He’s back! Shohei Ohtani leads the Dodgers offense against the best the Reds have to offer.
Our long tri-state area is over: Aaron Judge is back. After missing over three months with a right rib fracture, the Yankee captain will return to face the Colorado Rockies tomorrow night.
The YES Network teased Judge’s return earlier today on Twitter/X:
And the Yankees made his return official tonight:
That we’d see two official hype videos for a player coming back from injury underscores just how hotly anticipated Judge’s return has become. The club is in need of his production and presence in the lineup, that much is certain. But beyond that, this is a team and a fan base that is desperate to see their talisman, their anchor, healthy and on the field.
Judge is that and more. Before he injured his rib, Judge remained an All-Universe hitter; he had a 1.060 OPS on May 5th. Crucially, the Yankee offense was excellent with Judge in the lineup, their 116 wRC+ pacing baseball on May 30th, the day before Judge finally was removed from the lineup. They’ve run a woeful 90 wRC+ in the time since, 29th in MLB, better than only the Angels.
If I’d told you before the season that Judge would get injured in April, and that the Yankee offense would limp through the entire summer without him, you may have resigned yourself to the likelihood that this was a lost season in New York. But the Yankees themselves have not done so. The offense has been putrid at times, yes, but this is a team that has held the line without Judge. They see him return to a roster that both needs him and has survived without him, and thus has put itself in position to make a run now that he’s back. The Yankees as currently constructed have everything thing they need now to win the World Series (as they are fond of reminding us).
It all begins anew tomorrow night, when Judge takes the field at Yankee Stadium and the Yankees try to mount a last-minute bid for the AL East. He’ll do so without having faced in-game pitching since May, again highlighting how badly the Yankees want him back in the lineup, and Judge’s supreme confidence in his own otherworldly skills. Will he be rusty? Is he fully healthy? We’ll have to wait to find out the answers to those questions, but after waiting three months, we’re all ready to see Aaron Judge, at last, back in the Bronx.
The captain is back.
After spending the last three-plus months on the injured list with a right rib stress fracture, and racing the regular-season clock to get healthy, Aaron Judge will return to the Yankees lineup on Tuesday night in The Bronx against the Rockies, the team announced Monday night.
The back-to-back AL MVP rejoins a Yankees club that is four games back of the Rays for the division with 19 games to play – and only two games clear of the Red Sox for the top AL wild card – but survived his absence, going 45-39 while he was gone despite having to deal with other injuries during that span.
“Best player in the world,” manager Aaron Boone said over the weekend. “I think it would give us a lot of balance, too, to give us that right-handed hitter. On the days we’re facing a righty, where we got all our lefties, to have a right-handed hitter in that two-three hole, I think goes a long way. Not only potentially having his production back in there, but hopefully putting the other guys in a better spot, too.”
Judge successfully petitioned his way out of having to go on a rehab assignment before being activated, though the Yankees may ease him in over the next few days as he finishes off his buildup.
That could mean a day off after his first game, playing five to seven innings in the field and/or DH days involved. He was expected to face live pitching on Monday at Yankee Stadium for the first time in his ramp-up, after going with the Yankees on their West Coast trip and hitting batting practice on the field and high-velocity pitching machines indoors.
The last game Judge played was May 31, when the Yankees beat the Athletics to improve to 36-23. They started 10-5 without him before sputtering during a 4-14 stretch into July. But they began to break out of the malaise from there, even without scoring much, as they leaned on the strength of their pitching staff to weather the storm.
During that time, they have also withstood injuries to Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham (twice), Austin Wells, Ryan McMahon, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Ryan Weathers and more, plus multiple setbacks for Giancarlo Stanton that have kept him out since late April.
With their 5-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Monday, Sept. 7, the Los Angeles Angels are now officially the first American League team eliminated from postseason contention.
