Although all MLB teams declined to sign the former Dodgers fan favorite to a minor league contract, Turner found a spot on the Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League in 2026.
Justin Turner rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Chicago Cubs during the NLCS at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 18, 2016. Getty Images
Earlier this week, the Toros de Tijuana became champions with Turner as their designated hitter in the lineup. The Toros beat the Olmecas de Tabasco in six games.
“I came to the @torosdetijuana because I knew there was more in the tank, but the goal was never to just play. It was always to win, to bring another championship to Tijuana!” Turner wrote.
“And the boys accomplished that! This was such a great group of guys, and not everyone who was a part of it got to hold that trophy, but we couldn’t have done it without them either. We will be bonded together forever in this championship!!
“From the second I drove across the border in TJ for the first time, I have loved every moment. The fans, the food, the stadiums, and the baseball. This is definitely a summer to remember and I cant thank my family enough for always being down for a new adventure!
“Vamos Toros! Vamos Campeons!”
I came to the @torosdetijuana because I knew there was more in the tank, but the goal was never to just play. It was always to win, to bring another championship to Tijuana!
And the boys accomplished that! This was such a great group of guys, and not everyone who was a part of… pic.twitter.com/jJG88s4Ziw
He previously won his first and only World Series ring with the Dodgers in 2020, when he broke the franchise record for postseason home runs after hitting his 12th in Game 4 against the Rays to pass Duke Snider.
Turner spent nine seasons in LA from 2014-22, earning two All-Star selections as a Dodger.
Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers runs up the first base line watching his home run in the 9th inning as the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 8-2 in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. Paul J. BereswillThird baseman Justin Turner and outfielder Cody Bellinger celebrate after the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Houston Astros. USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Seattle Mariners outfielder Lazaro Montes (99) reacts after hitting a two-run home run against Athletics pitcher Scott Blewett (not pictured) during the sixth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The last road series of the 2026 regular season for the Mariners is about to get underway, and what better stop than the friendly confines of Coors Field? The Rockies have improved from “historically bad” in 2025 to just “regular very bad” in 2026, but with the ball’s tendency to fly in Denver, we could see some high scoring games.
Lineups:
Lázaro Montes gets the start in right field, and with three right-handed starting pitchers going for Colorado, he should be in the lineup each of the next three games. I, for one, will be looking forward to seeing if he can put a ball into literal orbit. Brock Rodden will start at the hot corner, his first start since the 10th, and it’s business as usual for the rest of the Mariners’ lineup with Bryan Woo on the mound. As for the Rockies, their 3-4-5 punch of Rule 5 pick TJ Rumfield, catcher Hunter Goodman, and rookie center fielder Cole Carrigg has a bit more thump than you’d expect. Righty Gabriel Hughes is still searching for his first big league win, but a FIP of just over 4 suggests he has not been quite as bad as his 6.37 ERA suggests.
ARLINGTON, TX - JULY 04: A general view of Globe Life Field with "Celebrating America's 250th" signage on the scoreboard prior to the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Texas Rangers on Saturday, July 4, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Courtney Kramer/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The latest series that the Jays ‘must win’.
Nine games left of the season. The still aren’t at the point that they have to run the table, but winning the series is pretty important. Two of three would make me happy.
Gimenez is out of the lineup with a hamstring issue, but ‘is available off the bench.
Dylan Cease is starting on ‘normal rest’ when the plan had been to give him an extra day off. No pressure Dylan, but we would really like this one.
Detroit and Ausar Thompson have agreed to a fully guaranteed five-year, $155 million contract extension, news first broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and since confirmed by other reports.
Thompson is one of the NBA's elite perimeter defenders and was named First Team All-Defense last season, while averaging 9.9 points per game and starting 73 games for a 60-win team. He averaged a league-leading two steals a game plus nearly one blocked shot a night. The Pistons see Thompson as a core part of their future (some would argue more critical than Duren) and getting him locked down at this price is a good deal.
