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Orioles 3 Jays 7

That was a much better game.

The Jays went up 2-zip in the first. Brett Bateman started the game with a walk, and scored on Vladimir Guerrero’s double off the wall. Then Alejandro Kirk singled Vlad home.

And we got three more in the third. Bateman started this inning with a home run. George Springer singled and, an out later, Kirk homered. 5-0 and we could coast.

We got one in the sixth: Josh Smith was hit by pitch and Andrés Giménez doubled him home. We should have scored more that inning, but on a single Giménez rounded third, and, after Orioles third baseman faked a throw to first, tossed to SS Christian Encarnacion-Strand (covering third) and Giménez was tagged out. Not good baserunning, but that seems to be a theme lately.

And one more in the seventh. Vlad was hit by a pitch. I got a laugh out of Dan saying that it didn’t hurt, cause it was a slider, only 80 mph. I can’t throw 80 mph, and yet, I don’t think you’d want me hitting you with a baseball. An out later, Lukes hit a full-count pitch through the hole opened by the Orioles SS moving to second because Vlad was running on the pitch. Vlad got to third. Kazuma Okomoto walked to load the bases. And pinch hitter Ernie Clement hit a sac fly. That made it 7-3

We maybe should have scored more, but seven was plenty.

We used seven pitchers in a bullpen day:

• Spencer Miles started. He had a tough first inning, loading the bases on two walks and a single, but didn’t give up a run. He was, putting it mildly, much better in the second inning, getting three strikeouts. Five of his six outs were strikeouts. He left at 44 pitches.
• Joe Mantiply pitched a clean second.
• Spencer Arrighetti (I wonder how many times the Jays have had two Spencer’s pitching in a game?) got the ‘bulk role’, tho at 2.2 innings, it wasn’t really bulky. He allowed two hits, one earned run, two walks and two strikeouts. The unearned run came because Okamoto bobbled a softly hit grounder to him and then threw high over Vlad at first (into the stands). A rare two error play. Arrighetti gave up a two-out walk in the sixth and was pulled for
• Mason Fluharty. He gave up a double (that didn’t score the runner) and got a line out to Bateman (thanks Brett. I wasn’t thrilled they took Arrighetti out that early, but we won, so ok. Fluharty came in to face a lefty, but, of course the O’s pinch hit, so he ended up facing two RHB. Fluharty gave up a singled and got a strikeout in the seventh, brining in
• Paul Sewald. Paul quickly gave up a home runs making it 6-3, but he got out of the inning.
• Tyler Rogers got two ground outs and a strikeout in the eighth.
• Louis Varland, in a non-save spot, came in for the ninth. He made it tough on himself by making a throwing error on a ground ball hit back at him. Pitchers can (most of the time) hit a pretty small target, throwing to the plate, but can’t hit the broad side of a barn throwing anywhere else. But he got out of the inning.

Brett Bateman, as well as the home run, made a terrific catch on a deep fly ball to the gap. And Nathan Lukes had a 9-3 put out at the plate on a single to right. Beautiful throw.

We had 11 hits and 5 walks. Also two homers and two doubles. Springer, Kirk and Giménez. Martin had the only 0 for (0 for 2, walk).

Jays of the Day: Kirk (0.15 WPA), Bateman (0.10, plus a great catch in center), and Miles (0.10). I’ll give an honorary mention for a 0.08 day and some good glove work. His biggest problem (on defense was not being 15 feet tall to catch the over throws.

No on gets the Other Award. Rudy Martin had the low mark at -0.06, getting just a walk in his first MLB game.

The Twins just beat the Guardians, Jays are just one game back again.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country.

With a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks dropping the final game of their series against the Kansas City Royals, the San Diego Padres moved into the third and final National League Wild Card spot with a half-game lead over their NL West rival. The MLB schedule makers might have the ability to see the future because after 146 games, it appears the final series of the season between the Padres and Diamondbacks will decide which team heads to the postseason.

There is still time for either team to put some distance between themselves and the other. Which means there is also time for one team to fade out of contention. As much as the Friar Faithful would like to see Arizona do the later, it does not look like the Diamondbacks will oblige. However, there have been recent developments with the franchise from the desert that could change things.

