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Aaron Judge and Aaron Boone agree that the Yankees captain is doing everything he can to get back on the field as soon as he can.

They spoke “a little bit,” the manager said Thursday, about the two things they apparently disagreed on:

First, Boone saying Tuesday he did not expect Judge to return in time for the wild-card series before Judge said Wednesday his goal is to be ready for Game 1 of that series; and second, the manager publicly conceding Judge’s calf strain is “moderate,” while the notoriously private — at least on the subject of injuries — Judge said he didn’t “know why [Boone] used those words.”

“I don’t want to get too much into that [conversation with Judge],” Boone said Thursday when asked about the two seemingly not being on the same page. “At the end of the day, we’re all in this together. And in his case, trying to get him right and get him healthy so he can be an option for us here at some point.

“But we’re also going to listen to the injury. I see it as just a passionate player that’s doing all he can to get back for his teammates.”

What others might interpret as annoyance or anger from Judge, Boone said was “passion.”

Boone — who all along has said he is not ruling out Judge returning in time for the postseason (even if it seemed and seems unlikely) — also said the roster decisions for a round that will begin Tuesday may not be made until Tuesday morning.

Thus, the Yankees will give Judge as much time as possible to recover from a calf strain suffered Sept. 16 — which was just seven games after he returned from a rib fracture that cost him more than three months — before declaring him in or out.

“The bottom line is Aaron and I have always had an amazing relationship and still do and will,” Boone said before finishing the series against the Rays in The Bronx. “This is about a player that, again, is pouring everything he possibly can into being ready, and we’re going to support that.

“And when he’s ready, we’ll make a call of when that is based on how he’s doing.”

Both superstar and manager have emphasized this week that Judge is doing everything in his power to build up quickly and be ready for a three-game series that almost certainly will be against the Red Sox, but Judge — who received a platelet-poor plasma injection Monday — is still limited barely a week after suffering the injury.

Notably, he is not swinging yet.

“He’s doing all the things in the training room, all the modalities, that you can take advantage of,” Boone said of Judge, who plans to return as a right fielder and not a DH. “He’s moving on the treadmill, things like that, doing the different exercises to get the calf healed.

“Doing everything he can to make that as speedy as possible.”

The Dodgers have one more regular season series to go, battling the San Francisco Giants for three games beginning Friday night at Oracle Park up north.

Tarik Skubal will make his final regular season start in the series opener, and his 10th since the Dodgers acquired him on August 2 from the Detroit Tigers. Skubal allowed four runs in five innings last Saturday against the Giants.

Rookie right-hander Yunior Marté starts for the Giants, making his fifth major league appearance and third start. Marté allowed six runs in 4 2/3 innings last Friday at Dodger Stadium, including at least one run scoring in all five innings in which he appeared.

Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Giants
• Ballpark: Oracle Park, San Francisco
• Start time: 7:15 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Los Angeles Dodgers have earned themselves a much-needed first-round bye in the MLB postseason, conveyed when the NL East champion Atlanta Braves lost 7-6 to the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.

It could not have worked out better for the Dodgers, who continue to get key players back as they turn their attention to the postseason and a run at a third consecutive World Series championship.

Shohei Ohtani was cleared to play against the Padres on Wednesday after previously being on the 15-day injured list with pain in his left knee and right bicep. Dalton Rushing is close to coming back as well.

The Dodgers close their season with a series against the rival San Francisco Giants. It's a good opportunity to get their guys some conditioning as they face a Giants team that's playing out the string.

More importantly, the Dodgers can look forward to rest before the start of the playoffs as they attempt to become the first MLB team to three-peat since the New York Yankees (1998-2000). Here's who could stand in the Dodgers' way:

With just three games remaining, the 2026 Colorado Rockies season is all but over.

Given that we have pretty much all the data on this squad, it’s time to begin the autopsy of what happened. But before we get to that, let’s take a moment to celebrate what went well — because this was an improved Rockies baseball team, despite a less-than-stellar record.

Let’s start with this question: Who was the 2026 Colorado Rockies Most Valuable player?

Was it steady-Eddy TJ Rumfield, who was solid on both sides of the plate? Was it two-time All-Star Hunter Goodman in pursuit of 40 home runs? Was it “Look-I’m-on-base-again” Jake McCarthy, who also stole 32 bases? Was it Brennan “Everyday Bernie” Bernardino, one of MLB’s most-overlooked relievers?

