The White Sox and Tigers are playing tonight and Ron Y. Asked for a game thread. Ask and ye shall receive. Geaux Tigs
Hatewatching TIGERS AT WHITE SOX: Fedde vs Valdez, discussion
Atlanta Braves off day chat and discussion: September 17
Good evening, folks. We blinked and it’s mid-September.
The Braves are enjoying a much-needed off day after a stretch of thirteen straight games. This particular road trip finishes in Houston, where a win will clinch the Braves’ playoff berth as they inch toward that division crown.
Did we secure postseason tickets this morning? How are we feeling? I, personally, am staring at my Wild Card tickets with some dread.
There’s not too much for tonight’s slate of games for our scoreboard watchers. The red-hot Padres stomped Colorado while the Dodgers clinched the NL West in Cincinnati earlier today. But if I had to guess, most of y’all will be chatting amongst yourselves about the Phillies/Mets as they open a four-game set.
Either way, the floor is yours. I leave you with the Stripers’ new ballpark kitten, ChiPurr Jones, throwing out the first pitch in Gwinnett.
J.T. Miller embraces Rangers’ ‘fresh slate’ after trying 2025-26 season
J.T. Miller was measured. Thursday, after all, was just the first day of training camp for the Rangers, and it’ll take weeks’ and months’ worth of games to change the franchise’s trajectory. There were no playoff declarations. No bold proclamations that the Blueshirts are better than last year after an offseason of change. No dissection of roster moves by the front office to overhaul parts of the roster, even.
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tRY IT NOW“We’re not gonna get ahead of ourselves,” Miller, now back in his old No. 10 jersey, said.
But, Miller admitted, this all “seems like a nice reset for us.” A time for the Rangers to “turn the past from last year.” His injury-filled campaign of 2025-26 started in the preseason and continued with three stints of missed time — and two trips to injured reserve — during the regular season. His 17 goals and 53 points marked his fewest in both categories since 2018-19 with the Lightning. And it all unfolded during his first year as captain, stepping into the elevated role and trying to not force himself to do more than he normally would.
This year, the Rangers will get a chance to move past their dismal 77-point campaign of last year. It’ll be different from the start, with no Vincent Trocheck (traded in the offseason) and no Artemi Panarin (traded before the Olympic roster freeze) here at this training camp. But at the crux of it all, of course, will be Miller, who gets a chance to move past his own woes of 2025-26 while occupying a critical role as the second-line center — skating alongside dynamic acquisition Pavel Dorofeyev for now — with Trocheck now in Utah.
“It was a lot last year,” Miller said. “Just a little bit of distraction everywhere, it seemed like, around our team. Obviously with The Letter coming out, I was hurt a lot of the year, I was at the Olympics — just a busy season, and I feel like it’s kinda hard to evaluate.
“But certainly not satisfied and saying that that’s the standard for myself. I mean, we didn’t get to where we want to be, and I took a lot of ownership of that. I just feel fresh right now. I feel good. And I’m excited that we get another crack at it this year with a fresh slate.”
The stakes will always be high for Miller. That’s the pressure that comes with the “C” sewn on his chest, just as it did for Jacob Trouba and Ryan McDonagh and Ryan Callahan and Mark Messier and all the other past Blueshirts captains. Miller said he expects more from himself as a leader this year. He said he learned from mistakes last season, which quickly spiraled into selling at the trade deadline and a reality where president and general manager Chris Drury dropped The Letter 2.0.
Miller spent time at both center and wing last year in the 68 games he did appear in, and when the Rangers’ first group — with mostly NHL players — skated Thursday, Miller, 33, was positioned between Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Dorofeyev collected more than 30 goals the past two seasons with the Golden Knights. He was the draft-day splash by the Blueshirts, the hyped acquisition during a public retool who could be the missing piece that tips the Rangers toward being a playoff team in April.