Longtime Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte was a no-show for part of their road series with the Boston Red Sox. There were different scenarios and possibilities of what happened or why it happened that were reported, but the final line from the Diamondbacks was that Marte was dealing with a knee injury. That injury prevented him from playing on the field but not at the casino according to photos that made their way to social media. To Arizona’s credit, the team navigated the difficult circumstances and did not let it torpedo the season prior to Marte returning to the lineup.

More recently, the Diamondbacks have learned Corbin Carroll is having problems with his lower back, which is an injury he has dealt with in previous seasons. Carroll was scratched from a game and missed another but has already returned to the lineup, avoiding a potential IL stint that would have negatively impacted the Arizona postseason hopes. On a positive note for the Diamondbacks, Corbin Burnes returned to the rotation.

The Padres have had gotten positive returns as well as Nick Pivetta returned from injury against the Nationals and pitched five scoreless innings in his return. Similar performances from Pivetta during the final weeks of the season could go a long way in securing a playoff berth for San Diego. At the same time, the Padres desperately need Casey Mize or Robbie Ray to become the pitchers they were before they were acquired. Mize has had mixed results in San Diego and Ray has been the better of the two, but after back-to-back outings where he was touched up for multiple runs there is some concern about their effectiveness.

The Padres have a half-game lead and as stated that could expand over the final handful of games, but most baseball pundits and the Frair Faithful believe the final series against the Diamondbacks will be the deciding factor for the team that advances in the postseason.

If that is the case, it would be a heartbreaking for San Diego fans to watch Arizona celebrate on the field at Petco Park. If the Padres needed any more motivation to continue their current winning streak, that might be it.

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MIAMI –– The Dodgers will not pop bottles in Miami this weekend as National League West Division champions.

And now, they will have some work to do on Sunday if they want to punch their playoff ticket at loanDepot Park before heading off to Cincinnati.

That was the result of the team’s 4-3 loss to the Marlins on Saturday, in a defeat that snapped their season-long eight-game win streak and kept their magic number to clinch the NL West at four.

After a week of largely flawless play, Saturday served as a reality check for the two-time defending World Series champions.

It also at least temporarily delayed some of their postseason-clinching scenarios, after they entered the day with a route to securing a playoff berth as long as they won and got help elsewhere.

Instead, the Dodgers blew the early two-run lead they took on back-to-back home runs from Mookie Betts and Max Muncy in the first inning. More concerningly, they watched Tyler Glasnow struggle for a second straight start.

Coming off a six-inning, four-run outing against the Nationals last week, Glasnow gave up three runs in the second (the first two on a Graham Pauley homer, the third on three straight singles with two outs in the inning), then was chased after back-to-back walks to begin the fifth.

“He just couldn’t get his rhythm,” manager Dave Roberts said. “You could see he was fighting himself all game.”

Indeed, Glasnow’s four-plus innings marked his shortest appearance of the season — excluding a May 6 start in Houston when he left early with back spasms that would sideline him for the next 3 ½ months.

The four runs he allowed were also statistically significant, giving him consecutive outings with at least four runs against for only the second time in his Dodgers career.

“I think sometimes you’re timed up and you feel good, then other times you have to make adjustments and figure out how to get guys out that day,” Glasnow said. “I’m kind of in that phase right now.”

The Dodgers didn’t help their case in other areas of Saturday’s loss, either.

The Marlins scored their fourth run on a throwing error by Betts with the bases loaded later in the fifth.

The offense, meanwhile, didn’t have another hit after its first-inning blasts until the top of the seventh and didn’t score another run until a two-out RBI single in the ninth from Hunter Feduccia. Instead, they finished the day with just those four knocks –– despite getting Freddie Freeman back in the lineup following a knee injury (he went 0-for-4 in his first game since Tuesday).

“They did a good job of mixing it up on us, they executed some pitches,” Muncy said. “And we didn’t do a good job ourselves of creating a whole lot of opportunities. It’s baseball. It happens.”