That said, a contract averaging $31 million a season is a bet on Thompson's offensive game — especially his outside shot (25% from 3-point range last season, and that was an improvement) — taking some steps forward. Right now, Thompson is considered a non-shooter and that can clog the offense at times, even though the Pistons were an impressive +7.5 points per 100 possessions better when he was on the court last season.
Ausar's twin brother, Amen Thompson, signed a five-year, $208 million extension with the Rockets this summer. The twins were selected back-to-back in the 2023 NBA Draft, Amen at No. 4 to Houston, then Ausar at No. 5 to Detroit. Both are considered freak athletes, even by NBA standards. While Ausar has proven to be the better defender (although Amen made an All-Defensive team two seasons ago), Amen has considerably more offensive pop.
While the Pistons have worked things out with Thompson, they are still negotiating with Duren, who is a restricted free agent. The Pistons reportedly have put a deal in the five-year, $190 million range on the table, but Duren, coming off an All-NBA and All-Star season, wants an average salary of at least $40 million a season.
Detroit is trying to lock down its core with Duren, Thompson and already under contract Cade Cunningham. That group won 60 games last season, but learned some hard lessons in the playoffs, where they exited in the second round. While Duren has taken a lot of criticism for his postseason struggles, part of the issue is that playing him with Thompson at the same time put two non-shooters on the floor, which allowed both the Magic and Cavaliers to pack the paint and make life especially difficult for Duren. Detroit is doing the right thing locking up this core, it has championship potential, but if Thompson doesn't become at least a threat from beyond the arc, Detroit could face tough roster construction decisions down the line.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - AUGUST 7: Kyle Leahy #62 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Colorado Rockies at Busch Stadium on August 7, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The St. Louis Cardinals kick off their final homestand of the season against the Washington Nationals Friday night at Busch Stadium. Kyle Leahy will start for the Cardinals while the Nationals will send RHP Cade Cavalli to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15pm central time and the game broadcast will be handled by Cardinals.tv.
While Marnus Labuschagne is not in Zimbabwe with Australia’s ODI squad, the 32-year-old is set to return for Queensland in their One-Day Cup opener against Victoria at Allan Border Field on Saturday.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 16: Nasim Nuñez #26 of the Washington Nationals runs into teammate Daylen Lile #4 in left field after making a catch on a short fly ball in the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park on September 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It is a happy day in Nats nation. Ace Cade Cavalli got a contract extension which has fans fired up. The boys will start their last road trip of the year and that will start in St. Louis. These two teams have not faced off since April, so this will be an intriguing matchup.
James Wood will be the DH tonight. That means the outfield will consist of Daylen Lile, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews. Despite a righty being on the mound, Yohandy Morales will start over Abimelec Ortiz at first base. Brady House and Harry Ford are also in the lineup. Cade Cavalli got a contract extension this afternoon and will be pitching tonight.
This season JJ Wetherholt, Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson have been the big 3 in the Cardinals lineup. Since he got called up, catcher Leo Bernal has given the Red Birds a spark. He will be in the lineup tonight. Defensive ace Masyn Winn will also be at shortstop. Kyle Leahy has had a nice season for the Cards and will take the ball tonight.
Hopefully Cade Cavalli can put together another excellent performance and show why he got the big bucks. The Nats have a chance to get their most wins in a season since 2019 tonight as well. The road has not treated the Nats well lately, but that can change quickly. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
After the New York Rangers acquired Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights over the offseason, the biggest question quickly became who Dorofeyev will play alongside.
Pairing Dorofeyev with the right center is critical if the Rangers want to maximize his potential as a goal scorer, as his back-to-back 30-plus-goal seasons with Jack Eichel as his primary center made clear.
After two days of training camp, the Rangers have taken an extensive look at Dorofeyev on a line with J.T. Miller.
While Mika Zibanejad may feel like a better fit for Dorofeyev, playing alongside Miller has its benefits.
