SAN DIEGO (AP) — Luis Campusano hit a two-run homer with one out in the 10th inning and the San Diego Padres beat the New York Yankees 3-2 on Friday night to move back into the third National League wild-card spot.
The Padres won for just the second time in seven games and leapfrogged Arizona back into playoff position.
New York dropped four games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.
Campusano homered to left field off Paul Blackburn (7-3), his sixth. It came a half-inning after rookie Spencer Jones hit an RBI single to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead against his hometown Padres.
The 25-year-old Jones, who played at La Costa Canyon High in northern San Diego County, was playing for the first time as a big leaguer at Petco Park. After going 0 for 3, he singled to center off All-Star closer Mason Miller (5-2) to bring in automatic runner Luis García Jr. for a 2-1 lead.
Jones, who advanced to second on the throw, was thrown out trying to steal third as Heliot Ramos struck out.
Miller came into a 1-all game in the ninth and retired the side.
The Padres then got a baserunner to third with two outs before David Bednar struck out Austin Hays.
Ben Rice homered to the base of the batter’s eye in straightaway center field off Walker Buehler with two outs in the third to tie the game at 1. It was the All-Star’s 36th.
San Diego had gone up 1-0 when Ty France led off the second with a double against former Padres farmhand Max Fried, advanced on Jackson Merrill’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Xander Bogaerts’ single to center.
Up next
Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (4-3, 3.20 ERA) and Padres LHP Robbie Ray (11-7, 3.14) are scheduled to start Saturday.
SAN DIEGO — The local boy made good, but it wasn’t enough.
After Spencer Jones put the Yankees ahead with a leadoff single in the top of the 10th against Padres flamethrower Mason Miller, his homecoming heroics got spoiled in the bottom of the frame.
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Luis Campusano hit a walk-off two-run shot against Paul Blackburn to lift the Padres past the Yankees, 3-2, in a playoff-like atmosphere on Friday night at a sold-out Petco Park.
Blackburn had not allowed a run in his last 13 ¹/₃ innings before Friday night, or a home run since July 29. But after striking out the first batter he faced, he picked a bad time to snap both streaks, leaving a first-pitch sinker over the heart of the plate with one out that Campusano crushed to left field to end it.
“Definitely [stings],” manager Aaron Boone said. “Got all the confidence in the world there in Paul. … Probably wanted to get the sinker a little bit more in, but Campusano also put a really good swing on it. It’s part of it. We got a quick turnaround, get after it [Saturday].”
Jones had led off the top of the 10th with a single on Miller’s 100 mph fastball that put the Yankees up 2-1, but was later thrown out trying to steal third.
“Super excited to get a good swing off a good pitcher and give the guys a lead,” said Jones, who hails from nearby Encinitas and grew up going to games here. “I was ecstatic, and then quick turnaround and game over.”
On a night when they lost Trent Grisham to a right hamstring injury that could land him back on the IL, the Yankees (80-61) fell to four games back of the Rays for the division with 21 games to play, with the Red Sox moving within 3 ¹/₂ games of them for the top AL wild card.
Max Fried was sharp in his second start back from the injured list for a recurrence of his left elbow bone bruise, building up to 72 pitches across 5 ²/₃ innings of one-run ball.
Luis Campusano celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a two-run walk-off home run in the 10th inning of the Yankees’ 3-2 loss to the Padres on Sept. 4, 2026 in Los Angeles. Getty Images
The left-hander pounded the strike zone, allowing him to be efficient and get deeper into the game despite the limited pitch count.
“Better and better every time,” Fried said. “For me, it’s more about, we have to win these games. So I’m going out there just trying to put up zeros. Ideally it would be better to be 12 pitches or less [in an inning], but it’s more important to make sure you’re putting up zeros as much as you can.”
With the Yankees moving their pitching around to take advantage of off days on Thursday and Monday, Will Warren piggybacked Fried for his second relief appearance of the season and was equally strong in a potential preview of his playoff role.
Spencer Jones celebrates after hitting an RBI single and advancing to second base during the 10th inning of the Yankees’ loss to the Padres. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
The right-hander threw 2 ¹/₃ scoreless innings, allowing just one baserunner before handing off to David Bednar to start the bottom of the ninth.
But the Padres bullpen matched with zeroes in relief of Walker Buehler, including lefty Adrian Morejon and Miller — who were both connected to the Yankees leading up to the trade deadline before both remained in San Diego.
Morejon struck out the side in the eighth inning before Miller retired the side in the ninth with two more punchouts, one on a 102 mph heater to Cody Bellinger, who fouled a ball off his left foot earlier in the game and appeared to be favoring throughout the night.
“Those two guys are pretty tough,” Boone said. “[Bradgley] Rodríguez and [Yuki] Matsui are good too. But Morejon and Miller are pretty dynamic there. Great swing by Spencer to get us on the board in the 10th, but obviously a tough one in the end.”
Will Warren delivers a pitch during the sixth inning of the Yankees’ loss to the Padres. Getty Images
The Padres (74-67) nearly won it in the bottom of the ninth, when the winning run got to third on a double and a passed ball from Austin Wells. But Bednar struck out Austin Hays to send it to extras.
After the Yankees fell behind 1-0 in the second inning on Xander Bogaerts’ bloop single that fell in front of Grisham — who may have been able to catch if he was fully healthy — Ben Rice tied the game in the top of the third when he clobbered a 444-foot shot to the batter’s eye.
His 36th home run of the season was his second-longest, trailing only a 447-footer last month in Baltimore.
Mets starter Nolan McLean didn't have his best stuff Friday night against the San Francisco Giants, but he battled to turn it into another strong outing.
Overall, the right-hander allowed two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts, needing a career-high 105 pitches to get through six innings in New York's eventual 10-6 win.
His toughest challenge came in the fifth inning with the bases-loaded as he recorded a strikeout and got a double play to escape the jam. Despite his pitch count, McLean made his case to interim manager Andy Green, coming back out for the sixth and tossing a 1-2-3 inning when the team needed it most.
"Lucky," McLean said of his night. "You never really want to get into that much traffic. But I made some big pitches when it really mattered there with the double play and then going back out for the sixth and making pitches. But yeah, you never want to pitch with that much traffic."
He added on pitching the sixth inning: "I've been honest with Andy about how I felt. He came and asked me how I was feeling, I said I was good. I would love the sixth inning if he'd let me have it. He told me he'd give me three batters. I said, 'OK, that's all I need.' I'm pretty sure that he trusted me to go back out there."