Head coach Mike Sullivan said that Miller’s play-making ability with the puck is “probably undervalued by some,” and Sullivan expressed a belief in Miller being able to serve as the Rangers’ second-line center, indirectly doubling as a belief that his skill set can complement Dorofeyev if they break camp still paired together.
“He has the ability to distribute the puck,” Sullivan said of Miller. “I think J.T. brings a physical element and a down-low game, a grind game that I think he can drag his linemates into a little bit so they can create some offense different ways. I think [Dorofeyev is] a guy that obviously can score goals, and so we wanted to see what that looks like.”
That role will only add to the pressure facing Miller this season. To the expectations that he can avoid the struggles from last year reappearing again and becoming a norm for his second Blueshirts stint. For one day, those stakes faded with the arrival of a new training camp, where “vibe” and “excitement” and anything else that described palpable energy were the buzzwords of his press conference that captured the emotion of the Rangers’ entire session.
“I feel very hungry,” Miller said. “I mean, after a year like last year, I just think in general I think I’m naturally competitive — I’d like to be better, I want the team to play better, I want better results.”
Game 153 Game Day Thread – Boston Red Sox @ Texas Rangers
Boston Red Sox @ Texas Rangers
Thursday, September 17, 2026, 7:05 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)
The Shed
RHP Sonny Gray vs. LHP Tyler Alexander (followed by LHP Cody Bradford)
Go Rangers!
Saddiq Bey, New Orleans agree to three-year, $55.5 million contract extension
Saddiq Bey quietly had an impressive last season (quiet because who was really watching Pelicans games by the end), averaging 17.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. It was especially impressive considering he had missed the previous season due to a torn ACL.
New Orleans is rewarding him, with the Pelicans and Bey agreeing to a three-year, $55.5 million extension, his agents from Excel Sports Management told Shams Charania of ESPN. This is fully guaranteed and takes him through the summer of 2030.
This is a big raise for Bey, 27, who is set to make $6.4 million this season in the final year of his current contract. The extension's average annual salary of $18.5 million is a little above the mid-level exception right now, but it's not out of line with how Bey produced last season. Also, this is a very tradable contract size if New Orleans ever needs to go that route, though the contract does have a trade kicker.
It's worth noting that new Pelicans general manager Troy Weaver drafted Bey out of Villanova back when Weaver was with the Pistons.
Bey had been a rock-solid role player for the Pistons and Hawks before being traded to the Pelicans in the 2025 offseason. Unfortunately, before he ever set foot on the court that season he tore his ACL and went through a year of rehab.
Last season he bounced back with the best season of his career — he started on the bench and by the eighth game of the season then-coach Willie Green wisely moved him into the starting lineup. He took on more of the offense but kept his efficiency at an all-time high for him (36.7% from 3-point range, .579 true shooting percentage).
If he continues to perform at that level for new Pelicans coach Jamahl Mosley, this is a good deal for both sides.
Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
Spurs and Villa meet in desperation derby and Andoni Iraola faces test on south-coast return
Chelsea have not won this west London derby since Brentford’s first Premier League season. Each visit since October 2021’s 1-0 win, Ben Chilwell the scorer, has been a draw. This season has continued the divergence between the clubs’ respective approaches, Brentford’s solidity and continuity compared to Chelsea attempting their latest reboot. Kevin Schade, after two well-taken goals at Bournemouth, will fancy facing a defence not yet attuned to Xabi Alonso’s configurations. Only one team has won a Premier League title with a defensive trio: Chelsea’s last title team, in 2016-17 under Antonio Conte. Alonso’s attack has been rather more successful, presenting another challenge for Jannik Schuster. Replacing Nathan Collins, the 20-year-old central defender had a tough examination from Bournemouth’s Evanilson on his first Premier League start, emerging with credit. For Chelsea, João Pedro has registered three goals and three assists, but doubts surrounding his fitness could lead to Danny Welbeck’s first league start. John Brewin
Brentford v Chelsea, Friday 8pm (all times BST)
Tottenham v Aston Villa, Saturday 3pm
Continue reading...Sonny Gray takes the ball against the Rangers trying to inch the Red Sox closer to a playoff clinch
The Red Sox magic number has been stubbornly stuck at five for the last couple of days, and while there’s no real concern about them ultimately getting in, it would be nice to win tonight and knock that down to three (Red Sox win + Rangers loss).