The 18 remaining games on their schedule are now rendered meaningless. Even if they were to win out, they would only be able to reach 72 wins, a game shy of the Cleveland Guardians, who currently hold the third spot in the AL Wild Card race at 73-72.
But while this marks the 12th consecutive year that October baseball won't be played in Anaheim, Halos fans finally have reason to look towards the offseason with some sense of hope. Through several of their 44 losses at Angel Stadium this season, fans in the outfield bleachers took the "tarps off" trend to another level and vigorously chanted for owner Arte Moreno to sell the team. He's done just that.
New owner Stan Kroenke took the team off Moreno's hands in a reported $4 billion purchase, putting an end to 23 years of an ownership that was widely considered among the worst in professionl sports. Kroenke, who also owns the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Arsenal FC – all of which have won championships this decade – is expected to add the Angels to his portfolio once the sale gets approved by all 30 MLB owners sometime in early 2027.
It's a good time for a reset within the franchise, too, possible pending lockout aside.
Manager Kurt Suzuki is on a one-year contract; there's a good chance he'll be gone in 2027. Former St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak was brought in as the Angels' interim general manager after Perry Minasian was fired in June and quickly began making moves towards laying a foundation for the team's long-term future by trading away seven players ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline. The return of prospects in those deals, headlined by shortstop Arjun Nimmala, shot the Angels organization up from 28th to 17th in MLB Pipeline's farm system rankings.
More recently, Mozeliak promoted Matt Swanson and Michael Lord to assistant GMs as part of a restructuring of the scouting department. Mozeliak has yet to decide if he'll return next year, but the moves he's making now will help whoever is in charge, regardless of whether it's him or a new hire.
Here are the three biggest questions facing the Angels this offseason:
If this was four years ago, the Angels' future would've looked even brighter as they would've held the first overall pick in next year's MLB Draft as the team with the worst record in baseball (54-90). Since 2023, however, MLB has used a draft lottery to determine the order of the first six picks. The teams with the three worst records this season will have identical odds at No. 1 overall, meaning the Angels right now share even lottery odds at 19.25% with the Colorado Rockies (55-88) and the Athletics (57-87).
Stan Kroenke has shown that he will not insert himself in day-to-day operations nearly as much as Arte Moreno did. Within each of the teams he owns, he's leaned on the expertise of the personnel he hires and lets them do their jobs. He does however, seem to be a bit more selective when it comes to payroll. He's shown to spare no expense when it comes to the Rams – where GM Les Snead has once again built a superteam in the hard-capped NFL by swinging massive trades for Trent McDuffie and Myles Garrett – and Arsenal, who signed midfielder Declan Rice for a club-record $133 million transfer fee in 2023. But with the Nuggets, Kroenke's notably avoided the second apron of the NBA's luxury tax even after winning the 2023 NBA Finals.
Kroenke won't get the keys to the building until January at the earliest, and that's the best-case scenario considering a lockout going into 2027 seems likelier by the day.
John Mozeliak has made some long-overdue changes since arriving on an interim basis in June. He has the track record from his 18 years as the top executive in St. Louis: 10 playoff appearances, two NL pennants, a World Series title in 2011 and 15 consecutive winning seasons from 2008-2022, a franchise record.
When he stepped away from the Cardinals last October, the 57-year-old told reporters he didn't envision himself running another team in the near future. But in an interview with The Athletic's Katie Woo, Mozeliak said the challenge of bringing the Angels back to prominence made him feel "really energized about going back."
His contract ends in December, and he's told reporters that the plan is still to hire a GM, though he's enjoyed living in Orange County more than he originally expected. Even if he doesn't return in an official capacity, there's still a chance he could stay on an advisor. But, there's also a chance that Korenke would want to start fresh.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Angels eliminated from playoff contention: Three biggest offseason questions
The Dodgers and Reds continue their series, and Tarik Skubal makes his second start of the homestand. Because these two teams play again next week in Cincinnati, Skubal will likely start twice against the Reds.