Thus, the team will have to wait at least two more days before it can claim another division title, while a 14th consecutive MLB playoff berth will be on hold until Sunday at a minimum.

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We’re long past the point of this Mets season where there’s any real value in handicapping what might’ve been. If, if, if basically equals blah, blah, blah for a team playing out the string, even if they’re on a heater now.

What might be, though? Now there’s a juicy topic. And after watching Zac Thornton’s performance on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, it’s thrilling to wonder what might be for the 24-year-old lefty, who should have a real chance to impact next season’s starting rotation. 

The Mets smashed six home runs in trouncing the Yankees, 12-2, in a Subway Series laugher. But Thornton’s sharp seven innings stood out beyond what, in truth, was a meaningless rout that’s good mostly as banter fodder for Met fans. 

Yes, Thornton already had established himself as a rotation hopeful for next season with what he’d done over his first 12 starts. But this outing – two runs and five hits in matching his season-high in innings against a brawny contender – felt like something even more substantial. 

Especially since he was coming off his worst start of the season, one in which he’d been clobbered for four home runs by the awful Giants. 

“It was great, fun to watch, especially after the last outing,” said Mets interim manager Andy Green. “Seeing somebody bounce back like that – I think we value resilience at an incredibly high level, and to see it show up in a stadium like this, in a game like that, it's fun. He was on attack from the get-go and had some of the best velocity we’ve seen from him.” 

Thornton enjoyed an uptick in fastball velocity Saturday and it was so apparent that Juan Soto cited it when he talked to the media after the game. Thornton hit 95 mph six different times with his four-seamer and the pitch averaged 93.6, up 1.5 mph from his season average, according to Statcast.

“I didn't know the numbers coming out of my hand, but I was getting good results from the hitters, so I'm gonna keep throwing it,” Thornton said. 

Asked about Thornton’s four-seamer, Green joked that Thornton’s recent haircut didn’t cost him any velocity. A good thing. Then the manager noted the real benefits: “It gives him so much more margin when he can live at those numbers. 

“It speeds guys up even more, makes them make earlier decisions on cutters, opens hips up faster, gives him the outer half (of the plate) access when he needs it or wants it. In every regard, velo just makes it easier, especially if it comes with the same command, which it has and it did today.”

That’s part of what gives Thornton, who’s 4-5 with a 3.44 ERA, some intrigue – he’s been able to show some development this season while in the majors. For instance, he’s walked one or none in each of his last six starts after doing it only three times in his first seven starts. He’s realized he’s at his best when he’s in full attack mode, pounding the strike zone – he threw 61 of his 81 pitches for strikes on Saturday.

Thornton was clearly stung by his clunker against the Giants. His only recourse was to do better the next time he got a chance, which was Saturday. “The feeling of defeat,” Thornton said. “You know, it’s not a good feeling. So you do anything to not have that feeling.” 

The Mets have often talked about how much they value Thornton’s competitive engine. Francisco Lindor recalled that, a few weeks ago, he had made a mistake during one of Thornton’s starts. 

“I made an error and he looked at me like, ‘I got you,’” Lindor said. “And to me, that’s somebody that’s going to grind, that’s going to compete and not back down from any challenges. We’ve been seeing it all year.”

Including Saturday. Before the game became a rout, the Yanks had a glimmer of hope, putting two runners on with one out in the seventh when they trailed by four. Green went to the mound for, as he put it, “a heat check, see where [Thornton] was mentally, see where his head was, where his eyes were.” 

Thornton looked at Green and pledged to get a double-play grounder. Then he did. Anthony Volpe hit into a 5-4-3 twin kill that basically ended the competitive phase of the game. Thornton let his emotions pour out as he neared the dugout, roaring and pumping his arms.

“Pretty impressive to call it like that and to get it,” Green marveled, referring to the double play. “I don’t know that I’m going to believe every single time he says it, but it was a great way for him to end a really good start.” 

“Let’s go,” Thornton said after the game. “Big time, to get out of that jam.”