After striking out Christian Koss to end the top of the sixth inning, McLean pumped his fists and let out a scream. When asked about showing that type of emotion, the 25-year-old explained his mindset and the importance of getting through six innings.
"I never want to be the guy that just loses that fire, no matter how the game's going or how the season's going," McLean said. "I'm trying to go out there and win every single time. And when I only go five innings, I don't really put my team in a position to do that. So it's important to me to go at least six innings."
Green added that he is consistently impressed with McLean's ability to get out of trouble by using "a ridiculous amount of confidence."
"Definitely wasn't his sharpest," Green said. "I don't think we love the middle innings there, where he found himself behind a lot, walked the nine-hole hitter, put him in a tough spot. The thing about him that I have always appreciated is he can put himself in some nasty jams, and then he finds a ridiculous amount of confidence to work his way out of it.
"So you got the bases loaded, you got nobody out, he looks like's about to be done before the fifth inning's even over. Punches a guy out and gets a double-play ball and he's out of the inning. We had a conversation after that inning, he liked where he was mentally, physically. Felt good about giving him three more batters, he went out there and handled them. Not a sharp outing, six innings, two runs, great result."
McLean is now 11-8 on the year and owns an impressive 1.87 ERA over his last 12 starts (3.06 overall ERA on the season). His performances have put him in the conversation for NL Rookie of the Year, but that's not something that crosses his mind when taking the mound as the season winds down.
"Yeah, I mean, of course. I think any competitor would want to win an award," McLean said. "Is it something I'm focused on? Not really. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to it. My job is to go out there and compete for the New York Mets."
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 4: Thomas Saggese #25 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates towards the dugout after hitting an RBI double in the second inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 4, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Rockies spent much of Friday night letting opportunities slip away, then finally broke through in a four-run sixth inning that turned a 4-1 deficit into a 5-4 lead.
TJ Rumfield added insurance with a 441-foot home run an inning later, and the bullpen carried the two-run advantage into the ninth.
Then it disappeared.
Jordan Romano opened the ninth with a walk, Connor Norby made a throwing error and Iván Herrera crushed a three-run homer to center as the Cardinals came back for a 7-6 win at Coors Field.
Colorado fell to 54-87, while St. Louis improved to 71-71. Cade Winquest earned the win to improve to 1-0, Romano took the loss and fell to 0-3, and Riley O’Brien recorded his 36th save.
Feltner battles through five
Ryan Feltner’s final line was uneven, but there were stretches where his stuff looked quite good.
The right-hander allowed four runs on seven hits and three walks over five innings, striking out five while throwing 62 of his 95 pitches for strikes.
The changeup was his best pitch.
All five of Feltner’s strikeouts came on the changeup, which generated three whiffs on seven swings.
He looked sharp immediately, retiring the Cardinals in order in the first and finishing Iván Herrera with an 84.4 mph changeup for a swinging strikeout.
Jordan Walker opened with a single and Leo Bernal walked before Nolan Gorman tied the game with an RBI single. Thomas Saggese then won a seven-pitch battle with Feltner and doubled home Joshua Báez to put St. Louis ahead 2-1.
Feltner responded with an excellent third, needing just nine pitches to retire Herrera, Alec Burleson and Walker in order. Burleson chased a changeup below the zone for strike three, while Walker took another one to end the inning.
A leadoff walk to Bernal created more traffic in the fourth, but Feltner retired the next three hitters.
The fifth finally got away from him.
Nathan Church opened with a soft single, Bryan Torres walked and Herrera reached on a 104.2 mph grounder to short. Burleson followed with a high chopper that Carrigg charged, but the ball kicked off the heel of his glove as a runner crossed in front of him. It was scored an RBI single.
The Rockies did make one excellent defensive play in the middle of the inning.
Walker lifted a relatively shallow fly to center, where Jake McCarthy caught it moving toward the infield and made a strong throw toward home. TJ Rumfield cut the throw off after the run scored and helped catch Herrera between second and third for a double play.
Bernal then doubled at 109.8 mph, although McCarthy made a sliding stop in deep right-center that kept the ball from reaching the wall and prevented another run from scoring in that moment.
Feltner eventually got Báez to end the inning.
His four-seamer still averaged 94.4 mph and touched 96.6, while the changeup gave him a legitimate finishing pitch. The command was not consistent enough to keep St. Louis from creating traffic.
Pallante keeps Colorado quiet
The Rockies scored before recording a hit.
McCarthy opened the bottom of the first with a four-pitch walk, stole second, moved to third on Mickey Moniak’s groundout and scored on Hunter Goodman’s sacrifice fly.
Colorado had chances for much more against Andre Pallante.
Carrigg opened the second with a triple and never moved the final 90 feet. Norby grounded out, Troy Johnston walked, Adael Amador sacrificed Johnston to second and Zac Veen grounded out to end the inning.
Goodman and Rumfield then drew consecutive two-out walks in the third before Carrigg grounded out on the first pitch he saw.
Pallante eventually settled in.
Norby singled to begin the fourth, but Johnston grounded into a double play. Pallante then worked a clean fifth to finish five innings with only one run allowed on two hits and four walks.
He struck out just one and generated only four whiffs on 33 swings, but Colorado did almost nothing with the contact it made. The Rockies averaged just 74.4 mph on 15 balls in play against him.
Pallante had retired seven straight and had thrown only 72 pitches through five.
Colorado breaks through in the sixth
Hancel Rincon entered for his major-league debut and got Goodman to line out.
Then the inning came apart.
Rumfield drove a ball into right and raced into third. St. Louis challenged the safe call, but replay upheld it.
Rincon then threw a wild pitch that brought Rumfield home.
Carrigg followed by driving a ball into the right-center gap and never stopped running, coming all the way around for an inside-the-park home run to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Norby singled, and that ended Rincon’s debut after just one-third of an inning.
Justin Bruihl replaced him, but Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was still arguing with the umpires as the pitching change was made. The argument continued before play resumed, and Marmol kept yelling from the dugout until home-plate umpire Doug Eddings ejected him.
Once play resumed, Johnston doubled Norby to third and Amador tied the game with an RBI single to right.
Veen then gave Colorado the lead.
He missed his first attempt at a safety squeeze before getting the second bunt down toward the third-base side of the mound. Bruihl charged and shoveled the ball home with his glove, but Johnston was ruled safe.
