Cal Raleigh waves to the crowd after hitting his 54th home run of the season. Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP
Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 54th home run of the season, tying Mickey Mantle’s record for a switch hitter set in 1961, as the Seattle Mariners took sole possession of first place in the American League West with an 11-2 victory against the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon.
Jorge Polanco tied a franchise record with three doubles and Julio Rodriguez added two more with two runs and two RBIs as the Mariners (82-68) won their ninth game in a row.
Randy Arozarena led off the bottom of the first with a single and Raleigh hit the next pitch from Kyle Hendricks, a sinker on the outside corner, 409ft into the Seattle bullpen in left-center field.
Raleigh said he had talked about the record with his father. “I remember him talking about [Mantle] like he was a god. Which he was,” Raleigh said of visiting Yankee Stadium with his father when he was younger. “It’s kind of cool to think about that.”
Mariners manager Dan Wilson paid tribute to Raleigh’s attitude. “To do what he has done offensively, to do what he does defensively, to do what he does with our pitching staff, you just marvel at all the things that he’s accomplishing,” Wilson said. “On top of that, making history, and just in a very humble way, that’s the kind of guy he is. He just wants to win, and that’s where it all comes from. That’s the driver.”
The Mariners’ last division title came in 2001, when they won 116 games. Raleigh said he is concentrating on helping his team end their drought.
“You know, in today’s age it’s hard not to go on your phone and people are talking about it, texting you about it,” Raleigh said. “I’m trying to do my best to block that out. I’m glad that we have something bigger to work towards.”
The Detroit Red Wings surrendered a two-goal lead late in the third period, falling 6-5 to the Dallas Stars in a chaotic Game 2 of the 2025 NHL Prospect Games, marked by multiple lead changes.
The Detroit Red Wings fall 6-5 to the Dallas Stars in the second game of the 2025 NHL Prospect Showcase. The game was eventful with multiple lead changes and some prospects stood out with impact performances in a high-scoring affair.
Detroit's offense was coming off a stellar 6-2 win over the Stars in the first game of the showcase, highlighted by goals from some of the Red Wings top prospects in Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Shai Buium, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Amadeus Lombardi. Game two of the showcase saw more standout performances for Buium and Lombardi as Buium scored once again and Lombardi contributed three key assists on the Red Wings first and fifth goals scored by Buium and Becher respectively.
The ice was tilted from the start for Dallas as in the first 36 seconds, the Stars jumped on a turnover by Brandsegg-Nygard and converted it into a quick early goal.
The Stars maintained pressure for the start of the first period and capitalized on another costly error. Detroit 2024 third round pick Ondrej Becher dished the puck into the middle of the Red Wings end to an unprepared Wyatt Kennedy, a free agent invitee, who turns the puck over as the Stars rush in and score another quick goal.
Detroit needed their established players to start making an impact and it started with Lombardi. The Red Wings 2022 fourth round pick passed the puck into the slot, with the help of a couple lucky bounces, to Griffins forward Carson Bantle, who makes a heads up play and moves the puck behind to a wide open Buium, who fires off a one-timer for Detroit's first goal of the game.
Bantle showcased his talents as a steady netfront presence on the Red Wings second goal as he used his large 6-foot-5 frame in front of the Stars goaltender and was in the perfect spot when a blueline shot from Lombardi hits the post and bounces right to him for an easy goal.
The game was tied but with several free agent invites looking to make their mark, Liam Kilfoil made his after entering the Stars zone on a fastbreak one-on-two opportunity. He speeds his way past the Stars defender and provides himself enough space for a backhand shot that goes off the crossbar and in for a highlight reel goal.
One of the player every Red Wings fan was looking out for 2023 ninth overall pick Nate Danielson. The 20-year-old center added to the Red Wings scoring frenzy by showing off his high-end shooting ability as he entered the Stars end by cutting through a Stars winger and defender before firing off a top shelf shot from the high slot.
The Red Wings felt in control but the game started to slip when entering the third period with the Stars on the man advantage. Detroit got the penalty late in the second and allowed Dallas to go into the intermission with a play in mind and it led to a quick goal to start the third. The Stars battled to keep the puck in the Red Wings end and turned away a breakout attempt while turning it into a quick two-on-one in the Detroit end. A quick cross zone pass into a one-timer helped Dallas cut the lead to one.