As potential future pieces such as Thornton have emerged, the Mets have thrived, even if their dreams for 2026 cratered. The Mets are 22-13 since selling at the trade deadline, as stars such as Lindor and Soto have been able to play together more after dealing with injuries. 

They’re known quantities, though. Soto and Lindor have to be good-to-great next year if the Mets want their “might be” to be contention-worthy. 

Thornton could help a lot. He seems to know it. He certainly wants the chance. 

“I feel like every opportunity I have here, I’m still trying to prove myself, prove that I can compete at the major league level,” Thornton said. “Prove that I can be on this ‘27 roster in the rotation.” 

Might be good.

That the article editor’s thumbnail selector offered two dozen images of a beaming Emmanuel Rodriguez, smiling as he jogged around the basepaths with his fist in the air, should tell you everything you need to know about the top prospect’s first major-league at-bat. A 2-1 fastball was swiftly deposited 420 into left-center field, tying the game as part of a four-run third inning, and accounting for a quarter of Minnesota’s all-important quartet of runs in a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.

Rodriguez, with his family in attendance, kicked off the third-inning rally in just about the most exuberant possible fashion. As if fired up by his sweet, welcome-to-the-show swing, Luke Keaschall and Brooks Lee knocked back-to-back singles that made it possible for Kody Clemens and Royce Lewis to each drive in runs on singles of their own, later in the inning.

The karmic downside arrived when Kaelen Culpepper had to come out of the game after a HBP to the shoulder/back region caused a contusion, and presumably, some pain. But Franco Aleman, who started the inning on the mound for Cleveland, recorded only two outs, and allowed all four Twin runs, also hit Victor Caratini one batter later to move the merry-go-round through the bases, and make it a 4-1 Twins lead.

This is still the 2026 Twins, of course, so a three-run margin would not be a cakewalk to hold. Starter Connor Prielipp went 5.1 innings across 77 pitches, giving up an early RBI single to Travis Bazzana (featuring an outfield assist to retire Angel Martinez at third, courtesy E-Rod from center field), then a HBP and double which both scored in a two-run answer-back fifth inning.

From there, though, the bullpen had themselves a nice afternoon. Kody Funderburk struck out three in a shutout seventh, and Jeff Hoffman did the same in his entrusted eighth inning. A.J. Minter was given the ball in the ninth, striking out two more, including a battle-back from a 3-0 count to Bazzana.

The Twins can win the series with a victory tomorrow, and the Chicago White Sox can breathe just a tick more freely, wherever they are. There’s no way to know.

STUDS:

Bullpen (3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K)

3B Brooks Lee (2-for-3, R)

CF Emmanuel Rodriguez (1-for-4, R, RBI, HR, A)

DUDS:

NO DUDS! TWINS WIN! TWINS WIN!

After a rousing St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame ceremony where Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Bill Sherdel were immortalized, the team will take the field and do battle with the Chicago White Sox Saturday night. Kyle Leahy will get the start (for a couple innings at least) while Chicago sends Luis Castillo to the mound. First pitch is set for 6:15pm central time with the game broadcast being available via Cardinals.tv.

Dane Myers slides into the leadoff spot for the Cincinnati Reds as they face lefty Shane Drohan and the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night at American Family Field.

Ke’Bryan Hayes is playing. That’s certainly a reason to go out of your way to tune in.

First pitch is set for 7:10 PM ET, and Brady Singer will get the start for Cincinnati.

Here’s how both clubs will line up to start:

Not that there’s any good time to play the National League Central, featuring the best team in baseball in the Milwaukee Brewers as well as the second-best second-place team in baseball. And as the White Sox have found, third- and fourth-place Pittsburgh and St. Louis — essentially equals of the White Sox, give or take — are no picnic.

While I’m not gonna indulge some of the sad sacking of the White Sox fan base at the moment [Note: Save for recap in case of the White Sox getting routed.], it’s never fun when you lose eight of 11 in September — particularly when you started your slump in first place.