Another reason it would be nice to win this game is because Sonny Gray is starting, and this is his second to last start before the postseason. Ideally, he’ll be locking in for an excellent outing at the end of the month. Despite the loss last time out against the Royals, he still boasts a 17-5 person record, which is 12 games over .500, and also the exact number of games the team is over .500 at 82-70. (Make of that what you will.)
Lineup wise, Nick Sogard is back at second base after Isiah Kiner-Falefa got a start there last night. Also, with Texas throwing lefty Cody Bradford, Jahmai Jones is at DH instead of Mickey Gasper. As usual, we’ll probably see a pinch hit to switch the platoon advantage there at some point in the game.
⚾️ First Pitch: 8:05pm — Arlington, TX
📺 TV: NESN
📻 Radio: WEEI
Join us in the game thread below!
Semyon Varlamov ran with a ‘risky idea’ to return to hockey — it might give him his career back
After Semyon Varlamov underwent two partial knee replacements, Ilya Sorokin had the same question for him as everybody else.
“I asked him, ‘What do you think? It’s done?’ ” Sorokin recalled Thursday. The “it” was Varlamov’s career. “He said, ‘No, I will come back.’ First thing he said.”
Somehow, some way, Varlamov looks on track to resume playing hockey games this season. He took the ice Thursday as the Islanders opened training camp, and if you didn’t know any better, you would have been unable to tell what he’d been through over the 22 months that have elapsed since he last took part in an NHL practice or game.
Varlamov never had a timeline for his return. As far as he knows, there’s no precedent for what he’s doing.
Research by The Post turned up one professional athlete to undergo a partial knee replacement and return to competing at an elite level: Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. As for NHLers or professional athletes in team sports, we could find no comparable examples.
“The type of surgeries I’ve done, people [are] doing it, but not professional hockey players able to do it and try to come back,” Varlamov said. “That was kinda like a crazy idea. Very risky idea. I took a risk.”
A risk that might give him his career back.
“I wasn’t ready to retire,” Varlamov said. “Mentally, I wasn’t there. Definitely, some days it was in my mind when things were not going well. Rehab, we had a lot of setbacks, pushbacks. I was thinking, maybe this is it, I won’t be able to come back. But you wake up the next morning and just tell yourself that you’re not ready to retire. I’m not there yet, I guess.
“I still have a lot of respect and love for the game. I want to be around this team. This team is looking great with the younger guys now coming in, older guys. So this is very exciting, the whole thing. I pushed myself. I had a lot of motivation also, because the team is looking good. I want to be part of it longer.”
On a practical, hockey level, the implications for the Islanders are hard to fully unpack. General manager Mathieu Darche acknowledged that keeping three goaltenders on the active roster is a possibility, with Vitek Vanecek under contract, as well as Sorokin and Varlamov. Coach Pete DeBoer said that with an 84-game schedule, the Islanders will want close to 30 games from their backup goaltender, and given the club’s history of overusing Sorokin, they ought to be wary about doing so again.
The nature of what Varlamov is trying to do makes it impossible to predict how this will go. One thing is obvious from Thursday, though: The Islanders, as an organization, are in a little bit of awe over the fact that he has gotten this far.
“It’s almost inspiring to our guys,” Darche said.
“When I got here and I heard about the surgery he had undergone, I was not counting on seeing him at all,” DeBoer said.
“I wanna say he’s probably the first in history to do it,” JG Pageau told The Post. “That’s pretty cool, and it’s all in his honor to be able to do that.”
There are still so many steps to go. Varlamov needs to get through camp and the preseason with no setbacks. If he does make it as far as a regular-season game, every period will be a test.