The year in which Miller recorded a career-high of 103 points with the Vancouver Canucks, he primarily played with Brock Boeser at his wing, who scored 40 goals, so Miller has a track record of propelling his wingers to high-level offensive production.
“He’s a great player,” Dorofeyev said of Miller. “He competes hard. That’s something you can learn from him. It will take some time to become predictable with one another, but we will get there eventually.”
For Miller, his offensive production has regressed since his 103-point 2023-24 season, but having Dorofeyev by his side could help the Rangers captain recapture his offensive game.
“It’s exciting for me,” Miller said of playing with Dorofeyev. “Try to stay out of his way, try to make room for him. I like playing on the forecheck and playing below the goal line. So hopefully, I can make some room for him.”
Over the first two days of training camp, Dorofeyev has played on the right side, with Oliver Bjorkstrand playing on the left side.
Because of Dorofeyev’s versatility, Sullivan confirmed that he plans to try out Dorofeyev at both right and left wing, giving the Rangers more flexibility to test different line combinations.
“I know he can play both,” Sullivan said of Dorofeyev. “From talking to him, talking to some of his former coaches, I know he can play both sides. I think a lot of it is going to come down to what we think is the best fit based on the combinations that we put together.
“So we're going to explore different options to figure out how we can create the balance that we think is necessary to win consistently, but also to set players up for success, him included. I would anticipate probably seeing him on both sides throughout the course of the next couple of weeks.”
Dorofeyev shared the same sentiment as Sullivan, confirming that he’s open to playing at either wing.
The addition of Dorofeyev will not only help elevate the Rangers’ five-on-five play, but he makes the power play more lethal and fills the void left by Artemi Panarin, although the two Russians play completely different games.
In Vegas, the 25-year-old forward was usually positioned at the right flank, where his shot was heavily utilized, as he led the Golden Knights last season with 20 power-play goals.
“Wherever coach sees me, I’ll be there for him,” Dorofeyev said of his power-play role.
If trading two first-round picks didn’t raise expectations for Dorofeyev in The Big Apple, the seven-year, $77 million contract he signed with the Rangers certainly did.
That comes with a lot of pressure, something he wasn’t exposed to with the Golden Knights despite his impressive offensive production.
Even with heightened expectations and an increased role, Sullivan expressed his confidence in Dorofeyev’s ability to handle the pressure moving forward.
“I think he understands what the expectations are,” Sullivan said. “In the short time that I’ve gotten to know him, in the conversations I’ve had with him, and just observing him and how he carries himself around his teammates, I think he’s a confident kid. He’s got a quiet confidence about him. I think he’ll handle it fine.”
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 15: Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning of a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 15, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Griffin Quinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Braves will attempt to clinch a playoff spot on Friday night behind Tyler Mahle, who was been superb for Atlanta since coming over at the trade deadline.
A Braves win — or Diamondbacks loss — on Friday night would clinch a postseason spot for Atlanta and would trim the magic number to four games to win the NL East. It would mark the eighth time in nine years the Braves would be postseason bound. We will also do a bit of scoreboard watching as the Phillies take on the Mets at Citi Field.
Mahle and the Braves will be opposed by Peter Lambert, who has been Houston’s best starter in 2026. Lambert has been on a strong run lately, allowing three runs or fewer in every start since the beginning of July.
First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET. You can watch and stream the game on Braves Vision.
Pelle Larsson drives on Hornets wing Kon Knueppel during the NBA Play-In Tournament on April 14, 2026.
Pelle Larsson is a name NBA fans should get used to this season.
The Swedish wing just agreed to a four-year, $60 million extension to remain in Miami, where the Heat are coming off a transformative summer, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Friday.
The last year of the deal, which would be for the 2030-31 season, is a mutual option.
The deal will see Larsson — who will still bank a rookie-scale $2.3 million for the upcoming 2026-27 season — reportedly make $13.5 million in 2027-28 to begin the extension before getting annual increases.
Pelle Larsson drives on Hornets wing Kon Knueppel during the NBA Play-In Tournament on April 14, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Larsson is expected to play a huge role in his third season on a Heat team looking to contend once again.