Start of the third and we get one of the power play 😈
Danielson helped extended the lead back to two by making a smart play in the Dallas end by drawing a Stars defender low into the zone before turning and dishing the puck to Becher, who makes up for his mistake on the first Dallas goal by putting the Red Wings up 5-3 in the middle of the third.
Things got worrisome when minutes later, the Stars quickly responded by crashing the net. Recent 2025 third round pick goaltender Michal Pradel had the crease for Detroit and couldn't find the puck as a Stars winger corralled the loose puck in the chaos to cut the lead back to one.
The Red Wings were on the heels and it showed in the middle of the third. The offense was caught deep in the Dallas zone, and the Stars quickly capitalized by scooping up an errant puck near the blue line, sparking a fast-break opportunity. With no Detroit forward in sight, Dallas enters the Red Wings zone on a four-on-two with a few quick passes and a quick shot from the face off dot leading to the Stars game-tying goal at 5-5 with time still left in the period.
Detroit was running out of steam due to the sustained pressure from Dallas towards the end of the period with the Stars finishing the group in the final minutes. A Stars forward worked the puck low with two Red Wings on his tail. He quickly fires a puck into the slot where an uncovered Stars winger grabs the puck with three Red Wings watching as he fires a quick one-timer for the go-ahead goal.
The game highlighted issues with both teams' young prospects, particularly their struggles to maintain offensive pressure and effectively break down sustained momentum from the opposition. Both sides had trouble executing clean breakouts, often failing to shake off the opposing forecheck. This prevented them from getting fresh legs on the ice and forcing the other team to reset from their own end, instead allowing rushes to restart from the neutral zone or even deep in the offensive zone.
For the Red Wings, several prospects particularly struggled with their breakout ability in the final stretch. They were unable to relieve the relentless pressure from the Stars, which ultimately proved costly. After holding a two-goal lead heading into the third period, Detroit’s young roster couldn’t withstand the momentum shift, leading to a come-from-behind win for Dallas.
The two-game Prospect Showcase offered fans a sneak peek at some of the rising talent in the Red Wings system, just ahead of Training Camp kicking off this Thursday in Traverse City. The event gave supporters a chance to get familiar with young players, who will be competing for roster spots in the upcoming season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' prospects erased a 2-0 deficit against the Columbus Blue Jackets' prospects on Sunday but ultimately fell 5-4 in overtime. The Penguins had a 4-3 lead late in the third period before the Blue Jackets tied it and then won the game two minutes into the 3-on-3 overtime.
There was a lot of emotion on both sides, including three fights and plenty of other skirmishes. Penguins defenseman Quinn Beauchesne was involved in his second fight in two days and isn't afraid to get chippy when the situation calls for it.
Despite the loss, there were some players who had some strong individual performances and are trying to ride that momentum into training camp, which starts on September 18. Let's examine some of those performances and what they could mean.
Avery Hayes
Hayes has been the star of the Prospects Challenge once again this year. He scored two goals in the 5-4 loss to the Blue Jackets and now has three goals in two games. He's been everywhere in the offensive zone and is getting chances on an every shift basis.
He looks like he's too good for this tournament, which is a good sign for the Penguins since Hayes was one of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's best players in the AHL last season, finishing with 23 goals and 42 points in 60 games. It was his best season in the AHL, and if he has a good camp, he could be a strong call-up option during the regular season.
Tristan Broz
Outside of Hayes, Broz was the most noticeable player on the ice. He scored a goal and added two assists in this contest, and looks like he has his confidence back. Broz faced a lot of adversity last season with the WBS Penguins since he battled mononucleosis for several weeks.
It took him some time to find his game again, but he eventually did, ending the season with two goals and nine points in his final 10 games before finishing the playoffs with one goal and three points in two games.
He's been one of the best prospects for the Penguins at this tournament and is gunning for an NHL roster spot at training camp.
Gabriel D'Aigle
D'Aigle was a standout in the first game against the Boston Bruins and rode that momentum into Sunday's game. He played the entire game, and despite giving up five goals, he made a lot of big saves, especially in the third period.
There was a sequence with a little over eight minutes left where he made a flurry of saves and showcased his mobility in the crease. He made the saves near the left post before allowing the game-tying and game-winning goal.
Since he played the whole game on Sunday, it's likely that Sergei Murashov will get the entire game on Monday.
