Heading into the final weekend of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, two divisions are still up for grabs and there's chaos in the National League wild card race.
Entering Friday's games, the Cleveland Guardians have a one-game lead on the Chicago White Sox (who have clinched at least a wild-card spot) in the American League Central, while the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are tied at 79-80 atop the AL West, with Houston holding the tiebreaker.
In the NL wild card, the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies are just about locked in for the three spots – but it's wide-open as to where the trio will finish in the standings. The Padres enter Friday with the best record of the three.
The MLB playoffs get underway on a Tuesday, Sept. 29 with quadruple-header featuring four wild card series games. The best-of-five division series begins Saturday, Oct. 3.
Here's the latest look at the postseason bracket and standings:
Entering play Friday, Sept. 25
MLB playoff bracket 2026
#-division champion; *clinched at least a wild card spot
Mercedes teammate takes pole by 0.837 from Leclerc
Kimi Antonelli was left ruing an uncharacteristic error in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix which eliminated the championship leader in the first session after he hit a wall in Baku. His Mercedes teammate George Russell claimed pole with a fine lap and will be in a strong position to make up ground in the title chase in Saturday’s race.
Antonelli leads Russell by 81 points in the world championship and has won the last two races but sat disconsolately trackside after only 11 minutes of running on Friday in Baku, when he was a little too eager into the 90-degree left-handed turn one and clipped the barrier.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 24: Josh Jung #6 of the Texas Rangers reacts after hitting a single against the New York Mets during the eighth inning at Globe Life Field on September 24, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, LSB.
The Rangers bounced back with a series salvaging and perhaps season salvaging win over the Mets.
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 17: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Dallas Mavericks celebrates during the game after scoring the game winning basket against the Denver Nuggets on March 17, 2024 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Can basketball make you happier?
There’s only a few times in life, maybe a handful if you’re lucky, where the elation of the moment transforms into pure joy. The birth of a child. The time you won the national championship as a teenager. That time when you hiked Mount Shasta and felt the euphoria of life rushing through you.
For some of us, that includes the wonderful spring of 2024 when Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks all the way through the playoffs to the Finals.
Before the playoffs that year, people said the Mavs weren’t good enough. They said Kyrie was washed, that he was a locker room cancer. They said Luka was too fat, too injured, too bad on defense. They said the roster couldn’t compete with the best. But we proved them all wrong. We went almost all the way. All we needed was another year.
The beautiful thing about fandom and sports is that we get to belong somewhere, to something bigger than us. We made it, we proved them wrong. We just needed another year.
DALLAS, TX – MAY 26: Kyrie Irving #11 embraces Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals of the 2024 NBA Playoffs on May 26, 2024 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Well, none of us touched that court, none of us made a basket, none of us led the league in scoring. But we played our part, we all tell ourselves and smile, because we know that a fanbase can affect the energy of a team. And the energy of a team can affect winning directly.
Kyrie Irving felt that energy. Do you think he would have stuck around and settled in Dallas the way he has if he didn’t feel welcomed and appreciated? From staff and leadership to the players and all the way to the fanbase. Do you think Kyrie Irving would have stayed when the past regime traded a guy he called his brother, if he was unsure about the support he had?
Do you think he would have stayed through injury if he didn’t know the fanbase had his back and already considered him a legend for what he had done for the Dallas Mavericks franchise?
In order to thrive as a player, in order to perform up to your very best and stick to it through adversity, you need to feel safe. And to get there, you need a little something called trust. A word we throw around way too much, claiming this team has trust, this team needs it, we have a focus on trust on our team.
But real trust comes from consistency. From not leaving when things are hard and from the energy you approach a situation or a team with.
Kyrie Irving has settled in a way in Dallas that he never has before in his career. Sure, he’s won a Championship and was already a legend before even stepping foot on the Mavs.
But in Dallas, he found something we’ve never really seen him achieve to this degree. Peace. It’s been talked about a lot since his first season here, but that doesn’t make it any less relevant.
BROOKLYN, NY – FEBRUARY 24: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Dallas Mavericks smiles during the game against the Brooklyn Nets on February 24, 2026 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
In Dallas, Kyrie Irving has come into himself. He has become the man and the role model he seemed to work towards becoming, but the trust and sense of safety and belonging that he found in Dallas enabled him to move beyond the drama that had followed him up until then.
Much to the credit of both the local media, which approached him without the bias he was used to, and especially the fanbase.
The Dallas Mavericks fanbase loved Kyrie from day one. The energy from the fans, the support and the embrace he received was beautiful to watch.
In the beginning, the Luka fans-Kyrie Fans feud was a little weird to witness, but soon most realized that the two of them were not competitors, they were each other’s biggest fans. And so Kyrie settled down in Dallas, safe in the knowledge that he was supported even through mistakes. That’s how you create trust, by the way. And a winning culture.
And as Kyrie is looking almost better than ever to start this season, the infectious energy surrounding him reminds us of the good old days.
By sticking around through the bad and the ugly the last few seasons, Kyrie is reciprocating a gift to the fanbase.
Every time we see him, he reminds us of the joy we used to feel before those bad days. It is the gift of excitement. The gift of belief. The gift of being allowed to reminisce.
The gift Kyrie received from the fanbase when he arrived in Dallas, the gift of trust and support, that’s the gift he is giving back in kind right now.