The Cardinals had already used their replay challenge on Rumfield’s triple and could not challenge the play at the plate.
Colorado had turned a 4-1 deficit into a 5-4 lead.
Manfredi and Rumfield build the lead
Mark Manfredi gave the Rockies exactly what they needed after Feltner.
The left-hander retired all six hitters he faced over two perfect innings and struck out two.
His fastball averaged 95 mph, nearly a full mile per hour above his season average, while his slider generated two whiffs on four swings.
Carrigg helped him finish the sixth.
With two outs, Carrigg ranged toward the middle on Church’s grounder, charged it, fielded it on the backhand and fired a strong throw to first that narrowly beat the runner.
Manfredi came back for the seventh and retired another three in order, ending his night by winning an eight-pitch battle with Burleson on a 94 mph fastball.
Then Rumfield gave the Rockies some breathing room.
Goodman drove a ball 382 feet to center but came up just short.
Rumfield did not.
He got a 2-0 sweeper and launched it 441 feet to right-center for his 15th home run, extending the lead to 6-4.
Jimmy Herget took over in the eighth and retired Walker and Bernal before Báez singled with two outs. Brennan Bernardino then came on to retire pinch-hitter Ramón Urías and preserve the two-run lead.
Colorado managed only a two-out infield single from Ezequiel Tovar in the bottom half.
The lead went to Romano.
Romano cannot close it
Romano opened the ninth with a seven-pitch walk to Saggese.
That was the first problem.
Church flew out, but Saggese stole second before José Fermín hit a slow ground ball toward third. Norby’s throw got away, putting runners at second and third with one out.
Herrera made the mistake hurt.
Romano left an 84.2 mph slider over the plate, and Herrera drove it 430 feet to center at 103.5 mph.
Romano retired only one hitter, allowing three runs — two earned — on one hit and one walk.
Colorado still had one last chance.
O’Brien opened the bottom of the ninth with three straight sweepers to Moniak.
Moniak swung through the third.
Goodman grounded out before Rumfield singled with two outs and Ryan Ritter entered to run for him. O’Brien then threw away a pickoff attempt, moving the tying run into scoring position.
The Rockies spent the early innings creating opportunities without finishing them.
Carrigg’s leadoff triple went to waste in the second. Consecutive two-out walks produced nothing in the third. Colorado finished just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base.
Rumfield finished 3-for-4 with a triple, homer and two runs scored. Carrigg went 2-for-5 with a triple and an inside-the-park homer.
The defense had its moments too. McCarthy made multiple important plays in center, Amador made a slick backhand play up the middle and Carrigg made a strong play to finish Manfredi’s first inning.
Manfredi was excellent, and Herget and Bernardino kept the lead intact through the eighth.
The Rockies did enough to erase a three-run deficit and build a two-run lead.
They just could not finish it.
Up next
The Rockies and Cardinals continue their series Saturday night at Coors Field, with first pitch scheduled for 6:10 p.m. MDT.
Colorado will send Mason Adams to the mound for the third start of his major-league career. The right-hander enters 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts.
St. Louis will counter with left-hander Matthew Liberatore, who enters 5-13 with a 5.41 ERA and 141 strikeouts.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani walks back to the dugout after striking out against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 12. (Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
After describing a stint on the injured list as “unlikely but not impossible” on Thursday, Roberts said Friday that he was “hopeful, but I wouldn’t say confident,” that Ohtani would avoid the IL.
Still considered day to day, Ohtani did not play in the Dodgers’ 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals.
There are a wide range of possibilities for Ohtani as he continues to deal with lingering pain in his right biceps. Though the Dodgers experimented earlier in the season with ways to manage his two-way workload — holding him out of the batting order on the day he pitched, giving him the day off after a start on the mound, or both — this is the first time he has missed two consecutive games. And he hasn’t pitched since July 3.
Roberts described Thursday as a “spa day,” meaning Ohtani rested, watched the game from the dugout and didn’t do any baseball activities. Roberts said Friday was a day to “start getting his body moving a little bit.”
“Let’s stay in communication, and let’s see when the time to give the green light is,” Roberts said.
Roberts said Ohtani has been “very agreeable” with the decision to rest him. Ohtani has declined multiple requests for comment over consecutive days through a team spokesperson.
“I think he wants to be out there, wants to play,” Roberts said, “but he’s understanding.”
An MRI scan of the area around his biceps and neck showed no structural damage, or as Roberts put it “nothing of note at all,” which is a promising sign. But Ohtani’s swings and body language Wednesday signaled that something was clearly wrong, affecting Ohtani’s play.
The fact that the Dodgers (84-57) have not put Ohtani on the IL yet doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll be out fewer than 10 days — it just means that they can’t rule out an earlier return. Teams can backdate IL moves up to three days. But that hasn’t traditionally served as a hard deadline for the Dodgers to make IL decisions. It isn’t expected to in this case, either.
Although having an injured player take up a roster spot for more than a few days isn’t ideal, it’s easier to cover for the designated hitter spot than other positions. And there is no obvious replacement on the 40-man roster pushing for a call-up through an extended period of outstanding play. Those factors mitigate the urgency to make a move.
In Ohtani’s absence, the Dodgers have started outfielder Alex Call at DH against left-handed pitchers, with Dalton Rushing available off the bench in the later innings.
Dodgers' starting pitcher Blake Snell delivers against the Washington Nationals in the first inning Friday. (Scott Strazzante / For The Times)
The setup has afforded Rushing more regular at-bats than initially expected when the Dodgers activated him this week. Because Rushing (elbow) is still working through a throwing program, the original plan was to have him pinch-hit one at-bat per game until he was ready to return to catching duties.
The Dodgers also have not officially ruled out Ohtani’s return to pitching, seeing even one or two innings from him as a plus. But the longer he’s out, the less likely it’ll become.
Ohtani’s planned buildup from tossing live batting practice on Aug. 22, to preparing to possibly start a little more than a week later, instead ended with the Dodgers shutting him down from throwing. Ohtani hasn’t even gone through weighted plyo ball drills in “a few days,” according to Roberts.
Asked what that meant for Ohtani’s return-to-pitching timeline, Roberts said it “certainly pushes it back.”
Mookie Betts scores on Teoscar Hernández's two-run double in the third inning against the Nationals on Friday. (Scott Strazzante / For The Times)
The priority, however, is getting Ohtani back to himself on the offensive side before the postseason — whether that means a couple days off or more than a week.