Speaking of Monday's game, the Penguins will play the Buffalo Sabres' prospects at Noon ET. Fans will be able to stream the game on the Penguins' website.
Ahead of the game, the Blackhawks confirmed that Sam Rinzel, Oliver Moore, and Artyom Levshunov would miss the final game in an effort to prepare for NHL training camp.
Ryan Greene and Ryan Gagnier scored goals for the Blackhawks, and they were tied 2-2 toward the end of regulation. With 1:01 remaining in the third period, however, Wild prospect Rasmus Kumpalainen scored to make it 3-2 Wild. They hung on for the win.
With the loss, the Blackhawks ended the event 1-1-0. The Wild went 1-1-1 and the Blues went 1-0-1. It turned out to be the year of parity at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase.
Now that they’re done with the showcase, these prospects will return to their respective camps. Some of them will be at NHL camps, some will be headed to the AHL, and then others will find their way to Major Junior.
There were a handful of players who stood out above the rest. Nick Lardis, Marek Vanacker, and Taige Harding, amongst others, all had standout performances. If some of these guys can carry that momentum into their camps, they could play prominent roles on whatever teams they play for.
AJ Spellacy, who has been an incredibly standout player all camp long, has been a bull during games. For precautionary reasons, however, he was held out of the third period in this loss to the Wild. We will see how this impacts his next camp, if at all.
All in all, this is a great experience for everyone involved. All of these prospects had their chance to get ahead in rookie camp, play competitive games, and be ready for the next stage of the season.
Will Warren allowed five straight hits to begin the game in a six-run first inning, putting the Yankees in a hole they couldn’t climb out of in a 6-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night at Fenway Park.
New York smacked three home runs and had a chance with the tying run at the plate with nobody out in the eighth, but couldn't complete the three-game sweep. The Yanks leave Beantown with an 83-66 record. Boston improved to 82-68, to move to 1.5 games behind for the top AL Wild Card spot. With Toronto completing a three-game sweep of Baltimore on Sunday, the Yankees are now 4.0 games behind the Jays for first in the AL East.
Here are the takeaways...
- Giancarlo Stanton made his second start of the series in left field and made a hash of things immediately, overrunning a flyball as it fell short of the Green Monster, resulting in a leadoff triple for Jarren Duran in the home half of the first.
Boston made Warren pay for Stanton’s blunder: Alex Bregman took a fastball on the inside corner up the middle for an RBI single, Trevor Story sharply slapped single through the right side of the infield, Nathaniel Lowe got jammed but muscled a soft liner through the right side to plate another run, and Romy Gonzalez drove an RBI double to right to put two in scoring position and pitching coach Matt Blake was out for a visit after five straight hits on the first 14 pitches of the night.
Masataka Yoshida notched a sacrifice fly to center (one pitch after the Yanks failed to come up with a pop fly in foul territory down the right field line) and a Rob Refsnyder grounder to second, trading two more runs for the first two outs. But Warren fell behind 2-1 to Carlos Narvaez, who demolished a high, 95 mph fastball to centerfield for a 403-foot home run to round out the six-run first.
The Yankee righty settled in the second before a swinging bunt and walk put two on with two outs. It took Austin Slater making a diving catch after a long run on a ball to shallow right to keep Boston off the board in the second. He got six of the next seven Sox batters, allowing only a leadoff single in the third.
Warren was in a spot of bother with one out in the fifth after back-to-back singles, but he froze Refsnyder with a sweeper and got Narvaez to ground out to short. After the first, Warren stranded five runners and held Boston to 0-for-3 with RISP. His final line: 5.0 innings, six runs on 10 hits and a walk with two strikeouts on 89 pitches (59 strikes).
- Aaron Judge swung through a pair of fastballs before chasing a breaking pitch low and away to go down swinging in his first at-bat against Boston ace Garrett Crochet. Judge swung through a two fastball his second time up to again fall behind 1-2 with two outs and a runner on second base in the third, this time he worked the count full, but again went down swinging on a breaking pitch in the dirt.
With two outs in the fifth, the reigning AL MVP won the third matchup, smacking a first-pitch fastball up and away 400 feet into Boston’s bullpen in right for a solo home run. It was Judge’s 48th long ball of the year (112.7 mph off the bat) for his 102nd RBI to cut the deficit to three runs.