Because the joy we lost is slowly returning. And once again, it is Kyrie Irving, who is the catalyst. Can basketball make you happier? Kyrie Irving can.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made many roster moves on Thursday, now that their NHL pre-season has concluded. Ahead of their trip to Arizona for some off-ice bonding, the team sent down several players, rounding out the roster for opening night on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens.
Among that bunch was Maple Leafs prospect and 19-year-old center Tinus Luc Koblar. Koblar was returned to the SHL and will be with Rogle for the 2026-27 season. The SHL regular season has already kicked off, with Rogle off to a 1-2-0 start after the first three outings.
Koblar being sent back to the SHL leads to some questions about how he performed at training camp, especially considering he was eligible to be assigned to the AHL's Toronto Marlies for this season.
There is a rule that prevents 19-year-olds from playing in the American League unless they are a first-round pick. Koblar was selected in the second round of the 2025 draft. However, that ruling only applies to players who were drafted by major junior teams, and Koblar has only played in Europe to this point in his young hockey career.
At any rate, that decision should echo the type of training camp the youngster had in Toronto.
In terms of the pre-season action that anyone could see him in, he played in two of the two possible games.
His first game was at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday against the Canadiens. He had a minus-one rating and played 11:29 of ice time in that contest, playing the role of the fourth-line center and getting time on the second power-play unit.
In the second game, against the Ottawa Senators, at the Canadian Tire Centre, he had a minus-one rating again and logged 15:39 of ice time.
In other words, his performance in the pre-season wasn't anything to write home about, but nothing concerning either. But with that in mind, it's also not the full picture of NHL training camp.
What could carry more weight in the ultimate decision to send him back to Sweden is how he practised with the team, and in my eyes, there's definitely room for improvement. And that's the case with any young player, but this is what I gathered from the sessions in between the pre-season appearances.
Koblar skated with Group 2 throughout training camp. He was given an opportunity to play alongside some solid players, including Brendan Brisson and Vinni Lettieri, as well as power-play reps. The coaching staff made an effort to put him in a comfortable situation.
But from my perspective, and seeing every day of training camp, something was missing from the Norwegian.
At times, he stuck out like a sore thumb, either because of his still-developing skating ability or because he hadn't played much hockey in North America before this training camp. Whatever it was, it was evident in certain drills.
There was one part of a drill where Koblar was supposed to skate behind the net to pick up a puck from head coach Jim Hiller, but he had gotten a little lost for a split second, enough for the coach to tell him where to go in the middle of the action.
Once he got to the right spot behind the net, he couldn't fully control the puck, adding a few more seconds to his rep. He then grabbed whatever puck was nearby and went through the motion of the drill, finding a teammate waiting in front of the net to receive a pass from him.
It was just one niche moment of training camp and pre-season, a time to shake off the rust, but it was an awkward instance that Hiller had a premium view of.
There was a sense of Koblar being uncomfortable or not fitting in. Make no mistake, he competed and worked hard all training camp. But that altercation - as well as being a newcomer to the group, a 19-year-old, and not having much experience playing in North America - resulted in a camp that Koblar probably believes he could've done better.
Between the uncommon moments, Koblar showed signs of growth and potential to be a great player. Though his skating isn't the final form that it needs to be, it has improved from years prior. He also has a powerful shot and does utilize his 6-foot-3 frame to his advantage, especially along the walls.
Ultimately, Koblar is still a young, developing player, and there isn't immediate pressure for him to be an automatic difference-maker in the Maple Leafs' system.
He'll almost certainly get at least a spot on the Marlies next season when he's 20, and maybe an opportunity to challenge for an NHL roster spot in 2027-28, but who knows what the organization will look like then, or if Koblar is even still a member of the Maple Leafs.
See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The Yankees will host the Wild Card Series starting next Tuesday -- likely against the Red Sox -- but there are plenty of question marks surrounding the team's roster heading into the postseason.
From potential returns to fringe players, manager Aaron Boone and the rest of the organization will have their work cut out for them to figure out the ideal 26-man roster going into the three-game series.
The Yanks still have three games against the Orioles this weekend, and while they are not playing for anything, they will look to rest starters, overworked bullpen arms, and even try out players at different positions to give them some versatility.
Going into our predicted roster, we're going to assume everyone stays healthy and the team will go up against the rival Red Sox...
Starting Pitchers (3)
Cam Schlittler: RHP Max Fried: LHP Gerrit Cole: RHP
This is the easiest prediction, as Boone has pretty much spelled out that Schlittler, Fried, and Cole will take the mound in the three-game series. Now the order can be debated -- we'd go with the obvious Schlittler-Fried-Cole order -- but saving Schlittler to either save the Yankees' season or close out the series is not a bad idea.
Bullpen (9)
David Bednar: RHP Brent Headrick: LHP Paul Blackburn: RHP Tim Hill: LHP Will Warren: RHP John Schreiber: RHP Ryan Yarbrough: LHP Carlos Rodon: LHP Carlos Lagrange: RHP
Here's where things can get interesting.
GM Brian Cashman didn't acquire a reliever at the deadline, as the price was too steep -- according to him -- and the plan always seemed to move one, two, or three of their starters to the 'pen once Cole, Fried, and Rodon came back from injury.
The combination of Warren and Ryan Weathers seemed like good bets to get on the roster, giving Boone a righty and a southpaw who can give multiple innings. But with Weathers' injury, he seems out of the running to make the roster until the ALDS. If Weathers were healthy enough, I'd replace Yarbrough or Hill with him.