Roberts described the two-day break from the lineup as not just a physical one, but also a mental reprieve for Ohtani. He recorded just two hits in his last six games (23 at-bats). And over the past four weeks, he has a .703 OPS — compared to his .903 OPS overall this season.
“With a lot of players, when they’re not feeling well physically it adds to the toll mentally and emotionally,” Roberts said. “So I think Shohei is like that, like most players. We’re just kind of balancing how many days is sufficient to then be worth the time to get back, versus running this play out of days off and it not being adequate.”
Back on track?
Kyle Tucker scores on a single by Mookie Betts in the Dodgers' 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Scott Strazzante / For The Times)
Coming off a series loss to the Cardinals, the Dodgers’ offense carried the momentum it found at the beginning of the week into Friday. Even slumping Kyle Tucker hit a solo home run against the Nationals — his first homer since Aug. 8 and his first at Dodger Stadium since June 15.
Blake Snell tossed six shutout innings, navigating the traffic of five hits and two walks while allowing only one baserunner past second base.
Reliever Seth Halvorsen gave up three hits without recording an out in the ninth, but the Dodgers had built up enough of a lead to weather a Washington (67-76) comeback attempt.
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending prospect Sergei Murashov quickly rose through the ranks these past few seasons.
Murashov was selected by the Penguins in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft and had two great seasons in Russia's MHL before coming over to North America ahead of the 2024-25 season.
He started with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers and lit it up with them, finishing the 2024-25 season with a 17-7-1 record, a 2.40 goals-against average, and a .922 save percentage. He also made his AHL debut in Wilkes-Barre that season and didn't look out of place either, compiling a 12-3-0 record with a .913 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average.
Murashov quickly graduated to the AHL full-time in 2025-26 and served as the 1A goaltender. He looked unbeatable at times down there, finishing the regular season with 24 wins, a .919 save percentage, and a 2.20 goals-against average.
He was even the guy in the playoffs, starting all of Wilkes-Barre's games before the team lost to the Toronto Marlies in the AHL Eastern Conference Final. Despite the loss, he did what many expected and played extremely well.
He even made his NHL debut during the season and showed some of his potential, especially against the Nashville Predators in Sweden on Nov. 16. He showcased strong agility, looked confident in the crease, and had great rebound control. It resulted in his first career NHL win and shutout.
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows in his other starts, but that's common for a young goaltender who is getting his first look at NHL action.
The trick for Murashov now is how he does when he makes the full-time jump from the AHL to the NHL. It's the hardest jump for any prospect. Teams and players will have film on him, and they'll try to exploit any of his weaknesses. How he adjusts to that is going to be super fascinating.
Granted, this is all assuming he makes the team out of training camp. That is the likeliest scenario, but he will still have to earn it.
If Murashov does earn it, he'll likely be the 1B/backup goaltender to Arturs Silovs during the regular season. He'd earn 30-35+ starts and could push Silovs for the 1A job if he plays well enough.
Goalies, especially rookie goalies, are insanely hard to predict, but if he can finish the year with a save percentage between .900 and .905 and be at least positive in goals saved above expected, that would be a success.
Yes, those aren't the highest of expectations, but it's important to remember that this is a process. Development takes time.
With that in mind, Murashov is an easy person to root for, and it will be fun tracking his progress during the season.
Sep 4, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Nick Martinez (28) delivers a pitch to the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Death, taxes, and the Rays having a horrible time in Globe Life Field.
It’s been 4 years since the Rays last win in Arlington, Texas. On this night, they turned to a former Ranger to break the long losing streak. Nick Martinez has been the Rays stopper all season, and once again he answered the call.
6.1 IP 5 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks, and at his hand just a solo HR given up. Now his final earned run line looked a bit uglier thanks to Garrett Cleavinger, but make no mistake, Martinez was exactly the man the Rays needed to finally break the Globe Life curse. Well, the win and loss curse at least.
On the night when the Rays finally got their first win since June 2nd 2022 in Globe Life, it came at the cost of three of their key pitchers. Before the game Shane McClanahan and Manny Rodriguez were announced added to the 15-day IL. But it was the end of the game, with All Star closer Bryan Baker, in the midst of a an all time Rays season for a reliever, would leave the game wincing and twisting looking anything but comfortable. Hopefully precautions abound, but the Rays pen has been a struggle all season and they can ill afford to miss Baker for any amount of time.
Can’t wallow in the unknown, so back to what happened earlier on the field and Nick Martinez. More than anything, Martinez gave the Rays room to breathe a little. Just stay within a game and feel like they had a true punchers chance to take a game from Texas in Texas. He gave time for the bats to find ways to get the lead and extend a lead and hit with a lead. And he turned the ball over to the pen with only 8 outs to cover and 5 runs to protect. Hard to ask more than that from the ace of the Rays.
Speaking of the Rays hitters, a night after floundering without a hope or prayer vs Cal Quantril, they faired much better vs former 1st round Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker. Rocker came in after an opener, which how it ended up mostly was academic as he entered to start the 3rd facing Rays leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz.
In terms of Rays hitters, perhaps nobody needed a big night more than Jonathan Aranda. Aranda has not been his normal self for several months, but the All Star level hitter is still in there, and tonight he was the engine that drove the Rays offense.
Aranda tied up the game in the 3rd greeting Rocker with a loud solo HR. The homer came the inning following the Rangers jumping out to an early lead the inning before on their own solo HR. Having that answer immediately showed some fight desperately needed vs a fellow playoff contender.
Richie Palacios would follow that up with a solo shot of his own to give the Rays a lead which somehow, and frankly unbelievably, they would not relinquish.
He would follow that up in his next at bat by doubling in Yandy Diaz who had a double himself to extend the Rays lead. Junior Caminero would have a double of his own, followed by more hits from Mesa, and Chandler, and even a productive albeit rally killing run scoring double play by Cedric Mullins, would all work to give the Rays a 6-1 lead.
But this is Texas and nothing is easy. Or fun. Or without agony.
After Nick Martinez was unable to get through the 7th to save the pen, Cash would call upon Garrett Cleavinger to try and clean up the mess.
Now, I have a strategy that I think could work well for the Rays: whoever Kevin Cash will call upon to get warm in a hurry and come in to clean up Cleavingers mess, just use that guy first instead.
