one that seems far-fetched at all - where having all that youth on the roster makes the Penguins better than expected this season. Depending on organizational goals, is that the best thing for 2025-26?

Having Kindel on the roster would give a boost to the lineup, and, maybe, the Penguins don't want to get too carried away with winning a ton of hockey games this season. Then again, maybe they do. A team is never going to try to lose on purpose, of course. But GMs have the power to make losing more or less likely.

Keeping Kindel would make that less likely. So it's certainly something to think about.


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Yankees captain Aaron Judge provides context on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s postgame comments

Aaron Judge had not yet seen the video of Jazz Chisholm Jr. or read his quotes. But he is the captain of the Yankees, the video was already blazing a path around the digital universe, and I wanted Judge’s thoughts so that I could finalize mine.

He knows better than any of us how a development plays in the clubhouse. His opinion and context are far more valuable here than mine.

Like Aaron Boone’s decision to remove Max Fried in the Yankees’ 3-1 loss to Boston in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series (totally defensible; we’ll get to that later), Chisholm’s cameo seemed sure to be a major talking point for the next day.

“I haven’t seen it,” Judge said, politely and truthfully.

Here was the briefing: Chisholm did not start because Boone used a right-heavy lineup against Boston’s left-handed ace, Garrett Crochet. Amed Rosario started at second. Chisholm replaced him on defense in the eighth.

After the game, as reporters waited in the middle of the clubhouse for Fried to speak, Chisholm walked to his locker. Reporters and camera operators followed.

Asked if he was surprised that he wasn’t starting, Chisholm turned his back to the group, fiddled with the plastic hangers in the locker and said, “I mean, I guess, yeah.”

Another reporter followed up by asking if he and Boone had a conversation about it.

“It’s a little conversation, not much,” Chisholm said. “But yeah. You just move forward after it.”

Chisholm is a nice guy. His tone remained mild. But his body language and words were not a good fit for the internet and its desire for controversy. He should have known better than to risk a stir with his team already facing elimination (that’s my take, not Judge’s).

Whatever the nuances, it seemed that, between the Jazz interview and the Fried decision, the Yankees were about to get roasted for their drama.

Standing at his locker after his postgame scrum, Judge considered all this.

Speaking of the Chisholm situation, he said, “It will cause some drama on the outside, but in here we’ll definitely be good. Inside this clubhouse, we’re all good. We’re pulling for each other. We’ll be good. There’s always a storm on the outside -- but we can’t work that way.”

Judge suggested that he would handle the situation internally, but did not make it sound as if it would be a major crisis or cleanup.

The weird part about Chisholm’s postgame performance was that I’d spoken to a Yankees person (not Boone) before the game and asked how Jazz had taken the news. That person said that Boone had communicated effectively, and that Chisholm had taken it well and was in a good place.

After the game, a few other Yankee people said that Chisholm was not acting angry behind the scenes. Perhaps he was embarrassed and didn’t want to talk about the manager’s decision, those people speculated. Chisholm remains a popular teammate. This did not feel like a five-alarm fire.

Before any of this happened, it seemed that tomorrow's discourse would involve Boone’s Fried decision. That one was actually fairly straightforward: according not only to Boone but to scouts watching the game (one in person, one on television), Fried looked tired in the sixth inning.

In that frame, he induced a groundout, issued a walk and got out of it with a ground ball double play. His velocity was fine, but when a pitcher begins to tire, it’s not the velocity that goes -- it’s the command.

“I felt like his command was not as good those final few [innings],” Boone said. “He was making so many big pitches and his stuff was good. Look, he gave us what we needed and felt really good about the outing he put forth. But I felt pretty convicted, especially when we got the double play. Let's go get one more hitter and be good.”

In the dugout after the inning, Boone asked Fried if he could get that one more hitter, lefty Jarren Duran. Fried said yes. He did not say, “Let me get the next few guys, too.” He is a grown-up, and self-aware. He was just about done.

"I definitely exerted a lot of energy trying to get out of that, but I definitely had enough in the tank for whatever the team needed,” Fried said.

An observation about Fried, earned from covering the team this season: As a first-year New Yorker, he is excessively careful with his public comments. He is always trying to walk a line that avoids any whiff of controversy.