That gives Rodon a chance to fill Weathers' role alongside Warren. Clarke Schmidt would also have been on the roster if he didn't recently land on the IL.
Lagrange is another interesting name. The flamethrower could be called up this weekend to give him some run before the postseason. The Yankees optioned Luis Gil following Thursday's win, so an arm will have to replace him. Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake told the media recently that the organization has had "a lot of talks" about promoting Lagrange.
That's good enough for me, and I could be going out on a limb, but Lagrange's stuff is too good to not see what he's got.
Aug 21, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Spencer Jones (78) celebrates his two run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays with center fielder Trent Grisham (12) during the second inning at Yankee Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Outfielders (4)
Cody Bellinger Spencer Jones Trent Grisham Heliot Ramos
Infielders (9)
Ben Rice: 1B/DH Paul Goldschmidt: 1B Luis Garcia, Jr.: 1B Austin Wells: C Ali Sanchez: C Jazz Chisholm, Jr.: 2B George Lombard, Jr.: SS Anthony Volpe: 2B/SS Ryan McMahon: 3B
Utility (1)
Jose Caballero: 3B/2B/SS/OF
Let's get the obvious omission out of the way.
I don't believe Aaron Judge will be on the roster, nor should he. Simply, I don't trust him playing in the outfield right now, and if he has to DH, that clogs up first base and the DH spots. It's also not like he was mashing the ball when he returned from his rib injury (4-for-23 with 13 strikeouts, one walk, and one home run).
Let Judge rest up, and hopefully he's well enough to play the outfield in the ALDS should New York advance.
I feel the same about Giancarlo Stanton. He clogs up the DH/1B spot and would only be useful in a pinch-hit opportunity. That leaves Ramos, Jones, Bellinger, and a returning Grisham to man the outfield. Caballero can also play out there in a pinch.
As for the infield, Amed Rosario is the odd man out. He's redundant with McMahon and Caballero able to play third base. And Volpe learning the position gives the Yankees another right-handed option.
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 10: Martín Pérez #33 of the Atlanta Braves looks on during the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Thursday, September 10, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kathryn May/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Martin Perez came from pretty much out of nowhere, including his own DFA earlier in the season, to chip in handily for the Braves. While he was more fortunate-and-or-availing-himself-of-the-defense than good (73 ERA- but a 104 FIP- and a 107 xFIP-), the Braves weren’t exactly awash in non-Chris Sale effective starters for much of the season, so Perez was far more helpful than not.
Given that, he was probably in the mix for serious innings consideration in any non-Sale, non-Tyler Mahle postseason game… until he hit the shelf with back tightness that hasn’t responded to treatment. The prognosis is unclear, as the earliest he could return would be NLDS Game 3, though there have been suggestions that this is really more of a NLCS-if-we-get-there situation.
Will the Braves miss Perez? That’s the question, I guess. I’m not sure they will, for two reasons.
First, the initial playoff around is a three-game set. There’s a 50 percent-ish chance that it gets settled in two games (the Sale and Mahle games) either way.
Next, the Braves have so many long men that unless you figure Perez was going to be left out for a traditional start, I’m not sure his pitching can’t just be replicated by guys the Braves likely wouldn’t use in the first two games except in a blowout situation anyway. Remember the 73/104/107 line? Well, Brent Suter has an 84/88/86 line on the season and a 44/84/90 line as a Brave. He routinely throws two-plus innings, and has done a fair bit of three-inning outings as well. Ray Kerr’s sample this season is tiny, but his line is 42/95/91 returning from Tommy John Surgery, and he has a 110/106/91 career line. In eight outings, he’s thrown at least three innings three different times. Some combination of Suter and Kerr might be even better than Perez, with the flexibility of inserting a righty in between them if needed.
Where the Braves could miss Perez is if they go Johnny Wholestaff in Game 3 and come out victorious. That might mean eating a loss, or at least an unfortunate pitching situation in the very next game they play… and without Perez, they might need to resort to JR Ritchie or something just to get through that one. But, those chances don’t seem very high compared to all the other outcomes that could happen.
So, with that — how ominously does his injury loom in your mind?
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 14: Justin Verlander #35 of the Detroit Tigers before the 2026 MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Friday, everyone. We’re heading into the final Tigers’ series of the season, and as devastating as it is to be done in September, we have the final bow of Justin Verlander to look forward to this weekend. It’s sure to be an emotional outing at the park (which we can only call Comerica a little bit longer), so hopefully if you have the opportunity, you’ll get out and enjoy the final few games we have left this year. Meanwhile, division rivals the White Sox have clinched the Central, which is a pretty wild feat if you consider how terrible they were the past two years, so you almost have to give them props for the bounceback. (Wouldn’t it be nice?)
We’ve got lots of fun stuff to watch if you’re at the office and don’t want to think about anything but baseball, including podcast episodes featuring Max Clark and Justin Verlander, so plenty to occupy you heading into the weekend, when we’ll be celebrating all things JV.
So let’s get right into it.
Detroit Tigers News
In case you missed this bit of delightful news yesterday.
The voices of Tigers baseball on television and radio for years to come!