He rocketed a single in the eighth (113.5 mph) to finish the day 2-for-4.
- The Yanks first got to Crochet in the fourth as Stanton smashed a 110.9 mph single with one out and Amed Rosario got a sweeper down and clocked it just over the Monster for a two-run shot. Paul Goldschmidt, who walked his first time up, singled, but the three straight hits were all the Bombers could muster. Goldschmidt finished the day 1-for-3 with a walk.
- The Yanks were glad to see Crochet exit in the sixth and Jose Caballero, who struck out twice off the starter, got a 1-0 sinker right over the plate from reliver Steven Matz and hit it out of the stadium over the Monster in left, 423 feet (108.1 mph). The one-out homer made it four unanswered for the visitors after they fell behind by a half dozen in the first.
- Out of the bullpen, Camilo Doval picked up two strikeouts in a clean sixth, Mark Leiter Jr. worked around a one-out single with a double play in a scoreless seventh, and Paul Blackburn got around a one-out single in eighth, thanks to a really fine play by Caballero up the middle for the final out.
- After Judge’s leadoff single in the eighth off reliever Garrett Whitlock, the Yanks had the tying run at the plate, but Cody Bellinger went down looking, Stanton looking, and pinch-hitter Trent Grisham swinging.
Bellinger finished hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts. Stanton finished the day 1-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Arroldis Chapman made no mistakes in the ninth, throwing 10 strikes on 11 pitches with a couple of groundouts and a strikeout swinging on a 101.5 mph fastball past Caballero to end it.
Game MVP: Garrett Crochet
Crochet, who is tough against everybody, was tough on the Yanks. Aside from the two dingers, the left-hander racked up 12 strikeouts, getting Slater three times, Judge, Stanton, and Caballero twice each, as well as Rosario, Bellinger, and Jazz Chisholm Jr.
The Sox southpaw got 23 whiffs on 52 swings (44 percent) and another 14 called strikes, en route to needing 99 pitches to get 18 outs.
The Yankees head to Minnesota for a three-game series against the Twins, starting on Monday night with a 7:40 p.m. first pitch as MLB celebrates Roberto Clemente Day.
The pitching matchups for the series: Carlos Rodon vs. Simeon Woods Richardson, Cam Schlittler vs. Zebby Matthews, and Luis Gil vs. Taj Bradley.
Victoria to play Western Australia in Perth on 14 February next year
Last time a game was contested between state teams was in 1999
The AFL’s marquee State of Origin fixture will return next year to end a 27-year hiatus, with Western Australia to host Victoria in Perth on Valentine’s Day. After a clamour from fans and players for the state-based rivalry’s return, the 2026 game will be played at Optus Stadium.
The last time an Origin game was contested between state teams was in 1999, when Victoria beat South Australia by 54 points at the MCG, but South Australia was overlooked this time after strong lobbying from the Western Australian government.
Smith, 27, appeared in 58 games with New York over three seasons, after arriving in the deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks in January 2019. New York eventually dealt the guard to the Detroit Pistons ahead of the 2021 trade deadline in a deal that brought Derrick Rose to the Garden.
After the Pistons, he signed with Portland and Charlotte before landing in Brooklyn. He last played in Spain, appearing with Real Madrid.
The well-traveled veteran's most recent NBA experience came during the 2023-24 campaign with the Nets. In 56 games (two starts), he averaged 6.6 points on 43.5 percent shooting with 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 18.9 minutes.
The ninth overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft out of N.C. State, the 6-foot-3 guard had his best year in Dallas when he was fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.
In 326 career games (152 starts), he averaged 9.7 points on 40.7 percent shooting (29.8 percent from three) with 4.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 23.3 minutes. He has never played in the playoffs.
The Philadelphia Flyers are officially done with the Ivan Fedotov experiment, but Sunday's trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets comes with pros and cons.
For now, the Flyers are $3.275 million lighter on the salary cap, which, for all intents and purposes, was the main draw of the trade for Philadelphia.
Now, the Flyers won't have to concern themselves with balancing the salary cap when needing to call up injured players if necessary, which was prudent for Tyson Foerster and his situation earlier this summer, for example.
By extension, it's now a two-man net in Philadelphia.