He is still learning how to execute that strategy. If it sounded like he was criticizing Boone’s decision -- well, I’m almost certain that he wasn’t. He was just trying to get out of there without creating a headline one way or the other.

Chisholm, at least, took care of that for him.

On to tomorrow.

A Tough Night On Power Play Costs Blackhawks Preseason Game 4

CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks made their return to the United Center on Tuesday for the fourth preseason game. Their first three all came on the road, and now they will close out the exhibition season with some home cooking. 

The Detroit Red Wings were the first team to visit, and they dressed a lineup that included some of their regular-season players in addition to some roster hopefuls. 

The Blackhawks dressed a group that will mostly make up their group on opening night against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise. There are a few positional battles to sort out, which were a part of Tuesday's evaluation, but most of their lines from this game will be how things look next week. 

It wasn't necessarily due to terrible overall play, but some bad mistakes led to the Blackhawks being down 3-0 after two periods. Whether it was them pressing too hard offensively or not being strong on the puck after failing to score on a power play, they weren't good enough.

Early in the third period, however, the Blackhawks finally got on the board. Colton Dach drove the net all on his own and put one away. 

That would be all they were able to muster up, as the 3-1 score stood up as the final. Shots on goal favored the Blackhawks, 28-19. 

Part of the issue for Chicago in this one was the power play. The Blackhawks went 0/6, despite having double-digit chances with the man advantage. Even one goal in that situation could have turned the tide of the whole game. They got their looks, and now it's just about executing. 

Spencer Knight, who played the whole game, gave up three goals on 19 Detroit shots. It wasn't his best performance, but all three goals had more problems with skaters in front of him making errors that are hard to recover from.

Although goalies making tough saves can be the difference in winning and losing, none of these three goals against can be viewed as his fault alone. 

Dach's goal showed that he will bring some offense in addition to the physicality that he has brought in other preseason games so far. Other Blackhawks players had their chances, but they weren't able to bury on Cam Talbot, who had a great game in his own right. 

There are two more preseason games to go for Chicago. The Minnesota Wild will be at the United Center on Friday night, followed by the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Both of those games, in addition to the film that came from this one, will provide clarity on the roster that will eventually exist come Tuesday. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

Senators Clobbered 5-0 By Montreal In Quebec City 'Home' Game

NHL preseason games are rarely memorable anyway, but the Ottawa Senators’ matchup Tuesday night in Quebec City against the Montreal Canadiens is one they’ll want to forget as quickly as possible. The Senators were dominated on the scoreboard and in the alley, falling 5–0 to the Habs, who got a whopping 10 power play chances on the night.

In a week when Ottawa had hoped to win over hockey fans in Quebec City, it ended with the pro-Canadiens crowd singing “Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye” in the final minutes.

It wasn’t a great outing for backup goalie Leevi Meriläinen, who played the entire game and surrendered five goals on 23 shots. Brendan Gallagher helped set up three of the five goals.

Quebec City hockey fans were treated to two of the easiest shutouts this week that you’ll ever see. In Sunday’s game, Linus Ullmark stopped 14 shots in Ottawa's 2–0 win over the Devils, and on Tuesday, Jakub Dobeš needed only 16 saves for Montreal to blank the Senators.

The night was also filled with fights, which all went Montreal’s way. Jan Jenik got into two of them and left with a bloody nose that looked like it might be broken. That was part of a bizarre second period sequence that somehow left the Sens having to try and kill of a 5 on 3 power play. 

The Sens had over 100 penalty minutes in this game, and the Habs made them pay for their sins, going 3 for 10 on the power play. It doesn't seem to matter if it's preseason or regular season, Sens-Habs games always seem to boil over. They'll be destination viewing again this season. 

The Senators were technically the home team, but the atmosphere felt like a game at the Bell Centre. This neutral-site series in Quebec City was intended to help Ottawa grow its fan base in the region, but former Nordiques fans in Quebec City have either long since converted to being Montreal supporters or were drowned out by Habs fans who bought up the tickets and made the trip up the highway. 

The Senators slip to 2-2 in preseason and will be in St. Louis for their next game on Thursday night.

