ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 29: The Post Season logo on the On Deck Circle mat before the the Philadelphia Phillies game versus the Atlanta Braves in game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on September 29, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The first day of the post-season is in the books, and most of the games were pretty dull. The only excitement came in Atlanta, where the Braves came back late to take their opener. But elsewhere, the White Sox took the lead in the first inning, and never led by less than three from the middle of the second. The evening games were then totally uncompetitive, with the Yankees and Padres winning in blowouts, each holding their opponents to just three hits. Let’s hope for something a bit more attention keeping in today’s batch. Here’s the schedule which, in a very helpful way, is exactly the same as yesterday!
Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves (0-1): 11:00 am, NBC
Chicago White Sox @ Houston Astros (1-0): 2:00 pm, Peacock
Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees (0-1): 5:00 pm, NBC
Chicago Cubs @ San Diego Padres (0-1): 8:00 pm, Peacock
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - AUGUST 9: Michael Lorenzen #24 of the Colorado Rockies expresses his frustration on his way back to the dugout against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning at Busch Stadium on August 9, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.
The expectation was never that Lorenzen would suddenly become an ace — or even necessarily a No. 2 or No. 3 starter. The hope was that an established veteran could give the Rockies rotation plenty of reasonably league-average work.
There was some track record behind that hope. Lorenzen had spent most of his career around league average, and he wasn’t far removed from a strong 2024 season in which he posted a 3.31 ERA and 117 ERA+ over 130.1 innings between Texas and Kansas City.
Pitching for Team Italy, Lorenzen looked sharp against a loaded United States lineup shortly before the regular season began. It provided one more reason to be curious about how Lorenzen might fit in Colorado.
The Rockies didn’t need greatness. They needed innings, stability and something close to average.
Instead, Lorenzen’s season unraveled almost immediately.
The numbers
The traditional numbers are every bit as ugly as the season felt.
Team
G
GS
W-L
IP
ERA
WHIP
H
HR
BB
SO
Rockies
26
25
3-11
115.2
7.08
1.88
168
19
49
82
Blue Jays
6
0
0-2
11.2
8.49
1.97
18
4
5
8
2026 totals
32
25
3-13
127.1
7.21
1.88
186
23
54
90
Colorado gave Lorenzen 25 starts and 115.2 innings to find something that worked. He finished his Rockies tenure with a 7.08 ERA and 1.88 WHIP, allowing 168 hits while striking out only 82 before being designated for assignment on August 17. 10 days later, Lorenzen signed with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The move to Toronto didn’t provide a reset. Used exclusively out of the bullpen, Lorenzen allowed 11 earned runs in 11.2 innings, including four home runs, for an 8.49 ERA and 1.97 WHIP before being DFA’d again on September 18.
The lack of length was also a problem. 19 of Lorenzen’s 25 Rockies starts lasted 5.0 innings or fewer, repeatedly leaving the bullpen to cover four or more innings. He recorded only two quality starts all season.
What actually happened
The Rockies showed their faith in Lorenzen immediately.
After making his Colorado debut on the road in Miami, Lorenzen was given the ball for the home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 3.
Philadelphia scored seven runs in the first inning, and Lorenzen was gone after 3.0 innings having allowed nine runs on 12 hits. Brandon Marsh and Bryce Harper both homered as the Phillies turned the afternoon into a rout before the Rockies ever really had a chance to settle into their home opener.
A week later, Lorenzen looked like a different pitcher.
He held the Cubs to one run over 5.0 innings on June 10, striking out seven while allowing just two hits. He generated a whiff on 25% of Chicago’s swings and produced some of the weakest contact against him all season.
Five days later in Chicago, he again allowed one run over 5.0 innings, this time striking out five.
For a moment, that looked like the kind of stretch Lorenzen had spent the first two months searching for.
But even his better stretches require some perspective.
June was one of Lorenzen’s two best months of the season. He still posted a 5.92 ERA.
July was technically better. His 5.48 ERA was his lowest monthly mark of the year.
That was as good as it got.
By August, whatever hope remained was gone. Lorenzen allowed 16 earned runs in 13.0 innings during the month, while opponents hit .393/.471/.607 against him and his WHIP climbed to 2.46.