Left-hander Nick Lodolo starts Tuesday for Cincinnati.
The week the Yankees hoped would one day come — without any guarantees — after three months has finally arrived.
The only question now is which day the Yankees will fill the 6-foot-7, 282-pound presence that has been sorely missing since the beginning of June.
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.
Try it freeAaron Judge is primed to return to the Yankees as early as Tuesday against the Rockies in The Bronx — Aaron Boone did not rule it out — though it could be Wednesday or Thursday if they choose to give him a few more days of ramping up with facing live pitching and the Trajekt machine. Neither of those was available to him over the last week as he joined the team on its West Coast road trip to check some of the final boxes in his rehab.
But the long-awaited day is nearly here.
“Best player in the world,” manager Aaron Boone said over the weekend, summing up the potential impact of his captain’s imminent return.
The back-to-back AL MVP will jump right back into a playoff race. The Yankees trail the Rays by four games for the division — and are two games clear of the Red Sox for the top AL wild card — and survived his absence, entering Tuesday 45-39 since he last played despite dealing with other injuries during that span.
“We’re still in it,” Max Fried said Sunday. “Obviously we’d love to be playing better, [and] we’re motivated to keep going and fight to try to win the division. But anytime you get your best player back, it’s obviously a huge boost.”
On Monday’s off-day, Judge was set to face live pitching for the first time in his ramp-up, after spending the last week taking on-field batting practice, hitting off high-velocity pitching machines and standing in on bullpen sessions to track pitches.
All of that, plus having the Trajekt machine at his disposal back at Yankee Stadium, is likely to allow Judge to skip a rehab assignment in favor of being activated sooner, despite the lengthy absence. Because of that, the Yankees may ease him in over the next few days as he finishes off his buildup. That could mean a day off after his first game, playing five to seven innings in the field and/or serving as the DH.
But the Yankees will welcome him back in any form with open arms, after their lineup spent a large chunk of his IL stint struggling before finally starting to break out of it over the last few weeks.
“He’s our captain, best player in baseball,” Fried said. “To have him back in the lineup is obviously a huge boost. We’re definitely a better team when he’s in the lineup.”
The Yankees opened a spot on the active roster Sunday night, when they optioned Elmer Rodríguez to Triple-A, though it was unclear if it was for Judge. They will still need to open a spot on the 40-man roster to activate Judge off the 60-day IL (plus Clarke Schmidt at some point in the next week or two), which would make it surprising if they replaced Rodríguez with a pitcher who is not currently on the 40-man roster (i.e. Eli Morgan). But of their healthy 40-man pitchers in the minors, only Brendan Beck is eligible to be recalled Tuesday, which added to the Judge intrigue.
The last game Judge played was May 31, when the Yankees beat the Athletics to improve to 36-23. They started 10-5 without him before sputtering during a 4-14 stretch into July. But they began to break out of the malaise from there, even as they were still not scoring much, as they leaned on the strength of their pitching staff to weather the storm.
During that time, they have also withstood injuries to Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham (twice), Austin Wells, Ryan McMahon, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Ryan Weathers and more, plus multiple setbacks for Giancarlo Stanton that have kept him out since late April.
From June 1 through Sunday, the Yankees lineup ranked 26th in runs per game (4.06, compared to the 5.17 they were scoring with him); 29th in batting average (.227, compared to .243 with him); 27th in OPS (.681, compared to .770 with him); and 29th in WRC+ (90, compared to 116 with him).
But now, they are on the verge of reintegrating one of the game’s most fearsome hitters at a critical time.
“I feel like we’ve played pretty well here over the last several weeks,” Boone said. “Certainly we’ve had long stretches where the offense has struggled, and I think a big part of that is not having your guy. But I also feel like that’s ticked up here in the last couple weeks where we’ve really started to play better offensively. Certainly look forward to getting our guy back.”