More Sens Headlines From The Hockey News Ottawa:
Broadcast Frustrations Resurface For Senators Fans
Ullmark Sharp In Senators Victory, Embraces The Struggle
Stephen Halliday's NHL Stock Continues to Rise
Former Senator Josh Norris Embraces New Opportunity To Prove Himself
Will This Be Shane Pinto's Breakout Year With The Senators?
Batherson Joins Ottawa Senators List Of Preseason Injury Concerns

Penguins To Honor 'Big Three' With 20-Year Celebration

When Pittsburgh Penguins' center Evgeni Malkin made his NHL debut on Oct. 18, 2006, it was impossible to predict that - two decades later - one of the rarest stories in professional sports would still be ongoing. 

But, 20 years later, the beat goes on for Malkin and the "Big Three" in Pittsburgh - and now, they're being celebrated. 

In their home opener against the New York Islanders on Oct. 9, the Penguins will celebrate 20 years of Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang all playing together for the same franchise. Since the day Malkin entered the league - he was the last of the three to make his debut - Crosby, Malkin, and Letang have combined to play in 3,726 NHL games and combined for 3,703 points - which is the highest point total for a trio of single-team teammates in NHL history.

The Penguins will celebrate the longest-tenured trio in North American professional sports history with a pre-game ceremony, and they will also offer various food, ticket, and prizes packages throughout the game and some throughout the season starting Oct. 9.

Malkin, Crosby, and Letang have expiring contracts in consecutive seasons, beginning with Malkin's at the end of the 2025-26 season and Letang's at the end of the 2027-28 season. Penguins' GM and POHO Kyle Dubas said that the organization will revisit Malkin's contract situation during the 2026 Olympic break to gauge whether or not he plans to retire at the end of the season.

Mailbox Monday: What Will The Penguins' Final Roster Look Like?Mailbox Monday: What Will The Penguins' Final Roster Look Like?Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp is beginning to draw to a close, and there is sure to be a lot of drama in the next several days. 

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab  to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!  

Red Sox at Yankees Wild Card Game 2 prediction: Odds, expert picks, pitching matchup, betting trends, stats

Bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning down by two runs.

That was the scenario in Game 1 for the Yankees as Boston's Aroldis Chapman prepared to face Giancarlo Stanton, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Trent Grisham.

Stanton struck out.

Chisholm Jr. flied out to right.

Grisham struck out.

Ballgame. Boston takes Game 1 of this Wild Card series.

As exciting as the bottom of the ninth was, the story was Garrett Crochet. Acquired in the offseason from the White Sox to fill the void at the top of their rotation, the 26-year-old lefthander delivered. Crochet dominated throwing a career-high 117 pitches over 7.2 innings allowing just four hits including an Anthony Volpe solo blast in the second inning. Along the way, Crochet struck out 11.

Max Fried started for the Yankees and was nearly as good if not slightly better allowing four hits and striking out six over 6.1 shutout innings. The difference was Max was deemed to be fried after throwing 102 pitches. Max left the mound and Luke Weaver promptly allowed hits to the only two batters he faced, and a 1-0 lead turned into a 2-1 deficit.

The Yankees now turn to Carlos Rodon Wednesday hoping to avoid elimination from the postseason. The Red Sox are handing the rock to Brayan Bello.

Lets dive into the matchup and perhaps find a few sweats along the way.

We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.

Game details & how to watch Red Sox at Yankees - Game 2

  • Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2025
  • Time: 6:08PM EST
  • Site: Yankee Stadium
  • City: Bronx, NY
  • Network/Streaming: ESPN

Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.

Odds for the Red Sox at the Yankees - Game 2

The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:

  • Moneyline: Boston Red Sox (+138), New York Yankees (-169)
  • Spread:  Yankees -1.5 (+131)
  • Total: 7.5 runs

Probable starting pitchers for Red Sox at Yankees - Game 2

  • Pitching matchup for October 1, 2025: Brayan Bello vs. Carlos Rodon
    • Red Sox:Brayan Bello (11-9, 3.35 ERA)
      Bello has allowed 15 earned runs in just 25 innings in September (5.40 ERA)
    • Yankees:Carlos Rodon (18-9, 3.09 ERA)
      Rodon has struck out 5 or more in three of his last four starts

Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!

Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Red Sox at Yankees

  • After closing the regular season with 2 hits in his final 14 ABs (.143), Anthony Volpe opened the playoffs with 2 hits in 3 ABs
  • With his 2 hits Tuesday night, Alex Bregman now has 90 hits in 100 career playoff games
  • Aaron Judge picked up a couple of hits in 4 ABs to give him 47 hits in 224 (.210) postseason ABs
  • Luke Weaver had not allowed a run in his previous six appearances

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

Expert picks & predictions for Game 2 between the Red Sox and the Yankees

Rotoworld Best Bet

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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Tuesday’s game between the Red Sox and the Yankees:

  • Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
  • Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the New York Yankees -1.5.
  • Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 7.5.

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Aaron Boone explains pulling Max Fried in Yankees' Game 1 loss to Red Sox: ‘He gave us what we needed’

Max Fried was spectacular in his Yankees postseason debut on Tuesday night. 

He worked his way through three efficient frames to open the game, holding the rival Red Sox to just two hits, but then was faced with trouble in each of the next few innings. 

The ace left-hander worked around two-on-and-two-out jams in both the top of the fourth and the fifth, getting Jaren Duran to strikeout swinging and then Yankee killer Alex Bregman to groundout to third, respectively. 

He began to labor again after issuing a one-out walk in the sixth, but was able to get the speedy Nate Eaton to ground into a hard-hit inning-ending double to dance through the frame. 

Fried admitted that he exerted a lot of energy trying to work out of those jams, but he felt he had enough left in the tank for whatever the team needed. 

Aaron Boone decided that was just the leadoff man, Duran, whom he got to roll over for the first out of the top of the seventh, before turning things over to the bullpen. 

It didn’t take long for that decision to immediately backfire on the Yanks. 

Luke Weaver entered and immediately allowed the next three batters to reach, with the big blow being a pinch-hit go-ahead two-run single from Masataka Yoshida

Boston added another run against David Bednar later in the game, but that inning would go down as the difference in the Wild Card series-opening loss

Despite things not working out, Boone stood by the decision to pull Fried with 102 pitches. 

“He gave us what we needed,” the skipper said. “They pressured him pretty good in the fourth, fifth, sixth. Had a couple of baserunners in each inning. Felt like he kind of cruised through the first few and ends up pitching great, but had to work pretty hard there.

“I was going to have the sixth be the end -- after we finished with the double play, I wanted him to go out and get Duran and felt like we were lined up pretty well from there.”

New York will look to stay alive Wednesday with Carlos Rodon on the mound.

McAllister, Entwistle score in Orlando, Panthers come up short against Lightning

The Florida Panthers played what could end up being one of their last neutral site preseason games on Tuesday night.

Florida faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Kia Center in Downtown Orlando, something that has become a regular occurrence of late, but a game that could be in jeopardy due to the NHL shrinking preseason schedules starting next season.

It was Tampa who got on the board first, with Oliver Bjorkstrand taking advantage of the extra space allowed during a 5-on-3 power play and beating Brandon Bussi to give the Bolts a 1-0 lead midway through the opening frame.

MacKenzie Entwistle tied the game for Florida less than five minutes later, centering a pass toward Wilmer Skoog in the slot that went off a Tampa defenseman and past goaltender Jonas Johansson.

Two quick goals by Tampa about midway through the game gave the hosts (it was a Lightning home game in Orlando) a two-goal lead heading into the third period.

Ryan McAllister, one of Florida’s top young AHL prospects, scored his first goal of the preseason just 2:30 into the final frame to bring the Cats within one.

It was what you might call a goal scorers’ goal as McAllister was quick to one-time a nifty pass by Skoog through Johansson from a sharp angle inside the right faceoff circle.

That would be as close as the Cats would get, unfortunately.

Johansson stopped five of Florida’s six third period shots on goal, securing the narrow victory for the Bolts.

Neither team dressed any of their ‘big guns’ but that is expected to change in the coming days.

Florida and Tampa will battle two more times, Thursday in Tampa and Saturday in Sunrise, to wrap up their respective preseason schedules.

Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice has said previously that he plans to play many of his NHL regulars in the two tune-up games.

Florida will host the Chicago Blackhawks for Opening Night in exactly one week, on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

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Photo caption: Sep 24, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Florida Panthers right wing MacKenzie Entwistle (44) gets ready for the face off against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Lenovo Center. (James Guillory-Imagn Images)

Yankees bullpen falters again in playoff-opening loss to the Red Sox

NEW YORK (AP) — The bullpen that has been one of the New York Yankees’ biggest weaknesses this season faltered again in their playoff opener and has them on the brink of being eliminated by the rival Boston Red Sox.