Maybe you see someone as the Rockies MVP who wasn’t on top of the stats: Brett Sullivan, the Rockies answer to Shohei Ohtani; Cole Carrigg, Mr. Versatility; or Adael Amador who’s making the most of his time with the Rockies?

Let us know your choice in the comments!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

In the final game of their four-game home series against the Tampa Bay Rays (96-63), the Yankees (92-67) came back from 4-0 down to win 6-4.

Here are the takeaways...

-- In the second inning, after allowing a walk to Jonny DeLuca and a single to Richie Palacios with two outs away, Yankees starter Cam Schlittler struck out Ryan Vilade to strand Rays baserunners on first and third and preserve a scoreless tie. 

-- The following inning, Taylor Walls drew a leadoff walk. Walls came around to score on the very next at-bat, a single by Yandy Diaz, which became an unearned RBI double when right fielder Heliot Ramos' throw to third base intended to tag out Walls skittered away. Then, Rays star third baseman Junior Caminero laced an RBI single to double the damage in the inning.

-- With the Rays having clinched the AL East division title, Yankees manager Aaron Boone made it clear that he would be limiting the number of pitches his starters throw during the team's remaining regular season games to ensure their arms are fresh for the postseason. Accordingly, with the Yanks still trailing 2-0, he pulled Schlittler for right-handed reliever Michael Fulmer, who opened the fourth inning with a clean frame to work with. Caminero knocked Fulmer out of the game with one out away in the fifth, mashing an RBI double off the left field wall, which scored Diaz. Tim Hill relieved Fulmer and worked into - and more importantly, out of - a bases-loaded jam to hold the Rays to their 3-0 lead. 

-- With Luis Gil on the mound for the sixth inning, the Yankees couldn't complete a double play when Gil dropped George Lombard Jr.'s on-target throw to first base. A run scored as a result. In the bottom half of the frame, Austin Wells clubbed a solo homer to cut Tampa's lead to 4-1. Gil pushed onward to record a scoreless seventh inning.

-- Lombard singled home Ben Rice in the bottom of the seventh with a one-out double, before the shortstop added another run thanks to a wild pitch with an acrobatic slide-turned-hop-turned tag of home plate, beating out Rays catcher Liam Hicks. With two outs and Yankees baserunners on second and third, Paul Goldschmidt completed the comeback and tied the game, 4-4, with a single to center field. Cody Bellinger grounded out with runners on the corners to end the inning.

-- Rookie reliever Bradley Hanner handled the eighth for the Yankees. After allowing a leadoff double, he battled back to record a scoreless inning. 

-- With the score still tied, one runner on base, and two outs in the inning, Lombard cranked a pitch down the left field line, a moonshot that stayed fair and gave New York a 6-4 lead.

-- Hanner closed the door in the ninth inning, earning his first career win as well as his first career save, sealing the series win for the Yankees, 6-4 the final on Thursday night.

-- Following his brief start on Thursday night, Schlittler's final stats for the 2026 regular season were set in stone. Across 33 starts, Schlittler pitched to the tune of a 1.95 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. He tallied 239 strikeouts and just 47 walks in 193.2 IP. Time will tell whether his sensational season is rewarded with the AL Cy Young Award.

Game MVP: George Lombard Jr.

The rookie shortstop was the hero on Thursday night. He tallied three RBI on two hits - a double and a two-run homer, his seventh in just 41 career games thus far - and showcased his athleticism on his improvisational slide, which allowed him to score from third on a wild pitch.

Highlights

A solo homer for Austin Wells to lead off the bottom of the 6th and the Yankees are on the board pic.twitter.com/woyBnJ9Bqq

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 25, 2026

An RBI double for George Lombard Jr.! pic.twitter.com/wIBriD3grw

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 25, 2026

What a slide by George Lombard Jr.!

The Yankees cut it to 4-3! pic.twitter.com/XNl2G2oOzn

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 25, 2026

Paul Goldschmidt comes through and then Yankees tie the game! pic.twitter.com/4secEoz1uP

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 25, 2026

GEORGE LOMBARD JR. CLUTCH 2-RUN HOMER FOR THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/c2nuoMyhqW

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 25, 2026

What's next

The Yankees kick off the final series of their regular season, a three-game set at home against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. 

Due to the forecast of sustained inclement weather on Saturday, Friday will see the Yanks and O's play a doubleheader.