The St. Louis Cardinals wrap up their west coast swing with a 3-game series vs the San Francisco Giants starting Monday night. Michael McGreevy is the starter for the Cardinals while the San Francisco Giants will give the ball to RHP Logan Webb. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via NBC/Peacock.
Sign up for a user account and get:
When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went over the weekend plan with Shohei Ohtani, he circled Monday as a potential date for him to return to the lineup after four days off to address lingering aches and pains, including a recurring biceps problem.
On Sunday, that plan was finalized. And Ohtani did indeed grace the top of the Dodgers’ lineup Monday as they opened a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Roberts will, however, keep a close eye on Ohtani.
“I don’t want to say it’s day to day, but I am very curious to see how he comes out of tonight to then make the decision for tomorrow and ensuing days,” Roberts said. “We’ve put a pin in throwing and just having him focus on the hitting, the running, keeping his legs good and doing whatever it takes to help us win.”
Read more:Shohei Ohtani set to return to lineup; Mookie Betts powers Dodgers past Nationals
By “put a pin in” it, Roberts meant that the Dodgers didn’t have a timetable for when Ohtani might throw again, making it likely that he won’t pitch again this year. But the Dodgers aren’t ready to fully rule it out.
Roberts said he hoped tabling throwing, at least for now, could help Ohtani’s offensive production.
“That’s one part of the thought, to sort of take the pitching off of his plate and really try to let him lock in on being a hitter and get on track,” Roberts said. “Because the last couple of weeks he just hasn’t been himself in the box.”
Ohtani wasn’t available before the game to give his own explanation about his recent slump, and he hasn’t addressed reporters in three weeks, despite repeated requests. He tallied only two hits in the six games before Roberts sat him.
Read more:Before Mark Walter's companies faced inquiries, he kept a low profile and built loyalty
“A lot of it was overall body break, which was needed,” Roberts said. “I think that what happens is, when a player gets taxed physically, the mentally is affected as well.
“I think we got to a point where it all sort of came to a head, where I do think these last four days, giving his body a reset, giving his mind a reset — anything can happen [Monday] as far as performance, but I’m hoping that he’s just in a better state body and mind tonight.”
How will Roberts be able to tell if that’s the case?
“Just the swing, the barrel accuracy, how his mechanics look,” Roberts said. “Hopefully we don’t see that wincing we saw [last Wednesday]. And just quality of at-bat in the end.”
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
MIAMI — A.J. Ewing’s late-summer siesta at the plate might finally be behind him.
A day after collecting only his second multihit game over the past month, the rookie went a step further with a 3-for-5 performance that included three RBIs in the Mets’ 9-4 victory over the Marlins on Monday.
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.
Try it freeDid Ewing change his approach following an August in which he produced a .463 OPS?
“A little bit,” Ewing said. “I would just say that I am not chasing results and kind of sticking to an approach and a plan and just being pitch to pitch.”
Ewing’s two-run double in the fifth inning extended the Mets lead to 7-4 and was among the big hits of the 16 the Mets collected. Ewing also delivered an RBI single later in the game.
“The at-bats are outstanding,” interim manager Andy Green said. “He’s hitting the ball all over the field. He’s hitting with authority.”
Ewing’s only blemish on this day was getting picked off first base in the third inning.
“He got a little far off the base,” Green said. “But he can apply so much pressure with his speed, so getting him back on the bases really causes our offense to churn.”
Robert Stock will start Wednesday’s series finale, according to Green. The right-hander pitched in relief Friday — facing two batters — after his best career start four days earlier, when he pitched 5 ¹/₃ scoreless innings against the Rays.
Reed Garrett, who is rehabbing from internal brace elbow surgery, will throw from a mound Tuesday in front of team officials. The right-hander has spent most of this season rehabbing in Port St. Lucie.
Jared Young was on the bench for a second straight game after fouling a ball off his foot Saturday. Brett Baty started at first base.