The team executed a blockbuster for Giannis Antetokounmpo in late June, a deal which also netted Bobby Portis.
Miami sent an extensive package in the deal, highlighted by former All-Star Tyler Herro, Sixth Man of the Year contender Jaime Jaquez Jr., recent first-rounders Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis and a combination of first-round picks, including No. 13 overall in 2026, which Milwaukee used to select Nate Ament out of Tennessee.
Larsson, 25, made a big leap in his second season, jumping from 4.6 to 11.4 points per game in 2025-26, starting in 54 of his 70 appearances.
Pelle Larsson is the leader of the Swedish National Team. FIBA via Getty Images
The two-way swingman also saw his rebounds climb from 1.7 to 3.5 and his assists from 1.2 to 3.4 per game in his increased role.
The 6-foot-5 glue guy also shot nearly 50 percent from the field for the season and 32.3 percent from 3, going 62-for-192 from beyond the arc.
Larsson is also the top player on the Swedish National Team.
This offseason, he averaged 26 points per game across four contests with Sweden in FIBA 2027 World Cup qualifiers, where the team went 3-1 and pulled off an upset against Lauri Markkanen and Finland in Helsinki on Aug. 27. Larsson had 31 points in the game.
In last summer’s EuroBasket tournament, he averaged 18.8 points and 4.4 rebounds while leading Sweden, though it went 1-4 and was eliminated in Group Play.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - SEPTEMBER 12: Peter Lambert #38 of the Houston Astros pitches during the game between the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Saturday, September 12, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
TONIGHT’S GAME: With just nine games remaining on their schedule, the first-place Houston Astros will welcome in the Atlanta Braves for their final home series of the 2026 regular season.
RHP Peter Lambert (8-9, 3.71 ERA) will make his penultimate start of the season for the Astros tonight opposite RHP Tyler Mahle (6-10, 3.91 ERA) and the Braves.
THE POSTSEASON CHASE: The Astros and Rangers are locked in a tight race down the stretch for the AL West with the two teams entering play today separated by just one game. The Astros own the tiebreaker over the Rangers with a season series victory (9-4 record).
AL WEST NEXT GAME
1. Houston: 77-76 vs. ATL (89-64)
2. Texas: 76-77 1.0 GB vs. TOR (76-77)
3. Seattle: 71-82 6.0 GB at COL (56-97)
CHALLENGING STRETCH: The Astros are within a stretch of playing 13 of 16 games against opponents with winning records (CWS, ARI, PHI, TB, ATL), going 6-7 so far in those contests. On the season, the Astros are 28-21 against teams with .500 or better records, the third-best mark in the Majors, immediately ahead of the Braves (35-28).
OLD RIVALS: The Astros and Braves are longtime rivals, having played each other 720 times in the regular season and another 25 times in the postseason. The Braves dominated the Astros early in their playoff matchups, in 1997, 1999 and 2001, before the Astros broke through in 2004 and 2005. The two teams matched up again in the 2021 Fall Classic, won by the Braves in six games.
DUBIE!: The Astros are happy to welcome back Braves IF/OF Mauricio Dubón, who’ll be recognized with a pregame video tonight. Dubón, a 2022 World Series Champion, played parts of four seasons (2022-25) with the Astros, appearing in 485 regular season games with Houston.
HISPANIC HERITAGE WEEKEND: The Astros are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Weekend starting tonight. The ballpark will come alive with Latin music, vibrant festivities, and cultural pride all weekend long. As part of the celebration, 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a Jeremy Peña Retro Los Astros Jersey
LAST NIGHT’S BIG WIN: The Astros hammered a season-high five home runs in their 6-2 win in the rubber game of their three-game series with the Royals last night. SS Jeremy Peña started the home run barrage with a leadoff homer and was later joined by CF Daulton Varsho, 1B LaMonte Wade Jr., DH Yordan Alvarez and RF Taylor Trammell, who all hit solo shots. RHP Ethan Pecko (1ER/5.2IP) pitched great as the bulk reliever, allowing just three hits in his outing.