But here’s the thing: The White Sox remain in first place. With the Guardians having lost, 4-3, to the Twins today, our guys remain in first place for at least one more day, win or lose. And it’s worth reminding that this is not the Guardians team of a year ago, who won like 20-of-23 to end the season and embarrassed a good Detroit Tigers team in the process; Cleveland has gone 5-5 in their last 10!

That said, the White Sox can’t afford the three wins in their last 10, as their two-month first-place lead was never that robust.

We’ll see how it plays out. My fandom was nearly murdered over these past four seasons, but I’m still here. I’m glad you are, too.

It’s a wild, but welcomed, drop of the Montgomerys to the bottom of the lineup. Frankly, Braden offers little or nothing to the team right now. Still not so little as to make it desirable to have Tommy Pham replacing him, but what little value he provided to the team is evaporating rapidly toward replacement level. Colson, for his part, got some powder-his-ass treatment from MLB.com today; we all want him to be great, but this year great he has not been. Give me Miguel Vargas busting his hiney to flop across the tarp in a desperate try at a foul pop any day of the week.

Sean Newcomb opens for the White Sox, presumably yielding to Luis Castillo as a bulk arm. But at this point with the White Sox, anyone in the pen who appears alive is viable to see action.

It’s a 6:15 p.m. CT game, usual broadcast suspects (see above). Let’s get back to 1 ½ over the goofy Guards tonight!

Randy Dobnak Time mostly continued, and Carter Jensen hit yet another home run, but the Royals fell to the Boston Red Sox 5-1.

Randy Dobnak’s line is perhaps a bit deceiving. When he left the game, he had allowed 1 run in 5.2 innings on 4 hits, no walks, and 4 strikeouts. Unfortunately, two of those hits had come in the sixth. With two outs, Matt Quatraro went to the only left-hander available in his bullpen, Anthony Gose, to face Wilyer Abreu.

Now, this is one of those cases where it’s easy to want to criticize Q. Anthony Gose hasn’t allowed a run of his own this year, but he also hadn’t struck out a single batter in 7.1 innings. As I’ve said many times, when you give up contact, there’s always a chance it turns into runners or runs. Tonight, the contact he gave up turned into a two-run double, and the game was pretty much decided at that point.

I don’t blame Q for that because it makes sense to go to the lefty. Since Connor Thomas hasn’t pitched in back-to-back games for KC this season, I think it’s safe to assume the Royals have some reason precluding them from using him that way. I don’t blame Dobnak because if the Royals had a better bullpen, he probably wouldn’t give up those runs. 5.2 innings and 3 runs is only a single out short of a quality start anyway, which is pretty much all you can ask from a guy like Randy.

The Royals’ lone run came in the top of the sixth when Carter Jensen hit a one-out solo shot around the Pesky Pole in right.

That home run broke and tied a bunch of records, which made for a fun little bit before the Royals gave up the lead again in the bottom of the inning.

• It set a new Royals franchise record for consecutive hits to go for extra bases.
• It set an expansion-era record for consecutive hits to go for extra bases for a catcher.
• Ditto the above for a rookie.
• He tied the Royals rookie record for home runs in a season with Bob Hamelin at 24.
• He tied Bobby Witt Jr.’s Royals rookie record for extra-base hits in a season.

He didn’t get another hit, so the streak could continue tomorrow. The only other thing of note on the offensive side is that Jac Caglianone pinch-hit for Kyle Isbel in the bottom of the eighth. He struck out. Alex Lange and Easton McGee each gave up a run in their relief appearances. Next thing you knew, the game was over.

Tomorrow afternoon’s game has been delayed by a couple of hours due to expected rain in Boston. It is now expected to start at 2:05 Kauffman time. Noah Cameron (3.93 ERA, 4.13 SIERA) will face off against Payton Tolle (3.15 ERA, 3.30 SIERA) in a battle of left-handers that should be fun to watch, assuming the game is able to be played.

Well, at least the Yankees don’t have to worry about George Lombard Jr.’s defense for the time being. 

His offense is another story. 

The rookie shortstop’s malaise at the plate continued Saturday afternoon in the Subway Series. After his 0-for-3 day in the Mets’ 12-2 rout, Lombard is 3-for-27 in September and 4-for-34 with 11 strikeouts dating to Aug. 28. His opposite-field grand slam against the Rockies on Wednesday was one of few highlights over the past three weeks. 