The writing was on the wall for Fedotov once the Flyers brought in Dan Vladar from Calgary on July 1, thought it was unclear at the time if the hulking Russian was AHL-bound or a trade candidate because of his salary.
Clearly, based on Sunday's trade with the Blue Jackets, the Flyers weren't willing to risk losing Fedotov to waivers, and the Blue Jackets were willing to pay a minor cost to jump the line.
Flyers GM Danny Briere said previously that, over a full season, teams often need more than just their two goalies, and adding competition at the position was paramount in acting on that philosophy.
That competition now really only applies to incumbent starter Sam Ersson, who is going to have to fend off Vladar for starts all season long.
As for the AHL, the Flyers have only two serious options in Aleksei Kolosov, whom Keith Jones warned the public not to write off, and Carson Bjarnason - two top-100 picks who are the Flyers' homegrown talents at the position.
It should be telling that Kolosov is already in Philadelphia and participating in informal skates with his teammates.
As long as Kolosov and Bjarnason remain healthy, the Flyers are all-in on developing their youth in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season, which starts with the goalies and extends out to other prospects like Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey.
That's a philosophical shift even from just a year ago, when the Flyers had Eetu Makiniemi (a free agent addition) and Cal Petersen under contract with Kolosov and Fedotov in the fold.
Speaking of Bjarnason and the Phantoms, I didn't think Bjarnason had a bad rookie camp, but he wasn't great, either.
Fedotov was part of the Flyers up until Sunday, so it was plausible that Bjarnason could have been sent to the ECHL Reading Royals to play consistently while Fedotov and Kolosov platooned for the Phantoms.
Obviously, the Flyers didn't view that as something was necessary, and jettisoning Fedotov allows them to get Bjarnason in right away while benefitting the NHL roster at the same time.
I would still expect Kolosov to get the lion's share of starts in Allentown, but Bjarnason needs to and will play his portion of games, too.
All in all, the Fedotov deal was a rather clear slam dunk for the Flyers, who cleared a mammoth cap hit off their books and still got a positive asset in return.
Fedotov, of course, went through a lot to make his dream come true in the NHL with the Flyers, and I wish him all the best in Columbus going forward.
He's a talented player with a big personality that matches his size, and he's a nice guy by all accounts.
Now, he and the Flyers will move onto new chapters.
The Dodgers' Mookie Betts rounds third base to score on an RBI double from Freddie Freeman against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
This is the time to bring on the rivals. The Dodgers are used to taking on challengers down the pennant stretch: the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres — and, in a previous version of the National League West, the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds.
The final two weeks of the regular season are upon us. The Dodgers have one remaining head-to-head matchup that really matters — and that series starts Monday at Dodger Stadium, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies?
The Phillies have not been realigned into the NL West. However, although the three division champions automatically qualify for the playoffs, the two with the best records earn a bye into the division series. The division champion with the third-best record — right now, that would be the Dodgers — must play in the first round.
The Milwaukee Brewers, the presumed champions of the NL Central, boast the best record in baseball. The Phillies, the presumed champions of the NL East, lead the Dodgers by 4 ½ games. The Dodgers have 13 games to play.
The Dodgers got a bye and lost in the division series in 2022. They got a bye and lost in the division series in 2023. They got a bye and came within one game of elimination in the division series in 2024. Would they be better off not getting a bye and playing in the first round?
“There is not a question in my mind that that does not make sense,” Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, told me last week. “It is better for your World Series odds to not play those three games.”
The five days off that come with a bye can disrupt the timing of hitters. They also can allow time for injured and weary players to recover — that could be critical for Dodgers catcher Will Smith, in particular — and for the Dodgers to arrange their starting rotation just the way they might like it. And, of course, you can’t be eliminated in the first round if you don’t play in it.
“We have made our life more difficult to this point,” Friedman said, “but I still think we have a really good run in us, and we’ll make it competitive. So obviously these three games against Philly are really important in that.”
What if the three games against the Phillies go poorly?
Even if they don’t, the Dodgers might not win the division. The Padres are closer to the Dodgers than the Dodgers are to the Phillies.
San Diego trails the Dodgers by 2½ games in the NL West.
If the Padres win the NL West, how much would that hurt the Dodgers’ chances of a lengthy postseason run?
Not much, if at all. Both teams almost certainly would end up in the wild-card round.