The Tigers today announced multi-year contract extensions with Jason Benetti and Dan Dickerson. pic.twitter.com/i4ZnVD0sKL
Other teams such as the Tigers, Mets and Blue Jays are among the MLB organizations that actively scouted Shoki Oda and other prospects at the U18 Asian Baseball Championship, joining the Dodgers, Phillies, Giants and Yankees, among others.
If you want to get deep with Justin Verlander before his final game this weekend, he joined Mookie Betts for a one-hour podcast chat that’s available on YouTube.
MLB News
It’s hard not to like this guy.
"I AM JAPANESE!"
Munetaka Murakami is LOVING his first locker room celebration with the White Sox. 😭 pic.twitter.com/FsTVeqvE4J
And on the note of the White Sox, I think this fact would be really incredible if they weren’t the division rivals of the Tigers.
An interesting discussion starter…
I think the Marlins turning bullpen days into relief outings for SPs is a bet that after considering objective workload variables, injuries are either a) inevitable and/or b) random.
Good bet? I have no idea. But their thinking and application is electric. https://t.co/RfMFy5SrzT
Did anything of note happen at Wrigley Field on Thursday afternoon? On a day that looked absolutely beautiful and at a generally pleasant time of the year to be at the Friendly Confines, I hope a few of you were there for this one. For anyone who was, I’m genuinely jealous. I’ve spent many days and many nights in that park and have almost universally loved my time there. I’ll forever miss it.
It started with Pete Crow-Armstrong walking and stealing second to reach the 45/40 plateau. A season that is truly for the ages. So many words have been said about his season that anything I can come up with will be repetitive. But, I tip my hat to the youngster. His stardom was apparent quickly upon taking the field for the first time in the Cubs organization and with each stop, seemingly each passing month, that star has burned brighter and brighter. The friendship and bond that has developed between PCA and Seiya Suzuki has been terrific. So it is no surprise that Seiya found himself musing that he believed that Pete is capable of 50/50. No pressure, kid. That would be an incredible encore.
Maybe it shouldn’t be surprising, then, that Seiya hit a homer on Pete’s big day. It was the homer the Cubs needed. For those who weren’t watching the Marquee broadcast, you missed an uncanny statistic. I believe the stat was starting from August 1. The Cubs are 0-13 when they fail to homer. With Thursday’s win, they are 26-13 when they do. That’s an incredible number. They got the long ball and finally the pitching staff got the memo. That is, clearly the Cubs were good for two runs per game this weekend. They scored exactly two and no more in all three games. Matthew Boyd got the message and held the Marlins to one and two relievers made it hold up.
It’s the Marlins and not any of the five other NL teams that will eventually be in the playoffs, but it’s not nothing that over 27 regulation innings in this series, the Cub pitching staff held the Marlins to five total runs. You could spend the next week whining about what the Cubs aren’t. Or, you can imagine what this team is technically capable of and just enjoy the ride.
It wasn’t just Seiya behind the offense, though. And it wasn’t just a big day for Pete. There was definitely a feeling that Ian Happ was playing his last regular season home game as a Cub. I get that there is a significant longevity difference between Happ and Suzuki, but it was hard not to have the impression that it was Ian’s last game at home for the Cubs, but not for Seiya. Maybe I’m reading too much into something that wasn’t there. Ian is the longest-tenured Chicago athlete right now and received his due respect from the Wrigley faithful. Hat tip to Ian for the leadoff triple in the sixth inning that led to the decisive run. Nico Hoerner came up with the key hit to get him home and then Boyd, Daniel Palencia and Ryan Zeferjahn held it down.
What if, bear with me, Zeferjahn is good? You don’t have to squint a lot to see it. Now would be as good a time as ever for that to be true. Further, his team control stretches beyond this year and with no significant change to the free agency system could belong to the Cubs through the end of the decade. The stuff definitely can play. The only question is if he ever puts it all together. All the skills are there. It’s only a matter if he can find the sequencing and learn the skills of a leverage reliever, particularly the skills of a leverage reliever in a media crucible like Chicago.
For that matter, Daniel Palencia could also be with the Cubs through the end of the decade. With all of the Jed Hoyer can’t build a bullpen and the Cubs can’t develop relievers memes, it’s possible that he traded for both with the Cubs finishing the development on Palencia after obtaining him. Maybe not. Maybe one or neither never get there. But they could. The Cubs just might have two dynamic relievers in house. The conversation about development of pitchers can be one where people move the goal posts. How much involvement entails development? Palencia played six games total, 14.1 innings outside of the Cub organization. Did they not theoretically develop him?
Anyway, that’s an argument for another day. But I’m happy to devil’s advocate on behalf of the Cub organization. They are definitely not a top tier draft and development organization. But it’s disingenuous to say they are a bottom tier one either. There are definitely misses, but there are a lot of hits too. There are less home runs than you’d like. I won’t argue with that. But there are plenty of hits in draft and development too.
I was happy to see the team pop some corks. It’s a good experience for the team. It was so apropos that Craig Counsell took only a short amount of time to address the team in the locker room after the game. And he called out one group in the organization. It was the training staff. Talk about a group that had to work overtime this year and surely lost a lot of sleep at times.
On to Boston. Let’s look at the numbers.
Three Positives:
Boyd. Seven innings, one run. The hero the team needed. He started Opening Day and then he was the guy on the hill when they clinched a postseason appearance for a second straight year since he got here.
Seiya Suzuki seemed to have let some of the stress out of the park with his game tying homer.
Ian Happ with a triple leading off the sixth, leading to the second run.