“It’s a constant game of adjustments. Pitchers are finding ways to get you out and you’re trying to figure out the opposite,” Lombard said. “I probably have missed a couple of my pitches. It’s every single day trying to make those little adjustments and get my swing off as much as possible.” 

After a quick start at the plate — Lombard homered in his debut on Aug. 4 — he has struggled against major league pitching.

A big issue: missing his pitch, as he referred to. He’s fouling off too many hittable pitches. 

“In this league especially, as good as these guys are, when you get a pitch to handle you need to not [just] put a good swing on it — you need to stick it,” manager Aaron Boone said. “That’s probably where he missed here for a few days.” 

The Yankees, it should be noted, put Lombard in a tough spot, asking the top prospect to produce immediately in the heat of a pennant race. He was bound to hit some rough spots. But he’s glad he has this opportunity. 

“I look at this no different than the adjustments I made at every other level,” said Lombard, who is now batting .217 with an OPS of .620. “The main focus is always going to be winning games and playing to win, trying to put the team in a good spot. That’s always a big focus and the adjustments you work on when you can. 

“You get your work in with the hitting coaches, try to make little changes when you can. The main focus is always playing the game hard and winning games.” 

It’s easy to play the what-if game with the Mets, but after their 12-2 drubbing of Gerrit Cole and the Yankees on Saturday afternoon, it’s hard to ignore what could’ve been had the entire team stayed healthy and gotten off to a better start.

It’s not just Saturday’s score that’s impressive – anybody can put up double-digit runs on a given day – it’s the last week and a half of scores that should have the Mets excited about their potential for next year and beyond.

Over their last nine games, the Mets have scored 76 runs (8.44 runs per game) and are 7-2 during that stretch. Since the trade deadline, New York boasts one of the best offenses in the league and is 22-13.

One player who perfectly encapsulates the entire Mets’ season is Francisco Lindor, who was hurt during the majority of the first half but has been on a tear recently, especially in the power department with two home runs against the Yanks on Saturday. He now has 20 home runs in 91 games and seven in his last 15 games.

“It’s been an uphill fight this whole year,” Lindor said. “It sucks that we haven’t played as much together [as a whole group], but when we do play together and we’re all in the lineup, things like this could happen, you know? 

“This is what we should’ve been doing since the beginning, but it’s part of the journey, it’s part of the year and we’ll try and make the most of it.”

Sure, with the pressure of trying to make the postseason off, some of what the Mets are doing should be taken with a grain of salt. However, during this recent surge, New York has looked competitive and even won some series against multiple playoff teams. 

In fact, if the Mets win Sunday’s rubber game, not only will they have taken the series from the Yanks, they will have won the season’s Subway Series, 4-2.

“If we would have played together from the beginning, there was a lot of injuries and there was a lot of ups and downs – I didn’t play well when I was playing – so if we would’ve, from the beginning, done what we’re doing now it would’ve been a whole different layout,” Lindor said. “But we put ourselves in this position and we can only worry about what we have today. We’ll see what happens next year.”

While the Mets are still not technically eliminated from playoff contention (their tragic number is 3), they are playing the rest of the season out as hard as they can to try and play spoiler as well as playing for the guys in the locker room, both those who will be on the team next year and those who won’t.

“Build on our relationships and try to finish the year as strong as we can,” Lindor said when asked what can be taken from the final two weeks of a season like this one. “Guys would be lying if they [say they] don’t want to have good years, everybody wants to have a good year, whatever a good year means for them. But you try to finish strong, you try to give everything you got and learn each other, continue to build on the relationships.”

The Orioles’ already narrow path to a postseason spot just got a whole lot slimmer.

The O’s suffered a 7-3 loss to the Blue Jays, who jumped all over a visibly fatigued Kyle Bradish for an early five-run advantage and used a cavalcade of eight relievers to shut down the Birds’ bats. As of this writing, the Guardians are trailing in Minnesota, which would keep the O’s three games behind Cleveland for the third wild card spot. But with only 13 games remaining, the math may already be too much to overcome.