His final five Rockies starts lasted 3.2, 4.0, 3.0, 4.1 and 3.2 innings.
Lorenzen did not spend the season repeating the same approach.
Early in the year, he spread his workload fairly evenly across a seven-pitch arsenal. As the season progressed, the sinker and changeup became more prominent, while his curveball and slider usage fell. His first-pitch sequencing changed as well, with heavier doses of sinkers and cutters later in the year.
There were a few pieces that worked better than others, and the changeup stands out.
Lorenzen threw it 20.8% of the time with Colorado and generated a whiff on 28.4% of swings against it. When hitters put it in play, they averaged 85.5 mph in exit velocity, with a 30.3% hard-hit rate.
Hitters whiffed on only 8.5% of their swings against the pitch. When they put it in play, the average exit velocity was 94.9 mph and 58.2% of those balls were hit at least 95 mph.
That is a brutal combination for any fastball: very little swing-and-miss and extremely loud contact.
The broader Statcast picture was just as ugly.
Lorenzen finished near the bottom of baseball in Pitching Run Value, expected ERA, expected batting average, average exit velocity, chase rate, strikeout rate and hard-hit rate.
The individual pitches reflected that same problem. None of Lorenzen’s seven pitches finished with a positive Pitch Run Value overall. There were a couple of matchup-specific exceptions: against right-handed hitters, his cutter produced a plus-five Pitch Run Value and his four-seamer finished at plus-two. But neither carried that success across platoons.
Against left-handed hitters, the cutter finished at minus-eight and the four-seamer at minus-15. In fact, none of Lorenzen’s seven pitches produced a positive Pitch Run Value against left-handed hitters.
Lorenzen changed his pitch mix and sequencing throughout the season, but none of those changes produced sustained improvement.
Where things stand
Lorenzen’s time with the Rockies is over, and his $9 million club option for 2027 is no longer part of the picture.
There was plenty of logic behind the original signing. Lorenzen had recent starting experience, a broad arsenal and an existing relationship with Leichman. The Rockies were looking for innings and stability, and neither materialized.
Off the field, Lorenzen appeared to embrace the veteran role. Ahead of the club’s trip to Las Vegas, he bought suits for the team’s minimum-service-time players.
On the mound, though, the innings and stability the Rockies signed him to provide never came.
Signing Lorenzen was a worthy risk. It just didn’t work out.
Aug 13, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Kevin Gausman (12) throws to the Washington Nationals during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Best-of-three series are weird, huh? The postseason just started yesterday and already there are four teams that could be eliminated today. To think that you battle and slog through a six-month, 162-game season to make the playoffs, and then it could be over in the blink of an eye. Or two blinks of an eye, I guess. Baseball is an unforgiving game.
Day 1 brought few surprises, as the team with the better record won all four games (including the White Sox, who were three games better than Houston despite being the road team in this series). The Yankees/Red Sox and Cubs/Padres games were particularly uncompetitive. Of the four teams with their backs against the wall, can any of them find a spark to keep their season alive?
Phillies at Braves, 2:00 ET (NBC/Peacock) — ATL leads 1-0
LHP Cristopher Sánchez (PHI) vs. RHP Tyler Mahle (ATL)
I was today years old when I learned that Tyler Mahle was on the Braves. Maybe I should have been paying more attention, considering that the veteran has been outstanding since joining Atlanta in a trade-deadline deal with the Giants. Mahle had a 1.99 ERA in nine regular-season starts with the Braves, averaging less than one baserunner per inning, and he’ll be facing an opponent he’s particularly dominant against. Mahle has pitched against the Phillies four times this year — twice as a Giant in May, and twice as a Brave in September — and has posted a 2.28 ERA against them, with his team winning three. It’s not the ideal opponent for the Phillies, whose offense went into a deep freeze down the stretch.
At least the Phils have the right guy on the mound to try to stave off elimination. Sánchez, last year’s NL Cy Young runner-up to Paul Skenes, just finished his second consecutive brilliant season. The 29-year-old lefty had a 2.91 ERA and a league-leading 18 wins, and earlier this season he strung together a 50.2 scoreless innings streak, the longest in the Phillies’ 144-year history. For the second straight year, Sánchez led the league with an 8.1 bWAR, though he’ll probably finish second place in the Cy vote again, this time to Jacob Misiorowski.