Hat tips to Nico Hoerner, Daniel Palencia and Ryan Zeferjahn.
Game 159, September 24: Cubs 2, Marlins 1 (88-71)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
Superhero: Matthew Boyd (.318). 7 IP, 27 BF, 5 H, 2 BB, 1 R, 3 K (W 10-5)
WPA Play of the Game: Seiya Suzuki’s solo homer with one out in the fifth inning tied the game. (.163)
Marlins Play of the Game: Jacob Marsee singled with two outs and a runner on second in the third inning, giving the Marlins an early 1-0 lead. (.120)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 158 Winner: Dansby Swanson received 23 of 43 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
Alex Bregman +26
Pete Crow-Armstrong +25.5
Shōta Imanaga +15
Ben Brown +13.5
Michael Conforto +12
Jameson Taillon -13
Dansby Swanson -15
Nico Hoerner -16
Caleb Thielbar -17.5
Seiya Suzuki -18
Scoreboard Watching: The Phillies lost. They are now a game behind the Cubs and the Cubs own the tie breaker. That puts the Cub magic number at 2 as to the Phillies. The Padres were playing late as I was writing. They were up 4-0. It looks like they’ll remain one ahead of the Cubs (with the Cubs still owning the tie breaker). That puts the Cub magic number at 4 as to the Padres. The Phillies have kept the Diamondbacks alive with their late struggles. The Diamondbacks are just two back of the Phillies.
Up Next: Phillies host the Rays who have locked up home field advantage through the AL playoffs. The Padres host those Diamondbacks who are trying to crash the party. That’s going to be a wild weekend. The Cubs travel to Boston where the Red Sox are already locked in as Wild Card two in the AL and will visit their old pals from New York for a best of three Wild Card series. Just for fun, the Cubs get to play a double header on Friday. If Google hasn’t misled me, 70% of doubleheaders in 2026 resulted in splits. I was surprised to see that historical data shows sweeps happen about as often as splits with the data bouncing around year to year. Sweeps have a slight historical edge.
We check back with Fangraphs. They have the teams splitting two close ones. Clay Holmes (6-8, 3.25) starts the first game. Clay is 0-2 with a 9.39 ERA in three September starts. The Cubs gave him a full week off before making this start. He was 2-2 with a 1.55 ERA in five August starts. We need August Holmes back. He didn’t face the Red Sox this year. David Peterson (9-8, 4.96) starts game two. David is 2-1 with a 4.05 ERA this month (4 starts) and was 1-0 with a 2.83 ERA in August (5 starts, one relief appearance). As I said the last time, Peterson a a Cub has either been excellent or terrible with nothing between really.
MLB.com is only listing one of the two Red Sox starters. That is Brayan Bello (6-7, 4.49). He’s made 25 appearances for the Sox, 10 of them starts. Last time out, he allowed one run to the Rays over eight innings. He’s been terrific in two September starts (1 run in 13 innings). He did have a relief outing where he allowed four runs in three innings of work. He’s bounced in and out of their rotation all year and he’s done well with it. It appears that Alec Gamboa is likely to start the other game. Gamboa is 1.0 with a 1.16 ERA over 31 innings. He’s made two starts in 20 appearances. His longest outing of the year is just four innings and he’s topped out at 63 pitches and that was back in July. He’s not thrown even 30 pitches this month. So this is a true opener, albeit a fairly dominant one.
The Cubs will not see the front end of the Red Sox rotation. It’s very likely they won’t see anyone with any kind of nagging injuries. I wouldn’t imagine they’ll put any of their relievers into particularly strenuous positions, though most of them will probably work at least a little to stay on rotation. Prepare for a weird weekend and both teams griping about the decision making.
Hopefully, the Cubs can find some wins in all of this.
The Orioles were officially eliminated last night. The White Sox beat the Royals 9-1, just as they were supposed to, and clinched a Wild Card spot. Munetaka Murakami drank champagne and told us, lo and behold, he’s Japanese. And the Orioles, meanwhile, watched, helpless to their fate. At 78-81, the best they can do now on the season is finish .500.
Next year needs to be different, but the people are mostly going to be the same people. We’re not getting a new manager or a new GM: Craig Albernaz is back for a second season, and Mike Elias is staying put. Don’t hold your breath for another splashy winter, either. The club could and should, as our own Tyler commented, sign a front-line starter. But as for the lineup, they’ve already committed five years and $155 million to Pete Alonso, who, to be fair, has more than held up his end with 41 homers, an .871 OPS, and a newly-minted Most Valuable Oriole award. But it’s hard to picture ownership doing that twice, especially after trading Adley Rutschman at the deadline. So the reinforcements have to come from inside the house.
And we’d better hope that they do, if we fans are to have a prayer of watchable baseball next year. This season, despite working with an all-new hitting staff, the Orioles’ offense was great undiversified: a whole lot of swinging and not much else. As we enter the final weekend of the ’26 season, the offensive stats are gloomy. The Birds are hitting .233 as a team. Even accounting for the league-wide offensive downturn, that’s 28th of 30 teams in baseball, and only the Mariners are worse in the American League. Baltimore’s .707 OPS ranks 23rd in the majors and 11th of 15 in the AL. The home runs, to be fair, didn’t go missing: 194 of them, counting for 10th in MLB and fourth in the AL. But 41 of those belong to Pete Alonso. Take him out and the rest of the roster hit 153, which is about where the Blue Jays and Guardians finished, at the bottom. A lineup that can’t hit for average and gets on base at a .313 clip needs every one of those homers to come with runners on, and many didn’t.