GOIN’ DEEP: The Astros have hit 206 homers as a team this year and have hit 200-plus homers in a single season for the 10th time in franchise history (last, 222 HR in 2023). The Astros rank second in the AL in home runs this season behind only the Yankees (209).
TRIPLE THREAT: DH Yordan Alvarez, who is a solid candidate for the AL MVP Award, currently ranks first or second in the AL in all three Triple Crown categories. He enters today leading the AL in batting avg. (.311), while ranking second in HR (40) and RBI (99). Alvarez also leads the Majors in OPS (1.027), SLG (.598) and OBP (.429). Since Carl Yastrzemski won the AL Triple Crown in 1967, there has been just one Triple Crown winner in the Majors, Miguel Cabrera in 2012 (AL).
BIG NUMBERS: DH Yordan Alvarez hit his 40th homer of the season last night, marking the eighth time an Astro has hit 40-plus homers in a single season in club history. He’s also up to 99 RBI on the season and is looking to post the 29th 100-RBI season in Astros history. Alvarez’s career high in RBI is 104, which he reached in 2021.
LEADING MAN: SS Jeremy Peña hit his sixth leadoff home run of the season last night, and the 11th of his career, a total that ranks fifth in Astros history. He ranks tied for second in the AL in leadoff home runs this season, trailing only the Rangers DH Joc Pederson (7).
NOTHING FINER THAN YAINER: C Yainer Diaz is hitting .362 (17×47) in the month of September with two homers, five RBI and a .932 OPS. Diaz has multiple hits in seven if his 12 starts this month.
STALKING 200:1B Christian Walker is currently sitting on 199 career home runs and needs just one homer to become the 35th active Major League player to reach 200 career long balls. Walker has hit 25 homers this year for his fifth consecutive 25-plus homer season (2022-26).
STARTING STRONG: In their last 13 home games, Astros starting pitchers have combined for a 2.40 ERA (17ER/63.2IP), while allowing two-or-fewer runs in 11 of those contests. Additionally, Astros starters have posted a 3.28 ERA (43ER/118IP) in their last 25 games dating back to Aug. 21.
THE LAMBO:RHP Peter Lambert has been the most consistent starter for the Astros this season, as he leads the club in wins (8), starts (26), innings pitched (145.2) and strikeouts (141). He’s allowed two-or-fewer earned runs in 18 of his 26 starts on the year and has done so in 10 of his last 13 starts.
THE FIREMAN: LHP Josh Hader has converted 26 consecutive save opportunities to open his season, which is the Astros club record. Should Hader finish the season without a blown save, he would become the seventh pitcher in MLB history to post 26-plus saves without a blown save and the first to do so since RHP Ken Giles in 2018 (26 SV).
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2019 – Many milestones are reached in the Astros 3-2 victory over the Rangers at Daikin Park. First, the win clinches a postseason berth for the Astros and gives the team 100 victories for the third consecutive season. Secondly, RHP Gerrit Cole tallies 10 strikeouts in the game to reach 300 on the season, joining RHP J.R. Richard and RHP Mike Scott as the only Astros to reach that total in strikeouts. RHP Justin Verlander would also reach 300 later that season.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Friday, September 18, 7:10 p.m. CT
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: SCHN, SCHN2 (Spanish), Peacock (subject to blackout)
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish), ESPN Radio (subject to blackout)
Sep 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Detroit Tigers center fielder Max Clark (15) scores during the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Detroit Tigers (72-81) vs. Chicago White Sox (78-75)
Time/Place: 7:40 p.m., Rate Field SB Nation Site:South Side Sox Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network Pitching Matchup: LHP Andrew Sears (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. RHP David Sandlin (2-2, 5.64 ERA)
The Warriors didn’t have an eye-popping offseason.