Of course, it won’t matter how well Sánchez pitches today if the Phillies’ beleaguered bullpen can’t hold a lead. Closer Jhoan Duran coughed up the game-losing three-run homer to Austin Riley yesterday and threw 27 pitches in doing so. The Phillies need to find one or two reliable relievers or they’re cooked.
White Sox at Astros, 5:00 ET (NBCSN/Peacock) — CWS leads 1-0
RHP Sean Burke (CHW) vs. RHP Hunter Brown (HOU)
I think it’d be a joke for a .500 team to advance far in the playoffs (unless that team were the Orioles, of course), and the fact that it’s the already unlikeable Astros makes it easy to root against them. So yesterday’s result, with the scrappy White Sox pulling out the victory while Houston fans booed their own team, was delicious.
I’ll also be rooting for University of Maryland alum Sean Burke to close out this series for the White Sox. The righty had a fine year, with a 3.34 ERA and better than a strikeout per inning in 27 starts and five bulk-relief appearances. If he can hold down (or pitch around) MVP front-runner Yordan Alvarez, who was 1-for-4 in Game 1, then Burke can get the job done.
But the Astros seem to have the pitching advantage here, sending ace Hunter Brown to the mound needing a win to survive. Brown missed two months with injury but was his usual excellent self when healthy, racking up 10.4 K/9 and posting a 3.19 ERA. In eight career postseason appearances, mostly in relief, Brown has allowed only two earned runs in 16.1 innings.
Red Sox at Yankees, 8:00 ET (NBC/Peacock) — NYY leads 1-0
RHP Sonny Gray (BOS) vs. LHP Max Fried (NYY)
Boston’s unlikely comeback this season, rallying from 14 games under .500 in June to 12 games over by the end of the year, could reach a swift end today. It certainly will if their offense doesn’t put up a more competent performance than in Game 1, when AL Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler and two relievers combined to shut them out. The Sox managed just three hits and struck out 11 times. Old friend Adley Rutschman had a single and fanned twice. But the job doesn’t get any easier in Game 2 against three-time All-Star Max Fried, who had a 2.80 ERA and 0.994 WHIP in 20 starts.
It wasn’t just the Red Sox offense that stunk in Game 1. So too did their pitching, which gave up nine runs. The soft underbelly of Boston’s bullpen gave up eight runs, including guys I’ve never heard of like Alec Gamboa and Wyatt Olds. (“Wyatt Olds”? Come on, am I supposed to believe that’s a real person?) It’ll be up to Sonny Gray, who had an excellent first season in Boston with a league-leading 18 wins and a 2.72 ERA, to force a Game 3. He faced the Yankees twice this season and delivered two quality starts, with the Sox winning both. Gray has now made the postseason four times in his career, each at least four seasons apart and with four different teams (with the 2013 Athletics, 2017 Yankees, and 2023 Twins before this).
Cubs at Padres, 10:00 ET (NBCSN/Peacock) — SD leads 1-0
RHP Kevin Gausman (CHC) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (SD)
You’d never know that the Cubs had the most potent offense in baseball this season. They had no answer for Padres pitching in Game 1, an 8-0 shutout loss. Like the Red Sox, the Cubs had only three hits in the game, and presumptive NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. Combined with last year’s 5-for-27 playoff performance, Crow-Armstrong is not exactly building a sterling postseason career so far.
Veteran Nick Pivetta, who was limited to eight starts this season due to a right flexor strain, will take the mound for San Diego, hoping to follow up on Michael King’s seven scoreless innings in Game 1. Pivetta faced the Cubs in last year’s NL Wild Card Series and struck out nine in five innings, but gave up two runs to take the loss.
Another old friend, Kevin Gausman, starts for the Cubs. Acquired from Toronto at the deadline, Gausman didn’t have a great regular season in Chicago, posting a 4.83 ERA and giving up 11 home runs in nine games. This will be Gausman’s 15th career playoff game — including three relief appearances with the Orioles in 2014 — and while he struggled for most of his postseason career, he was brilliant last year during the Blue Jays’ World Series run, with a 2.93 ERA in six games.
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers expect a healthier Shohei Ohtani at the top of their lineup for the postseason.