But he has come so far already. It took until the beginning of March for him to truly feel he would have a chance to play. He upped his skating from three times a week to four or five, successfully pushing to get into a couple of AHL games at the end of Bridgeport’s season — a massive, confidence-boosting step.
“I feel like if I didn’t play those two games, there’s no chance the team would give me a chance to be part of this training camp,” Varlamov said.
He did, and now he’s here. If you could ever award the Masterton Trophy on the first day of the NHL’s calendar, this would be the time.
“I don’t want to jump ahead of things,” Varlamov said. “I’m just taking one day at a time and what’s the best thing I can do to be a better teammate? Just [be] the best version of yourself today. I can only control what’s happening today. I can’t think what’s gonna happen in 2-3 weeks. It’s not in my control.
“What I’m gonna play, how many games I’m gonna play, maybe I’m not gonna play. Who knows, right? We have a lot of good goalies here. I’m just focusing on today.”
Astros vs. Royals Game Discussion: 9/17/2026
TONIGHT’S GAME: With just 10 games remaining on their regular season schedule, the Houston Astros will continue their final homestand of the season tonight as they host the Kansas City Royals for a rubber game of their three-game series at Daikin Park.
Rookie RHP Miguel Ullola (0-0, 3.38 ERA) will serve as an opener for the Astros tonight opposite the veteran RHP Seth Lugo (7-8, 4.99 ERA) and the Royals.
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 with identical 76-76 records. The Astros own the tiebreaker over the Rangers with a season series victory (9-4 record).
TONIGHT’S OPENER: RHP Miguel Ullola served as an opener his last time out on Sept. 11 at TB, tossing 1.0 scoreless inning in his outing. Ullola has been great in his limited Major League action this season, posting a 3.38 ERA (3ER/8IP) with a .172 opponent average (5×29) and a 0.75 WHIP in six games. A longtime minor league starter, Ullola transitioned to a relief role this season and excelled to a 1.57 ERA (5ER28.2IP) in 29 relief appearances at the Triple A level.
TONIGHT’S BROADCASTS: Tonight’s game will be televised by FOX with Adam Amin and A.J. Pierzynski on the call. The Astros English radio broadcast can be heard on SportsTalk 790 with Robert Ford and Steve Sparks behind the mic. Francisco Romero and Alex Treviño will call the Astros Spanish broadcast on TUDN 102.9 FM.
GIVEAWAY MADNESS: The Astros will have giveaways for their remaining four home games, including all fans receiving a Jeremy Peña Telenovela Bobblehead tonight, presented by H-E-B. The Astros will also give away a Jeremy Peña Retro Los Astros Jersey on Friday, an Orbit Sugar Skull Bobblehead on Saturday, and a Viva Los Astros Rally Towel on Sunday.
STARTING STRONG: In their last 12 home games, Astros starting pitchers have combined for a 2.29 ERA (16ER/63IP), while allowing two-or-fewer runs in 10 of those contests. Additionally, Astros starters have posted a 3.22 ERA (42ER/117.1IP) in their last 24 games dating back to Aug. 21.
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVE: The Astros have reinstated OF Taylor Trammell from the Paternity List and have optioned OF Joey Loperfido to Triple A Sugar Land.
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. (.310), while ranking second in HR (39) and RBI (98). Alvarez also leads the Majors in OPS (1.022), SLG (.594) and OBP (.428). 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):
NOTHING FINER THAN YAINER: C Yainer Diaz is hitting .372 (16×43) in the month of September with two homers, five RBI and a .971 OPS. Diaz has multiple hits in seven if his 11 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).
THE FIREMAN: LHP Josh Hader converted his 26th consecutive save opportunity to open his season on Tuesday night, which sets the Astros club record. Should Hader finish the season without a blown save, he would become just 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).
HADER’S HEART: LHP Josh Hader will host a group from Covenant House at tonight’s game as a part of his Hader’s Heart program. Tonight’s visit is just a small part of Hader’s charitable efforts, as the closer has been recognized as the Astros nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, baseball’s most prestigious individual honor for MLB players.