The NL West champion would play the last team into the NL field, most likely the Giants or New York Mets and maybe even the Reds or Arizona Diamondbacks, with the chance the opponent exhausted its pitching just to get into the playoffs. The other team would play the Chicago Cubs, and would avoid the possibility of facing the surging Phillies until the NLCS.
If the NL West comes down to the last day or two, the Dodgers would have to determine whether to use their best starters on that final weekend or line them up for the wild-card series.
In that scenario, what might be the decisive factor in the Dodgers’ calculus?
The NL West champion would play all three games of the wild-card round at home; the runner-up likely would play all three games on the road. The Dodgers are 48-26 at home, 36-39 on the road. (The Padres are 47-28 at home, 35-40 on the road.)
Would there be any precedent for the Dodgers not minding if the Padres won the NL West?
In 1996, the Dodgers and Padres were tied for the NL West lead heading into the final day of the regular season, with the two teams facing one another. Both teams were guaranteed a playoff spot.
The Padres won the game, and with it the division. The Dodgers started Martinez in their playoff opener three days later. They lost that game, and they were swept in the series by the Braves. The winning pitchers in that series, in order: John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine.
In Friedman’s previous 10 seasons running the Dodgers, what is the fewest number of games they have won?
Ninety-one, in 2016.
How did the Dodgers do that October?
They earned a bye into the division series, in which they beat the Washington Nationals. They lost to the Chicago Cubs in the league championship series.
The Buffalo Sabres open training camp later this week, with only a few changes to the roster that finished second-last in the Eastern Conference and a dozen points out of the final wildcard spot. The club will have a healthy Josh Norris centering one of the top two lines, and added depth forwards Josh Doan, Justin Danforth, defensemen Michael Kesselring, Conor Timmins, and goalie Alex Lyon, but have unanswered questions about an injury to goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and no certain of who will replace the offense of departed winger JJ Peterka.
GM Kevyn Adams seems to be relying on the internal improvement of youngsters Zach Benson, Jack Quinn, and Jiri Kulich to pick up the slack for Peterka’s 68-point output, and as they have done the last few season, the club enters the season with a sizable chunk of unused salary cap room. This could once again be the Sabres operating under their own budget, or it could be that they are holding space in reserve to add players during the season before the March 6th trade deadline if they are in the playoff mix.
One bit of news that might be a factor in Adams making a move sooner is last week’s determination from the NHL that the five Hockey Canada players (Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Cal Foote) who were suspended indefinitely pending the results of their trial. The players are now eligible to sign an NHL contract on October 15 and play NHL games by December 1.
With the Sabres having six goaltenders on NHL contracts, it is unlikely that they would have interest in Hart or be a destination that the former Flyer would choose to go to, but Buffalo could have interest in either Dube and McLeod. The former Flames forward had consecutive 18-goal seasons in 2022 and 2023 before struggling prior to being suspended. McLeod (the older brother of the Sabres Ryan) played for Lindy Ruff his entire four-year stint in New Jersey and was enjoying his best offensive season (10 goals in 45 games) prior to be suspended by the league.
The Dodgers' Mookie Betts, center, celebrates with Kiké Hernández after scoring on Miguel Rojas' single during the sixth inning. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
The Dodgers have gotten back to the basics this week, preaching the importance of the little things in daily hitters’ meetings, in-game dugout conversations and even simulated drills in early batting practice sessions.
After a 2 ½ month slump over the second half of the season, they were searching for a more dependable style of offense. Like simplifying their approach at the plate. Shortening up swings and using the big part of the field with two strikes. Capitalizing on situational opportunities with runners on base. And making sure that, amid a resurgence from their rotation, they were finding ways to more consistently manufacture runs.
This weekend in San Francisco, they finally enjoyed the fruits of those labors, blowing out the Giants 10-2 on Sunday to win a three-game series and remain 2 ½ games up in the National League West standings.
“Quality of at-bat, winning pitches, using the whole field, not punching [out] — I think all those things, you know it’s in there,” manager Dave Roberts said, after the Dodgers racked up 18 hits, worked six walks and scored in six of their nine trips to the plate.
“We’ve seen it. Maybe not with the consistency we would’ve liked. But when you’re facing really good arms, to see us do what we did... it’s certainly encouraging.”