The two-way superstar played in the final five games of the regular season after coming off a two-week stint on the injured list with nagging right biceps and left knee issues.
With five days off leading up to Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium, Ohtani has time to rest and refine his hitting stroke.
He went 5 for 21 with an extra-base hit, eight strikeouts and a walk over the final five games.
“Everything is feeling great physically,” general manager Brandon Gomes said. “The swings, once he came back, overall were in a good place, and using these five days to continue to get reps and feeling good into this series is really important. But feels like he’s in a great spot.”
Ohtani hit .275 with an .889 OPS and a team-high 30 home runs in the regular season despite injuries that curtailed his pitching and a slump at the plate that knocked him out of contention for a fifth MVP award.
During his offensive skid, Ohtani batted .198 with 34 strikeouts in 24 games before going on the IL.
“I feel confident that you’re going to see the best version of Shohei of the last two months,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I know that’s sort of a low bar given his injury, but I do think that he’s as healthy as he’s been in quite some time. Every day from the training staff, it keeps getting better. So yeah, number one, he’ll be a threat being in the lineup, but I do think that the performance piece will be what we’re hoping for.”
Roberts wants to see Ohtani take a handful of live at-bats and hit off the Trajekt machine.
“He did everything he could to manage it, all the while being somewhat compromised,” the manager said. “I think that he’s going to be as healthy and feel as good as he’s felt.”
The New Jersey Devils will open their 2026-27 season Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers, looking to rebound from a disappointing campaign.
For Detroit Red Wings fans, the matchup will also provide an opportunity to watch a former prospect begin a new chapter in his career.
Amadeus Lombardi, a fourth-round pick by the Red Wings in 2022, was traded to New Jersey during the offseason in exchange for a fourth-round selection, which Detroit later used to draft Canadian center Adam Levac.
The move came as a surprise to many Red Wings fans, particularly given Lombardi’s quiet emergence as one of the organization’s more intriguing prospects.
The 23-year-old Newmarket native posted nearly a point per game across his sophomore and junior AHL seasons, putting himself in position to potentially make the jump to the NHL.
However, Detroit’s prospect pipeline had become increasingly crowded, with several young players competing for NHL opportunities. That logjam could have made it difficult for Lombardi to receive the opportunity he was looking for in Detroit.
Thursday’s season opener could mark the beginning of Lombardi's first significant opportunity at the NHL level, although it will come with the Devils rather than the Red Wings. Even more notably for Detroit fans, Lombardi will look to establish himself in the same Eastern Conference as his former organization.
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Austin Riley #27 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after a three-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the eighth inning in game one of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park on September 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s game 2 of the National League Wild Card series as the Atlanta Braves will try to eliminate the Philadelphia Phillies Wednesday afternoon. LHP Cristopher Sánchez will make the start for the Phillies while the Braves will hope RHP Tyler Mahle can help them dispose of Philadelphia. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00pm central time and the Wild Card series broadcasts are being handled by NBC/Peacock.
MILWAUKEE — Joey Ortiz believes he’s healthy enough to play in Milwaukee’s NL Division Series opener, but the Brewers are remaining careful with the 28-year-old infielder who underwent an MRI on his right knee.
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy limited Ortiz’s participation in a workout as the Brewers prepare to face the winner of the NL Wild Card Series between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. Ortiz left Milwaukee’s victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the eighth inning and didn’t play in the Brewers’ final two regular-season games.
“His knee, his abdomen, there’s still concern,” Murphy said. “He won’t tell you about it.”
Murphy had indicated that Ortiz’s MRI results turned out well. Ortiz hurt his right knee while trying to make a play on a foul ball in Philadelphia.
“It’s all good,” Ortiz said regarding his health. “We’re good.”
Ortiz then went into a little more detail regarding his preparation to make sure he’s healthy as possible for the start of Milwaukee’s playoff run.
“The goal is to make sure that I’m ready to play and compete at 100% during the postseason,” Ortiz said. “That’s going to be the goal. At this point in the season, everyone’s dealing with something. So you’ve just got to stay on top of it and just make sure you can play.”
Ortiz, who alternates between third base and shortstop, is primarily known for his exceptional defense. But he also emerged as one of the Brewers’ hottest hitters late in the season while bouncing back from a miserable start at the plate.