After Max Fried worked six scoreless innings in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, manager Aaron Boone let him take the mound in the seventh. But Boone removed Fried after he retired the first batter in favor of Luke Weaver, who walked the first batter he faced and allowed a double and Masataka Yoshida’s two-run single.

David Bednar gave up back-to-back hits in the ninth to give Boston some breathing room, and Boone’s in-game pitching decisions were under the microscope yet again in the aftermath of Tuesday night’s 3-1 loss.

There were plenty of pregame decisions questioned, too, with left-handed hitters Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ryan McMahon not in the lineup against Boston starter Garrett Crochet, who got 23 outs before fellow lefty Aroldis Chapman recorded the final four to close it out. Crochet retired 17 consecutive batters after allowing Anthony Volpe’s solo home run.

But after turning to Nestor Cortes in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers last year — with Freddie Freeman hitting a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 on Cortes’ first pitch — and making other calls to the bullpen that didn’t work out, Boone put himself in position to be second-guessed again.

Fried cruised through his first postseason start in pinstripes, allowing four hits and walking three batters. He threw 63 of his 102 pitches for strikes and got a standing ovation as he departed.

Post-injury Weaver showed up. The righty had a 1.05 ERA in his first 24 appearances went on the injured list in June with a strained left hamstring and had a 5.31 over his final 40 games.

That’s emblematic of the Yankees’ season, when their bullpen ERA of 4.37 ranked 23rd out of 30 teams.

History Of Expansion Draft Losses: The Sens That Got Away

Things are going pretty well these days for former Ottawa Senators goalie Joey Daccord. For one, he's starting his new set-for-life contract, a five-year deal worth $25 million to tend goal for the Seattle Kraken.

Secondly, his old school announced this week it plans to honour Daccord by retiring his number 35 jersey. Daccord's number will rise to the rafters at Arizona State University in the Sun Devils' season opener when they face Gavin McKenna and Penn State on October 3rd.

Daccord will become the first ASU player to ever have his number retired, and he's also the first to be drafted, sign, and play with an NHL team. The Sens selected him in the seventh round back in 2015.

But he's long gone from the Sens organization because they left him unprotected in the 2021 Seattle Expansion Draft. Teams could only protect one goalie, and the Sens went with Filip Gustavsson, while leaving Daccord, Anton Forsberg, Marcus Hogberg, and Matt Murray unprotected.

It got me thinking about players the Senators have historically lost in the expansion drafts of the past.

Here's the full list:

2021: G Joey Daccord (Seattle Kraken)

2017: D Marc Methot (Vegas Golden Knights)

2000: F Kevin Dineen (Columbus Blue Jackets)

2000: F Joe Juneau (Minnesota Wild)

1999: F Phil Crowe (Atlanta Thrashers)

1998: F Denny Lambert (Nashville Predators)

1993: D Mark Ferner (Anaheim Ducks)

1993: F Marc LaBelle (Florida Panthers)

Because the pre-Vegas expansion draft rules allowed existing teams to protect many more talented players on their rosters than we saw in the past, there's a huge drop-off in calibre before 2017. So any discussion about the greatest player Ottawa ever lost in an expansion draft is a two-horse race between Methot and Daccord. 

We'll give the edge to Methot right now, because his loss was the biggest to the team, simply because the Sens spent a lot of years trying to find another right-shot defenseman like him. But Meth is now long retired, and Daccord has a lot of race track still ahead, so we may have to revisit this in a few years.

In the meantime, we'll always have a soft spot for Daccord, especially after his emotional interview following his first NHL win, a few months before he headed for Seattle.

  After unexpected start, Joey Daccord candidly details ‘special’ first NHL win After unexpected start, Joey Daccord candidly details ‘special’ first NHL winundefined

More Sens Headlines From The Hockey News Ottawa:
Broadcast Frustrations Resurface For Senators Fans
Ullmark Sharp In Senators Victory, Embraces The Struggle
Stephen Halliday's NHL Stock Continues to Rise
Former Senator Josh Norris Embraces New Opportunity To Prove Himself
Will This Be Shane Pinto's Breakout Year With The Senators?
Batherson Joins Ottawa Senators List Of Preseason Injury Concerns