If outside reinforcements aren’t forthcoming, this puts a lot of weight on the existing lineup. I want to highlight just a few key bats. Only one had a year to feel good about, and he’s the one we expected the least from.
Coby Mayo
Mayo came into the season a young hitter who hadn’t made it yet. Impressively, considering his peers who were higher-rank and round He’s leaving it as the only one who clearly did: .225/.293/.463 with 24 homers in 130 games, good for a 112 OPS+. The power is real. The on-base percentage is a problem, since under .300 is thin even for a slugger. If he gets that closer to .320 and keeps the pop, he’s a 30-homer bat in the middle of the order. He doesn’t need a bounceback; he just needs a repeat performance.
Tyler O’Neill
Gah,how dreary. Back in December 2024 outfielder Tyler O’Neill signed a three-year, $49.5 million deal that’s looking worse and worse, and he’s got one more year left on the deal. So far, the Orioles have gotten 139 games of .206-ish baseball for their troubles. O’Neill hit .199 with nine homers in 54 games in 2025, and .212/.300/.377 with 10 homers in 85 games this year (a 92 OPS+). His 2026 started with a concussion stint after he fainted from dehydration in April, and it ended on the IL with shoulder inflammation. The talent is there, but now he’s had 19 trips to the injured list across his career.
Colton Cowser
Cowser came into spring with a real shot at the everyday center field job. Then he hit .167/.255/.188 over his first 23 games, struck out more than 30 percent of the time, and spent the rest of the year platooning in center with Leody Taveras. To his credit, he added a leg kick, worked his way back, and finished at .223/.313/.365 with 13 homers (93 OPS+). Thanks to his defense, that was still worth 2.4 bWAR. Cowser has the lowest bar of anyone here. With his glove, a league-average bat makes him a solid regular. But the high-contact guy of his days back at Sam Houston State has gone MIA for now.
Jordan Westburg
Westburg didn’t play at all in 2026. He had an oblique issue in the spring, then elbow pain that a PRP injection didn’t fix, and he had Tommy John surgery in May. Elias says a return “as a full player in the early part of 2027 is very much in play.” The worry is what the talented Westburg’s floor really is. The third baseman broke his hand in 2024, a string of injuries held him to 85 games in 2025, and now he’s missed a full season. Healthy, he’s a 2024 All-Star who can play third or second. Whether he’ll be healthy is the real question.
Jackson Holliday
Holliday’s season went sideways before it started. He had hamate surgery in February, didn’t debut until May 19, and missed the final week with inflammation in his other wrist before undergoing surgery this week. In between, he hit .229/.300/.340 with seven homers, an 83 OPS+, in 98 games. Hamate injuries are notorious for sapping power even after the bone heals, so it’s fair to call this a lost year. Still, that’s three big-league seasons without a league-average bat, and his name came up in trade talks this summer. He turns 23 in December. That’s young, but the grace period won’t last forever.
Gunnar Henderson
Here’s the guy I was really thinking about when I wrote this. In 2026, Henderson hit .225/.310/.405, a 102 OPS+. That’s a precipitous drop from 2025 (.787 OPS) and tumble off a cliff from 2024, when he hit 37 homers, posted a 155 OPS+, and got into the MVP conversation. This year, Gunnar still put up 3.4 bWAR, because he played 157 games at shortstop and the glove was good. But the Orioles need more. They need Gunnar to be the best player on the team, especially now with Adley gone. There will be a lot of soul-searching about what happened to Gunnar Henderson’s lost offensive season this year, and what can be done for 2027. If the Orioles do get the 2024 Henderson back, the whole lineup looks a whole lot scarier. If they don’t, nothing else on this list can make up for it.
So, reasons for optimism?
The best-case scenario is that everyone here but Mayo has already been better than he was in 2026, and Mayo’s best is happening right now. Westburg’s absence and Holliday’s wrists are about injuries, not skill, and that kind of bad luck doesn’t usually hit twice in a row. The bad case is that every fan says “he’s been better before” about every slumping player, and the Orioles have now spent two years waiting for the young core to take the next step together. I’d bet on the core, but I don’t know if I’d bet much.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 02: Corbin Carroll #7 of the Arizona Diamondbacks steals second base ahead of the tag by Luis Arraez #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Chase Field on September 02, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today marks the beginning of the last series of the regular season across Major League Baseball. After this weekend, 18 teams will head home for the winter while the other 12 teams will officially begin the hunt for a championship with the MLB postseason beginning on Tuesday.
The Phillies of course are right in the thick of the postseason field, even if they have not as of yet clinched their spot officially. They are engaged in an extremely tight race for the three Wild Card slots in the National League, with the Phillies, Cubs, and Padres all separated by no more than two games. That’s who currently occupies the three slots with the Arizona Diamondbacks still alive and fighting for their lives on the outside looking in. This weekend will determine who is officially in as well as seeding. The latter of course will determine who plays where and when. The impending nor’easter hitting the east coast of the country will be a factor in all of this as well, as the Cubs are playing in Boston and have already had one of their games retooled into a doubleheader in anticipation of heavy rain all weekend.