He was hitting .188 with a .518 OPS at the end of May, but recovered to finish the regular season with a .270 batting average, .328 on-base percentage, .402 slugging percentage, nine homers and 47 RBIs in 134 games.
Over his last 61 games, Ortiz batted .333 with a .378 on-base percentage, .531 slugging percentage, seven homers and 28 RBIs.
He’s eager to help the Brewers chase their first World Series title in franchise history. The Brewers won a franchise-record 103 games this season to earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
“The biggest reason for optimism for our ballclub is we know how to win,” Ortiz said. “I think our competitive level is extremely high and we want to win every ballgame. It doesn’t matter what the score is at any point, we always feel like we can win. I think we’re going to make a great run and win the World Series.”
In other Brewers news, Murphy essentially confirmed the obvious by saying he likely would start Jacob Misiorowski in Game 1 and Logan Henderson in Game 2 of the NLDS, though he immediately backtracked on that remark. Misiorowski (16-5) posted a 1.80 ERA and struck out 252 batters during the regular season to lead the major leagues in both categories. Henderson went 11-3 with a 2.47 ERA in his rookie season.
“It’s obvious they’re our two top starters right now, so it will probably be the way that we go,” Murphy said. “Subject to change, you never know how things will go.”
New York, NY - September 29: The Boston Red Sox played the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the 2026 Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on September 29, 2026. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
We have four game again. Same order as yesterday. The games were good yesterday.
2:00 Eastern: Phillies @ Braves. Braves won game one.
Today it is Cristopher Sánchez (18-7, 2.91) vs. Tyler Mahle (7-10, 3.99)
The lineups are posted already:
Today’s Lineups
PHILLIES
BRAVES
Trea Turner – SS
Ronald Acuna – RF
Kyle Schwarber – DH
Drake Baldwin – DH
Bryce Harper – RF
Ozzie Albies – 2B
Bryson Stott – 2B
Matt Olson – 1B
Alec Bohm – 1B
Mauricio Dubon – LF
Brandon Marsh – LF
Austin Riley – 3B
Edmundo Sosa – 3B
Michael Harris – CF
Justin Crawford – CF
Sean Murphy – C
J.T. Realmuto – C
Ha-Seong Kim – SS
C. Sanchez – LHP
Tyler Mahle – RHP
5:00 Eastern: White Sox @ Astros. White Sox won game one, I thought it was the best game of the day.
Sean Burke (11-7, 3.34) vs. Hunter Brown (6-4, 3.19).
8:00 Eastern: Red Sox @ Yankees. Yankees crushed the Red Sox yesterday. Always happy to see the Red Sox get thumped, but then it was the Yankees.
Sonny Gray (18-5, 2.72) vs. Max Fried (5-5, 2.80). If they can figure out a way for both to lose, I’d appreciate it.
10:00 Eastern: Cubs @ Padres. Padres won game one.
Kevin Gausman (9-12, 4.51) vs. Nick Pivetta (3-2, 2.86). Go Kevin Go.
I am going to cheer for all the teams that lost yesterday, so we get more baseball, other than the Yankees/Red Sox game, I can’t cheer for either of those teams.
ATLANTA – If Alec Bohm is indeed in his final days with the Phillies, he’s going out with a bang.
Bohm, who’ll soon be a free agent, smacked a solo home run with two outs in the top of the 10th inning to lift the Phillies to a dramatic 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park on Wednesday afternoon.
The best-of-three series is tied at a game apiece. A winner-take-all Game 3 is set for Thursday. Aaron Nola, the longest tenured Phillie, will make the biggest start of his career.
Bohm’s homer was one of three that the Phillies hit against the Braves’ bullpen in the late innings. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hit back-to-back shots in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at 3-3.
Harper’s game-tying homer came moments after he misplayed a ball in right field in the seventh inning that paved the way for the Braves to score two runs and break a 1-1 tie.
The Phillies’ beleaguered bullpen got a huge lift from rookie Andrew Painter. He did not allow a run over the final three innings and got the win. He struck out Dominic Smith looking with two men on base to end the game. The final pitch was initially ruled a ball but overturned by ABS.