Well, that bit of analytics has not made its way to the dugout yet, and instead Cleavinger would immediately walk the first batter he faced loading the bases. 9th hole hitter Elias Diaz would then hit a grand slam to bring Texas back within a run 6-5.
Cleavinger was given another batter to maybe try and get an out. Unfortunately, not gonna happen. After another single, Cleavinger would be replaced by Cam Booser would would clean up the mess and induce an inning ending double play vs Corey Seager to escape the inning with Martinez still the pitcher of record.
Garrett Cleavinger’s line tonight: 0 outs recorded, 2 hits 2 ER 1 BB
The rest of the way Cash used the few reliable high leverage arms he had. Kevin Kelly continued his great season, working a scoreless 8th.
In the 9th Baker would take the ball, and mentioned at the top, never quite looked right before departing. Two walks, no outs, and we wait with bated breath.
Tyler Wells would get the call to try and hang on to the win, and much like the rest of the Rays 2026 deadline, would deliver. Big save, huge win, and maybe just maybe now the Rays can take less than 4 years before their next win in Arlington.
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 03: Iván Herrera #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates with teammates after scoring a run in the third inning during the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, September 3, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Nicole Vasquez/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Game Summary
Andrea Pallante pitched 5 stout innings to get the Cardinals started. Gorman, Saggese, Burleson and Walker drove in early runs to stake the Cardinals to an early 4-1 lead. Unfortunately, the Cardinal bullpen melted down yet again, with a disastrous debut by Hancel Rincon, allowing the Rockies to go up 6-4. But a late 3-run HR by Ivan Herrera bailed the team out, followed by an O’Brien save to close out a win, ugly, but a win.
The Cardinals have won 3 out of 4 on a tough road trip that spans 9 games in 3 cities. Anything can happen, right? Winning creates that opportunity.
Pre-game notes
Greetings from Denver, Colorado. It’s a warm evening tonight, just under 90 degrees start. Weather won’t be a factor, other than I expect the ball to be flying.
Pallante goes for the Cardinals. I’m curious how Coor affects his stuff.
Feltner for the Rockies.
Fernandez optioned to make room for Pallante. I assume that means Mautz to the bullpen and likely hot tonight.
The first innings
The Cardinals go quickly in the top of the first. Pallante walks the first guy on four pitches, McCarthy, who was a pain in the series back in St. Louis. A stolen base, ground out and a fly ball produce a quick 1-0 lead for the Rockies.
The Cardinals answer right back in the second. Walker leads off with a single and Bernal walks. A one-out RBI single by Gorman ties the game and a liner by Saggese that carooms off the pitcher into the outfield lands another run. Pallante works in and out of trouble in the bottom of the second, having trouble locating any of his pitches.
The Cardinals go quietly in the third, Burleson racks up another strikeout. He is on an awful streak. In the bottom of the third, Pallante continues to struggle with command, issuing two more walks, but working in and out of trouble. Cardinals up 2-1, in spite of Pallante with 4 walks and 0 K’s.
The middle innings
The top of the fourth is more of the same. The Cardinals ABs look like hitters who flew in late and didn’t get enough sleep. Feltner K’ed 5 through four innings. In the bottom of fourth, Pallante yet again dealt with traffic but a GIDP settled things nicely. I don’t think I’ve seen him land a 4-seam FB for a strike all night.
Rolling into the fifth inning (noting the game is barely an hour old), the Cardinals rally. Church and Torres lead off with a walk and a single. Herrera reaches on a ball whiffed by their SS Carrig. They gave him a hit, but he just screwed up a doubleplay ball straight up. Burleson singled in a run. Walker hit a SacFly that scored a second run, but a TOOTBLAN by Herrera resulted in an out at third on the play. Bernal promptly doubled, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd but the rally ended there as Baez grounded out. Cardinals leave the inning leading 4-1, but should have been more. Pallante did a good thing and comes out with a quick, clean bottom of the fifth. 72 pitches for him.
Feltner was lifted for Manfredi in the sixth. Cardinals went quietly. Rincon in for Pallante in the bottom of the sixth. After a quick out, things went sideways. Rumfield with a Coors triple on a ball not well played by Walker. An unsuccessful challenge by the Cardinals results in an umpire doing a jig after the replay supported the call. followed by a Rincon wild pitch to narrow the score. Carrig scores on a poor choice by Church who tried to leap and catch a ball 20 feet over his head, turning a double into an inside-the-park-homerun. A third hit ends Rincon’s debut outing, which felt a lot like Mautz’ debut the other night. Ugly. Bruihl in for Rincon. An automatic ball on a pitch timer violation adds drama and an Oli ejection. Not entirely sure what happened there, but suspecting the roots of this was the earlier challenge. A double and a single continue the avalanche, tying the game. A squeeze bunt gives the Rockie’s the lead, and no out is recorded. Runner looked out, but alas, no challenge remaining. The inning mercifully ends with the Rockies leading 5-4. Could have been much worse.
The decisive and bitter exhilarating end
The Cardinals offer no resistance to the vaunted Rockies pitching in the seventh. Burleson racks up another K. This is not going well. Bruihl remained in for the seventh. He gives up a HR to Rumfield and was promptly replaced by Winquest. He gets two quick outs, but the Rockies now up 6-4.
Herget replaces Winfredi in the eighth. Two quick outs followed by a Baez single chases Herget for Bernadino. Urias pinch hits for Gorman and pops out. Winquest remains in for the eighth and works through without drama.
In the ninth, Saggese leads off with a walk and steals second. A fly reduces the WPA for the Cardinals. Fermin gets on via error putting runners at second and third. Herrera crushes a 3-run HR to straight away center, dramatically changing the Cardinals’ WPA. For the record, WPA calc is unaware of the Cardinal bullpen situation.
O’Brien in to close. Leads out with a 3-pitch K. Goodman grounds out. A single and an ROB throwing error on a pick-off adds drama, but a K ends it quickly. Cardinals win 7-6.
Post-Game Notes
This season has had some ugly losses. This one falls into the ugly win category.
Be sure and check out “Tonight on the Farm – Friday 9.4” over at The Feed.
Walker reached 100 RBI this game.
Winquest with his first MLB decision…a win!
Watching a game at Coors Field is indeed a pleasant experience. I wish the Cardinals played better here, but they don’t. It’s a weird place to play.
Aug 21, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers catcher Elias Díaz (35) singles against the Los Angeles Angels during the fifth inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Texas Rangers scored six runs but the Tampa Bay Rays scored seven runs.