But they had an under-the-radar acquisition that could help them: They added Frank Vogel to their coaching staff as an assistant.
Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Frank Vogel looks on during a game against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center in Chicago, Jan. 10, 2026. Getty Images
Vogel is bright. He’s defensive-minded. He led the Lakers to an NBA championship in the 2020 bubble at Walt Disney World.
When Steve Kerr (who won five championships as a player and four as coach) decided to return to Golden State’s helm this summer, he made it clear that the team and the coaching staff had some major areas in which they needed to improve.
Kerr added that he recently rewatched every turnover the Warriors committed last season. He believes they need to tighten the ship, bolster their decision-making and work on their fundamentals.
Vogel can help with all of that.
He’s known for transforming defenses. When he was the head coach of the Pacers from 2011-2016, he helped lead them to consecutive Eastern Conference finals in 2013 and 2014, in large part because of their discipline on the less glamorous side of the court.
Kerr has long been one of the league’s top coaches. He has a great staff. They helped the Warriors become the league’s modern-day dynasty, winning four championships in eight years from 2015-2018.
But it’s clear the Warriors could use some fresh eyes, too.
And Vogel will be very helpful with that.
Since the Warriors won their last championship in 2022, they’ve struggled. They haven’t made it past the second round of the playoffs the last four seasons. In two of those seasons, they missed the postseason altogether.
That said, those are guys who have lived atop the league the last decade and are used to winning.
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, left, and assistant coach Frank Vogel look on during a game against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
The Warriors will surely look to make some major moves ahead of the trade deadline to shore up their roster holes. And Vogel will be there to help oversee it all.
Vogel has a keen eye. In many ways, he got the raw end of the deal when he was fired by the Lakers in 2022 after the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 2021 and missed the postseason in 2022.
But that wasn’t Vogel’s fault.
After the Lakers won their first championship in a decade in 2020, they parted ways with some key pieces of their championship squad to acquire Russell Westbrook, a move that will live in franchise infamy. Someone had to take the fall for the Lakers’ dysfunction. Vogel was first in line, a fate many coaches around the league have suffered in a role that often resembles a carousel.
After coaching the Suns from 2023-24 and serving as an assistant for the Mavericks last season, Vogel has landed with a veteran-laden team and a future Hall of Fame coach who will surely appreciate his skills.
A pairing of Kerr and Vogel just seems right.
There’s old blood. There’s new blood. And there are two great minds who have independently carried teams across the finish line now working in tandem.
By-and-large, the Buffalo Sabres had a great 2025-26 season, finishing atop the Atlantic Division, then beating the Boston Bruins in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series. That was manna from heaven for Sabres fans – and now, their appetite has been whetted.
Meanwhile, here at TheHockeyNews.com, we’re analyzing the Sabres’ Eastern Conference opponents in an online series called “Know Your Enemy”. In each file in this series, we’re breaking down how Buffalo played against each East team, in addition to how they’re likely fare against the team this year. And in this file, we’re turning our attention to the New York Rangers.
The Rangers have one of the biggest markets in the league to try and satisfy, but there’s no assurance they’ll be better enough this year to challenge for a playoff position. Here’s this writer’s perspective on how the Sabres will do in their three regular-season showdowns this year:
BUFFALO SABRES VS. NEW YORK RANGERS
NEW RANGERS PLAYERS: Pavel Dorofeyev (RW), Joonas Korpisalo (G), Marcus Pettersson (D), Sean Durzi (D), Oliver Bjorkstrand (RW), Joe Veleno (C)
2025-26 SERIES: Sabres 2-1-0, Islanders 1-2-0
2026-27 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: November 25 at Buffalo; February 15 at Rangers; March 6 at Buffalo
CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? The Sabres took two out of three games against the Rangers last season, but this is a significantly-changed Blueshirts roster, as GM Chris Drury is under all sorts of pressure to get his team back into the post-season after two calamitous years of constant letdown. And by THN.com’s standards, the Rangers did have one of the better off-seasons of any NHL team.