Friends, this was not a happy birthday for Kyle Bradish. The newly 30-year-old O’s right-hander was pitching on his birthday for the first time in his professional career, and the only gifts the Blue Jays offered him were a bunch of runs and a whole bunch of hits. Not cool, Blue Jays. Not cool.

The trouble started immediately when Bradish walked the first batter of the game, Brett Bateman. Two batters later, the badly struggling Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — who recently has been getting booed at home even by the notoriously polite Canadians — ripped an RBI double to give the Jays the early lead, one they would never relinquish. Guerrero promptly scored on an Alejandro Kirk RBI single, making it 2-0.

Bradish ended both the first and second inning by fielding a comebacker and turning it into a double play, but his struggles arose again in the third. Bateman greeted him with a leadoff homer, his second of the series and his career. Later in the frame, after a George Springer single, Kirk followed Bateman’s lead with a two-run dinger to left-center to make it a 5-0 game. Bradish ultimately gave up two more hits in the inning before finally escaping.

Bradish didn’t return for the fourth, and frankly he shouldn’t return to the mound again this season. And I don’t mean that as a diss on Bradish. But the guy clearly is beyond gassed. He threw only 71.1 major league innings from 2024-25 combined, with Tommy John surgery in between. Now he’s up to 155 innings this season. It’s been obvious for nearly a month now that Bradish’s pitch movement and command have declined significantly as his innings count has escalated.

It’s understandable that Bradish might be having trouble adjusting to a full season’s workload after missing so much time in the previous two years. What’s less understandable is why the Orioles keep putting him out there. I suppose they’ve felt that they couldn’t afford to shut Bradish down while the O’s are technically within shouting distance of a playoff spot. But come on, guys. Enough is enough. You’re doing a disservice both to the Orioles and to Bradish himself by continuing to pile onto his workload when he’s showing visible signs of fatigue. Why would you sign this guy to a $90 million extension and then be so reckless with his arm? Shut. Him. Down.

The game didn’t get any more interesting after the Orioles fell into their early deficit. Relievers Anthony Nunez and Cam Sanders allowed a run apiece to extend Toronto’s total to seven, while the O’s offense failed to replicate their dynamic performance from the previous night.

The Jays went with a bullpen game today, and for some reason, that’s been the kiss of death for the Orioles’ offense all season long. They just can’t seem to hit when the other team doesn’t have an actual starting pitcher. Could it be a lack of preparation? A lack of focus? Or just bad luck? Whatever the case, every Orioles opponent for the rest of the year should just skip their starters and cycle through random relievers to pitch every game. They’d beat the Birds every time.

Spencer Miles was the opener, and while the O’s worked him for 31 pitches in the first, they came up empty when Christian Encarnacion-Strand lined out to right with the bases loaded. Miles then struck out the side in the second, so clearly the Birds’ signs of life in the first were short-lived. Lefty Joe Mantiply tossed a scoreless third, and Spencer Arrighetti gobbled up the next 2.2 innings, allowing just an unearned run on a Kazuma Okamoto throwing error that plated Gunnar Henderson in the fourth.

The only O’s batter to actually drive in a run — two of them, in fact — was Pete Alonso, who bashed his 299th career home run in the seventh off his former Mets teammate Paul Sewald. Good old Pete. Unless he homers tomorrow, Alonso has a good chance of hitting his 300th career homer at his longtime home ballpark, CitiField, where the O’s play the Mets from Monday to Wednesday. The Polar Bear’s dinger temporarily brought the Orioles within three runs, but it never felt that close.

They didn’t score again. The Blue Jays’ shutdown late-inning duo of Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland retired all six batters they faced in the eighth and ninth, and that was that. The O’s took the loss, one of the precious few they can afford for the rest of the season if they intend to stay in contention. It’s nearly time to run the table or go home.