The first game is set to begin at 4:05 p.m. and the second game will start no earlier than 7:05 p.m.

New York's starting pitcher in that first game is yet to be announced.

Baltimore will send out Trevor Rogers (4.07 ERA, 1.18 WHIP in 165.2 IP).

The Braves appeared to be on their way to a victory in the home regular season finale, but a shaky start from Tyler Mahle and a lineup that went quiet after the early innings led to a 7-6 lost at Truist Park on Thursday night.

Mahle, making his final start before the postseason, had his worst outing since joining the Braves nearly two months ago. Mahle surrendered a leadoff homer and allowed a total of five runs over five innings, although he did settle in nicely during the fourth and fifth and looked much more like himself. Most importantly, he got through the evening healthy and ready to rock in October.

It was encouraging to see the Braves bats finally show some life early after back-to-back lackluster (hungover?) showings. They scored four runs in the first inning after scoring three runs combined between the first two games of the series, and Drake Baldwin just missed a grand slam that would’ve made it eight.

Austin Riley launched a no-doubt 421 foot homer in the fourth, his second night in a row with a homer. Maybe a sign he is heating up before the playoffs? We’ll see. Mike Yastrzemski also continued his recent run of strong hitting with an RBI single in the fifth to give Atlanta a momentary 6-5 lead before Cincinnati promptly regained the lead at 7-6. But that was all the offense the Braves could muster.

AJ Smith-Shawver replaced Mahle in the sixth and promptly gave up a two-run homer that nearly landed atop the Chop House. He pitched well otherwise. Dylan Dodd was impressive during two perfect innings, registering three strikeouts in the eighth and ninth.

The Braves will now head to Miami to wrap up the regular season against the Marlins. Friday night’s first pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET.

Coming up through the Yankees system, George Lombard Jr. wowed as much with his athleticism and winning plays as he did with his bat and glove.

One of those athletic, winning plays showed up in The Bronx on Thursday. Soon thereafter, his bat aided the winning, too.

The rookie shortstop dazzled with an inventive and effective slide home in the seventh inning, then in the eighth he drilled a two-run, go-ahead home run in what became a 6-4 victory over the Rays in The Bronx.

In a game that did not matter because the Rays already had clinched the division, so the Yankees only pitched Cam Schlittler for three innings before testing a series of bullpen arms, Lombard found a way to entertain the announced crowd of 44,136 nonetheless.

In the seventh, Lombard was on third base when Tampa Bay’s Brody Hopkins unleashed a wild pitch that bounced off the backstop but right back to catcher Liam Hicks.

“My first thought was the ricochet,” manager Aaron Boone said, “Oh, no.”

Hicks took a few steps for the ball, spun around and dove to the plate, beating Lombard easily.

“Oh, I’m out,” went through Lombard’s mind. “So I’ve got to make something up.”

He quickly abandoned a feet-first slide because he saw Hicks, too, was on the ground. In one motion, Lombard scrambled to his feet, took a step and tumbled over the plate and Hicks, dragging his right hand on the plate before the tag to cut the deficit to 4-3.

“I think that’s my first time doing that one in a game,” Lombard said with a smile. “I was in trouble, had to figure something out. Kind of happened.”

He then jogged into a Yankees dugout that was filled with smiling faces who had just witnessed a slide and tumble that few had seen before.

The Yankees tied the game later in the inning when Paul Goldschmidt singled home Austin Wells.

Then Lombard untied it in the eighth, when he demolished a Steven Matz sinker to the second deck in left to complete the comeback in game the Yankees trailed, 4-0 entering the bottom of the sixth.

That was before Lombard’s mind, legs and bat — now with four home runs in his past seven games — took over.

“Just a really good athletic play by the old soccer player,” Boone said of the slide.

With the Guardians beating the Red Sox, Boston was unable to clinch the fifth seed and a first-round date with the Yankees. With three games remaining, the Red Sox are three games ahead of the sixth-seed White Sox.

Luis Gil was optioned, and thus will not be on the playoff roster for the wild-card round, after pitching two innings without allowing an earned run but letting up one unearned while walking four.

The just-called-up Bradley Hanner also was optioned.

Anthony Volpe got the start at second base (and went 0-for-3 with a walk), with Amed Rosario (1-for-4) at third and José Caballero (0-for-3) in center against Tampa Bay left-hander Ian Seymour.