Indeed, coming off a 13-run outburst Saturday night, the Dodgers picked up right where they left off at Oracle Park on Sunday afternoon, slowly sucking the life out of a recently resurgent Giants team trying to sneak into the playoffs.
Teoscar Hernández continued a recent surge with a team-high four hits, making him 11 for his last 24. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Michael Conforto each had three knocks, with Conforto’s day getting his batting average back to .200. As a team, the Dodgers combined for a whopping 16 singles while forcing 207 pitches from the Giants’ staff of arms. And most amazing, they did it with Shohei Ohtani reaching base only once, and that didn’t even happen until his sixth at-bat in the top of the ninth.
“It's quality at-bats, quality outs, moving guys over, getting sac flies, bringing defenses in if you move them over,” Freeman said. “It creates more traffic, more things that are able to happen on the baseball field. Just think the quality of at-bats have been really good over the last week."
The onslaught started in the second inning, when two walks and a Freeman single loaded the bases, setting up Kiké Hernández for a sacrifice fly. It continued in the third, when a pair of productive outs (plus a bobbled ground ball from San Francisco third baseman Matt Chapman) turned singles from Betts and Teoscar Hernández into another hard-earned run.
Then, in the fifth, it all culminated in a four-run rally, one that knocked Giants starter Robbie Ray out of the game, and turned a low-scoring affair into a series rubber-match rout.
Freeman lined a double to right field, after Betts walked and Teoscar Hernández again singled. Conforto came off the bench for a two-run, pinch-hit, bases-loaded single that he managed to slap past a drawn-in infield. A run-scoring balk from reliever Joel Peguero added to the deluge, which included a pair of walks from Tommy Edman and Ben Rortvedt.
In the sixth, what was already a 6-1 lead was stretched a little further, with Miguel Rojas’ two-run single — with the bases loaded once more — putting the Dodgers’ sixth win in seven on ice. The Dodgers nonetheless added more runs in both the eighth and ninth, giving them their first back-to-back double-digit run totals since all the way back at the end of April.
The Dodgers' Tyler Glasnow pitched into the seventh inning on Sunday to pick up his second win in as many starts. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
“It's definitely the kind of baseball we want to be playing down the stretch and for the rest of the season,” Conforto said. “I think we're doing a lot of the little things right. That's kind of been the theme as we finish up here.”
It all represented a new look from the Dodgers’ star-studded offense, with only one of their 23 runs the last two days requiring a ball to go over the fence.
For much of the year, the team has been overly reliant on home runs, scoring via the long ball at the fifth-highest percentage in the majors (45%) at the end of play Friday. During their second-half slide, that dynamic had prevented them from working around injuries and mechanical flaws from much of the lineup, or finding alternative ways to build big innings and hang crooked numbers.
Hence, their recent re-emphasis on more dependable fundamentals — allowing them to paper-cut an opposing pitching staff to death in a way that is typically for success in October.
“When you can be able to do it, and know you can do it, as we're leading up to that point [of the playoffs], it definitely is a big confidence booster,” Freeman said. “We don't have to rely on the two-run, three-run home run all the time. I think that was just big. The last week, [this is] what we've been trying to do. And we've been able to actually do it in the games."
On the mound, Tyler Glasnow was able to settle down after looking frustrated with his command early, when he walked four batters (and hit another) in his first three innings. At a point he has so often spiraled in his up-and-down Dodgers tenure, the right-hander instead found a rhythm by retiring 10 in a row, managing to pitch into the seventh in a 6 ⅔ inning, one-run outing.
“It’s encouraging,” said Glasnow, who has a 3.06 ERA on the season and a 2.66 mark since returning from a shoulder injury in July “Since I got back from the IL, it’s been easier to kind of put [those kind of struggles] out of my head and go compete. If my stuff sucks, it’s kind of whatever. Just compete, try to get in the zone, get some weak contact. It’s helpful."
It led to the kind of performance the Dodgers are banking on from their rotation in the playoffs. This is still a team that, at its core, will have to be carried by its pitching.
The only way that strength will matter, however, is if the lineup can find some long-awaited consistency. This weekend, signs of it finally arrived. Everything the Dodgers had been preaching at last came to fruition.
“As we come down to the end [of the season, we’re] just kind of recognizing what it is that really puts us in the right spot to win games,” Conforto said. “It's go time now, and we got to do all those things if we want to get to where we want to get to."