The early 1990s were famously not always a great time for the New York Yankees. The 1990 campaign where they went 67-95 is on the shortlist for the worst season in franchise history. It wasn’t until George Steinbrenner’s suspension that year that the team actually took time to let young players develop and make moves that would turn the team into the dynasty of the late 1990s.

That being said, they did still win games during the 1990 season. As the adage goes, just about every MLB team wins 50 games and loses 50 games, and your season is decided by how you do in the rest. One of the Yankees’ 50 of 1990 — or 67 to be accurate — came on July 22nd, where they got a wild amount of help from their opponent.

On July 22, 1990, the Yankees were in Minnesota to take on the Twins. While a year later, the Twins would win the World Series in a classic over Atlanta, the 1990 edition of the team would finish last in the AL West, with only the Yankees putting up a worse record in the American League.

On this particular day, the Twins struck first. Facing Yankees starter Andy Hawkins (of losing no-hitter fame), Gary Gaetti led off the second inning with a double and eventually tagged up and scored on a John Moses sacrifice fly.

Twins starter Scott Erickson started the game off with two scoreless innings, but got into some trouble in the third, only some of which was on him. Erickson did hit Roberto Kelly with a pitch to start the inning, but Minnesota shortstop Greg Gagne then threw away a Wayne Tolleson grounder to put two runners on. After a Deion Sanders single loaded the bases, Steve Sax grounded into a double play, which did score a run. Don Mattingly added another RBI single, which was followed by an Oscar Azócar two-run homer. The inning ended after that, but the Yankees had a 4-1 lead. Despite, giving up three hits, including the home run, Erickson wasn’t charged with any of the runs, as they all came after that double play, which theoretically would’ve ended the inning had Gagne not committed his error.

While the Twins got one of those runs back in the fifth, the Yankees answered in the sixth. Azócar singled and then scored on a Matt Nokes single. However, Azócar was greatly aided in that feat by a error by Minnesota right fielder Shane Mack, as his throw to third hit a sliding Azócar.

After that though, the Twins began chipping away at the Yankees’ lead. They scored one in the sixth and knocked out Hawkins. Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett was part of the action as they scored two more in the seventh to tie things up. Then in the eighth, Mack atoned for his error with an RBI triple that gave Minnesota the lead and put them three outs away from a victory. While they didn’t get charged for an error themselves in this one, the Yankees made a defensive miscue of their own in this inning. Pitching Greg Cadaret had Gagne — who scored on the hit — picked off, but the Yankees botched the ensuing run down, allowing Gagne to get back to first safely, and then eventually come around on the Mack triple.

Jim Leyritz started the rally for the Yankees by leading off the frame with a single. Then, once again, the Twins’ defense cost them. On back-to-back plays, third baseman Gary Gaetti and first baseman Kent Hrbek — who made a bold attempt to get a force out at third on a bunt — committed an error each. The latter of those two brought home two Yankee runners to put them back in front. The inning was hardly over there either. Steve Sax and Bob Geren each recorded RBI hits in the inning, as the Yankees put up a five-spot in total, going up 10-6. The inning also only ended because Geren got thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double. Once again on the “the inning was only still going because of the errors” rule, all five once again went down as unearned ones.

Dave Righetti then came in for the bottom of the ninth. After all that, he needed just 10 pitches to record a 1-2-3 inning and seal the win.

If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed that, despite the Yankees reaching double digits, Twins pitchers never actually gave up an earned run in the game, thanks to the errors. Erickson’s ERA went from 3.72 to 3.15 despite being on the mound for five Yankee runs. Reliever Rick Aguilera’s ERA went down a bit even though he got just one of the six batters he faced out and was credited with five unearned runs. If you don’t count games from before like 1920 when gloves were in their infancy and every team made like four errors a game (that’s only a slight exaggeration), 10 is the most runs a Yankee team has scored in a game where they all went down as unearned.

After the game, the Yankees were in a good mood in what had been a tough season. Sax was quoted as saying ”We were talking on the bench, we need to run off about 10 in a row, get close to .500.”

He wasn’t exactly doing the math correctly, as that win got them to 34-57, which is a bit more than 10 away from .500. Still though, they weren’t the biggest screwups on the field that day.