There are numerous possibilities on where the Phillies will be by the end of the weekend. They could be playing one of the Cubs, Padres, Braves, or possibly the Diamondbacks. They could be playing in Atlanta, in Chicago, in San Diego, in Arizona, or even at home. There’s still a slight chance they could be one of those teams heading home for the winter, although that is unlikely considering the Padres and Diamondbacks play each other this weekend, making the math difficult for both teams to make the postseason while keeping the Phillies out.
So, where will the Phillies stand at the end of this final series of the regular season?
24 September 2022, Tanzania, Arusha: A warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) kneels on the ground in the Ngorongoro Crater and searches for food with its trunk. The cauldron of the Ngorongoro Crater covers about 260 square kilometers. Like the other giant craters, Ngorongoro is not part of the Serengeti, but was carved out as a protected area in 1956 and declared a Conservation Area because of its habitat for the Masai. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) was declared a Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1971 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa (Photo by Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images)
You know things are gearing up when you cook a fresh list of links and notes spanning just three days’ worth of news, and it already goes up to nearly 1K words. We’re so close to basketball, folks!
Jalen Brunson is hella ready. “I am…” he said, “fully cleared.”
Karl-Anthony Towns’ extension talks with the Knicks have stalled with training camp approaching, and I have you covered here.
Don’t forget that, while the Towns negotiations take center stage, Josh Hart and Miles McBride remain extension-eligible too. McBride’s situation is particularly serious because he can become an unrestricted free agent next summer (Mitchell Robinson situation, anyone?), while Hart has a team option baked into his deal.
Jalen Brunson will officially make his Law & Order: SVU debut this fall. Brunson is scheduled to guest star in Season 28’s fifth episode on Nov. 5, reuniting him with Knicks superfan Mariska Hargitay after his recent Emmys cameo. His role remains under wraps.
OG Anunoby received a major hometown honor this week at Jefferson City High School.
In an interview with GQ Philippines, Jordan Clarkson discussed his up-and-down season with the Knicks, going from featured to end-of-the-bench fodder to postseason performer.
“I didn’t play for like a month, but me just being a pro, I had to stay locked in. I love this game, so I’m always ready. I stayed involved with the coaches, and with the young guys playing every day. My skill never wavered.
“The thing I learned being here this long is that everybody believes they’re the best player. They wouldn’t be here if they weren’t. So being able to put your ego to the side is important. It’s about coming together as a team, helping each other win without getting jealous, and having no ill intent towards any of your teammates.
“The whole season was a story on its own. Getting through adversity early in the playoffs, and not questioning ourselves. We had guys giving up a lot for this.”
Clarkson also wants another run with the Philippines at next year’s FIBA World Cup.
“Another World Cup is coming up, and I want to be there. There haven’t been so many Filipino Americans in the [NBA] league, and Filipinos, period. So knowing that I get to represent that and kind of change the narrative in any way that I can, that’s what I’m trying to do. Hopefully, we can see those dudes [Jalen Green and Dylan Harper] in a Gilas jersey at some point.”
Mitchell Robinson had strong praising words for Jalen Brunson’s leadership after leaving the Knicks for Boston, saying “Jalen is so dialed in.”
The Knicks have hired Ed Flynn as Mike Brown’s new replay and challenge specialist. Flynn spent the previous three seasons as a video coordinator with the Pelicans and replaces Jordan Brink.
The final Knicks roster spot remains a genuine training-camp competition between James Wiseman, Drew Eubanks, Bruce Brown, John Konchar and Ochai Agbaji. The NYP’s Stefan Bondy outlined one possible wrinkle to that roster battle: moving Pacome Dadiet could allow the Knicks to retain two camp invitees instead of one. A larger trade remains another possibility if neither Wiseman nor Eubanks convinces the Knicks they have enough at center, with Bondy identifying Miles McBride as New York’s most valuable expendable trade piece. Go read it all!
The Ringer placed the defending champion Knicks second in its preseason NBA power rankings, behind only San Antonio and ahead of Oklahoma City.
The Knicks have a relatively favorable travel calendar overall, with only 13 back-to-backs and roughly 35,181 road miles, the second-fewest in the NBA.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is not interested in paying championship-inflated MSG prices to attend Opening Night at MSG. “Brother, I do not have $2,000 ready for that ticket.”
Q: "Will Knicks repeat?"
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani: (crosses fingers) “Come on…"
Q: "Will you be there when they raise the banner?"
OAKAAK RJ Barrett admitted there was a little bitterness watching his former team win the championship, but ultimately was happy for his old teammates.
“At first, definitely feel a little salty, but if anybody else were to win it, I’m happy they won it. I still have friends over there.” He added that he hopes to bring some of that success to Toronto.
Jalen Duren and Detroit continue to have one of the stranger contract negotiations of the offseason, with the Pistons offering him a five-year, $200 million offer… that includes weight-based incentives requiring Duren to check his weight monthly.
Steven Adams believes Grand Theft Auto VI could tank pro sports.
Steven Adams has jokes at media day:
"I will say: you guys should anticipate November. The performance of the league, league-wide. GTA is dropping."pic.twitter.com/OIBnRbDFeL
OAKAAK Kevin Knox is getting another NBA opportunity, signing an Exhibit 10 deal with Orlando for training camp.
NBA expansion is getting closer, with Las Vegas appearing further along than Seattle. The league has already held multiple bidding deadlines for Las Vegas and could reportedly identify a winning group there before settling on its Seattle plans.