ASTROS-ROYALS: The Astros and Royals have a memorable history, with the two clubs meeting each other in the 2015 ALDS, won by the Royals in five games. 11 years later, 2B Jose Altuve and C Salvador Perez remain on their team’s active rosters, while SS Carlos Correa, currently on the IL, also played in the series. More recently, the Astros are 10-5 in their last 15 games vs. the Royals, including a 3-2 record this season.
SCHIAVONE REACHES 30-30: Prospect C Jason Schiavone, the Astros 2026 Minor League Player of the Year, recorded three steals for Triple A Sugar Land last night, giving him 32 stolen bases on the minor league season. Schiavone has also hit 32 home runs this season, making him the first minor league catcher to post a 3030 season since C Willie Royster did so for the Charlotte O’s in 1981.
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2017 – The Astros clinch the AL West with a 7-1 win over the Mariners on a Sunday in Houston. RHP Justin Verlander started for the Astros, in what was his first home start at Daikin Park since his acquisition, and picked up the win, tossing 7.0 innings and allowing just one run.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Thursday, September 17, 6:16 p.m. CT
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: FOX
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; KTRH 740 AM; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
Royals vs. Astros on FOX Thursday game discussion
The Royals will try to win their series against the Astros with the rubber game airing on FOX tonight, not Royals.TV. Because when you have a chance to give a 67-85 team a regional audience, you take it!
But the Royals will have all their stars available tonight for the larger viewing audience. Cags returns to the lineup, Maikel Garcia is back, Jensen and Bobby are bopping the ball. Only Vinnie Pasquantino gets a day off.
The Astros will start rookie Miguel Ullola who is making just his second MLB start. The right-hander hasn’t gone more than two innings in any game, so expect a bullpen game. Houston did get outfielder Taylor Trammell back today, and he is in the lineup tonight.
Hey, just ten game threads left, enjoy each one we have left this year!
India gun smashes record-breaking 30-ball T20 century in stunning blitz
Opener Abhishek Sharma hit a record T20 century off 30 balls to set up a crushing 127-run win for India in the third match against Afghanistan and sweep the series 3-0 on Thursday.
Europa League roundup: Ferencvaros pile more misery on troubled Celtic
Hoops beaten again after chastening loss to Rangers
Juventus hammer NEC, Besiktas pile woe on Marseille
Celtic suffered another European embarrassment as the Scottish champions were beaten 3-1 at home by Ferencvaros in the Europa League. Just weeks on from crashing out of the Champions League qualifiers to Austrian side Lask, despite at one point holding a four-goal lead, Celtic’s defensive flaws were exposed once more.
Martin O’Neill’s team also suffered a chastening 3-0 defeat to rivals Rangers last weekend and failed to deliver on their manager’s promise to respond. Bamidele Yusuf opened the scoring for the visitors before Mika Baur equalised late in the first half. However Kristoffer Zachariassen quickly put Ferencvaros back in front before Daniel Arzani’s sensational strike, on his return to Celtic Park, capped a fine night for Ferencvaros.
Continue reading...Former Warriors’ No. 2 pick signs with New York Knicks
The New York Knicks have two vacant roster spots heading into the season as they seek to defend their title, so they’re bringing in a group of veterans to compete for them in training camp. One of them is a former NBA champion and a familiar face to Golden State Warriors fans.
The No. 2 pick from the 2020 draft signed a training camp deal with the Knicks, who appear to once again be auditioning multiple players to fill out the back of their roster. It worked out pretty well last season, with Landry Shamet winning a spot in camp and going on to average 9.3 points in 23 minutes per game, then shooting 47.5% from three-point range during the playoffs.