Starting pitchers Cristopher Sanchez and Tyler Mahle hooked up in a tight pitchers’ duel.
Atlanta’s Mahle pitched seven innings and allowed just one run. The run came in the first inning as the Phillies stroked three hits. He put up zeroes the rest of his day.
Sanchez went 6 2/3 innings and gave up just three runs, two of them after his defense collapsed in the seventh. He threw a career-high 116 pitches.
It was a 1-1 game entering the bottom of the seventh. The Phillies’ defense betrayed them in the inning. One inning after making an excellent play to start a 3-2-3 double play, first baseman Bohm could not get an out on a bunt as the Braves put runners on first and second. With one out, Harper then misplayed a ball in right field – it was generously scored a double — that allowed the Braves to score the tie-breaking run. Matt Olson followed with a sacrifice fly to make it a 3-1 game.
With a two-run lead, the Braves went to lefty Dylan Lee in the top of the eighth. He allowed back-to-back homers to the first two batters he faced, Schwarber and Harper, as the Phillies tied the game.
Bohm’s homer in the 10th came against right-hander Didier Fuentes. Bohm has RBIs in both games of the series. He had 88 RBIs during the regular season. None were as big as Thursday’s. It helped the Phils live for another day.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 of the San Diego Padres reacts after scoring a run on a throwing error by Carson Kelly #15 of the Chicago Cubs during the seventh inning in game one of the National League Wild Card Series at Petco Park on September 29, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The first day of the 2026 playoffs was a good one across the board. The Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies battled back and forth before the Braves took a crucial lead in the bottom of the eighth to win 5-3. The Chicago White Sox then rolled into Houston to defeat the Astros 6-3. Then, in the primetime matchups, the New York Yankees shut out the Boston Red Sox 9-0 while the San Diego Padres shut out the Chicago Cubs 8-0.
It’s a crucial day as Tuesday’s winners look to wrap up the series and move on to the division round while the losing teams try to stave off elimination.
Here’s the schedule for today:
Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves on NBC/Peacock at 12:00 pm MDT
Chicago White Sox @ Houston Astros on Peacock/NBC at 3:00 pm MDT
Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees on NBC/Peacock at 6:00 pm MDT
Chicago Cubs @ San Diego Padres on Peacock/NBC @ 8:00 pm MDT
We’ll add lineups as they become available.
Philadelphia Phillies (0-1) at Atlanta Braves (1-0) — 12:00 pm MDT
The Chicago White Sox' Sam Antonacci is hit by a pitch in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros in Game 1 of an A.L. Wild Card series at Daikin Park on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in Houston. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
We have a second day of Wild Card games today, and you can talk about them here.
The Braves host the Phillies at 1 p.m. in a game that will be played on NBC. Atlanta is up 1-0 in the series.
The Astros, down 1-0, deal with the White Sox at 4 p.m. in a game that is on Peacock and NBC Sports Network.
Boston plays New York at 7 p.m. on NBC in a series where the Yankees are up 1-0.
And the Padres, up 1-0, play the Cubs in San Diego at 9 p.m. on a Peacock/NBC Sports Network game.
The Atlanta Braves are looking to secure a Wild Card series win today behind Tyler Mahle. Mahle only allowed one earned run against the Phillies in thirteen innings against them earlier this month.
Cristopher Sánchez is pitching for the Phillies. Overall he has had a fantastic season, but has an ERA north of five this past month. He also has struggled mightily against Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuña, and Austin Riley.
On paper the Braves have the slight edge. Follow along in the comments as we root for a series win today.
The Cubs and Padres will again be the last of the four Wild Card Series to get underway today. That game will begin at 9 p.m. CT and I will have the usual game preview up at 6:30 p.m. CT.
In the meantime, there are three other Wild Card games today, so this is an all-purpose game thread for you to discuss the baseball action this afternoon and early evening.
The Braves, White Sox and Yankees can wrap up their series by winning today, as well as the Padres over the Cubs later tonight.
Here are all the details for those three games.
1 p.m. CT: Phillies at Braves (Braves lead series 1-0)
TV: NBC. Announcers: Matt Vasgersian, John Kruk, C.J. Nitkowski, Joey Votto
The curious case of Roman Anthony’s 2026 season is, in all likelihood, over.