Justin Hagenman was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to create roster space for Jonah Tong.
It’s time for a new series, and it’s time for holiday baseball, as the San Francisco Giants host the St. Louis Cardinals.
Logan Webb is scheduled to take the mound for the Giants, with the three-time All-Star right-hander making his 26th start of the season. Webb is 8-8 on the year, with a 4.21 ERA, a 3.44 FIP, and 119 strikeouts to 38 walks in 149.2 innings. Webb is looking to bounce back after his last outing, when he gave up nine runs in two innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
For the Cardinals, it’s righty Michael McGreevy, who makes his 28th start. The 26-year old is 6-9 on the year, with a 3.97 ERA, a 4.31 FIP, and 102 strikeouts to 40 walks in 147.1 innings. McGreevy gave up four runs in five innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last start.
Enjoy the baseball, everyone!
Sign up for a user account and get:
Who: San Francisco Giants (59-85) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (72-72)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
When: 5:10 p.m. PT
Regional broadcast: n/a
National broadcast: NBC/Peacock
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jesus Luzardo threw the first complete game of his career Monday, Sept. 7, a two-hit, 12-strikeout shutout that beat the Atlanta Braves1-0 and pushed his record to 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA.
Five months ago, his ERA sat at 5.50.
Since then, he has won the National League Pitcher of the Month for August, going 3-0, with a 1.31 ERA, 46 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings. Over his last 22 starts, his ERA is 2.39.
He's not the only team member pitching well at the right time.
Cristopher Sanchez is 16-14 with a 2.52 ERA and the major's best pitching WAR, running second in the Cy Young race behind Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski. Earlier this year he put together a 50 2/3-inning scoreless streak, the longest by a left-hander in major league history.
Zack Wheeler had a miserable August, a 6.26 ERA that had people writing him off, and has answered it with back-to-back starts of six innings with one run apiece. Aaron Nola's season line still looks rough at 4.76, but that number isn't the whole story. Since late June, Nola has a 3.43 ERA over his last 11 starts, including going seven innings and holding the Braves to a run in his last start.
After a rough start, Philadelphia's rotation is leading the majors in strikeouts.
The Phillies are 99% likely to make the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, according to postseason odds models. They were four games back of the Braves after beating them Monday and hold the first NL wild card spot. So, they are not only pitching well for that push for the division, but are going to have good decisions to make for October.
The playoff rotation of Luzardo, Wheeler and Sanchez is as formidable as any in the majors.
Game 1 is a real argument for interim Phillies manager Don Mattingly. Luzardo has a 1.76 ERA on the road this season and a 4.52 at home. Sanchez is the mirror image, a 1.68 at Citizens Bank Park and a 3.68 on the road. Whoever the Phillies face and wherever that series opens will likely be the deciding factor.
Wheeler slots in behind them. He posted a 2.16 ERA through his first 16 starts, then a 7.12 over his next seven. The staff traced it to his glove. He was holding it two inches lower than usual in his windup. He has had two strong starts since the fix.
Nola and Painter will be fighting for a potential fourth spot. Whichever one it is, the more likely job in October is relief, giving the Phillies another arm to go with Orion Kerkering, Jose Alvarado and Jhoan Duran.
Monday was a flash of what the Phillies pitching is capable of doing. Luzardo scattered two hits, walked one and struck out a dozen Braves hitters. It was the first 1-0 complete game shutout by a Phillies pitcher since Roy Halladay did it against Houston on Sept. 14, 2011. That was a masterpiece that clinched the Phillies' playoff spot that year.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Phillies' rotation is finally playing like October matters
Basketball fans know how important chemistry is when producing a winning on-court product.
Fortunately for Lakers fans, there’s a ton of chemistry between their two biggest stars — even if it manifests in unique ways.
Luka Dončić’s and Austin Reaves’ friendship has blossomed over the past few seasons, as the two are now quite close. And this closeness was shown in a hilarious way when Dončić was asked to describe Reaves with one word in a recent interview.