The Knicks lost centers Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti in free agency this summer, with Andre Drummond stepping in to take the backup center position. It looks like they’re prepared to add a third center and a wing player, and if that’s the case, Big Jim Wiseman is competing with fellow camp invitee Drew Eubanks for that spot. New York is also bringing in Bruce Brown, John Konchar, and Ochai Agbaji, a veritable who’s-who of the summer’s “Best available free agents” lists.
At the beginning of the summer, Wiseman’s agent announced that he would continue his professional career in Europe. Clearly, the chance to play for the Knicks was more tempting than whatever European opportunities were available. It’s not a guarantee that the Knicks will add another center, but you’d think they’d want someone bigger than Mohamed Diawara to man the pivot, especially with starting power forward OG Anunoby standing just 6-foot-7.
Big Jim earned a spot in the Indiana Pacers rotation to start the 2024-25 season, only to suffer an Achilles tear five minutes into his first game. He played four games for the Pacers last season, who had a huge amount of roster churn last year due to injuries. It got so bad they used seven hardship exceptions before Christmas, with Wiseman spending two brief stints with the team.
Wiseman may not seem like the missing piece for a team that blew through the NBA playoffs last spring, but it seems like he’ll only have to beat out Eubanks to earn a roster spot. Eubanks has played significantly more than Wiseman in the last few seasons, though those totals are trending downward. He suited up for 75 games in 2023-24, 61 games for two teams in 2024-25, and 42 games for the Sacramento Kings last year, tearing a ligament in his thumb late in the season after losing playing time to rookies Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell.
Eubanks, whose nickname is “The Shaq of Troutdale,” has a better track record of success, while Wiseman is four years younger and has a higher ceiling, though a far lower floor. With the general super-sizing of NBA front courts in recent years and the looming presence of Victor Wembanyama, the Knicks might be willing to gamble on Wiseman, who is still only 25.
At worst, Wiseman will get some training camp minutes to show off for other potential employees, in America or across the pond. He’s already proved he can cheer on a championship team from the sidelines in San Francisco. Here’s hoping he gets a chance to do in it NYC.
Second-inning disaster sinks Rockies in 9-2 loss to Padres
Hoping to get a series split in the final match-up against the San Diego Padres, the Colorado Rockies saw their opponent score seven runs in the top of the second to cruise toward a 9-2 victory. The Rockies are now just three losses away from their fourth consecutive year of 100 losses.
Gordon’s troublesome second inning
The Padres’ offensive aggressiveness claimed another Rockies victim in Tanner Gordon. After a pedestrian top of the first inning in which he allowed a couple of singles and had a couple of strikeouts, Gordon had a 1-0 lead to work with heading into the second inning.
Then the wheels fell off.
Xander Bogaerts led off the inning with a solo home run on the first pitch he saw to tie the game. Gordon then rebounded and struck out Luis Campusano for the first out. The home run must have rattled him, however, as he struggled to find the zone and throw a quality pitch. Jake Cronenworth singled, followed by back-to-back walks from Gordon to load the bases.
Dustin Harris, who has been bothersome in the series, collected a two-run single to make it a 3-1 Padres lead. Manny Machado then drove in the fourth run with a sacrifice fly. With two outs, Ty France singled to put runners on the corners with Jackson Merrill coming up to the plate.
Merrill hit a shallow fly ball to right field that turned into a two-run triple as Zac Veen ran a long way to try to catch it, but the ball hit him in the chest as he slid. On the very next play, Bogaerts hit a line drive to right field that Veen tried to dive for but was nowhere near, resulting in an RBI triple to make it a 7-1 game.
Gordon finally escaped the inning, having thrown 43 pitches in the inning. His 73 pitches through two innings the most thrown by a pitcher in a baseball season. He was also the third starting pitcher to throw at least 70 pitches in the first two innings in 2026, all of them Rockies.
He was able to get through the third inning unscathed after giving up a single and a double in the inning, ending his day after 86 pitches. He allowed seven runs on 10 hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Gordon generated 13 swings and misses, but as is typically the case, it’s never in the situation he needs to get the strikeout, and he left far too many hittable pitches in the zone.