Volpe, who has taken grounders at third, still hasn’t started a game there in the majors and the Yankees have to determine what they want to do at the spot, especially if they end up facing the Red Sox and their lefty-heavy pitching staff in the wild-card series.

The Dodgers are already another step closer to a third straight World Series.

Thanks to the Braves’ loss to the Reds on Thursday night, the Dodgers were assured of finishing the season with a top-two record in the National League, clinching a first-round bye that ensures they will not be subjected to a best-of-three wild-card series next week.

Instead, the Dodgers will begin their postseason quest in the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 3, holding home-field advantage for that best-of-five series as they go for the first three-peat by an NL team in MLB history.

First-round byes have not always been kind to the Dodgers.

After MLB expanded its postseason field five years ago — creating a five-day layoff for the top-two seeds in each league between the end of the regular season and the start of their playoff schedules — the Dodgers were knocked out in the NLDS as a bye team in 2022 and 2023. Both years, questions about the negative side effects of the weeklong break loomed large in the wake of their elimination.

Thus, after receiving a bye again in 2024, the team altered its off-week schedule, incorporating more simulated game activities and making a concerted effort to spend more time at the ballpark together on workout days. 

It paid off in that year’s division series, when the Dodgers overcame a two-games-to-one deficit to the Padres en route to the first of their back-to-back titles.

Last year, the team failed to earn a top-two seed but swept the Reds in two games in the wild-card series to begin their World Series defense.

This season, securing a bye became a critical objective for the club down the stretch. The last thing their aging roster needed was two extra playoff games. Ongoing injuries to Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman also amplified the importance of getting extra time off ahead of another October gauntlet.

“It’s always helpful in the sense of giving your guys a break to reset,” manager Dave Roberts said earlier this month. “But given all the tax and where our guys are healthwise, to get that week would be huge.”

The Dodgers, who entered Thursday with a 97-61 record, still have an outside shot at the NL’s No. 1 seed, as well, but would need to run the table over the season’s final weekend and have the Brewers — who currently hold MLB’s best record at 100-59 — get swept in their final series against the already-eliminated Cardinals.

“I think it’s more about just playing good baseball,” Roberts said this week when asked how much of a priority the top seed would be. “The last couple weeks, we’ve just played good baseball, and the fallout is this or that. We want to get the bye, and then if it happens that we keep playing well and we gain a couple games on the Brewers, great.”

Indeed, the club’s primary postseason seeding objectives have already been met. They’ve won their 13th NL West division title in the last 14 years. They’ve given themselves the shortest possible route through the playoffs. And now, they’ll have ample time next week to prepare for an unprecedented three-peat bid.

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers will open the 2026 postseason at home at Dodger Stadium. The Atlanta Braves’ loss on Thursday coupled with the Dodgers’ home loss to San Diego clinched the No. 2 seed for the Dodgers in the National League playoffs, ensuring a bye past the wild card round. The Dodgers will begin their postseason on Saturday, October 3 in the National League Division Series in Los Angeles.

“I know [getting the bye] is a priority for us. With kind of smelling the finish line, the postseason, the focus is heightened,” manager Dave Roberts said on Tuesday.

The Dodgers (97-62) are ensured of finishing with a better record than the NL East champion Braves (93-66), ensuring the Dodgers will be the No. 2 seed in the NL playoffs. The NL Central-champion Milwaukee Brewers (100-59) have a three-game lead over the Dodgers for the No. 1 seed., and own the tiebreaker. Milwaukee is the No. 1 seed.

The No. 1 seed Brewers in the NLDS would play the winner of the wild card series between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, while the No. 2 seed Dodgers would play the winner of the matchup between the No.3 Braves and No. 6 seed.

This is the 14th consecutive year the Dodgers will play in the National League Division Series, joining the Atlanta Braves (1991-2005) for the longest streak of consecutive playoff berths in MLB history.

Winning 15 of their first 20 games in September helped finalize the postseason berth.

“I think it’s more about playing good baseball,” manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. “We want to get the bye, and if it happens that we keep well and gain a couple games on the Brewers, great. For me, I really believe, and our players believe we just want to play good baseball. We’re pitching, we’re taking much better at-bats, the defense has tightened up, the baserunning, so all that stuff is lined up. I’d bet on us against anyone.”