Maybe the Rays go on to enjoy some success in October as the American League’s best team but baseball’s like 12th best team. Who knows.
What I do know is they’re the only team that has given up a grand slam to the Rangers in 2026.
However, in prime 2026 Rangers fashion, the only time they’ve hit a grand slam was in a game where they also lost and their chances of meeting the Rays again next month dropped by a few more percentage points.
Player of the Game: Down 6-1 in the bottom of the seventh after tonight’s starting pitcher Kumar Rocker was worked over despite being eased into the game with not one but two openers, catcher Elias Diaz stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded which is usually a death sentence for a team such as this.
Instead, Diaz drilled a laser over the left field fence to give Texas its first grand slam in 2026.
Suddenly the Rangers were back to within a run but the Rays added a ninth inning insurance run to tamp out the comeback bid that ended with Texas only getting one run back — via a Diaz sac fly — after the first two batters reaching in the bottom of the ninth and Tampa Bay’s closer Bryan Baker exiting early.
Up Next: More Rangers and Rays with RHP Jacob deGrom set to take the mound for Texas against RHP Drew Rasmussen for Tampa Bay.
The Saturday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 6:05 pm CDT and you can watch it on the Rangers Sports Network.
Sep 4, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals designated hitter Salvador Perez (13) hugs Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) after a single during the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Blue Jays 9 Royals 2
Let’s get the bad news out of the way off the start. Jameson Taillon came out of the game after the second inning with right elbow discomfort. Why is it always the throwing arm that gets the discomfort? Oh right, because they are doing something very unnatural with the throwing arm. Taillon gave up 2 hits, 1 earned run (on a Bobby Witt homer), with a strikeout.
John and Pete must be saying to each other, ‘When is it going to get easier?’
But, amazingly, the Jays are back to .500. 71-71,
Other than the injury, it was a great night. We scored four in the top of the first, and the game was never in doubt from there on out.
In that first inning, Brett Bateman was hit by the first pitch of the game. An out later, Vladimir Guerrero lined a single to right (101.7 mph). Then Kirk lined a single to left, scoring Bateman. Kazuma Okamoto singled in Vlad. An out later, Ernie Clement doubled in the last two runs of the inning.
We got one more in the second. Myles Straw started it with a single. Two outs later, Vlad singled (102.7 mph), and Kirk doubled in Straw.
There were three more runs in the sixth. Clement led off with a single, and Nathan Lukes singled, giving us runners on the corners. Straw put down a sac bunt, scoring Clement, making it 6-1. Bateman walked, and George Spinger doubled in both, 8-1.
And Sean Keys hit his second MLB home run in the ninth.
We had 13 hits, with 3 doubles and a home run. Vlad, Kirk, Clement and Straw had two each. Vlad had three balls hit at over 100 mph; the one he hit hardest was a 115.8 mph lineout to third. I don’t know how you catch something moving that fast. Springer also had two hits over 100, 108.4 and 110.7.
If we can continue to hit like that, we’ll enjoy the rest of the season.
The game became a bullpen day:
Joe Mantiply threw two innings, allowing just 1 hit with a strikeout.
Braydon Fisher pitched the fifth, allowing a walk.
Brendon Little got the sixth, giving up a walk, getting a strikeout and throwing a ton of pitches (31).
Michael Lorenzen threw the last three innings, getting a rare three-inning save. He allowed 3 hits and a run with two strikeouts. He saved us from using more arms, a good thing at this time of the season (he also put a bullseye on his back; the team might send him down since he won’t be able to pitch for a couple of days.
If the stupid Tigers could have held on to a lead in either game of their doubleheader, we would be in a tie for the last spot. But we are one game back.
There was a cute moment, went Sal Perez was caught between first and second and he and Vlad hugged it out. Vlad had a very good day with the glove.
Jays of the Day: Kirk (0.15 WPA) and Clement (0.13).
No one gets the Other Award.
Tomorrow we have a rare weekend night game. 7:00 Eastern. Max Scherzer, who was amazing in his last start, vs. Seth Lugo (6-8, 5.03).
Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham exited Friday's game against the San Diego Padres early due to right hamstring discomfort, the team said.
Grisham appeared to have trouble running in for a bloop single that scored a run in the second inning, and immediately went to the trainer in the dugout at the end of the frame.
He did not return to the field in the bottom of the third inning, as Heliot Ramos came in to play right field with Spencer Jones sliding over to center.
Grisham had walked in his lone at-bat prior to leaving the game against his former team.
The 29-year-old dealt with a right hamstring strain earlier this season, missing nearly three weeks from June 13 to July 2.
Overall across 121 games, Grisham has hit .211 with a .703 OPS, 18 home runs, and 59 RBI.
SAN DIEGO — Perhaps this will settle the problem of whether the Yankees should start Trent Grisham or Spencer Jones in center field — and how to open a roster spot — once Aaron Judge returns.
Grisham exited Friday’s game against the Padres in the bottom of the third with right hamstring discomfort — the same hamstring that landed him on the injured list earlier this season, though he indicated it was in a different spot — an inning after he was unable to come up with a fly ball in front of him that landed for an RBI single.
The center fielder will likely undergo imaging to determine the severity of what he is dealing with, but it could ultimately land him back on the injured list with three weeks left in the regular season.
“It seems like an injury,” manager Aaron Boone said after a 3-2 loss in 10 innings at Petco Park. “Not sure yet if it’s an IL or not, but certainly could be.”
Trent Grisham had trouble getting to a run-scoring bloop single and then after the inning he immediately spoke to a trainer and left the game pic.twitter.com/jnEwRmSjOU
Grisham said he first felt the hamstring when he was caught stealing in the top of the second. But after he could not get to the ball in the bottom of the frame, he returned to the dugout, tapped director of sports medicine and rehab Mike Schuck on the back and headed down the stairs with him toward the clubhouse.
“It’s disappointing, for sure,” said Grisham, who insisted the hamstring had not bothered him since he came off the IL in early July. “But that’s part of the game. We know what we’re signing up for. Hopefully it’s nothing too problematic.”
New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) is tagged out by San Diego Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) as he tries to steal second base during the second inning at Petco Park on Sept. 4, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
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When the Yankees took the field again in the bottom of the third, Heliot Ramos entered the game in right field, with Jones moving to center — the arrangement they would likely go with if Grisham needs an IL stint, at least until Judge gets back as early as next week. Jasson Domínguez could be in play if they need a stopgap outfielder to take Grisham’s roster spot in the interim.