“Today, other than having a tough time putting guys away … he had a two-strike count on Taylor with a walk there in the second, and then the two-strike knock to Harris was huge,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “I thought the pitch around of Tatís was fine, but just long counts. His changeup was working early. They took some swings and swung through it some, and then they started taking it. [There were] just foul balls, long at-bats, the pitch count rose tremendously and then some stuff in the field that didn’t go his way.”
Schaeffer also reiterated the area that Gordon needs to improve — putting hitters away after getting ahead in counts — and that they’re working on it.
“He gets ahead better than anybody on a typical basis,” he said. “It’s just finding a way to put hitters away late in counts with two strikes, and that’s where we need to find something.”
Bullpen carries the load
Zach Agnos took over for Gordon in the fourth inning in his mop-up long relief role. He worked three innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts. The two runs came in the fifth inning when Cronenworth led off with a triple, followed by an RBI double for Samad Taylor. Harris collected another RBI single to extend the Padres’ lead to 9-1.
Jaden Hill took the mound for a scoreless seventh, followed by a scoreless eighth from Brennan Bernardino that featured a pair of punchouts. Needing some work, Jordan Romano took over the ninth inning and had two strikeouts against a walk.
King’s court
While the Padres hounded Rockies pitching, the home team couldn’t quite figure out Michael King.
The Rockies put up an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Jake McCarthy hit a leadoff triple and came in to score on Connor Norby’s RBI single. Unfortunately, the offense wouldn’t score another run off of King until Kyle Karros hit an RBI single to score Cole Carrigg to make it 9-2. The Rockies threatened to score more in that inning when they loaded the bases with two outs, but a strikeout of Troy Johnston ended the threat.
King cruised through six innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks. He induced two double-plays and came away with 11 swings and misses. He showcased excellent command of his pitches, particularly the fastball and the slider, to limit the Rockies from doing much of anything.
Similar, but different, offenses
Overall, the difference in the offenses was stark. The Padres had 15 hits and went 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They struck out nine times and had just three walks. Five players had at least two hits, three of which had three hits a piece, including Bogaerts, who fell a single shy of the cycle. Bogaerts also became the first player in Padres history to have a triple and a homer in the same inning, and the second MLB player this season behind White Sox outfielder Tristan Peters.
Meanwhile, the Rockies had nine hits while going 2-for-4 with RISP. They also struck out nine times and had just three hits. Two players had multi-hit games while TJ Rumfield managed to extend his on-base streak to a Rockies rookie record-tying 21 games.
The biggest difference was that the Padres had 11 extra-base hits while the Rockies had just one. The ability to get on base is great, but the inability to string together multiple extra-base hits and avoid double-play balls is a hurdle the team has to overcome in the future.
Up next
The Rockies welcome the Seattle Mariners Friday for a three-game series over the weekend. Bryan Woo (12-9, 3.88 ERA) will make the start for Seattle while the Rockies have not yet announced a starter.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 pm MDT.
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What do we know about this class of Guardians Rookies
In what has been the “Season of the Rookie” across all of MLB, the Guardians are no different. Today we’re going to look at the 4 main rookies that have seen playing time for the Guardians in 2026, and what we’ve learned about them so far. The players we’re looking at today are Chase DeLauter, Parker Messick, Travis Bazzana, and Angel Genao. We’re going to look at the main thing we’ve seen from them in 2026 and what they can build on as the next step in their development. First, let’s go over what we’ve learned about Chase DeLauter.
Chase DeLauter can hit
I don’t really know how else to say it, but this dude can swing the bat. At the time of writing through 125 games, he has a 130 wRC+ (10th in the AL) and a .815 OPS (11th in the AL). He doesn’t chase outside the zone, he doesn’t swing and miss, and he doesn’t strike out. He takes his walks, and he hits the ball hard. His 3.2 fWAR shows he’s already producing at the level of a player who’d be a fringe All-Star candidate.