So, the Rangers team Buffalo takes on this year will be considerably different than the one they saw last season. And the biggest area of improvement – other than adding former Vegas Golden Knights sniper Dorofeyev – is on defense, where Drury picked up Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks, and Durzi was acquired from Utah in the trade that sent veteran center Vincent Trocheck to the Mammoth.
That improvement will almost certainly help star goaltender Igor Shesterkin, but if Shesterkin is injured for any significant stretch, and the Sabres are playing the Blueshirts during one of those stretches, the Rangers’ new backup – former Bruins and Ottawa Senators veteran Korpisalo – Buffalo will need to take advantage of that matchup.
Otherwise, the Rangers will be a tougher opponent for the Sabres than they’ve been for a while now. Drury still desperately needs some internal improvement and young players to step up and evolve into difference-makers, but he’s been given a mandate by Rangers ownership to retool instead of rebuild. That may be a decision the Blueshirts come to regret, but for now, at least, the Rangers will be harder to knock around for Buffalo.
And while we still expect the Sabres to win the season series against the Rangers this season, it’s going to take a stronger effort, and a consistent thrust from Buffalo to get the job done and keep the Rangers out of the playoff picture yet again.
The fate of the AL Central lies in the hands of David Sandlin tonight.
It may not be Thanksgiving quite yet, but I’d like to make a toast to the City of Detroit. Sure, your football franchise is irrelevant, your hockey team is a shell of what it was and the best thing about your city is the bridge to Canada, but you do have the Detroit Tigers. We would like to thank you for giving them to us for an easy win to get the White Sox back on track.
After back-to-back collapses at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians, the White Sox scored three runs in the first inning yesterday vs. Detroit, and dared the kitty cats to do something about it. Much like they have all season (and all decade, really), the Tigers laid an egg when it mattered most and the White Sox are back atop the AL Central thanks to their handy-dandy tiebreaker.
Unfortunately, thanks to their monthlong collapse, the White Sox still have work to do. There’s certainly pressure on the Guardians, but with their next series being against the Athletics at home, it’s mostly on the White Sox to keep up.
With a bullpen that is also absolutely gassed, they’ll need more length from their starters, as no team this season has gotten less out of its rotation in terms of innings load. To wit, it’s been more than a month since a starter has gone six innings, and that can’t continue for much longer.
Drew Sandlin gets the task for the White Sox Friday night, and he came close to snapping the streak his last time out, perfect into the sixth inning on Sunday at St. Louis. Despite mixed results overall during his first taste of the majors, Sandlin has crushed it all season at Triple-A and ran a streak of five minor league starts allowing more than a run just once. And his work vs. the Cardinals earlier this week was as impeccable as you’re going to get from the White Sox rotation. Hopefully the home crowd will give Sandlin some juice, and he can will his way to a strong start.
The Tigers will throw out Andrew Sears. While he may look like a high school robotics teacher, he’s seen some success at the major league level — with the operative word being, “some.” Means has started in two of his four appearances and it seems his performance comes down to the flip of a coin. In a relief appearance against Kansas City in late August, he surrendered five runs in four innings. He followed that up by blanking the Los Angeles Dodgers in his next outing.
Everything looked bright when he limited Cleveland to one run in his first career start, in just under six innings of work. Unfortunately for him, Means quickly followed that up by allowing four runs in under five innings in his next outing. His best two outings were against two good teams and his two worst outings came against two of the worst teams in baseball. The good news is that if Means shuts us down, that means we’re a good team, right?
As every game has felt for Chicago lately, expect the unexpected. There is no doubt that Chicago could blow Detroit out, but there is also zero doubt they could get ran out of the park by a guy with goggles we haven’t seen since the 1980’s NBA.
Ease your nerves with some wise words from Tom Cappello:
Here is the starting lineup for the Chicago White Sox:
Here is the starting lineup for the Detroit Tigers:
First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on CHSN and can be heard on ESPN Chicago 1000. Drop your predictions and thoughts down below!