Shaquille O’Neal makes around $15 million annually in sports media, Charles Barkley about $21 million, Pat McAfee roughly $30 million, and Tom Brady $37.5 million. Stephen A. Smith tops the list reported by The New York Post, at around $40 million per year across his media deals. Sheesh…
Gregg Popovich married Mary Barth Budenholzer, the former wife of longtime Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, on Sept. 16 in Texas.
HBD Ricky Davis aka Get Buckets! The only NBA player who would attempt a between the legs dunk in a game, miss it, get his rebound and do a windmill!! pic.twitter.com/YQdBBMxqpT
SEATTLE - AUGUST 13: Carlos Delgado #35 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats against the Seattle Mariners during the game on August 13, 2003 at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners defeated the Blue Jays 13-6. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) | Getty Images
23 Years Ago
Moments like these always make me feel old—I never would have guessed this happened so long ago.
Carlos Delgado hit four home runs against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (before they changed their name). This rare feat has occurred only six times in American League history and just 18 times in MLB history. Delgado became the 15th player ever to accomplish it and remains the only Blue Jay to do so. The most recent player to achieve this was J.D. Martinez in 2017 with the Diamondbacks.
The game took place at the Skydome, where the Jays won 10-8.
Delgado’s homers:
Delgado’s first home run was a three-run shot in the opening inning, with Frank Catalanotto and Vernon Wells on base. That gave the Jays an early 3-0 lead.
His second home run was a solo shot in the fourth inning, making it 4-1 Jays. Later that inning, Orlando Hudson hit a ground-rule double to extend the lead to 5-1.
Delgado’s third was a solo home run leading off the sixth inning, tying the game at 6.
His fourth home run came in the eighth inning, again tying the game—this time at 8. The Jays would go on to score two more runs that inning: Eric Hinske tripled and scored on a Bobby Kielty sacrifice fly, and Mike Bordick homered in the next at-bat.
On the pitching side:
Pete Walker started the game and pitched five innings (plus two batters into the sixth, surrendering a home run and a triple), allowing three earned runs. He appeared in 23 games that year, making seven starts with a 4.88 ERA. Over his eight-year career, four were with the Jays. He became Toronto’s bullpen coach in 2011 and the pitching coach in 2012. I wonder what his career would have been like if it had today’s Pete Walker as a pitching coach. Likely not that much different, but you never know.
Vinnie Chulk came on in relief, recording a flyout before allowing a walk, a triple (3 RBI, Marlon Anderson), and a home run (Toby Hall). He surrendered three earned runs while recording just one out. Chulk spent the first four years of his eight-year career in the Jays’ bullpen.
Dan Reichert recorded the final two outs of the sixth, pitched the seventh (allowing a solo home run), and got two outs in the eighth while yielding another run. He finished with 2.1 innings pitched, allowing five hits, two walks, and two earned runs, with three strikeouts. Reichert’s five-year MLB career concluded that season with the Jays, posting a 6.06 ERA in 15 appearances.
Trevor Miller got the final out of the eighth and pitched the ninth to earn the win. Miller had a 13-year career, appearing in 79 games for the Jays that year with a 4.61 ERA. He played for eight MLB teams and returned to Toronto in 2011 for six more appearances.
Delgado finished with six RBI, 16 total bases, and a .724 WPA. The four home runs brought his season total to 41; he’d finish with 42, the second-highest mark of his career. He remains the Jays’ all-time home run leader with 336 and ended his MLB career with 473.
Other notable performances included Reed Johnson (2-for-4, .201 WPA), Eric Hinske (1-for-4 with a triple and walk, .193 WPA), and Orlando Hudson (1-for-3 with a home run, .109 WPA).
The win improved the Jays to 84-75, securing third place in the AL East, 14.5 games behind the Yankees, where they would ultimately finish the season.
Joe Carter became the Blue Jays’ all-time home run leader with his 203rd—and final—home run for the team, which came in a 4-3 victory over the Orioles. The homer put him one ahead of George Bell.
Carter now ranks fifth on the franchise list, behind Delgado, Bautista, Encarnacion, and Wells.
Across his 16-year career, Carter hit 396 home runs (plus six more in the playoffs), placing him 62nd in MLB history.
The Mets open a three-game series against the Nationals in Washington, D.C. on Friday night at 6:45 on PIX11.
Mets Notes
Francisco Lindor enters play on Thursday with 299 career home runs
Carson Benge is hitting .292/.353/.447 (.800 OPS) with 18 home runs, 20 doubles, and 77 runs scored in 132 games since April 23
Today's Lineups
METS
NATIONALS
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
How can I watch the game online?
To watch Mets games online via PIX11, you will need a subscription to a TV service provider and live in the New York City metro area, or you can now purchase an in-market subscription package via MLB and Amazon This will allow fans to watch the Mets on their computer, tablet or mobile phone browser.
MLB App access is included for FREE with SNY. To access a PIX11 game on your favorite supported Apple or Android mobile device, please follow the steps below.
Open “MLB” and tap on “Subscriber Login” for Apple Devices or “Sign in with MLB.com” for Android Devices.
Type in your MLB.com credentials and tap “Log In.”
To access live or on-demand content, tap on the "Watch" tab from the bottom navigation bar. Select the "Games" sub-tab to see a listing of available games. You can scroll to previous dates using the left and right arrows. Tap on a game to select from the game feeds available.