The biggest thing I think Chase can build on would be to see if he can find some more home runs. Almost all of his home runs have come off pitches Statcast counts as on the inner third of the plate. His barrel rate on middle and away pitches is considerably higher than on inside pitches, but those barrels are not translating into home runs consistently for him yet. The contact ability and the damage ability are there on middle and away pitches; he just needs to take that one last step to really boost his damage potential.
Parker Messick is a rock in this rotation
In 2026, Parker Messick has put together about as good a Rookie of the Year case that any starting pitcher can have. At the time of writing, he’s thrown 172.1 innings with a 2.51 ERA, 178 Ks, and has put up 4.5 fWAR. In 29 starts, he’s pitched fewer than 5 innings one time and given up more than 3 ERs just 3 times. It’s hard to imagine a more consistently productive season than the one Parker Messick is having.
There’s not really any major area for me to say Parker Messick should try to build on. His fastball velocity was a bit low, but in the later parts of the season it seems like he’s starting to find a little extra when he’s needed it, touching 96-97 in some key spots. I did a bit of digging, and one thing I think he could do to get a little more depth out of his starts on average is attacking the bottom of the order a bit more. This is really splitting hairs, but his BB% against hitters 3-6 in the opposing lineup is 5.2%, but to hitters 7-9 it’s 7.1%. The gap is small, but being able to reduce that down against the worst hitters in opposing lineups could go a long way to getting deeper in games.
Travis Bazzana can be “That Guy”
It’s been a very solid season for Bazz overall. At the time of writing, a 115 wRC+, .756 OPS, 14 HRs, 19 SBs, and 2.6 fWARin 113 games is nothing short of a successful rookie campaign. But the real reason I came to this conclusion is Bazz plays the game with a fierceness and intensity that’s truly infectious for everyone around him and for fans watching. He’s already shown he’s an elite baserunner, and he’s only going to get better at that given who his main tutor is. He has good plate discipline and takes his walks, and right now he’s showing the “That Guy” factor by heating up in the midst of the most important part of the season for the Guards.
The obvious place that needs improvement is his defense. His defense at second this season has been well below league average. If he can’t figure out second base, there’s always the potential he could be moved to the OF, but given he hasn’t shown a ton of arm strength, it may be best to delay those conversations for now. From the offensive side of things, I think just maintaining that consistency in approach and not being afraid to take walks will go a long way for him. During his torrid start in his first 46 games, when he had a 138 wRC+, his BB% was 12.3%. Then he hit the large cold spell of 58 games, with a 64 wRC+, where his BB% dropped to 10.2%. Now, since the start of the Detroit series, he’s back up to a 13.9% BB%. Being able to maintain that consistent BB% when the hits aren’t dropping can do a lot of work minimizing the negative effect of slumps that inevitably happen over a long season.
Angel Genao: The X Factor
I like this classification for Genao because we haven’t really seen that much of him at the big league level yet. There’s a lot to like. He squares the ball up, hits the ball hard, doesn’t chase out of the zone, doesn’t swing and miss, and doesn’t strikeout. He’s got great speed, a good arm, and defensive versatility in the infield. There have been some drawbacks though. His LASS% (Launch Angle Sweet Spot Percent) is so low, it’s one of the worst in the sport at just 20.2%. And his BB% is very low considering how much better his chase and whiff rates are than average.
When trying to decide what he could stand to improve on, these two things stand out the most. He’s got the eye at the plate and has shown the ability to take key walks in some high leverage situations. If he can do that more consistently throughout the game, that would be a big improvement. Likewise, getting more of his hard contact into launch angle ranges that produce high percentile outcomes should help him turn more of that contact into barrel-level damage and line drives into the outfield.
The 2026 season has taught us a lot about this team, and while they may not look like a contender at the moment, the future is incredibly bright for this roster going forward. I hope none of you get tired of watching exciting baseball, because that looks to be what’s in store in Cleveland for the next several years.
(All photos are from the Guardians official Instagram page)