Grisham had been scuffling at the plate lately, coinciding with a surge from Jones, creating questions of who would play center field once Judge returns. Depending on the results of his tests, that may ultimately be moot.
Sep 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo (17) talks with home plate umpire Chris Segal before the eighth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Game Summary
The Diamondbacks are nothing if not consistent. Unfortunately, D-Backs fans would perhaps prefer a different sort of consistency. The Snakes scored 1 run for the 4th game in a row have gone hitless with RISP for just as many games. This is their longest streak of RISP ineptitude this season, breaking a tie with 2 other streaks of 3 games.
The offense felt like they were a step behind Houston starter Cristian Javier from the jump and they never could climb out of the hole. The team struck out 13 times, blowing away their previous season high of 8 Ks in a single game, but they also drew 7 walks which is their new season high in that metric. To be honest, though, it didn’t feel like the walks were great at bats by the hitters. They weren’t battling in the box and taking close pitches or fouling off a bunch of balls in the shadow zone, the D-Backs were simply not swinging at pitches way out of the strike zone on those particular plate appearances.
Gabriel Moreno was the top offensive contributor on the night, with a pair of walks and homer on his box score, but he also had the most negative plays if WPA actually calculated events outside the batter’s box. Gabi’s whiff on a throw home from Max Kepler that would have prevented the third Astros run from scoring was the first blemish on his night and then an absolutely epic TOOTBLAN put a nice bow on his Jekyll and Hyde evening.
The pitching staff did well again, but not well enough to let a single run by the offense stand up. Merrill had one rough inning, but other than that was almost completely spotless. Outside of the 3-run third, Merrill didn’t allow an Astro to reach 2nd base. The bullpen did well, too, with JMart looking awesome outside of his incredibly poor ABS challenge. Martinez averaged over 102mph on his Sinker and 4-seamer! Merrill’s second straight good start is key if this is what we can expect down the stretch. Hopefully his month-on-month-off season continues through September.
Loss Probability and Box Score
Outside the Box Score
Geraldo Perdomo made a slick play at short to record the first out of the game for Merrill Kelly. The Astros speedy leadoff hitter hit a chopper to short and Gerry made an excellent backhand on a short hop before gathering and firing quickly to first for the out.
Ketel’s first action at 2B since returning from the Restricted & Injured Lists was a little shaky. Ketel fielded the ball on the far side of second base, planted and threw but the ball went several feet to the home plate side of first base. Fortunately the Astros hitter wasn’t hustling up the line and Tim Tawa could cooly apply the tag to record the out.
Perdomo got a 2-out walk in the 3rd and then stole second. His jump didn’t appear to be too great but the throw to second was way short and the fielder opted to come up to catch the ball rather than wait on the hop.
Merrill Kelly gave up a homer to Yainer Diaz to lead off the 3rd on a hanging slider that was in the middle of the strike zone. Diaz blasted it at 100mph EV into the Crawford Boxes.
Merrill have up an RBI double to Isaac Paredes in the 3rd that landed within a foot of the left field foul pole. Really close to being nothing more than a strike, but even if it was foul, there was a definite them of hard contact against Merrill in the 3rd: 101, 100, 69, 102 were the EVs to start the inning. The 69mph hit belonged to Yordan Alvarez. Go figure.
Jose Altuve was credited with a sac fly in the third, but it was very nearly an inning-ending double play. Altuve popped it into shallow left right along the left field line by the wall and the stands, a pretty tricky spot. Kepler made a running, shoe string catch then threw home as Yordan Alvarez tagged and went for home. Kepler’s throw bounced a couple times but it was on target and well ahead of the runner, but Gabi whiffed the catch and Alvarez slid home safely for a 3-0 lead.
Gabi got that run back that he allowed with his whiff of Kepler’s throw home when he tattooed high cutter into the Crawford Boxes for a leadoff homer in the 4th. Exit velocity was, to this point, a game high 105.1.
The D-backs young players have seemed very hesitant to challenge, but Waldy broke the trend, at least for now, by challenging a called strike 3 that was actually off the outside corner. Unfortunately, it only flipped the box score from ꓘ to K as he struck out swinging on a pitch even further outside the strike zone a couple pitches later.
Ketel Marte’s double in the 6th was about the luckiest double this he’ll have this year. A high pop up into shallow left field (almost exactly where Altuve hit his sac fly to Kepler earlier in the night) land just inside the fair line as the left fielder overran it and then had to reach back and whiffed the catch. The ball then bounced high into the air and landed in the stands along the left field line for a ground-rule double.
The Astros catcher whiffed on both his challenges, giving Houston a rare (to my understanding) ofer in the challenge department.
Justin Martinez foolishly challenged a pitch in the 7th. The official ruling confirmed the ball landed more than 3” off the plate inside. Yikes.
Gabi got a leadoff walk in the 8th, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. They gifted the DBacks a runner in scoring position and Gabi threw it away with a horrible TOOTBLAN. Ketel hit a grounder up the middle between Gabi’s secondary lead and second base. Gabi froze, then decided to try and run back toward second. The Astros SS charged and fielded the grounder and made the quick tag of Gabi before throwing to first to complete the double play. TOOTBLANs are inherently ridiculous (getting out like a nincompoop is ridiculous) but that version was way more nincompoopish than what is standard.
Comment of the Game
A fairly average showing tonight in the GameDay Thread with a total of 271 comments at time of publishing. Only a single comment crossed into Sedona Red territory and that was a greeting rather than commentary on the game so no COTG winner this evening.
Coming Up
The Diamondbacks face the ’Stros tomorrow at 4:15pm televised nationally on FOX. Brandon Pfaadt (7-2, 3.49 ERA) will get the ball for the good guys and young right-hander Ethan Pecko (1-0, 6.23 ERA) will get the ball for Houston.
Scoreboard Watching
Cubs beat the Marlins to keep the Fish 3 games back of AZ.
Padres are tied with Yankees 1-1 at home after 7 innings. Currently tied with AZ pending the results of their game.
Cardinals won in Colorado 7-6. They are very much back in the hunt at 3 games behind AZ.
South Bend shortstop Angel Cepeda celebrates getting a double during a Minor League Baseball game between the South Bend Cubs and the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Four Winds Field on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in South Bend. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
Iowa right-hander Andrew Wantz was activated off the temporarily inactive list.