Red Sox manager Chad Tracy announced prior to Game 2 of the Wild Card Series that Anthony had been sent back to Boston for further imaging on his injured hand the previous night, and that the results were not good.
“[The imaging] showed additional damage to some muscles in his wrist that weren’t there before,” Tracy said.
Tracy shared that the Red Sox had “paperwork in” to replace Anthony on the roster, which would by necessity keep him out for the Wild Card Series and the ALDS, if the Red Sox make it that far. Based on Tracy’s report on the injury, it did not sound like a return at any point in October would be realistic.
“He’s a really good player,” Tracy said of Anthony. “Certainly not something that we wanted to happen.”
Per multiple reports, the Red Sox replaced Anthony on the roster with infielder Curtis Mead. The team acquired Mead via trade in late July but he played just one game for Boston, breaking his wrist in his debut. He batted .253 with an .851 OPS in 88 games for Washington prior to the injury.
A torn ligament at the base of Anthony’s ring finger — originally diagnosed as a minor wrist injury by the Red Sox — ended up costing Anthony nearly four months this season. He returned to the Red Sox at the end of August and played through the end of the season, but a check swing in Game No. 162 appeared to aggravate his injury, and two check-swing strikeouts in Game 1 against Cam Schlittler of the Yankees ended his playoff debut early.
The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported that Anthony’s “issue predated” Game 1, with Andruw Monasterio being told before the game that he may be needed to pinch-hit for Anthony at some point.
Tracy said that it’s “not necessarily” a recurrence of the same injury, and also that it’s too soon to know if surgery will be required.
Anthony was limited to just 55 games this year, hitting .245 (down from .292 last year) with a .735 OPS (down from .859 last season). Interestingly, due to the timing of his injury, Anthony missed out on most of the Red Sox’ winning this year.
The team was 14-21 when he suffered the injury in Detroit on May 4. When Anthony returned on Aug. 30, the team was 74-62, having gone 60-41 in his absence. The team went 13-13 after Anthony’s return.
Anthony also missed last year’s Wild Card Series after suffering an oblique strain in early September.
“He’s upset. Mentally going through it, he wants to be out there. He wants to be out there with the guys,” Tracy said, noting that Anthony was traveling back to New York to be with the team. “It’s grinding on him for sure. He’s upset. He wants to be out there with the guys. And obviously, everything he’s gone through this year, dealing with these different things, it’s tough for him. There’s no question from anyone on our side of things, we love the kid, love the player, fantastic player. He’s just dealt with hardships this year, and this is the next in line with that.”
The father of NBA champion Karl-Anthony Towns is keeping receipts.
Karl Towns Sr, known as “Big Karl,” opened up recently about his son’s ups and downs in the NBA, especially his clashes with Jimmy Butler during the pair’s time in Minnesota.
“But in the end, it all paid up. Jimmy ain’t got no championship. Karl bypassed him.”
Karl Anthony Towns Sr. and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Knicks celebrate after winning the NBA Finals against the Spurs during Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Towns and Butler didn’t jell on the Timberwolves for several reasons.
Butler didn’t like Towns’ goofiness in postgame comments, and when Towns was extended before Butler, he requested a trade and went scorched earth, berating team executives and coaches and criticizing younger players on team flights.
Timberwolves forward Jimmy Butler watches during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings in Minneapolis, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. AP
Towns refused to get involved in Butler’s tirades, even though some around the team were quietly hoping he would do so.
“I just was never going to change who I was, even when the world was asking me to change who I am, so I could be the character in their story. I just was going to continue to be me,” Towns said.
Towns braved the storm in Minnesota and was there after Butler and Tom Thibodeau departed.
Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves hug after beating the Denver Nuggets to clinch their spot in the playoffs at Target Center in Minneapolis, April 11, 2018. NBAE via Getty Images
He helped the Timberwolves reach the 2024 Western Conference finals, which marked just the second time they ever moved past the first round of the playoffs.
Since his chaotic tenure in Minnesota concluded with his November 2018 trade to Miami, Butler made two NBA Finals appearances with the Heat before another uncomfortable exit led him to his current stop with the Warriors.
Meanwhile, as the 2026-27 season approaches, KAT and his Knicks look to defend their championship.