The Dodgers welcome the five days off between the regular season and the start of the postseason. They just activated Andy Pages (broken left hand), Shohei Ohtani (left biceps inflammation), and Roki Sasaki (blister on right middle finger) off the injured list this week, and also are nursing injuries with Blake Snell (left groin discomfort), Freddie Freeman (right knee), and Edgardo Henriquez (on the injured list with low back discomfort), among others.

“I think we all know why it’s important,” Freeman said with a laugh on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of guys limping toward the end, a lot of aches and pains this year. It’s good to get those guys back on the field, get some ABs in them, and then rest up and get some more ABs during the lives [simulated games], whatever we do to get us ready for Saturday [October 3].”

Both National League Division Series will be televised by Fox Sports. The exact breakdown of which games will be on Fox and which will be on FS1 have not yet been announced. Start times will be unveiled at a later date, once the entire MLB postseason picture becomes clearer. Given that the Dodgers will be the only west coast team among the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds — Tampa Bay Rays and likely either Cleveland Guardians or Chicago White Sox in the American League, plus Milwaukee in the NL — it’s fair to assume they’ll have the latest start times for their home games in the NLDS.

Tyler Glasnow faces Nick Pivetta as the Dodgers play their final regular season home game.

THURSDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Padres
• Stadium: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

Major League Baseball’s playoffs are coming soon and Alex Bregman will be a part of it.

Of course he is.

Bregman made baseball history Thursday, Sept. 24 when the Chicago Cubs clinched a National League wild-card berth with a victory over the Miami Marlins. And for the 10th consecutive year, injured eye willing, Bregman will take part in the postseason, this time with a twist.

Bregman, the Cubs’ 32-year-old third baseman, will become the first position player to play postseason baseball 10 consecutive seasons with multiple teams. In fact, he’s done it with three ballclubs – eight straight years with the Houston Astros and then the past two with the Boston Red Sox and Cubs, as he settled for good in Chicago by signing a five-year, $175 million contract in January.

And it seems like wherever Bregman goes, October baseball follows.

Texas loves him anyway

Bregman was a two-time All-Star and two-time champion in Houston, the brash young slugger in his first full season when they won the 2017 World Series, the MVP runner-up when they lost the 2019 Series in seven games.

After bearing much of the scorn for the club’s 2017 sign-stealing scandal, he was the chastened veteran on the 2022 squad that won a second World Series, this time without a cloud of controversy to follow.

Yet Bregman’s chops as a club cornerstone gained greater veracity a year ago, when he left the Astros and, combining his production with his baseball smarts and clubhouse gravitas, lifted the Red Sox to the postseason for the first time in three years as the Astros missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Those vibes were as attractive to the Cubs as Bregman’s career .846 OPS when they pursued him after he opted out of his contract with Boston. And it’s all come together in Wrigleyville: Thanks to a second-half surge, Bregman has hit 26 home runs, posted an .804 OPS and produced 5.4 WAR, second only to presumed MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong on the Cubs.

“Anytime Alex Bregman is playing an Alex Bregman brand of baseball, it’s just good for the program,” Crow-Armstrong told USA TODAY Sports last month.

And if he manages to play just days after suffering a gruesome eye injury, the legend will only grow.

Heroes of the fall

Bregman’s postseason constancy has put himself among some legendary and curious October stalwarts.

Unsurprisingly, the consecutive postseasons list is littered with alumni from the three dominant playoff groups of the wild-card era: The 1990s Atlanta Braves, the late-century New York Yankees and the current batch of Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tops the list, appearing in 13 consecutive postseasons from 1995-2007, followed by Derek Jeter, whose 12-year streak began a year after Rivera’s playoff debut.

Catcher Jorge Posada and Braves Hall of Famers Chipper Jones and Tom Glavine all played in 11 consecutive postseasons. As did lefty reliever Mike Stanton, who did it with four teams – the Braves, Red Sox, Yankees and Texas Rangers – between 1991-2002.

Who let him in?

Bregman, longtime Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and Hall of Famer Greg Maddux all reached 10 consecutive postseasons. Current Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman and longtime third baseman Justin Turner are at the nine-year mark, Freddie winning a World Series championship with Atlanta in 2021 and two more in L.A. the past two seasons.

Retired Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw leads the “but for” category: He pitched in eight consecutive postseasons from 2013-2020, and would have made it 13 in a row if not for injuries in 2021 and 2024. Same with Braves Hall of Famer John Smoltz – he was present for all of Atlanta’s 14 consecutive division titles yet underwent Tommy John surgery in 2000.