Iowa second baseman Hayden Cantrelle went to the development list.
Knoxville right-hander Brody McCullough went to the development list.
Knoxville right-hander Luis Martinez-Gomez comes off the 7-day injured list.
Braxton Garrett wasn’t bad tonight, allowing two runs on three hits over 4.2 innings. Both runs scored on a third-inning home run. Garrett struck out five and walked three. Garrett still got the loss.
Edward Cabrera had a rough relief appearance in a rehab assignment. Cabrera gave up four runs, three earned, on three hits over two-thirds of an inning. His defense did him no favors, but he didn’t do any favors for his defense either. Cabrera walked two and struck out one.
Iowa had just two hits tonight and second baseman Ben Cowles had both of them, going 2 for 4 with an RBI double in the third inning.
The Knoxville Smokies got in the eyes of the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 8-3. The win moved the Smokies back in to a tie for first place in their division with 8 games to play. Of course, the Smokies have already clinched a playoff spot from winning the division title in the first half.
Luis Martinez-Gomez came off the IL and went three innings. He allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits. He walked two and struck out three.
Grayson Moore allowed one run on two hits over 1.2 innings and got the win. Moore struck out one and walked no one.
Right fielder Alex Ramírez hit a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the first inning, his 14th on the year. Ramírez went 1 for 5.
Shortstop Alex Madera was a perfect 4 for 4 with a double. He drove in two and scored two. Madera also stole a base.
DH Andy Garriola doubled twice in a 3 for 5 night. Garriola scored two runs.
Starter Alfredo Romero allowed two runs on three hits over 3.1 innings. One run was unearned. Romero walked three and struck out four.
Cole Reynolds took over for Romero and got the win because Romero didn’t go five innings. Reynolds pitched 3.1 innings and gave up one run on four hits. He struck out three and walked no one.
The Kernels literally could not get center fielder Alexey Lumpuy out, as Lumpuy was a perfect 5 for 5 with three doubles and a stolen base. Lumpuy drove in four runs and scored once.
Shortstop Angel Cepeda went 3 for 4 and was hit by a pitch. Cepeda scored three times and drove in one.
Third baseman Matt Hallbach was 2 for 3 with two walks. He scored four runs and had one run batted in.
Right fielder Leonel Espinoza went 2 for 4 and scored once.
Everyone in the starting lineup had at least one hit except catcher Justin Stransky, but Stransky had a big night anyway, going 0 for 1 with a bases-loaded walk and three sacrifice flies for four total RBI. I can’t remember anyone getting four RBI without a hit.
Riely Hunsaker pitched the first five innings and surrendered two runs on four hits. One of the two runs was unearned. Hunsaker struck out four, walked two and hit one.
Luis Mata pitched the next two innings and got the win. Mata gave up no runs on no hits, but he did walk one while striking out one. Mata also hit a batter.
DH Juan Tomas hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, his first for Myrtle Beach and sixth overall. Tomas was 1 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored.
Catcher Jose Silva went 2 for 4 with a stolen base. He scored once.
At Citi Field on Friday was a team that had been dismantled at the trade deadline, clearly a shell of the postseason threat it aspired to be and a club that might not mind the losses mounting considering the draft implications.
That team faced the Mets, who have played their cleanest baseball in garbage time.
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The Giants sold at the trade deadline, batted a player named Turner Hill cleanup in the series opener and are still bottoming out, 10-19 since offloading every piece they could.
The 2026 Mets have been a similar and different team, respectively: a big-money bust that threw in the towel, wiped itself off and now is emerging as fresh-faced and competitive.
In a September matchup featuring two disappointments that are trending in opposite directions, the Mets used five home runs — two from Francisco Alvarez — and a gritty night from Nolan McLean to hold off the Giants, 10-6, in front of 29,377 who have been cheering for a team with more life since Aug. 3.
The Mets (64-77) are 13 games under .500 but 17-11 since unloading nearly the entirety of their bullpen plus Clay Holmes, Freddy Peralta and Tyrone Taylor.
Each victory brings them a bit closer to possible offseason frustration: Their first-round draft pick would be docked 10 spots (as it was last year) unless they are bad enough and lucky enough to land a top-six selection.
David Stearns would argue each victory brings them closer to the team they want to be.
New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) hits a solo home run during the eighth inning when the New York Mets played the San Francisco Giants on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, at Citi Field. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“I am encouraged by what we’ve seen,” the president of baseball operations said before the game. “We’ve seen continued progression from a lot of players who are going to be here next year and for many years beyond.
“And that is very encouraging for me and I think lifts the organization as a whole as we head into an offseason and, ultimately, construct our team for ’27.”
Somewhere in the front of their rotation next season will be McLean, who clearly has the stuff to be an ace but showed Friday that he can be effective without his top execution. The National League Rookie of the Year contender — who acknowledged he wants the award but is not focused on it — battled through six innings in which he somehow allowed two runs while letting up six hits and walking four.
“Lucky” was how McLean described his night after managing just two 1-2-3 innings — the second and sixth, the latter of which he punctuated with a fist-pump upon getting Christian Koss looking at strike three — and in each other frame he had to survive, the biggest struggle coming in the fifth.
New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean celebrates getting out of the sixth inning during a game against the San Francisco Giants on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post
The Giants loaded the bases without an out, were a swing away from making a lopsided game interesting, but watched McLean strike out Jung Hoo Lee and induce a ground ball double play from Drew Cavanaugh on a play that Marcus Semien made a nice sliding grab and shovel pass to Francisco Lindor.
“The thing about him that I have always appreciated,” interim manager Andy Green said, “is he can put himself into some nasty jams and then he finds a ridiculous amount of confidence to work his way out of it.”
The Mets bullpen bent, notably when Rafael Devers clubbed a three-run home run against Austin Warren in the eighth.
But they had a cushion because the Mets’ attack racked up more home runs (five) than singles (four).
Mark Vientos — reminding that even in a season plagued by injury and inconsistency, he can still crush lefties — continued his strong work off the injured list with a three-run shot against Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson in the first inning.
Alvarez and Bo Bichette added a pair in the second to help capsize Wilkinson.
Lindor added a two-run shot in the sixth and Alvarez tacked on with his 15th of the year in the eighth.
“I just want to go out there and finish in the best possible way as I can, both offensively and defensively,” Alvarez, who is still trying, said through interpreter Alan Suriel.