“Annoying,” Dončić said while staring dead at the camera, per the Lakers’ X account.
Dončić is just joking around, of course. At least, joking in the way that two friends who love to jab and tease each other constantly do.
That fact that Dončić and Reaves have such a solid bond bodes well for the Lakers’ chemistry, as does the trip that Los Angeles’ roster took to Slovenia last month.
Of course, this chemistry doesn’t guarantee that the Lakers will win games when the upcoming season starts. But if the team struggles, it doesn’t look like a fractured locker room will be the root cause.
When Joe Sakic tells Avalanche fans not to worry, history suggests they should probably listen.
Sakic delivered that message again Monday while discussing head coach Jared Bednar on Altitude Sports Radio. With Bednar entering the final year of his three-year contract, questions about his future in Colorado are beginning to surface.
Sakic, however, doesn't appear concerned.
“No, we’re continuing. We’re gonna talk about it and see if we can get to an agreement here. ... We’ll try and get to an extension, and hopefully we can work something out, but there’s no urgency either.”
It’s a similar message to the one Sakic gave regarding Cale Makar earlier this summer. While there was plenty of speculation about whether the Avalanche would be able to reach a long-term agreement with their star defenseman, Sakic remained confident.
That confidence proved justified when Makar signed an eight-year, $163.2 million extension, keeping him in Colorado through the 2034-35 season.
Now, the focus shifts to Bednar.
Bednar has been behind Colorado's bench since 2016 and has accomplished just about everything possible during his tenure. He has won championships at the ECHL, AHL and NHL levels, including the 2022 Stanley Cup with the Avalanche. He is also the winningest coach in franchise history.
With that résumé, it makes sense that Colorado would want to keep him around.
Still, Sakic made it clear Monday that there is no rush to get a deal done.
The Avalanche will continue negotiating with Bednar and see if the two sides can reach an agreement. For now, though, both Sakic and Bednar appear comfortable letting the process play out.
And if Sakic's track record is any indication, Avalanche fans may want to take him at his word once again.
Bednar has taken plenty of heat over the past couple of seasons because of the team's playoff shortcomings, but the bottom line is that the organization wanted him back. Perhaps even more importantly, the players gave him their vote of confidence.
Now, we'll see if next season brings that magic spark back.
Kevin Pietersen has joined England’s white-ball coaching team as a “specialist mentor” in the build-up to next year’s World Cup, 12 years on from the controversial end to his international career.
Shohei Ohtani was back atop the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup on Monday, Sept. 7 against the Cincinnati Reds after missing four games.
He last played Sept. 2, when he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts against the St. Louis Cardinals and looked, for a few innings, like a hitter who could not catch up with the ball.
He returns as a designated hitter. Ohtani has not pitched since July 3 because of inflammation in his left knee, and manager Dave Roberts said over the weekend that a mound return this season is unlikely. Nobody has closed the door, but he has not started throwing.
The knee issue dates to June. The right biceps flared up after that Sept. 2 game against the Cardinals. He is also dealing with a sore neck. Ohtani, 32, did nothing for two days, then hit in an indoor cage Saturday, and his hitting coaches and the training staff all gave him the go-ahead.
Ohtani was cold before he sat. He has not hit a home run since Aug. 18. He had two hits in his last 23 at-bats with 11 strikeouts.
Overall, Ohtani is hitting .279 with a .381 on-base percentage, 30 home runs, 80 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a .906 OPS in 499 at-bats.
On the mound, Ohtani went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP and 95 strikouts in 95 2/3 innings over 14 starts.
The Dodgers went into Monday night's game 86-57 and 10 games up on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West. Milwaukee, at 89-56, has the better record in the NL, but the top two finishers get a bye, which would give Ohtani more time to rest.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani returns to Dodgers lineup after missing four games